Qabalah Part One: The Supernals

Okay, I'm going to attempt to explain Qabalah as best that I can. The best advise that I can give you at the outset is to take nothing literally and question everything. It is only though personal innovation that progress can be made. However, let any opposition to the ideas presented here be judged with careful scrutiny, lest the thought process become nothing more then an exercise in mental acrobatics.

I will be using a few terms that you may be unfamiliar with. I will try to define each as I go, but let me first define a term so frequently used that I must define it off the bat. Sephiroth is a plural term that means "numbers, spheres, emanations" according to Israel Regardie's book, The Tree of Life. The singular form of the word is Sephirah. The Sephiroth in this context refers to the spheres or stations on the Tree of Life diagram.

The easiest form of Qabalah to understand, in my opinion, is what has been termed the Unwritten Qabalah, which is the study of the diagram of the Tree of Life. This is because it is somewhat open to interpretation to the individual, albeit very carefully. We must not let our imaginations run away with us in our interpretations because then it ceases to be a philosophy. However, the information that we have is vague enough to allow for variations of meaning, even in the individual. An example would be the four worlds of the Qabalah. One system would have the first Sephirah alone assigned to the first world which is called Atziluth or the Archetypal World, the next two Sephiroth assigned to the second world called Briah, the Creative World. The next six Sephiroth would compose the third world called Yetzirah, the World of Formation, and the last Sephirah make up the last world of Assiah, the World of Action. On the other hand, another system would have the last two Sephiroth composing the world of Assiah. Another system has an entire Tree existing in each world.

So what's the difference? The difference is basically the context in which we are operating, and each system may be used by the same person at different times. If we are talking about the Soul of Man, we would use the first system that I described, but if we are talking about the Tarot, we would use the last.

Let us begin with the very beginning. Actually, lets go back a back a little further then that. In the Bible, we read, "In the beginning, God created..." This of course is the familiar translation. However, the Zohar calls attention to the fact that the translation is only approximate because the true translation is confusing beyond understanding to the pious. "Bereshit bara Elohim..." is the Hebrew, which translates directly to, "With beginning, _____ created God." There is a word missing here, but it is intentionally so. For what in Heaven or Earth could create God?! Nothing!

But what is my meaning here? When I say, "Nothing can create God," I do not mean that God cannot be created. I mean that Nothing did create God, a Nothingness that is something... a substantial nothingness, for all things must have a cause. So what could be at the root of this cause? A sea of Nothingness.

This Nothingness has been named, hesitantly, by the Qabalists as Ain Soph, that is Without Limit. It has been described, I do not remember where or by whom, as "A circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere." Dion Fortune described it in The Cosmic Doctrine. "The Unmanifest is pure existence. We cannot say of it that it is Not. Although it is not manifest, it IS. IT is the source from which all arises." Not much more can be said of Ain Soph, because the more that is said of it, the further we will be from the truth.

Therefore we will continue with the Beginning. The first manifestation, or Sephirah, is called Kether, which means the Crown. The best way to describe Kether is pure being, pure existence. Like the Ain Soph, it has no shape and no motion, yet unlike the Ain Soph, it is manifest. In Geometry, it can be described as a point. In Physics, it is termed a Singularity. The Divine Name of God given to describe Kether is Eheieh which means, "I Am" or "I Will Become". This is suggestive of its state of pure being, having no other qualities other than existence.

Imagine for a moment a vast sea of Ain Soph. Now for the sake of not giving you a stroke, we will visualize it as light. Now imagine that this light beginning to gather together and concentrate itself to form a vortex. This vortex, like a whirlpool, forms a point of emptiness at it's center. Now if we remember that Ain Soph is Nothing, then we know that the empty point at its center is the absence of Nothing, which is something. And we further know that this something is formed from Nothing and defined by Nothing. Therefore, this something is very highly connected with Nothing.

This illuminates the Magickal Image given to Kether. It is a mighty patriarch seen in profile. Dion Fortune says in The Mystical Qabalah, "... we do not see the magical image of Kether full-face, that is to say complete, but only partially. There is an aspect which must ever be hidden from us, like the hidden side of the moon. This side of Kether is the side that is towards the Unmanifest, which the nature of our manifested consciousness prevents us from comprehending..."

Now this something, coming from Nothing, but now manifest, has a quality to it, the fact that it is manifest. Therefore, it can be defined, albeit not in the language of man, or at least not accurately in the language of man. However, this definition of the first manifestation by necessity gives rise to a second manifestation, the definition itself. It is therefore said that the second Sephirah, Chokmah which means Wisdom, is the reflection of Kether. Returning to Geometry, we see the point in relation to a second point, and this relationship composes a line between these two points, implying motion, which in turn implies energy. This is archetypal male or positive in the language of polarity. Its correspondent in the physical world is the sphere of the Zodiac which is perpetually in motion, never ceasing its whirling nor slowing or reversing. Steady is its course, and mysterious is its nature. Therefore, it is Chokmah Nisitarah, that is Secret Wisdom, because it conceals within itself the mysteries of Kether.

The next Sephirah is called Binah, Understanding. This is archetypal female, and as the third manifestation, it suggests a shape, because of the triangle. Whereas Chokmah was energy and motion, Binah is shape and form. Whereas Chokmah was absolute freedom, Binah is imprisonment; the bringer of death. For all forms are temporary and must eventually crumble. As the archetypal mother, it delivers all things into life and in so doing condemns them to death. From The Mystical Qabalah, "It is a straitening and a limiting; a binding and a constricting. Form checks life, thwarts it, and yet enables it to organize. Seen from the point of view of free-moving force, incarceration in a form is extinction." Yet this is misleading.

Let me here state that Binah is my favorite Sephirah. Most people who understand Qabalah will wonder first of all why I have a favorite Sephirah at all, because all are equally Holy, and then they will be even more confused as to why in the world I would chose Binah as my favorite. Binah is depressing, the bringer of death, the stern correcter. It is called the Vision of Sorrow. Why would I be so drawn to it?

I will give you a section of the script from the last episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion which explains what I am talking about very well.

Misato: Everything is vague. That's freedom.
Ryouji: The world where you can do anything you like.
Misato: Yet, you are uneasy.
Fuyutsuki: Don't you know what you should do?
Shinji: What should I do?
Gendou: I give you a constraint.
Asuka: Now you have a top and a bottom.
Rei: Now you have lost one degree of freedom.
Misato: Now you have to stand on the ground.
Ryouji: But you obtain a comfort.
Makoto: Your mind becomes slightly easier.
Shigeru: And you walk.
Maya: That is your will.
Shinji: Is this my will?
Ritsuko: The world with a floor is the world surrounding you.
Touji: Yet, you can move freely.
Kensuke: If you wish, you can change the position of the world.
Hikari: The position of the world does not stay the same.
Ryouji: It changes through the flow of time.
Fuyutsuki: You can also change.

It is commonly known by even the beginning student of the Tarot that the Death Card usually indicates change. Death allows for change. It allows for growth. That which is eternal cannot change. It is freedom absolute, yet it is imprisoned in its own freedom. It cannot do anything because it can do everything. Therefore, you cut the line short to make shape, giving it a beginning and an end. For nothing can be without a beginning, and everything that has a beginning has an end.

Imagine yourself as a free floating entity in and endless expanse. You may move, but where to move to? You race forward seeking something, anything, but there is nothing. In fact, who's to say you are moving forward, for you see in all directions at once because you have no limitations at all. So what is the difference in which direction you move, and what will you do when you get there. Time means nothing, space means nothing. You are alone.

Now imagine that you see in the vast expanse a glimmer of light. What is it? There has never been anything other than you. What is this other? You focus your attention in its direction, forgetting about what is in the other direction because you know that there is nothing. You have lost a degree of awareness because now there is a forward which you can see and a behind which you cannot see, but you care not. This Other comforts you. You move toward it, and just as there is now a "forward", there is for the first time a "toward" or in other words, something else to relate to even if it means nothing but relation in terms of distance. You move toward it and get close to it. This "other" is one like you, yet has its own will, so while you may move, it may remain where it is, and vica versa. You may move past it at an angle or away from it altogether, or you may get closer. And it may do the same, or not, according to its will.

This other is comforting because you are no longer alone, and you become attached to it. But you are terribly aware that by becoming attached to it, you have just lost something. You have lost your freedom. And even if you move away from it, or it away from you, as far away as the two of you are, you will always exist in relation to the other. Because of its very existence, it defines your own, and you define it. You may now be close or far, or you may be towards or away, but in all cases this depends on the actions of the other.

Yet would you desire to return to being entirely alone, where nothing means anything and because you can do anything, you can do nothing? You have lost so much and gained so little, but now you can change. What's more, with this other, you can create a third and fourth and infinity. You can create a circle by revolving around each other, and you can move within the boundaries of this circle or outside. And the more others you create, the greater the things you can create because you now have parts that you can make to relate to each other, just as you have related to this first other.

I could go on for hours, but I will not. It would do you well to meditate on this idea, but if you do, be careful to set a timer. Such meditations on archetypes such as these have a tendency to make you lose track of time and become lost in them. In fact, just writing the above caused me to lose track of myself for a time. Do not worry about completing the meditation because you cannot complete a meditation like this. There is always a story of what comes after that never ends.

So now you have a basic image of the Supernal Triad on the Tree of Life. In my next post, I will give a primer in the next set of Sephiroth, the Ethical Triad.

Grade Structure

Very briefly, and just for reference, I would like to provide the basic grade structure of the G.:D.: system as I may be referring to various grades from time to time. The first column is the corresponding Sephirah on the Tree of Life. The second column is the title of the grade. The third column is the degree. The first number is the number of grades that have been attained thus far, and the second number is the number of the Sephirah on the Tree of Life.

Invisible Order
Kether Ipsissimus 10 = 1
Chokmah Magus 9 = 2
Binah Magister Templi 8 = 3

Inner Order
Chesed Adeptus Exemptus 7 = 4
Geburah Adeptus Major 6 = 5
Tiphareth Adeptus Minor 5 = 6

Outer Order
Netzach Philosophus 4 = 7
Hod Practicus 3 = 8
Yesod Theoricus 2 = 9
Malkuth Zelator 1 = 10
- Neophyte 0 = 0

I have also provided a diagram of the Tree of Life to refer to visually.

Holy Guardian Angel

I'm finally getting around to the long promised essay on the Holy Guardian Angel. I guess that up until now I've been avoiding it because it's such a strange and vague subject and means something different to everyone it seems. So I've got my books stacked around my computer, Rockstar on my desk, and some nice mindless music to help me focus.

Let me state here that I am in no ways an expert in this subject, even less so than in Qabalah and the G.:D.: in general. However, in my defense, there are no experts, or else those that do exist are silent.

The term "Holy Guardian Angel" comes from The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. This is a medieval text which describes a six month long ritual whose purpose is to bring about "Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel". It was originally meant to mean a separate entity assigned to the individual as the link to the divine. However, S. L. Mathers, who translated the manuscript into English, interpreted it to be the so called Higher Self of the individual. It is the part of us still connected to the divine. In an earlier post, I described the Seven Bodies of Man. In this system, the Fifth Body or the Spiritual Body is the equivelant to the HGA.

Now of course, there will be those who will read this and think, "Well, I know all about this Higher Self that he's talking about. I go to angel classes and vision quests and had great spiritual experiences. I must have already activated this in me." I want to make something clear. Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel is THE GREATEST SPIRITUAL ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU CAN EVER HOPE FOR. Therefore, don't cheapen it by reducing it to something that you can get from a weekend workshop. If you read the Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage from cover to cover, you will just begin to understand the demands required for such a feat. There are very few who have the means or the willpower to go through with this ritual, and many have lost their minds in the trying.

This somewhat corresponds to Enlightenment or Nirvana in the Eastern systems. Now I have never met anyone who I have judged to be enlightened in my lifetime, particularly those who claimed to be. Likewise, anyone running around claiming to have achieved Knowledge and Conversation with their Holy Guardian Angel is simply making a fool of themselves.

So, what do the so called experts have to say about the HGA? Crowley was particularly obsessed with KCHGA (I'm getting tired of spelling it out). To him, there was nothing more important. He is often quoted on this matter from Magick Without Tears. "It should never be forgotten for a single moment that the central and essential work of the Magician is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Once he has achieved this he must of course be left entirely in the hands of that Angel, who can be invariably and inevitably relied upon to lead him to the further great step—crossing of the Abyss and the attainment of the grade of Master of the Temple."

This means little to those who have never heard the terminology used here, so let us look at what Dion Fortune has to say. She is somewhat vague in her work, but equates this process to Initiation proper. In The Training and Work of the Initiate, she states, "The word Initiate... means one in whom the Higher Self, the Individuality, has coalesced with the personality and actually entered into incarnation in the physical body."

Consider this. If the HGA is the Immortal self, the aspect of yourself which continues from life to life in the eternal cycle of reincarnation, the thing which determines before birth what the purpose of the coming life will be, and then carefully selects the environment, upbringing, and astrological influences that will allow for this purpose to be realized, the part of yourself that is released from the Wheel of Karma after many lifetimes of Karmic adjustment and readjustment, and when this is accomplished, this Individuality ascends to the Inner Planes to continue its aspiration to reunite with the Divine; if all these things describe the HGA, then consider what would happen if this part of yourself united with the part of yourself that goes to work every day, pays your bills, and wonders about your place in the world. Such people who reach this level of development are truly Titans, on par with the Saints and Masters who inspire us to persevere.

So now my brain is tired from trying to explain something that I don't really understand myself. I only hope that I haven't confused you on the issue. So I'm going to wrap this up briefly. The purpose of the G.:D.: Tradition is to equip the student with the knowledge and experience necessary to facilitate this accomplishment. Theoretically this is supposed to correspond with the grade of Adeptus Minor. This grade is really just symbolic of this attainment. The rest is up to the individual. However, perhaps for the first time in the Initiates lifetime, they have been shown the door and given the keys to unlock the gate to the secrets of the Eternal Soul.

General Advice for the Newcomer

I subscribe to an online webring discussing the G.:D.: and occasionally I will contribute. There was a post by a beginner in the path that I responded to. My advise to this newcomer was praised by others to be very good advise. For this reason, I have decided to provide whatever few readers I have (if any) with the same advise. Some of it is a direct answer to her questions, and may sound out of context. However, I do not want to publish her post, and I'm not inclined to start editing my response, because that is too time consuming for the moment. It's late and I am tired. So enjoy it for what it's worth:

I think that the negativity you're seeing is from the flame wars and legal wars that seem to be going on between the three major groups. Basically, when you encounter any initiatic order, there comes a question of lineage which is supposed to be the factor that determines its legitimacy as an order. There have also been some other more personal disputes between the leaders of the order (it's been kinda nasty).

Anyway, EOGD seems to have gotten the worst of the flames and from what I can tell has simply done its best to defend itself. HOGD (Cicero) has kept it more private than the others. There was a big legal battle, but their statements on their website are non-specific and simply call for an end to the fighting.

Regarding the elitist attitude, I want to call your attention to a statement made by Christopher Hyatt about Israel Regardie. If you haven't heard of Regardie, do yourself a favor and get as many books as you can by Regardie (get a few by Chic and Sandra Tabitha Cicero, too. They use Regardie as a source very liberally.) My personal favorite is "The Tree of Life".

Anyway, Regardie was possibly the most influential Adept of the GD tradition since Mathers himself. Here is what Hyatt had to say, "Dr. Regardie also had standards and they were not those of the "crucified one." He was an elitist and, though he sometimes failed both in judgment and results, he held to his standards nonetheless. He was kind to people, polite and concerned. However, he chose his company as carefully as he could...

"Elitism in this context is to support and admire the best, not the worst. This doesn't mean harming others who do not meet these standards; it simply means withholding value from them.

"Dr. Regardie never attempted to reduce the best to the worst for the sake of pity. In this sense neither of us supported the politically correct notion of equality. Our attitude has led to both of us being ostracized by many occult groups-which includes most Crowley organizations. Let me make this point very clear.. . . . . Dr. Regardie was a Thelemite, something of a Jeffersonian Democrat, or a Libertarian.. . . . . However, he realized that Thelema and most political groups behaved in the exact opposite of the values and theories espoused by their founders. Although offered a high-ranking position in a number of organizations-including the OTO-he politely refused. Keep in mind that, though Dr. Regardie was a gentleman publicly, privately he could be quite vicious concerning the weak and lame who headed and populated most Occult groups."

I highly agree with this attitude because too many of us suffer from a mind too open. An open mind is a good thing in many areas of life, but when it comes to Magic, a mind too open can water down the forces you are trying to wield until it is little more than a hobby used to kill boredom. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! Enlightenment is available to all, but only if they will put in the work and make the sacrifices demanded by the current.

Enough of that. I wanted to quickly give you some advice on how to proceed. You have a number of options. First, you may petition for Initiation into one of the various orders. The two you mentioned are both good. EOGD does astral initiations which makes them accessible if you don't live near a temple, but I personally do not go for it. HOGD (Cicero) has temples all over, but not exactly everywhere. I would suggest writing them a letter explaining why you want to be initiated. Take your time with this. Make it long enough that they have plenty to go on when making their decision. They will let you know if there is a temple near you.

If this is not an option, or if you do not want to commit yourself to a lodge, there are plenty of courses on Self-Initiation (which I favor over Astral Initiation. Be warned that it is in no ways easy. In fact it's a harder path than any other, but it can be the most rewarding I think.) One of the best and most thourough courses is found in "Self-Initiation Into the Golden Dawn Tradition of Magic" by Chic and Sandra Cicero. However, it is probibly the most difficult.

A third option may be right for you if you want to experience Golden Dawn Magic before committing yourself via Initiation or Self-Initiation. There is a book called "Modern Magick" which is absolutly excellent. It gives you an introduction to all the forces that a GD student experiences in their gradework, but in a much less complicated form. You may even go through the lessons in Modern Magick as preparation for beginning the Self-Initiation process. One word of caution, however. There are some scattered mistakes in that book, so I would recommend getting the Cicero book I mentioned as well as "Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple" by the Ciceros as a cross referrence.

One final word in your ear. There are two books that I would recommend that you read before starting any ritual work. "The Mystical Qabalah" by Dion Fortune will give you the best information on the theory behind the Magic. Another is "The Middle Pillar" by Israel Regardie. This one is recommended for your own safety in your path. There are those who have not understood the true nature of the forces they are attempting to wield and have ended up in mental institutions or even comitted suicide as a result. If you have a good foundation by taking the advice given in The Middle Pillar, this is not likely to happen.

Curious Element, Earth

I know that I've been promising an article on the HGA in the past posts, and I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with this, but I haven't been getting much of an audience up till now. Please, if you have any interest in getting a group started, let me know, because it's hard to go it alone.

Anyway, I've been thinking about something else for a while now. Look at the image here. This is the back of the Classic Golden Dawn Tarot Deck that I've been painting. Here you see a combination of the Rose Cross and an Ankh. There are three arms here which are painted in the colors of the elements with the traditional implement of the element and the kerubric astrological sign of the element in the flashing (complimentary) color.

But what of Earth, the fourth element? Of course it is represented by the disk surmounted on top of the others. But why is it so? What is with the color wheel and the cross in the center? Why is it not just painted black or even citrine, olive, russet, and black?

This is because Earth is not the same kind of element as the others. Earth represents the material universe and includes the elements of air, fire, and water, albeit in their physical manifestation only. This is why these elements are actually represented twice in this diagram. In the center disk (or more properly termed, rose) there are three rings surrounding a white center with a red cross. Each of these rings is divided into segments. The first into three, the second into seven, and the third into twelve. This is a manifestation of the physical world as well as the soul of man.

Let me first say that, the we do not live in the physical universe. We think we do, but that is simply an illusion. In truth, we are usually living in the mental world. The physical universe is a perfect world, flawless, a Garden of Eden. We live in paradise.

Wha!!!? What's that? What of all the pain and suffering of people and animals throughout the world. What of all the violence, death, pollution, destruction of natural resources, the decimation of the rainforest, the extinction of entire species. How can I call that paradise?

This is the problem we must face as we approch the truely divine path. Humans have a very bad habit of placing human values on the world around them. Let us instead look at this from a cosmic point of view. All those horrible things I just mentioned are simply the manifestations of chemical reactions and natural physics and biology. All things act in accordance with Natural Law. If you burn petrol, then CO2 is released into the atmosphere. If you strike a wedge shaped object into a tree trunk with enough velocity, then the wood will part. The human race is at the top of the food chain with no predators above it. The population must be fed, and the natural survival instinct that put us where we are dictates that we will find the path of least resistance that will produce the most yeald.

The physical universe, or Malkuth in Qabalistic terminology, is perfect. The Sepher Yetzirah says of it, "The Tenth Path is the Resplendent Intelligence, because it is exalted above every bead, and sits on the throne of Binah. It illuminates the splendor of all lights, and causes a supply of influence to emanate from the Prince of countenances." In a book that I read recently, Malkuth is referred to as a cosmic dingleberry. I don't understand this because from the Yetziratic Text, that seems like it couldn't be further from the truth. A cosmic dingleberry is not something I can imagine getting exalted above every head.

Let's look again at the diagram. In the center of the rose representing Earth there is a white circle with a red cross in the center. This is the pure divinity in the macrocosm and the soul of man in the microcosm. Surrounding this is a ring of three segments. These are air, fire, and water of Earth. These are the three principals that give rise to all else, the three primary colors combining in various ratios to form all else. They are Sulpher, Mercury, and Salt of Alchemy. This is the basis for all except the most spiritual and pure. In Qabalah, these correspond to the three mother letters of Aleph, Mem, and Shin. From the Sepher Yetzirah, "The three mother letters Aleph, Mem, Shin are the foundations of the whole; and resemble a Balance, the good in one scale, the evil in the other, and the oscillating tongue of the Balance between them."

Following this is another ring composed of seven segments. These are the Planets of ancient astrology named after the Gods of Mythology. This represents the various influences of the Divine upon the mundane. These are blind forces following their courses conjoining or opposing each other as they will. They are unpredictable and terrible to those who do not understand their nature nor can follow their movements. They are attributed to the seven double letters. "There were formed seven double letters, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, Resh, Tau, each has two voices, either aspirated or softened. These are the foundations of Life, Peace, Riches, Beauty or Reputation, Wisdom, Fruitfulness, and Power. These are double, because their opposites take part in life, opposed to Life is Death; to Peace, War; to Riches, Poverty; to Beauty or Reputation, Deformity or Disrepute; to Wisdom, Ignorance; to Fruitfulness, Sterility; to Power, Slavery."

Last we have a ring of twelve segments. These are the twelve signs of the Zodiac, called the fixed stars. This is the creature receiving the influence of the creator; they playing field of the sport of the Gods which are seven in number. They are the terrains that must be traversed by those who seek the Gods, for here is where they are encountered in the guise that we can perceive. They are attributed to the twelve single letters.

Chapter Five of the Sepher Yetzirah:

1. The simple letters are twelve, namely: He, Vau, Zain, Heth, Teth, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samech, Oin, Tzaddi, and Quoph; they represent the fundamental properties, eight, hearing, smell, speech, desire for food, the sexual appetite, movement, anger, mirth, thought, sleep, and work. These symbolize also twelve directions in space: northeast, southeast, the east above, the east below, the northwest, southwest, the west above, the west below, the upper south, the lower south, the upper north, the lower north. These diverge to all eternity, and an as the arms of the universe.

2. These twelve letters, he designed, formed, combined, weighed, and changed, and created with them the twelve divisions of the heavens (namely, the zodiacal constellations), the twelve months of the year, and the twelve important organs of the frame of man, namely the right and left hands, the right and left feet, two kidneys, the liver, the gall, the spleen, the intestines, the gullet, and the stomach.

3. Three mothers, seven double and twelve simple, these are the twenty-two letters with which YHVH Tetragrammaton, that is our Lord of Hosts, exalted, and existed in the ages, whose name is Holy, created three fathers, fire and spirit and water, progressing beyond them, seven heavens with their armies of angels; and twelve limits of the universe.