He made the letter Nun king over smell, and He bound a crown to it, and He combined one with another, and with them He formed Scorpio in the universe, Cheshvan in the year, and the intestine in the soul (person), male and female.
He made the letter Samech king over sleep,
and He bound a crown to it, and He combined one with another, and with them
He formed Sagittarius in the universe, Kislev in the year, and the kivah
in the soul (person), male and female.
The letter Lamed stands for learning (Lamad). Real learning is more than just a memorization of facts. It literally involves putting two and two together to arrive at a new understanding. It is synthesis and not mere knowledge of thesis and antithesis. For this reason, learning is symbolized by "coition".
The letter Nun represents the path from Yesod to Netzach, the right hemisphere of our brain. Since Nun is a king over smell, this reminds us of how sensual experiences such as smell can affect those functions of the right hemisphere.
"And the Lord smelled the pleasing odor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing, as I have done. -Genesis 8:21"
The letter Samech stands for support (Samoch). By making Samech a king over sleep, we are taught that when we drift off at night, awareness recedes into that which is the support of all consciousness.