50 (νʹ in Greek isopsephy) is the numeration of the letter Nu (Ν ν). In Greek, the Nu is the thirteenth letter, corresponding to the Hebrew Nun (נ), whose name means “fish” or “seed” and whose value is also 50. The number 50 is the threshold of the Jubilee—the 50ᵗʰ year of release in Levitical law—and the day of Pentecost (the 50ᵗʰ day after Passover), when the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of fire. Across several esoteric traditions, 50 signifies the completion of a 7 × 7 cycle and the entrance into a new, spiritual dispensation.

Position on the Tree of Life

In Liber 777, the numeration 50 appears on Path 24. This path is attributed to the Hebrew letter Nun, which corresponds to the zodiac sign Scorpio and the Tarot trump Death (Atu XIII). The path connects Tiphereth (Beauty) on the pillar of equilibrium to Netzach (Victory) on the right pillar, and is considered the “Veiled Path” that dissolves the ego before rebirth. The number 50 here acts as a key to the spiritual transformation wrought by Nun’s energy.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

50, via Nun/Scorpio, is ruled by Mars in its nocturnal and watery expression. The number is also associated with the Qabalistic Sephirah Binah (Understanding), the 3rd Sephirah, because 50 is the value of the letters in the expanded spelling of Binah (בִּינָה = 2+10+50+5 = 67; but the final Heh is often considered 5, giving 62, and the median idea is that 50 is the “gate” of Binah. More directly, the Sephirah Geburah (Severity) has a Greek numeration of 500 (5 × 100), and 50 is a tenth of that—a sub-octave of judgment that becomes mercy through the Holy Spirit).

Historical context

The number 50 is deeply entrenched in both Jewish and Christian scripture. The Jubilee (Yovel) was commanded every 50 years, freeing slaves and returning land to original owners (Leviticus 25:10). In Hellenistic Judaism, the Greek translation of the Torah (the Septuagint) used ἄφεσις (release) for the Jubilee, and the number 50 was linked to the coming of the Messiah. In early Christian Gnosticism, the Pleroma (the totality of divine powers) consisted of 30 Aeons (the Ogdoad, Decad, and Dodecad) plus the Paraclete as the fiftieth Aeon (the “lost sheep” of the Parable). The Marcosian system (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses I.14–19) taught that the number 50, expressed by the letter Nu, was the “door” through which the spiritual initiate entered the Pleroma.

Liber 777 draws on these associations: the letter Nun (50) is the “fish” that swims in the waters of Binah (Understanding), and the 50th Gate of Understanding in the Zohar is the highest level of mystical cognition. On the Greek side, the letter Nu was also associated with Nyx (Night) and the primal darkness that precedes creation (Hesiod’s Theogony, line 123). The number 50 appears in the Book of the Going Forth by Day (Egyptian Book of the Dead) as the number of the Shem (the boat of the dead) and the 50 days of the Tuat crossing.

In table CLXXXV of Liber 777, the value 50 is assigned to the “Numeration of Greek Alphabet” column at step 24 (Path 24). This is the row of the Hebrew letter Nun, making 50 the direct Greek equivalent of that letter’s number. The cell is empty of any further tag—it simply stands as the numeric signature of Nu/Nun on the Scorpionic path.