Letter symbolism concerns the symbolic meaning and value of letters (graphic signs representing a phoneme or group of phonemes in written language), whether read or written, in alphabetical script or elsewhere. While the meaning may not be immediately apparent, studying the symbols can reveal the significance of each letter. Letter symbolism is the study of the alphabet as a symbol, exploring its ability to represent analogically, convey meaning, and carry values beyond its practical or material function. It involves examining letters as symbols (symbology) or systems (symbolic), as well as their capacity for designation, meaning, and potential influence (symbolism). Each letter typically holds its own symbolism, representing the essence of things or their fundamental nature, as evident in Greek etymology (e.g., A symbolizes the beginning). On the other hand, for those who insist on the view that signs are arbitrary, letter symbolism may be considered as pure delirium. St. Augustine, in On Christian Doctrine (II, 24), expresses his disapproval of what he perceives as superstition: "The letter X, which is made in the shape of a cross, means one thing among the Greeks and another among the Latins, not by nature, but by agreement and prearrangement as to its signification; and so, anyone who knows both languages uses this letter in a different sense when writing to a Greek from that in which he uses it when writing to a Latin. And the same sound, beta, which is the name of a letter among the Greeks, is the name of a vegetable among the Latins."
Distinctions Letters, pictograms (used by American Indians, Eskimos, African Bushmen, and Oceanians), conventional signs (such as totemic signs, taboos, and magic signs), ideograms (like those used by the Mayas, ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Chinese), and syllabic scripts (such as Brahmi and Phoenician scripts) are all forms of written communication. "The general term 'letter' is used to designate each graphic element of which an alphabet is made up and which are used in alphabetic scripts." Letters, therefore, only concern alphabetical writing (Greek and Roman alphabets, the Ogamic script used by the Irish and Welsh in the 5th century, the Runic script of the Germans, the Glagolitic alphabet of the Slavs in the 9th century, Hebrew in the 2nd century BC, and Arabic scripts from the 10th century BC, etc.). Some letters are conventional, others are directly symbolic. For example, the "o" symbolizes the mouth.
Symbol, symbolism and symbology. Symbolic and symbolism are interconnected concepts. 1) "The symbol is a concrete sign evoking by a natural relationship something absent or impossible to perceive" (André Lalande, Technical and Critical Vocabulary of Philosophy). 2) Letter symbolism encompasses the ability of letters to signify, influence, or activate, as well as their interpretive potential. 3) Symbolic concerns the signifying system of letters: on the one hand, they together form a system, a whole, a set, a complex; on the other, each one enters into a network (each one calls its opposite, its nearer, etc.). Semiotics: syntax, semantics, pragmatics. The semiotic approach, since Charles W. Morris, has examined three perspectives to analyze to letters: 1) syntax (the relationship between letters), 2) semantics (the meaning of letters, what they indirectly designate, by natural analogy) [either the signifier/signified relationship, or the sign/referent relationship], 3) pragmatics (the use of symbolic letters in communication). Sound, figure, name: The philosopher Ramus (Gramere, 1562, p. 24), impressed by the inventions of printing, distinguishes three aspects in letters: sound, figure, and name. For example, the printing character V refers to a sound (pronounced "Vi"), a figure (written V, v), and a name (V is called "Vee", in Ramus's time: "Vau").
Analogies and correspondences
Synesthesia To understand the symbolism of letters, it may be beneficial to explore how humans have associated letters with other elements in similar domains (such as geometric figures, sounds, colors, etc.). Additionally, examining how certain synesthesias operate (connections between sensations like form and color, sound and color, etc.) can provide insight into the symbolic nature of letters. Greek magical texts sometimes say that the seven vowels symbolize the seven planetary gods. According to Plutarch, A is linked to the Moon, to the note B, to Monday; E: Mercury, C; H: Venus, D; I: Sun, E; O: Mars, F; Y: Jupiter, G; omega: Saturn, A. In Dogme et Rituel de Haute Magie (1854, English: "Dogma and Ritual of High Magic"), Éliphas Lévi was the first to establish correspondences between the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the 22 paths to wisdom according to the Kabbalists' Sefer Yezira, and the 22 Tarot cards. A grapheme → color synesthete testifies: "I often associate letters and numbers with colors. Every number and letter is associated with a color in my head. Sometimes, when letters are written on a piece of paper, they will appear briefly in color if I am not concentrating on them. For example, "S" is red, "H" is orange, "C" is yellow, "J" is yellow-green, "G" is green; "E" is blue, "X" is purple, "I" is pale yellow, "2" is brown, "1" is white. If I write SHCJGEX or ABCPDEF, these letters will form a rainbow as I read them."
Decoding techniques There are two levels to the art of deciphering (identifying and interpreting) symbols and their code: deciphering requires knowledge of the code, while deciphering does not. More decoding techniques are available. The first technique is shape symbolism. Geofroy Tory (Champ fleuri de la vraie proportion des lettres antiques, 1500) believed that letters, created through divine inspiration, were constructed using straight lines and circles. "Look at the shapes of letters. They are made up of straight lines and curves. In traditional symbolism, the straight line is linked to masculine polarity and the curve to feminine polarity. This ‘sexual’ particularity of letters and numbers is not accidental for those who know that everything couples according to laws and codes that make chance a decoy. Complementary polarities enable productive ‘self-fertilization.’
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