Hebrew pronunciation for magic
| Glyph | Name | Pronunciation / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| א | 'aleph or aleph ox | /ʔ/ glottal plosive: a sudden release of air between the vocal chords, like the small 'pop' between the syllables of uh-oh |
| ב | beth house | /b/ or /v/ |
| ג | gimel or gimel camel | /ʤ/ (as in jump) or /ɰ/ (a voiced fricative ghwith the back of the tongue) |
| ד | daledh or daleth door | /d/ or /ð/ (as in then) |
| ה | he window, lattice | /h/, or sometimes just a vowel sound or completely silent. |
| ו | vav nail, pin | /ʋ/ (somewhere between /v/ and /w/) or /w/ |
| ז | zahn or zayin sword | /z/ |
| ח | cheth fence, gate | /ħ/ (unvoiced pharyngeal fricative — open your mouth fairly wide, and now try to nearly close your throat with the root of your tongue. That's where you want it. Make an H sound through this gateyou've made in your throat — and you can close your mouth a bit, now you've found it!) |
| ט | tet or teth serpent | /t̻/ (t sounded not with the tip of the tongue but the area just behind; this is held against the teeth. Sounds like a cross between /t/ and /d/) |
| י | yod fist | /j/ (as in you) or /i/ (as in free) |
| ך כ | kaph open hand | /k/ or /χ/ |
| ל | lamed or lamed ox-goad | /l/ |
| ם מ | mem water | /m/ |
| ן נ | nun fish | /n/ |
| ס | samekh or samekh tent peg, support | /s/ |
| ע | "oyin eye, fountain | /ʕ/ voiced pharyngeal fricative. A difficult one, this, something like a guttural R but even deeper in the throat. |
| ף פ | pe mouth | /p/ or /f/ |
| ץ צ | tsadei or tzaddi fish-hook | /ʂˤ/ (an s made with the middle of the tongue pressed upwards, rather than the tip. To be really correct, try to constrict the throat and release as you make the sound, as though you were simultaneously pronouncing 'aleph) |
| ק | quph back of the head | /q/ (like /k/ but further back in the throat) |
| ר | resh face | /ɾ/ (a single tongue-tap of a trilled R; in English this is often heard in the word better) or /ɹ/ (as in red) |
| ש | shin tooth | /ʃ/ (as in shine) or /s/ (same sound as samekh) |
| ת | tau mark, cross | /t/ or /θ/ (as in thin) |
Nequdot: niqqud, nikkud; Hebrew pointing
| Glyph | Name | Pronunciation / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| סְ | shwa | /ə/ (as in supply), /ɛ/ (as in bed) or no sound at all |
| סֱ | chataf segol | /ɛ̆/ (as in bed, but very short) |
| סֲ | chataf patach | /ă/ (as in bar, but very short) |
| סֳ | chataf qamats | /ɔ̆/ (as in ball, but very short) |
| סִ | chiriq | /iː/ (as in free), or /i/ a shorter version of the same. Before a yod this is always long (known as chiriq malei). |
| סֵ | tsere | /eː/ (as in café) |
| סֶ | segol | /ɛ/ (as in bed) or /ɛː/ a longer version of the same. Before a yod this is always long (segol malei) |
| סַ | patach | /a/ (as in bar) or /aː/ a longer version of the same. Before a yod this is always long (patach malei) |
| סָ | qamats | /ɔː/ (as in ball, but longer) |
| סֹ | cholom | /oː/ (as in bought). Sometimes this is positioned over the following vau |
| סֻ | qubuts | /uː/ (as in boot) or /u/ (a shorter version of the same) |
| סוּ | shuruq | Essentially a pierced vav follows the letter: /uː/ (as in boot) |
| בּ | dagesh | changes the double letters from fricatives to plosives: בּ /b/ — ב is /v/ גּ /ʤ/ — ג is /ɰ/ דּ /d/ — ד is /ð/ כּ /k/ — כ is /χ/ פּ /p/ — פ is /f/ רּ /ɾ/ — ר is /ɹ/ תּ /t/ — ת is /θ/ |
| בֿ | rafe | occasionally used to emphasise that a double letter is not a plosive, or that a letter like ה or א is completely silent |
| שׁ | shin dot | /ʃ/ (as in shop) |
| שׂ | sin dot | /s/ (as in sink) |
The pronunciation given here is not modern Hebrew. It relies largely on Yemenite and Sephardic Hebrew, but is adjusted in an attempt to come closer to the ancient pronunciation,
and reinstate the differences in pronunciation that we know the letters once had. Each of the double letters
, for instance, we know had two sounds; these can be
reconstructed through comparison with related alphabets, such as Arabic and Greek. In some cases the name of the letter itself hints at its pronunciation; for instance quph back of head
is pronounced very far back in the throat, while the letter that follows it, resh front of head, face
, is at the front of the mouth, rather different to the
gutteral /ʁ/ adopted by modern Ashkenazic Hebrew.
Sephardic Hebrew is of particular relevance to us. It comes from mediaeval Spain and Portugal, an area that was relatively enlightened in comparison with the rest of Christian Europe. Here, during La Convivencia—the golden age of Muslim rule—Jews, Muslims and Catholics coexisted in relative peace, and there was much sharing of esoteric knowledge. The rich melting pots of cities such as Toledo produced major advances in Qabalah and other aspects of the Western Mystery Tradition, as well as in literature, philosophy and the arts and sciences in general.