Copyright
(c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is is licenced
for free
non-commercial distribution only.
-----------------------------------------------------------
** MAGICK
10 -- CABALA **
Western magick is based upon the Cabala, a Jewish mystical
traditon
first written down in 12th and 13th century southern
France
and Spain. It was oral before that; and it contains the
"lost"
knowledge of the ancients, possibly going back to Egypt and
before.
The most important Cabalistic books are SEPHIR YETZIRAH
(The Book
of Creation), and the ZOHAR (Book of Splendor). Through
Cabalistic
philosophy we are able to classify and "pigeon-hole"
all of
existence.
The four worlds are recognized in the Cabala, but they are given
Hebrew
names. Thus -- Assiah, physical; Yetzirah, astral; Briah,
mental;
and Atziluth, spiritual; as shown in the chart.
WORLD
NAME MEANING
ATTRIBUTE
===== ====
=======
=========
spiritual
Atziluth Archetypal World
pure deity
mental
Briah
Creative World archangel
astral
Yetzirah Formative
World angels
physical
Assiah
Material World
action
The divine name of God is TETRAGRAMMATON (or name of four
letters)
made from the Hebrew letters YOD HE VAU HE (English
YHVH).
Of the four letters, YOD corresponds with Atziluth and the
element
of fire; the first HE corresponds with Briah and water.
These
first two letters make up a yang-yin pair (respectively).
The other
two letters also form a yang-yin pair (respectively),
with the
VAU corresponding with Yetzirah and air; while the second
HE corresponds
with Assiah and the element of earth.
The Cabalistic parts of the soul use new names for the three
highest
vehicles of consciousness. NESHAMAH (Divine Soul) is the
Spiritual
body; RUAH (Moral Soul) is the Mental body; and NEFESH
(Animal
Soul) is the Astral body.
An important attribute of the Cabala is the SEFIROTIC TREE (or
"Tree
of Life", Otz Chieem). The Sefirotic Tree is a diagram of
the universe
made up of the ten SEFIROTH (primal numbers or orders
of creation)
drawn as circles upon the Tree in a decending pattern
from the
highest aspect of God at the top to the most physical
aspect
of our world at the bottom. As can be seen in the
accompanying
diagram, the sefiroth are connected together with
numbered
lines, called paths.
/ (1) \
/ |
\
/
| \
(3) /----------|---------\ (2)
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
(5)\-----------|---------/ (4)
| \ |
/ |
| \ |
/ |
| \ (6) /
|
| / |
\ |
| / |
\ |
| / |
\ |
(8)/-----------|---------\ (7)
\
| /
\ |
/
\ (9) /
|
|
(10)
This is my attempt to draw a Sefirotic Tree using ASCII
characters.
Several paths are omitted (15, 17, 29, 31). Please
refer
to a printed diagram (in most any book on Cabala) for a
better
illustration.
Above the Tree is the infinite void -- the unknowable,
unmanifest
God as Divine Light -- the three veils of negative
existence:
Ain, Ain Sof, and Ain Sof Aur. The Divine Light (Ain
Sof Aur)
is made manifest by the first sefira where it is
transformed
into positive existence. Emanations of energy
(magical
current) flow from the first sefira (Source) along the
paths
into other sefiroth which transform and emanate to lower and
lower
sefiroth. In Adam Kadman (primal or ideal man) the sefiroth
fit upon
the physical body; note the similarity to the chakras.
The process
of creation is one of emanation from the spiritual at
the top
of the Tree to the physical world (Sink) at the bottom.
All current
which is Sourced into the Tree must also be Sinked
(earthed).
That is, magical energy set in motion by ritual shoud
be used
up in the physical world whether or not the ritual was a
success.
Sefiroth 1, 2, and 3 on the Tree form the Supernal Triangle
which
is beyond normal human experience in the world of Atziluth.
The first
sefira, KETHER, is the supreme *crown* of God; it
signifies
pure Being, and is the Source. Kether is androgynous.
Immediately
arising from Kether are two further emanations. The
second
sefira is HOKMAH, the *wisdom* of God and the masculine
force
of the universe. Third is BINAH, the *understanding* or
intelligence
of God; this is the supernal mother.
Between the Supernals and the other seven sefiroth is the Abyss
-- a great
gulf which forever separates ideal from actual. Within
the Abyss
an 11th sefira, DAATH, the *knowledge* of God is
sometimes
placed.
The second triangle, comprised of the 4th, 5th, and 6th sefiroth
in the
world of Briah, is sometimes called the Mental Triangle.
Sefira
4, HESED, the *love* or mercy of God, is male and positive.
The 5th
sefira, GEVURAH, the power or *strength* of God
complements
Hesed as justice. Sixth is TIFARETH, as the compassion
or *beauty*
of God; the heart of the universe.
The third or Astral Triangle contains sefiroth 7, 8, and 9 in
Yetzirah.
Sefira 7, NETSAH, is the lasting endurance or *victory*
of God.
Complementing Netsah is 8, HOD, the majesty or *splendor*
of God.
The 9th sefira, YESOD, the *foundation* of the world, is
linked
with the moon, hence the tides and the libido. Yesod is
experienced
as dream consciousness, and is very important in
magick
and astral projection.
Finally, at the physical world of Assiah is the 10th sefira,
MALKUTH,
the *kindgom* of God, and the basis of all material
creation.
We experience Malkuth as sense consciousness.
The Sefirotic Tree has three vertical columns or *pillars*. As
you face
the tree, the pillar on the right, headed by Hokmah and
ending
with Netsah, is called the Pillar of Mercy and has
light/masculine
(yang) qualities. The pillar on the left, headed
by Binah
and ending with Hod, is the Pillar of Severity with
dark/feminine
(yin) qualities. The Middle Pillar between them
equilibriates
the two opposites, and is the *Shekhinah*, or
feminine
counterpart of God. The *klippoth*, or evil demons,
generally
in Assiah, represent unbalanced forces or excesses.
All the attributes of the universe fit like pieces of a puzzle
upon the
Sefirotic Tree. Each numbered part is a numeric key to
the various
correspondence tables, such as Crowley's '777'. The
sefirotic
tree has its parts variously colored and each sefira has
a color;
in fact the paths which run between the sefiroth have
their
own colors too. There are four major color scales for the
sefirotic
tree and each color scale corresponds with one of the
four worlds.
That means we are dealing with not just one sefirotic
tree,
but actually with a separate tree for each of the four
worlds;
although it is easier to think of it as the same tree with
a different
color scale. The Queen (Briah) and King (Atziluth)
scales
are the most important. There is also the Empress scale
(Assiah),
and the Emperor scale (Yetzirah).
The Queen and King scales for the sefiroth are shown below.
(Note
that when 4 colors are listed toghether, the sefira is
divided
into quarters and the first color is assigned to the upper
quarter,
the 2nd color to the right quarter, the 3rd color to the
left quarter,
and the last color to the lower quarter.)
cont'd
next page
BOOK LIST
J. Abelson,
Jewish Mysticism
Edward
Albertson, Understanding the Kabbalah
Bernard
J. Babmerger, Fallen Angels
Richard
Cavendish, The Black Arts
______,
editorial comments to "Cabala", Man Myth and Magic
Aleister
Crowley, The Book of Thoth
______,
777 Revised
Denning
and Phillips, The Magical Philosophy
______,
Magical States of Consciousness (on pathworking)
A.D. Duncan,
The Christ, Psychotherapy and Magic
Dion Fortune,
The Mystical Qabalah
Adolphe
Frank, The Kabbalah: The Religious Philosophy of the
Hebrews
Perle
Epstein, Kabbalah, the Way of the Jewish Mystic
William
Gray, The Talking Tree
Stephan
A. Hoeller, The Royal Road
Isidor
Kalish, Sepher Yezirah: A Book on Creation
Alta J.
LaDage, Occult Psychology
Bernhard
Pick, The Cabala: Its Influence on Judaism and
Christianity
Charles
Ponce, Kabbalah: An Introduction and Illumination for the
World Today
Henry
B. Pullen-Burry, Qabalism
Israel
Regardie, A Garden of Pomegranets
______,
The Golden Dawn
______,
The Middle Pillar
Leo Schaya,
The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah
Gershom
Scholem, Kabbalah
______,
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism
______,
On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism
______,
Zohar: The Book of Splendor
Arthur
Edward Waite, The Holy Kabbalah
R.J. Zwi
Werblowsky, "Cabala", Man, Myth and Magic
William
Wynn Wescott, An Introduction to the Study of the Kabalah
______,
Sepher Yetzirah
========
Phil Hansford,
4/88 Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem)
P.O. Box
83 Tujunga, CA 91042
Pt 9a Pt 10a 
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