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.