The Hebrew letter Shin. It is the 21st letter of the alephbet, it is a “sh” or “s” sound, it indicates the number “300” in the Hebrew number system, its glyph means “tooth”, and it is interpreted in mystical Judaism to be the active element of the world, Fire. Various spiritual interpretations of this letter would say that it corresponds to the soulful force inside us which is pure awareness, bright and hot like fire, which destroys illusions.
How does one’s tooth correspond with judgement? Do I judge my food as I eat it? Or is the action of my teeth on food analogous to the action of judgement on ‘soul food’ or experience itself? As I chew, various teeth are put to work. At risk of disgust, here’s a look at partially chewed food, hopefully to inspire good chewing and food selection for oneself.
There are 32 teeth in the average adult human’s mouth, and there are 32 paths of wisdom on the Hebrew Tree of Life (more on that at Clark 2002). 3+2=5, 5 corresponding with the sphere of Geburah on the Tree of Life and the presence of action, Mars, and Yang energy. With each tooth (ש Shin) one processes the outer to the inner, the first phase of food becoming nourishment. There is more to eating than teeth of course, even in the mouth there are other important parts. Each tooth, analogous to Judgement, is susceptible to change and yet is also firm and fixed, solid and shaped to part and parse.
Of all the 32 places on the Tree of Life, Shin is one of a special few known as the Three Mothers: Shin, Aleph, and Mem. In Alchemy these are known as the Tria Prima, or the Three Primes: Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt. The correspondences are many: Yang, Yin, and Yin-Yang to name one more. These are the three points required at a minimum to make a whole shape. Sulfur represents the essence of an herb, the soul of a being, the metal in an ore. It is the spark of inspiration that gives life to one’s will-power.
Does that sound like a tooth? Teeth certainly seem unique to the human body. A tooth is the hardest part of the human body. But is each tooth a soul, a judgement, an essence? A fire perhaps, as described in the first paragraph. A fire that destroys illusion, a judgement that discerns parts and pieces, a tooth that breaks down food for safe swallowing and digestion. After all, what are we made of if not the food we eat, the discernments we make, and the illuminations we’re guided by?
There is ever more to the mystery of Shin, tooth, and judgement. As one of the last 3 keys of the Hebrew alephbet and tarot series, it forms the base of a triangle connecting the Tree of Life worlds of Hod (information), Yesod (subconscious), and Malkuth (the world). Judgement does indeed relate as a foundation for the structure made of these 3 points.