Sz is the Hebrew letter Samekh (ס), here given in its full or absolute spelling as Sz, Smk, or Samech. The name means "a prop" or "support," and the letter’s shape is a circular or coiled form, traditionally said to represent an endless cycle or a serpent biting its own tail. In the Hebrew alphabet, Samekh is the fifteenth letter; its numerical value is 60.

Position on the Tree of Life

In the schema of Liber 777, Sz appears at scale step 2, the Sephirah Chokmah (Wisdom). Chokmah is the second emanation, the dynamic, masculine, and creative outpouring of the Divine. The placement of a letter-form here indicates a link between the abstract, root impulse of Chokmah and the letter’s own symbolic character of encircling, encompassing support. The letter Samekh, as a spiral or wheel, resonates with the whirling, spinning energy of Chokmah.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

In the standard Hebrew-letter-to-planet assignment (the traditional correspondence used in the Hermetic Qabalah), Samekh is attributed to the planet Saturn (Shabbathai). At step 2, however, the letter’s own planetary attribution is not directly given in this cell alone; the cell provides the orthographic variant (Sz) of the letter-name, not its astrological meaning. The astrological attribution of Samekh to Saturn remains constant across the Tree, but here the focus is on the written, spelled-out form of the letter as a glyph of support and circularity.

Historical context

The tradition of spelling out the Hebrew letter names appears in several cabalistic texts, especially in the Sefer Yetzirah and later in the writings of the 13th-century Spanish Kabbalists, where the full vocalization of each letter’s name was considered a source of deeper mystical significance. In the Book of Formation, the letters are described as having three aspects: shape, name, and numerical value. The spelling Samekh (or Sz in this transliteration) is the name itself, as opposed to the letter’s simple sound or function. The spelling “Sz” for Samekh appears in certain early English Qabalistic transcriptions (e.g., those by MacGregor Mathers and later by Aleister Crowley) where a doubled “S” or “z” ending captures the soft terminal sound of the Hebrew kh or ch that is often elided in English. The spelling Samech is more common, but Sz preserves the breathy quality of the final letter Kaf when used as a mater lectionis in the word “Samekh.” In the context of Liber 777, this spelling aligns with the specific transliteration system used in the table’s column LI (the “English equivalent of the letter name” column).

The letter Samekh itself appears in earlier Hebrew magical and mystical traditions, including the Sefer Raziel and the Sword of Moses, as a symbol of support, the Divine circle, and the cycle of the year. In the Book of Concealed Mystery, Samekh is associated with the serpent of knowledge and the coiled dragon that encircles the world. These ancient associations inform the choice of spelling here: the form Sz stands for the whole name, not just the letter, and thus carries the weight of the entire mystical tradition attached to the letter’s name.

In Liber 777

In the table, the cell at step 2 (Chokmah) for the row “English equivalent of the letter name” contains merely the two-letter abbreviation Sz (or, in the full spelling given in other editions, Samekh or Samech). This short form is a key that unlocks the correspondence between the Sephirah of Wisdom and the letter Samekh—the prop, the cycle, the enduring support that holds the Tree together. The spelling itself is a direct translation of the letter’s name into an English Qabalistic shorthand.