Letter Project

The Roman letter "M" originally had its origins in the Egyptian hieroglyph "N" and Proto-Semitic M, both carrying the meaning of water, "stream of water" or "wavelets on the surface of the water". M also has lineage with the Hebrew letter mem "ם", which also carried connotations of water or waters. Throughout its history, the letter M has garnered a number of derivative meanings including the of movement or dynamism, which relates back to the idea of a current. Interestingly, M also relates to the idea of an "unanswered question" or "questioned identity" through the word mayim which consists of of two mi's. The vertical mi is a theological interrogation aimed at God, "Who are you?" The horizontal mi is anthropological: "What are you, what person are you? What are your origin and roots?" M is thus also related to the question of origins as well as the purifying aspect of water. M is the 13th letter of the alphabet and also carries the numerical value of 40.



The Latin letter C was originally a G, represented by the Hebrew gimel "ג" or Phoenician
gimel, both carrying the original meaning of camel. The original connotations for the letter included "carrying the primal power beyond" and "outside the domestic setting". The derivative meanings include "outgoing" or "break" and the meanings perpetuated by the Hebrew language include "release oneself, break away from" and "severance, weaning". The last meaning is part of an extensive symbology involving aleph, or primal strength, and beth, the place made for aleph. Gimel represents the opportunity for primal strength to go out and express itself. C is the third letter of the alphabet and carries the numberic value of 3.


The Latin letter B traces its origins back to the Egyptian hieroglyph for
cottage. The original form for it in proto-sinaitic also means "plan of dwelling", "large room with or without a hearth" and "door open to some extent to the outside". The association of B with a house or dwelling even carries through to its Hewbrew manifestation in the letter beth "ב". In this form, the opening of the house is turned towards the letters to come and represents an opening to the future. The original meanings include "internalization", while derivative meanings have extended to associations with "food", "intimate", "celestial vault" and "family life". B is the second letter of the alphabet and carries the numerical value of 2.


Of interest to me is the fact that B represents an internalization and C is almost its complete oposite in terms of its associations with the idea of "outgoing" or a break. I am also particularily interested in the idea of questioned identity contained in the letter M, in addition to its associations with water.