The qoppa (Ϙ, ϙ) is an archaic Greek letter that originally denoted a voiceless velar plosive before back vowels—a sound distinct from kappa. It was inherited from the Phoenician qoph, which represented an emphatic uvular stop. In classical Attic Greek, the sound distinction collapsed, and qoppa was retained only as a numeral for 90.

Position on the Tree of Life

Qoppa sits at step 5 of the Greek Alphabet correspondence in the Fifty Gates scale, which aligns with Geburah, the Sephirah of severity, rigor, and judgment. In the Qabalistic model, this Sephirah represents the power of divine justice and restriction—the necessary boundary that gives form to creation.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

There is no direct planetary assignment for qoppa as a numeral letter; its traditional astrological link, via its numerical value 90, associates it with the Hebrew letter Tsade (Aquarius), but in this table the letter itself bears no independent planetary sigil.

Historical context

Qoppa originated as the 19th letter of the archaic Greek alphabet, written Ϙ or ϙ. It appeared on early Greek inscriptions, such as those from Corinth and Argos, and was used to represent the /k/ sound before ο and υ—as in qorinthos (Corinth). After the standardization of the Ionic alphabet around 403 BCE, qoppa was dropped from everyday writing except as a numeral. Its survival as a number is paralleled by the later use of ϛ (digamma) for 6, ϟ (koppa) for 90, and ϡ (sampi) for 900. In medieval and later manuscripts, qoppa was often confused with the Latin ‘Q’ or with the cursive Hellenistic form that resembled a modern ‘q’. Its numerical function made it a fixture in Greek isopsephy (gematria), where words summing to 90 were linked to concepts of righteousness and the ‘right hand’ of divine order—themes that resonate with Geburah’s role as the ‘arm’ of the Tree of Life.

In the Qabalistic tradition, the 9th path on the Tree (Yesod) is associated with the Hebrew letter Teth, but the numerical correspondence of 90 leads to Tsade (the ‘righteous one’). The conjunction of qoppa as a letter of form with the Sephirah of severity suggests a magical or ritual use: the ‘brand’ or ‘mark’ of judgment.

In Crowley’s Liber 777, qoppa at Geburah corresponds to the formula of the ‘brand’ or ‘mark’ of the god—the identifying seal of the initiate who has passed through the ordeal of fire. This ties into the theme of the letter as a numeral that enforces limit and measure.

In the table

In column LIII of the ‘Greek Alphabet’ table, row 5 (Geburah), qoppa (Ϙ) appears as the letter of the scale, representing the form of the alphabet that corresponds to the Sephirah of severity. It is one of the three archaic letters (digamma, qoppa, sampi) that operate outside the standard 24-letter alphabet, marking the ‘hidden’ or ‘left-hand’ stages of the Tree.