Pacino di Bonaguida - The Crucifixion (circa 1315–20)

The perfect alchemical symbol, reflected as the ego surrenders on the tree. 

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree." Acts 5:30

Pages from Carl Jung’s The Red Book: Liber Novus

Pages from Carl Jung’s Collected Works Vol. 12: Psychology & Alchemy

What is alchemy? The question still exists, despite all the resources and interpretations that have emerged in the modern period. We can easily find images of alchemists working with furnaces, herbs, chemical, and metals. But what is the goal? Is alchemy aimed at the creation of gold? Is its aim the philosopher’s stone, or great longevity, or a panacea? For all the alchemical texts and images that became available in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and for all the practicals alchemists and schools of alchemy that appeared during the same period, as well as the scholarship in a number of European languages, the fact is that alchemy retains its enigmatic, mysterious, and multivalent qualities. At times it seems that alchemical texts and imagery are like a screen upon which various interpreters project their views. And alchemical writings and imagery are so rich that they surely can support a great number of interpretations. Here, will turn our attentions to only one theme, which is the prevalence of sexual imagery in some alchemical works.

That sexual imagery plays a major role in various series of alchemical images can hardly be doubted, as we will see when we look at a few such works and images. But is this imagery suggestive of some chemical processes, to be worked out via a chemical apparatus and a furnace? Or is it possible that, as the imagery itself would suggest, alchemical imagery and writings might be multivalent, conveying multiple levels of meanings at once? This is the line of inquiry posed by Karen-Claire Voss, who, after long study, came to interpret late medieval or early modern alchemy as reflecting a process of ‘multileveled union of the two,’ from whose union emerges ’ the Child of the Work,’ a third, which also 'signifies the second birth in a theosophical [or gnostic] sense.’ She continues: 'The nature of the conjunction seems to me to suggest that the tradition of the alchemist and the soror mystica was not simply intended as a symbol with no corresponding reality in time and space, but that it was a form of Western tantra.’

— Arthur Versluis (The Secret History of Western Sexual Mysticism: Sacred Practices and Spiritual Marriage)

Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft by Dale Pendell (PDF)

This is the first volume of North Atlantic Books updated paperback edition of Dale Pendell s "Pharmako" trilogy, an encyclopedic study of the history and uses of psychoactive plants and related synthetics first published between 1995 and 2005. The books form an interrelated suite of works that provide the reader with a unique, reliable, and often personal immersion in this medically, culturally, and spiritually fascinating subject. All three books are beautifully designed and illustrated, and are written with unparalleled authority, erudition, playfulness, and range.

"Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft "includes a new introduction by the author and as in previous editions focuses on familiar psychoactive plant-derived substances and related synthetics, ranging from the licit (tobacco, alcohol) to the illicit (cannabis, opium) and the exotic (absinthe, salvia divinorum, nitrous oxide). Each substance is explored in detail, not only with information on its history, pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also the subtleties of each plant s effect on consciousness in a way that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating as its subject.

The "Pharmako" series is continued in "Pharmako/Dynamis" (focusing on stimulants and empathogens) and "Pharmako/Gnosis "(which addresses psychedelics and shamanic plants)."

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Amrita: Essays in Magical Rejuvenation by Aleister Crowley

A collection of Aleister Crowley's writings on occult medicine, particularly on Amrita: an ambrosia or "elixir of life" said to ensure longevity, restore youth and energy, and bestow various occult boons. It was referred to by Crowley as "the principal Secret of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O. )." Edited with an introduction by Martin P. Starr. Contents are: Foreword by Soror Grimaud (Helen Parsons Smith); Introduction by Martin P. Starr; A. M. R. I. T. A. ; The Elixir of Life: Our Magical Medicine; The Elixir of Life (I); The Elixir of Life (II); The Order of the Purifications on Waking; Remarkable Experiment with the Elixirof Life; AMRITA; Additional Cases; IT; On Food.

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Kether : The Crown

Ain becomes Ain Soph, and even further becomes Ain Soph Aur ; which then by contraction (Which is known as Tizimtzum according the the Zohar) concentrated itself into the central formless point-Kether translates as Crown, which is the first sephirah on the tree of life. In Luranic Kabbalah, the explanation of Tizimtzum is a process of creation by God “contracting” his Ain Soph Aur in order to allow a “conceptual space” in which finite and independent realms could exist.

Kether is the one, whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. Kether is the Monad which is a term used by Neo-Platonists to signify the One. Kether’s Egyptian equivalent is Ptah, the creator of the cosmic egg or Amun-Ra the king of the gods. The Greek equivalent is Zeus and Roman Jupiter, the lord of heaven. In Hinduism Kether is Brahma the creator aspect, from whom sprung the seven Prajapati that correlate with the last 7 Sephirot. It is the root of all things and the ultimate unit of consciousness, as a metaphysical point and centre of spiritual phenomena. This seperah is unextended and indivisible and is the prototype of everything spiritual and everything else in the cosmos. In a simple sense, It is the essence of being, the essence of Spirit coming into Matter, and the highest attribute of God.

Chokmah : Wisdom

Chokmah means wisdom and it is the second seperah on the tree of life. In Taoism, the active\positive Yang would correspond to this sphere. Chokmah is considered to be known as the “Abba”, the great father, because it is the emanation of expansive masculine energy. The masculine virile force of Chokmah is the impulse of manifestion and thus is prior to manifesting itself. Kether is the essence of being and Chokmah is the emanating influence of pure being rather than a thing in itself. Chokmah is concerned with the inflow of cosmic energy. It is formless and the pure impulse of dynamic creation; and being formless the creation it gives is the emanation of every form. In Genesis 1:1 it states: In the beginning(Be'Reshit in Hebrew) Elohim created.. The word Be'Reshit is the primitive nature of creativity that establishes Ain Soph as the unifying guidance of Kether in unity with its radiant wisdom nature that is Chokmah.

The archangel attributed to Chokmah is Raziel(the secret of God), its angelic host is Auphanium (Wheels). Microcosmically, Chokmah corresponds with the left logical male side of the brain. In Jungain psychology, it can be the sphere of the Animus which is the masculine archetype of ones personality. The consious thinking mind is analytical thus making Chokmah a correspondence of the conscious mind. The Qabalistic part of the soul is the Chiah. The Chiah is pure awareness and It is raw consciousness. The Chiah’s function is the spiritual will as the true Will uncorrupted by addictive habits, attachments, and base desires. The true Will is independent from ordinary material cares. The lower will comprises of ordinary mundane cares, the will and fulfillment that never lasts. The lower will is the will of your personality tastes. The true Will is what you incarnated here to do and you keep coming back to earth till you get it right. Chokmah’s astrological correspondence is the Zodiac itself. Your natal chart is an excellent tool to know yourself.

Binah : Understanding

Chokmah is a reflection of Kether and with Chokmah’s dynamic nature came Binah, the third seperah simultaneously. The Sephiroth are states not places, These two sates of being where born at the same time, because Chokmah is the impulse prior to manifestion and Binah is the manifestion. Chokmah represents the male\active and Binah is the feminine\passive. This is dealing with the positive and negative, force(Chokmah) and form (Binah). Chokmah is the bringer of form and Binah is the giver of form. In the Tao, Binah can represent the Ying energy. A Hindu could look at Binah as Shakti and her consort Shiva as Chokmah. This seperah is considered the great Imma which is mother in Hebrew. The gods Kronos, Saturn, and goddess Kali are very similar and this ties with the Saturnian archetype. One can understand the tree of life well with the archetypes of various gods, Greek in particular, and that’s what the Hermetic Qabalist does.

The energy of Binah is linked with Saturn. After all Binah’s planet in Assiah(material world) is Saturn. Astrologicallly Saturn is the planet of time, space, limitations, stability, responsibility, etc and with Saturn brings much understanding, but only with time and patience. There is much more on Saturn, but if Saturn spoke, it would say “what you sow, you reap”. With polarity, you grow and understand after going through some bad times as well. The Anima in Jungian terms is the feminine archetype of ones personality. In psychology, this seperah has to do with the subconsious and right side of the brain. Staying quiet and listening to your neshamah(intuition) with meditation is one way to keep your conscious mind quiet. With wisdom(Chokmah), one prays and to attain understanding(Binah) is to meditate and get the answer. Binah and Chokmah correspond with the third eye chakra. With an active third eye, both hemispheres of the brain function in unison.

The Supernal triad is complete; the triangle is a symbol of manifestion to which creation manifests. Genesis 1:2 metaphorically sums up Binah and Chokmah: the Ruach Elohim is the summation of the Supernal triad. The 6 days of creation have to do with the rest of the Sephiroth.

Da'at : Knowledge

Da'at or Daath is not considered a seperah. Some have called it the shadowy seperah or the false seperah. Daath is important to the tree though. It is rather a state of Gnosis or knowing. Da'at means knowledge in Hebrew. Chokmah is the masculine father and Binah is the feminine mother(see Chokmah and Binah). Daath is like the son, the end result, so the other realms can appear. Daath is the bridge to the real world and it is located in the abyss.

What lies after the Supernal triad between the next triad(Briah) is the abyss. The Supernal triad is the real and pure triad. The next triad of Briah or etheric triad is the mere reflection of the Supernal and then the third triad (astral triad) is a dense reflection of the etheric:eventually the physical state of matter is manifested. The abyss works kind of like a mirror. Think of it like this, in your bathroom the mirror is the abyss and you are looking through the mirror and you see the illusionary reflection of the real you.

Daath is shadowy and hidden. According to the Hebrew kabbalists, people who remain selfish cannot see it and for them Daath seems “hidden”. So then, egotism is like a blockage to the source and higher consciousness. Daath’s virtue is detachment. Dion Fortune writes “Perfection of Justice and the application of the Virtues untainted by considerations of the personality.” The virtue of Detachment indicates what is required to unify our mundane selves with our spiritual selves. Daath operates in two levels: the lower is the Daath(knowledge) you’ve attained with the lower seperoit which are the emotional and intellectual ones(Chesed to Yesod) used in the right action. The higher level is the Daath of Kether the Gnosis\enlightenment you’ve attained from Kether.

Chesed : Mercy

Chesed is the fourth sephirah of the tree of life. It is directly below Chokmah and as we see the yellow shadow line connects to Daath. Chesed is the expansive tendency of energy and creative force of the tree. This Sephirah is the symbolic first day of creation in the Bible, when light came into being. Its attributes are limitless love and energetic expansion. Chesed is the first of the emotive attributes within creation and it is associated in the soul with the desire to embrace all creation and bestow upon its goodness. As the expansive force which impels the soul to connect with outer reality, chesed inspires, and thus implicitly accompanies, all the other expressions of the emotive force which succeed it in the soul(Gal Einai, 2014). The alternate name of this Sephirah is Gedulah, which means greatness and magnificence. Chesed means mercy and love. Its correspondence in the microcosm is our memory in the intellectual Ruach. Chesed’s virtue is obedience, but not obedience to slavery of course. It has to do with obedience to your kindness: we sacrifice much of our independence and egotism for sharing in the service of our social life. With egotism in general how are you going to cross the abyss, enter into higher awareness, and access the God within you? Chesed’s vices are bigotry, hypocrisy, gluttony, and tyranny. Its planet in the physical is Jupiter, astrologically it is the planet of prosperity, optimism, luck, generosity, spirituality, high thinking, philosophy, faith, and more. Thus Jupiter belongs to Chesed, another key for crossing the abyss is faith and belief you are going to succeed its going through risks that are hard to take.

Geburah : Severity

Geburah or Gevurah is the 5th Sephirah on the tree of life and Geburah means severity, harsh, or judgement. Geburah is the 2nd day of creation with the constructive tendency of energy. The fourth sphere of Chesed is the expansive tendency of energy and Geburah is contractive. Gevurah is associated with the soul with the power to restrain ones innate urge to bestow goodness upon others, when the recipient of that good is judged to be unworthy and liable to misuse it. As the force which measures and assesses the worthiness of creation, gevurah is also referred to in the Kabbalah as midat hadin (“the attribute of judgment ”). It is the restraining might of gevurah which allows one to overcome his enemies, be they from without or from within (his evil inclination). Chesed and Gevurah act together to create an inner balance in the souls approach to the outside world(Gal Einai, 2014). Just like having to balance your masculine and feminine energy of Chokmah and Binah, you have to balance Chesed and Geburah. Geburah alone would create no peace and no kindness and Chesed alone would create pacifism ready to be walked on all the time. Geburah has to do with justice and its harsh masculine force has to be balanced with the feminine kindness. Someone balancing these attributes would defend themselves and their family from unjustified harm, for example. Within ones own self Geburah is the discipline, control, breaking habit, and standing up for ones self. Geburah virtue is justice and courage and its vice is cruelty and destruction. With the psyche, Geburah is the Will in Ruach. Its planet in the physical realm is Mars, the planet of energy, action, desire and more.

Tiphareth : Beauty

Tipareth is the 6th Sephirah and is associated with the 3rd day of creation. Tipareth’s attributes are beauty and harmonic equilibrium. This Sephirah expresses the cohesive energy: causation of unification. Tipareth is the continuous spectrum reconciling the expansive energy of Chesed and the contractive Geburah. Tipareth is the sun of the entire tree and it is right on the middle of it. It circulates the energy of the higher and lower Sephiroth as indicated as the Hexagram. Tipareth is where the Divine (Kether)sacrifices itself though Geburah the destroyer in order to enter into incarnation, thus the even more dense plane known as the Astral is manifested. The ethical or etheric triangle is complete and has no choice but to reflect itself in a slower vibration bringing the Astral triangle. Briah(ethical) needs a plane for formation of its creative tendencies which is Yetzirah(Astral). So then all the incarnated Gods that are sacrificed for the greater, the solar deities, and illuminating gods are placed in this spehere such as the solar logos of Jesus Christ, the solar deity Ra, Apollo, Adonis, Iaccus, Dionysus, Orpheus, and Hare Krishna, because Hare is a divine incarnation of whom spirit and matter were in complete equilibrium.

Considering this microcosmically, with the psyche it is the imagination of Ruach. In Transcendental Psychology, the mystic sacrifices his personality for attaining contact with his Soul in Tipareth. It is the heart center or higher self\higher genius center also known by some as The Holy Guardian Angel. Kether is the Divine Spark, the monad of consciousness rather than consciousness itself, Daath is the bridge to higher awareness, and Tipareth is the individual pure consciousness itself. The four lower Sephiroth below Tipareth are the personality and the lower self. Tipareth and those above it are the individuality or higher self and lastly with Kether being the Divine Spark and the God incarnation.
This Sephirah corresponds with the Anahata chakra. We also see symbolism of this chakra with the Hexagram. The chakra where the spiritual and material meet and like Tipareth it is usually the highest the average Joe has attained.

Netzach : Victory

Netzach is the seventh Sephirah corresponding to the forth day of creation. Netzach is a Sephirah of polarity like Chokmah, Binah, Chesed, and Geburah. This is force on a lower arch and this stage is where the light of Tipareth is broken up as a prism into many rayed manifestations ,but not fully individualized. So then, we really have forces not just force. The two Sephiroth Netzach and Hod are two levels of concrete force into form. In this level we are in a more illusionary projection of the higher states. This is the world of Yetzirah: Netzach is the male dynamic impulse, the bringer of formation; Yetzirah in its whole is the blueprint formation of what we see in the physical. The Astral is Spirit on a lower arch as with Matter being Astral on a lower arch. In the kabbalistic world of Yetzirah everything is thought forms.

In the microcosm, Netzach is our instincts and the emotions that give rise too. It represents the instinctive, emotional side of human nature. This is the lower Ruach, the basic functions of the psyche. It is also the desire in Ruach. The basic desires we would have and the emotional motivations of it. It is also about being attracted towards others and identifying with others: relationships in all forms.

Netzach’s virtues are unselfishness and vices are selfish love and lust. Its planet in the physical is Venus and it makes sense, because astrologically Venus is the planet of love, art, desire, emotion, friendships, and more. In mythology Venus is the Roman Goddess of love with the Greek name of Aphrodite. Your Venus describes what you love, how you love, and whom you love.

Hod : Glory

Hod is the eighth Sephirah corresponding to the fifth day of creation. As was said in the Netzach post, both Netzach and Hod are concrete force into form. Netzach being the male dynamic impulse and giver of concrete formation and Hod the female bringer of concrete form. The force of Netzach are free moving with fluidity and ever changing shapes. Hod is the stage of concentration where the energy is temporarily controlled and molded into forms. These two Sephiroth on the macrocosm are the force and form of the Astral.

Hod is associated with the soul in the power to continually advance, with the determination and perseverance born of deep inner commitment toward the realization of ones life goals. The acknowledgement of a supreme purpose in life, and the total submission of self which it inspires, serve to endow the source of one’s inspiration with an aura of splendor and majesty. Hence the word Hod connotes both “acknowledgement” and “splendor,” in the sense of an aura like “reverberation” (hed) of light (Gal Einai, 2014). With the soul or psyche, it is the intellect or reason in Ruach. It is the intellectual side of human nature as with Netzach being the instinctive and emotional nature in Ruach. You have to balance these two Sephiroth to be aligned with your inner scientist, inner artist, and the attributes of Hod and Netzach. Its planet is Mercury, therefore the gods Mercury, Hermes, Thoth, and many others can be placed here. Astrologically Mercury is the communication, intellect, language, etc planetary intelligence. In your natal chart your mercury determines how you use these. Hod’s virtues are truthfulness and vices are falsehood, dishonesty, and mental rigidity.

Hod and Netzach correspond to the solar plexus chakra. Even though the heart center of Tipareth plays a role in the solar plexus. Hod and Netzach are more in correspondence with this chakra due to the energies of this chakra of willpower, emotional drives, motivation, personality, self esteem, learning, and ego.

Yesod : Foundation

Yesod is the ninth Sephirah of the tree of life completing the triad of Yetzirah corresponding to the sixth day of creation. This stage is the integration point of energy and its contexts. The ninth stage of Yesod is where the emanations of the entire tree of life are adopted through the cosmic life force energy. The Sephiroth of the tree are charged with the life force of Yesod and with this, the tree has the power to influence Malkuth, the sensual and physical world that we experience. The life energy of Yesod linking the nature of mind and matter is known as the Akasha in the East, or the Astral Light in western esotericism. Everything that has form in the physical is evolved out of the Astral Light.

Yesod is associated with the Soul with the power to contact, and communicate with the outer reality (represented by the Sephirah of malkuth). The foundation (Yesod in Hebrew) of a building is its “grounding,” its Union with the earth (Malkuth)(Gal Einai, 2014). This Sephirah corresponds to the reproductive organ in the symbolism of the human body. The Nephesh: Animal Soul is placed on this seperah. The Nephesh is the part of the soul\mind that deals with sex drives, apatite, and survival. Its the animal nature of man that we share with the animal kingdom. Its planet in the physical world is the Moon: all Lunar deities can identify with Yesod. The lunar cycles and fazes play an important role on earth with tides and physiological functions of plants and animals. Yesod’s virtue is independence and vice is idleness.

Yesod equates with the sacral chakra, the chakra of sexual energy and creativity. The Astral Light is built from the same electro-magnetic current that runs through each person’s Etheric body. Its magnetisism is the dynamo of sexual energy also known as the Kundalini.

Malkuth : Kingdom

Malkuth is the last Sephirah on the tree of life. In the symbolic book of the bible, God rested on the 7th day: the day corresponding to Malkuth. This Sephirah is the final stage of complete manifestion, where the energy emanating through all upper Sephiroth rest. This is the world of Assiah, the plane of action, which is the physical world. Malkuth is the world of the four elements and matter in its entirety. The four colors are symbolic of the four elements that can also be described as the four states of matter: Solid(Earth), Gas(Air), Liquid(Water), and Plasma(Fire). The forms of Yetzirah are manifested in action in Malkuth bringing all forms we see in nature.

Malkuth is associated with the soul in the power of self expression, the power to express ones thoughts and emotions towards others. The soul, in its meditation of Divinity, can only perceive and ascend to the higher Sephiroth through the “pane” and portal of Malkuth. “This is the gate to God, the righteous shall enter through it” (Pslams 118:20) (Gal Einai, 2014). Spirituality is about revealing non empirical phenomena and the Qabbalists feel and know the spiritual worlds while still in their physical body. Qabala is a certain practice of spirituality.

Its vices are inertia, avarice, and its virtue is discrimination. This is not bigotry behavior but discrimination in the sense of letting go. Sacrificing the lesser for the greater. The planet assigned to Malkuth is the Earth. All nature and Earth deities can be placed here.

The root chakra corresponds to this spehere. It is the Earth chakra for grounding and Malkuth is placed between the feet of the Divine man. The Qabalistic name for the Divine man is Adam Kadmon with the feet grounded in the Earth and head in the heavens.

Alchemy And The Hermetic Tradition: Mircea Eliade and Carl Jung by Cerena Ceaser

The relationship between Mythology and the Religious traditions is an intricate weaving of metaphor. Both Mythology and Religion have the similar function of relating lived experience to a universal purpose. Often, religion relates life choices to divine models, while Mythology creates narratives that contextualize experience. In many instances mythology and religion function simultaneously. However, a major distinction between the two traditions is that mythology is defined as an adaptive narration, and dogmatic perspective restricts religion to a lived mythic model. Though there is a wide continuum of religious interpretation ranging from orthodox to eclectic, as a lived mythology, religion is a lens that the world is seen through. To clarify, there is a specified Catholic religious lens that filters mythology to fit a defined vision of the universe. Many mythologies have foundations in cultures that are no longer active, such as in the Greek and Roman myths. These mythologies resonate throughout history and reveal archetypal characterization that may be seen throughout the world’s cultures and religions. A specific example of the relationship between myth and religion is better understood through the mythology surrounding the Alchemical Tradition as explored by the theorists, Mircea Eliade and Carl Jung.

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The Tree of Life Projected in the Third Dimension by Andrew Catero and Darcy Küntz

Copyright © 1996 by Andrew Catero and Darcy Küntz

The Tree of Life is a religious and geometrical glyph of the Universe. The Tree is described in several texts such as the Sepher Yetzirah1 and Sepher Bahir.2 The Tree was the result of the thirty-two Paths of Wisdom which relate to the number of times that God’s name ALHIM (El ohim) was mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis. The Kabbalists formed this concept about God and the creation of the Universe from their research. They did not state the concept of God as fact, but rather they understood that one cannot truly prove the mysteries of life. Through combining elements of religion and mathematics, they formulated and developed this path. A path which uses meditation and magic to apply Kabbalistic concepts and techniques as a aid to knowing oneself and understanding the laws and forces of the Universe.

The Tree of Life is formed from ten Sephiroth or spheres and twenty-two Paths or Foundation letters. The twenty-two Paths are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the ten Sephiroth are the points which connect the Paths. The twenty-two Hebrew letters are divided into the three Mother letters, the seven Double letters and the twelve Elemental or Single letters. The letter arrangements express several concepts of equilibrium. Each Sephiroth and Path expresses a religious principle and a number.

The Hebrew letters (Mother, Double, and the Elemental letters)3

 

 

 

Aryeh Kaplan suggests, “If we draw ten points in three columns in the simplest manner, we see that they are automatically linked by 22 lines. Of these, three arc horizontal, seven are vertical, and twelve are diagonal.”4 In other words, the three Mother letters form the three horizontal paths in the Tree of Life. The seven Double letters form the seven vertical paths and the twelve Elemental letters form The the twelve diagonal paths.

The three Mother letters conceptualize the triune nature of God and form an equilibrious triangle. The Mother letters also symbolize the three Pillars of the Tree. The Middle Pillar represents the Pillar of Mildness (or the personal self) with the two outer Pillars being the Pillar of Mercy (right) and the Pillar of Severity (left). These two Outer Pillars are also seen as positive (active) and negative (passive) forces of nature. The seven Double letters have two possible sounds creating opposition. The Double letters model equilibrium with six spheres forming a circle around one sphere. The outer six spheres central points are equidistant from the one sphere’s centre point. The twelve Elemental letters have only one sound with no opposites. The last principle of equilibrium is to enclose a sphere three-dimensionally using other equally sized spheres. It takes twelve spheres to enclose one.

In the Sepher Yetzirah we read in Chapter 1: Section 4, “Ten Sefirot of Nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand with Wisdom. Be wise with Understanding. Examine with them and probe from them. Make [each] thing stand on it essence and make the Creator sit on His Base.”5 J.F.C, Fuller also wrote, “Thus from the Ain Soph Aur flow out the ten Sephiroth or Principles; hence the decad is considered the perfect number by the Qabalah, the all-embracing unit emerging from the No-Thing (0-1), and the unity which ultimately is to be radiated back into No-Thingness (1-0).”6

In order to express these principles, the Kabbalists have built several different Trees of Life. The Tree of Life with its twenty-two Paths are traditionally placed on the Tree as shown in diagram A) and in the diagram “The Traditional Golden Dawn Tree of Life.”7 The diagram below, from Robert Wang’s The Qabalistic Tarot, shows the development of the Tree of Life. He writes, “A) Form of the Tree in Kircher’s Oedipus Aegvpticus, 1652. B) Adapted from Robert Fludd’s Complete Works, 1617. C) Illustration from Porta Lucis, Ausburg, 1517. D) Illustration from Pa’amon ve Rimmon, 1708.”8

The Developmet of the Tree of Life

Aryeh Kaplan also illustrated the development of the Tree of Life in his Sefer Yetzirah. (pp. 22-32). Diagram A) he termed “According to the older Kabbalists.” Diagram C) “According to the Safed School, based on the Zohar (1:59b). Cf. Pardes Rimonim 7:3” and “The 32 paths as defined by the Ari.” Below is a diagram of a Tree which Kaplan termed the “Natural Array” of the Tree of Life and “The 32 paths as defined by the Gra.”9

The Natural Array of the Tree of Life

In the Sefer Yetzirah, the natural array of the Tree of Life is built following the arrangement of the numbers three, seven and twelve. Triangles arc formed by the connections of the Sephiroth and Paths. The Kabbalists used this Tree as a starting point. They changed the arrangement of several Paths to express particular ideas. One of them is the idea that life is three dimensional if not more dimensional. How is the Tree of Life formed in three dimensional space? In other words what is the minimum shape used to separate the inside of itself from the outside. What gives everybody their uniqueness is that they are physically separate from others yet are still able to relate and share their experiences with others. The Kabbalists tried to understand these feelings and express them through the Tree of Life.

To build a three dimensional Tree, what shapes having a total of ten Sephiroth (vertexes) could be formed. The Tree of Life’s ten Sephiroth become vertexes which are points at which the lines (paths) of an angle intersect. The six upper Sephiroth form an Octahedron. The Octahedron consists of six vertexes and twelve paths. The next shape would have to be four vertexes or less. As Buckminster Fuller has proven, it takes a minimum of four vertexes to enclose space. The shape formed is the Tetrahedron. The Tetrahedron contains six paths. These two shapes total eighteen paths. If one places these two shapes together at a certain angle, they will resemble the Tree of Life. The four remaining paths are vertical paths. The first two Paths are from Kether to Tiphareth and Tiphareth to Yesod. These Paths are part of the Middle Pillar. The last two Paths connect Chesed to Netzach and Geburah to Hod. The Tree of Life is now built three dimensionally as shown:

The Three Dimensional Tree of Life in Geometric Form

 

In building the three dimensional Tree, one reason for using the Tetrahedron and Octahedron is contained in The Complete Golden Dawn Cipher Manuscript. We read in Cipher Folio number 47 (4○=7□ Admission, Part 4), “H[e]g[emonl shows tetrad [four] & hexad [six] of Yetz[iratic] & G(e)omantic Tree of Life.”10 The Octahedron and especially the Tetrahedron are shapes that appear throughout the Golden Dawn’s ceremonies and teachings. The Octahedron compressed from its three dimensional form into two dimensions looks identical to the Tree of Life from Kether to Tiphareth except for the two Paths that go from Chesed to Kether and Geburah to Kether. The Octahedron now becomes a Hexagram which is the shape of the Banner of the East. The Tetrahedron compressed into two dimensional form exactly matches the lower four Sephiroth and their Paths. The Banner of the West also expresses the concepts of four and six. The Banner is a triangle with a cross in the centre which becomes the fourth point thus forming a Tetrahedron.

The Banners of the East (white) and West (black)11

 

In conclusion, the ancient Greeks and today’s current mathematical system is based on the square with its ninety degree coordinate system. As previously explained, the Tree of Life which represents the Universe is structured with triangles and not squares. The Pillars in the Golden Dawn ceremonies pose an interesting question for aspiring Kabbalists as well as mathematicians. The tops of the Pillars are red Tetrahedrons symbolic of the path of light. The bottom of the Pillars are black square cubes symbolizing the path of darkness. By building the three dimensional Tree, the Kabbalah offers a way out of the state of darkness.

The Traditional Golden Dawn Tree of Life

 

The Two Dimensional Tree of Life

 

The Three Dimensional Tree of Life

 

Notes

1. Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph [?]. a) William Westcott. The Sepher Yetzirah: The Book of Formation and The Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom. Fourth Revised edition. With Hebrew text. Notes and bibliography by Darcy Küntz. Edmonds, WA: Holmes Publishing Group, 1996. b) Aryeh Kaplan. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation: In Theory and Practice. Yorke Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1990.

2. Rabbi Nehunia ben haKana [?]. Aryeh Kaplan. The Bahir: Illumination. Yorke Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1979.

3. Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. ‘The Hebrew letters (Mother, Double, and the Elemental letters)’ in Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn: A Complete Curriculum of Study for Both the Solitary Magician and the Working Magical Group. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995. page 151.

4. Aryeh Kaplan. Sefer Yetzirah. Samuel Weiser, 1990. page 32.

5. Aryeh Kaplan. Sefer Yetzirah. Samuel Weiser, 1990. page 38,

6. J.F.C. Fuller. The Secret Wisdom of the Qabalah: A Study in Jewish Mystical Thought. London: Rider and Co., 1937. page 62.

7. J.F.C. Fuller. ‘The Traditional Golden Dawn Tree of Life’ in The Secret Wisdom of the Oabalah. Rider and Co., 1937. based upon the illustration facing page 60.

8. Robert Wang. The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy. Yorke Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1983. page 31.

9. Aryeh Kaplan. Sefer Yetzirah, Samuel Weiser, 1990. page 28-30.

10. Darcy Küntz. (ed.) The Complete Golden Dawn Cipher Manuscript. Edmonds, WA: Holmes Publishing Group, 1996. page 144: lines 18-9.

11. Pat Zalewski. ‘The Banners of East and West’ in Golden Dawn Enochian Magic. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1990. page 174.

The Ladder of Lights Paperback by William G. Gray (PDF)

Hands down, this is one of the best books on modern Qabala ever written! Gray takes a step-by-step look at the Ten Sephiroth and their traditional attributions in each of the Four Qabalistic Worlds. A relatively simple, no-nonsense approach to modern Qabalism.

In some ways, I view this book as a companion piece to Dion Fortune's much better-known work, "The Mystical Qabalah," since both books provide the reader with a fairly straightforward approach to this challenging subject. Where Fortune starts at the top of the Tree of Life and works her downward, however, Gray starts at the bottom of the Tree and works his way to the top. Although Grey's interpretation of the Tree is similar to Fortune's, by approaching the material from a completely different perspective he is also able to provide new insight.

This book's greatest strength is that it analyzes each of the ten Sephiroth from each of the Four Qabalistic worlds, providing the reader with something sorely missed in Dion Fortune's classic book on the subject. This book's greatest weakness is that, unlike Fortune, Gray pays almost no attention to the organization of the Sephiroth upon the Tree, or to the relationships between them. Without a word of explanation Gray also reverses the traditional Yetziratic attributions of Malkuth and Yesod, assigning them to the angelic choirs of Cherubim and Ashim respectively, although I do see the logic and consistency of this attribution.

Overall, this is a good, solid title for somebody interested in approaching modern (non-rabbinical) Qabalism for the first time. I'd recommend reading Dion Fortune's book first, if you haven't already, and then tackling this book immediately afterwards for a different take on the same material.

Download book:
http://www55.zippyshare.com/v/JdDB6SeN/file.html