Lesson Nine Da’ath
The Abyss lies between the Ethical Triangle of Geburah, Chesed, and Tiphereth and the Supernal Triangle of Binah, Chokmah, and Kether. A vast chasm of understanding separates what mortals can comprehend and what is beyond true comprehension. In biblical mythology, the Abyss represents the divide created by the “Fall,” whether it be the fall of the archangel Lucifer into the depths after the war in heaven, the fall of Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden, or the Gnostic fall of light into the world of matter. In its most enlightened telling, the Fall is not the fall of angels or men, but the fall of God, as the prime creator, into form to experience life, and in that process the separation that God experiences from himself/herself. We are that portion of God in manifestation. In the Abyss lies the mysterious sphere that is not a sphere—the world of Da’ath, which separates the manifested form of the universe, represented by the lower seven sephiroth, from the supernal ideal of creation, embodied by the upper three.
Called the mysterious eleventh sephira, Da’ath is not really a sephira, as it is not on, or connected to, the Tree of Life. There is a great deal of confusion and controversy over this point. The Sepher Yetzirah clearly states that the Kabbalah consists of ten sephiroth, not nine and not eleven, as we see its pattern modeled in our ten fingers and ten toes. Yet the mysterious eleventh sphere has popped up in our mythology. Whether you love or hate the idea of another sephira, it has become a part of our magickal cosmology and deserves at least some understanding and consideration.
Technically, Da’ath is not numbered, and is sometimes depicted as a dotted circle with a D in the center of it. This sphere floats mysteriously on the middle pillar between Kether and Tiphereth. It fits well into our power centers for the Middle Pillar ritual as the point of the traditional throat or neck chakra. For many witches, the model of the Tree of Life, with its decadal symbolism, is not satisfying. In modern paganism we learn of the sacredness of the numbers nine, twelve, and thirteen. My own quest into a more New Age version of the Tree, with twelve or thirteen points, is what sparked my serious study of reality maps and the Qabalah.
Da’ath means “knowledge,” and magickally it represents all knowledge, but not necessarily the understanding or wisdom to use it properly. The knowledge of the invisible sephira is the knowledge beyond reason, the knowledge that becomes apparent by its absence, not by its direct revelation. Da’ath is claimed to be the closest thing humanity can understand of the Supernal Triad while incarnate. It is knowledge, but not the power to work appropriately with that knowledge. Some magicians recognize that as they climb the Tree, while others mistake Da’ath for Kether, mistake knowledge for the Godhead. As wonderful as knowledge is, it is not a substitute for divinity. Such magicians are said to get lost in the Abyss, obsessed with magickal knowledge but lacking the understanding to apply it properly to their spiritual journey.
Da’ath is the union of the Great Mother and Great Father. It can be conceived as an alternate point to a triangle involving Binah and Chokmah, pointing down into manifestation. It is a transition point from the supernal world to the more manifest world, and back again. One could think of it in terms of the transition point between matter and energy. The more supernal concepts must be translated into something more “concrete” when crossing the Abyss to enter Chesed, while more formed energies must be stripped to their most supernal components and patterns when rising through the Abyss to Binah. On the way down the Tree, Da’ath can be seen as the birth canal of the Binah goddess, sending the new soul out into the world. When returning, it can be seen as the cosmic grave, as the goddess, bringing us from womb to tomb, strips us of our individualization in our quest to become one with the Godhead.
The knowledge of Da’ath is important, for it is with that knowledge that one can bridge the Abyss, if the knowledge is applied correctly rather than mistaken for divinity and sought out simply for knowledge’s sake. One must use the knowledge of Da’ath without losing sight of the light of Kether. The climber on the Tree must not mistake the eclipsed light of Da’ath for the supreme Godhead. As the sphere of the throat, Da’ath can be linked to the mind, or the mental body. The mind is a trap at times, where we get lost thinking about things but never doing anything. We can get caught in a form of mental masturbation, mistaking knowledge for the experience. We can mistake our thoughts of the divine for the divine itself. The throat center is also where knowledge is expressed, and the windpipe is like a “hole” within us.
It is said that Da’ath is the invisible sephira. Unlike the other sephiroth, Da’ath does not act as an emanation, but instead functions like an invisible gateway, a doorway. It is a gateway across the Abyss and into what many see as another dimension, the realm of the Qlippoth, the shells of divinity, or the reverse of the Tree of Life. It is through the gateway of the Qlippoth that a mage can use knowledge to truly get lost and never make it across the Abyss. Because of this function, occultists debate whether Da’ath is a sephira or a pathway.
The implied numerology of Da’ath gives us some interesting concepts. If we accept its placement as the eleventh sphere, then we can look to numerology to know that eleven is considered a master number, signifying spirituality, with an emphasis on one, or the creative force, and the ego being held in balance with the spirit. Eleven plays an interesting role in Thelemic magick, as some rituals are opened with a series of eleven taps, in the rhythm of 1–3–3–3–1 and closed with eleven taps in the 3–5–3 sequence.
One, ten, and eleven all have an emphasis on the digit one, and each of these spheres on the middle pillar has a strong relationship with other spheres. Da’ath often is seen as a shadow and reflection of the light of Kether. Others see a strong relationship between Da’ath and Malkuth, with the mythology of the Fall. The Tree of Life, though symmetrical around the vertical axis, is asymmetrical around the horizontal axis. Malkuth makes it slightly off-center. Some Qabalists believe that Malkuth once occupied the position of Da’ath, creating a perfectly symmetrical Tree, and the realm of the Kingdom was in harmony with the supernals. Malkuth formed a strange link with the upper and lower spheres. The transitions between the spheres did not incorporate an Abyss. During the Fall, Malkuth dropped through the worlds into its current position as the lowest and densest of the spheres. One could think of Da’ath not so much as a sphere, but as the hole through which Malkuth fell. In its original position, Malkuth/Da’ath as the daughter principle held a “higher” station on the Tree of Life than the son principle of Tiphereth.
Such mythologies are hard for pagan magicians to understand or accept, for our cosmology doesn’t have a Fall. We don’t believe the angels fought the divine and were cast down. We believe that we never left paradise. We have no original sin. In more feminine-reverent and Earth-reverent forms of Gnostic philosophy, the Fall is seen as the descent of spirit into the world of matter, and it is believed that the angels of matter and the world voluntarily entered the cyclical rhythms of creation. Their descent is what set the physical worlds into motion. Before that, everything was nontangible. Some tales tell us that the faeries are simply angels that descended into flesh, and that the Lucifer figures are the light bringers guiding the world and watching the gates between the heavens and the more material planes. With this thought in mind, detached from Judeo-Christian morality, the Fall doesn’t seem so far-fetched. It embodies well the paradox we have of divinity as both immanent and transcendent.
Author Alan Moore, in his Promethea comic book series, makes an interesting point, stating that Da’ath is not the eleventh sphere at all, but is pi (π) with the top bar missing. Da’ath’s real number is the irrational number, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Pi is infinite, but is expressed as 3.14159 . . ., a number moving infinitely between three (Binah) and four (Chesed). Such an irrational number creatively expresses the infinite and irrational nature of the Abyss and its sephira, Da’ath. Pi is a great symbol for the bottomlessness of the Abyss, where the mysteries appear to go on forever. It takes knowledge to find this number, but that knowledge does not equate with wisdom.
Astrologically, Da’ath has been associated with a number of heavenly forces. The star system of Sirius is the most prominent. Sirius has been venerated as a point of wisdom in many ancient cultures, particularly Egypt. The pyramids possibly were used as initiation chambers, according to some mystics, and were aligned with the light of Sirius. Perhaps the ancient priests and priestesses found a way to bridge the Abyss. In Theosophical teaching, Sirius is said to act like the higher self of our Sun, with our group of ascended masters being an outpost for the original “lodge” of masters from Sirius. It is interesting that Chesed often is associated with the ascended masters, and the next step is the higher “lodge” of masters on Sirius.
The outer planets also have an association with Da’ath. The one that most often is aligned with Da’ath is Uranus, a planet of unorthodox communication that is associated with the throat, spine, and nervous system. Others put Pluto, the gateway to life and death, the Lord of the Underworld and hidden riches, at the gate of the Qlippoth. The psychedelic aspect of Neptune also can be part of Da’ath’s imagery. Lastly, some equate the asteroids, the “missing” planet between Mars and Jupiter, as the zone of Da’ath. As Da’ath is the shattered and collapsed sephira, this zone is for the shattered planet, as many esotericists believe a planet once occupied the orbit of the asteroids and was destroyed early in the creation of the solar system. Others think of the asteroid belt as a planet that never formed. The four main asteroids of the belt all are assigned to goddesses—Ceres, Juno, Pallas, and Vesta. Lastly, the mysterious planetoid Chiron, between the inner and outer planets, between Saturn and Uranus, is sometimes given rulership over Da’ath. Chiron is known as the “wounded healer,” and as Da’ath represents a “wound” in the universe, this rulership, too, would be appropriate. The wide variety of correspondences to Da’ath adds to the mystique.
The correspondences of Da’ath are tricky, as ultimately Da’ath’s symbolism is the absence of all symbolism. The following correspondences have been culled from authors both in print and online who tackle the difficult subject of Da’ath.
Da’ath
Meaning: Knowledge
Level of Reality: Abyss
Parts of the Self: Shadow Self, Throat
Experience: Vision Across the Abyss
Obligation: Detachment
Illusion: Attachment
Virtues: Self-Knowledge, Mastery of Demons
Vices: Self-Delusion, Ignorance of Self, False Enlightenment
Name of God: (YHVH Elohim)
King Scale Color: Lavender
Queen Scale Color: Pale Silver Gray
Prince Scale Color: Pure Violet
Princess Scale Color: Gray flecked with Gold
Element: Air
Planets: Uranus, Pluto, Neptune, Sirius, Chiron, Asteroids, Black Holes
Image: Two-Faced God
Archetypes: Dual Deities, Threshold Deities
Greek/Roman Deities: Janus, Hecate, Persephone
Egyptian Deities: Set/Horus, Osiris/Horus, Dark Isis, Ma’at
Middle Eastern Deity: Tiamat
Celtic Deities: Oak King/Holly King, Green/Red Knight
Norse Deities: Loki, Hel
Hindu Deity: Shiva
Archangels: Uriel, Mesukiel, Zagzagel
Angelic Order: Serpents
Choir: None
Grade of Initiation: Crossing the Abyss
Animals: Raven, Cthulhu Creatures
Planetary Vowel Sound: None
Resonant Letters: None
Musical Mode: None
Musical Note: None
Tools: Chain, Prism, Black Hole
Incense: Wormwood
Tarot: All Cards
Metal: None
Stones: Obsidian, Opal, Moldavite, “Artificial” or Treated Stones
Plants: Psychedelics
You can build a Da’ath altar using any of these correspondences. There really is no “right” way to build any of these altars, but this is true particularly with Da’ath, as it has no traditional, universally respected correspondences.
Entities of Da’ath
The archetypal image of Da’ath is the two-faced god, with one face looking forward and one looking back. Here we have the synthesis of polarity, as past and future, above and below, mother and father, and life and death. The image is found in Roman mythology, in the figure of Janus. He is the god of gateways, doors, and both beginnings and endings. At one time, Janus’s image was of one face smooth and young and the other bearded. Later images had both faces bearded. His symbol, beyond gateways, is the key, the opener of the gates, which he has in common with many other threshold deities, such as Hecate.
I also think of the two-faced god in the general Wiccan mythos as The God, the Lord of Life and Death (OTOW, Chapter 5). He is the god of light and green in the growing season and the god of death and the Underworld in the waning. One side is the golden green man and grain god, and the other is the horned one. Like the Da’ath figure, he is a synthesis and a guardian of the gateways between the worlds. As Da’ath is a portal, the God is an ideal figure to focus upon in his entirety, for beneath the Abyss, he manifests separately as the Holly King and Oak King, Green Knight and Red Knight.
Janus and the two sides of the witch’s God in the sphere of Da’ath can be seen as initiators, having more in common with Hecate and the feminine mysteries than just keys. Any figure that is seen as a divine initiator, an opener of the spiritual gate, can be considered a Da’ath figure. Depending on the planetary associations, figures such as the Uranian divine rebels, the Prometheus and Lucifer figures, fit here, or the Plutonian death gods and goddesses, such as Hades, Persephone, Hecate, and Osiris. Gareth Knight suggests working with Isis and the mysteries of the goddess as a way to invoke Da’ath’s positive attributes, as it leads to Binah, the Great Mother. Isis certainly can be seen as an initiator. The path of the Priestess card, from Tiphereth to Kether, runs right through Da’ath’s position on the Tree, and figures like Isis certainly resonate with the Priestess card. Likewise, the figure of Set can be seen as Osiris’s teacher through conflict. His mythology, with his seventy-two accomplices, has a relevant connection to Goetic magick.
The god name of Da’ath is YHVH Elohim. It is the creative power of the Tetragrammaton linked to the plural form of the divine, meaning “Lord of Gods” or “Lord God.” It is truly the divine name of Binah, for Da’ath is said to not have a true god name.
As a gateway to another, possibly corrupt dimension, Da’ath rarely is associated with the angelic realm. Demonic associations are more likely. When angels are used, Uriel, the archangel of Uranus, is a possibility. Another option is the archangel of the Abyss, Mesukiel, whose name possibly means the “Veiler of God.” Author D. J. Conway, in Magick of the Gods & Goddesses, associates Zagzagel, as an archangel of wisdom, with Da’ath. The angelic “order” known as the Serpents is associated with Da’ath. These Serpents are like the Seraphim, but unlike the Seraphim, they lack the flame of spirit, residing in the dark Abyss. The fallen angels of many traditions, which are akin to the demons and devils of mythology, all find a home in Da’ath as the gateway to the demonic realm.
The demonic associations come from Da’ath’s link as the doorway to the Qlippoth. The Qlippoth are the reverse of the sephiroth. The Qlippothic Tree of Life, sometimes known as the Tree of Evil or Tree of Death, the reverse of our familiar Tree of Life, is sometimes depicted as behind the traditional Tree or a mirror image beneath that Tree (figures 69 and 70). Though the Qlippoth could be seen as the shaman’s Underworld, their meaning is quite different. While the sephiroth are divine emanations, the Qlippoth are “shells.” They are not evil, as popularly believed, but empty. When you look at the Qlippothic correspondent of any sephira, if you remove the divine attribute of that sephira, emptying it out, then you have the Qlippothic force. The Qlippoth embody the vices, not the virtues. Chesed without mercy and compassion is simply bigotry and arrogant power. Geburah without divine power is simply wanton force and destruction. Tiphereth without selfless offering is needless suffering or egotistical martyrdom. These are the empty shells of the Qlippothic Tree.
The mythology of the Qlippoth can be seen in the Abyss. One teaching on the Abyss looks at it as a cosmic dumping ground. At one time, the Creator, the force behind Kether, made previous universes that were imperfect. These broken universes were swept into the Abyss, until our current universe was created. The remnants of the broken universes still exist, and we experience them when we enter the Qlippothic spheres. They are seen as a broken shadow of our universe. When we don’t embody the virtues of the sephiroth, we enter the reverse Tree of Life.
Some magicians see no purpose in trafficking with the reverse Tree, while others seek it out, in an effort to know all, and to conquer all fear and all aspects of the shadow. The mythology of the Qlippoth assigns alternate names and titles to each of the ten sephiroth. While the sephiroth have angelic orders and archangels, the Qlippoth have demonic orders and archdemons (Chart 4). Understanding the shadow, the shell of a sephira, can aid in understanding the “full” manifestation of the sephira’s power.
|
Qabalistic Sphere |
Qlippothic Order |
English Equivalent |
|
Kether |
Thaumiel |
Twins of God |
|
Chokmah |
Ogiel |
The Hinderers |
|
Binah |
Satariel |
The Concealers |
|
Chesed |
Gasheklah |
The Smiters |
|
Geburah |
Golachab |
The Arsonists |
|
Tiphereth |
Tageriron |
The Hagglers |
|
Netzach |
Oreb Zaraq |
The Raven of Dispersion |
|
Hod |
Samael |
Poison of God |
|
Yesod |
Gamaliel |
The Obscene Ones |
|
Malkuth |
Lilith |
Queen of the Night |
Chart 4: Qlippothic Correspondences
In modern magick, the paths of the reverse Tree are known as the “Tunnels of Set,” while the bright paths are the “Tunnels of Horus,” showing the Set and Horus cosmology embodied in the concept of the dual Tree. Modern magick also has associated the mythos of H. P. Lovecraft, in the Cthulhu series, with the sphere of Da’ath, feeling that Lovecraft unconsciously connected to this gateway of power and mystery. The Cthulhu mythos was continued onward in a magickal context by comic author Grant Morrison in The Invisibles series, describing the Reverse Tree of Life as Universe B, a sick and twisted yet integral component of our own reality.
Da’ath is the only sphere to exist both on the day side and the night side of the Tree of Life, yet it belongs to neither. The archdemon of Da’ath is Choronzon. Popularized by Aleister Crowley, Choronzon stands at the gateway, and is the keeper of false knowledge and the deceiver of the initiate. But he is a necessary part of the Tree of Life, as the magician must conquer, integrate, or make peace with this force before ascending higher. Choronzon is the force continually ripping apart the universe and the mage potentially crossing the Abyss. It is in the dissolution of the self that one finds Binah, union with the Cosmic Mother. Choronzon seems like a modern interpretation of the “root monster” in the World Tree of the shaman, like Nidhogg in the roots of Yggdrasil. One of Crowley’s most controversial workings involved the invocation of this demon. I’m reminded of the shamanic dismemberment initiations when I think of Crowley’s Choronzon working. One can think of Choronzon as the cosmic Dweller on the Threshold, the collective shadow guardian preventing us from going up further. Though Choronzon is seen as an evil figure by some, in many ways he (and all Da’ath figures) is the higher octave of the child of light in Tiphereth, as the child of the union of Binah, understanding, and Chokmah, wisdom.
The Qlippoth seem so frightening and powerful to the new student, yet they are not. By their very definition, the Qlippoth are empty. They are shells devoid of divinity. It is simply that we live in a culture that puts more power to the fear. Because we are not in touch with many of these divine forces as embodied by the sephiroth, we think their opposing forces are more powerful because they are equally unknown, yet seem fiercer in our imagery. If we are truly in touch with the divine powers, then we will know just how powerful the energies of the Tree of Life really are.
The qualities of Da’ath are the primal and primordial powers. Da’ath is the unknown creature of the dark. It is the serpent power, and its parallel in the body can be found in the serpent power of the Kundalini as it rises upward to reach the stem of the brain. While Da’ath is the throat, it also is the primal reptilian brain at the back of the skull, guarding the doorway with no key, the gateway to the higher dimensions. The earthly aspects of the higher position of Malkuth give Da’ath associations with all sorts of primal yet earthy creatures—the Leviathan, the Beast, the Midgard Serpent, the coiling Kundalini. This serpent power is the primal power of the deep unconscious. It is the power of the void. These creatures bring power, but often instill fear in us. So much of what we don’t understand or like is labeled demonic. And if that is the label we use, then that is the label we must come to terms with as we work with this sphere.
Vision of Da’ath
There is very little formalized agreement on Da’ath’s visions and experience. One might say the spiritual vision of this sphere is simply to get across the Abyss. Such a feat can be described as the realization of attachment and nonattachment, as crossing the Abyss forces us to relinquish much of our personal self and personal attachment characterized by the lower sephiroth. It’s like a higher octave of the process that occurs when we pierce the veil between the lower four sephiroth and Tiphereth. Instead of simply piercing the veil, we are called to cross the Abyss. We must go beyond the illusion, beyond the seduction of knowledge, to attain the vision across the Abyss. As the zero point between the lower and upper parts of the Tree, the experience of moving from one realm to another can be seen as the shattering of self, the disintegration of the ego self. In this process of detachment, the magician truly no longer practices the magick that he or she has been mastering in the lower spheres, but transforms, to become the magick fully. This is the true mystery of magick. One could see the vision of crossing the Abyss as the vision of disintegration or the vision of transformation.
As Da’ath is the sphere of the Qlippoth, one might not find any virtues to this realm, yet the highest virtue is mastery of the demonic forces in our lives. Since the demons of the universe most often manifest in personal ways, the vision of attachment and nonattachment creates the virtue of detachment. One is in the world, yet detached from the outcome, the fruit of the labor, as one manifests the principles of Malkuth restored to the supernal world, rather than focusing strictly on the material results. One sees the truth about the self. This is the ultimate knowledge embodied by Da’ath’s name. Not the knowledge of things, but of self, and that knowledge comes only from a detached, objective look at oneself. Another virtue of mastering Da’ath is embodied in the two-faced Janus image—mastery of being in between, which is simply another way of looking at detachment. One has a knowledge of, intention for, and confidence in the future, but with detachment, knowing the future will work out as it must, and we are part of that process. The initiate has an awareness of the past, culling the knowledge from past successes and failures, yet an ability to remain in the moment, the time and place between. Magicians, witches, and shamans are known to be threshold beings, walkers between the worlds, not fully belonging to any one place or time.
The vice is manifested in one who is trapped in Da’ath. If one is seduced by the illusion, one cannot make the leap across the Abyss. Attachment, the inability to move forward, is the illusion. One is inert because one is chained down by personal attachment, by the lure of hidden knowledge, by worry and fantasy about the past or future, or by the ego self. The inertia of attachment can be considered a higher octave of the Malkuth vice, inertia or laziness.
To fulfill the obligation of Da’ath, needed to truly cross the Abyss, one must be starkly honest with oneself, seeking not the knowledge of the world or the esoteric realms but knowledge of the self. Esoteric knowledge serves only if one uses the macrocosm to find enlightenment. The oracles of Delphi, those who sat in an “in-between” place, urge all to “know thyself,” for this is crucial in looking into the darkness of the Abyss. Self-knowledge is the key to the gateway, leading across to Binah. Da’ath is much like a mirror, in which one must look truly at the self. We might not see things as they really are. Through a trick of light and perspective, we may convince ourselves that we are something we really are not. The philosopher Nietzsche’s famous quote on the Abyss is, “When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you.” Like the reflected self, each image takes stock of the other.
The illusion of Da’ath is truly self-delusion. One has climbed so high only to be blocked by the self. Ignorance of the self is the true illusion, fully manifested when one is attached to the self-image, rather than taking identity from the divine self. With self-delusion, one can mistake this attachment for attainment of the realm beyond the Abyss. One has attained a sense of false enlightenment. One can continually fall in the Abyss, yet create a self-deluded fantasy of enlightenment and the Godhead, all taking place in the mental realm, not the realm of spirit.
As the ascended masters often are associated with both Chesed and Binah, the corresponding “black brothers” are linked with Da’ath. Though the definition of such black brothers has been misinterpreted in our popular fiction as black magicians who seek to destroy the world, the true definition is those magicians who are satisfied with the illusion of Da’ath, with the smaller ideas of divinity, who wear the False Crown of Da’ath as it is known, rather than seeking the True Crown of Kether. The realization of having to release the ego self is too much for such magicians, brothers and sisters alike, to bear, and instead, they succumb to the illusions and vices, thinking they have attainted enlightenment, merging with the Godhead. In truth, they have abandoned their HGA for the material knowledge of Da’ath and invoked the corresponding shadow of their HGA, the so-called Evil Genius.
Da’ath Magick
In many ways, the traditional magickal structures and correspondences don’t work when invoking the powers of Da’ath. Its primary symbol is no symbol, emptiness and absence, as it is the transformation point between vastly different levels of consciousness. Typical images that can be used for Da’ath are the empty cell or empty room and the void or black hole. Each suggests the absence of light or, even more, the absorption of light into the Abyss, and both can be useful images to meditate on in a pathworking.
Rituals tools are somewhat harder to use with the absence of symbolism. A common association is the chain, symbolizing the chain of attachment that must be broken to cross the Abyss. Another tool I happened upon through Internet posts and discussion is the prism. The lens that refracts white light into the spectrum suits Da’ath quite well, as we must look at each aspect of the self in our introspective process. Otherworldly colors and dark iridescents are associated with Da’ath. Uriel’s colors are sometimes described as the oil slick or peacock, iridescent but dark. The image of Melek Taus, the peacock god, also is quite helpful in Da’ath. The spectrum of light for Da’ath is ultraviolet, and though I’ve never used them, black light and trippy images from black-light poster art would be helpful for such rituals. Imagery of Promethean fire, the fennel stalks burning with the knowledge of heaven, is also a tool, though it can be difficult to keep fennel stalks burning during a ritual. A good substitute tool for a similar concept is the apple, as the apple of knowledge and the apple of immortality from the tale of Eden.
The edge of the sword, not the sword itself, is a tool of Da’ath. One is said to walk the sword or razor’s edge across the Abyss, without error, keeping a steady gaze on the light of Kether. The sword edge also demonstrates the part of the mind that is needed to truly cross the Abyss, the part that separates, divides, and detaches.
All dark creatures are associated with Da’ath, from the primordial serpents and creatures that go bump in the night to more traditional dark images, such as the raven or crow, with their dark iridescent wings, bringing the night color into full daylight.
In terms of spell correspondences, herbs that open the gates, that induce trance, would be appropriate, from the full-trance-inducing psychotropic plants to safer alternatives. The use of the Artemisia family, particularly wormwood, in an incense would be very helpful for conjuring Da’ath powers.
Shining iridescent yet dark stones are the gems of Da’ath. Obsidian, in general, and rainbow obsidian, in particular, are wonderful choices. Obsidian is the mineral of the classic witch’s mirror, used to stare into the otherworlds, and to stare into the self. Opal, as a stone of Uranus, and in particular black opal, is a powerful gem for Da’ath. I also would include labradorite/spectrolite, an iridescent form of feldspar, in the sphere of Da’ath.
The most appropriate form of magick for Da’ath is the magick of the Goetia. Goetia is a word that has both referred to witchcraft in general and meant “howling,” possibly a reference to the practitioners of rural and “illicit” religions when compared to the state-sanctioned temple priests and priestesses. Such rural rituals were probably more primal, wild, and loud.
Originally, Goetia was the art of the goes, a ritual mourner at funerary rites. A goes was one who lamented for the dead. Later, the term was associated with necromancy, meaning one who could summon the spirits of the dead. Eventually, goes became a term for sorcery and witchcraft, but with negative connotations. Despite the modern pagan opinion that all witchcraft was embraced by the ancient world, even in the very pagan times of ancient Greece, some forms of magick were looked down upon harshly. Classical magicians and philosophers deeply wanted to disassociate themselves from Goetic practitioners. Goetic magick refers to spirit summoning, a practice that spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, primarily among underground practitioners in the Church, and parts of it eventually made their way into folk magick traditions. The Goetia played an important role in the Golden Dawn revival, as Mathers was one to translate the text of the Goetia, and then Crowley published a version with his own modifications.
Today, the Goetia most often refers to a system of magick found in the first book of a famous grimoire known as The Lesser Key of Solomon, or The Lemegeton. Attributed to the biblical magician king Solomon yet most likely having no direct link to ancient Hebrew magick, it details a system for summoning, binding, and controlling seventy-two spirits, often considered demons, each with a realm of power. Now the “howling” of the Goetia is said to refer to the noise these demons make, as Solomon was said to have imprisoned them in a brass vessel, but later they escaped to plague the world.
You might be wondering what a section on “demon” summoning is doing in a book on modern witchcraft. We so often are trying to fight the stereotype of witches being a cult of devil worshippers and demon summoners, so why would we embrace this? If you look to other world traditions, without the moralistic tones of Christianity, you will see traditions rich with demons. Beyond more politically correct forms of the shamanic revival, one will find anthropological tales of shamans battling demons as the spirits of illness. Tibetan traditions, influenced by both the native Bön religion and Buddhism from the Hindu-dominant India, are filled with fierce imagery. The first-generation creatures of many a pagan-based creation story are quite demonic. Most nature-based traditions of the ancient world recognized destructive forces, both in nature and within the individual, yet did not get trapped in a moralistic dualism of true divinity against an ultimate evil. The divine was beyond both, and encompassed both.
Until fairly recently, such demon-summoning magick was part of a magician’s training. I’ve spoken to British Traditional witches active at the dawn of the Witchcraft Renaissance in the 1950s and 60s who had Goetic training as part and parcel of witchcraft training. When you look at classic accounts of witchcraft, including the famous biblical story of the Witch of Endor, it is obvious that witches trafficked with the spirits of the dead, with the ancestors, for divination and guidance. Necromancy, when defined as such, was a component of our Craft. The older book Mastering Witchcraft, by Paul Huson, included a section on Goetic spirit summoning, but as more books on witchcraft became mainstream and acceptable to society, with the concept that witches are just like practitioners of any other religion, aspects of magick that seem less acceptable were omitted from the books and never learned by most new practitioners.
When viewed with a modern eye and away from medieval superstition, the Goetia appears to be both a very practical and spiritual form of magick, somewhat akin to a magickal form of psychoanalysis, yet invoking real and powerful forces. Each of the seventy-two spirits rules over aspects of our lives that we see as demonic, as out of control and ruling us, just as angels rule over the creative aspects of life and the universe. Whereas angels are very impersonal in the fulfillment of their function, simply enacting divine will, these “demons” are very personal and intimate, ruled by personal will. These demons are like the spirits, the rulers, of the shadow self. Each one rules one aspect of the shadow. This is not to say that all these demons are simply internalized forces. As above, so below—they are reflections of the self, but are also the spirits of the universal shadow.
Though usually thought of as demons, the classic texts refer to them generally as spirits, yet in the context of a medieval Christian infernal hierarchy. One has to look at the source material and filter out what is universal and what is a biased product of the times. Many look to the names of the Goetia and see corrupted names of pagan gods and goddesses, as Christian magicians saw any pagan spirit as a potential demon. When looking to the Egyptian mythologies, Set had seventy-two accomplices in his betrayal of Osiris. Perhaps he is the leader, or chief aspect, of these seventy-two spirits.
When a magician feels an aspect of life has gotten out of control, through obsession or seemingly uncontrollable emotion, he or she summons the spirit that rules that particular area of life. The magician uses rituals, seals, and binding to bring the spirit, and the force it rules, under the direction of the magician’s divine will, the Holy Guardian Angel, rather than the personal will. Medieval magicians working in a Christian framework would recite the Hebrew names of God and the angels and assume the authority of God in the ritual, with the right to summon, bind, and command these spirits. A modern magician or shamanic practitioner might befriend, negotiate, or compromise rather than compel, but in the end, as long as the spirit is now under the direction of the divine will, the same end result is achieved. The spirit then is given a task compatible with its nature, that the magician is fully conscious of, and the result is constructive in the life of the magician, not destructive. The magician has given all the built-up frustrated power of the demon a healthy outlet, and thereby has created a healthy outlet for the magician’s own energy to manifest his or her desires, rather than rage out of control or unconsciously self-sabotage. Naming your demons, identifying them, both literally and metaphorically, is a huge part of the introspective process. You must identify your faults, your blind spots, your vices, and you can do that only when you are truly reflective and honest about yourself. That is why the mirror is such a common tool for this magick. You can only deal with the things that you are consciously aware of.
Though most look at these spirits as beings who promise wealth and power, when you read their full description, many are teaching spirits who emphasize the virtues of stones, plants, the arts, and the sciences. There is quite a bit more to them than temporal power. Some see the images of wealth and power as metaphors for spiritual wealth and power, and when the magician truly understands the rituals, then these symbols become clear, though I must admit that my own Goetic rituals have led to some pretty spectacular real-world, not just purely psychological, results.
Goetic magick introduces some concepts and working tools that many witches are not familiar with. The circle is familiar enough, yet this ritual circle serves a somewhat different purpose than most. Rather than be a container for the forces you wish to work with, it separates you and the forces you are summoning. Technically, the Goetic spirits are evoked, not invoked. The circle becomes a semisolid boundary, usually drawn or marked on the floor in chalk, paint, dust, or salt with the traditional nine-foot diameter, and inscribed with divine names. The magician must never cross the circle during the operation. Modern witches often are sloppy with the boundary of the circle, but in Goetia, it’s treated like a solid line that must not be crossed. If one needs to reach outside the circle, a long sword is used to move objects in and out of the triangle, add more incense to the triangle’s burner, or threaten the spirit, as iron disrupts the matrix of a spirit, grounding it. This is why spirits, demons, and faeries are said to fear cold iron or steel. The metal of Mars has that grounding effect.
In ceremonial magick, invocation usually refers to spirits that are brought into the circle, with you, while evoked spirits are put into another space, usually known as the Triangle of Manifestation, or the Triangle of the Art. In witchcraft, invocation is taking a spirit or godform within your body, while evocation is just a call for the spirit to appear and participate. In Goetic invocation, you put the spirit in a triangle, as you are trying to separate yourself from the spirit, so you can see it and deal with it objectively. In alchemy, the various stages of a chemical process usually include a separation phase, where a substance is divided based upon its conflicting properties, then purified and recombined. Goetic magick is a bit of spiritual alchemy, as the same process occurs. This is similar to acts of sorcery found in Tibetan Bön traditions, in which a practitioner constructs an elaborate circle mandala in sand with which to “trap” a summoned demon spirit and bind it into service. Instead of using a triangle, the Tibetan magician is simply on the outside of the circle, separate from the spirit. Then when the pact is made, the spirit is released, to act as a guide and teacher.
The three points of the triangle stand for the first three powers, the three mother letters of the elements air, fire, and water. The Hermetic “fire” triangle points upright and is sacred to Michael, the archangel of protection. By his power, the spirit remains bound in the triangle. The triangle is also a symbol of Binah, a power over Da’ath and the Abyss, with the ability to bind. Within the triangle is often a dark reflective mirror, as the gateway to the astral realm, for the spirit to manifest an image and commune with you, and/or a traditional incense burner, a thurible or brazier, to burn thick smoke through which the spirit also may manifest. The smoky incense Dittany of Crete is used as the scent of Malkuth. I’ve had good luck using patchouli leaves as another smoky and earthy incense. Oregano, a relative of Dittany, also can be used as a poor man’s substitute. I also like to use resinous incense, like myrrh or dragon’s blood, in Goetic workings. Some magicians keep asafoetida and a second brazier in the circle with them, as asafoetida is a noxious herb guaranteed to banish all spirits. Sulfur on burning coals also can be used to banish a spirit that has gotten out of your control. A candle can be put either in the triangle, reflecting in the mirror, or, better yet, in the circle, behind the magician, yet still reflected in the surface of the mirror.
Magicians disagree as to where the triangle should be placed in relationship to the circle. Traditions that face east place it in the east. Others use south, the classic direction of Archangel Michael. I start and face the north, so I place my triangle in the north (Figure 71). Many magicians do not use the triangle, but instead place a magick mirror or dark bowl of water directly in front of them to scry and use their own dark reflection as the method for communing with the demon. Though this is an effective tactic, I suggest working with reflections in the triangle, not in the circle with you.
The spirit is controlled by the use of its seal. The seal is a sigil, a geometric talisman keyed to the very nature of the spirit based upon its geometry. The Goetia has a different seal for each of the seventy-two spirits. The seals are similar in shape to Eastern meditation yantras or Voodou vevers, used to call the lwa spirits. The seal must be constructed prior to the ritual, from metal, leather, wood, or parchment. As a modern magician, I tend to use wooden disks from a craft store, with permanent magic markers. The medieval magician would threaten the spirit, passing the seal over a fire in a sealed metal box and reciting the “Curse of Chains,” seemingly “burning” the spirit and threatening to destroy the seal and never mention the spirit’s name again. Modern magicians might enter into what would appear to be more like a modern psychotherapy session, trying to understand why the spirit is out of control, its motivations, and how it can be brought back into divine balance, much like dealing with the shadow self. The only difference is that this system works with specific aspects of shadow forces, not their entirety. Many read about this type of magick and believe that “binding” a spirit is wrong, feeling that we are harming a spirit and binding it against its own free will. These spirits, unlike humans, are not operating under the same parameters of free will. It is their nature to rebel if we are not in full alignment with divinity. They can be wonderful teachers because they bring us lessons, yet they are not our friends. We bind wounds and broken bones in order to heal. We bind demons for the same reason. This situation aids both the magician and the demon in the long run.
The last tools of the Goetic ritual are the ring, pentacle, and hexagram. The ring is held to the face, to protect the magician from any harmful energy, described as the “flaming breath” of the spirit. The pentacle is worn at the heart in silver, gold, or the metal appropriate to the spirit’s rank. Often the seal of the spirit summoned is on the reverse side, which can be done on parchment. The Ordo Templi Astartes has an interesting technique of using temporary greasepaint on a metal lamen, so the sigil can be changed with the working. The pentacle helps control the spirit and protect the magician. In the spirit world, symbols are things, not just symbols of things. The upward-pointing pentagram symbolizes the power of spirit over the lower powers. The spirit responds to this energy. The hexagram, traditionally in calf skin, is hidden in the “skirt” of the magician, revealed to the spirit to make it take human form and obey the magician.
In my opinion, all the implements of Goetic magick can be adapted to suit the modern practitioner. As witches, we adapted the principles of medieval Christian magick to suit our own theology, so it only makes sense that some of the tools and symbolism will change. I use my level-one initiation pentacle for my lamen and keep a separate seal for the spirit, which I simply hold up during the invocation. I use my second-degree pentacle ring for the magick ring. I omit the use of the hexagram, or draw one in the air as needed. For my circle boundary, I use a ring of carefully placed stones, reserved solely for the purpose of Goetic circles. I mark the boundary of the triangle with stones as well. I do not draw them in chalk, nor do I inscribe them with holy names. If you choose to inscribe them with holy names, use the names and symbols of the gods that are appropriate to your magickal beliefs. Witches might draw pagan god names in Theban. Thelemites might use the names of Thelemic gods in Greek. You should study the original instructions and diagrams in The Lesser Key of Solomon before you begin adapting this material to your own needs. In fact, the next section is entirely for your intellection education, your Da’ath knowledge, but should not be applied until the completion of this course, and all the exercises contained within it, culminating with the successful completion of chapter 17 and a stronger connection to your own HGA. Like Da’ath, this lesson is almost like a test, to not be seduced by forbidden knowledge at the expense of your spiritual growth. I repeat, Goetic magick SHOULD NOT be attempted before you complete the entire course outlined in this book.
My friend and student Diane, well versed in shadow work and personally facing her demons, both magickally and through other channels such as successfully using twelve-step programs, urges fellow students to become comfortable with the material in The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, and the shadow work, and to have a connection to personal divinity before tackling this Goetic material. If The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft was a ritualized form of conjuring the shadow, then Goetia is much like dissecting the shadow, and working with the universal forces that rule each part of the shadow.
Once you have consulted the Goetia text and determined the appropriate spirit to evoke and bind, and have set up the altar, circle, triangle, and all the appropriate tools, the basic Goetic ritual consists of the following:
Cleansing of the Space and Magician
It is essential to make sure you are centered and purified before such a working. I suggest performing a brief meditation or prayer before the ritual.
Dressing of the Magician
Anything that heightens the experience or separates you from more usual rituals should be used. If you don’t often wear ritual clothing, wear it. If you have a usual robe, have a separate robe for Goetic workings. I almost never do rituals skyclad, so for Goetic workings I work skyclad, heightening the emotional intensity of the ritual, for it’s not part of my usual pattern.
Appropriate Banishing Rituals
The LBRP and LBRH are certainly appropriate for this working.
Creation of Sacred Space
Though the invoking pentagram rituals could be used, as a witch, I use the traditional witch’s magick circle with one difference. I cast it on the floor, through the stones I’ve laid out. Before I cast the circle, I “cast” the triangle, drawing the triangle with my wand three times in a clockwise fashion, and evoke Michael to guard the circle. Before I do this, I light the triangle’s incense.
Preliminary Invocation
Perform an invocation to the divine and, most importantly, to the higher self. Modern Goetics use Crowley’s Bornless Ritual. This will be discussed in detail in the last lesson, which is why this ritual should not be attempted until the course has been completed.
Conjuration
The conjuration is what summons the spirit to the triangle. When holding the spirit’s seal, call it by name to appear in the triangle. Call upon the divine names of appropriate deities, angels, and archangels to appear.
Welcoming the Spirit
One you feel the spirit has arrived, welcome it. Scry into the mirror or smoke to contact the spirit. I see the spirit in my psychic vision, while others see shapes and images form in the smoke and mirror. The experience, despite many writings to the contrary, takes place in the magickal planes, and is not a physical manifestation, though it can be so intense as to almost seem physical to the magician. Name the spirit again and mention its rank and areas of rulership. By listing its correspondences, you are strengthening your connection to it. Charge the spirit to give you “true and faithful answers and faithful service” and to remain until given license to depart.
Binding and Commandments
Commune with the spirit, questioning it for the information it holds, either personal information or general information attributed to its nature. Command it to do as you desire, as long as your request is consistent with the spirit’s nature. I promise to honor and recognize the spirit if it fulfills my commands, as I have asked and as I have intended, because as demons, they often will fulfill what you ask to the letter of the request, but not what you wanted. Keeping a magickal journal of what you ask is important in case you have to go back and “reprogram” the spirit. If certain colors are naturally associated with the entity, I burn candles of those colors, with the seal beneath the candle. I also make an offering of alcohol, either as a libation upon the seal, or set on fire in a flameproof bowl, with the seal next to it. This is a form of positive reinforcement, rather than the negative act of “burning” the seal.
Exorcism
The exorcism, also known as the License to Depart, is done when the working has been completed. If the spirit does not depart, a stronger exorcism is used. A full-on banishing rite, with banishing pentagram and banishing hexagram, can be used over the triangle. I often close the License to Depart with a banishing pentagram, drawn with the sword or athame, to seal the space, even when the spirit leaves quietly, just to make sure it’s gone.
Devocation
Say farewell to your Bornless Self/HGA, and perform the release in the Bornless Ritual to return to a normal consciousness.
Closing the Sacred Space
I release the circle first and then release the triangle. Before releasing the circle, I often do a muscle test (ITOW, Chapter 13) to confirm the entity has fully departed from the triangle and the gateway to its world is closed.
Appropriate Banishings
The repetition of the LBRP and LBRH is appropriate. I also burn a lot of purifying incense after the working. Then I deconstruct the ring and triangle of stones.
Goetic magick, though not directly tied into the mythology of the Qlippoth, is one of the most powerful ways to work with the realm of demons, to master the self and not fear the unknown. When you start this work, I suggest you follow Paul Huson’s teachings in Mastering Witchcraft, and begin such spirit summoning with the third spirit of the Goetia, Vassago (Figure 72). He is “of a Good Nature, and his office is to declare things Past and to Come, and to discover all things Hid or Lost.” As a good-natured spirit, Vassago is the easiest to work with when beginning, giving you an idea of how to work Goetic summoning before tackling harder entities. The Goetic techniques of spirit summoning can be adapted for a variety of spirits, demonic and nondemonic in origin. Another book that explains the art of spirit summoning in layperson’s terms and in a manner friendly for the witch or pagan is Summoning Spirits: The Art of Magical Evocation by Konstantinos.
Da’ath Pathworking
Unlike the other sephiroth, Da’ath has no specific paths leading into or out of it. The gateway nature of Da’ath makes it more akin to a pathway than a sephira anyway. Da’ath represents the part of our consciousness that is off the map, quite literally. The process of experiencing Da’ath often is perceived as alien. We are in the void, detached from the Tree, between the more traditional levels of consciousness and supernal consciousness. On the path of the Priestess and the image of Gimel, the camel, the void manifests as the desert, the spiritual wasteland that one must cross to reach the “waters” of enlightenment. The camel carries enough water to get to the oasis at the top. In the process, the initiate who rides this ship of the desert is transformed from individual seeker, to become part of the mystery.
Da’ath is said to have a hidden path, the unnamed and unnumbered part of the lightning strike. The path of the lightning strike is one across the Abyss from Chesed to Binah. The dark and stormy skies at the edge of Chesed lead to the primordial waters of Binah by way of the Abyss. One must personally experience the mystery of this path, of the crossing. Promethea author Alan Moore details the “broken” paths named after tarot archetypes that he calls the Beggar, from Da’ath to Chesed, detailing the form the divine often takes to manifest in the world and test humanity, and the Fountain, from Da’ath to Binah, as the primordial waters of Binah cross the void. They represent two concepts that have been lost during the Fall to human consciousness, yet their fractured skeletal paths remain. Though an invention of Moore, they provide us with some interesting insights and ideas when experiencing our own Abyss.
Since Da’ath (and the Abyss) is not an actual sphere, but a transition point, it is difficult to do a pathworking to Da’ath without continuing onward to one of the three supernal sephiroth. As we continue to work with the Tree of Life in the next three lessons, use the knowledge of lesson 13 to aid you in transitioning from the Ethical Triangle to the Supernal Triangle.
Da’ath Initiation
Though Da’ath has no traditional rank, in many ways it represents one of the most profound initiatory experiences on the Tree of Life—the transition between the ethical and supernal levels of consciousness.
One could argue that such a transition cannot occur when one is still incarnate in a body, and any experience a magician has of Da’ath and the supernal spheres is simply an experience of the “fractal” Tree, an experience of the supernal aspects of one of the lower spheres. As each sephira has its own inner Tree that must be climbed (chapter 5), you might cross the Abyss and move through the Da’ath of a lower sphere. That way, we have many Abysses to cross before our journey is over. The most an enlightened sage in the world can hope for until the transition beyond this body and world is to cross the Abyss within the realm of Chesed and attain the supernal sephira of Chesed, but not cross the “true” Abyss of the full Tree of Life. In this way, we can safely learn about Da’ath, or any sephira, at the level of our own current initiation. A magician can never truly know if he or she is experiencing the true sephira in the larger Tree of Life or an aspect of that sephira in another sephira. A magician might experience Kether but truly be experiencing the Kether aspect of Malkuth, Yesod, Hod, or any of the other more accessible levels of consciousness.
One who can cross the true Abyss is one who has reached such a level of enlightenment that the material plane is not his or her point of origin any longer, becoming closer to an ascended master. Perhaps some ascended beings, capable of all forms of magick, have been here incarnated in a body in the past, and some are here now, but generally one working on this level of initiation is focused on other realms of existence, and no longer attached to the world of form and function. Once we move beyond Tiphereth, we lose much of our sense of personal attachment, and when we cross the Abyss, our sense of divinity is no longer personal, but transpersonal.
Homework
• As stated in this lesson, DO NOT practice Goetic magick until you have made a solid and strong connection with your own HGA, deities, and divine powers through completion of all the exercises in this book. Complete the course work in this book, culminating in chapter 17, and then go back to apply knowledge of the Goetia if you feel it should be a part of your spiritual practice. It is not necessary to explore the Goetia to continue on to the last book in the Temple series, The Living Temple of Witchcraft. This chapter is as much for your intellectual understanding as your actual practice.
• Continue to practice the LBRP, LBRH, Middle Pillar, and Circulation of the Body of Light rituals, the traditional or personal versions.
Tips
• Fill in the Da’ath correspondences and colors on your own Tree of Life drawing. Contemplate them as you add them to the image. Start memorizing these correspondences.
• Review and reflect on all you have learned in this lesson. Reflect particularly on the lesson of seeking out forbidden knowledge rather than seeking divinity.
• Begin contemplating designs for your own reality map. What correspondences, images, and geometries are important to your own worldview?