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  #151  
Old 04-04-2021, 11:34 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 87: Path between Tiphareth and Binah in Briah

Color of the path: Pale Purple

Letter: Zain

The Lovers – Mesquite Tarot


By Lisa Brown:



VI – The Lovers:
“This card and its twin, XIV, Art, are the most obscure and difficult of the Atu. Each of these symbols is in itself double, so that the meanings form a divergent series, and the integration of the Card can only be regained by repeated marriages, identifications, and some form of Hermaphroditism.

Yet the attribution is the essence of simplicity. Atu VI refers to Gemini, ruled by Mercury. It means The Twins. The Hebrew letter corresponding is Zain, which means a Sword, and the framework of the card is therefore the Arch of Swords, beneath which the Royal Marriage takes place.

The Sword is primarily an engine of division. In the intellectual world-which is the world of the Sword suit-it represents analysis. This card and Atu XIV together compose the comprehensive alchemical maxim: Solve et coagula.

This card is consequently one of the most fundamental cards in the Tarot. It is the first card in which more than one figure appears. [The Ape of Thoth in Atu I is only a shadow.] In its original form, it was the story of Creation.

Reaction is always equal and opposite to action. This equation is, or should be, simultaneous in the intellectual world, where there is no great time lag; the formulation of any idea creates its contradictory at almost the same moment. The contradictory of any proposition is implicit in itself. This is necessary to preserve the equilibrium of the Universe. The theory has been explained in the essay on Atu I, the Juggler, but must now be again emphasized in order to interpret this card.

The key is that the Card represents the Creation of the World. The Hierarchs held this secret as of transcendent importance. Consequently, the Initiates who issued the Tarot, for use during the Aeon of Osiris, superseded the original card above described in "The Vision and the Voice". They were concerned to create a new Universe of their own; they were the fathers of Science. Their methods of working, grouped under the generic term Alchemy, have never been made public. The interesting point is that all developments of modern science in the last fifty years have given intelligent and instructed people the opportunity of reflecting that the whole trend of science has been to return to alchemical aims and (mutatis mutandis) methods. The secrecy observed by the alchemists was made necessary by the power of persecuting Churches. Bitterly as bigots fought among themselves, they were all equally concerned to destroy the infant Science, which, as they instinctively recognized, would put an end to the ignorance and faith on which their power and wealth depended.

The subject of this card is Analysis, followed by Synthesis. The first question asked by science is: "Of what are things composed? "This having been answered, the next question is: "How shall we recombine them to our greater advantage?" This resumes the whole policy of the Tarot.

The hooded figure which occupies the centre of the Card is another form of The Hermit, who is further explained in Atu IX. He is himself a form of the god Mercury, described in Atu I; he is closely shrouded, as if to signify that the ultimate reason of things lies in a realm beyond manifestation and intellect. (As elsewhere explained, only two operations are ultimately possible---analysis and synthesis). He is standing in the Sign of the Enterer, as if projecting the mysterious forces of creation. About his arms is a scroll, indicative of the Word which is alike his essence and his message. But the Sign of the Enterer is also the Sign of Benediction and of Consecration; thus his action in this card is the Celebration of the Hermetic Marriage. Behind him are the figures of Eve, Lilith and Cupid. This symbolism has been incorporated in order to preserve in some measure the original form of the card, and to show its derivation, its heirship, its continuity with the past. On the quiver of Cupid is inscribed the word Thelema, which is the Word of the Law. (See Liber AL, chap. I, verse 39.) His shafts are quanta of Will. It is thus shown that this fundamental formula of magical working, analysis and synthesis, persists through the Aeons.

One may now consider the Hermetic Marriage itself.

This part of the Card has been simplified from "the Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosenkreutz", a masterpiece too lengthy and diffuse to quote usefully in this place. But the essence of the analysis is the continuous see-saw of contradictory ideas. It is a glyph of duality. The Royal persons concerned are the Black or Moorish King with a golden crown, and the White Queen with a silver crown. He is accompanied by the Red Lion, and she by the White Eagle. These are symbols of the male and female principles in Nature; they are therefore equally, in various stages of manifestation, Sun and Moon, Fire and Water, Air and Earth. In chemistry they appear as acid and alkali, or (more deeply) metals and non-metals, taking those words in their widest philosophical sense to include hydrogen on the one hand and oxygen on the other. In this aspect, the hooded figure represents the Protean element of carbon, the seed of all organic life.

The symbolism of male and female is carried on still further by the weapons of the King and Queen; he bears the Sacred Lance, and she the Holy Grail; their other hands are joined, as consenting to the Marriage. Their weapons are supported by twin children, whose positions are counterchanged; for the white child not only holds the Cup, but carries roses, while the black child, holding his father's Lance, carries also the club, an equivalent symbol. At the bottom of the whole is the result of the Marriage in primitive and pantomorphic form; it is the winged Orphic egg. This egg represents the essence of all that life which comes under this formula of male and female. It carries on the symbolism of the Serpents with which the King's robe is embroidered, and of the Bees which adorn the mantle of the Queen. The egg is grey, mingling white and black; thus it signifies the co-operation of the three Supernals of the Tree of Life. The colour of the Serpent is purple, Mercury in the scale of the Queen. It is the influence of that God manifested in Nature, whereas the wings are tinged with crimson, the colour (in the King scale) of Binah the great Mother. In this symbol is therefore a complete glyph of the equilibrium necessary to begin the Great Work. But, as to the final mystery, that is left unsolved. Perfect is the plan to produce life, but the nature of this life is concealed. It is capable of taking any possible form; but what form? That is dependent upon the influences attendant on gestation.

The figure in the air presents some difficulty. The traditional interpretation of the figure is that he is Cupid; and it is not at first clear what Cupid has to do with Gemini. No light is thrown upon this point by consideration of the position of the path upon the Tree of Life, for Gemini leads from Binah to Tiphareth. There accordingly arises the whole question of Cupid. Roman gods usually represent a more material aspect of the Greek gods from whom they are derived; in this case, Eros. Eros is the son of Aphrodite, and tradition varies as to whether his father was Ares, Zeus or Hermes---that is, Mars, Jupiter or Mercury. His appearance in this card suggests that Hermes is the true sire; and this view is confirmed by the fact that it is not altogether easy to distinguish him from the child Mercury, for they have in common wantonness) irresponsibility, and the love of playing tricks. But in this image are peculiar characteristics. He carries a bow and arrows in a golden quiver. (He is sometimes represented with a torch.) He has golden wings, and is blindfolded. From this, it may appear that he represents the intelligent (and, at the same time, unconscious) will of the soul to unite itself with all and sundry, as has been explained in the general formula with regard to the agony of separateness.

No very special importance is attached to Cupid in alchemical figures. Yet, in one sense, he is the source of all action; the libido to express Zero as Two. From another point of view, he may be regarded as the intellectual aspect of the influence of Binah upon Tiphareth, for (in one tradition) the title of the card is "The Children of the Voice, the Oracle of the Mighty Gods". From this point of view, he is a symbol of inspiration, descending upon the hooded figure, who is, in this instance, a prophet operating the conjunction of the King and Queen. His arrow represents the spiritual intelligence necessary in alchemical operations, rather than the mere hunger to perform them. On the other hand, the arrow is peculiarly a symbol of direction, and it is, therefore, proper to put the word "Thelema" in Greek letters on the quiver. It is also to be observed that the opposite card, Sagittarius, means the Bearer of the Arrow, or Archer, a figure who does not appear in any form in Atu XIV. These two cards are so complementary that they cannot be studied separately, for full interpretation.”
(The Book of Thoth)

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  #152  
Old 10-04-2021, 05:03 PM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 


All week, I have been feeling this way:

From the bottom of the feet to the top of the head a continuous and vaporous wind caresses the flesh as an invisible grace flows down.

There is no centre anymore.





It will be interesting to explore what next week will bring up.

Regards
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  #153  
Old 11-04-2021, 10:58 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 88: Binah in Briah and the 3 of Cups

General Symbolic of Binah:


Binah (understanding, comprehension) radiates from the top of the left column of the Tree of Life and assumes a feminine function. Chokmah being the masculine aspect of what is proper to the seed, Binah is the femininity that unfolds the seed and gives birth. The very notion of "understanding" confirms the receptive nature of the sephirah.

Anything that gives form to serve as a vehicle for life is her work. She is the matrix through which life can manifest itself. At the same time, it should be held in mind that life enclosed in a form is less free than when it has no limit. The form encloses life, while at the same time allowing it to organise itself. Form disciplines force with merciless rigour. The presence of a form is at the same time what allows life to manifest itself, and its condemnation to death. The divine spark is immortal, nothing in it can age or die. But the incarnated spirit sees the death of its vehicle programmed from the dawn of its existence.

Motherhood is more than the conception and beginning of a new human life. It is the principle of existence that unfolds through independent entities, fathers inseminate, while mothers disseminate. Fatherhood transmits power, motherhood distributes it. Thus, it continues the circuit of creation. Although motherhood is related to other sephiroth, Binah allows us to understand one of its connotations: separation. We can cite numerous images: the mourning of Isis, the suffering of the Virgin at the foot of the cross... If motherhood leads to birth, it goes hand in hand with separation.

Binah testifies that it is impossible to reach Kether if we do not go through the feminine and maternal concept of divinity.

Wherever there is a network of intertwined forces in balance, Binah's action is present. If we consider the atom as a stable unit of the physical plane, we see it as a manifestation of Binah. The same is true for the balance of forces that keep the planetary revolutions functioning.

Before the forces of the universe began to stabilize, it was all up to Chokmah; there were no limits to the impulse. As soon as Chokmah and Binah had found their equilibrium, everything belonged to Binah, stability was immutable. But Kether, from whom everything emanated, continued to generate the unmanifested powers. Force flowed into the universe; the sum of the forces increased. This new influx destroyed the previous balance, due to the successive action and reaction of Chokmah and Binah combined. Then the action and reaction began again, the phase of Chokmah where dynamism prevails over the static state of Binah. And so on... Each time, the balance between the two sephiroth settles in a different form to be upset once again when Kether, still emanating, breaks the balance in favor of the dynamic principle opposed to the static principle.

It follows that Binah, the permanent brake and regulator of Chokmah impulses, can be misunderstood. She can be seen as the malignant force, the enemy, the adversary, the woman. Without a bad pun, from Saturn to Satan, the transition is easy.

The fall came from knowledge (Daath), by a projection of Binah through the abyss towards matter. When this happened, the original equilibrium was destroyed. In fact, the first fall was not that of man but that of the deity. In a word God fell to appear as humanity. The ocean of Binah overturned the cup turned over. By this breaking of the circuit at Binah, an extension of existence crossed the abyss and formed the rest of the Tree of Life. We must follow the path of return, reintegration, to regain our place in the primordial scheme.

Binah in Briah: Zaphkiel

Color of Binah in Briah: Black

Zaphkiel is sometimes translated as a vision of God, in the sense of someone contemplating divinity. He can also be the watcher, the spy, the eye of God. Zaphkiel is the eye that advises on the various aspects of the thing we are dealing with. He never makes decisions but provides the means to make them. Without him, there would be nothing to decide, because there could be no choice. Zaphkiel also expresses a mother's concern for her child. It all depends on whether he is facing Kether or Malkhut. The angel of contemplation emanates from Metatron's left side: if Raziel is the angel of secrecy and technique, Zaphkiel is the angel of revelation and contemplation. Nothing escapes his close examination.

The ancient Semites linked the Watchers of God to Satan (or Saturn) because they feared these intelligence agents dealing with the misdeeds of men. Such espionage was likely to draw the wrath of God upon the offenders. Zaphkiel informed his colleague Khamael, who was inflamed against his victims. Moreover, when the children of the Watchers came to earth, they caused so much damage to mankind that Gabriel was sent by God to control and overcome them. So says the legend.

The secret teachings linked the Fall of Man and Satan, indicating that Satan was kept in the infernal regions only by man's wickedness. Like Lucifer, Satan became the light hampered by darkness, the intelligence plunged into ignorance. Only the rise of man beyond his own nature could save Satan from eternal torment. In this old myth lies a profound truth. Satan is represented as the being who drowns in the ocean of Binah. Whoever tries to help him risks being swept away and drowned by Satan's panicky gestures. Only the most powerful of the powerful can save him from his ability to resist his efforts. We have the image of energy overcoming inertia, the allegory of the transformation of Saturn's lead into gold. Satan's salvation can be the most dangerous of games. No one can help others if he has not accomplished a similar salvation in himself. Those who cannot swim in the ocean of Binah do not have the power to set up rescue operations on their behalf.

The 3 of Cups - Abundance:


“This card refers to Binah in the suit of Water. This is the card of Demeter or Persephone. The Cups are pomegranates: they are filled bountifully to overflowing from a single lotus, arising from the dark calm sea characteristic of Binah. There is here the fulfillment of the Will of Love in abounding joy. It is the spiritual basis of fertility.

The card is referred to the influence of Mercury in Cancer; this carries further the above thesis. Mercury is the Will or Word of the All-Father; here its influence descends upon the most receptive of the Signs.

At the same time, the combination of these forms of energy brings in the possibility of somewhat mysterious ideas. Binah, the Great Sea, is the Moon in one aspect, but Saturn in another; and Mercury, besides being the Word or Will of the All-One, is the guide of the souls of the Dead. This card requires great subtlety of interpretation. The pomegranate was the fruit which Persephone ate in the realms of Pluto, thereby enabling him to hold her in the lower world, even after the most powerful influence had been brought to bear. The lesson seems to be that the good things of life, although enjoyed, should be distrusted.”
(The Book of Thoth)


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  #154  
Old 16-04-2021, 11:06 AM
Legrand
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I must say, from the experience felt this week, that Zaphkiel going up the Tree pushes one to bring light into the Abyss of the deep subconscious to clear out what is left there sleeping.
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  #155  
Old 18-04-2021, 11:12 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 89: Path between Chesed and Chokmah in Briah

This archetype is the one changing the most now. Which form will take a spiritual leader?

Light Seers Tarot:


or like in simple form of Ma Ananda Moyi?:


Color of the path in Briah: Dark Indigo

Path between Raphael and Raziel

Letter: Vau

V – The Hierophant:
“This card is referred to the letter Vau, which means a Nail; of this instrument nine appear at the top of the card; they serve to fix the oriel behind the main figure of the picture.

The card is referred to Taurus; therefore the Throne of the Hierophant is surrounded by elephants, which are of the nature of Taurus; and he is actually seated upon a bull. Around him are the four beasts or Kerubs, one in each corner of the card; for these are the guardians of every shrine. But the main reference is to the particular arcanum which is the principal business, the essential, of all magical work; the uniting of the microcosm with the macrocosm.

Accordingly, the oriel is diaphanous; before the Manifestor of the Mystery is a hexagram representing the macrocosm. In its centre is a pentagram, representing a dancing male child. This symbolizes the law of the new Aeon of the Child Horns, which has supplanted that Aeon of the "Dying God" which governed the world for two thousand years. Before him is the woman girt with a sword; she represents the Scarlet Woman in the hierarchy of the new Aeon. This symbolism is further carried out in the oriel where, behind the phallic headdress, the rose of five petals is in blossom.

The symbolism of the snake and dove refers to this verse of the Book of the Law---chap. I, verse 57: "there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent".

This symbol recurs in the trump numbered XVI.

The background of the whole card is the dark blue of the starry night of Nuit, from whose womb all phenomena are born.

Taurus, the sign of the Zodiac represented by this card, is itself the Bull Kerub; that is, Earth in its strongest and most balanced form.

The ruler of this sign is Venus; she is represented by the woman standing before the hierophant.
Chapter III of the Book of the Law, verse xi, reads:

"Let the woman be girt with a sword before me." This woman represents Venus as she now is in this new aeon; no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterpart, but armed and militant.
In this sign the Moon is "exalted"; her influence is represented not only by the woman, but by the nine nails.

It is impossible at the present time to explain this card thoroughly, for only the course of events can show how the new current of initiation will work out.

It is the aeon of Horus, of the Child. Though the face of the Hierophant appears benignant and smiling, and the child himself seems glad with wanton innocence, it is hard to deny that in the expression of the initiator is something mysterious, even sinister. He seems to be enjoying a very secret joke at somebody's expense. There is a distinctly sadistic aspect to this card; not unnaturally, since it derives from the Legend of Pasiphae, the prototype of all the legends of Bull-gods. These still persist in such religions as Shaivism, and (after multiple degradations) in Christianity itself.

The symbolism of the Wand is peculiar; the three interlaced rings which crown it may be taken as representative of the three Aeons of Isis, Osiris and Horus with their interlocking magical formulae. The upper ring is marked with scarlet for Horus; the two lower rings with green for Isis, and pale yellow for Osiris, respectively.

All these are based upon deep indigo, the colour of Saturn, the Lord of Time. For the rhythm of the Hierophant is such that he moves only at intervals of 2,000 years.”
(The Book of Thoth)

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  #156  
Old 25-04-2021, 11:12 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 90: Path between Thipareth and Chokmah in Briah

Colour in Yetzirah: Red

Letter: Tzaddi

IV – The Emperor:
“This card is attributed to the letter Tzaddi, and it refers to the sign of Aries in the Zodiac. This sign is ruled by Mars, and therein the Sun is exalted. The sign is thus a combination of energy in its most material form with the idea of authority. The sign TZ or TS implies this in the original, onomatopoetic form of language. It is derived from Sanskrit roots meaning Head and Age, and is found to-day in words like Cæsar, Tsar, Sirdar, Senate, Senior, Signor, Sefior, Seigneur.

The card represents a crowned male figure, with imperial vestments and regalia. He is seated upon the throne whose capitals are the heads of the Himalayan wild ram, since Aries means a Ram. At his feet, couchant, is the Lamb and Flag, to confirm this attribution on the lower plane; for the ram, by nature, is a wild and courageous animal, lonely in lonely places, whereas when tamed and made to lie down in green pastures, nothing is left but the docile, cowardly, gregarious and succulent beast. This is the theory of government.

The Emperor is also one of the more important alchemical cards; with Atu II and III, he makes up the triad: Sulphur, Mercury, Salt. His arms and head form an upright triangle; below, crossed legs represent the Cross. This figure is the alchemical symbol of Sulphur (see Atu X). Sulphur is the male fiery energy of the Universe, the Rajas of Hindu philosophy. This is the swift creative energy, the initiative of all Being. The power of the Emperor is a generalization of the paternal power; hence such symbols as the Bee and the Fleur-de-lys, which are shown on this card. With regard to the quality of this power, it must be noted that it represents sudden, violent, but impermanent activity. If it persists too long, it burns and destroys. Distinguish from the Creative Energy of Aleph and Beth: this card is below the Abyss.

The Emperor bears a sceptre (surmounted by a ram's head for the reasons given above) and an orb surmounted by a Maltese cross, which signifies that his energy has reached a successful issue, that his government has been established.

There is one further symbol of importance. His shield represents the two-headed eagle crowned with a crimson disk. This represents the red tincture of the alchemist, of the nature of gold, as the white eagle shown in Atu III pertains to his consort, the Empress, and is lunar, of silver.

It is finally to be observed that the white light which descends upon him indicates the position of this card in the Tree of Life. His authority is derived from Chokmah, the creative Wisdom, the Word, and is exerted upon Tiphareth, the organized man.”
(The Book of Thoth)

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  #157  
Old 02-05-2021, 11:05 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 91: Path between Binah and Chokmah in Briah

Path between Zaphkiel and Raziel


This is the last horizontal path out of three going up the Tree. It comes after the third veil.

To reach the top of the Tree when we are in Chesed, we must cross the abyss and meet the mysterious Sephirah Daath. Geburah and Chesed crossed, no guide supports us anymore. Maintaining the aspirant at equal distance from the two pillars, only the perfectly balanced forces can help him to cross the Abyss.

Making of Soma
:


Colour of the path in Briah: Sky Blue

Letter: Daleth

III – The Empress:
“This card is attributed to the letter Daleth, which means a door, and it refers to the planet Venus. This card is, on the face of it, the complement of The Emperor; but her attributions are much more universal.

On the Tree of Life, Daleth is the path leading from Chokmah to Binah, uniting the Father with the Mother. Daleth is one of the three paths which are altogether above the Abyss. There is furthermore the alchemical symbol of Venus, the only one of the planetary symbols which comprises all the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. The doctrine implied is that the fundamental formula of the Universe is Love. [The circle touches the Sephiroth I, 2, 4, 6, 5, 3; the Cross is formed by 6, 9, 10 and 7, 8.]

It is impossible to summarize the meanings of the symbol of the Woman, for this very reason, that she continually recurs in infinitely varied form. "Many-throned, many-minded, many-wiled, daughter of Zeus."

In this card, she is shown in her most general manifestation. She combines the highest spiritual with the lowest material qualities. For this reason, she is fitted to represent one of the three alchemical forms of energy, Salt. Salt is the inactive principle of Nature; Salt is matter which must be energized by Sulphur to maintain the whirling equilibrium of the Universe. The arms and torso of the figure consequently suggest the shape of the alchemical symbol of Salt. She represents a woman with the imperial crown and vestments, seated upon a throne, whose uprights suggest blue twisted flames symbolic of her birth from water, the feminine, fluid element. In her right hand she bears the lotus of Isis; the lotus represents the feminine, or passive power. Its roots are in the earth beneath the water, or in the water itself, but it opens its petals to the Sun, whose image is the belly of the chalice. It is, therefore, a living form of the Holy Grail, sanctified by the blood of the Sun. Perching upon the flamelike uprights of her throne are two of her most sacred birds, the sparrow and the dove; the nub of this symbolism must be sought in the poems of Catullus and Martial. On her robe are bees; also dominos, surrounded by continuous spiral lines; the signification is everywhere similar.

About her, for a girdle, is the Zodiac.

Beneath the throne is a floor of tapestry, embroidered with fleurs-de-lys and fishes; they seem to be adoring the Secret Rose, which is indicated at the base of the throne. The significance of these symbols has already been explained. In this card all symbols are cognate, because of the simplicity and purity of the emblem. There is here no contradiction; such opposition as there seems to be is only the opposition necessary to balance. And this is shown by the revolving moons.

The heraldry of the Empress is two-fold: on the one side, the Pelican of tradition feeding its young from the blood of its own heart; on the other, the White Eagle of the Alchemist.
With regard to the Pelican, its full symbolism is only available to Initiates of the Fifth degree of the O.T.O. In general terms, the meaning may be suggested by identifying the Pelican herself with the Great Mother and her offspring, with the Daughter in the formula of Tetragrammaton. It is because the daughter is the daughter of her mother that she can be raised to her throne. In other language, there is a continuity of life, an inheritance of blood, which binds all forms of Nature together. There is no break between light and darkness. Natura non facit saltum. If these considerations were fully understood, it would become possible to reconcile the Quantum theory with the Electro-magnetic equations.

The White Eagle in this trump corresponds to the Red Eagle in the Consort card, the Emperor. It is here necessary to work back wards. For in these highest cards are the symbols of perfection; both the initial perfection of Nature and the final perfection of Art; not only Isis, but Nephthys. Consequently, the details of the work pertain to subsequent cards, especially Atu vi and Atu xiv.

At the back of the card is the Arch or Door, which is the interpretation of the letter Daleth. This card, summed up, may be called the Gate of Heaven. But, because of the beauty of the symbol, because of its omniform presentation, the student who is dazzled by any given manifestation may be led astray. In no other card is it so necessary to disregard the parts, to concentrate upon the whole.”
(The Book of Thoth)

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  #158  
Old 09-05-2021, 11:31 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 92: Chokmah in Briah and the 2 of Cups

General Symbolic of Chokmah:


From Kether, we reach the top of the White Pillar where Chokmah, the Wisdom of God, stands. It is the awareness of transcendental Unity, of the will of the divine. Too brilliant to be reflected directly to the different worlds, Chokmah wraps himself in the veil of Binah, the Intelligence that takes on the manifestation of a form.

A point is a position that appears, crystallizes in the primordial "void". It has no dimension. Kether is that point.

But if a point is conceived as moving in space, it becomes a line, an infinite number of points. Its only dimension is length. Kether is the dimensionless point, and Chokmah its extension into that measurable dimension which is the line (existence by extension). If we represent the primordial point that is Kether as becoming as becoming the line that is Chokmah, we will get a good image of it. This energy that unfolds is dynamic in essence. It is assumed in Euclidean geometry that the ends of a straight line will never meet, but this is only true in our near universe. Extend the line to infinity and it becomes a circle of inconceivable diameter, a sidereal zodiac whose constellations are the last elements that the eye can perceive.

Kether is a static state, a "crystallization" of the formless. But we cannot conceive of this concentration as a dynamic process. The limits of this crystallization having been reached, the force, the ever-emerging force of the unmanifested breaks these limits. The full potential of the energy that keeps our existence in manifestation.

This sephirah is the first to give rise to the appearance of a polarity. Although Binah, the sephirah facing it, is created from Chokmah, it is good to associate it with the other, because both are connected to Kether and form the basis of the polarity that gives its structure to the Tree of Life. As a creative force, it personifies the energy, the impulse that launches the project. Binah is the form. Or Chokmah is the essence and Binah is the universal substance. A Father cannot exist without a mother, Chokmah cannot exist without Binah.

Wisdom and knowledge should not be confused. True wisdom, or spiritual intuition, is as unsubjective as the certainty that two and two make four. It has the power to penetrate beyond the person to the primordial depths of divinity. On the other hand, knowledge is a state of human knowledge, useful but limited. In order to preserve the priority of wisdom over knowledge, oral transmission was long favoured. The true Qabalah must be received from within. The only true secret is incommunicable. It lies in what the student makes to spring forth from within and in the transformations that take place within him.

The student-hermetist is mistaken if he/she thinks that there is a book that will reveal the "hidden knowledge" to him/her or an Initiatic Order that will teach it to him/her from grade to grade. The only thing that can be proposed is a teaching pedagogy, the transmission of working tools and the realization of group rituals. This is very much and even indispensable in the magical process.

When the final stages of the quest are reached, it is important to keep in mind that the Light, Chokmah, is not the perfect manifestation of the Lord, but the last veil that still hides Him.

Chokmah in Briah: Raziel

Raziel by Ros:


Colour of Chokmah in Briah: Gray


Raziel is the angel that emanates from the right side of Metatron. Raziel can be translated as God's envoy. This implies a messenger invested with a specific mission, who must return to his Principle when it is fulfilled.

The 2 of Cups - Love:

“The Two always represents the Word and the Will. It is the first manifestation. Therefore, in the suit of Water, it must refer to Love, which recovers unity from dividuality by mutual annihilation.

The card also refers to Venus in Cancer. Cancer is, more than any other, the receptive Sign; it is the House of the Moon, and in that Sign Jupiter is exalted. These are, superficially, the three most friendly of the planets.

The hieroglyph of the card represents two cups in the foreground, overflowing upon a calm sea. They are fed with lucent water from a lotus floating upon the sea, from which rises another lotus around whose stem are entwined twin dolphins. The symbolism of the dolphin is very complicated, and must be studied in books of reference; but the general idea is that of the "Royal Art". The dolphin is peculiarly sacred to Alchemy.

The number Two referring to Will, this card might really be renamed the Lord of Love under Will, for that is its full and true meaning. It shows the harmony of the male and the female: interpreted in the largest sense. It is perfect and placid harmony, radiating an intensity of joy and ecstasy.

Of necessity, the realization of the idea in the Four (as the suit develops) will gradually diminish the purity of its perfection.”
(Book of Thoth)

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  #159  
Old 16-05-2021, 09:44 AM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 93: Path between Tiphareth and Kether in Briah

There is an invisible flame burning in the heart caressing the flesh of the Being melting It into the Unborn. I believe it is what running on SF calls Bliss.

‘’Now a grid line from third eye to guru chakra to crown, Bindu, Medulla and halfway to spine is in focus, shifting into the Anahata, connecting the three main chakras (third eye, crown and heart).’’ From Unseeking Seeker on SF

Path between Raphael and Metatron

Color of the path in Briah: Silver


Letter: Gimel


II – The Priestess: “This card is referred to the letter Gimel, which means a Camel.

The card refers to the Moon. The Moon (being the general feminine symbol, the symbol of the second order corresponding to the Sun as the Yoni does to the Lingam) is universal, and goes from the highest to the lowest. It is a symbol which will recur frequently in these hieroglyphs. But in the earlier Trumps the concern is with Nature above the Abyss; the High Priestess is the first card which connects the Supernal Triad with the Hexad; and her path, as shown in the diagram, makes a direct connection between the Father (Kether) in his highest aspect, and the Son (Tiphareth) in his most perfect manifestation. This path is in exact balance in the middle pillar. There is here, therefore, the purest and most exalted conception of the Moon. (At the other end of the scale is Atu xviii, q.v.)

The card represents the most spiritual form of Isis the Eternal Virgin; the Artemis of the Greeks. She is clothed only in the luminous veil of light. It is important for high initiation to regard Light not as the perfect manifestation of the Eternal Spirit, but rather as the veil which hides that Spirit. It does so all the more effectively because of its incomparably dazzling brilliance. [The tradition of the best schools of Hindu mysticism has a precise parallelism. The final obstacle to full Enlightenment is exactly this Vision of Formless Effulgence]. Thus she is light and the body of light. She is the truth behind the veil of light. She is the soul of light. Upon her knees is the bow of Artemis, which is also a musical instrument, for she is huntress, and hunts by enchantment.

Now, regard this idea as from behind the Veil of Light, the third Veil of the original Nothing. This light is the menstruum of manifestation, the goddess Nuith, the possibility of Form. This first and most spiritual manifestation of the feminine takes to itself a masculine correlative, by formulating in itself any geometrical point from which to contemplate possibility. This virginal goddess is then potentially the goddess of fertility. She is the idea behind all form; as soon as the influence of the triad descends below the Abyss, there is the completion of concrete idea.

At the bottom of the card, accordingly, are shown nascent forms, whorls, crystals, seeds, pods, symbolising the beginnings of life. In the midst is the Camel. In this card is the one link between the archetypal and formative worlds.

Thus far concerning this path, considered as issuing downwards from the Crown; but to the aspirant, that is, to the adept who is already in Tiphareth, to him who has attained to the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, this is the path which leads upwards; and this card, in one system entitled the Priestess of the Silver Star, is symbolic of the thought (or rather of the intelligible radiance) of that Angel. It is, in short, a symbol of the highest Initiation.”
Book of Thoth

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  #160  
Old 23-05-2021, 01:02 PM
Legrand
Posts: n/a
 
Week 94: Path between Binah and Kether in Briah

As we are getting close to stepping in the last World going up the Tree, Atziluth/Wands, what those this card/path represents? Going down it created He. Going up He dissolves. What is left when there is no more He?


Color of the path in Briah: Purple

Picture by Roman Okopny:


Letter: Beth

I – The Magus:
“This card is referred to the letter Beth, which means a house, and is attributed to the planet Mercury. The ideas connected with this symbol are so complex and so multifarious.

But Mercury is the Path leading from Kether to Binah, the Understanding; and thus He is the messenger of the gods, represents precisely that Lingam, the Word of creation whose speech is silence.

Mercury, however, represents action in all forms and phases. He is the fluidic basis of all transmission of activity; and, on the dynamic theory of the Universe, he is himself the substance thereof. He is, in the language of modern physics, that electric charge which is the first manifestation of the ring of ten indefinable ideas, as previously explained. He is thus continuous creation.

Logically also, being the Word, he is the law of reason or of necessity or chance, which is the secret meaning of the Word, which is the essence of the Word, and the condition of its utterance. This being so, and especially because he is duality, he represents both truth and falsehood, wisdom and folly. Being the unexpected, he unsettles any established idea, and therefore appears tricky. He has no conscience, being creative. If he cannot attain his ends by fair means, he does it by foul. The legends of the youthful Mercury are therefore legends of cunning. He cannot be understood, because he is the Unconscious Will. His position on the Tree of Life shows the third Sephira, Binah, Understanding, as not yet formulated; still less the false Sephira, Da'ath, knowledge.

From the above it will appear that this card is the second emanation from the Crown, and therefore, in a sense, the adult form of the first emanation, the Fool, whose letter is Aleph, the Unity. These ideas are so subtle and so tenuous, on these exalted planes of thought, that definition is impossible. It is not even desirable, because it is the nature of these ideas to flow one into the other. One cannot do more than say that any given hieroglyph represents a slight insistence upon some particular form of a pantomorphous idea. In this card, the emphasis is upon the creative and dualistic character of the path of Beth.

In the traditional card the disguise is that of a Juggler.

This representation of the Juggler is one of the crudest and least satisfactory in the medieval pack. He is usually represented with a headdress shaped like the sign of infinity in mathematics (this is shown in detail in the card called the Two of Disks). He bears a wand with a knob at each end, which was probably connected with the dual polarity of electricity; but it is also the hollow wand of Prometheus that brings down fire from Heaven. On a table or altar, behind which he is standing, are the three other elemental weapons.

"With the Wand createth He.
With the Cup preserveth He.
With the Dagger destroyeth He.
With the Coin redeemeth He." Liber Magi vv. 7-10."

The present card has been designed principally upon the Graeco-Egyptian tradition; for the understanding of this idea was certainly further advanced when these philosophies modified each other, than elsewhere at any time.

The Hindu conception of Mercury, Hanuman, the monkey god, is abominably degraded. None of the higher aspects of the symbol are found in his cult. The aim of his adepts seems principally to have been the production of a temporary incarnation of the god by sending the women of the tribe every year into the jungle. Nor do we find any legend of any depth or spirituality. Hanuman is certainly little more than the Ape of Thoth.

The principal characteristic of Tahuti or Thoth, the Egyptian Mercury, is, firstly, that he has the head of the ibis. The ibis is the symbol of concentration, because it was supposed that this bird stood continuously upon one leg, motionless. This is quite evidently a symbol of the meditative spirit. There may also have been some reference to the central mystery of the Aeon of Osiris, the secret guarded so carefully from the profane, that the intervention of the male was necessary to the production of children. In this form of Thoth, he is seen bearing the phoenix wand, symbolising resurrection through the generative process. In his left hand is the Ankh, which represents a sandal-strap; that is to say, the means of progress through the worlds, which is the distinguishing mark of godhead. But, by its shape, this Ankh (crux ansata) is actually another form of the Rose and Cross, and this fact is perhaps not quite such an accident as modern Egyptologists, preoccupied with their attempted refutation of the Phallic school of Archaeology, would have us suppose.

The other form of Thoth represents him primarily as Wisdom and the Word. He bears in his right hand the Style, in his left the Papyrus. He is the messenger of the gods; he transmits their will by hieroglyphs intelligible to the initiate, and records their acts; but it was seen from very early times that the use of speech, or writing, meant the introduction of ambiguity at the best, and falsehood at the worst; they therefore represented Thoth as followed by an ape, the cynocephalus, whose business was to distort the Word of the god; to mock, to simulate and to deceive. In philosophical language one may say: Manifestation implies illusion. This doctrine is found in Hindu philosophy, where the aspect of Tahuti of which we are speaking is called Mayan. This doctrine is also found in the central and typical image of the Mahayana school of Buddhism (really identical with the doctrine of Shiva and Shakti).

The present card endeavours to represent all the above conceptions. Yet no true image is possible at all; for, firstly, all images are necessarily false as such; and, secondly, the motion being perpetual, and its rate that of the limit, c, the rate of Light, any stasis contradicts the idea of the card: this picture is, therefore, hardly more than mnemonic jottings.”
(The Book of Thoth)

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