The Use of Greek Sign Language to Signify the Greek Alphabet’s Letters for Esoteric Purposes

 

In addition to Bede finger counting and chiromancy, there are other systems of hand gesture symbolism that can be applied to mystical and spiritual concepts and that can be used in ritual settings. One of these systems is Greek Sign Language. Greek Sign Language is one of the hundreds of sign languages that exist worldwide. Sign language systems are developed in their own unique environments and have common and differing elements between them. The exact history of Greek sign language was not easy to find, but there are records of some type of Greek sign language existing in classical literature. Sign language is defined as a system of hand gestures, mimic, hand signs and finger spelling, plus the position of the fingers to represent letters of the alphabet. Usually, the first thing people do is learn how to sign the alphabet. Using the hands to sign the alphabet is called “fingerspelling,” and it can be used to spell names or objects.¹ Greek Sign Language has its own version of the alphabet, the Greek alphabet. Though it is mostly used by disabled people who want to communicate, Greek Sign Language can be adopted for multiple applications in esoteric symbology and rituals. Not only are there numerous correspondences for the Greek alphabet, but they can also be used for numbers as well.  

The Greek alphabet was used to write numbers, and as a result numbers can be gestured with Greek Sign Language. The Greek numeral system was called various names, such as Ionic, Ionian, Milesian, and Alexandrian numerals. The system’s adoption goes back to the 5th century B.C.E., or even centuries earlier. A chart of the Greek numeral system can be found easily with a search engine. In addition to communicating Pythagorean symbolism, a person can use isopsephy. Isopsephy is the method of adding up the numerical values of Greek letters of words and then connecting the sum or number values to other words with similar values. The Greek numeral system can be communicated with the fingers using Greek Sign Language fingerspelling, since the alphabet can have a numerical meaning as well. Another use for the hand signs of Greek Sign language is vowels and consonants, and the different meanings they can have based on traditional correspondences.

Vowels and consonants both correspond to ancient Greek deities and planets. The Greek alphabet can be used for numbers, names, gods, astrological signs, and planets. Some examples of deities connected to consonants are Beta and Artemis, Rhea, and Isis; Gamma and Hecate, Gaia, the Fates; Delta and Hermes, Zeta and Athena, Aeta and Hera and Poseidon; Theta and Thoth, Mars, the Egyptian Ennead; and so forth.² Readers should refer to the book The Greek Qabalah: Alphabetical Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World by Kieren Barry for its correspondence tables and to learn various methods of applying isopsephy. The seven traditional planets are linked to the vowels, as well. The planet vowel combinations are hard A or alpha the moon, soft E or epsilon for Mercury, hard E or Aeta for Venus, soft I or iota for the Sun, soft A or omicron for Mars, soft U or upsilon for Jupiter, and hard O or omega for Saturn. Joscelyn Godwin’s book The Mystery of the Seven Vowels in Theory and Practice explores the historical evidence for the vowels being connected to the planets, and is a great reference on this topic. Consonants and vowels can be used to symbolize esoteric concepts, including gods and planets.

Therefore, Greek Sign Language has hand signs for the letters of the Greek alphabet. Because the ancient Greek alphabet had great symbolic importance in the past, there are numerous uses for the fingerspelling of the Greek alphabet for the spiritually inclined. 

 

I first saw Greek Sign Language used in an esoteric context on the Digital Ambler blog. Special thanks to the Digital Ambler for sharing it with the wider public on the internet.

 

 

Notes

1. “Sign Language Alphabets from Around the World,” ASL, Ai-Media, last accessed April 4, 2022. <https://www.ai-media.tv/ai-media-blog/sign-language-alphabets-from-around-the-world/>
2. Kieren Barry, The Greek Qabalah: Alphabetical Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World, (Weiser Books, October 1, 1999), 210.

 

Bibliography

1. “Sign Language Alphabets from Around the World.” ASL. Ai-Media. Last accessed April 4, 2022. <https://www.ai-media.tv/ai-media-blog/sign-language-alphabets-from-around-the-world/>
2. Barry, Kieren. The Greek Qabalah: Alphabetical Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World. Weiser Books, October 1, 1999.

 

Photo Credits

1. A faience polyhedron inscribed with the letters of the Greek alphabet. Photo by Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0.
2. A chart for signing the Greek alphabet using Greek Sign Language.