Think of Yods as little packets of pure possibility. These divine sparks show up as symbols in Art, the Tarot, and even in our dreams.
Yods are intelligent flames of energy that we can access in our meditations. In flying dreams they appear, as a distinct field of little yellow-orange golden shimmers that move in harmony, all equally spaced apart in perfect formation. As supportive energy, they fly along just beside or below us, and have a magical quality!
Yods first appeared to me in a dream, in a shimmering diamond flying pattern, floating along next to me in the air and just to my lower left. I was surprised and had no idea what they were! The very next day I was having lunch and by happy coincidence ran into an old friend and spiritual teacher who had moved away to California, but just happened to be back in town that day. Here he was, the ONE person I knew who would know, so I told him my dream. He immediately told me about Yods! They were a real thing!
A yod is a flame-like SHAPE but it is also the 10th letter of the Hebrew, Syriac, Phoenician, Aramaic and Arabic alphabets. An ancient symbol, the yod originated in pictograph writing and Egyptian hieroglyphs as a HAND.
When used as a calligraphic mark the yod, which is also the smallest letter, becomes the basic building block that makes up the rest of the Hebrew alphabet! This shape repeats and combines to create ALL the other letters. Each letter also has an important numerical value, and the mystical discipline of Gematria reveals a deeper meaning within a word or phrase, based on an alphanumeric code. The Yod has a numerical value of 10.
The yod is also the very first letter of the tetragrammaton, or the divine name of God. It is the principle idea of creation, even before creation actually existed and came into our world of being …the very beginning of divine inspiration.
As a word yod also means HAND, and refers to the divine hand of God that inspires mankind and brings messages to those who listen and look inwardly. In this state of grace, divine energy droplets rain down, the inspirational divine sparks from which all great manifestations originate.
YODS as symbols found within the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck
Rider-Waite Tarot Cards, Illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith in 1909
In this Tarot deck, yods appear on three of the Ace Cards, which symbolize the potential of new beginnings. They also appear on the Tower and Moon cards, and one is almost hidden, seen just peeking out of a pocket on the Six of Pentacles card.
Yods connect us to higher ideals, and may signal interdimensional messages, communicated to us from higher unseen realms. The Dove surrounded by these Golden sparks symbolizes the presence of the Holy Spirit.
What are Yods and where do we find them?
Consider the Renaissance Paintings and Frescoes of Luca Signorelli from the 1500s. Beyond the typical halo that we’ve seen again and again in Medieval Art, Signorelli shows us a representation of sublime forces in a totally different way. In his depictions, Angels’ seem to exist in a higher vibratory dimension, supported here in a matrix of Golden Dots. Here are examples from the San Brizio Chapel frescoes in Orvieto, Italy, and from the Sacristy of San Giovanni in Loreto, Italy. And his incredible Annunciation painting, in Volterra, Italy shows the Dove of the Holy Spirit, surrounded with these sparks, bringing the divine message sent by God who appears from higher realms inside a cloud.
Thanks so much for reading my thoughts on What are Yods and where do we find them, and I will be posting more on our search for personal symbolism soon.
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