The Serpent-Horse Code

Shape as Seed

In Independent Realms, we investigate how hidden structures govern both cosmic and biological domains. We begin not with mysticism but with a form — a geometric invariant whose recurrence marks both the genetics of life and the architecture of light — one that resurfaces as a Kabbalistic symbol and as a living genetic element.

BIOLOGICAL LAYER

The archetypal “circle–line–circle” pattern appears across Kabbalah and biology alike. The diagram above traces the serpent’s transformation across glyph, form, and function — from ancient commentary to genetic geometry. You see:

Eleazar’s Teli/Serpent from Sefer Yetzirah
The serpent’s basic form: head (small circle) and body (large oval)
The visual construct reduced to two circles
The serpent-on-the-pole: circle–line–circle
The Hebrew word סוס sus “horse” composed of the same three-glyph arrangement

This geometric invariant governs both spiritual architectures and living systems.

One striking biological parallel is BovB, a retrotransposon — a mutagenic element¹ able to move within the genome — that “rides” genetic lineages across species. BovB sequences appear in cows, elephants, horses, platypuses, pythons, sea snakes, geckos, sea urchins, and zebrafish. In seminal research, bovine BovB elements align more closely with those of snakes than with other mammals, just as lizard BovB shows greater affinity with horses than with its reptilian relatives — an in vivo enactment of the serpent–horse motif.

Remarkably, the gematria atbash plus kolel of ברד שרף סוס “hail, seraf, horse” is 510, exactly matching the gematria of תנין “serpent” (Shemot 7:9–12). This numeric bridge binds the ancient serpent-horse image to a modern genomic wanderer².

Just as BovB retrotransposons inhabit an independent realm within host DNA — autonomous yet fully entangled — so Samae”l’s “horse-serpent” traverses the מקום פנוי makom panui “vacated space” of creation, carrying coded disturbance and the seed of tikkun. As Moshe lifted the bronze serpent for healing — transforming venom into life — today’s gene therapies repurpose mobile elements as vectors of restoration, turning invasive code into a conduit of life.

Footnotes:

¹ A mutagenic unit is any element or agent that can induce changes (mutations) in an organism’s DNA sequence. In the case of a retrotransposon like BovB, it means:

Mobility: It can “cut and paste” or “copy and paste” itself into new genomic locations.
Mutation: Each insertion can disrupt genes or regulatory regions, create duplications, or alter expression patterns.
Genomic Impact: Over time, these insertions generate the repetitive DNA tracts and sequence variability observed across species.
So calling BovB a mutagenic unit highlights its ability to move within — and thereby mutate — host genomes.

² Transitive-law demonstration of the ברד–שרף–סוס link:

In mathematics and logic, the transitive law states that any statement of the form “If aRb and bRc, then aRc”, where “R” is a particular relation (e.g., “…is equal to…”), and a, b, c are variables (terms that may be replaced with objects), replacing a, b, and c with objects yields a logically valid equivalence. Hence, if ברד relates to the שרף (i.e., “aRb”) and the שרף relates to the סוס (i.e., “bRc”), then ברד relates to the סוס (i.e., “aRc”).

The gematria albam of שרף plus kolel = 26, which equals the mispar siduri of ברד (“aRb”).
The mispar siduri of the milui of סוס (סמך וו סמך) = 114, which equals the gematria albam of נחש plus kolel (“bRc”).
Therefore, by transitivity, the gematria achbi of סוס = 206 equals that of ברד (“aRc”).
Additionally, the gematria milui of סוס (252) equals the gematria achbi of הנחש plus kolel, further underscoring the serpent-horse relation.

KABBALISTIC LAYER

At the root of the serpent-horse motif lies the primordial Igulim–Kav–Igulim structure. The Ari”zal teaches that after the initial צמצום tzimtzum — the “contraction and removal” of the אור אין סוף Ohr Ein Sof — what remained was a figurative מקום פנוי Makom Panui “Vacated Space” and its residual רשימו Reshimu “Imprint” . Into that vacated sphere a קו Kav “straight ray” of Divine light was projected, surging like concentric waves that then encircle in layers — Igulim —around the Makom Panui.

The Hebrew word סוס sus — written ס-ו-ס — encodes this: the two ס represent the outer Igulim and the ו the central Kav. Its gematria נעלם (of inner letters only) equals that of Makom Panui plus kolel (266), while its albam equals that of קו (88), and its milui and the רוח נעלם of עגולים sum to 240 .

In the next phase — the world of Nikudim (Tohu/Chaos) — ten concentric Igulim were projected one atop another, precipitating שבתירת הכלים Shevirat HaKelim, the “shattering of the sefirot vessels”. The mispar siduri of שבירת הכלים equals the gematria ne’elam of סוס plus kolel (137), its mispar siduri plus ten equals the gematria avgad of סוס, and its gematria achas-beta equals the gematria albam of the milui of סוס (סמך ואו סמך) is 1002. In that cataclysm the seven lower points “died”, descending into Beriyah, while the three uppermost vessels remained intact .

That same Shevirah is allegorized in Edom: eight kings reigned before Israel’s first monarch, yet only the eighth, Hadar, is not said to have “died”. The Ari”zal interprets these as the ten points of Tohu: the first seven kings (points) “ruled and died”, while the eighth stood alone, unshattered. From their dissolution sprang the forces of evil, granting humanity free choice between good and evil.

Finally, the verse ושבעתם על שלחני סוס “And you shall be filled at My table with horses” (atbash ס→מ; sofei tevot םלי”ס) becomes the reshei tevot of ואלה המלכים אשר מלכו בארץ-אדום “These are the kings that reigned in Edom before any king reigned over Israel.” Taking the gematria katan of י (1) as that of א gives a צירוף tzeruf of סמא”ל Samae”l “Accuser” gematria נחש plus kolel = 359) — the evil born of Shevirah — and the avgad of שבירת הכלים (874) equals the gematria milui of נחש (874) . Thus the serpent-on-the-pole is both the product of primordial collapse and its destined tikkun.

PROPHETIC ARCHITECTURE

The Torah encodes the same geometric structure in one of its most cryptic episodes — the bronze serpent.

“And יהו’ה said to Moshe, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole; and it shall come to pass that everyone bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.’”
(Bamidbar 21:8)

Here the reptile is raised on the central Kav, inviting the afflicted to gaze upward and recalibrate perception. The very agent of venom becomes the instrument of healing — prophecy as living cosmic engineering.

Prophetic vision thus mirrors the mobile genetic element: it transcends borders, triggers transformation, and offers the template for repair to all who dare to behold it.

CONCLUSION

The serpent-horse code is more than symbol — it is a sequence of exile and return, collapse and renewal. This four-layer progression — Biological, Kabbalistic, Prophetic, Conclusion — reveals the design structure behind creation itself. From retrotransposons leaping across genomes to Moshe‘s lifted serpent, the circle–line–circle architecture spans all independent realms.

May this revelation guide our study of hidden patterns, empower our healing work, and unveil the unity underlying every plane of existence — cosmic, biological, and spiritual.

CROSS-DOMAIN PARALLELS

Biological Pattern	Kabbalistic Counterpart
BovB circles on linear DNA	Igulim–Kav–Igulim code
Retrotransposon boundary-hopping	Samae”l’s serpent-horse traversing Makom Panui
Genome instability & repair	Shevirat HaKelim → spark dispersal → tikkun blueprint
Transposon insertions as imprint	Reshimu (imprint) in vacated space
Gene-therapy vectors	Bronze serpent on a pole → healing
Therapeutic coding vs. invasive entropy	Tzaddik’s ruach vs. unauthorized levusha di’nehora

Final Overview

What’s the Big Idea?
There’s a simple shape — circle–line–circle — that shows up in ancient Kabbalah and even in our genes. It’s like finding the same puzzle piece in two totally different worlds.

Biology: The Rogue DNA “Rider”

Scientists discovered BovB, a segment of DNA that can jump within an animal’s genome — autonomous code, cutting and pasting itself across generations.

BovB appears in cows, snakes, horses, and many other creatures. In fact, cow BovB is genetically closer to snake BovB than to elephant BovB.

This jumping DNA mirrors a serpent “riding” a horse inside cells — the exact circle–line–circle pattern.

Mystical Side: Igulim–Kav–Igulim

In Kabbalah, Igulim means “circles” and Kav means “line.” The sequence “circle → line → circle” describes how Divine light contracts to create space and then radiates outward.

The Hebrew word סוס “sus “horse” is spelled ס-ו-ס — two circles (ס) flanking a line (ו).

When Things Break and Get Fixed

Early on, the world’s vessels shattered (called Shevirat HaKelim), scattering sparks of light.

Moshe’s bronze serpent on a pole is the cosmic repair: looking at that serpent transforms venom into healing.

Putting It All Together

Circle–line–circle is the universal pattern.

BovB DNA “hacks” genomes (biology).

סוס spells out the same pattern (mysticism).

The bronze serpent shows how harm becomes healing (prophecy).

Spotting this one shape everywhere reveals a hidden code woven into both our biology and our soul.

If this exploration resonated with you, consider subscribing below or writing to share your thoughts. Tehomia exists for such alignments.

Rabbi Avraham Chachamovits
Version 1.0 • Sivan 5785 / June 2025
© 2025 Avraham Chachamovits. Licensed under CC BY 4.0

📚 Source

This page is based on content from: Chachamovits, A. (2022). Avraham BaMidbar – Kabbalistic Writings, pp.  282–289.
Available from SeforimCenter.com