Magick
1 - Why Magick?
Magick
2 - Subjective Experience
Magick
3 - The Four Worlds
Magick
4 - The Four Elements
Magick
5 - Chakras Meditation
Magick
6 - Thought Forms & Spirits
Magick
7 - Basic Ritual
Magick
8 - Healing & Banishing Rituals
Magick
9 - Astral Projection
Magick
10 - Cabala
Magick
11 - Psychic Energy
Western magick
is based upon the Cabala, a Jewish mystical traditon first
written down in 12th and 13th century southern France and
Spain. It was oral before that; and it contains the "lost"
knowledge of the ancients, possibly going back to Egypt and
before. The most important Cabalistic books are SEPHIR YETZIRAH
(The Book of Creation), and the ZOHAR (Book of Splendor).
Through Cabalistic philosophy we are able to classify and
"pigeon-hole" all of existence.
The four worlds are recognized
in the Cabala, but they are given Hebrew names. Thus -- Assiah,
physical; Yetzirah, astral; Briah, mental; and Atziluth, spiritual;
as shown in the chart.
| WORLD |
NAME |
MEANING |
ATTRIBUTE |
| Spiritual |
Atziluth |
Archetypal World |
Pure deity |
| Mental |
Briah |
Creative World |
Archangels |
| Astral |
Yetzirah |
Formative World |
Angels |
| Physical |
Assiah |
Material World |
Action |
The divine name of God is
TETRAGRAMMATON (or name of four letters) made from the Hebrew
letters YOD HE VAU HE (English YHVH). Of the four letters,
YOD corresponds with Atziluth and the element of fire; the
first HE corresponds with Briah and water. These first two
letters make up a yang-yin pair (respectively). The other
two letters also form a yang-yin pair (respectively), with
the VAU corresponding with Yetzirah and air; while the second
HE corresponds with Assiah and the element of earth.
The Cabalistic parts of the
soul use new names for the three highest vehicles of consciousness.
NESHAMAH (Divine Soul) is the Spiritual body; RUAH (Moral
Soul) is the Mental body; and NEFESH (Animal Soul) is the
Astral body.
An important attribute of
the Cabala is the SEFIROTIC TREE (or "Tree of Life",
Otz Chieem). The Sefirotic Tree is a diagram of the universe
made up of the ten SEFIROTH (primal numbers or orders of creation)
drawn as circles upon the Tree in a decending pattern from
the highest aspect of God at the top to the most physical
aspect of our world at the bottom. As can be seen in the accompanying
diagram,
the sefiroth are connected together with numbered lines, called
paths.
Above
the Tree is the infinite void -- the unknowable, unmanifest
God as Divine Light -- the three veils of negative existence:
Ain, Ain Sof, and Ain Sof Aur. The Divine Light (Ain Sof Aur)
is made manifest by the first sefira where it is transformed
into positive existence. Emanations of energy (magical current)
flow from the first sefira (Source) along the paths into other
sefiroth which transform and emanate to lower and lower sefiroth.
In Adam Kadman (primal or ideal man) the sefiroth fit upon
the physical body; note the similarity to the chakras. The
process of creation is one of emanation from the spiritual
at the top of the Tree to the physical world (Sink) at the
bottom. All current which is Sourced into the Tree must also
be Sinked (earthed). That is, magical energy set in motion
by ritual shoud be used up in the physical world whether or
not the ritual was a success.
Sefiroth 1, 2, and 3 on the
Tree form the Supernal Triangle which is beyond normal human
experience in the world of Atziluth. The first sefira, KETHER,
is the supreme *crown* of God; it signifies pure Being, and
is the Source. Kether is androgynous. Immediately arising
from Kether are two further emanations. The second sefira
is HOKMAH, the *wisdom* of God and the masculine force of
the universe. Third is BINAH, the *understanding* or intelligence
of God; this is the supernal mother.
Between the Supernals and
the other seven sefiroth is the Abyss -- a great gulf which
forever separates ideal from actual. Within the Abyss an 11th
sefira, DAATH, the *knowledge* of God is sometimes placed.
The second triangle, comprised
of the 4th, 5th, and 6th sefiroth in the world of Briah, is
sometimes called the Mental Triangle. Sefira 4, HESED, the
*love* or mercy of God, is male and positive. The 5th sefira,
GEVURAH, the power or *strength* of God complements Hesed
as justice. Sixth is TIFARETH, as the compassion or *beauty*
of God; the heart of the universe.
The third or Astral Triangle
contains sefiroth 7, 8, and 9 in Yetzirah. Sefira 7, NETSAH,
is the lasting endurance or *victory* of God. Complementing
Netsah is 8, HOD, the majesty or *splendor* of God. The 9th
sefira, YESOD, the *foundation* of the world, is linked with
the moon, hence the tides and the libido. Yesod is experienced
as dream consciousness, and is very important in magick and
astral projection.
Finally, at the physical
world of Assiah is the 10th sefira, MALKUTH, the *kindgom*
of God, and the basis of all material creation. We experience
Malkuth as sense consciousness.
The Sefirotic Tree has three
vertical columns or *pillars*. As you face the tree, the pillar
on the right, headed by Hokmah and ending with Netsah, is
called the Pillar of Mercy and has light/masculine (yang)
qualities. The pillar on the left, headed by Binah and ending
with Hod, is the Pillar of Severity with dark/feminine (yin)
qualities. The Middle Pillar between them equilibriates the
two opposites, and is the *Shekhinah*, or feminine counterpart
of God. The *klippoth*, or evil demons, generally in Assiah,
represent unbalanced forces or excesses.
All the attributes of the
universe fit like pieces of a puzzle upon the Sefirotic Tree.
Each numbered part is a numeric key to the various correspondence
tables, such as Crowley's '777'. The sefirotic tree has its
parts variously colored and each sefira has a color; in fact
the paths which run between the sefiroth have their own colors
too. There are four major color scales for the sefirotic tree
and each color scale corresponds with one of the four worlds.
That means we are dealing with not just one sefirotic tree,
but actually with a separate tree for each of the four worlds;
although it is easier to think of it as the same tree with
a different color scale. The Queen (Briah) and King (Atziluth)
scales are the most important. There is also the Empress scale
(Assiah), and the Emperor scale (Yetzirah).
The Queen and King scales
for the sefiroth are shown below. (Note that when 4 colors
are listed toghether, the sefira is divided into quarters
and the first color is assigned to the upper quarter, the
2nd color to the right quarter, the 3rd color to the left
quarter, and the last color to the lower quarter.)
KEY QUEEN SCALE KING SCALE
=== =========== ==========
1 pure white brilliance brilliance
2 gray pure soft blue
3 black crimson
4 blue deep violet
5 scarlet red orange
6 yellow (gold) clear pink rose
7 emerald green amber
8 orange violet purple
9 violet indigo
10 citrine, olive, russet, black yellow
The 22 paths connect the
sefiroth together. These paths correspond with the 22 letters
of the Hebrew alphabet, as based upon the SEFIR YETZIRAH.
Due to the nature of the Hebrew alphabet (some letters can
take two forms) SEFIR YETZIRAH divides each of two of the
letters into two (dual) parts. For this reason, it is necessary
to divide each of the two related paths into two (dual) parts.
These are numbered 31, 31b (bisected); 32, 32b. Yet when these
paths are drawn on the sefirotic tree they are usually shown
undivided (and numbered simply 31, and 32). The following
table shows the colors and location of the paths in relation
to the sefiroth. You will want to add the path numbers to
the illustration of the sefirotic tree, or draw a new tree.
Some writers may refer to "32 paths", by calling
the sefiroth "paths" 1-10.
KEY JOINS SEFIROTH QUEEN SCALE
KING SCALE
=== ============== =========== ==========
11 1 - 2 sky blue brt. pale yellow
12 1 - 3 purple yellow
13 1 - 6 silver blue
14 2 - 3 sky blue emerald green
15 2 - 6 red scarlet
16 2 - 4 deep indigo red orange
17 3 - 6 pale mauve orange
18 3 - 5 maroon amber
19 4 - 5 deep purple greenish yellow
20 4 - 6 slate gray yellowish green
21 4 - 7 blue violet
22 5 - 6 blue emerald green
23 5 - 8 sea green deep blue
24 6 - 7 dull brown green blue
25 6 - 9 yellow blue
26 6 - 8 black indigo
27 7 - 8 red scarlet
28 7 - 9 sky blue violet
29 7 - 10 buff, silver-white crimson (ultraviolet)
30 8 - 9 gold yellow orange
31 8 - 10 vermilion glowing orange-scarlet
32 9 - 10 black indigo
31b deep purple white merging into gray
32b amber citrine, olive, russet, black
The queen and king scales
are complementary. Also complementary are the paths and the
sefiroth. Traditional use of the queen scale sefiroth will
find the king scale as paths and vice versa. The use of complementary
scales is based upon the idea of balance. A tree composed
of sefiroth in the queen scale and paths in the king scale
is all you need for most magick. Although correspondences
are what work for you, there is said to be an ancient tradition
surrounding the conventional color scales and it may be helpful
to lock into the energy associated with them.
From the magical point of
view, the Tree of Life is a map of consciousness which is
useful for understanding and attaining various states of consciousness.
In cabalistic magick we are concerned with the linking of
higher energy to lower levels on the tree. That very thing
takes place naturally as well, in nature and in life. A subject
in itself is cabalistic meditation (pathwork, or the way of
return), in which we attempt to climb up the tree (ladder
of lights) to attain union with divinity.
| Authors Details: Phil Hansford, 4/88
Mysteria (818) 353-8891 (modem) P.O. Box 83 Tujunga, CA
91042 |
|
