VIRTUAL QABALAH:
A Virtual Initiatory Journey from Fool to Mastership
By Merlyn Morgan and Iona Miller, 1/2006
*
Qabalah is the ART of being fully human. It is a technology for the embodiment of spirituality. The paths of the Tree of Life exemplify templates for all ways of being and becoming. VIRTUAL QABALAH is a first of its kind animated multimedia guided tour of the initiatory mindscapes of Tarot and Qabalah. Much like science, deep mysticism goes beyond beliefs to present direct experience. The whole system incorporates not only the brain and body, but most importantly the outside world too. This view is esentially circular and dynamic, not linear and fixed. Consciousness is access to a sensorium and/or informational input. We are modified by both incoming and self-generated sensory data...a cosmic feedback device.
BASIC IDEA:
Qabalah Meets “What the Bleep"
Running Time: 1 Hour
Imagine the elegant philosophy and symbolism of the Tarot and Hermetic Qabalah meets the insightful paradigm shift of “What the Bleep”. This is the Qabalistic “What the Bleep”, describing the deep nature of Reality and our reality. The protagonist is the Hero/ine of the classic spiritual journey, filled with allies and obstacles, ordeals, insights, and self-transformation into an expanded sense of what it means to be fully human: Homo Lumen.
VIRTUAL QABALAH is a first of its kind animated multimedia guided tour of the initiatory mindscapes of Tarot and Qabalah. Universal truths, impossible to describe in words, can be conveyed in multimedia imagery. The symbolism of Qabala is a vast repertoire of psychosensory symbolism that is both aesthetically pleasing and spiritually satisfying; it feeds the soul. Using visionary art and pathworking symbolism, the viewer witnesses the Qabalistic Creation story: emanation of the Spheres of the Tree of Life. Next, through a series of multisensory guided visualizations, he or she finds personal meaning by “climbing” the Tree, in an exaltation of soul and spirit.
High Tech Hypnosis: Using congruent yet amorphous imagery at some points provides generic metaphors of transformation as templates or blank canvas for the subjective projections of each viewer, allowing them to identify with the universal aspirant or seeker in a personalistic, yet undefined, way. Ultimately, it is our sense organs which help us interpret the world and our experience through our perceptions. They help us make a distinction between what is "real" and "unreal." The emotional part of the brain, (the right, spatial lobe), cannot analytically distinguish a symbol from a symbolic representation.
Connecting to Source: In imagination or virtual reality it becomes a moot point. Fantasy, in fact, animates both our inner and outer worlds, and creates meaning. The on-going imaginative process of the psyche is the ground of being. Jung spoke of the psychoid aspect of psyche as the vast non-human action of universal forces. Aesthetic flow and harmony appeals to the emotional brain, while systematic orderliness appeals to the cognitive nature, creating holistic congruence in the viewing experience.
Psychotronics: This video DOES things to you: it resonates with and awakens deep layers of the psyche, “rototills” your subconscious mind in an organic way, planting the seeds of transformation, Cosmosis.
BACKGROUND:
New Media and Environments: We are entering an era of magical technologies which are relevant to the inner world of imagery and imagination. The thin line between imagination and reality is blurring. Eventually they will synchronize inner and outer perceptions. Through special FX we have expanded our ability to seamlessly manifest a visionary tale, and with Virtual Reality (VR) we can create an electronic representation of typical symbols of the psyche and interact with them. Even though these images have no concrete existence, they are influential in the process of transformation.
Self-Transformation: The practice of magick, a sacred technology, normally involves concentrated visualization activity coupled with immersion in the autonomous stream of consciousness. Since much of the training and practice in magick is based on a recipe, formula, or protocol, these can easily be programmed and standardized, using the Correspondence System derived from the traditional Doctrine of Signatures to guide an aspirant into a specific state of consciousness.
Self-Regulation: Biofeedback and brain machine technology could easily enhance that effect, facilitating Alpha and Theta brainwave coherence using binaural beat technology. Each virtual world includes a panoply of symbols related to a specific archetype. The aspirants journey through this world. In the process of positive interaction with these archetypal forms, the psyche learns to identify with transpersonal forces, but without egoic inflation. This leads to both a sense of expansion and experiential grounding, a greater sense of wholeness and well-being, a connection to Source. The objective archetypes are no longer simply intellectual concepts but a subjective experience which self-generates insight. Reclaim your brain from mass media and political mind control.
VIRTUAL QABALAH is a first of its kind animated multimedia guided tour of the initiatory mindscapes of Tarot and Qabalah. Universal truths, impossible to describe in words, can be conveyed in multimedia imagery. The symbolism of Qabala is a vast repertoire of psychosensory symbolism that is both aesthetically pleasing and spiritually satisfying; it feeds the soul. Using visionary art and pathworking symbolism, the viewer witnesses the Qabalistic Creation story: emanation of the Spheres of the Tree of Life. Next, through a series of multisensory guided visualizations, he or she finds personal meaning by “climbing” the Tree, in an exaltation of soul and spirit.
High Tech Hypnosis: Using congruent yet amorphous imagery at some points provides generic metaphors of transformation as templates or blank canvas for the subjective projections of each viewer, allowing them to identify with the universal aspirant or seeker in a personalistic, yet undefined, way. Ultimately, it is our sense organs which help us interpret the world and our experience through our perceptions. They help us make a distinction between what is "real" and "unreal." The emotional part of the brain, (the right, spatial lobe), cannot analytically distinguish a symbol from a symbolic representation.
Connecting to Source: In imagination or virtual reality it becomes a moot point. Fantasy, in fact, animates both our inner and outer worlds, and creates meaning. The on-going imaginative process of the psyche is the ground of being. Jung spoke of the psychoid aspect of psyche as the vast non-human action of universal forces. Aesthetic flow and harmony appeals to the emotional brain, while systematic orderliness appeals to the cognitive nature, creating holistic congruence in the viewing experience.
Psychotronics: This video DOES things to you: it resonates with and awakens deep layers of the psyche, “rototills” your subconscious mind in an organic way, planting the seeds of transformation, Cosmosis.
BACKGROUND:
New Media and Environments: We are entering an era of magical technologies which are relevant to the inner world of imagery and imagination. The thin line between imagination and reality is blurring. Eventually they will synchronize inner and outer perceptions. Through special FX we have expanded our ability to seamlessly manifest a visionary tale, and with Virtual Reality (VR) we can create an electronic representation of typical symbols of the psyche and interact with them. Even though these images have no concrete existence, they are influential in the process of transformation.
Self-Transformation: The practice of magick, a sacred technology, normally involves concentrated visualization activity coupled with immersion in the autonomous stream of consciousness. Since much of the training and practice in magick is based on a recipe, formula, or protocol, these can easily be programmed and standardized, using the Correspondence System derived from the traditional Doctrine of Signatures to guide an aspirant into a specific state of consciousness.
Self-Regulation: Biofeedback and brain machine technology could easily enhance that effect, facilitating Alpha and Theta brainwave coherence using binaural beat technology. Each virtual world includes a panoply of symbols related to a specific archetype. The aspirants journey through this world. In the process of positive interaction with these archetypal forms, the psyche learns to identify with transpersonal forces, but without egoic inflation. This leads to both a sense of expansion and experiential grounding, a greater sense of wholeness and well-being, a connection to Source. The objective archetypes are no longer simply intellectual concepts but a subjective experience which self-generates insight. Reclaim your brain from mass media and political mind control.
Casting -
CAST:
Narrator/Guide/Mentor/Technoshaman: Turns out in the end to be the voice of journeyer’s higher Self, and/or Daemon (genius), or Holy Guardian Angel; always there, after all throughout all phases. In the end, the aspirant finds him/herself. Not revealed visually until final scenes, IF then. Vocals could be melds and morphs of male/female voice with vocal synth.
Oracles: Voice overs only (heavy echo type stuff; think The Voice from ‘DUNE’)
“Greek” Chorus: Respondent and clarifying Voice Overs; ritual murmuring
Trump Personifications: Tarot tableuxs of various Trumps, and their corresponding godforms in the correlated atmospheres and actions.
Narrator/Guide/Mentor/Technoshaman: Turns out in the end to be the voice of journeyer’s higher Self, and/or Daemon (genius), or Holy Guardian Angel; always there, after all throughout all phases. In the end, the aspirant finds him/herself. Not revealed visually until final scenes, IF then. Vocals could be melds and morphs of male/female voice with vocal synth.
Oracles: Voice overs only (heavy echo type stuff; think The Voice from ‘DUNE’)
“Greek” Chorus: Respondent and clarifying Voice Overs; ritual murmuring
Trump Personifications: Tarot tableuxs of various Trumps, and their corresponding godforms in the correlated atmospheres and actions.
STORIES
ACT I: The Physical Plane (Malkuth)
ACT II: The Astral Plane (Yesod, Hod, Netzach)
ACT III: The Mental Plane (Tiphareth, Geburah, Chesed)
ACT IV: The Archtypal Plane (Kether, Chokmah, Binah)
Even without an introduction, a one hour format only allows less than 3 minutes per Trump, including entry, immersion, and transition.
Obviously, each Trump storyboard needs to build on a synopsis of salient correspondences from the Doctrine of Signatures. Using proper intonations, colors, and keys we can quickly activate the subconscious, facilitating actual psychophysical reactions congruent with the various paths. That, after all, is what qabalah is all about: psychosensory evocation, multisensory experience which pyramids and builds on one another in a self-referential cascade of imagery. It brings order to the chaos of the uncooked psyche.
A template can be constructed for each Pathworking, which includes uniform elements which build a certain rhythm and expectation into the viewing process as it moves into more rarified spiritual territory and depictions.
Each path opens in the traditional manner, where a curtain is parted and the aspirant steps through. That curtain can be a morph of many tarot cards, but in the Hebrew Kabbalah it is the flaming Hebrew letter associated with that path, which would create a nice, dramatic transition. The card montage could be encountered after the letter “flies” in.
Symbols encountered can range from the godforms of the path, proper colors and landscapes, to corresponding animals, herbs, sigils, even cues for fragrances could be suggested as the olfactory sense is the quickest way to evoke the subconscious.
The vehicle of consciousness, astral or Light body can be represented in ever more rarefied forms, beginning with the meat body, then an astral body with human shape, which morphs into the Ruach or mental body which is geometrical in nature, and finally toward the Singularity of a massless particle: Pure Light moving toward the nonmanifest domain of Zero-Point Fluctuation, qabalistically Ain Soph Aur.
ACT II: The Astral Plane (Yesod, Hod, Netzach)
ACT III: The Mental Plane (Tiphareth, Geburah, Chesed)
ACT IV: The Archtypal Plane (Kether, Chokmah, Binah)
Even without an introduction, a one hour format only allows less than 3 minutes per Trump, including entry, immersion, and transition.
Obviously, each Trump storyboard needs to build on a synopsis of salient correspondences from the Doctrine of Signatures. Using proper intonations, colors, and keys we can quickly activate the subconscious, facilitating actual psychophysical reactions congruent with the various paths. That, after all, is what qabalah is all about: psychosensory evocation, multisensory experience which pyramids and builds on one another in a self-referential cascade of imagery. It brings order to the chaos of the uncooked psyche.
A template can be constructed for each Pathworking, which includes uniform elements which build a certain rhythm and expectation into the viewing process as it moves into more rarified spiritual territory and depictions.
Each path opens in the traditional manner, where a curtain is parted and the aspirant steps through. That curtain can be a morph of many tarot cards, but in the Hebrew Kabbalah it is the flaming Hebrew letter associated with that path, which would create a nice, dramatic transition. The card montage could be encountered after the letter “flies” in.
Symbols encountered can range from the godforms of the path, proper colors and landscapes, to corresponding animals, herbs, sigils, even cues for fragrances could be suggested as the olfactory sense is the quickest way to evoke the subconscious.
The vehicle of consciousness, astral or Light body can be represented in ever more rarefied forms, beginning with the meat body, then an astral body with human shape, which morphs into the Ruach or mental body which is geometrical in nature, and finally toward the Singularity of a massless particle: Pure Light moving toward the nonmanifest domain of Zero-Point Fluctuation, qabalistically Ain Soph Aur.
JOURNEYS UP THE TREE
EXAMPLE JOURNEY CLIPS:
The most direct and exemplary paths of the Tree are those which rise vertically up the Middle Pillar, joining Earth to Moon (XXII), Moon to Sun (XIV), and Sun to Source (II).
II. The High Priestess:
Enter through letter Gimel
Tarot Montage
Vision of trekking on camel across desert, and encounters
Discovery of Lunar Temple with Priestess at Altar
Encounter with High Priestess
Etc. Causal Body
XIV: Art or Temperance
Enter through letter Samekh
Tarot Montage
Aiming the Arrow
Discovering the Temple of the Hunters, Artemis/Apollo
Artistic Inspiration
Etc. Astral Body
XXII. The Universe
Enter through latter Tau
Tarot Montage
Vision of the Mechanics of the Universe (Rising on the Planes)
Discovery of Temple of Saturn
Journey through a vortex to the Astral Realm
Etc. Atomic Body
The most direct and exemplary paths of the Tree are those which rise vertically up the Middle Pillar, joining Earth to Moon (XXII), Moon to Sun (XIV), and Sun to Source (II).
II. The High Priestess:
Enter through letter Gimel
Tarot Montage
Vision of trekking on camel across desert, and encounters
Discovery of Lunar Temple with Priestess at Altar
Encounter with High Priestess
Etc. Causal Body
XIV: Art or Temperance
Enter through letter Samekh
Tarot Montage
Aiming the Arrow
Discovering the Temple of the Hunters, Artemis/Apollo
Artistic Inspiration
Etc. Astral Body
XXII. The Universe
Enter through latter Tau
Tarot Montage
Vision of the Mechanics of the Universe (Rising on the Planes)
Discovery of Temple of Saturn
Journey through a vortex to the Astral Realm
Etc. Atomic Body
VIRTUAL QABALAH II: INTERACTIVE
Follow Up Project:
VIRTUAL QABALAH II: INTERACTIVE
Through the arrival of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, we will soon have access to a fully programmable electronic "astral plane." Magic has always been a sacred technology, and combining it with VR makes for a state-of-the-art practice. In virtual reality, we can create a world which is, in essence or effect, "as good as" normal reality. Through the use of visual, audial, kinesthetic, and olfactory feedback, the experiential (rather than analytical) part of the brain is guided to suspend its disbelief in the synthetic reality.
The realization of a system of interactive fantasy will allow us, as artists or magicians, to shape the experience from the inside. It will allow us to re-shape ourselves, also. A central premise in VR is that you can manipulate your self-representation, or self-image. VR represents a cultural revolution in the way we view reality, nature, art, ourselves, and our relationship with transpersonal powers.
Interactive media will give us the ability to author moving images. When you can put your images in cyberspace, you introduce your own unique content into the experience. Background, or natural imagery, will be texture-mapped for ambiguity. Ambiguity is one key to the engagement of the imagination (Laurel, 1992). Communal virtual reality is also possible for group rituals, but requires a tremendously powerful computer to keep track of all the details which perpetuate a believable virtual space.
The realm of imagination has traditionally been the province of shamans and magicians. More recently, psychotherapists have entered the arena of imagination as guides to the heights and the depths. There are many different styles in the practice of magic from primitive to sophisticated. Magic is the ancient technology for dealing with lost or questing souls, while archetypal psychology is a modern counterpart.
Basically, there are three ways of encountering the inner world, reflecting the state of consciousness of the practitioner: 1). prototaxic mode, a "possession" or trance state where the ego is absent through regression; 2). parataxic mode, which includes art, archetype, myth, dream, and ritual wherein the ego is enthralled; and 3). syntaxic mode, which includes creativity, gnosis, and higher mystical states, where the ego is enraptured and eventually transcended.
Sophisticated magick, or Theurgy, has been practiced in western occultism through the centuries largely by an elite group of eccentric intellectuals. Many of them identified with the Rosicrucians, Masons, Gnostics, or other "hidden" orders. These practitioners of the mystic arts were the forefathers of modern sciences like chemistry, botany, medicine, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. Through magick, they learned a unique way of looking at the inner and outer world. This is the major premise of any philosophy: "Look at it like this..." The magical philosophy has left a tremendous legacy. The history of these alchemists, mystics, healers, and theurgists outlines one of the most interesting areas of human endeavor: consciousness studies.
The mapping of consciousness states and their corresponding typical experiences (plus how to attain them) forms part of the doctrine of any magical philosophy. The most widely embraced map is called The Tree of Life. The very foundation of the modern western occult tradition is contained in this circuit or glyph of The Tree of Life. It describes a hierarchy of 10 states of being (Spheres), and 22 characteristic modes of transition between them (Paths). All the corresponding symbolism of the human psyche is categorized according to this comprehensive basic structure. It represents all ways of being and becoming--all possible states of consciousness.
The philosophical system which the Tree represents originated in the Jewish culture. Through synchronism it amalgamated with the Gnostic, Egyptian, Arabic, and other systems. This synthesis became known as Hermetic Qabalism. In divorcing itself from its Hebrew roots, Qabala returned to the mythic domain of its informing archetype, Hermes.
In ancient Egypt, this archetypal energy was represented by the god Thoth, Lord of Magic. He presided over skills such as writing and translating. In Greece, as Hermes, he was the messenger between the realm of the gods and men--he who could fly into the heights or depths. Our modern forms of writing and translating have moved into information processing via computers. Information processing is fundamental to any form of communication.
Information processing is the foundation of all technology. Thus, Hermes is the informing myth of a technological approach to sacred psychology and spirituality. Hermes' domain includes gnosticism, alchemy, magick, and depth psychology. Like programming, they are all hermeneutic endeavors, involving the process of interpretation. Jung noticed that, "Every interpretation necessarily remains an "as-if." The ultimate core of meaning may be circumscribed, but not described." He refers to the "as-if" reality as the closest we can come to direct knowledge. For example, our God-image in the psyche is our closest (and only) experience of Divinity, however unique it may be. We perceive it directly, but it is a specific interpretation of the unknowable archetype.
VIRTUAL BODIES OF LIGHT:
A major tenet of Qabala and occult philosophy concerns the nature of the astral body. The Jews call it the Tselem. This starry body is composed of scintillating etheric energy. It is perceived in imagination as being composed of light that takes on various fine forms. The analogy with electrical energy and light in cyberspace is obvious, if not literal.
To work on the astral level, the magician identifies with this virtual double of the physical body. In imagination, one perceives with the eyes of the body of light while maintaining its perspective and orientation. The light body has the ability of separating itself from the constraints of the flesh and blood body, without limitations of a mortal frame.
The astral body contains the fully functioning consciousness of the aspirant. Its existence is alleged to persist after physical death, as reported by those with near-death-experiences.
Magically, or psychically, the astral body is built in the imagination through the process of breath control, or pranayama. The VR program supercedes the trained imaginative faculty. It opens the experience to those who are not of contemplative nature, those unwilling or unable to spend years training the mind and visualization capacity. It makes the dialogic realm open to all in limited form. It establishes a new medium for the traditional I-Thou dialogue.
The virtual astral body could be employed for the practice of pathworking. Magick, itself, is the practice of practical Qabala, and its most practical exploits are the imaginal consciousness journeys known as pathworking. As a magical practice, pathworking differs from ceremonial invocation by imaginally transporting the aspirant to the location of an archetypal Form, rather than calling the Form into the circle or oneself. The experience includes a "there-and-back-again" experience of a very specially conditioned terrain. The exposure to symbols keys processes in the mind which influence the process of transformation.
The paths of The Tree of Life are metaphorical "in-roads" through the imagination. Each is marked by typical landmarks, milestones, and signposts. Each contain their ordeals, challenges, and intrinsic rewards. Pathworking offers a way of "finding" or "locating" archetypes in imaginal space. In imagination, we do it simply by wishing ourselves there, actively interacting. In VR, it requires some programming, but the initial intent is the same whether creating your own program or authoring a master program for others.
Each successive pathworking increases the area of perceptible inner space. One can enter the experience as a passive spectator, or as an active participant. The emotional impact of the experience is real. Imagine when these experiences become re-processed in your dream life! In VR, other humans could play the parts of entities encountered, or the journey may be undertaken as a common adventure. All pathworkings return the traveller to the point of origin, which is usually some symbolic form of door to the netherworld.
Another magical exercise, rising on the planes, is conducted while in the Body of Light. In this process, one imagines oneself moving further and further up through the hierarchy of planes described in the Qabala. You can get a sense for it if you can imagine an ever-widening perspective moving from sub-atomic to cosmic. For example, imagine you are a sub-atomic particle, an atom, a molecule, an organism, an animal, a human, the biosphere, the earth, the solar system, the galaxy, ad infinitum. All of this type of imagery is readily programmable and universal in meaning.
VIRTUAL QABALAH II: INTERACTIVE
Through the arrival of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, we will soon have access to a fully programmable electronic "astral plane." Magic has always been a sacred technology, and combining it with VR makes for a state-of-the-art practice. In virtual reality, we can create a world which is, in essence or effect, "as good as" normal reality. Through the use of visual, audial, kinesthetic, and olfactory feedback, the experiential (rather than analytical) part of the brain is guided to suspend its disbelief in the synthetic reality.
The realization of a system of interactive fantasy will allow us, as artists or magicians, to shape the experience from the inside. It will allow us to re-shape ourselves, also. A central premise in VR is that you can manipulate your self-representation, or self-image. VR represents a cultural revolution in the way we view reality, nature, art, ourselves, and our relationship with transpersonal powers.
Interactive media will give us the ability to author moving images. When you can put your images in cyberspace, you introduce your own unique content into the experience. Background, or natural imagery, will be texture-mapped for ambiguity. Ambiguity is one key to the engagement of the imagination (Laurel, 1992). Communal virtual reality is also possible for group rituals, but requires a tremendously powerful computer to keep track of all the details which perpetuate a believable virtual space.
The realm of imagination has traditionally been the province of shamans and magicians. More recently, psychotherapists have entered the arena of imagination as guides to the heights and the depths. There are many different styles in the practice of magic from primitive to sophisticated. Magic is the ancient technology for dealing with lost or questing souls, while archetypal psychology is a modern counterpart.
Basically, there are three ways of encountering the inner world, reflecting the state of consciousness of the practitioner: 1). prototaxic mode, a "possession" or trance state where the ego is absent through regression; 2). parataxic mode, which includes art, archetype, myth, dream, and ritual wherein the ego is enthralled; and 3). syntaxic mode, which includes creativity, gnosis, and higher mystical states, where the ego is enraptured and eventually transcended.
Sophisticated magick, or Theurgy, has been practiced in western occultism through the centuries largely by an elite group of eccentric intellectuals. Many of them identified with the Rosicrucians, Masons, Gnostics, or other "hidden" orders. These practitioners of the mystic arts were the forefathers of modern sciences like chemistry, botany, medicine, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. Through magick, they learned a unique way of looking at the inner and outer world. This is the major premise of any philosophy: "Look at it like this..." The magical philosophy has left a tremendous legacy. The history of these alchemists, mystics, healers, and theurgists outlines one of the most interesting areas of human endeavor: consciousness studies.
The mapping of consciousness states and their corresponding typical experiences (plus how to attain them) forms part of the doctrine of any magical philosophy. The most widely embraced map is called The Tree of Life. The very foundation of the modern western occult tradition is contained in this circuit or glyph of The Tree of Life. It describes a hierarchy of 10 states of being (Spheres), and 22 characteristic modes of transition between them (Paths). All the corresponding symbolism of the human psyche is categorized according to this comprehensive basic structure. It represents all ways of being and becoming--all possible states of consciousness.
The philosophical system which the Tree represents originated in the Jewish culture. Through synchronism it amalgamated with the Gnostic, Egyptian, Arabic, and other systems. This synthesis became known as Hermetic Qabalism. In divorcing itself from its Hebrew roots, Qabala returned to the mythic domain of its informing archetype, Hermes.
In ancient Egypt, this archetypal energy was represented by the god Thoth, Lord of Magic. He presided over skills such as writing and translating. In Greece, as Hermes, he was the messenger between the realm of the gods and men--he who could fly into the heights or depths. Our modern forms of writing and translating have moved into information processing via computers. Information processing is fundamental to any form of communication.
Information processing is the foundation of all technology. Thus, Hermes is the informing myth of a technological approach to sacred psychology and spirituality. Hermes' domain includes gnosticism, alchemy, magick, and depth psychology. Like programming, they are all hermeneutic endeavors, involving the process of interpretation. Jung noticed that, "Every interpretation necessarily remains an "as-if." The ultimate core of meaning may be circumscribed, but not described." He refers to the "as-if" reality as the closest we can come to direct knowledge. For example, our God-image in the psyche is our closest (and only) experience of Divinity, however unique it may be. We perceive it directly, but it is a specific interpretation of the unknowable archetype.
VIRTUAL BODIES OF LIGHT:
A major tenet of Qabala and occult philosophy concerns the nature of the astral body. The Jews call it the Tselem. This starry body is composed of scintillating etheric energy. It is perceived in imagination as being composed of light that takes on various fine forms. The analogy with electrical energy and light in cyberspace is obvious, if not literal.
To work on the astral level, the magician identifies with this virtual double of the physical body. In imagination, one perceives with the eyes of the body of light while maintaining its perspective and orientation. The light body has the ability of separating itself from the constraints of the flesh and blood body, without limitations of a mortal frame.
The astral body contains the fully functioning consciousness of the aspirant. Its existence is alleged to persist after physical death, as reported by those with near-death-experiences.
Magically, or psychically, the astral body is built in the imagination through the process of breath control, or pranayama. The VR program supercedes the trained imaginative faculty. It opens the experience to those who are not of contemplative nature, those unwilling or unable to spend years training the mind and visualization capacity. It makes the dialogic realm open to all in limited form. It establishes a new medium for the traditional I-Thou dialogue.
The virtual astral body could be employed for the practice of pathworking. Magick, itself, is the practice of practical Qabala, and its most practical exploits are the imaginal consciousness journeys known as pathworking. As a magical practice, pathworking differs from ceremonial invocation by imaginally transporting the aspirant to the location of an archetypal Form, rather than calling the Form into the circle or oneself. The experience includes a "there-and-back-again" experience of a very specially conditioned terrain. The exposure to symbols keys processes in the mind which influence the process of transformation.
The paths of The Tree of Life are metaphorical "in-roads" through the imagination. Each is marked by typical landmarks, milestones, and signposts. Each contain their ordeals, challenges, and intrinsic rewards. Pathworking offers a way of "finding" or "locating" archetypes in imaginal space. In imagination, we do it simply by wishing ourselves there, actively interacting. In VR, it requires some programming, but the initial intent is the same whether creating your own program or authoring a master program for others.
Each successive pathworking increases the area of perceptible inner space. One can enter the experience as a passive spectator, or as an active participant. The emotional impact of the experience is real. Imagine when these experiences become re-processed in your dream life! In VR, other humans could play the parts of entities encountered, or the journey may be undertaken as a common adventure. All pathworkings return the traveller to the point of origin, which is usually some symbolic form of door to the netherworld.
Another magical exercise, rising on the planes, is conducted while in the Body of Light. In this process, one imagines oneself moving further and further up through the hierarchy of planes described in the Qabala. You can get a sense for it if you can imagine an ever-widening perspective moving from sub-atomic to cosmic. For example, imagine you are a sub-atomic particle, an atom, a molecule, an organism, an animal, a human, the biosphere, the earth, the solar system, the galaxy, ad infinitum. All of this type of imagery is readily programmable and universal in meaning.
I-Magick: Self-Initiation
A work of art carries its proof in itself. Artificial, strained concepts do not withstand the image-test; all such concepts crumble, they are revealed as puny and colorless, they convince nobody. But works which have drawn on truth and presented it to us in live, concentrated form, grip us and communicate themselves to us compellingly - and nobody, even centuries later, will ever be able to refute them. The same is true of the authentically lived spiritual life in any
of its formats:
One artist imagines himself to be the creator of an independent spiritual world, burdens himself with the act of creating and peopling this world, accepts complete responsibility for it but he breaks down, because no mortal genius is capable of withstanding such a burden; just as, in a more general ense, man, who has declared himself to be the center of existence, has been unable to create a balanced spiritual system. And if he is overwhelmed by failure, he lays the blame on the eternal disharmony of the world, on the complexity of the distraught contemporary soul, or on the lack of comprehension of the public.
Another artist knows there is a higher power over him and will work joyfully as a small apprentice under God's heaven, although his responsibility for everything he paints and draws, and for the souls who apprehend it, is even greater. But on the other hand this world was not created by him, is not ruled by him, there are no doubts about its fundamental principles; this artist has only the gift of perceiving more acutely than others the harmony of the world and the
beauty and ugliness of man's contribution to it, and the gift of acutely conveying this to others. In failure and even in the lowest depths of existence - in destitution, in prison, in sickness, the consciousness of this steadfast harmony cannot forsake him.
However, the whole irrationality of Art, its dazzling convolutions, its unpredictable discoveries, its shattering influence on people are too magical to be plumbed by an artist's philosophy or scheme of things or by the labor of his unworthy hands. This is the way of no meta-narrative, standing in the Mystery of Naked Awareness.
In the process of investigation and self-investigation, it is necessary to figure out the M.O. or motivating factors that lead to behaviors. These are our basic life patterns. We all make decisions based on our internal map of reality and unconscious hierarchy of values. Values and beliefs drive our behavior.
If we make our own values and beliefs conscious and focus on them, we can direct our energy toward what we really want in life. Question WHY certain values are important to you, what situations you want and what you want to avoid at any cost. Have a friend prompt you with the comparisons to make it easier. List and relist them as you adjust their relative importance. Don't analyze it and don't overthink it or add any other strategy in this exercise.
THE WHOLE IN YOUR SOUL
1. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT LIFE?
2. Look again and add more values later; they may be more important than your first thoughts.
3. Think about when you were highly motivated and what values drove you.
4. Which values are most important? Rank them in order and re-compare them.
5. Compare each to all the others: If I could have this and not that...would it work for me?
6. IS THIS ME? What is the thing that generates what I ACTUALLY spend my time on, not what I think I should spend it on?
7. Identify conflicts in values. Am I moving away from any values? WHY is that important? Don't pretend or censor yourself.
8. Frame values positively.
What you FOCUS ON is THE secret of life. You can EXPAND your internal map of reality. The most important variable is how you spend your time and EVALUATE what you've done. You can feel bad or guilty if you act on others' values, not your own. Values tell you the deeper structure of how you create your life. Ask yourself WHY each value is crucial and what you fear without it. If a caring partner is important, have you had uncaring partners? If you crave financial security what would it mean to be poor? Would you rather be happy and poor or rich and unhappy? What do you want to avoid? What are you with or without it?
How do you rank the values of happiness, guidance, learning, career, money, reknown, success, good relationships, mentoring, balance, integrity, passion, creativity, spontaneity, self-expression, novelty, excitement, comfort, service, compassion, IF those are some of your values? Is balance or success more important than family or communication? Is peace of mind more important than a partner? than personal growth? Can you have money and integrity at the same time; money and family; money and happiness; freedom and relationship simultaneously? Health, avoiding failure, or avoiding pain?
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? If you could have balance but not family, or family without health or health without family, what would you choose? Family or security; success or family? Which would you choose first? Family but not love; fame but not family? Family or financial security? Family or social commeraderie? How do you rank your values? Is excitement, challenge or opportunity more important than balance, honesty, integrity, security? Using your own values, make your own comparisons between them to determine your own ranking. Are there any values you are trying to avoid? Dig deeply within yourself.
Is security more important than challenge, excitement more important than love? Accomplishment more important than romance? Personal fulfillment more important than family? What works for you? What two are in conflict and how do you resolve that dissonance? Are security and excitement compatible for you? Are spirituality and financial security incompatible for you? Can you identify your conflicting values and the dissonance that creates in your mind/body and life?
We all have an M.O., a method of operating in the world at large.
How we act is governed by our motives and opportunities.
Beliefs and values direct our M.O. and WHY we do what we do.
Compare and contrast your values. Do you value excitement more than family, passion more than serenity, self-expression over partnership, inspiration over security, peace of mind more than truth or love or financial security; or balance, devotion, learning, honesty, integrity or friendship more than romantic love? Pair them and ask yourself which you want more, to be loved or to be honest? Can you be dishonest to be loved? Can you be loving if you are dishonest?
Whether you think your top values SHOULD rank that way or not, for example, peace of mind over family, it motivates you anyway. You need to know yourself, to know your M.O. in an accurate, considered way to achieve the life satisfaction you seek. If a value leads to another value, it ranks higher. Examine WHY certain values are more important to you.
Are you living an authentic life, doing what you really want? What do you move toward, and what do you move away from? Is that 90-10% or 50-50%? How much is what you move toward and how much away from? What makes you depressed, restless, frustrated, anxious? Behind what's important can be something you want to avoid. What's holding you back? Do you stand up for the values you hold?
If you focus on what you don't want, it's because you had a negative emotional experience, wounding, or trauma. You watch out for it by focusing on what you don't want - a negative experience. You focus harder on the path you don't want to go down. You must heal the emotional trauma and root causes, initial events and neutralize the emotional charge. This eliminates the emotional charge and you don't move away from it and you can focus on what you WANT. Once you remove the charge, it seems like something that happened to someone else - you no longer identify with it and aren't motivated by decisions you made about yourself or the world in that root cause. Coping mechanisms (ego) can buffer us from true feelings, creating unwanted outcomes and feelings.
Once you clear these charges, your values list may change; some things may drop off and others change their order, through resolution of conflicts.
MISSION CONTROL
Values and goals interact to create a MISSION infused with a deep sense of personal satisfaction. You can formulate your own Mission Statement with a few simple steps:
1. Identify a goal or desire, then ask yourself "What do I want or need from this selected goal? What is important about it; what do I value about it?
2. Higher. more important, values can be discovered by asking, "What will these higher values do for me?" They may reveal greater happiness, success or achievement, but will reveal the direction your motivation comes from: Toward (achieve, attain, gain) or Away From (avoid, relieve, out).
3. Your highest value is found by asking, "What will having the highest value do for me?" Your answer helps you determine your Mission, your creative passion.
4. Your MISSION includes and fulfills all of your highest values.
PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY
'Consciousness' is the final frontier for science, the 'hard problem' of philosophy, and mysticism's greatest mystery. It is the central focus of the philosophy of mind. But different scholars and different disciplines use that same word to mean very different things, from simple awareness to the very basis of existence. There is confusion among the very scholars, mystics, and scientists who make their careers exploring the nature of mind, matter and the nature of existence.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality, transcending those of any particular science. It traditionally includes cosmology, ontology and speculative philosophy. Cosmology is the general philosophy of the universe considered as a totality of its parts and phenomena subject to laws -- the origin, nature and structure of the universe. Ontology is the study of being -- that branch of metaphysics which deals with the philosophical theory of reality, universal characteristics of all reality.
Epistemology relates to "how we know what we know." This branch of philosophy critically investigates the nature, grounds, limits, and criteria of any particular theory of cognition. It helps us analyze facts, thought processes and value-judgments.
This personal synthesis helps us adapt or individuate and perhaps even self-actualize high well-being, or even extraordinary human potential. This comprehensive synthesis is mirrored in synoptic philosophy, which helps us fit the pieces of life into the whole mental jigsaw puzzle. Synoptic philosophy helps us achieve an all-inclusive view of our subject matter, seeing all parts in relationship to one another. To a greater or lesser degree, it erases the mental barriers that separate branches of knowledge in a holistic vision. Taken together, the personal synthesis of a holistic experiential worldview and the cultural synthesis symbolized by the synoptic wheel [1] is what we refer to here, in shorthand, as "metasyn."
This open-ended philosophic journey has certain milestones:
1). When you have any philosophical question proceed as far as possible with philosophical analysis, clarifying and drawing out all the hidden meanings that you can, dissolving the problem completely if possible.
2). If not, find out what philosophers of the past have thought about the problem.
3). Rephrasing the question in a variety of meaningful ways helps reveal what kinds of information will help solve it.
4). Develop an intuition for asking and re-asking questions from different angles until they point to the data that illuminates them.
5). What fields most likely contain information related to the problem? Begin by asking questions about the problem and how it might connect one by one, to the various fields.
6). Go to these promising fields and gather information, looking for conclusions, hypotheses, and models currently used by field specialists. Keep asking questions relating the data to your central problem and cross-relating insights and drawing parallels from these fields themselves.
7). Network and integrate these insights refocusing new ideas on the initial problem to see what understanding and creative insights emerge. Weave these illuminative strands together into a glowing tapestry.
So, to envision our new paradigm we have to paint a multidisciplinary picture. We will draw on philosophy, physics, psychology, medicine, genetics, biology, politics, religion, anthropology, ecology, astronomy, geometry, mathematics, computer theory, economics, the humanities and the arts for our metaphors -- for our vocabulary -- to frame and reframe our questions.
Paradigms underlie the interplay of chaos and order in human culture, at the collective and individual level. They act as lenses through which all sensory data passes before it is experienced as perception.
of its formats:
One artist imagines himself to be the creator of an independent spiritual world, burdens himself with the act of creating and peopling this world, accepts complete responsibility for it but he breaks down, because no mortal genius is capable of withstanding such a burden; just as, in a more general ense, man, who has declared himself to be the center of existence, has been unable to create a balanced spiritual system. And if he is overwhelmed by failure, he lays the blame on the eternal disharmony of the world, on the complexity of the distraught contemporary soul, or on the lack of comprehension of the public.
Another artist knows there is a higher power over him and will work joyfully as a small apprentice under God's heaven, although his responsibility for everything he paints and draws, and for the souls who apprehend it, is even greater. But on the other hand this world was not created by him, is not ruled by him, there are no doubts about its fundamental principles; this artist has only the gift of perceiving more acutely than others the harmony of the world and the
beauty and ugliness of man's contribution to it, and the gift of acutely conveying this to others. In failure and even in the lowest depths of existence - in destitution, in prison, in sickness, the consciousness of this steadfast harmony cannot forsake him.
However, the whole irrationality of Art, its dazzling convolutions, its unpredictable discoveries, its shattering influence on people are too magical to be plumbed by an artist's philosophy or scheme of things or by the labor of his unworthy hands. This is the way of no meta-narrative, standing in the Mystery of Naked Awareness.
In the process of investigation and self-investigation, it is necessary to figure out the M.O. or motivating factors that lead to behaviors. These are our basic life patterns. We all make decisions based on our internal map of reality and unconscious hierarchy of values. Values and beliefs drive our behavior.
If we make our own values and beliefs conscious and focus on them, we can direct our energy toward what we really want in life. Question WHY certain values are important to you, what situations you want and what you want to avoid at any cost. Have a friend prompt you with the comparisons to make it easier. List and relist them as you adjust their relative importance. Don't analyze it and don't overthink it or add any other strategy in this exercise.
THE WHOLE IN YOUR SOUL
1. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT LIFE?
2. Look again and add more values later; they may be more important than your first thoughts.
3. Think about when you were highly motivated and what values drove you.
4. Which values are most important? Rank them in order and re-compare them.
5. Compare each to all the others: If I could have this and not that...would it work for me?
6. IS THIS ME? What is the thing that generates what I ACTUALLY spend my time on, not what I think I should spend it on?
7. Identify conflicts in values. Am I moving away from any values? WHY is that important? Don't pretend or censor yourself.
8. Frame values positively.
What you FOCUS ON is THE secret of life. You can EXPAND your internal map of reality. The most important variable is how you spend your time and EVALUATE what you've done. You can feel bad or guilty if you act on others' values, not your own. Values tell you the deeper structure of how you create your life. Ask yourself WHY each value is crucial and what you fear without it. If a caring partner is important, have you had uncaring partners? If you crave financial security what would it mean to be poor? Would you rather be happy and poor or rich and unhappy? What do you want to avoid? What are you with or without it?
How do you rank the values of happiness, guidance, learning, career, money, reknown, success, good relationships, mentoring, balance, integrity, passion, creativity, spontaneity, self-expression, novelty, excitement, comfort, service, compassion, IF those are some of your values? Is balance or success more important than family or communication? Is peace of mind more important than a partner? than personal growth? Can you have money and integrity at the same time; money and family; money and happiness; freedom and relationship simultaneously? Health, avoiding failure, or avoiding pain?
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE? If you could have balance but not family, or family without health or health without family, what would you choose? Family or security; success or family? Which would you choose first? Family but not love; fame but not family? Family or financial security? Family or social commeraderie? How do you rank your values? Is excitement, challenge or opportunity more important than balance, honesty, integrity, security? Using your own values, make your own comparisons between them to determine your own ranking. Are there any values you are trying to avoid? Dig deeply within yourself.
Is security more important than challenge, excitement more important than love? Accomplishment more important than romance? Personal fulfillment more important than family? What works for you? What two are in conflict and how do you resolve that dissonance? Are security and excitement compatible for you? Are spirituality and financial security incompatible for you? Can you identify your conflicting values and the dissonance that creates in your mind/body and life?
We all have an M.O., a method of operating in the world at large.
How we act is governed by our motives and opportunities.
Beliefs and values direct our M.O. and WHY we do what we do.
Compare and contrast your values. Do you value excitement more than family, passion more than serenity, self-expression over partnership, inspiration over security, peace of mind more than truth or love or financial security; or balance, devotion, learning, honesty, integrity or friendship more than romantic love? Pair them and ask yourself which you want more, to be loved or to be honest? Can you be dishonest to be loved? Can you be loving if you are dishonest?
Whether you think your top values SHOULD rank that way or not, for example, peace of mind over family, it motivates you anyway. You need to know yourself, to know your M.O. in an accurate, considered way to achieve the life satisfaction you seek. If a value leads to another value, it ranks higher. Examine WHY certain values are more important to you.
Are you living an authentic life, doing what you really want? What do you move toward, and what do you move away from? Is that 90-10% or 50-50%? How much is what you move toward and how much away from? What makes you depressed, restless, frustrated, anxious? Behind what's important can be something you want to avoid. What's holding you back? Do you stand up for the values you hold?
If you focus on what you don't want, it's because you had a negative emotional experience, wounding, or trauma. You watch out for it by focusing on what you don't want - a negative experience. You focus harder on the path you don't want to go down. You must heal the emotional trauma and root causes, initial events and neutralize the emotional charge. This eliminates the emotional charge and you don't move away from it and you can focus on what you WANT. Once you remove the charge, it seems like something that happened to someone else - you no longer identify with it and aren't motivated by decisions you made about yourself or the world in that root cause. Coping mechanisms (ego) can buffer us from true feelings, creating unwanted outcomes and feelings.
Once you clear these charges, your values list may change; some things may drop off and others change their order, through resolution of conflicts.
MISSION CONTROL
Values and goals interact to create a MISSION infused with a deep sense of personal satisfaction. You can formulate your own Mission Statement with a few simple steps:
1. Identify a goal or desire, then ask yourself "What do I want or need from this selected goal? What is important about it; what do I value about it?
2. Higher. more important, values can be discovered by asking, "What will these higher values do for me?" They may reveal greater happiness, success or achievement, but will reveal the direction your motivation comes from: Toward (achieve, attain, gain) or Away From (avoid, relieve, out).
3. Your highest value is found by asking, "What will having the highest value do for me?" Your answer helps you determine your Mission, your creative passion.
4. Your MISSION includes and fulfills all of your highest values.
PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY
'Consciousness' is the final frontier for science, the 'hard problem' of philosophy, and mysticism's greatest mystery. It is the central focus of the philosophy of mind. But different scholars and different disciplines use that same word to mean very different things, from simple awareness to the very basis of existence. There is confusion among the very scholars, mystics, and scientists who make their careers exploring the nature of mind, matter and the nature of existence.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality, transcending those of any particular science. It traditionally includes cosmology, ontology and speculative philosophy. Cosmology is the general philosophy of the universe considered as a totality of its parts and phenomena subject to laws -- the origin, nature and structure of the universe. Ontology is the study of being -- that branch of metaphysics which deals with the philosophical theory of reality, universal characteristics of all reality.
Epistemology relates to "how we know what we know." This branch of philosophy critically investigates the nature, grounds, limits, and criteria of any particular theory of cognition. It helps us analyze facts, thought processes and value-judgments.
This personal synthesis helps us adapt or individuate and perhaps even self-actualize high well-being, or even extraordinary human potential. This comprehensive synthesis is mirrored in synoptic philosophy, which helps us fit the pieces of life into the whole mental jigsaw puzzle. Synoptic philosophy helps us achieve an all-inclusive view of our subject matter, seeing all parts in relationship to one another. To a greater or lesser degree, it erases the mental barriers that separate branches of knowledge in a holistic vision. Taken together, the personal synthesis of a holistic experiential worldview and the cultural synthesis symbolized by the synoptic wheel [1] is what we refer to here, in shorthand, as "metasyn."
This open-ended philosophic journey has certain milestones:
1). When you have any philosophical question proceed as far as possible with philosophical analysis, clarifying and drawing out all the hidden meanings that you can, dissolving the problem completely if possible.
2). If not, find out what philosophers of the past have thought about the problem.
3). Rephrasing the question in a variety of meaningful ways helps reveal what kinds of information will help solve it.
4). Develop an intuition for asking and re-asking questions from different angles until they point to the data that illuminates them.
5). What fields most likely contain information related to the problem? Begin by asking questions about the problem and how it might connect one by one, to the various fields.
6). Go to these promising fields and gather information, looking for conclusions, hypotheses, and models currently used by field specialists. Keep asking questions relating the data to your central problem and cross-relating insights and drawing parallels from these fields themselves.
7). Network and integrate these insights refocusing new ideas on the initial problem to see what understanding and creative insights emerge. Weave these illuminative strands together into a glowing tapestry.
So, to envision our new paradigm we have to paint a multidisciplinary picture. We will draw on philosophy, physics, psychology, medicine, genetics, biology, politics, religion, anthropology, ecology, astronomy, geometry, mathematics, computer theory, economics, the humanities and the arts for our metaphors -- for our vocabulary -- to frame and reframe our questions.
Paradigms underlie the interplay of chaos and order in human culture, at the collective and individual level. They act as lenses through which all sensory data passes before it is experienced as perception.
NO WAY QABALAH
Kabbalistic mysticism flowered within the syncretism of medieval and renaissance Spain when Christians, Jews, and Moslems lived in close proximity and exchanged philosophical traditions freely. Kabbalah was heavily influenced by the Sufi tradition.
Anyone can be a spiritual person even an atheist. Spirituality expresses as being in touch with your consciousness, that little voice you can hear right now in your head, and making an effort to improve your conduct and love of our fellow humans. On the other hand mysticism or gnosis is the direct knowledge of God, where individuals YEARN to have a direct, meaningful and above all fulfilling relationship with their creator.
Thus every religious tradition will have a certain cadre of believers who thread the Gnostic route which in fact is a methodology to meet and eventually annihilate into GOD. The universal theme of pining for the Divine is a spiritual wound that educates us – leads us from our status quo. The word ‘blessing’ is derived from the Latin for spiritual wound.
The objective of mysticism is Annihilation in the Godhead. In the former experience the veils are removed from the heart of the Mystic and he or she comprehends the naked Truth. Subject and object merge and all labels such as Muslim, Jew, or Christian dissolve. After this transformation, the mystic returns to this reality as a conduit for God and integrates into this cosmos. A mystic is someone who has completed the path and achieved mystical union with God and returned to this physical reality, whereas a student is known as a traveller or seeker.
We can facilitate one another as fellow travellers. Since, all the questions and answers are already within us and we merely assist in the unveiling of the heart. Every day around us we are literally bombarded by virtually limitless SIGNS from the DIVINE and at the core or heart of every mystical philosophy there are tools to train the five senses to pick them up. Mystics are merely experts in remaining / becoming the moment and facilitating others into it. Their healing effect is one of osmosis; teaching by example. In reality this is Nirvana, Fana, Godhood, the void. Their external features are immersed in light and intricate jewellery of those moments.
Any mystic, is in reality a nothing / nobody / zero. In the Bruce Lee movie ‘The Game of Death’, there is a scene where he moves up a pagoda. At each level he fights a master of each style. He beats all of them. Consequently, he encompasses all styles and therefore he has no style. Or put it another way if you mix yellow and blue you get green. However, at a subtle level the green does not exist because the blue and yellow are distinct!
Bruce Lee was an inconoclast who felt petrified tradition often hampered ‘best practice.’ He was a fan of what worked, and worked efficiently…effortless effort. Rather than breaking rules he moved beyond rule-boundedness to the no-boundaries consciousness, and reacted through essence in the moment, the here and now…effortless action which brings the force of the Cosmos along with it. It is essentially a FLOW state.
He accomplished his goals by harnessing force and momentum and turning them toward his advantage. It is the same in kabbalah if our slavery to or parroting of tradition ties us to inauthentic forms. We need to go beyond rote practice into the essence of living from that wellspring of joy and abundance, of nurturance that sustains our lives.
It is that stabilized connection that makes it “work”, not arcane keys or endless numerical ruminations, though they have their place in our contemplation. Remember the Go Master in the movie “PI” who told our protagonist that if he wanted to find secret codes, he could do it anywhere, even in the cracks of the sidewalk. We seek external signs and synchronicities to confirm what we already know. Still, we must continue to look within.
In sum, the culture and ethos of your inner being will fundamentally change for the better by facilitating the unfreezing of the umbilical cord with the divine. This is an ongoing process and the road to success is always under construction. ‘GOD IS WITHIN ALL OF US’, as a transcendental and immanent reality, inner and outer dialogue. Call it what you Will.
Before realization of annihilation in the Godhead, the mystic will initially dissolve in his Master and then into the Light. In the former experience the culturally superfluous personality veils are removed from the heart of the Mystic and he or she comprehends the naked Truth. Subject and object merge all labels such a Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, or Christian dissolve.
After this transformation the mystic returns to this reality as a conduit for God and integrates into this cosmos. He or she will help all of humanity regardless of faith or (ir)religiosity and becomes a viceroy for God, i.e., the celebrated PERFECT ONE or Zaddik of kabbalism, the Sant Sat Guru of the east, the western Master. The essence of mysticism is being in awe and wonder of God, but not necessarily being conscious of it. i.e., PARADOX.
Quantum cosmology is now demonstrating scientifically that the old Hermetic axiom, “AS ABOVE, SO BELOW” is a living reality linking micro- and macrocosm. There is an archetypal identity between divinity and mankind, mankind and the Universe. Therefore we are capable of “cosmic consciousness.” When we look within we find that bit of cosmos that we each embody, and we are not separate from THAT, down to the fundamental metaphysical groundstate of our Being.
It is a WAY not a destination, an experiment that lasts a lifetime. If you don’t believe it, make the experiment for yourself. Ultimately, it is about access to and direct experience of discrete states of consciousness – all ways of Being and Becoming. It is everythingforever; there is no thing that is not God. It is “nowhere”…NOW-HERE. It is the Way of No Way.
Anyone can be a spiritual person even an atheist. Spirituality expresses as being in touch with your consciousness, that little voice you can hear right now in your head, and making an effort to improve your conduct and love of our fellow humans. On the other hand mysticism or gnosis is the direct knowledge of God, where individuals YEARN to have a direct, meaningful and above all fulfilling relationship with their creator.
Thus every religious tradition will have a certain cadre of believers who thread the Gnostic route which in fact is a methodology to meet and eventually annihilate into GOD. The universal theme of pining for the Divine is a spiritual wound that educates us – leads us from our status quo. The word ‘blessing’ is derived from the Latin for spiritual wound.
The objective of mysticism is Annihilation in the Godhead. In the former experience the veils are removed from the heart of the Mystic and he or she comprehends the naked Truth. Subject and object merge and all labels such as Muslim, Jew, or Christian dissolve. After this transformation, the mystic returns to this reality as a conduit for God and integrates into this cosmos. A mystic is someone who has completed the path and achieved mystical union with God and returned to this physical reality, whereas a student is known as a traveller or seeker.
We can facilitate one another as fellow travellers. Since, all the questions and answers are already within us and we merely assist in the unveiling of the heart. Every day around us we are literally bombarded by virtually limitless SIGNS from the DIVINE and at the core or heart of every mystical philosophy there are tools to train the five senses to pick them up. Mystics are merely experts in remaining / becoming the moment and facilitating others into it. Their healing effect is one of osmosis; teaching by example. In reality this is Nirvana, Fana, Godhood, the void. Their external features are immersed in light and intricate jewellery of those moments.
Any mystic, is in reality a nothing / nobody / zero. In the Bruce Lee movie ‘The Game of Death’, there is a scene where he moves up a pagoda. At each level he fights a master of each style. He beats all of them. Consequently, he encompasses all styles and therefore he has no style. Or put it another way if you mix yellow and blue you get green. However, at a subtle level the green does not exist because the blue and yellow are distinct!
Bruce Lee was an inconoclast who felt petrified tradition often hampered ‘best practice.’ He was a fan of what worked, and worked efficiently…effortless effort. Rather than breaking rules he moved beyond rule-boundedness to the no-boundaries consciousness, and reacted through essence in the moment, the here and now…effortless action which brings the force of the Cosmos along with it. It is essentially a FLOW state.
He accomplished his goals by harnessing force and momentum and turning them toward his advantage. It is the same in kabbalah if our slavery to or parroting of tradition ties us to inauthentic forms. We need to go beyond rote practice into the essence of living from that wellspring of joy and abundance, of nurturance that sustains our lives.
It is that stabilized connection that makes it “work”, not arcane keys or endless numerical ruminations, though they have their place in our contemplation. Remember the Go Master in the movie “PI” who told our protagonist that if he wanted to find secret codes, he could do it anywhere, even in the cracks of the sidewalk. We seek external signs and synchronicities to confirm what we already know. Still, we must continue to look within.
In sum, the culture and ethos of your inner being will fundamentally change for the better by facilitating the unfreezing of the umbilical cord with the divine. This is an ongoing process and the road to success is always under construction. ‘GOD IS WITHIN ALL OF US’, as a transcendental and immanent reality, inner and outer dialogue. Call it what you Will.
Before realization of annihilation in the Godhead, the mystic will initially dissolve in his Master and then into the Light. In the former experience the culturally superfluous personality veils are removed from the heart of the Mystic and he or she comprehends the naked Truth. Subject and object merge all labels such a Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, or Christian dissolve.
After this transformation the mystic returns to this reality as a conduit for God and integrates into this cosmos. He or she will help all of humanity regardless of faith or (ir)religiosity and becomes a viceroy for God, i.e., the celebrated PERFECT ONE or Zaddik of kabbalism, the Sant Sat Guru of the east, the western Master. The essence of mysticism is being in awe and wonder of God, but not necessarily being conscious of it. i.e., PARADOX.
Quantum cosmology is now demonstrating scientifically that the old Hermetic axiom, “AS ABOVE, SO BELOW” is a living reality linking micro- and macrocosm. There is an archetypal identity between divinity and mankind, mankind and the Universe. Therefore we are capable of “cosmic consciousness.” When we look within we find that bit of cosmos that we each embody, and we are not separate from THAT, down to the fundamental metaphysical groundstate of our Being.
It is a WAY not a destination, an experiment that lasts a lifetime. If you don’t believe it, make the experiment for yourself. Ultimately, it is about access to and direct experience of discrete states of consciousness – all ways of Being and Becoming. It is everythingforever; there is no thing that is not God. It is “nowhere”…NOW-HERE. It is the Way of No Way.
THE TEMPLE OF LIVING LIGHT, 1999
THE TEMPLE OF LIVING LIGHT, 1999
Show me your mysteries, I'll show you mine,
As we embark outside this space and time.
Clasping hands we'll join the dance divine,
Flowing gently toward eternal rhyme.
Tell me your fantasies, I'll tell you mine,
Show me your ecstasies that flow as wine.
Together we'll reach the highest peak sublime,
Drinking deeply from the spring of time.
[Chorus]
Try as we might...
So many chambers in which to dwell.
To reach the heights...
From the bottom of a wishing well.
With second sight...
How we ascend only time will tell.
To the temple of living Light...
Far beyond heaven and hell.
Bare your heart to me, I'll give you mine,
Though all alone we might be flying blind.
Through embrace, fire and ice entwine,
Surging and merging as the ocean tide.
QABALA AS A SPIRITUAL PATH
QABALA AS A SPIRITUAL PATH
"Ever since the Lord ordained the Creation,
I have been pledged to return to my original home.
People know, from my quest for unity in God,
that I am as anxious as I am eager to merge with him.
I shall bear the blows of destiny as I pursue him,
while I am ferried across to him on the boat of his love.
No one ever found the Lord while living,
O Bahu, except those who found him by dying while living." --Sultan Bahu, 17th Century Sufi saint, Punjab, India
THE SYNERGETIC QABALA
Synergetic Qabala
synergeticqabala.iwarp.com
The premise of Synergetic Qabala is based on the fact that manifesting form is essentially energetic. Form is not other than force, and force is often indistinguishable from form. Forces interacting in dynamic stabilization are essentially, therefore, synergetic. The right and left Pillars of the Tree of Life are in a state of dynamic tension, as well as other polarities which it embodies.
While Synergetic Qabala is essentially a geometrical philosophy, it is not a sterile number mysticism, but a theosophical approach to the unfathomable mysteries of Qabala and its essentially mystical orientation. The Tree of Life is a model of the universe that describes energy's behavior and also has the ability to shape our thinking.
Synergetics describes the actual underlying geometry of subatomic structure. Here we employ nature's own coordinate system, the geometry nature uses for self-organization --the tetrahedron. There is a relationship between geometry and number which is intrinsic to the spheres and geometry of the Tree of Life. It defines the philosophical universe of Qabala. Explorations in this geometry are covered elsewhere in"The Synergetic Qabala."
The ancient system of the Qabala may best be described as a mystical theosophy, an effective guide for understanding ourselves and our relationship to the universe. It provides a cohesive worldview which is consistent with the findings of modern physics, psychology, and philosophical thought. It provides not only a philosophy, but a Way of life. It is a mystical discipline which requires an active spiritual practice for realization.
As in the case of physics, there are two main branches of Qabala. The first is speculative or Theoretical Qabala and the second is Practical Qabala which concerns the application of its principles through theurgic magic and/or mystical meditation. It is a complex system of symbols and principles for developing the inner potential of human nature, leading to the stage of conscious service to the divine powers at the source of all creation. Though often spelled many ways, we employ the simplest transliteration of QBL, as Qabala (ka-ba-la).
Though associated with the Hebrew, and later Hermetic philosophers, the roots of Qabala possibly originated in Egypt. The Western occult tradition attributes it to Hermes Trismegistus, or Thoth (Egyptian inventor of writing, astronomy, and mathematics). These teachings belong to ancient Egyptian mystery traditions that predate Plato and the Bible, with treatises on ancient cosmology and sacred psychology.
The Hermetic tradition enjoyed a revival when Marsilio Ficinio translated a bundle of ancient Egyptian manuscripts with the collective name of the Hermetica (1463). The Hermetica has been called the fountainhead of Western spirituality, the motherlode of all later esoteric and metaphysical systems. Here we find the suggestion that mankind is a hybrid of human and divine elements. Human nature is potential divinity, or "Godseed." Hermetics opened the way to independent spiritual seeking--spontaneous God contact--in the West. It suggests the possibility of transhumanization, and the divine mission of co-creation.
Egyptian religion is the prototype and source of mankind's interest in seeking immortality. It is the source of mystical teachings on reincarnation, magic, healing, the mysteries and the rudiments of sciences such as astronomy and chemistry. The other primary source of mythic material comes from Sumeria with its stories of God-men, the Great Flood, the creation of Adam, and the nature of deep time (Enuma Elish) and the Cosmos. They developed a rich culture, including the first recorded kingship, libraries, and systems of measurement, and sacred geometry. The Zodiac developed from Mesopotamian astronomy.
Early Jewish initiates believed Qabala's mysteries were first taught by God to a school of angels. According to legend, the angels in turn transmitted it to Adam after the Fall in an attempt to help humanity regain its balance. These mythic images suggest a Mesopotamian origin for these doctrines which is lost in the mists of prehistory. Remember, the Hebrew patriarch Abraham began his spiritual journey away from paganism toward monotheism in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, (in the heart of the ancient Sumeria, where recorded history, culture, and modern technology began).
We can use the Qabala today as a guide for our personal growth, both psychological and spiritual. Qabala helps us get in conscious contact with latent or hidden aspects of our deep mind, collective inheritance, and Source. The imagery and phenomenology of Qabala is well documented. The universe is an emanation or flowing forth of Godhead, the primal Source It is an expression of the dynamic fullness of divine Life.
This plenum or matrix is the source of divine sparks who plunge into the long process of involution or descent through the planes into manifestation. They eventually undergo an evolution in which new and infinitely differentiated aspects of the original, unmanifest potentiality of the Godhead comes to expression. Ascent up the central column of the Tree of Life is the mystic's path to spiritual awakening and absorption. The Source can be experienced directly and discovered within us. This universal paradigm correlates with all mystical traditions. It is the very ground of our self-awareness.
The qabalistic Universe is a spatially conceived cosmos divided into higher and lower worlds or heavenly spheres of influence. Qabala is about the relationship of the One to the Many, and the Many to the One; all are conceived as active aspects of Living Deity and their dynamic interrelations. It describes a vast panoply of involution and evolution. It is an immense network of embedded symbolism and arcane lore, which begins with a cosmology, (a scenario about how the universe and humanity came into being; the patterns of nature in relation to the moral and psychological aspects of human behavior).
The qabalistic Genesis begins with the emanation of Ain Soph, "supreme wisdom," the Godhead as pure light-filled creative intelligence, source of all manifestation. The Limitless Light flows out into the 10 Spheres of the Tree of Life down through the Four Worlds of Creation: Archetypal (divine), Causal (mental), Astral (emotional), and Physical. Emanation means that God sent forth a portion of his own essence into the manifestation, rather than creating a separate reality. This cosmic pattern or design reflects the divine order, the pervasive design of the world.
The succession of numbers 1 through 10 symbolizes and is, in fact, identical with the emanation of the manifest Universe. The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet contain and create the secret structure of all things. The cosmic process is an unfolding of the mystical name of God. Each letter corresponds with a path on the Tree of Life, and functions as a mystical "gateway" to its experience.
Though originally an oral tradition, written philosophical doctrines can be traced to the 3rd through 13th centuries. The foundational text of written Qabala, the Sephir Yetzirah, 'The Book of Formation' is based on alphanumeric mysticism. It describes how God created the manifest universe by means of letter/numbers which are the foundation of all things. The letters are part of 'one body,' the alphabet which is an extension of God's own being.
All created things, made by means of the letters, are also parts of the one body which is God. Contemplation of and meditation on these Hebrew letter/numbers is fundamental to accessing discrete mystical states. Mystical understanding of this divine Unity is the first concern of qabalism. This is part of the origin of the power of the Word or Logos in the crossroads cultures of the Middle East. In ancient Egypt the specific organ of creation was Ptah's mouth, "which named all things."
Like the descending emanations from the divine source, the soul leaves its home in Godhead and descends into physical form, where its redemption comes through seeking that from which it originated. Thus, Qabala is a Path of Return to the pristine state, but with an experiential legacy.
This legacy comes from "dying while living," a metaphor for the daily "death" to the outer world in mystical meditation. Ultimately Qabala is a solitary pursuit, but one best conducted with an experienced guide. Remember, no teacher can take you any further than they have been, and there are real psychological and spiritual dangers in the realm of the collective unconscious.
Not everyone is naturally equipped to discriminate subtle tricks of the mind (mental imbalance, hallucinations, delusions, ego inflations, flights of fancy) from authentic spiritual insight. True mystical experience, like scientifically conducted experiments, is repeatable and reproducible. It is approximately the same for all practitioners, everywhere, in all times.
The same is not true for what psychologists call "magical thinking," which is a pre-rational, rather than transrational state, characterized by a plethora of superstitions and often paranoid ideations. Much of so-called New Age thought is characterized by these romanticized superstitions and faulty conclusions based on sporadic results from unsystematic, idiosyncratic rites and practices.
We may be well-intentioned when we embark on self-directed studies, but this method can take you no further than the Self, where many magicians make the mistake of setting themselves up as an ersatz God and worshiping their own willfulness. Is not setting oneself up as one's own God the ultimate folly, and the mistake which turns the adept into a Black Magician, deifying his own personality?
We must abandon our narcissism to take up the quest for archetypal origin. It involves personal sacrifice and ordeals. Four factors show the difference between someone who has creative fantasies and someone who is only spinning neurotic nonsense: originality, consistency, intensity, and subtlety.
Though the roots of magic and schizophrenic fantasy spring from the same source, they are not synonymous. Magic is a counterphobic attitude, the transition from passivity to activity. In fantasy, realistic action does not follow; it is a substitute for healthy, pro-active behavior. The ego is weak or totally absent, engaging in fruitless attempts at restitution.
True aspirants show continuity of devotion to God, not self-aggrandizement. One learns how to navigate in the imaginal realm--an as if reality--without taking it literally. We learn to become absorbed in the Divine without mistaking our spiritual awakening for de facto personal deification. The attitude is one of "Not my will but Thine be done." It is the spirit of submission and selfless service to the Divine Will.
Reports of angels and demons are commonplace in Qabalistic literature. Once again, this speaks of a Mesopotamian origin or subsequent influence. The crossroads cultures of the Mediterranean and Middle East influenced one another's philosophies.
In late antiquity there was a mingling of Gnostic, Neoplatonic, the ancient Hebrew Merkabah tradition, and magical speculation with Babylonian notions of angelic, demonic, and divine powers. This influenced the development of mystical lore. This co-mingling (syncretism) had long been established by the time the central text of Qabalism, the Zohar was written in 13th century Spain.
In terms of Jungian psychology, the angels seem to correspond with inner guides or wisdom figures, while the demons are analogous to psychological complexes. Qabalistic speculation asserts that angelic guardians and demons can block one's progress to ascent. In many ways these "entities from other dimensions" represent different aspects of the human psyche--forms of our higher and lower selves.
Psychologically, we know that imbalance and neurosis are blocks to our growth, self-defeating behaviors. Angels can be seen as transpersonal resources, while demons manifest within us as autonomous subpersonalities with their own agenda, not necessarily in synch with our personalities goals.
Somewhere in between common angels and demons comes the notion of the daemon, genius, or Holy Guardian Angel--a personal inner guide which appears as synchronicities, inspiration, creativity, intuitive knowing, or directly as a personified figure for dialogical exchange. Angels are messengers which mediate between the divine and the human.
The angel instructs and inspires, draws forth and nurtures our talents. We connect with our personal essence and self-expression.It can be a guardian of the threshold of the mysteries, harsh taskmaster or the source of seemingly infinite creative expression. But, once summoned, it will not be ignored without peril. Attainment of "Knowledge and Conversation" with this singular Angel is the primary operation of elementary theurgic magick, and is central to further progress and transcendence.
The purpose of the Qabala (QBL) is to help us experience the Mysteries directly through personal encounter, both inwardly and outwardly. It is no mere study, but an applied philosophy. The transformative lessons of the Qabala come through life experiences and consciousness journeys. It is visceral and emotional, as well as mental. It is a perspective on life that is actively immersed in the mythic as well as personal worlds. The adept has a foot in, or walks between both worlds.
The doctrine of Qabala is based on the premise that God created mankind in his [their] own image. The Creation is attributed to the Elohim, male/female deities acting as agents of the supreme God. There is a hierarchy of hyperdimensional entities which inhabit the various subtle planes of the universe. Each of the classes of angels has a specific relationship and duties toward mankind. They are all in service to the self-revealing dynamic God of religious experience. An existing God means a manifest, revealed and related God.
The guiding axiom of the Creation is "As Above, So Below." This Hermetic axiom means that there is an archetypal identity between divinity and mankind, mankind and the Universe. This intimates that mankind can achieve a "cosmic consciousness," since "we are that." We can "receive" this knowledge or revealed Truth directly from the Source, through QBL which literally means "to receive."
There are six major principles of the Qabala:
* The cosmos is a Unity, with all aspects in interrelation. It is a wholistic worldview.
* The forces of creation represent an eternal interplay between an active force and a passive one; polarity (positive and negative charge, male/female, yin/yang, holding the tension of the opposites).
* The human individual is a microcosm of the universe; we come to know the universe through ourselves, and ourselves through cosmic principles.
* In daily life we are attuned to only one state of consciousness among many. This is the culturally programmed trance state known as ordinary consciousness, or consensus reality.
* We can access multiple states of consciousness, including universal or cosmic consciousness through systematic application of concentration and meditation, by the grace of God. Careful preparation is necessary.
* To achieve such transcendent states of consciousness various specific practices and techniques are utilized.
The main concern of the practicing Qabalist lies in the applications of its teachings to his own life. In other words, we are interested in psychological and spiritual growth with a greater understanding of Universal principles. In Qabala we find many mysteries and techniques for enlightenment. Like any system of theosophy, the Qabala's purpose is to account for humanity's relation to the Divine, and to create a personal, living relationship with that divinity.
The main tools (or methods) applied by the Qabalist include concentration, visualization, ritual, meditation, and contemplation of the Tree of Life. The circuit of this "Tree" is the most important symbol in the Qabala, and posits a series of "heavens" (or discrete yet synergetic states of consciousness) which can be accessed by the aspirant.
This Tree describes the descent of creative energy into manifestation, (in a primordial move God begins to turn outwards, to unfold, to exist), and the Path of Return to divine existence. The downward arc of phenomenal creation is answered by an ascending arc of evolving consciousness. The Tree of Life represents the soul of mankind and the essence of the Universe. It is the guiding model for the homeward-bound soul; a consciousness map for the inner journey back to the Limitless Light.
This glyph, which consists of 10 Spheres and 22 Paths, has long been associated with the Way of Initiation. Qabala is a mystery school whose secrets are only transmitted orally and experientially. Because these secrets require maturity, deep commitment and personal experience, and God's grace, they are always "safe" from the profane. The dilettante or dabbler will never "get it." It requires "being there."
The Tree is a compendium of symbolism describing all ways of being and becoming; of forms, images, and ideas. It is a system of correspondences, associating diverse symbolism such as inner experiences, planetary attributions, the Tarot, gods and goddesses, plants, jewels, animals, elements, alchemical operations, etc.
Pathworking is a technical term from the Western mystery tradition. It is a method of using imaginal processes to get actual experience. It is a course of meditations which leads to the awakening of inner potentials or psychic effects, and produces outer effects in the form of synchronistic events, challenges, or growth. It is a means of conscious self-discovery and self-actualization, unfolding our innate essence, "true self".
In meditation the Qabalist concentrates on the Tree of Life and observes certain relationships. When we concentrate on one of the Tree's symbols, our mind contacts a cosmic force and completes a transformative circuit with Universal Mind. A new aspect of the collective unconscious is made available to our conscious minds. The transpersonal becomes personal and finite as it manifests within us. The practice of this meditation eventually leads the student up the paths toward spiritual fulfillment and union with the Limitless Light.
The application of qabalistic principles, practical Qabala, has always been called magic. It supersedes the more primal, shamanic type of magic with theurgy. Its aim is religious or spiritual, rather than personalistic ends, such as healing. It changes consciousness progressively, not regressively. It leads to objective self-knowledge. There is no loss of consciousness to lower trance states, but an enhancement.
Through syncretism (the cross-cultural melding of religious ideas), Qabala became more than a system of Jewish mysticism. It is the basis of the Western Occult Tradition and Hermetic Philosophy. Practical Qabalists use the teachings to transform their lives, using many of the techniques adopted by modern psychology. In fact, many of the ancient mystic arts were the traditional equivalents of contemporary science.
If you embark on a self-directed program of growth, how do you know how to program your transformations? How will you achieve a balanced or equilibrated growth pattern, making sure your rational and emotional selves mature at a harmonious rate? Who or what will be your guide? How will you avoid overemphasizing your strong points, and how can you identify your psychological blind spots, or guide yourself through your own fears?
Both Jungian psychology and the qabalistic teachings include a depth analysis of the personality, and its subsequent reintegration on a higher level of organization. It means the deconstruction of the rigid old ego, its liquification, and subsequent spiritual rebirth. This requires maturity, and both disciplines recommend waiting until after age 40 to begin in earnest. Before this age outer activities such as career and family often take rightful precedence. But many must begin sooner because they are called to the Path early. Both systems employ the study of symbolism and archetypes, creative visualizations, guided imagery, journal work, and meditation. Both seek the actualization of an integrated personality, known as self-realization.
However, Qabala transcends the realm of psychology and the mind; it seeks to use the trained psyche or soul as a vehicle for God-realization. Hence, its emphasis on purification and discipline of the mind and body in service to the soul. This is the task of mystical meditation, whose goal is beyond the realm of the mind. The transpersonal goal is valued more highly than the personal sacrifice which is a condition of success in this endeavor. Yet Qabala is a "householder's yoga" which need not take us away from worldly life and our duties.
We can integrate both ancient qabalistic and modern psychological teachings into our daily lives. Qabala adapts to the continuing changes of contemporary society since it not a dogmatic, historic curiosity whose mysteries are frozen in antiquity. Rather, it is a living science of the soul, an evolving system of spiritual development accessible to anyone with a desire for higher knowledge and depth experience.
The Qabala is a blueprint of a holistic lifestyle. It is a way to tie your various studies together, relating them to each other, and enabling you to understand each more completely. It is also a useful guide and objective measure of your personal growth.
Dion Fortune defines Qabala as "an attempt to reduce to diagrammatic form every force and factor in the manifested universe and the soul of man; to correlate them to one another and reveal them spread out as a map so the relative positions between them can be seen and the relations between them traced. . .a compendium of science, psychology, philosophy and theology." We might add that the Qabala encodes a maximum amount of information in a minimum number of graphic elements, i.e. spheres, paths, number/letters, and colors. It is a universal code.
Israel Regardie calls the Qabala, "a trustworthy guide leading to a comprehension of both the Universe and one's own Self." From Gareth Knight we hear, "A practical method for the interrelations of various systems of symbols." For example, if you know one symbol system, say astrology, you can readily translate it over into another, such as gods and goddesses, by means of the Tree of Life.
Qabala, as a system of attaining direct religious experience, has been called a step-ladder of spiritual growth, the Ladder of Lights. It may also be used as a study of comparative religions, with their goals mapped at the various stations. W.E. Butler termed it "a method of using the mind in a practical and constantly widening consideration of the Universal soul of man." The methods of QBL require that the mind be tamed and trained and its lower desires subjugated to the higher Will.
One of my favorite (slightly outdated in the digital media era) metaphors likens the Qabala to a filing cabinet which contains the Universe. It functions as a filing cabinet for mental concepts, giving a place for everything within the 32 files of the Tree. This data base can be used as a retrieval system, not only to contact the information you've stored there, but also that which is warehoused there from the collective unconscious. Through it, we connect with a vast spiritual heritage, that of previous practitioners of QBL. It brings us in touch with experiences similar to those who have gone before us on this Way.
Regardie states that, "the art of using our filing cabinet arrangement brings home to us the common nature (or essence) of certain things, the essential difference between others, and the inevitable connection of all things. Moreover, and this is extremely important, by the acquisition of an understanding of any one system of mystical philosophy or religion, one automatically acquires, when relating that comprehension to the Tree of Life, an understanding of every system. So that ultimately, by a species of association of impersonal and abstract ideal, one gradually equilibrates the whole of one's own mental structure and obtains a simple view of the incalculably vast complexity of the universe."
From the Qabalist's perspective, equilibrium is the basis of the work. Qabala functions as an ancient general systems, theory, allowing us to relate that which is apparently separate. Serious students make a careful study of the attributes of the Tree and commit them to memory. They function automatically as mnemonic devices to stimulate synergetic perception of reality.
Jung alleged that there are gods within each illness or dis-ease we experience. Each archetype or godform has its own corresponding pathologies. When we realize that our identities are composed of various complexes (or subpersonalities) and realize that there are different mental and spiritual spaces, we are already engaged in some form of Qabala. The Tree of Life is a map to these consciousness states, and their balancing forces.
In depth psychology we find modern terms for these states of consciousness. In ancient texts we find the names for these spaces and techniques to contact or enter them. The map of inner consciousness unites the soul with the Universe. We move through this map, up the Ladder of Lights by means of the process of progressive identification with higher states, and disidentification with lower ones. We don't lose the lower levels, but bring them into a symphonic relationship with the higher ones. This is the spiritual approach to healing dis-ease.
The Tree of Life, as a graphic representation of the creation, leads to the communion of the mundane, conscious self with both the subconscious and superconscious Self. The subconscious includes the body with its virtual, subatomic (quantum), atomic, molecular, and genetic organization, autonomic functions, and the personal unconscious of forgotten or repressed desires and memories--the psychophysical. The superconcious is the spiritual self or the god-within.
As with all good road maps, the Tree of Life helps guide you to your destination, but the map is not the territory. In the case of this map, problem solving, obtaining goals, and spiritual experience are the ultimate destinations. Goal setting is a positive thing; without goals we flounder. This is the basis of becoming a "seeker," and then an initiate. Initiation is only the beginning of the process. The imparted teaching must be applied. The ego can initially do those things which lead to its own transcendence, but in the higher stages progress comes through God's Grace.
The Tree has various directional coordinates connecting the spheres, called "paths." The paths are transitional stages while the spheres themselves may be considered discrete states of consciousness or archetypal modes of Being, rather than Becoming. Each of the 22 paths has a series of exercises that strengthen, prepare, and test the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. A student of the Qabala does "pathworking" for spiritual growth.
There are two major divisions to the study of the Tree of Life. The first way to approach it is philosophical. The doctrine of the Qabala includes an elaborate conception of the birth of the universe, or a cosmology. It outlines detailed hierarchies of entities controlling the various inner realms which lie between the mundane sphere of the earth and the abode of God, as unmanifest Reality. This "blueprint of the Universe" may be studied, and contemplated or meditated upon. Recent investigations reveal that the pattern of the Tree is implicit in the formation of all atomic elements (see The Diamond Body). It is the geometrical basis of natural philosophy.
Once we are familiar with the basic concepts we have the option of approaching the Tree from a practical, experiential perspective. Here the information we learned through study is put into applied practice. This application has been called "magic" from the earliest times, from the same root as Magi, the Mesopotamian wise men, priests and atronomers. Astrology and magic were invented and developed in ancient Mesopotamia.
In contemporary mystical terms, it primarily indicates the building up of multi-sensory mental images or impressions. Sometimes we must resort to sensory stimulation to engrain or reinforce these symbolic images. This is one value of ceremony or ritual: to set up a system for evoking psychosensory subliminal responses which can transform the personality.
The most basic use of the Qabala in our daily living is as a touchstone for solving our personal problems and gaining a transpersonal perspective which transcends our mundane life. Do your actions and choices create more karma? Do they take you closer or further away from your spiritual objectives? The effect of discrimination and better choices is therapeutic for the personality and healing for the soul. It promotes healthy self-esteem and personal integrity. It increases compassion, wisdom, and understanding.
When the fragmentation in our personality begins to heal, we experience rebirth as a more integrated personality. Once we have addressed our major psychological conflicts, the mind becomes calm enough to begin meditation. Those who have mastered this technique are enlightened sages, called masters. They describe the mind as a veil covering and encumbering the soul.
This mind is seen as tied in a knot with the soul. Therefore, whatever the mind does, the soul is dragged along. If the mind is taken outside, willy-nilly by the senses, soul is scattered in phenomena, maya, or illusion. If the attention goes within--to the Eye Center in meditation--soul can collect and ascend to higher regions. The mind is necessary for the soul to express itself on material planes just as a diving suit is necessary for any prolonged stay underwater.
The goal of many meditation schools is Universal Mind, or Brahm. But these schools may not speak of soul, per se, although they do address its phenomena. The Tree of Life shows the dominion of mind terminating at The Abyss. The upper one-third of the Tree--the Supernal Triad--supersedes Universal Mind. It exists in an altogether different dimension, an archetypal dimension beyond even subtle manifestation. Masters speak of entering this realm in their meditations, once the soul is freed from the mind. But your model or worldview must include the possibility of Reality beyond Universal Mind, or you won't even seek it.
Qabala describes four discrete aspects of the soul:
1) GUPH, the material or physical body;
2) NEPHESH, the desire body, instinctual nature, psychosexual self;
3) RUACH, the mental body of personality including memory, will, imagination, and reason;
4) NESCHAMAH, the soul unfettered by its mingling with the mind. A pure spark of divinity which has the capacity to merge back into Godhead.
Neschamah manifests in the life of the self-realized individual. In fact, the realization is that one is indeed this being of pure light, "I AM THAT."
"Ever since the Lord ordained the Creation,
I have been pledged to return to my original home.
People know, from my quest for unity in God,
that I am as anxious as I am eager to merge with him.
I shall bear the blows of destiny as I pursue him,
while I am ferried across to him on the boat of his love.
No one ever found the Lord while living,
O Bahu, except those who found him by dying while living." --Sultan Bahu, 17th Century Sufi saint, Punjab, India
THE SYNERGETIC QABALA
Synergetic Qabala
synergeticqabala.iwarp.com
The premise of Synergetic Qabala is based on the fact that manifesting form is essentially energetic. Form is not other than force, and force is often indistinguishable from form. Forces interacting in dynamic stabilization are essentially, therefore, synergetic. The right and left Pillars of the Tree of Life are in a state of dynamic tension, as well as other polarities which it embodies.
While Synergetic Qabala is essentially a geometrical philosophy, it is not a sterile number mysticism, but a theosophical approach to the unfathomable mysteries of Qabala and its essentially mystical orientation. The Tree of Life is a model of the universe that describes energy's behavior and also has the ability to shape our thinking.
Synergetics describes the actual underlying geometry of subatomic structure. Here we employ nature's own coordinate system, the geometry nature uses for self-organization --the tetrahedron. There is a relationship between geometry and number which is intrinsic to the spheres and geometry of the Tree of Life. It defines the philosophical universe of Qabala. Explorations in this geometry are covered elsewhere in"The Synergetic Qabala."
The ancient system of the Qabala may best be described as a mystical theosophy, an effective guide for understanding ourselves and our relationship to the universe. It provides a cohesive worldview which is consistent with the findings of modern physics, psychology, and philosophical thought. It provides not only a philosophy, but a Way of life. It is a mystical discipline which requires an active spiritual practice for realization.
As in the case of physics, there are two main branches of Qabala. The first is speculative or Theoretical Qabala and the second is Practical Qabala which concerns the application of its principles through theurgic magic and/or mystical meditation. It is a complex system of symbols and principles for developing the inner potential of human nature, leading to the stage of conscious service to the divine powers at the source of all creation. Though often spelled many ways, we employ the simplest transliteration of QBL, as Qabala (ka-ba-la).
Though associated with the Hebrew, and later Hermetic philosophers, the roots of Qabala possibly originated in Egypt. The Western occult tradition attributes it to Hermes Trismegistus, or Thoth (Egyptian inventor of writing, astronomy, and mathematics). These teachings belong to ancient Egyptian mystery traditions that predate Plato and the Bible, with treatises on ancient cosmology and sacred psychology.
The Hermetic tradition enjoyed a revival when Marsilio Ficinio translated a bundle of ancient Egyptian manuscripts with the collective name of the Hermetica (1463). The Hermetica has been called the fountainhead of Western spirituality, the motherlode of all later esoteric and metaphysical systems. Here we find the suggestion that mankind is a hybrid of human and divine elements. Human nature is potential divinity, or "Godseed." Hermetics opened the way to independent spiritual seeking--spontaneous God contact--in the West. It suggests the possibility of transhumanization, and the divine mission of co-creation.
Egyptian religion is the prototype and source of mankind's interest in seeking immortality. It is the source of mystical teachings on reincarnation, magic, healing, the mysteries and the rudiments of sciences such as astronomy and chemistry. The other primary source of mythic material comes from Sumeria with its stories of God-men, the Great Flood, the creation of Adam, and the nature of deep time (Enuma Elish) and the Cosmos. They developed a rich culture, including the first recorded kingship, libraries, and systems of measurement, and sacred geometry. The Zodiac developed from Mesopotamian astronomy.
Early Jewish initiates believed Qabala's mysteries were first taught by God to a school of angels. According to legend, the angels in turn transmitted it to Adam after the Fall in an attempt to help humanity regain its balance. These mythic images suggest a Mesopotamian origin for these doctrines which is lost in the mists of prehistory. Remember, the Hebrew patriarch Abraham began his spiritual journey away from paganism toward monotheism in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, (in the heart of the ancient Sumeria, where recorded history, culture, and modern technology began).
We can use the Qabala today as a guide for our personal growth, both psychological and spiritual. Qabala helps us get in conscious contact with latent or hidden aspects of our deep mind, collective inheritance, and Source. The imagery and phenomenology of Qabala is well documented. The universe is an emanation or flowing forth of Godhead, the primal Source It is an expression of the dynamic fullness of divine Life.
This plenum or matrix is the source of divine sparks who plunge into the long process of involution or descent through the planes into manifestation. They eventually undergo an evolution in which new and infinitely differentiated aspects of the original, unmanifest potentiality of the Godhead comes to expression. Ascent up the central column of the Tree of Life is the mystic's path to spiritual awakening and absorption. The Source can be experienced directly and discovered within us. This universal paradigm correlates with all mystical traditions. It is the very ground of our self-awareness.
The qabalistic Universe is a spatially conceived cosmos divided into higher and lower worlds or heavenly spheres of influence. Qabala is about the relationship of the One to the Many, and the Many to the One; all are conceived as active aspects of Living Deity and their dynamic interrelations. It describes a vast panoply of involution and evolution. It is an immense network of embedded symbolism and arcane lore, which begins with a cosmology, (a scenario about how the universe and humanity came into being; the patterns of nature in relation to the moral and psychological aspects of human behavior).
The qabalistic Genesis begins with the emanation of Ain Soph, "supreme wisdom," the Godhead as pure light-filled creative intelligence, source of all manifestation. The Limitless Light flows out into the 10 Spheres of the Tree of Life down through the Four Worlds of Creation: Archetypal (divine), Causal (mental), Astral (emotional), and Physical. Emanation means that God sent forth a portion of his own essence into the manifestation, rather than creating a separate reality. This cosmic pattern or design reflects the divine order, the pervasive design of the world.
The succession of numbers 1 through 10 symbolizes and is, in fact, identical with the emanation of the manifest Universe. The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet contain and create the secret structure of all things. The cosmic process is an unfolding of the mystical name of God. Each letter corresponds with a path on the Tree of Life, and functions as a mystical "gateway" to its experience.
Though originally an oral tradition, written philosophical doctrines can be traced to the 3rd through 13th centuries. The foundational text of written Qabala, the Sephir Yetzirah, 'The Book of Formation' is based on alphanumeric mysticism. It describes how God created the manifest universe by means of letter/numbers which are the foundation of all things. The letters are part of 'one body,' the alphabet which is an extension of God's own being.
All created things, made by means of the letters, are also parts of the one body which is God. Contemplation of and meditation on these Hebrew letter/numbers is fundamental to accessing discrete mystical states. Mystical understanding of this divine Unity is the first concern of qabalism. This is part of the origin of the power of the Word or Logos in the crossroads cultures of the Middle East. In ancient Egypt the specific organ of creation was Ptah's mouth, "which named all things."
Like the descending emanations from the divine source, the soul leaves its home in Godhead and descends into physical form, where its redemption comes through seeking that from which it originated. Thus, Qabala is a Path of Return to the pristine state, but with an experiential legacy.
This legacy comes from "dying while living," a metaphor for the daily "death" to the outer world in mystical meditation. Ultimately Qabala is a solitary pursuit, but one best conducted with an experienced guide. Remember, no teacher can take you any further than they have been, and there are real psychological and spiritual dangers in the realm of the collective unconscious.
Not everyone is naturally equipped to discriminate subtle tricks of the mind (mental imbalance, hallucinations, delusions, ego inflations, flights of fancy) from authentic spiritual insight. True mystical experience, like scientifically conducted experiments, is repeatable and reproducible. It is approximately the same for all practitioners, everywhere, in all times.
The same is not true for what psychologists call "magical thinking," which is a pre-rational, rather than transrational state, characterized by a plethora of superstitions and often paranoid ideations. Much of so-called New Age thought is characterized by these romanticized superstitions and faulty conclusions based on sporadic results from unsystematic, idiosyncratic rites and practices.
We may be well-intentioned when we embark on self-directed studies, but this method can take you no further than the Self, where many magicians make the mistake of setting themselves up as an ersatz God and worshiping their own willfulness. Is not setting oneself up as one's own God the ultimate folly, and the mistake which turns the adept into a Black Magician, deifying his own personality?
We must abandon our narcissism to take up the quest for archetypal origin. It involves personal sacrifice and ordeals. Four factors show the difference between someone who has creative fantasies and someone who is only spinning neurotic nonsense: originality, consistency, intensity, and subtlety.
Though the roots of magic and schizophrenic fantasy spring from the same source, they are not synonymous. Magic is a counterphobic attitude, the transition from passivity to activity. In fantasy, realistic action does not follow; it is a substitute for healthy, pro-active behavior. The ego is weak or totally absent, engaging in fruitless attempts at restitution.
True aspirants show continuity of devotion to God, not self-aggrandizement. One learns how to navigate in the imaginal realm--an as if reality--without taking it literally. We learn to become absorbed in the Divine without mistaking our spiritual awakening for de facto personal deification. The attitude is one of "Not my will but Thine be done." It is the spirit of submission and selfless service to the Divine Will.
Reports of angels and demons are commonplace in Qabalistic literature. Once again, this speaks of a Mesopotamian origin or subsequent influence. The crossroads cultures of the Mediterranean and Middle East influenced one another's philosophies.
In late antiquity there was a mingling of Gnostic, Neoplatonic, the ancient Hebrew Merkabah tradition, and magical speculation with Babylonian notions of angelic, demonic, and divine powers. This influenced the development of mystical lore. This co-mingling (syncretism) had long been established by the time the central text of Qabalism, the Zohar was written in 13th century Spain.
In terms of Jungian psychology, the angels seem to correspond with inner guides or wisdom figures, while the demons are analogous to psychological complexes. Qabalistic speculation asserts that angelic guardians and demons can block one's progress to ascent. In many ways these "entities from other dimensions" represent different aspects of the human psyche--forms of our higher and lower selves.
Psychologically, we know that imbalance and neurosis are blocks to our growth, self-defeating behaviors. Angels can be seen as transpersonal resources, while demons manifest within us as autonomous subpersonalities with their own agenda, not necessarily in synch with our personalities goals.
Somewhere in between common angels and demons comes the notion of the daemon, genius, or Holy Guardian Angel--a personal inner guide which appears as synchronicities, inspiration, creativity, intuitive knowing, or directly as a personified figure for dialogical exchange. Angels are messengers which mediate between the divine and the human.
The angel instructs and inspires, draws forth and nurtures our talents. We connect with our personal essence and self-expression.It can be a guardian of the threshold of the mysteries, harsh taskmaster or the source of seemingly infinite creative expression. But, once summoned, it will not be ignored without peril. Attainment of "Knowledge and Conversation" with this singular Angel is the primary operation of elementary theurgic magick, and is central to further progress and transcendence.
The purpose of the Qabala (QBL) is to help us experience the Mysteries directly through personal encounter, both inwardly and outwardly. It is no mere study, but an applied philosophy. The transformative lessons of the Qabala come through life experiences and consciousness journeys. It is visceral and emotional, as well as mental. It is a perspective on life that is actively immersed in the mythic as well as personal worlds. The adept has a foot in, or walks between both worlds.
The doctrine of Qabala is based on the premise that God created mankind in his [their] own image. The Creation is attributed to the Elohim, male/female deities acting as agents of the supreme God. There is a hierarchy of hyperdimensional entities which inhabit the various subtle planes of the universe. Each of the classes of angels has a specific relationship and duties toward mankind. They are all in service to the self-revealing dynamic God of religious experience. An existing God means a manifest, revealed and related God.
The guiding axiom of the Creation is "As Above, So Below." This Hermetic axiom means that there is an archetypal identity between divinity and mankind, mankind and the Universe. This intimates that mankind can achieve a "cosmic consciousness," since "we are that." We can "receive" this knowledge or revealed Truth directly from the Source, through QBL which literally means "to receive."
There are six major principles of the Qabala:
* The cosmos is a Unity, with all aspects in interrelation. It is a wholistic worldview.
* The forces of creation represent an eternal interplay between an active force and a passive one; polarity (positive and negative charge, male/female, yin/yang, holding the tension of the opposites).
* The human individual is a microcosm of the universe; we come to know the universe through ourselves, and ourselves through cosmic principles.
* In daily life we are attuned to only one state of consciousness among many. This is the culturally programmed trance state known as ordinary consciousness, or consensus reality.
* We can access multiple states of consciousness, including universal or cosmic consciousness through systematic application of concentration and meditation, by the grace of God. Careful preparation is necessary.
* To achieve such transcendent states of consciousness various specific practices and techniques are utilized.
The main concern of the practicing Qabalist lies in the applications of its teachings to his own life. In other words, we are interested in psychological and spiritual growth with a greater understanding of Universal principles. In Qabala we find many mysteries and techniques for enlightenment. Like any system of theosophy, the Qabala's purpose is to account for humanity's relation to the Divine, and to create a personal, living relationship with that divinity.
The main tools (or methods) applied by the Qabalist include concentration, visualization, ritual, meditation, and contemplation of the Tree of Life. The circuit of this "Tree" is the most important symbol in the Qabala, and posits a series of "heavens" (or discrete yet synergetic states of consciousness) which can be accessed by the aspirant.
This Tree describes the descent of creative energy into manifestation, (in a primordial move God begins to turn outwards, to unfold, to exist), and the Path of Return to divine existence. The downward arc of phenomenal creation is answered by an ascending arc of evolving consciousness. The Tree of Life represents the soul of mankind and the essence of the Universe. It is the guiding model for the homeward-bound soul; a consciousness map for the inner journey back to the Limitless Light.
This glyph, which consists of 10 Spheres and 22 Paths, has long been associated with the Way of Initiation. Qabala is a mystery school whose secrets are only transmitted orally and experientially. Because these secrets require maturity, deep commitment and personal experience, and God's grace, they are always "safe" from the profane. The dilettante or dabbler will never "get it." It requires "being there."
The Tree is a compendium of symbolism describing all ways of being and becoming; of forms, images, and ideas. It is a system of correspondences, associating diverse symbolism such as inner experiences, planetary attributions, the Tarot, gods and goddesses, plants, jewels, animals, elements, alchemical operations, etc.
Pathworking is a technical term from the Western mystery tradition. It is a method of using imaginal processes to get actual experience. It is a course of meditations which leads to the awakening of inner potentials or psychic effects, and produces outer effects in the form of synchronistic events, challenges, or growth. It is a means of conscious self-discovery and self-actualization, unfolding our innate essence, "true self".
In meditation the Qabalist concentrates on the Tree of Life and observes certain relationships. When we concentrate on one of the Tree's symbols, our mind contacts a cosmic force and completes a transformative circuit with Universal Mind. A new aspect of the collective unconscious is made available to our conscious minds. The transpersonal becomes personal and finite as it manifests within us. The practice of this meditation eventually leads the student up the paths toward spiritual fulfillment and union with the Limitless Light.
The application of qabalistic principles, practical Qabala, has always been called magic. It supersedes the more primal, shamanic type of magic with theurgy. Its aim is religious or spiritual, rather than personalistic ends, such as healing. It changes consciousness progressively, not regressively. It leads to objective self-knowledge. There is no loss of consciousness to lower trance states, but an enhancement.
Through syncretism (the cross-cultural melding of religious ideas), Qabala became more than a system of Jewish mysticism. It is the basis of the Western Occult Tradition and Hermetic Philosophy. Practical Qabalists use the teachings to transform their lives, using many of the techniques adopted by modern psychology. In fact, many of the ancient mystic arts were the traditional equivalents of contemporary science.
If you embark on a self-directed program of growth, how do you know how to program your transformations? How will you achieve a balanced or equilibrated growth pattern, making sure your rational and emotional selves mature at a harmonious rate? Who or what will be your guide? How will you avoid overemphasizing your strong points, and how can you identify your psychological blind spots, or guide yourself through your own fears?
Both Jungian psychology and the qabalistic teachings include a depth analysis of the personality, and its subsequent reintegration on a higher level of organization. It means the deconstruction of the rigid old ego, its liquification, and subsequent spiritual rebirth. This requires maturity, and both disciplines recommend waiting until after age 40 to begin in earnest. Before this age outer activities such as career and family often take rightful precedence. But many must begin sooner because they are called to the Path early. Both systems employ the study of symbolism and archetypes, creative visualizations, guided imagery, journal work, and meditation. Both seek the actualization of an integrated personality, known as self-realization.
However, Qabala transcends the realm of psychology and the mind; it seeks to use the trained psyche or soul as a vehicle for God-realization. Hence, its emphasis on purification and discipline of the mind and body in service to the soul. This is the task of mystical meditation, whose goal is beyond the realm of the mind. The transpersonal goal is valued more highly than the personal sacrifice which is a condition of success in this endeavor. Yet Qabala is a "householder's yoga" which need not take us away from worldly life and our duties.
We can integrate both ancient qabalistic and modern psychological teachings into our daily lives. Qabala adapts to the continuing changes of contemporary society since it not a dogmatic, historic curiosity whose mysteries are frozen in antiquity. Rather, it is a living science of the soul, an evolving system of spiritual development accessible to anyone with a desire for higher knowledge and depth experience.
The Qabala is a blueprint of a holistic lifestyle. It is a way to tie your various studies together, relating them to each other, and enabling you to understand each more completely. It is also a useful guide and objective measure of your personal growth.
Dion Fortune defines Qabala as "an attempt to reduce to diagrammatic form every force and factor in the manifested universe and the soul of man; to correlate them to one another and reveal them spread out as a map so the relative positions between them can be seen and the relations between them traced. . .a compendium of science, psychology, philosophy and theology." We might add that the Qabala encodes a maximum amount of information in a minimum number of graphic elements, i.e. spheres, paths, number/letters, and colors. It is a universal code.
Israel Regardie calls the Qabala, "a trustworthy guide leading to a comprehension of both the Universe and one's own Self." From Gareth Knight we hear, "A practical method for the interrelations of various systems of symbols." For example, if you know one symbol system, say astrology, you can readily translate it over into another, such as gods and goddesses, by means of the Tree of Life.
Qabala, as a system of attaining direct religious experience, has been called a step-ladder of spiritual growth, the Ladder of Lights. It may also be used as a study of comparative religions, with their goals mapped at the various stations. W.E. Butler termed it "a method of using the mind in a practical and constantly widening consideration of the Universal soul of man." The methods of QBL require that the mind be tamed and trained and its lower desires subjugated to the higher Will.
One of my favorite (slightly outdated in the digital media era) metaphors likens the Qabala to a filing cabinet which contains the Universe. It functions as a filing cabinet for mental concepts, giving a place for everything within the 32 files of the Tree. This data base can be used as a retrieval system, not only to contact the information you've stored there, but also that which is warehoused there from the collective unconscious. Through it, we connect with a vast spiritual heritage, that of previous practitioners of QBL. It brings us in touch with experiences similar to those who have gone before us on this Way.
Regardie states that, "the art of using our filing cabinet arrangement brings home to us the common nature (or essence) of certain things, the essential difference between others, and the inevitable connection of all things. Moreover, and this is extremely important, by the acquisition of an understanding of any one system of mystical philosophy or religion, one automatically acquires, when relating that comprehension to the Tree of Life, an understanding of every system. So that ultimately, by a species of association of impersonal and abstract ideal, one gradually equilibrates the whole of one's own mental structure and obtains a simple view of the incalculably vast complexity of the universe."
From the Qabalist's perspective, equilibrium is the basis of the work. Qabala functions as an ancient general systems, theory, allowing us to relate that which is apparently separate. Serious students make a careful study of the attributes of the Tree and commit them to memory. They function automatically as mnemonic devices to stimulate synergetic perception of reality.
Jung alleged that there are gods within each illness or dis-ease we experience. Each archetype or godform has its own corresponding pathologies. When we realize that our identities are composed of various complexes (or subpersonalities) and realize that there are different mental and spiritual spaces, we are already engaged in some form of Qabala. The Tree of Life is a map to these consciousness states, and their balancing forces.
In depth psychology we find modern terms for these states of consciousness. In ancient texts we find the names for these spaces and techniques to contact or enter them. The map of inner consciousness unites the soul with the Universe. We move through this map, up the Ladder of Lights by means of the process of progressive identification with higher states, and disidentification with lower ones. We don't lose the lower levels, but bring them into a symphonic relationship with the higher ones. This is the spiritual approach to healing dis-ease.
The Tree of Life, as a graphic representation of the creation, leads to the communion of the mundane, conscious self with both the subconscious and superconscious Self. The subconscious includes the body with its virtual, subatomic (quantum), atomic, molecular, and genetic organization, autonomic functions, and the personal unconscious of forgotten or repressed desires and memories--the psychophysical. The superconcious is the spiritual self or the god-within.
As with all good road maps, the Tree of Life helps guide you to your destination, but the map is not the territory. In the case of this map, problem solving, obtaining goals, and spiritual experience are the ultimate destinations. Goal setting is a positive thing; without goals we flounder. This is the basis of becoming a "seeker," and then an initiate. Initiation is only the beginning of the process. The imparted teaching must be applied. The ego can initially do those things which lead to its own transcendence, but in the higher stages progress comes through God's Grace.
The Tree has various directional coordinates connecting the spheres, called "paths." The paths are transitional stages while the spheres themselves may be considered discrete states of consciousness or archetypal modes of Being, rather than Becoming. Each of the 22 paths has a series of exercises that strengthen, prepare, and test the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. A student of the Qabala does "pathworking" for spiritual growth.
There are two major divisions to the study of the Tree of Life. The first way to approach it is philosophical. The doctrine of the Qabala includes an elaborate conception of the birth of the universe, or a cosmology. It outlines detailed hierarchies of entities controlling the various inner realms which lie between the mundane sphere of the earth and the abode of God, as unmanifest Reality. This "blueprint of the Universe" may be studied, and contemplated or meditated upon. Recent investigations reveal that the pattern of the Tree is implicit in the formation of all atomic elements (see The Diamond Body). It is the geometrical basis of natural philosophy.
Once we are familiar with the basic concepts we have the option of approaching the Tree from a practical, experiential perspective. Here the information we learned through study is put into applied practice. This application has been called "magic" from the earliest times, from the same root as Magi, the Mesopotamian wise men, priests and atronomers. Astrology and magic were invented and developed in ancient Mesopotamia.
In contemporary mystical terms, it primarily indicates the building up of multi-sensory mental images or impressions. Sometimes we must resort to sensory stimulation to engrain or reinforce these symbolic images. This is one value of ceremony or ritual: to set up a system for evoking psychosensory subliminal responses which can transform the personality.
The most basic use of the Qabala in our daily living is as a touchstone for solving our personal problems and gaining a transpersonal perspective which transcends our mundane life. Do your actions and choices create more karma? Do they take you closer or further away from your spiritual objectives? The effect of discrimination and better choices is therapeutic for the personality and healing for the soul. It promotes healthy self-esteem and personal integrity. It increases compassion, wisdom, and understanding.
When the fragmentation in our personality begins to heal, we experience rebirth as a more integrated personality. Once we have addressed our major psychological conflicts, the mind becomes calm enough to begin meditation. Those who have mastered this technique are enlightened sages, called masters. They describe the mind as a veil covering and encumbering the soul.
This mind is seen as tied in a knot with the soul. Therefore, whatever the mind does, the soul is dragged along. If the mind is taken outside, willy-nilly by the senses, soul is scattered in phenomena, maya, or illusion. If the attention goes within--to the Eye Center in meditation--soul can collect and ascend to higher regions. The mind is necessary for the soul to express itself on material planes just as a diving suit is necessary for any prolonged stay underwater.
The goal of many meditation schools is Universal Mind, or Brahm. But these schools may not speak of soul, per se, although they do address its phenomena. The Tree of Life shows the dominion of mind terminating at The Abyss. The upper one-third of the Tree--the Supernal Triad--supersedes Universal Mind. It exists in an altogether different dimension, an archetypal dimension beyond even subtle manifestation. Masters speak of entering this realm in their meditations, once the soul is freed from the mind. But your model or worldview must include the possibility of Reality beyond Universal Mind, or you won't even seek it.
Qabala describes four discrete aspects of the soul:
1) GUPH, the material or physical body;
2) NEPHESH, the desire body, instinctual nature, psychosexual self;
3) RUACH, the mental body of personality including memory, will, imagination, and reason;
4) NESCHAMAH, the soul unfettered by its mingling with the mind. A pure spark of divinity which has the capacity to merge back into Godhead.
Neschamah manifests in the life of the self-realized individual. In fact, the realization is that one is indeed this being of pure light, "I AM THAT."
THE COSMIC TREE
Tree of Life: Ten Sephirot of Kabbalah
The Tree of Life, called the Etz Chaim in Hebrew, is a common visual depiction of the ten sephirot of Kabbalah. Each sephirot represents an attribute of God through which he manifests his will.
The Tree of Life does not represent a single, cleanly definable system. It can be applied to the formation and existence of both the physical world and metaphysical worlds, as well as to one’s own soul, state of being, or understanding. In addition, different schools of thought such as Kabbalistic Judaism and modern Western occultism, also offer different interpretations.
Ain Soph
The divine essence from which all creation springs, known as the Ain Soph, remains outside of the Tree of Life, utterly beyond definition or comprehension, just as the vacuum potential remains beyond observation but can be deduced from the effects of the virtual photons emanating from the virtual photon flux of the falsely so-called Void. God’s unfolding descends through the tree from left to right, according to the glyph of the Tree.
Vertical Groupings
Each vertical column, or pillar, has its own associations. The left-hand column is the Pillar of Severity. It is also related to femininity and receptivity. The right-hand column is the Pillar of Mercy and is related to masculinity and activity. The central column is the Pillar of Mildness, a balance between the extremes on either side of it.
Horizontal Groupings
The top three sephirot (Kether, Chokmah, Binah) are linked to the intellect, ideas without form. Da’at might be included here, but as the invisible sephirot and reflection of Kether, it generally is not counted at all. Keter may also form its own subgroup, being the unconscious intellect and will rather than the conscious.
The next three sephirot (Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet) are the primary emotions. They are the spark of action and are goals until themselves.
The final three (Netzah, Hod, Yesod) are the secondary emotions. They have a more tangible manifestation and are means to other ends rather than being the ends themselves.
Malkuth stands alone, the physical manifestation of the other nine sephirot.
By animating the Tree within our psychophysical structure we identify with the Anthropos, the primordial cosmic Being. It unites our finite nature with the Universal consciousness. We learn firsthand that we are not separate from that, but one with it in our deepest essence. In the diagram of the Tree of Life, the highest sphere Kether is the primal and unconditioned source of all existence. It precipitates from the three "negative veils of existence." In physics, this is virtual or scalar energy, the stress energy of the vacuum potential.
Kether is the initial point of positive spiritual energy in our universe, the First Cause, in whatever manner one conceives it (a sort of White Whole). It is also, to the individual person, that particular Divine Flame which is at once the source and center of one's being.
Next, and proceeding from this primal Cause, come the two great spiritual polarities designated respectively as the Supernal Father (Yang)--creative force in action--and the Supernal Mother (Yin)--formative force in action, giving viability to, but also necessarily in some manner constricting, the energies of the Father.
To the depths of the psyche, these Supernal Parents are represented by the high archetypes of Animus and Anima, in their most exalted aspects. Lesser images of them are made manifest to the less profound levels of the personality. They may be clothed in the cultural bias of a wise old man or psychic wise woman, or with an individual bias may appear as the object of your affection in the archetype is contaminated with personal projections that more appropriately correspond with Yesod.
These top three Spheres are vital to understanding and using the Tree as a whole, although we do no magical work directly with them. They lie beyond the reach of the mind and its power to actualize our potential. The Third Sphere, that of the Supernal Mother, has however another and more accessible identity as the sphere of Saturn, the highest of the traditional planetary spheres. The power of the Mother, who is both bright and dark (as the Qabalists knew long before Freud discovered her ambivalence), is enthroned as it were behind the figure of Saturn who is ruler of primeval opulence and fecundity and of the barren rocks.
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Mercury, Venus, and Luna: these, the seven traditional luminaries of astrology are represented by the third through ninth spheres. Their qabalistic characters are not entirely identical with their astrological influences, although Qabalistic and astrological understanding usefully supplement one another; but the difference need not detain us here. The three outer planets are considered higher octaves of these potencies (Uranus=Mercury; Neptune=Luna; Pluto=Mars). The tenth and lowest sphere represents this planer Earth, or microcosmically the physical body. In either case it is seen as the recipient of the influences of all the other spheres. The receptive "Bride of the Universe."
If you know something of the quality of the planets in astrology, you already have a foothold in the Qabalistic system. Beginning with the 10th or bottom sphere, which corresponds with the qualities of Earth, the other correspond as follows: Yesod=#9 the Moon; Hod=#8 Mercury; Netzach=#7 Venus; Tiphareth=#6 the Sun; Geburah=#5 Mars; Chesed=#4 Jupiter; Binah=#3 Saturn; Chokmah=#2 Uraus; Kether=#1 spiritual aspects of Neptune (Alternatively, Chokmah is the Wheel of the Zodiac; Kether, the First Swirlings).
The humanistic or psychological meaning of these associations is as follows:
* Yesod/Luna: Bio-psychic or psychosexual functions and feeling instinct responses. Survival Instincts. Adaptation to life experiences and the provision of the self with nourishment, protection and assistance. Moon symbolizes cyclic time, and death-rebirth energy. Also, action taken to bring about actualization of solar purpose through establishment of relationships and maintenance of self as an individual. Lunar principle enables one to adapt, develop and mature within the area defined by Saturn. Lunation cycle.
* Hod/Mercury: The principles of rationality, interchange, association, relatedness, communication, translation, interpretation. Adoption of techniques and the use of knowledge and skill to function in an effective manner. The intellect, reason and tonal quality of the person. Represents fluidic mind-thinking, logical capacity as well as magical or nervous force, i.e. prana, chi.
* Netzach/Venus: Establishment of values and ideals through inner meaning. All attempts to reach the center an partake in communion with one's self and others. Aesthetics and the establishment of a pattern of appreciation and set of values and ideals. Expression of internal experiences.
* Tiphareth/Sun: Principle of Beauty, harmonization, equilibration, integration. Center and power of Self. The person's purpose and direction in life. Principle of self-actualization and centering, one's True Nature. The person's total self is sustained through the vital force of spiritual consciousness.
* Geburah/Mars: A manifestation of initative, assertion, aggression, activity or will. The centrifugal force active within experience. All forms of outwardly directed activity. How you begin and maintain things. Power or Might. Force that demolishes all forms and ideas when their term of usefulness and healthy life is done. Symbolizes not so much a fixed state of things, as an act, a further passage and transition of potentiality into actuality. The warrior-consciousness.
* Chesed/Jupiter: The principle of compassion, mercy, preservation, increase, compensation, expansion and assimilation. The process of individual assimilation of the social consciousness. Realm of ethics and morals. The urge to be a self-sustaining entity consciously participating within the social realm. The establishment of a larger frame of reference and the power to grow through cooperation with experience. Dharma or the individual power of right action. Philosopher/king; Renaissance person.
* Binah/Saturn: The True Self, or Anima; liberated soul cleansed of all traces of the mind. The principle forrm as definition for the purpose of individuation through evolution. Principle of Understanding; Shakti or Shekinah, Maya, Isis; the substantive vehicle of every possible phenomena, physical or mental, just as Chokmah is the essence of consciousness.
* Chokmah/Uranus: The True Will, spiritual energy or libido, creative genius, essence of consciousness. Transformation of the power of transformation and the urge to go beyond the area defined by Saturn. Wisdom. The vital energizing element of existence--pure Spirit or Purusha; the basic reality underlying all manifestations of consciousness. The Word or Logos.
* Kether/Neptune: Liberation; universalization; release of self. Master soul. Highest inspiration. Destruction and dissolution of antiquated forms. Source or root of all physicality and consciousness. The Divine Flame in the microcosm, the primary Cause, the Crown, the Monad (the one indivisible and absolute consciousness thrilling throughout every particle and infinitesimal point in the manifested universe in Space.
We can train ourselves to be able to attune to the various spheres, at will. That is, we can learn to induce in ourselves the magical state of consciousness of each (at least the lower seven). Our first objective in doing this is to familiarize ourselves with the primary characteristics of each sphere. This will strengthen the counterpart of each of the powers within the depths of your psyche. This is nourishing and increases your personal potential, and at the same time ensures the balanced progress of your psychological and spiritual development.
Having strengthened these archetypal counterparts and enhanced your awareness of them, and having learned to attune yourself readily to the powers of the spheres, you will be able to draw upon the mighty resources of one or another of those powers as you require, either in psychophysical, psychosexual, and psychological exercises, rituals, meditation, or daily life.
The Qabala is thus a system of relationships among mystical symbols which can be used to open access to the hidden reaches of the mind--beyond the frontiers of reason. Qabala gives us the means to penetrate the meaning behind symbolism, and pass through its interdimensional gates.
It could be regarded as the mystical process in reverse. A natural mystic will have visions by what he calls "the Grace of God" and then attempt to write down his experience in symbolism or analogy. He seeks the nearest approximate metaphors in the language of the mind. The Qabala, by a study of symbolism and archetypes, helps the Qabalist to break through to the reality that the mystic has attempted to describe.
Universal symbolism is more or less immutable in basic significance. The symbolism of mystical man includes the birth mysticism of origins, the heroic battles of the mysticism of love and rebirth, and the mysteries of death and the afterlife. On the Tree of Life, these are all coordinated by the central sphere, Tiphareth, the Sun. It symbolizes the rosy dawn of illumination after crossing the realm of the stars and the moon. Numerical symbolism is shown in the essential 3-ness of the triangle, the Three-In-One of Divinity; the thesis, antithesis and synthesis of Hegelian philosophy; the possible modes of manifestation of force--active, passive and equilibrated. The Sun is the center of a system, source of light, sustainer of life and is a symbol of Deity, etc.
The Tree of Life is waiting to share its fruits with us if we but partake. It is the source of spiritual nourishment. May you eat hearty and enjoy the savor of the One Taste.
The Tree of Life, called the Etz Chaim in Hebrew, is a common visual depiction of the ten sephirot of Kabbalah. Each sephirot represents an attribute of God through which he manifests his will.
The Tree of Life does not represent a single, cleanly definable system. It can be applied to the formation and existence of both the physical world and metaphysical worlds, as well as to one’s own soul, state of being, or understanding. In addition, different schools of thought such as Kabbalistic Judaism and modern Western occultism, also offer different interpretations.
Ain Soph
The divine essence from which all creation springs, known as the Ain Soph, remains outside of the Tree of Life, utterly beyond definition or comprehension, just as the vacuum potential remains beyond observation but can be deduced from the effects of the virtual photons emanating from the virtual photon flux of the falsely so-called Void. God’s unfolding descends through the tree from left to right, according to the glyph of the Tree.
Vertical Groupings
Each vertical column, or pillar, has its own associations. The left-hand column is the Pillar of Severity. It is also related to femininity and receptivity. The right-hand column is the Pillar of Mercy and is related to masculinity and activity. The central column is the Pillar of Mildness, a balance between the extremes on either side of it.
Horizontal Groupings
The top three sephirot (Kether, Chokmah, Binah) are linked to the intellect, ideas without form. Da’at might be included here, but as the invisible sephirot and reflection of Kether, it generally is not counted at all. Keter may also form its own subgroup, being the unconscious intellect and will rather than the conscious.
The next three sephirot (Hesed, Gevurah, Tiferet) are the primary emotions. They are the spark of action and are goals until themselves.
The final three (Netzah, Hod, Yesod) are the secondary emotions. They have a more tangible manifestation and are means to other ends rather than being the ends themselves.
Malkuth stands alone, the physical manifestation of the other nine sephirot.
By animating the Tree within our psychophysical structure we identify with the Anthropos, the primordial cosmic Being. It unites our finite nature with the Universal consciousness. We learn firsthand that we are not separate from that, but one with it in our deepest essence. In the diagram of the Tree of Life, the highest sphere Kether is the primal and unconditioned source of all existence. It precipitates from the three "negative veils of existence." In physics, this is virtual or scalar energy, the stress energy of the vacuum potential.
Kether is the initial point of positive spiritual energy in our universe, the First Cause, in whatever manner one conceives it (a sort of White Whole). It is also, to the individual person, that particular Divine Flame which is at once the source and center of one's being.
Next, and proceeding from this primal Cause, come the two great spiritual polarities designated respectively as the Supernal Father (Yang)--creative force in action--and the Supernal Mother (Yin)--formative force in action, giving viability to, but also necessarily in some manner constricting, the energies of the Father.
To the depths of the psyche, these Supernal Parents are represented by the high archetypes of Animus and Anima, in their most exalted aspects. Lesser images of them are made manifest to the less profound levels of the personality. They may be clothed in the cultural bias of a wise old man or psychic wise woman, or with an individual bias may appear as the object of your affection in the archetype is contaminated with personal projections that more appropriately correspond with Yesod.
These top three Spheres are vital to understanding and using the Tree as a whole, although we do no magical work directly with them. They lie beyond the reach of the mind and its power to actualize our potential. The Third Sphere, that of the Supernal Mother, has however another and more accessible identity as the sphere of Saturn, the highest of the traditional planetary spheres. The power of the Mother, who is both bright and dark (as the Qabalists knew long before Freud discovered her ambivalence), is enthroned as it were behind the figure of Saturn who is ruler of primeval opulence and fecundity and of the barren rocks.
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Mercury, Venus, and Luna: these, the seven traditional luminaries of astrology are represented by the third through ninth spheres. Their qabalistic characters are not entirely identical with their astrological influences, although Qabalistic and astrological understanding usefully supplement one another; but the difference need not detain us here. The three outer planets are considered higher octaves of these potencies (Uranus=Mercury; Neptune=Luna; Pluto=Mars). The tenth and lowest sphere represents this planer Earth, or microcosmically the physical body. In either case it is seen as the recipient of the influences of all the other spheres. The receptive "Bride of the Universe."
If you know something of the quality of the planets in astrology, you already have a foothold in the Qabalistic system. Beginning with the 10th or bottom sphere, which corresponds with the qualities of Earth, the other correspond as follows: Yesod=#9 the Moon; Hod=#8 Mercury; Netzach=#7 Venus; Tiphareth=#6 the Sun; Geburah=#5 Mars; Chesed=#4 Jupiter; Binah=#3 Saturn; Chokmah=#2 Uraus; Kether=#1 spiritual aspects of Neptune (Alternatively, Chokmah is the Wheel of the Zodiac; Kether, the First Swirlings).
The humanistic or psychological meaning of these associations is as follows:
* Yesod/Luna: Bio-psychic or psychosexual functions and feeling instinct responses. Survival Instincts. Adaptation to life experiences and the provision of the self with nourishment, protection and assistance. Moon symbolizes cyclic time, and death-rebirth energy. Also, action taken to bring about actualization of solar purpose through establishment of relationships and maintenance of self as an individual. Lunar principle enables one to adapt, develop and mature within the area defined by Saturn. Lunation cycle.
* Hod/Mercury: The principles of rationality, interchange, association, relatedness, communication, translation, interpretation. Adoption of techniques and the use of knowledge and skill to function in an effective manner. The intellect, reason and tonal quality of the person. Represents fluidic mind-thinking, logical capacity as well as magical or nervous force, i.e. prana, chi.
* Netzach/Venus: Establishment of values and ideals through inner meaning. All attempts to reach the center an partake in communion with one's self and others. Aesthetics and the establishment of a pattern of appreciation and set of values and ideals. Expression of internal experiences.
* Tiphareth/Sun: Principle of Beauty, harmonization, equilibration, integration. Center and power of Self. The person's purpose and direction in life. Principle of self-actualization and centering, one's True Nature. The person's total self is sustained through the vital force of spiritual consciousness.
* Geburah/Mars: A manifestation of initative, assertion, aggression, activity or will. The centrifugal force active within experience. All forms of outwardly directed activity. How you begin and maintain things. Power or Might. Force that demolishes all forms and ideas when their term of usefulness and healthy life is done. Symbolizes not so much a fixed state of things, as an act, a further passage and transition of potentiality into actuality. The warrior-consciousness.
* Chesed/Jupiter: The principle of compassion, mercy, preservation, increase, compensation, expansion and assimilation. The process of individual assimilation of the social consciousness. Realm of ethics and morals. The urge to be a self-sustaining entity consciously participating within the social realm. The establishment of a larger frame of reference and the power to grow through cooperation with experience. Dharma or the individual power of right action. Philosopher/king; Renaissance person.
* Binah/Saturn: The True Self, or Anima; liberated soul cleansed of all traces of the mind. The principle forrm as definition for the purpose of individuation through evolution. Principle of Understanding; Shakti or Shekinah, Maya, Isis; the substantive vehicle of every possible phenomena, physical or mental, just as Chokmah is the essence of consciousness.
* Chokmah/Uranus: The True Will, spiritual energy or libido, creative genius, essence of consciousness. Transformation of the power of transformation and the urge to go beyond the area defined by Saturn. Wisdom. The vital energizing element of existence--pure Spirit or Purusha; the basic reality underlying all manifestations of consciousness. The Word or Logos.
* Kether/Neptune: Liberation; universalization; release of self. Master soul. Highest inspiration. Destruction and dissolution of antiquated forms. Source or root of all physicality and consciousness. The Divine Flame in the microcosm, the primary Cause, the Crown, the Monad (the one indivisible and absolute consciousness thrilling throughout every particle and infinitesimal point in the manifested universe in Space.
We can train ourselves to be able to attune to the various spheres, at will. That is, we can learn to induce in ourselves the magical state of consciousness of each (at least the lower seven). Our first objective in doing this is to familiarize ourselves with the primary characteristics of each sphere. This will strengthen the counterpart of each of the powers within the depths of your psyche. This is nourishing and increases your personal potential, and at the same time ensures the balanced progress of your psychological and spiritual development.
Having strengthened these archetypal counterparts and enhanced your awareness of them, and having learned to attune yourself readily to the powers of the spheres, you will be able to draw upon the mighty resources of one or another of those powers as you require, either in psychophysical, psychosexual, and psychological exercises, rituals, meditation, or daily life.
The Qabala is thus a system of relationships among mystical symbols which can be used to open access to the hidden reaches of the mind--beyond the frontiers of reason. Qabala gives us the means to penetrate the meaning behind symbolism, and pass through its interdimensional gates.
It could be regarded as the mystical process in reverse. A natural mystic will have visions by what he calls "the Grace of God" and then attempt to write down his experience in symbolism or analogy. He seeks the nearest approximate metaphors in the language of the mind. The Qabala, by a study of symbolism and archetypes, helps the Qabalist to break through to the reality that the mystic has attempted to describe.
Universal symbolism is more or less immutable in basic significance. The symbolism of mystical man includes the birth mysticism of origins, the heroic battles of the mysticism of love and rebirth, and the mysteries of death and the afterlife. On the Tree of Life, these are all coordinated by the central sphere, Tiphareth, the Sun. It symbolizes the rosy dawn of illumination after crossing the realm of the stars and the moon. Numerical symbolism is shown in the essential 3-ness of the triangle, the Three-In-One of Divinity; the thesis, antithesis and synthesis of Hegelian philosophy; the possible modes of manifestation of force--active, passive and equilibrated. The Sun is the center of a system, source of light, sustainer of life and is a symbol of Deity, etc.
The Tree of Life is waiting to share its fruits with us if we but partake. It is the source of spiritual nourishment. May you eat hearty and enjoy the savor of the One Taste.
THE TREE OF LIFE & DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY
We can use the Tree as a technology for connecting with Higher Power, however, we comprehend that notion or force. Using the modern language of psychology (language of the soul) as a level of communication, we can elucidate each sphere in terms of Jungian archetypes, and the various myths associated with that sphere. Briefly, we can make the following associations:
#10 MALKUTH: The Seeker. Can be associated with the initation of the process of individuation or coming-to-wholeness. It is not the process itself, but the starting point. This sphere is also associated with the central nervous system and brain as the physical plane seat of consciousness. It is an aspect of personal consciousness as well as the personal unconscious. Jung speaks of psychosomatic disorders, ideomotor responses, and the archetype of the Persona or social mask; the archetype of the Shadow is our potential both for evil and unlived good; the archetype of the Double is our immortal counterpart. Mythic correspondences of the earthy sphere include Demeter/Persephone, earth mother and maiden bride; Gaia, primal matter; Pan, the nature god; and Hestia, goddess of the hearth, the center. Simple counseling and supportive therapy are appropriate at this phase. It means the end of denial and acknowledgement of the problem.
#9 YESOD: The Dreamer. Corresponds with the moon and 'lunar' consciousness. Also known as the Astral Plane, the realm of waking and sleeping dreams, hypnosis, and twilight imagery. The level of metaphorical perception as contrasted with literal interpretation or "acting out" of Malkuth. Psychosexual, linked to the ego, or emotional concept of self-identity as personal and unique. Lunar archetypes include the Great Mother, White Goddess, and Virgin Goddesses. Jungian archetype is the Syzygy, or anima/animus (contrasexual aspects of self) as it relates to our love interests.
Goddesses include Isis, Artemis, Athena, and Psyche; they relate either directly to the moon or the woman's mysteries of cyclic death and rebirth, or transformation of consciousness in the crucible of the emotions. This is the level of the subconscious mind and instinctual nature; passions (gland central station). Dreamwork is appropriate therapy for this sphere; psychologies which address this level include psychoanalysis, psychodrama, transactional analysis, reality therapy, ego psychology, and dreamhealing.
#8 HOD: The Thinker. Cultivation of this sphere brings about a rational approach to the world. Mental concepts. We learn to approach our problems in a rational manner, and so make effective decisions based on a true understanding of the issues involved, critical thinking. Corresponds with Jung's synchronicity concept of acausal yet meaningful coincidence. Analogous to Mercury, plane of intellect.
Archetypes include Hermes, the alchemical Mercurius, the Trickster, and 'spirit,' as well as certain aspects of Eros as son/lover. Also the Puer Aeternus ("eternal youth"); those who remain too long in adolescent psychology; adult child syndrome; associated with strong unconscious attachment to the Mother (actual or symbolic), much like Eros held for his mother, Aphrodite.
Positive traits are spontaneity and openness to change. Hermes is a god of prudence, cunning, shrewdness and sagacity; invented alphabet, mathematics, astronomy, weights and measure. A study of the psychological types of personality is effective for a rational approach to the diversity of the human race. Hermeneutics and analytical psychologies correspond.
#7 NETZACH: The Lover. A higher aspect of the emotions which includes aesthetics and the establishment of a personal set of values and ideals based on your own personal experience and inner meaning. Must be balanced with the previous sphere for perfect equilibrium and further access. The realm of divination and oracles; the reflective mirror of the creative imagination. Associated with the planet and goddess Aphrodite.
The archetype of the puella or "eternal girl" is a negative or faulty relationship to the father-world. Cinderella complex. A depth understanding of the feeling function as described in Jungian psychology is useful here to move from an overly dependent (codependent) attitude. Love and victory are its qualities. Mythemes relating to this level include those of Aphrodite, Circe; Orpheus; Tristan and Iseult; Guinevere and Lancelot; Heloise and Abelard.
Therapies for the HOD/NETZACH level connect us with our feelings as well as thoughts and process, release, or transform. This is the level of inner child world which comes prior to spiritual rebirth; known as "original pain" work. Polarity Therapy, Bioenergetics, Rogerian Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Existential Analysis, Logotherapy and Humanistic Psychology.
#6 TIPHARETH: The Initiate. The central sphere of the Tree allows a harmonizing of the reasoning faculty with the feelings. It permits a rational evaluation of the worth of relationships and situations, not the emotions which are due to the activation of a complex. The abstract level of the higher mind can be developed through symbolism based on the power of the imaginative function.
This is the sphere of the superconscious, and it forms the link between the spiritual nature of man and his lower self. It is the principle of integration. It is the goal of the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel in Magick; the Jungian Self. Known as Beauty, this is the sphere of self-realization. It comes spontaneously and uncontrollably in its emergent stages, then stabilizes over time, punctuated by peak experiences (as defined by Maslow).
This is the level of Transpersonal Psychology. There is a shift from therapy toward spiritual discipline--notably meditation. The beginning phases are marked by alpha bliss and inspiration. Its spiritual experience is the sense of rebirth. Its psychological models include "self-actualization" and the concept of high well-being. Among its archetypal expressions we find hero/heroine; the divine or magickal child; the dynamics of the puer/senex (or puells/wise old woman) whose positive manifestations appear in the well-balanced personality; and the mana personality or wounded healer.
Important solar myths include those of Ra, Osiris, Apollo, Mithras, Christ, Attis and Dionysus. Other myths associated here are the divine marriage of Eros (Hod) and Psyche (younger Aphrodite, Netzach), and the story of Ulysses (Odysseus) with its quest to return to his original home (the theme of wounding, scaring, and healing).
This sphere forms the heart of the Collective Unconscious or transpersonal bands of the psyche. The therapies which address this depth level include Jung's Analytical Psychology, Personal Mythology, Psychosynthesis, and the works of Abraham Maslow and Progoff's Process Meditation. To integrate this level is to transcend the realm of traditional psychology and enter that of esoteric religion or mysticism.
In Tiphareth, you contact the archetype of the Self, or Holy Guardian Angel through an I-Thou relationship--a personalized dialogical relationship. It is an inner guiding principle. We are still within the realm of the divine Imagination, not the Clear Light. It is experienced as a transpersonal power which transcends the ego, expanding your sense of "self" beyond that of mere ego personality. This is the level of knowing the nature of your own awareness. The transcendent function is a reconciling "third" which emerges from the unconscious after the conflicting opposites have been consciously differentiated and the tension between them held.
The Self is our inherent guiding principle, if we but listen to it. It is the central archetype of the psyche. The Self is the integrative and transformative center within the psyche from which dreams, visions, and other inspirations originate. It is characterized by the union of opposites such as light and dark, male and female, good and bad. Symbols of the Self express the psychological process of coming to wholeness, and it is the essence of most spiritual experience. The Self represents the fullest extension and potential of an individual, and provides transcendent experiences which come from beyond one's own personal powers by divine grace.
Symbols of the Self include the God-man, or "son of God," the Royal Marriage or divine union; the Philosopher's Stone of alchemy, the Divine Child, the snake eating its tail, the butterfly, the ring, and the tapestry. The self also manifests as synchronicity, or meaningful coincidence, sexual and spiritual ecstasy and absolute clarity. Other symbols include the mandala or magic circle, the temple, treasure, book, gift, bridge, star, seeds, eggs, rainbow, lit candle, and weddings.
The glyph of the Tree of Life gives a firm basis for a study of the nature of man. It is a very ancient mystical symbol which represents the ten Archetypal Ideas or Energies that are the manifestation of the Unknowable Mysteries. By developing in ourselves the psychological counterparts of these energies, we can become re-integrated with our Real Self, and know our true destiny.
Each sphere has ascribed to it a different aspect of the Self which is most closely related to the functioning of the energy in that sphere. They are closely linked and this means that a development of one characteristic will produce an effect in the other. The overall emphasis is that of balance. By identifying the different aspects of our psychological nature in this way, it is also possible to see how existing forms of psychotherapy and other growth experiences can be aligned to various paths on the Tree, according to the functions they utilize, and the spheres which are being developed.
Within each of us are the essentials for the maximization of our psychological and spiritual potential. Yet even those of us who recognize the potentials within ourselves and aspire to realize them, still need an effective means of transformation. One requirement is a form of training which enables the aspirant to recognize, select and direct the will effectively to life's underlying archetypal realities.
To be able to identify these underlying archetypes, in action, we must have a means for classifying them, and dis-identifying from them. We cannot identify an archetype when we are in unconscious identification with it. If we can detach from it--disidentify--we can identify it as a sub- or superpersonality, rather than our personal self. This is the way to combat archetypal invasion.
The archetypes we are concerned with in Qabala are by no means all the possible archetypes which may subsist either in the collective unconscious or Universal Mind. But they are the essential seven which pertain to magical or mystical evolution, indeed all that pertains to human life. Adding to these another three, we have all that pertains to the universe both outer and inner, both cosmic and microcosmic, as seen by humankind. Speaking both physically and metaphysically, we can perceive only those phenomena which we have the faculties to perceive.
These ten archetypal sources of power correspond to the 10 spheres of the Tree. Since we cannot apprehend them directly, happily there is another way of proceeding. This is the Way which magical and mystical practices have ever followed.
Each of the spheres has its counterpart within each one of us; and that counterpart is also a focal point for the power of the sphere in question. We can, therefore, work with these counterparts within ourselves--and for the greatest effectiveness this working involves the body as well as psyche--to gain a living relationship with the powers of these archetypes.
The main qabalistic exercise for awakening and balancing the powers of the Spheres is known as the Middle Pillar Exercise. It is a means of imaginally "bringing in light." It harmonizes our being on the four levels: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. The exercise is first enacted with the body, like a ritual, to engrain it firmly in visceral and kinesthetic consciusness. Later, you need only visualize your astral body going through the motions, since it will be "second nature."
This exercise is totally safe from the psychological perspective, since it aims toward balanced growth. To work thus, by image and enactment, by calling forth within the self the effect which is to be produced in the outer world--this, from the earliest times has been the method of priest and magician, and most recently experiential psychologies.
The Middle Pillar Exercise associates the spheres of the Tree with the human body. Kether is visualized as radiant white light above the head. Chokmah is the Third Eye; Binah is at the throat; Tiphareth glows brilliant yellow like the sun in the heart; Chesed and Geburah are left and right shoulders, respectively; Yesod is a violet sphere at the genitals; and Malkuth centers where the feet meet the earth.
#10 MALKUTH: The Seeker. Can be associated with the initation of the process of individuation or coming-to-wholeness. It is not the process itself, but the starting point. This sphere is also associated with the central nervous system and brain as the physical plane seat of consciousness. It is an aspect of personal consciousness as well as the personal unconscious. Jung speaks of psychosomatic disorders, ideomotor responses, and the archetype of the Persona or social mask; the archetype of the Shadow is our potential both for evil and unlived good; the archetype of the Double is our immortal counterpart. Mythic correspondences of the earthy sphere include Demeter/Persephone, earth mother and maiden bride; Gaia, primal matter; Pan, the nature god; and Hestia, goddess of the hearth, the center. Simple counseling and supportive therapy are appropriate at this phase. It means the end of denial and acknowledgement of the problem.
#9 YESOD: The Dreamer. Corresponds with the moon and 'lunar' consciousness. Also known as the Astral Plane, the realm of waking and sleeping dreams, hypnosis, and twilight imagery. The level of metaphorical perception as contrasted with literal interpretation or "acting out" of Malkuth. Psychosexual, linked to the ego, or emotional concept of self-identity as personal and unique. Lunar archetypes include the Great Mother, White Goddess, and Virgin Goddesses. Jungian archetype is the Syzygy, or anima/animus (contrasexual aspects of self) as it relates to our love interests.
Goddesses include Isis, Artemis, Athena, and Psyche; they relate either directly to the moon or the woman's mysteries of cyclic death and rebirth, or transformation of consciousness in the crucible of the emotions. This is the level of the subconscious mind and instinctual nature; passions (gland central station). Dreamwork is appropriate therapy for this sphere; psychologies which address this level include psychoanalysis, psychodrama, transactional analysis, reality therapy, ego psychology, and dreamhealing.
#8 HOD: The Thinker. Cultivation of this sphere brings about a rational approach to the world. Mental concepts. We learn to approach our problems in a rational manner, and so make effective decisions based on a true understanding of the issues involved, critical thinking. Corresponds with Jung's synchronicity concept of acausal yet meaningful coincidence. Analogous to Mercury, plane of intellect.
Archetypes include Hermes, the alchemical Mercurius, the Trickster, and 'spirit,' as well as certain aspects of Eros as son/lover. Also the Puer Aeternus ("eternal youth"); those who remain too long in adolescent psychology; adult child syndrome; associated with strong unconscious attachment to the Mother (actual or symbolic), much like Eros held for his mother, Aphrodite.
Positive traits are spontaneity and openness to change. Hermes is a god of prudence, cunning, shrewdness and sagacity; invented alphabet, mathematics, astronomy, weights and measure. A study of the psychological types of personality is effective for a rational approach to the diversity of the human race. Hermeneutics and analytical psychologies correspond.
#7 NETZACH: The Lover. A higher aspect of the emotions which includes aesthetics and the establishment of a personal set of values and ideals based on your own personal experience and inner meaning. Must be balanced with the previous sphere for perfect equilibrium and further access. The realm of divination and oracles; the reflective mirror of the creative imagination. Associated with the planet and goddess Aphrodite.
The archetype of the puella or "eternal girl" is a negative or faulty relationship to the father-world. Cinderella complex. A depth understanding of the feeling function as described in Jungian psychology is useful here to move from an overly dependent (codependent) attitude. Love and victory are its qualities. Mythemes relating to this level include those of Aphrodite, Circe; Orpheus; Tristan and Iseult; Guinevere and Lancelot; Heloise and Abelard.
Therapies for the HOD/NETZACH level connect us with our feelings as well as thoughts and process, release, or transform. This is the level of inner child world which comes prior to spiritual rebirth; known as "original pain" work. Polarity Therapy, Bioenergetics, Rogerian Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Existential Analysis, Logotherapy and Humanistic Psychology.
#6 TIPHARETH: The Initiate. The central sphere of the Tree allows a harmonizing of the reasoning faculty with the feelings. It permits a rational evaluation of the worth of relationships and situations, not the emotions which are due to the activation of a complex. The abstract level of the higher mind can be developed through symbolism based on the power of the imaginative function.
This is the sphere of the superconscious, and it forms the link between the spiritual nature of man and his lower self. It is the principle of integration. It is the goal of the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel in Magick; the Jungian Self. Known as Beauty, this is the sphere of self-realization. It comes spontaneously and uncontrollably in its emergent stages, then stabilizes over time, punctuated by peak experiences (as defined by Maslow).
This is the level of Transpersonal Psychology. There is a shift from therapy toward spiritual discipline--notably meditation. The beginning phases are marked by alpha bliss and inspiration. Its spiritual experience is the sense of rebirth. Its psychological models include "self-actualization" and the concept of high well-being. Among its archetypal expressions we find hero/heroine; the divine or magickal child; the dynamics of the puer/senex (or puells/wise old woman) whose positive manifestations appear in the well-balanced personality; and the mana personality or wounded healer.
Important solar myths include those of Ra, Osiris, Apollo, Mithras, Christ, Attis and Dionysus. Other myths associated here are the divine marriage of Eros (Hod) and Psyche (younger Aphrodite, Netzach), and the story of Ulysses (Odysseus) with its quest to return to his original home (the theme of wounding, scaring, and healing).
This sphere forms the heart of the Collective Unconscious or transpersonal bands of the psyche. The therapies which address this depth level include Jung's Analytical Psychology, Personal Mythology, Psychosynthesis, and the works of Abraham Maslow and Progoff's Process Meditation. To integrate this level is to transcend the realm of traditional psychology and enter that of esoteric religion or mysticism.
In Tiphareth, you contact the archetype of the Self, or Holy Guardian Angel through an I-Thou relationship--a personalized dialogical relationship. It is an inner guiding principle. We are still within the realm of the divine Imagination, not the Clear Light. It is experienced as a transpersonal power which transcends the ego, expanding your sense of "self" beyond that of mere ego personality. This is the level of knowing the nature of your own awareness. The transcendent function is a reconciling "third" which emerges from the unconscious after the conflicting opposites have been consciously differentiated and the tension between them held.
The Self is our inherent guiding principle, if we but listen to it. It is the central archetype of the psyche. The Self is the integrative and transformative center within the psyche from which dreams, visions, and other inspirations originate. It is characterized by the union of opposites such as light and dark, male and female, good and bad. Symbols of the Self express the psychological process of coming to wholeness, and it is the essence of most spiritual experience. The Self represents the fullest extension and potential of an individual, and provides transcendent experiences which come from beyond one's own personal powers by divine grace.
Symbols of the Self include the God-man, or "son of God," the Royal Marriage or divine union; the Philosopher's Stone of alchemy, the Divine Child, the snake eating its tail, the butterfly, the ring, and the tapestry. The self also manifests as synchronicity, or meaningful coincidence, sexual and spiritual ecstasy and absolute clarity. Other symbols include the mandala or magic circle, the temple, treasure, book, gift, bridge, star, seeds, eggs, rainbow, lit candle, and weddings.
The glyph of the Tree of Life gives a firm basis for a study of the nature of man. It is a very ancient mystical symbol which represents the ten Archetypal Ideas or Energies that are the manifestation of the Unknowable Mysteries. By developing in ourselves the psychological counterparts of these energies, we can become re-integrated with our Real Self, and know our true destiny.
Each sphere has ascribed to it a different aspect of the Self which is most closely related to the functioning of the energy in that sphere. They are closely linked and this means that a development of one characteristic will produce an effect in the other. The overall emphasis is that of balance. By identifying the different aspects of our psychological nature in this way, it is also possible to see how existing forms of psychotherapy and other growth experiences can be aligned to various paths on the Tree, according to the functions they utilize, and the spheres which are being developed.
Within each of us are the essentials for the maximization of our psychological and spiritual potential. Yet even those of us who recognize the potentials within ourselves and aspire to realize them, still need an effective means of transformation. One requirement is a form of training which enables the aspirant to recognize, select and direct the will effectively to life's underlying archetypal realities.
To be able to identify these underlying archetypes, in action, we must have a means for classifying them, and dis-identifying from them. We cannot identify an archetype when we are in unconscious identification with it. If we can detach from it--disidentify--we can identify it as a sub- or superpersonality, rather than our personal self. This is the way to combat archetypal invasion.
The archetypes we are concerned with in Qabala are by no means all the possible archetypes which may subsist either in the collective unconscious or Universal Mind. But they are the essential seven which pertain to magical or mystical evolution, indeed all that pertains to human life. Adding to these another three, we have all that pertains to the universe both outer and inner, both cosmic and microcosmic, as seen by humankind. Speaking both physically and metaphysically, we can perceive only those phenomena which we have the faculties to perceive.
These ten archetypal sources of power correspond to the 10 spheres of the Tree. Since we cannot apprehend them directly, happily there is another way of proceeding. This is the Way which magical and mystical practices have ever followed.
Each of the spheres has its counterpart within each one of us; and that counterpart is also a focal point for the power of the sphere in question. We can, therefore, work with these counterparts within ourselves--and for the greatest effectiveness this working involves the body as well as psyche--to gain a living relationship with the powers of these archetypes.
The main qabalistic exercise for awakening and balancing the powers of the Spheres is known as the Middle Pillar Exercise. It is a means of imaginally "bringing in light." It harmonizes our being on the four levels: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. The exercise is first enacted with the body, like a ritual, to engrain it firmly in visceral and kinesthetic consciusness. Later, you need only visualize your astral body going through the motions, since it will be "second nature."
This exercise is totally safe from the psychological perspective, since it aims toward balanced growth. To work thus, by image and enactment, by calling forth within the self the effect which is to be produced in the outer world--this, from the earliest times has been the method of priest and magician, and most recently experiential psychologies.
The Middle Pillar Exercise associates the spheres of the Tree with the human body. Kether is visualized as radiant white light above the head. Chokmah is the Third Eye; Binah is at the throat; Tiphareth glows brilliant yellow like the sun in the heart; Chesed and Geburah are left and right shoulders, respectively; Yesod is a violet sphere at the genitals; and Malkuth centers where the feet meet the earth.
Francis Israel Regardie (1907-1985) is an important figure in certain Occult circles. In 1932 he published "A Garden of Pomegranates" - which contained Regardie's Qabalistic studies, and "The Tree of Life" - which is considered one of the most complete texts of practical magic ever written. In 1937 he published "The Golden Dawn" - which contained the bulk of the rituals and teachings of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and "The Philosopher's Stone" - a book about alchemy from a Jungian perspective.
There's an unsubstantiated rumor among pinball machine enthusiasts that Regardie was employed by the Gottlieb family, which owned D. Gottlieb & Company, a major manufacturer of arcade games and world famous for it's pinball machine innovations. It is alleged that Regardie was the head games designer from 1933 to 1952 and that he pioneered the transfer of many of the mysteries hidden in the tarot deck to the playing field of the pinball machine.
There's an unsubstantiated rumor among pinball machine enthusiasts that Regardie was employed by the Gottlieb family, which owned D. Gottlieb & Company, a major manufacturer of arcade games and world famous for it's pinball machine innovations. It is alleged that Regardie was the head games designer from 1933 to 1952 and that he pioneered the transfer of many of the mysteries hidden in the tarot deck to the playing field of the pinball machine.
