12
Here we are now working strictly with the Supernals, the highest regions of archetypal consciousness. These vistas cannot ever truly be known. This is the plight of the mystic human: to reach for the unattainable, to try—however impossible it may be—to unveil the Great Originating Mystery. The Supernal Triad is the Great Firmament, the heavenly spheres where we understand the origins of what we call God to be. This is the holiest of holies, and it can only ever really be understood through symbols, metaphor, or poetry. So, take any words hereafter with a grain salt, for no language can truly ascertain the enigma of divinity.
Daath: Path 0
God Name: A conjunction of Jehovah and Jehovah Elohim
Archangel: Archangels of the Cardinal Points
Order of Angels: Serpents
Color: Lavender, silver-gray, violet
Virtue: Detachment of Personality
Vice: Doubt of the future, apathy, inertia
Tarot Attribution: N/A
Spiritual Experience: Vision across the Abyss
Title: The Invisible Sephirah
Symbols: The condemned cell, the empty room, the cloud-hidden peak of the Sacred Mountain of any culture
Yetziratic Text: N/A
There is a chasm that separates the Ethical and Supernal Triads and is sometimes called the Abyss but often referred to as the Invisible Sephirah, the Eleventh Sephirah, or the Missing Sephirah: Daath. Daath is not considered a Sephirah. The Abyss is a gulf astride the Tree of Life that separates the Supernal Triad from the rest of the Sephiroth. Much has been stated about Daath already in chapter 6, though a little more could be expanded upon.
Crossing the Abyss is noted in the Mysteries as being wrought with peril. However, it is also the most important journey for any magician. Graduation of this degree usually lands a magician the label of Master of the Temple. This is the gap, the opening where God’s energy enters the universe. Therefore, only magicians and mystics of the highest order can truly interact with Daath and survive with their psyche intact.
Aleister Crowley wrote many interesting notions about the Abyss and seems to be one of the few magicians in the Western Mystery Tradition who mapped the endeavor in their literary canon. In his autobiography, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, he lays out how crossing the Abyss is truly about sacrificing one’s identity completely:
To penetrate beyond the Abyss, where iniquity cannot exist, my personal self-hood must be annihilated.… My being must be dissolved in that of the infinite.… I may say that the essence of the matter was that I had hitherto clung to certain conceptions of conduct which, while perfectly proper from the standpoint of my human nature, were impertinent to initiation. I could not cross the Abyss till I had torn them out of my heart.… I knew that even my holiest, mine inmost self, might not protect me from the grim abominations of the Abyss.169
In essence, Daath is the representative region associated with Nirvana. In Nirvana, the sense of self is lost; there is no ego left in the human psyche. Before Daath, the soul yearns to become one with spirit. Once that soul is initiated into Daath, there is no more sense of trying to become anything—that soul is home. Self-identity is lost. This is the true purpose of mysticism.
This is an experience mapped in many shamanic initiations, in which the identity—or self—is shattered in order to reconstruct the persona into a more dynamic being in union with the natural world. As don Oscar Miro-Quesada states in his own autobiographical account, “Like most shamanic apprentices, I was taken to the brink of complete annihilation as a prerequisite to being able to serve others.” 170 Don Oscar was driven to that brink by teacher don Celso, who submitted Oscar to the initiatory process of being buried alive. While lying in a grave covered in wet sand, Oscar’s experience of being unable to free himself gripped him in panic. All he could do was surrender his identity completely in order to survive the experience. When his ego was sufficiently dead, don Celso exhumed Oscar and he emerged into the world anew.
Ethnopsychologist Holger Kalweit has studied shamanic initiations and apprenticeship from many cultures around the globe. It can be seen through his observations how the Daath experience of shattering the identity is prevalent through shamanic dismemberment:
The period of initiation strips the shaman of all his social and mental habits as well as his religious and philosophical ideas. To use a more graphic expression: he is skinned, his bowels are torn out, and as happened to Saint Theresa, the flesh is cut from his bones. He is literally chopped into pieces, cooked, grilled, or fried.…
In many traditions the spirits of the underworld not only take the body of the initiate apart in a most gruesome way—they also put it together again, but in a curious manner which endows the person subjected to such a dismemberment with superhuman powers.171
It is then apparent that one of the symbols is the cloud-hidden peak of the Sacred Mountain of any culture, as we can understand the cross-cultural tale associated with scaling the mountain in order to find the face of God.
Daath is Hebrew for “knowledge,” and because of the intensity of experience regarding the death of one’s identity, we can assume this is a knowledge not to be given lightly. It is earned by fear and hardship of falling into the Abyss, the bottomless pit. Legend has it that Daath used to be an actual Sephirah on the Tree of Life; associated with it were the paths of the Beggar and the Fountain (which are now known as the missing tarot cards). But there was a great cataclysm, Daath ruptured into an Abyss, and God (the Supernals) was separated from the rest of the universe. If one were to look at the Tree of Life in planetary terms (Earth as Malkuth, the moon as Yesod, Netzach as Venus, Hod as Mercury, etc.), then Daath would be the asteroid belt, the remnants of the long-lost planet of the solar system.
The knowledge of Daath brings forth the realization that the universe was broken in half, as is replayed in the story of Genesis, when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Since this fall, we have—in an almost Gnostic sense—been living in a broken cosmos.
In this we see the true purpose of initiation: that the knowledge we seek is truly unknowable and can only be known by its unknowable state. In Alan Moore’s magical epic Promethea, the character based on magician Austin Spare notes, “Daath is that knowledge knowable only by its absence. It is the neither-neither.… No light is here emitted.” 172 We can understand here why esotericism has survived through the auspices of “occult” or “secret” societies, why many initiatory experiences from all cultures are generally done either in the dark or in private. This is an emulation of Daath’s presence—or lack thereof—upon the tree as an invisible, but necessary, division between this world and the other, between the seen and the unseen, between the human and God.
Binah: Path 3
God Name: Jehovah Elohim
Archangel: Tzaphkiel
Order of Angels: Aralim
Animal Totem: Alligator
Color: Black or dark brown
Virtue: Silence
Vice: Avarice
Tarot Attribution: Three of Pentacles, Three of Cups, Three of Swords, Three of Wands, Queen of Pentacles, Queen of Cups, Queen of Swords, Queen of Wands
Spiritual Experience: Vision of the Sorrow
Titles: Ama, the dark, sterile Mother; Aima, the bright, fertile Mother
Symbols: Yoni, vesica piscis; cup or chalice
Yetziratic Text: “The Third Path is the Sanctifying Intelligence, and is the basis of foundation of Primordial Wisdom, which is called the Former of Faith, and its roots, Amen; and it is the parent of Faith, from which virtues doth Faith emanate.” 173
Now that Daath—the Abyss—has been crossed, the realms of the Supernal Firmament can truly be explored. Since Knowledge has broken down the human psyche, only symbolism can provide the slightest hint of relationship with the Supernal Sephiroth.
Binah, which means “understanding,” is the third Sephirah on the Tree of Life. When one considers the Creation of the universe, Binah is the first manifestation of the Goddess, and thus the first semblance of manifestation of Form. All forms that exist get their root in Binah. Her titles are Ama, the dark, sterile Mother, and Aima, the bright, fertile Mother; she is Babylon, both Virgin and Whore. She is known in the Mysteries as Sophia. She is the original formulation of the feminine in all of existence. Binah is the first container (Form) of which Chokmah lays its seed (Force). She is the first primal principle of the feminine in the universe.
Whether or not God or Goddess is higher up or lower on the tree, or which came first, is irrelevant: the chicken or the egg. The Supernals, as all of the Sephiroth, are not numerically in sequence as we understand them. Binah being the third Sephirah does not make her third in line in the assembly of creation. It is merely a model in order to understand how Form comes into being. One (the monad, the singularity of Source) plus two (Chokmah, the reflection of the monad) equals three, thus creating a triangle, the first geometric shape that can be created with the minimal amount of lines (other than a circle). As Alan Moore demonstrates in Promethea, through the character of John Dee, “With three points, we may enclose a space in two dimensions. We may plot a triangle. Seen thus [inverted], the triangle is a symbol of water. It is here at Binah that all water, all compassion, has its origin. At Binah is the cup that overfloweth.” 174
It is important to keep engaging with the Tree of Life as a model for creation, rather than an exact replica. In this, Binah is regarded as the Great Mother, the archetypal womb of all life. In a womb, life is confined; but, through that limitation, an environment is created that facilitates the evolution of the organism. As Dion Fortune has stated, “Form checks life, thwarts it, and yet enables it to organise. Seen from the point of view of free-moving force, incarceration in a form is extinction.” 175 Being the first inclination of Form, Binah constricts the Force from Chokmah and regulates it. Putting the Force through death, Form eventually cultivates it into a useful structure for the Ethical realms to eventually model into manifestation.
The misunderstanding we have discussed many times regarding the role of the feminine in a spiritual context must be finally clarified in this Sephirah. As Dion stated, and I have reiterated many times throughout this book, the feminine principle of the universe is not synonymous with the female gender. The principle of the feminine resides in both man and woman, but it must be understood what this energy truly means if we are to herald the return of the Goddess in the modern world.
Binah being the Mother and associated greatly with the womb, we can also understand its reference as the “Great Sea” in esoteric literature. This makes sense for the totemic attribution as we have traveled up the tree and into the Supernal Firmament. The alligator connects us back to the prehistoric origins on this planet, to the primal core of what Binah represents. Alligators and crocodiles, revered by the Egyptians as well as other peoples, have often been associated with the unbridled feminine potencies of the world. Patrolling the shoreline of the waters—the great horizon between birth and death—they are the protectors of all knowledge, which Binah is the first keeper of:
Binah (understanding) + Chokmah (wisdom) = Daath (knowledge)
The spiritual experience of Binah is the Vision of Sorrow. Within this Sephirah, one is to have a vision of the holistic picture of all that is, all that was, why it was, what it is now, why it is, and what it is to become. In essence, true and total understanding of all existence. The Great Mother sees all. She sees our joys but also our pains and our sins. And, in all that she sees, she is indeed in sorrow.
We are a very stubborn species. Binah watches as all too often we neglect our children’s future, poison our air and seas, enslave each other, and go to war. We are at home in our own addictions, and unfortunately it frequently takes a major trauma to wake us up from our unhealthy habits or anosognosia. Take for instance the terrorist attacks of 9/11. How many citizens paid attention to US foreign policy before this tragic event? Even though it would be best to not need these tragedies, human beings are unfortunately thick-headed and need a push in order to evolve.
Regrettably, this is another aspect of the mystical experience not taken into consideration by some. It is not all bliss and rainbows. It is not just a possibility, but a necessity, to assimilate the Vision of the Sorrow that compels the Goddess into her eternal cry for her children. The Tree of Life will simply not allow you to proceed unless this is done.
Therefore, managing the Vision of Sorrow is best achieved through Binah’s primary virtue: silence. It is necessary to still the noise and the raging waters to Understand all things in their truest vision. By stilling the clamor can the sparkling stars of the Heavens accurately reflect on the mirroring surface of the body of water below.
As the archetypal Temple, she is the root of all temples in manifestation, the Inner Church, the sacred space of all sacred spaces. Because of this, Binah truly is the womb of life, the container from which all has been embodied. Approach the Dark Mother’s temple in silence, approach the temple in sorrow, and the vision shall be received.
The experience of Binah should be practiced through acts of complete silence. As has been taught to me by don Oscar and my other teachers many times, silence is the greatest virtue in all esoteric work. Talking about these things too much is rife to ruin the experience. The Temple of Binah is a pure silence, so deep and piercing it is liable to make one mad. So, when you engage in your ritual work, remember that silencing your mind and tongue is essential to progressing into the Supernal reaches of the Great Work.
Daleth: Path 14
Path: Path 14, Binah to Chokmah
Hebrew Letter: Daleth
Hebrew Letter Meaning: Door
Tarot Attribution: III, the Empress
Astrological Sign: Venus
Yetziratic Text: “The Fourteenth Path is the Illuminating Intelligence, and is so called because it is itself that Chashmal which is the founder of the concealed and fundamental ideas of holiness and of their stages of preparation.” 176
Path 14 is the final lateral path on the Tree of Life. This path represents the primordial connection between the Great Mother (Binah) and the Great Father (Chokmah). It is important to note the vast amount of symbolism of this path and to not get lost in it. This path has sometimes been called the Gate of Heaven because it is the lateral path that separates the Supernals from the rest of the tree and also because of the beauty represented in its symbolism.
To understand this, we must also reflect on the path in its descending nature as well. The Source of All Being, all existence, is above in Kether. However, creation requires polarity in order to stabilize itself in manifestation. It is here on this path, via the dual Sephiroth of Binah and Chokmah, where the prime Principles of Polarity are brought into effect. This is the path in which the Force of Chokmah enters the Form of Binah. This is the fundamental path of the great universal copulation between opposites.
The Hebrew letter Daleth means “door.” It is not only the doorway into the Supernals, but it is also the portal through which the life force of creation is born into existence. It is here where energies (Force) of Chokmah are passed into Binah, the originator of Form. We see here the first inclinations of a sexual nature of the universe, as this path represents our birth canal into existence; thus, this is the path of fertility.
This fertility is highly representative in the tarot card of the Empress, normally depicted in a natural setting with abundant floral and vegetal growth. She is called Daughter of the Mighty Ones (Binah and Chokmah) and is also referred to as the Isis of Nature. She is both virgin and pregnant with life, a paradox which is set in motion on this path and reflected throughout the rest of the tree. Paradox requires one to believe in the absurd and unimaginable, which is exactly how the door (Daleth) to true esoteric knowledge will be opened.
Venus is the astrological sign, which of course has connections to all symbolic attributions to the Goddess, but also, according to Crowley, it is “the only one of the planetary symbols which comprises all the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life.” 177 (See figure 63.) So, it is our understanding that this path—the Empress, the representative of the ultimate fertilization and nurturing of the Earth Mother—helps us understand that love, in all its ways of expression, is the most important expression in all existence.
Chokmah: Path 2
God Name: Jehovah (YHVH)
Archangel: Raziel
Order of Angels: Ophannim
Animal Totem: Shark
Color: Gray, sometimes soft blue
Virtue: Devotion
Vice: N/A
Tarot Attributions: Two of Pentacles, Two of Cups, Two of Swords, Two of Wands, King of Pentacles, King of Cups, King of Swords, King of Wands
Spiritual Experience: The Vision of God Face-to-Face
Titles: Abba, the Supernal Father
Symbols: Phallus, tower, straight line
Yetziratic Text: “The Second Path is that of the Illuminating Intelligence it is the Crown of Creation, the Splendor of the Unity, equaling it, and it is exalted above every bead, and named by the Kabbalists the Second Glory.” 178
As stated before, the key to pathworking in the Qabalah is understanding (via Binah) the Tree of Life as not just a map of consciousness but also a sort of guiding post for the process of creation itself. In pathworking, we are essentially tracing the path of creation in reverse—backward through time, as it were—to the very beginning of all Manifestation. So, as always, to interpret Chokmah we must understand the Sephiroth surrounding it.
Kether, the first Sephirah, is the originating point of creation. I use the term point deliberately, as it can be best understood as a singularity, a one-dimensional point represented by a single dot. Imagine the cosmic egg before the big bang. All that ever was or will be has not yet been made manifest or conceived. However, all its potential is contained within this one-dimensional emanation, a blip of “light” from the Unmanifest. This is God in pure unity; there is nothing “other.” But then, God moved. An idea was brought into being, the idea of imagining something other than itself. That idea, that movement, formed a line—from one dimension of existence to two dimensions.
When Chokmah was formed, it was merely a reflection of the original Sephirah: a mirror. As illustrated by Gareth Knight, “it therefore reflects upon itself and this reflection causes an image of itself to be formed, and as the Mind of god is so powerful, this image takes on an objective existence—anything that God thinks, is. Thus the whole of manifestation could be conceived of as the thought process of God. ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on.’ … It is this first projection of an idea of itself that is what we call the Sephirah Chokmah.” 179
Chokmah is Kether in a lesser emanation, though it is recognized as the purest idea of Force, the first force of movement: a line. It is from here that we then beget Force being contained within its limitations, eventually establishing the venerable rhythm of the Universe via Form in Binah. And here we see the inception of all duality in the universe, according to Israel Regardie: “If we try for a moment to think what is the ultimate differentiation of existence, we shall find that so far as we can grasp it, it is a plus and minus, positive and negative, male and female, and so we should expect on the Tree of Life to find that the two emanations succeeding Kether partake of these characteristics.” 180 And thus we have the Supernal Triad. The cadence of universal manifestation is set: Force and Form in an infinite tango like the tides of the ocean.
Speaking of which, the animal totem for Chokmah is the shark, one of the oldest living species on the planet. Given that the primary symbol for Chokmah in the mystery schools is a phallus, tower, or straight line, the shark perfectly represents this movement of creation thrust from the Source. A shark is in perpetual motion, its entire existence spent careening through space getting what it wants, as does the Force of Chokmah. Sharks are masters of survival, masters of the sea. In them, we learn to drive onward, without fear, into the great Supernals. Because fear, if we hold onto it, will prevent our connection with the individuality and beyond. Stripping ourselves of fear and barreling through with our task is sometimes the only option an initiate may have when travailing the unknown vistas of consciousness.
Chokmah means “wisdom,” and it is the ultimate All-father, the primal male expression of the universe. Of the two poles of manifestation, it is the head of the Pillar of Mercy, whereas the feminine principle is the head of the Pillar of Severity. As can be obvious so far in this description, it is nearly impossible to discuss Chokmah without Binah and Binah without Chokmah. It is apparent that through this sexual interchange, the universe is thus known.
Chokmah is the stimulator of life, as has been described throughout the tree as Force. Binah is the builder and organizer of that life, as Form. As forms are built, decisions about what is useful and what isn’t must be made; therefore, Binah is also a bearer of limitation, decay. Therefore, in the highest sense, Chokmah is the provider of life and Binah the womb of death. But, in Chokmah we experience the thoroughfare of cosmic energy that is reflected from Kether. Chokmah takes that energy and shapes it into ideas before Binah builds them. Therefore, Chokmah is the progenitor of all creative energy.
Gimel: Path 13
Path: Path 13, Tiphareth to Kether
Hebrew Letter: Gimel
Hebrew Letter Meaning: Camel
Tarot Attribution: II, the High Priestess
Astrological Sign: The moon
Yetziratic Text: “The Thirteenth Path is named the Uniting Intelligence and is so-called because it is itself the Essence of Glory. It is the Consummation of the Truth of individual spiritual things.” 181
Path 13 is now the first contact to be made with Kether, the Fount of All Being and Manifestation. It would make sense that if you have gotten this far, it is now time—if you haven’t already—to get your shit in order before continuing on to this direct connection to the Crown, the highest form of godhood. Because the Crown is the doorway into the Unmanifest, it is important to note the working of this path tends to be very abstract. Much time and patience need to be taken with Path 13, as results are likely to take months, even years, to manifest.
That being said, the 13th Path is rife with symbolism. After all, it is the final vertical path on the Tree of Life, uniting Kether to Tiphareth, the Divine with the individuality. More than any other path, this one is the direct route from soul to spirit, from creation to Creator (and vice versa). The Sepher Yeztirah calls it the “Uniting Intelligence” because the unity of the individuality with the Divine equals the essence of glory, and thus truth, which is the basis of the Great Work. It is on the Middle Pillar of the tree; along with Paths 32 and 25, the pathways along the Middle Pillar are collectively known as the Path of the Arrow, or the Way of the Mystic. Knowing this connection, we are reminded that one cannot traverse the higher realms of mysticism without first being rooted in this world, the here and now.
One of the primary symbols of this path is, of course, the High Priestess. A counterpart to the Magician card (Path 12), the High Priestess represents the spawning energies of creation templed, contained as principle rather than freeform. On either side of her stand the two pillars, Jachin and Boaz, making her the prime emblematic symbol of the initiate turned Divine Self. She is the first card in the tarot to represent the polarity of the universe, and she controls the influx of positive-negative, masculine-feminine from her throne. In her hand she holds the Torah, or book of knowledge. Through her, we can understand the true reality.
The Hebrew letter is Gimel, the “camel,” and is indicative of two Yods connecting the top and bottom of a shaft. The top Yod represents life in heaven, whereas the bottom Yod represents life on earth. The camel is an animal with great stamina: it can hold water for extremely long periods while traversing the desert. Here is another desert we must cross, the Invisible Sephirah Daath, and thus we encounter another (though the final) dark night of the soul.
Understanding Daath is essential to understanding this path. For those who have encountered Daath, it is often portrayed as a desert landscape filled with androgynous forms. Being androgynous, a form loses its dualistic identity; in Daath there are no true forms. This is where the last remnants of the individual soul are stripped away to absolute nothingness so that true union with God can be achieved. It is where the Divine Wisdom comes to purify the soul so that the soul can continue its course to Kether, to God. In fact, it is the final purification.
Remember, Daath means knowledge, and as we discussed, the High Priestess is often shown holding a book or scroll of knowledge. There is another interpretation, according to Jungian psychoanalyst Dr. Irene Gad: “Some decks show the High Priestess with two keys—logic and intuition—in her left hand. Without their cooperation the book of secret knowledge, held in her right hand, could not become intelligible. They unlock the two doors to the white and black lights, whereby the white light can be found only after the black is known. Truth can be seen only by those to whom the High Priestess entrusts these keys, which in this context stand for equilibrium and equivalence of opposites.” 182
In some depictions there is a curtain stretched behind her between the two pillars. This, finally, is the veil, concealing the glory of Kether. Again, it is the High Priestess who holds the answer to lifting this veil. As we lift the veil, paradoxically, all of our previous knowledge is stripped from us. That’s okay: that’s part of the process. The only thing one can do is rely on that urge and need to keep moving onward to Kether.
Beth: Path 12
Path: Path 12, Binah to Kether
Hebrew Letter: Beth
Hebrew Letter Meaning: House
Tarot Attribution: I, the Magician
Astrological Sign: Mercury
Yetziratic Text: “The Twelfth Path is the Intelligence of Transparency because it is that species of Magnificence called Chazchazit, which is named the place whence issues the vision of those seeing in apparitions. (That is the prophecies by seers in a vision.)” 183
In the Yetziratic text, Path 12 is referred to as “the Intelligence of Transparency,” which means this path brings about it a clarity of vision that goes beyond lower psychic powers; it implies that we will be able to see the true form of things. This is a higher spiritual vision, and that vision can sometimes reveal a reality most people do not, or are not able to, see. Bottom line, it is the Truth, with a capital T. Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero define this usage of vision concretely: “The student exploring this path should remember that the ‘seership’ alluded to on this path is spiritual knowledge in its highest form. Although there is nothing wrong with exploring visionary gifts (clairvoyance, etc.), it is important not to become an ‘astral junky’—one who wanders aimlessly and carelessly on the astral planes. The key is to develop focused concentration, which allows the divine energy to be clearly seen.” 184
The tarot card is of course the Magician or Magus. The Magician brings the forces of the higher realms down to earth, fashioned and categorized on a table of manifestation: a mesa. The table of manifestation in the Magician card holds upon it the objects of magical working: a pentacle, a chalice, a sword, and in his hand a wand. These, of course, correspond to the elements of existence (respectively earth, water, air, and fire) on the altar of the Pachakuti mesa, holding the basic elemental properties of the Magician’s table. The Magician is master over the elements, though the source of his power is indicated by his wand pointing upward, to Creator. Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki again reminds us of our roots, no matter how adept a Magician we may become: “It looks glamourous, this idea of being a magician, in point of fact it is a tough, sometimes heart breaking discipline that lasts for the rest of your life. […] The hardest thing for the aspiring magician to accept is the fact that the Path of the Hearth Fire is as important as the more glamourous studies. The earth side of yourself must be very stable and well realized before it is safe to go off on to other paths. The best magicians are those that give the Hearth Fire its just dues.” 185
What is Dolores referring to by the “Path of the Hearth Fire”? This is not so much a reference to Path 31 but a walk of life as outlined by Dion Fortune. Dion describes the Path of the Hearth Fire as a way of life in which the duties of the real world come first and are often the very lessons one has to live through in order to achieve any amount of evolution.
The Hebrew letter for this path is Beth, which literally means “house.” A house is a sanctuary, a place of dwelling, going within. This is representative of our bodies being the house, or temple, in which spirit can form itself. So, honoring our house, our bodies, is essential to becoming the Magician as depicted on Path 12. The Bible verse from Proverbs 24:3 directly references both Binah and Chokmah: “By wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established.”
Here we are reminded again of Dion Fortune’s Path of the Hearth Fire. One’s house must be built on a stable foundation, fit for God to dwell in. Because we are in physical incarnation, this must be accomplished first in the physical realms before the spiritual aims can be achieved.
This is true not only of our bodies as temples but also in the altars we use. The mesa especially is a reflection of the soul; therefore, the fitter it is as a container of spirit, the more direct connection a person has with the unseen realms. Caretaking one’s body and altar or temple space is of utmost importance in the Great Work. This can be done with a strict regimen, but also there is a mindset the Magician teaches us in order to make the magic flow rather than be manufactured. The Magician is a master over his environment, the elements under his control. But, man cannot truly control nature. Man has to succumb to the natural forces and work with them, in a way in which there is little to no resistance while maintaining a mastery of focus. As expounded by an anonymous French monk on this particular major arcana card:
All practical esotericism is founded on the following rule: it is necessary to be one in oneself (concentration without effort) and one with the spiritual world (to have a zone of silence in the soul) in order for a revelatory or actual spiritual experience to be able to take place. In other words, if one wants to practise some form of authentic esotericism—be it mysticism, gnosis, or magic—it is necessary to be the Magician, i.e. concentrated without effort, operating with ease as if one were playing, and acting with perfect calm. This, then, is the practical teaching of the first Arcanum of the Tarot. It is the first counsel, commandment or warning concerning all spiritual practice; it is the aleph of the “alphabet” of practical rules of esotericism.186
The characteristic of being one with the world of spirit is revealed in the very posture of the Magician, whose right hand extends to the heavens, the above, and left reaches to the ground, the below. This stance is noted as being an ancient full-body mudra that has been displayed in many cultures throughout the world—shamanic or otherwise. From the several depictions of the Buddha and Christ with their right hands raised and left hands lowered, to Éliphas Lévi’s rendition of Baphomet, and even more ancient examples such as the Mesopotamian Pazuzu figurine or the Lanzón monolith from the pre-Incan Chavín culture of Peru … all are embodiments of the role of the Magician, which we can ourselves personify: a pristine conduit of the axis mundi, where the above and the below interact and play in the universal game of life.
Aleph: Path 11
Path: Path 11, Chokmah to Kether
Hebrew Letter: Aleph
Hebrew Letter Meaning: Ox
Tarot Attribution: 0, the Fool
Elemental Sign: Air
Yetziratic Text: “The Eleventh Path is the Scintillating Intelligence, because it is the essence of that curtain which is placed close to the order of the disposition, and this is a special dignity given to it that it may be able to stand before the Face of the Cause of Causes.” 187
This is the final path in the pathworking as well as the first path on the Tree of Life. It extends from Kether (the Crown of Creation) to Chokmah (the King) and perhaps has more scholarship dedicated to its meaning and symbols than any other path in the Holy Qabalah. Crowley himself has almost an entire chapter dedicated to the Fool in The Book of Thoth. Other esoteric scholars have referred to the tarot trump as being one of the most profound symbols in the entire system of the tarot.
The Sepher Yeztirah’s description of this path as the “Scintillating Intelligence” hints at the outpouring of divine energy from the Source of Creation. The “order of disposition” refers to Kether, which the curtain is veiling. The veil conceals and, because of that, is able to reveal the true essence of life in the universe.
The Hebrew letter is Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, which means “ox.” This is an animal that is a prime symbol of the earth in many traditions (the cow in Hindu mythology, the buffalo of Native American mythology, etc.) so being the first connection point to Kether—and the ox being a beast of the plow—we can see that spirit’s aim is always rooted in the earth, in the material world, in Form. In agriculture, the plow is the tiller of earth, in which to plant seeds and bring forth fruit. Agriculture is the foundation of civilization, and it is our underlying task as incarnate beings to support civilization in its aim of survival and evolution.
As stated before, the tarot arcanum is the Fool. Traditionally, the Fool is shown to be stepping one foot off a cliff, ready to plunge into the unknown; this is representative of spirit’s plunge from the beyond and into the process of creation. The Fool is a symbol of the potential of an experience. Within this resides an innocence one must always tap into no matter what level of attainment in the Great Work … in essence, the open mind of a beginner!
The fool in older times was always one to hold court with the king and to not only provide comic relief but also be a source of paradoxical wisdom as well. As such, often times the fool was the only one allowed to mock the king. As described by Ashcroft-Nowicki, “Fools down the ages have been honored and revered, the gift of laughter is theirs, and the ability to reduce great men to their common denominator. The Fool is as much the Great Leveller as the figure of Death.” 188 Call to mind the Heyokah (sacred clown) or Coyote of Native American traditions, both acting as Tricksters to the people, yet at the same time they are some of the more sacred symbols or roles in the community.
This is where the wisdom of the Fool becomes paradoxical. The Fool abandons all expectation and cares little (if at all) for convention. The original French title of this card was Le Mat, the madman, and Crowley points out that all Native peoples saw the madman—the wandering lunatic—as one to bear great power and thus salvation for the people. This is why, he says, the number of the card is zero: “It represents therefore the Negative above the Tree of Life, the source of all things. It is the Qabalistic Zero. It is the equation of the Universe, the initial and final balance of the opposites; Air, in this card, therefore quintessentially means a vacuum.” 189 The Fool is our reminder of the first implications of the Divine spilling into our world, which could make any personality mad. This is why all the previous work done thus far throughout the tree must be done in integrity: to prime one’s individuality in relinquishing all understanding of the world as we see and experience it. For in zero, in the Unmanifest, we have no ability to understand.
Crowley also states that this card, this path, is a vacuum. This implies a void needing to be filled. So, what does this mean for us? Are we the vacuum, or are we that which is filling it? Again, paradox reigns supreme and the Fool turns a somersault in the court of the king. The essence of the mystic traditions will always throw us back into a Zen koan, the great riddle of the universe in which we ourselves become both the question and the answer in one. Or rather, zero.
Kether: Path 1
God Name: Eheieh
Archangel: Metatron
Order of Angels: Chaioth He Qadesh
Animal Totem: Sponge
Color: White, sometimes gold
Virtue: Attainment, completion of the Great Work
Vice: N/A
Tarot Attributions: Ace of Pentacles, Ace of Cups, Ace of Swords, Ace of Wands
Spiritual Experience: Union with God
Titles: The Vast Countenance, the Most High, Existence of Existences, Concealed of the Concealed, Ancient of Ancients
Symbols: Point or point within a circle
Yetziratic Text: “The First Path is called the Admirable or the Hidden Intelligence (the Highest Crown): for it is the Light giving the power of comprehension of that First Principle which has no beginning, and it is the Primal Glory, for no created being can attain to its essence.” 190
This may be the end of the pathworking, but it is the beginning of existence. No human can ever truly know God. In reality, God (the Source) resides in the Unmanifest, which is a whole other realm of esoterica that requires a whole other level of initiation. Kether is the first point of reality in which the Unmanifest begins the slightest notion of becoming Manifest. Here, there is not yet any division of pairs or opposites which beget the duality we experience in existence. In Kether, all is still one. All is light, and nothing more. Our minds, in actuality, cannot comprehend Kether in its purest form, for our minds operate within duality. We cannot comprehend it but merely infer its possibility.
Through Kether, all the other Sephiroth come into being. All are contained within the one. Pythagoras described the number one as the undividable monad. Through its own reflection, the monad can generate all of the other digits on the numerical scale proceeding it. This is exactly how the universe was conceived, by one digit adding itself to another of its reflection, thus creating two (Chokmah), and then adding another aspect of its reflection to that, creating three (Binah), and so on.
Another way to understand Kether and its relationship to the other Sephiroth is as a fount, spouting forth all the preceding Sephiroth, as described by Dion Fortune: “Let us conceive of Kether, then, as a fountain which fills its basin, and the overflow therefrom feeds another fountain, which in its turn fills its basin and overflows. The Unmanifest for ever flows under pressure into Kether, and there comes a time when evolution has gone as far as it can in the extreme simplicity of the form of existence of the First Manifest. All possible combinations have been formed, and they have undergone all possible permutations.” 191
Kether, meaning “crown,” implies the Crown of Creation. A crown is above the head and not a part of it. Therefore, Kether (spilling over from the Unmanifest) is never fully a part of the knowable universe. In this, paradoxically (as all esoteric work is), we see the true colors of the pathworking process. Though we strive in esoteric work to repeat the process of Creation in reverse, to return to the very Source, we can never truly do just that. For fully returning to the monad of Kether means we in turn become uncreated. The attainment is the virtue of Kether; we see then that true attainment, the completion of the Great Work itself, is about returning to life and living within it.
This has been the ambition of this book all along: using shamanic practices, along with the Holy Qabalah of the Western Mystery Tradition, to achieve a state of connection with God. Pure and simple. There is no other motive. One should not be trying to “get” anything out of this—no money, no abundance, no happiness. One’s sole desire, from the very beginning, should be a relationship with the Divine. In other words, attainment.
If there were one thing to take with you in the entire adventure in pathworking with the Tree of Life has to offer, it is one statement offered by Dion Fortune as the definitive mantra to understanding Kether, but also the entire makeup of the Great Work itself. It is the one statement, the ancients say, that is all that is ever needed to understand the Tree of Life. Meditation upon it is enough to last one lifetime, if not several. Remember always, as an initiate, forever reborn in the light of the first and only I AM: “Kether is the Malkuth of the Umanifest.” 192
Let us end with a final thought on this meditation of the Tree of Life: the animal totem for Kether is the sea sponge. The oldest living animal on the planet, the sea sponge is a member of Parazoa, which is a subkingdom of animals without tissues or organs. This makes the sponge vastly different from us in our current image, which is emblematic of Kether … we can scarcely imagine its countenance. So, what makes the sea sponge so special? Why does it represent the highest sphere of creation, the crown? The framework of the sea sponge’s body is made up entirely of channels and pores. Its sole function is to allow water to flow through them. There is no nervous system or circulatory system. Its purpose is to flow, to permit the passage of water. This is the entire essence of Kether, the first inclination of existence. The crown Sephirah is a sponge for whatever it is that is on the other side of the veil, and it brings it into manifestation. This is a clear channel in its purest form. Surely, if we can replicate Kether’s action here in Malkuth—much like the sea sponge—we may begin to learn what it is to create heaven here on earth.
169. Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (New York: Penguin, 1989), 620–21.
170. Glass-Coffin and Miro-Quesada, Lessons in Courage, 73.
171. Holger Kalweit, Dreamtime & Inner Space: The World of the Shaman (Boston: Shambhala, 1988), 95.
172. Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III, Mick Gray, and Jeromy Cox, Promethea, collected edition, bk. 4, issue 20 (La Jolla, CA: Wildstorm, 2013), 17.
173. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 28.
174. Moore et al., Promethea, bk. 4, issue 21, 10–11.
175. Fortune, Mystical Qabalah, 132.
176. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 30–31.
177. Crowley, Book of Thoth, 75.
178. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 28.
179. Knight, Qabalistic Symbolism, 77–78.
180. Regardie, Garden of Pomegranates, 41–42.
181. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 29.
182. Gad, Tarot and Individuation, 43.
183. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 29.
184. Regardie, Garden of Pomegranates, 461.
185. Ashcroft-Nowicki, Shining Paths, 163.
186. Anonymous, Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism, trans. Robert Powell (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1985), 11.
187. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 29.
188. Ashcroft-Nowicki, Shining Paths, 167.
189. Crowley, Book of Thoth, 53.
190. Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah, 2nd ed., 28.
191. Fortune, Mystical Qabalah, 37.
192. Fortune, Mystical Qabalah, 29.