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YETZIRAH,YETZIRA,YEZIRAH

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niverse, concealing within herself the mysteries of all dimensions, while revealing her surface to the exterior senses. it is a double cube because, as the emerald tablet states 'the things that are below are a reflection of the things that are above' the world of men and women created to unhappiness is a reflection of the world of divine beings created to happiness. it is described in the sepher yetzirah, or the book of formation, as an abyss of height and an abyss of death, an abyss of the east and an abyss of the west, an abyss of the north and an abyss of the south. the altar is black because, unlike divine beings who unfold in the element of light, the fires of created beings arise from darkness and obscurity. on the altar is the white triangle to be in the image of immortal light, th

e ruach elohim, formulate the eternal pronunciation of the ineffable name: that name which the rabbins of old have said rusheth through the universe; that name before which rolled back the darkness at the birth of the morning of time. the flame-red triangular capitals which crown the summits of the pillars represent the triune manifestation of the spirit of life, the 'three mothers' of the sepher yetzirah, the three alchemical principles of nature, the sulphur, the mercury and the salt, and each pillar is surmounted by its own light-bearer, though veiled from the material world. the hieroglyphical figures upon the pillars are taken from the vignettes of the 17th and the 125th chapters of the 'ritual of the dead' the egyptian 'per-m-hru. this celebrated and most ancient work is a collection

the final card is placed in the lower left-hand corner (between water and earth) and this is the earth card. it explains the spiritual aspect in regard to the mundane plane. this card is a very significant card, because in many ways it sums up the other three cards. nw we have what appears to be a cube, or a square. again significant of the cube of the universe as depicted in the book, the sepher yetzirah. a lot of study and time and meditation could be placed on the reading at this point. for spiritual advice on a particular matter, no other cards need be turned over. looking at these cards and meditating on them in their positions and influences can tell us a lot about ourselves, and about where we are and what is influencing us. however, for magical workings we want to know the final ou

0 0 INITIATION CEREMONY

iverse, concealing within herself the mysteries of all dimensions, while revealing her surface to the exterior senses. it is a double cube because, as the emerald tablet has said the things that are below are a reflection of the things that are above. the world of men and women created to unhappiness is a reflection of the world of divine beings created to happiness. it is described in the sepher yetzirah, or the book of formation, as an abyss of height and as an abyss of depth, an abyss of the east and an abyss of the west, an abyss of the north and an abyss of the south. the altar is black because, unlike divine beings who unfold in the element of light, the fires of created brings arise from darkness and obscurity. on the altar is a white triangle to be the image of that immortal light

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hant, hear ye all that i proclaim that frater (name) has been duly admitted to the grade of zelator, and that he has obtained the mystic title of periclinus (pericline) de faustis and the symbol of aretz. kerux: returns to his place by e. saluting, and by s. and w. hiero: in the zelator grade, the symbolism of the tenth sephirah malkuth is especially shown, as well as the tenth path of the sepher yetzirah. among other mystic titles, malkuth is called shaar, the gate, which by metathesis becomes ashur, meaning the number ten. also, in chaldee it is called thraa, the gate, which has the same number as the great name adonai, written in full: aleph, daleth, nun, yod, which both equal 671 in total numeration. it is also called the gate of death, the gate of tears, and the gate of justice, the g

un, yod, which both equal 671 in total numeration. it is also called the gate of death, the gate of tears, and the gate of justice, the gate of prayer, and the gate of the daughter of the mighty ones. it is also called the gate of the garden of eden and the inferior mother, and in christian symbolism, it is connected with the three holy women at the foot of the cross. the tenth path of the sepher yetzirah which answereth to malkuth is called the resplendent intelligence, because it exalts above every head and sitteth upon the throne of binah. it illuminateth the splendor of all the lights, the zohar me-ou roth and causeth the current of the divine influx to descend from the prince of countenances, the great archangel metatron. frater (name) before you can be eligible for advancement to the

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oglyph of fire. it is formed of 4 triangles, 3 visible and one concealed, which yet use the synthesis of the rest. the 3 visible triangles represent fire solar, volcanic and astral, while the 4th represents the latent heat. the three words aud, aub, aur refer to the three conditions of heat, aud, active; aub, passive; aur, equilibrated; whilst asch is the name of fire. the 31st path of the sepher yetzirah which answereth unto the letter shin, is called the perpetual intelligence, and it is so called because it regulateth the motions of the sun and moon in their proper order, each in an orbit convenient for it. it is therefore the reflection of the sphere of fire, and the path connecting the material universe as depicted in malkuth, with the pillar of severity on the side of geburah, throug

i. heg: conducts theoricus to hierophant's throne and hands to theoricus the solar creek cross. hiero: the solar creek cross is formed of 13 squares, which fitly refer to the sun's motion through the zodiac. these signs being further arranged in the arms of the cross according to the four elements with the sun in the center, represent that luminary as the center of the the 30th path of the sepher yetzirah. which answereth unto the letter resh is called the collecting intelligence, and it is so called because from it astrologers deduce the judgement of the stars, and of the celestial signs, and the perfections of their science according to the rules of their revolutions. it is therefore, the reflection of the sphere of the sun, and the path connecting yesod with hod, foundation with splendo

and the waters of creation. the grip or token is the general grip of the first order. the grand word is elohim tzabaoth which means the elohim of hosts and of armies. the mystic number is 36 and from it is formed the pass word of this grade, which is eloah, one of the divine names. it should be lettered separately when given. unto this grade and unto the sephira hod, the eighth path of the sepher yetzirah is referred. it is called the absolute or perfect path because it is the means of the primordial which hath no root to which it may be established, except in the penetralia of that gedulah (magnificence) which emanates from the subsisting properties thereof. the distinguishing badge of this grade which you will now be entitled to wear is the sash of a theoricus with the addition of a purp

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ary cross of 12 squares. hiero: the calvary cross of 12 squares fitly represents the zodiac, which embraces the waters of nu, as the ancient egyptians called the heavens; the waters which be above the firmament. it also alludes to the eternal river of eden divided into four heads which finds their correlatives in the four triplicities of the zodiac (places cross aside) the 29th path of the sepher yetzirah which answereth to the letter qoph, is called the corporeal intelligence, and it is so called because it formeth every body which is formed beneath the whole order of worlds, and the increment of them. it is there, the reflection of the sphere of the watery sign pisces, and the path connecting the material universe as depicted in malkuth, with the pillar of mercy, and the side of chesed t

these ideas. it represents the moon with four hebrew yods, like drops of dew falling, two dogs, two towers, a winding pathway leading to the horizon, and in the foreground, water, with a crayfish crawling through it towards land. the moon is in the increase on the side of gedulah, and from it proceed sixteen principal and sixteen secondary rays, which together make 32, the number of the paths of yetzirah. she is the moon at the feet of the woman of the revelation, ruling equally over cold and moist natures, and the passive elements of earth and water. the four hebrew yods refer to the four letters of the holy name reconstituting the destroyed world from the waters. it is to be noted that the symbol of the sign pisces is formed of the two lunar crescents of gedulah and geburah bound togeth

the elements. hiero: this pyramid is attributed to the four elements. on the four triangles are their names, asch, fire; mayim, water; ruach, air; aretz, earth; on the apex is the word eth, composed of the first and last letters of the alphabet and implying essence. the square base represents the material universe, and on it is the word ohlam, meaning world (places pyramid aside) the 28th path of yetzirah, which answereth unto the letter tzaddi is called the natural intelligence, and it is so called because through it is consummated and perfected the nature of every existing being under the orb of the sun. it is therefore the reflection of the airy sign of aquarius, the water bearer unto which is attributed the countenance of the man, the adam, the restored world. hiero: heg: pract: move t

each of the four worlds at length, by giving the spelling of each letter. you will note that the spelling of the letter yod alone alters not. it is a symbol of the unchangeableness of the first cause. the total of the spelling in each world, is then expressed in hebrew letters and makes the secret name of that world. thus, in atziluth the total is 72, and the secret name aub, in binah 63 seg, in yetzirah 45 mah and in assiah 52 ben (indicating the end tablet) in the tablet is shown the method of writing the hebrew words by the yetziratic attribution of the alphabet, whence result some curious hieroglyphic symbolism. thus, tetragrammaton will be written by virgo, aries, taurus, aries. eheieh by air, aries, virgo, aries; from yeheshuah, the qabalistic mode of spelling jesus. which is simply

the depth of the mighty waters. heg: conducts practicus to hierophant and hands to practicus the calvary cross. lights turned up. heg: the calvary cross of 10 squares refers to the 10 sephiroth in balanced disposition, before which the formless and the void rolled back. it also is the opened out form of the double cube, and of the altar of incense (places cross aside) the 27th path of the sepher yetzirah which answereth unto the letter peh is called the exciting intelligence, and it is so called because by it is created the intellect of all created beings under the highest heaven and the excitement of the motion of them. it is, therefore, the reflection of the sphere of mars, and the reciprocal path connecting netzach with hod, victory with splendor; it is the lowermost of the three recip

creation. the grip or token is the general grip of the first order. the grand word is a name of nine letters tetragrammaton tzabaoth, which means the lard of armies. the mystic number is 28 and from it is formed the pass word of the grade which is koch (kaph, cheth) meaning power. it should be lettered separately when given. unto this grade and unto the sephira netzach, the 7th path of the sepher yetzirah is referred. it is called the recondite intelligence and it is so called because it is the refulgent splendor of all the intellectual virtues which are perceived by the eyes of the mind and by the contemplation of faith. the distinguishing badge of this grade, which you will now be entitled to wear, is the sash of a practicus, with the addition of a bright green cross above the violet cro

ALEISTER CROWLEY LIBER 777

ylmcj chashmalim wxr lkyh h. ratzon 7 \yhla laysw usiel \yklm malakim \ymc \xu lkyh h. etzem shamaim 8 pxm laynsh hisniel \yhla ynb beni elohim hnwg lkyh h. gonah 9* lawhy yehuel \ycy ishim 10 ynda-la lakim michael \ylara aralim rypsh tnbl .h h. lebanath ha- saphir lxxxviii. translation of col. lxxxvii. lxxxix* the revolutions of hyha in briah xc. the 42-fold name which revolves in the palaces of yetzirah. xci. the saints or adepts of the hebrews 0. 1 hyha ba messias filius david 2 yhha yg mosheh 3 palace of the holy of holies hhya xf enoch 4 p. of love ayhh fcurq abraham 5 p. of merit yahh ckydgk jacob 6 p. of benevolence yhah gtxrmb elijah 7 p. of the substance of heaven hyah unmmqh mosheh 8 p. of serenity hayh qzplgy aaron 9 hhay yqc joseph (justus) 10 palace of crystalline whiteness ah

s david 2 yhha yg mosheh 3 palace of the holy of holies hhya xf enoch 4 p. of love ayhh fcurq abraham 5 p. of merit yahh ckydgk jacob 6 p. of benevolence yhah gtxrmb elijah 7 p. of the substance of heaven hyah unmmqh mosheh 8 p. of serenity hayh qzplgy aaron 9 hhay yqc joseph (justus) 10 palace of crystalline whiteness ahhy hahy ydc la tyu david, elisha xcii. the angelic functions in the world of yetzirah. xciii. the heavens of assiah. xciv. english of palaces (col. xciii. 0. 1 2 3 above it stood the seraphim: six wings twbru araboth plain 4 six wings wkm makhon emplacement 5 one: with two wum maon residence 6 he covered his faces: and with two he covered lwbz zebul dwelling 7 his feet and \yqjc shechaqim clouds 8 with two he was flying. uyqr raquia firmament 9 10 and one cried to the othe

he covered his faces: and with two he covered lwbz zebul dwelling 7 his feet and \yqjc shechaqim clouds 8 with two he was flying. uyqr raquia firmament 9 10 and one cried to the other and said: holy, holy, holy, lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory \ymc wlyw lbt tebel vilon shamaim veil of the vault of heaven table iv 22 xcv. contents of col. xciv. xcvi* the revolutions of hwhy in yetzirah. xcvii. parts of the soul. xcviii. english of col. xcvii. 0. 1 hwhy hdyjy yechidah the self 2 whhy hyj chiah the life force 3 blessings, all good things hhwy hmcn neshamah the intuition 4 snow, rain, spirit of life, blessings hywh 5 angels singing in divine presence ywhh 6 altar, mikhael offering souls of just wyhh 7 millstones where manna for just is ground for future whyh 8 sol, luna, p

ynmyt mch husham of temani 6 wyhfyf titahion pit of destruction belphegor awyj tywu ddh hadad of avith 7 twmyruc shaarimoth gates of death yadmca hqrcm hlmnc samlah of masrekah 8 twmla tzelmoth shadow of death adramelek laylb tybhr lwac saul of reheboth 9 tylyl nh lub baal-hannan 10 \nhyg gehinnom hell hmun wup rdh hadar of pau cix (continued* the dukes of edom. cx. elements and quarters (sepher yetzirah. cxi. sephirothic colours (dr. jellinek. 0. 1 \yyj \yhla hwr concealed light 2. air sky blue 3. water and earth yellow 4 hmbylha aholibamah fire white 5 hla elah height red 6 kyp pinon depth white-red 7 znq kenaz east whitish-red 8 myt teman west reddish-white 9 laydgm and rxbm mibzar and magdiel south white-red-whitsh-red-reddish-white 10 \ryu eram north the light reflecting all colours

]yra long of face. ymwy the ancient of days [also name of seven inferiors] hyha rca hyha existence of existences. yqytud aqytu ancient of ancient ones. acydq aqytu holy ancient one. fwcp rwa the simple light. yrmfd hrymf concealed of the concealed acyr the head ymynp rwa the inner light wylu the most high awh he. ald acyr the head which is not. line 2. chokmah has additional titles: hmjk power of yetzirah.1 y of tetragrammaton. ba aba it has also the divine name, hwhy. line 3. binah has these additional titles: ama the dark sterile mother. amya the bright pregnant mother \yhla \yhla hwhy divine names. aysrwk throne. line 4. chesed has this additional title: hmjk majesty. line 5. geburah has these additional titles: yd justice. djp fear. line 6. tiphereth has these additional titles: ypna r

kings and dukes as in the printed edition, i have split this column. for daath add king bela son of beor (rwub b ulb) and dukes timnah (uamt, alvah (hwlu) and jetheth (tty. col. cx. line 1. ruach elohim chayyim, the spirit of the living gods. the first edition of 777 had as a subtitle \yyj \yhla hwr tja, achath ruach elohim chayyim( one [is] the spirit of the living elohim, a line from the sepher yetzirah which adds to 777. cols. cxii cxiii. these sets of attributions were extracted by the golden dawn from the first volume of kabbala denudata. the symbols in 7 and 8 apparently represent hermaphroditic brass. col. cxiv. the numbers are an addition; each password adds to the mystic number of the sephirah corresponding. vide col. x. col. cxv. the entries in this column were originally given a

listic encyclopedia. notes 56 cols. clxvii clxxi. a completely different set of names for the dekans and the gods referred to them may be found in budge s gods of the egyptians, vol. ii pp 304-310. i am unaware of crowley s source for these attributions: generally the names seem at the very least somewhat hellenized. notes to crowley s notes 1 because jk= koch, power, and hm is the secret name of yetzirah (vide col. lxiv. 2 i.e, the hebrew word for ten. 3 unclear. possibly an error for wmiama, amaimon. the g.d. qliphoth lecture has wdba, abaddon. 4 possibly an error for hmun, naamah or nahemah. the g.d. qliphoth lecture as printed by zalewski (1994) has maamah which itself may be a misprint. 5 rosicrucian chess is also known as enochian chess although its connection with dee and kelly s ma

in autumn were those referred to winter by pseudo-abano. 17 probably in his oedipus gypticus. it is this book (late 17th century) which as far as i am aware contains the earliest known appearance of the version of the tree of life used by the g.d. and crowley, and in fact most modern western occultists. other tree of life arrangements are discussed by aryeh kaplan in his translation of the sepher yetzirah. appendix: the yi king transliterations of chinese names follow the system used by legge in sacred books of the east, which is not in general current use. note that italicised letters have different phonetic values to non-italicised (k is thin (tenuis) modified guttural consonant, kh aspirated thin modified guttural. b represents the neutral vowel sound. where crowley has tz, legge used a

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

, all evil: odours :32 bis :storax, all dull: upsilon :those of earthy triplicity: heavy odours: weh note: on line 9, chi was omitted; lines 21& 32 bis, chi and tau there by error. these have been restored from liber 777 317& 318 table ii: liv: lv: lxiii: lxiv :key scale: the :the elements :secret names :letters of: and: the four worlds: of the four: the name: senses: worlds: 11: vau: air, smell :yetzirah, formative :mem-heh mah: world: 23: heh: water, taste :briah, creative :samekh-gemel: world: seg: 31: yod: fire, sight :atziluth, archetypal:ayin-bet ob: world :32 "bis: heh: earth, touch :assiah, material :bet-nunfinal: world: ben :31 "bis: shin: spirit: hearing: lxviii: lxix: lxx: lxxv: lxxvi :the part: the :attribution:the five elements :the five: of :alchemical: of (tatwas :skandhas :

ALEISTER CROWLEY SEPHER SEPHIROTH

lack hyd eve: to manifest, show forth hwx nation; gentile ywg 20 yod: a hand dwy a name of god yy fraternity hwx) black liquid wyd it was hyh the breast; a vision; a prophet; to gaze hzx sin h)+h golden bwhz 21 the mystic number of tiphareth existence, being: the divine name of kether hyh) but, howbeit; certainly k) deep meditation gygh ah. alas! ywh purity, innocence wxz part of hwhy (see sepher yetzirah) why 22 with his hand wdyb by yodh dwyb hearer in secret hy))h the state of puberty gwwz a magical vision (ch )wzx wheat h+x good hbw (notariqon of gyehovah elohim yehovah achad h, 151 )y)y unity dxy 23 parted, removed, separated xxz joy hwdx a thread +wx life; chiah: the soul in chokmah hyx lesser (ar)+wz 24 the number of enochian seniors, and of elders in revelation he whom i love ybwh)

s: a ram, lamb hl+ aquarius: a bucket yld drops ylg) a pool, pond; sorrow mg) captive, captivity hlwg blood md sand; horror (see the scorpion pentacle in the key of solomon; see also liber 418 10th ayre) lwx flame +hl garment dm 45 the mystic number of yesod adam: man; red md) the fool dm) redemption, liberation hlw)g to grow warm; they (masc) mh hesitated (see 405) lxz she who ruins hlbx hwhy in yetzirah )h w)w )h dwy greatly, strongly, very d)m what, which, why, how; anything, something; yetzitah fs gsecret nature h (see s.d. 1:38-39) hm 46 a name of god yhl) a female slave; an ell, cubit hm) tin, the metal of jupiter lydb a dividing, sundering, separation hldbh a ruiner lbwx 47 foolish, silly, stupid lyw) a weeping hyykb cloud; high place; waves; fortress hmb to clutch, hold +lx that it

nion; an assembling d(w to make perfect; general, universal, collective llk throne (ex. 17:16, i.e. there gbecause a hand is on the throne of yah h) sk ruins y( crowd ks shovel (y 81 gods myl) i (ex. 23:20) ykn) also, yea; anger; nose p) throne )sk here, hither )p 82 a prayer (ch) y(b kindly, righteous, holy dysx white nbl the beloved thing xwxyn 83 (notariqon of the four worlds: atziluth, briah, yetzirah, assiah (yb) the drops of dew (job. 38:28) l+ ylg (cf. gimel, 73) lmyg a flowing, wave mylg person, self; back, top; wing (ch) pg consecration; dedicated hknx to flee, put one fs things in safety (jer. 6:1 (wz mournings, laments mylb) unripe fig gp 84 (the hebrew guttural letters. see i.z.q. 694 et seq& cf. 133 (xh) a wing (army, squadron; a chosen troop pg) was silent mmd a dream mwlx en

nly; saliva qr 301 my lord, the faithful king: a name of god nm)n klmh ynd) fire) a candlestick hrwnm to call )rq destruction# 302 to cut open, inquire into; dawn rqb hath protected rbq to putrefy bqr 303 did evil; putrefaction#)b and god saw myhl )ryw 304 a species of gold cwrx green #d white rdq teat; demon; idol; violence; ruin d# 305 dazzling white light xc rw) grass; tender herb (gn. 1:11)#d yetzirah: the formative world hrcy a curving, bending h(yrk the end of days, appointed time (dan. 12:14) nymyh cq a lamb; sheep; goat h# foreskin hlr( 306 father of mercy mymxrh b) merciful father nmxrh b) a woman, wife; virago h) honey #bd a matron )nwr+m coldness; pertaining to winter rwq a pomegranate nwmyr to lay waste; calamity, devastation, ruin h# 308 daybreak rqwb an asperger )qrz investig

binah] hnwyl( cr) a path btyn the abyss of height mwr qmw( 463 the pillar of mildness: the paths gimel, samekh and tau (cf. 26& 48) t s g crystal; glass tykwkz a rod of almond dq#h h+m the special intelligence (i.z.q. 264, et seq) hnwbt caps, crowns, diadems nygt prayer hnxt 464 constant, perpetual ydymt 465 a kiss; a little (or, sweet) mouth hqy#n 466 the goddess nuit (cf. 75) tywn the world of yetzirah (formation; referred to the ruach) hrycyh mlw( skull tlglg kidneys twylk autumn wts 467 path hbytn 469 fillets (i.e. bindings [of the pillars] mhyqw#x 470 eternity (lit. ga cycle of cycles h) myrwd rwd pure wool yqn rm( time; period of time, season t( floor, ground, bottom (qrq 471 the hekaloth: palaces twlkyh 472 was terrified t(b and god made myhl#(yw 473 the three persons (yn )wh: ht)

ver (see 1047) trtwy legs, shanks *myqw# 1017 glass vessels (bottles, pitchers, phials) tw#y) black (scil. of eye-pupil; middle; homunculus *nw#y) olives *mytz 1018 boils *nyx# 1020 green (see s.d. p. 104 *nn(r 1022 an oven, furnace *n#bk the abyss of height *mwr qmw( 1025 the secrets of wisdom hmkx twmwl(t my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me (cf. 1029) yntqb )ml yhl) yhl) 1026 the world of yetzirah (formation; referred to the ruach *hrycyh mlw( 1029 my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me (cf. 1025) yntqb# hml yhl) yhl) fillets (i.e. bindings [of the pillars *mhyqw#x 1030 pain, trouble, misery *nwbc( bc( eternity (lit. ga cycle of cycles h *myrwd rwd 1031 and god said: let us make man in our image (gn. 1:26) wnmlcb md) h#(n myhl) rm)yw 1032 first swirlings: the sphere of the primu

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE QABALAH

ut we hear nothing of the mother in the ordinary religions of the day. but in the qabalah we find that the ancient of days conforms himself simultaneously into the father and the mother, and thus begets the son. now, this mother is elohim. again, we are usually told that the holy spirit is masculine. but the word jwr, ruach, spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the sepher yetzirah \yyj \yhla rwr tja, achath (feminine, not achad, masculine) ruach elohim chayyim: one is is she the spirit of the elohim of life. 11 in passages mercifully omitted by crowley from the present article t.s. 12 given the timescales involved it is prima faci far more likely that the early qabalists (such as the author of the sepher yetzirah) were influenced by pythagorean number mysticism t.s

he second world is the britic world, hayrbh \lwu, olahm ha-briah, the world of creation, also called aysrwk, korsia, the throne. it is an immediate emnation from the world of atziluth, whose ten sephiroth are reflected herein, and are consequently more limited, though they are still of the purest nature, and without any admixture of matter. the third is the yetziratic world, hryxyh \lwu, olahm ha-yetzirah, or world of formation and of angels, which proceeds from briah, and though less refined in substance, is still without matter. it is in this angelic world where those intelligent and incorporeal beings reside who are wrapped in a luminous garment, and who assume a form when they appear to man. the fourth is the assiatic world, hycuh \lwu, olahm ha-assiah, the world of action, called also

we could more easily read anm. to sacrifice to death is folly. lkt. thy kingdom shall be fortunate, for it is just. crp the tower of thy glory shall endure until the last days. there! that didn t take two minutes; and belshazzar would have exalted us above daniel. similarly al, god, may be interpreted his folly is justice, as it is written: the wisdom of this word is foolishness with god. or, by yetzirah, the air is his balance, as it is written: god made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. 39 e is the base of natural logarithms; it is defined as the sum from 0 to infinity of 1 over n factorial; approximately 2.718281828 t.s. liber lviii 24 or by meaning: the ox and the goad, i.e. he is both matter and motion

umber of fixed law, 4 10, tetragrammaton, the lesser countenance immutable in the heaviness of malkuth. 41 \a, the mother, unfertilised as unenlightened. 42. ama, the mother, still dark. here are the 42 judges of the dead in amennti, and here is the 42-fold name of the creative god. see liber 418. 44 \d, blood. see part ii. here 4 11= the corruption of the created world. 45. hm, a secret title of yetzirah, the formative world \da, adam, man, the species (not the first man. a is air, the divine breath which stirs \d, blood, into being. 49. a number useful in the calculations of dr dee, and a mystic number of venus. 50. the number of the gates of binah, whose name is death (50= n= by tarot, death. 51. a, pain. an, failure \wda, the country of the demon kings. there is much in the qabalah abo

erial 3, the spiritual 7, and all cancelling to zero. also \lc= peace. 400. the letter t, the universe. it is the square of 20, the wheel of fortune, and shows the universe as the sphere of fortune the samsara-cakkram, where karma, which fools call chance, rules. 400 is the total number of the sephiroth, each of the 10 containing 10 in itself and being repeated in the 4 worlds of atziluth, briah, yetzirah, and assiah. these four worlds are themselves attributed to hwhy, which is therefore not the name of a tribal fetish, but the formula of a system. 401. ta, the emphatic, meaning essence of, for a and t are first and last letters of the hebrew alphabet, as a and w are of the greek, and a and z of the latin. hence the word azoth, not to be confused with azote (lifeless, azotos, the old name

me, the second an archangelic or angelic name, the third a name pertaining to the formative world, the fourth a name of a spirit or blind force. for example, mercury has za and dd (love) for 8, yd and ynd for 64, layrif for 260, and trtrtpt for 2080. but in the earlier numbers this is not so well carried out. 136 is both lypwy, the intelligence of jupiter, and lamsh, the spirit. 54 see the sepher yetzirah t.s. 55 in equinox i (2, or regardie (ed) the golden dawn t.s. 56 see the golden dawn z1 document t.s. 57 when the first number is n, the second is n2, the third n (n2+ 1/ 2 and the fourth n2 (n2+ 1/ 2 t.s. liber lviii 33 the mystic numbers of the sephiroth are simply the sums of the numbers from 1 to their own numbers. thus (1) kether= 1 (2) chokmah= 1+ 2= 3 (3) binah= 1+ 2+ 3= 6 (4) che

had never examined it and so had acquiesced in it as accursed. when it was brought by a messenger whose words proved true, i then understood it as an attack on the 4 by the 11. without shedding of blood(\d= 44) there is no remission. also since the messenger could teach this, and prophecy, it added credit to the adept who sent the message. 45. useful as the number of man \da, identified with hm, yetzirah, the world of formation to which man aspires as next above assiah. thus 45 baffles the accuser, but only by affirmation of progress. it cannot help that progress. 52. amya and b. but orthodoxy conceives these as external saviours; therefore they serve no useful purpose. 60. like 30, but weaker. temperance is only an inferior balance. 120, its extension, gives a better force. 65. fully dea

ight rbd= 206, deber, voice the vision and the voice, a phrase which meant much to me at the moment of discovering this word [by taking each alternate letter] 205= rbg, mighty 213= ryba, mighty this shows abrahadabra as the word of double power, another phrase that meant much to me at the time. a a a a r a d b h b (3) baa at the top of the hexagram gives ba, amya, b, father, mother, child. rdh by yetzirah gives horus, isis, osiris, again father, mother, child. this hexagram is again the human triad. dividing into 3 and 8 we get the triangle of horus dominating the stooping dragon of 8 heads, the supernals bursting the head of daath. also a r b a a a a h d r b the supernals are supported upon two squares: daba= dd, love, 8. arha= rwa, light, 207. now 8 207= 1656= 18= yj, living, and 207= 9

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

t we hear nothing of the mother in the ordinary religions of the day. but in the qabalah we find that the ancient of days conforms himself simultaneously into the father and the mother, and thus begets the son. now, this mother is elohim. again, we are usually told that the holy spirit is masculine. but the word rvch, ruach, spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the sepher yetzirah "achth rvch alhim chiim, achath (feminine, not achad, masculine) ruach elohim chimm: one is she the spirit of the elohim of life" now, we find that before he deity conformed himself thus "i.e, as male and female- that the worlds of the universe could not subsist, or, in the words of genesis "the earth was formless and void" these prior worlds are considered to be symbolised by the "kings

cond world is the briatic world, ovlm hbriah, olahm ha-briah, the world of creation, also called kvrsia, khorsia, the throne. it is an immediate emanation from the world of atziloth, whose ten sephiroth are reflected herein, and are consequently more limited, though they are still of the purest nature, and without any admixture of matter. the third is the jetziratic world, ovlm hitzirah, olahm ha-yetzirah, or world of formation and of angels, which proceeds from briah, and, though less refined in substance, is still without matter. it is in this angelic world that reside those intelligent and incorporeal beings who are wrapped in a luminous garment, and who assume a form when they appear unto man. the fourth is the asiatic world, ovlm hoshih, olahm ha-asiah, the world of action, called als

ore easily read mna. to sacrifice to death is folly. thkl. thy kingdom shall be fortunate, for it is just. prsh. the tower of thy glory shall endure until the last day. there! that didn't take two minutes; and belshazzar would have exalted us above daniel. similarly al, god, may be may be interpreted "his folly is justice" as it is written "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with god" or, by yetzirah "the air is his balance" as it is written "god made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament" or, by meaning "the ox and the goad "i.e "he is both matter and motion" we here append a sketch ms. by frater p, giving his explanation by tarot, etc, of the letters of the alphabet spelt in full. mystic readings of the le

f fixed law, 4 x 10, tetragrammaton, the lesser countenance immutable in the heaviness of malkuth. 41. am, the mother, unfertilised and unenlightened. 42. ama, the mother, still dark. here are the 42 judges of the dead in amennti, and here is the 42-fold name of the creative god. see liber 418. 44. dm, blood. see part ii. here 4 x 11= the corruption of the created world. 45. mh, a secret title of yetzirah, the formative world. adm, adam, man, the species (not "the first man. a is air, the divine breath which stirs dm, blood, into being. 49. a number useful in the calculations of dr. dee, and a mystic number of venus. 50. the number of the gates of binah, whose name id death (50= hb:nun= by tarot "death. 51. an, pain. na, failure. advm, edom, the country of the demon kings. there is much in

itual 7, and all cancelling to zero. also shlm= peace. 400. the letter hb:taw "the universe" it is the square of 20 "the wheel of fortune" and shows the universe therefore as the sphere of fortune- the samsara-cakkram, where karma, which fools call chance, rules. 400 is the total number of he sephiroth, each of the 10 containing 210 in itself and being repeated in the 4 worlds of atziluth, briah, yetzirah, and assiah. these four worlds are themselves attributed to ihvh, which is therefore not the name of a tribal fetish, but the formula of a system. 401. ath "the" emphatic, meaning "essence of" for a and th are first and last letters of the hebrew alphabet, as alpha and omega are of the greek, and a and z of the latin. hence the word azoth, not to be confused with azote 104 (lifeless, asot

had never examined it and so had acquiesced in it as accursed. when it was brought by a messenger whose words proved true i then understood it as an attack on the 4 by the 11 "without shedding of blood (dm= 44) there is no remission" also since the messenger could teach this, and prophesy, it added credit to the adept who sent the message. 45. useful as the number of man, adm, identified with mh, yetzirah, the world of formation to which man aspires as next above assiah. thus 45 baffles the accuser, but only by affirmation of progress. it cannot help that progress. 52. aima and bn. but orthodoxy conceives these as external saviours; therefore they serve no useful purpose. 60. like 30, but weaker "temperance" is only an inferior balance. 120, its extension, gives a better force. 65. fully d

, aur, light phrase which meant much a-a b d dbr= 206, deber, voice to me at the moment of dis/ covering this word. r (3) a a\ a a b a [by taking each alternate letter] r-b h d/ r 205= gbr, mighty. this shows abrahadabra as 213= abir, mighty. the word of double power, another phrase that meant much to me at the time. aab at the top of the hexagram gives ab, aima, bn, father, mother, child. hdr by yetzirah gives horus, isis, osiris, again father, mother, child. this hexagram is again the human triad. dividing into 3 and 8 we get the triangle of horus dominating the stooping dragon of 8 heads, the supernals bursting the head of daath. also a\ the supernals are supported upon two squares- r--b a--b a--h abad= dd, love, 8. a--d r--a ahra= avr, light, 207. now 8 x 207= 1656= chi, living, and 20

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

cal systems as the author is acquainted with. the denominator chosen is necessarily a large one, as the author's object is to reconcile systems which divide all things into 3, 7, 10, 12, as the case may be. since our expression 'common denominator' is used in a figurative and not in a strictly mathematical sense, the task is less complex than appears at first sight, and the 32 paths of the sepher yetzirah, or book of formation of the qabalah, provide a convenient scale. these 32 paths are attributed by the qabalists to the 10 sephiroth, or emanations of deity, and to the 22 letters of the hebrew alphabet, which are again subdivided into 3 mother letters, 7 double letters, and 12 simple letters. on this basis, that of the qabalistic 'tree of life' as a certain arrangement of the sephiroth a

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2 2

he "lection" returning to it in its proper place, and after explaining "the diagram of the paths and the grades" enter upon the ritual of the 0 =0 grade of neophyte. it will be at once apparent to the reader that the diagram of the paths is simply the ordinary sephirotic tree of life, combined with the tarot trumps, the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphabet, the thirty-two paths of the sepher yetzirah, the signs of the zodiac, and the signs of the planets and the elements. the following account of it is taken from s.a.'s copy no. 2 of the "ritual of the 24th, 25th, and 26th paths leading from the first order of the g. d. in the outer to the 5 =6, associate adept speaking "before you upon the altar is the diagram of the sephiroth and paths with which you are already well acquainted, hav

e of the scales of justice. 245 4 hb:yod stands for chokmah, and hb:heh for binah, hb:vau for the rest except malkuth which is the final h. 5 father and (glorified) mother. 6 the theosophical term "higher self" is usually termed in the g. d "genius" abramelin calls it "holy guardian angel "vide" preface. 7 the sephirotic scheme, it will be remembered, is divided into four worlds: atziloth; briah; yetzirah and assiah. each world contains ten sephiroth, and each of these sephira again ten, making the total number four hundred. 8 "paroketh" is the veil which separates hod and netzach from tiphereth; and as we shall see later on, in the portal ritual, the first order from the second order. illustration on page 245 approximated below_ the veil of the sanctuary point of rending. the veil of neph

ire: heaven cannot speak their fulness, earth cannot utter it. yet hath the creator bound them in all things. he hath mingled them through water: he hath whirled them aloft in fire: he hath sealed them in the air of heaven: he hath distributed them through the planets: he hath assigned unto them the twelve constellations of the zodiac" he then explains that to the thirty-second path of the sepher yetzirah is attributed the seven abodes of assiah; to the four elements, the kerubim, and the qliphoth.5 267 it represents the connecting-link between assiah and yetzirah. it is the rending of the veil of the tabernacle; and it is the passing of the gate of eden. after which he enters upon the symbolisms of the twenty-first key of the tarot, the naked female form of which represents the bride of t

"hierophant" then says "the symbols before you represent alike the garden of eden,7 and the holy of holies: before you stands the tree of life formed of the sephiroth and their connecting paths. the connecting paths are twenty-two in number, and are distinguished by the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphabet, making with the ten sephiroth themselves the thirty-two paths of wisdom of the sepher yetzirah" the letters, he then points out to him, form the symbol of the serpent of wisdom, and the sephiroth the flaming sword "the two pillars right and left of the tree are the symbols of the active and passive, male and female- adam and eve. the pillars further represent the two kerubim of the ark; the right, male- metatron; and the left, female- sandalphon. above them ever burn the lamps of t

e synthesis of the rest. the three visible triangles represent fire, solar, volcanic and astral; while the fourth represents latent heat. the three words: hb:dalet hb:vau hb:aleph hb:bet hb:vau hb:aleph hb:resh hb:vau hb:aleph refer to three conditions of heat: aud, active; aub, passive;12 aur, the equilibrated; while hb:shin hb:aleph (ash) is the name of fire "the thirty-first path of the sepher yetzirah, which answereth to the letter hb:shin, is called the perpetual intelligence; and it is so called because it regulateth the motions of the sun and moon in their proper order; each in an orbit convenient for it. it is, therefore, the reflection of the sphere of fire; and the path connecting the material universe, as depicted in malkuth, with the pillar of severity and the side of geburah t

y name" and the "hegemon "the seven heavens of assiah,"13 and "the ten evil sephiroth of the qliphoth."14 the "hierophant" then confers on the theoricus the title of the thirty- first path, which ends the first part of the ceremony of 3= 8. the second part consists of the ritual of the thirtieth path. the "hierophant" explains the solar greek cross, and then says "the thirtieth path of the sepher yetzirah, which answereth unto the letter 'resch' is called the collecting intelligence; and it is so called because from it astrologers deduce the judgment of the stars, and of the 272 celestial signs, and the perfections of their science, according to the rules of their resolutions. it is therefore the reflection of the sphere of the sun; and the path connecting yesod with hod, the foundation wi

water. the closing of the temple now takes place, and the prayer to the undines is rehearsed, and in the name of elohim tzabaoth is the dismissal pronounced. illustration on page 275 discussed (too complex for a full description. weh note- this figure represents a theory of eden on the tree of life that is very much different from the symbolism of traditional qabalah, as presented in the "sepher yetzirah" and other sources. the same is true of the particular method of division of this tree into the trees of life and the knowledge of good and evil "diagram 33. the garden of eden" this figure can be divided into three units, one atop the other. at the top is a large ring-circle. it contains a depiction of the sun with the name hb:aleph hb:bet hb:yod hb:aleph inside. there is a winged and cr

of writing the holy name in each of the four worlds;21 and also explains to him the method of writing hebrew words by yetziratic attribution of the alphabet. the "hiereus" unveils "the lineal figures attributed to the planets" showing dekagrams, hendekagrams, and dodekagrams; and explains to him the number of possible modes of tracing the lineal figures. the "hegemon" informs him that the sepher yetzirah divides the ten numbers into a tetrad and hexad; also he explains the geomantic figures arranged according to their planetary attribution on the tree of life.22 this finishes the second part of this ritual, and the "hierophant" confers upon the practicus the title of "lord of the twenty-eighth path "the third part" at the beginning of the third part the "hierophant" says "frater monokeros

h cunning and earnestness he will understand why it is necessary to enter the grade of the element of water by the paths of the sun and of fire, as he will in his next step understand why it is that the paths of hb:qof and hb:tzaddi, that is, of pisces and aquarius, lead him to the fire of netzach and not to the water of hod. the path which connects hod with netzach is the 27th path of the sepher yetzirah which answers to the letter hb:peh. it is the reflection of the sphere of mars and is the lowermost of the reciprocal paths. the tarot key attributed to this path is very rightly the 16th key- the tower; which we have seen in the 4= 7 ritual represents a tower struck by a flash of lightning, symbolising the tower of babel struck by the wrath of heaven, and also the power of the triad rush

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2 3

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2

measureless heavens: and their reflection formed the inverted-water-triangle of the measureless waters. and thus was formulated one eternal hexad: and this is the number of the dawning creation> further, this reflected triangle showeth forth the evolution of the four worlds and their consolidation: for 1+ 2+ 3+ 4= yod= atziluth 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5= 15= yod heh= briah 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6= 21= yod heh vau= yetzirah 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 7<<10= 28= 2+ 8= 10 assiah<<10: but herein is the fall, that there were only six numbers, so that for the seventh was 5 repeated. hence 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 5= 26 yod-heh-vau-heh. assiah; tetragrammaton as the elemental limitation, the jealous god- p> the number 28, the total numeration, therefore represents malkuth, the tenth sephira: assiah made manifest- the work of crea

on either side of this is the pair of figures 35- 53, balanced one against the other: as though symbolic of the great dawning of life of the "mothers- hb:heh and hb:heh, vitalised by the son (3) as the vice-gerent of his father. these balanced figures together make 16, whereof the key is 7; the total number of letters in the third symbol. then we have left at either end 4 and 6= 10<"vide" sepher yetzirah for this division of the holy sephiroth into a hexad and a tetrad> the perfection of the 177 sephiroth, as if to declare that this verse from, beginning to end thereof reflected the voices from kether even unto malkuth: and 6- 4= 2 again, the central will, hb:bet, thoth, in the heart of the universe (as in the centre of the verse. note, then, this perfect equilibrium of the verse, and rem

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 3

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ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 6 2

AN INTRO TO STUDY OF THE KABALAH

work, and try to show that the assumed author is the only person who could not have written each one in question. but these critics show the utmost divergence of opinion the moment it becomes necessary to fix on a date or an author; so much more easy is destructive criticism than the acquirement of real knowledge. let us make a short note of the chief of the old kabalistic treatises. the "sepher yetzirah" or "book of formation" is the oldest treatise; it is attributed by legend to abraham the patriarch: several editions of an english translation by myself have been published. this work explains a most curious philosophical scheme of creation, drawing a parallel between the origin of the world, the sun, the planets, the elements, seasons, man and the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphab

eptad and a dodecad; three mother letters a, m, and sh are referred to primeval air, water and fire; seven double letters are referred to the planets and the sevenfold division of time, etc: and the twelve simple letters are referred to the months, zodiacal signs and human organs. modern criticism tends to the conclusion that the existing ancient versions were compiled about a.d. 200. the "sepher yetzirah" is mentioned in the talmuds, both of jerusalem and of babylon; it was written in the neo-hebraic language, like the mishna. the "zohar" or" sohar" spelled in hebrew zhr or zuhr "the book of splendour" or of "light" is a collection of many separate treatises on the deity, angels, souls and cosmogony. its authorship is ascribed to rabbi simon ben jochai, who lived a.d. 160; he was persecut

e, and they supplemented them by two parallel series of works of literature; the one, talmudic, being commentaries based upon thirteen rules of argument delivered by moses to illustrate the old testament, and supply material for teaching the populace; and the other a long series of treatises of a more abstruse character, designed to illustrate their secret doctrines and esoteric views. the sepher yetzirah, and the zohar or book of splendour represent the kernel of that oral instruction which the rabbis of the olden times prided themselves upon possessing, and which they have even claimed as being "the secret knowledge" which god gave to moses for the use of the priests themselves, in contradistinction to the written law intended for the masses of the people. one of the principal conception

great sea, the mother supernal, binah; and of the twenty-two occult forces of the nature of the universe symbolised by the three primary elements, the seven planets, and the twelve zodiacal influences of the heavens, which tincture human concerns through the path of our sun in its annual course. i have given the names and definitions of the thirty-two paths at the end of my edition of the" sepher yetzirah" now to show the close connection between the kabalah and orthodox judaism, we find the rabbis cataloguing the books of the old testament into a series of twenty-two (the letters) works to be read for the culture of spiritual life; this twenty-two they obtained from the thirty-nine books of the o.t. canon, by collecting the twelve minor prophets into one treatise; ruth they added to judge

the twelve minor prophets into one treatise; ruth they added to judges; ezra to nehemiah; while the two books each of samuel, kings, and chronicles, they called one each. the canon of thirty-nine works was fixed in the time of ezra. returning to the books which illustrate the kabalah, whatever may be the authenticity of their alleged origins, it cannot be denied that those ancient volumes, sepher yetzirah and zohar, contain a system of spiritual philosophy of clear design, deep intuition and far-reaching cosmologic suggestions; that are well worthy of the honour of receiving a special name and of founding a theological body of doctrine--the kabalah. the bulwark and main foundation of the public hebrew religion has always been the pentateuch, five treatises attributed to moses, which procla

as 345 and then 12 and then 3, a trinity. a quaint conceit was that of the change of the spelling of the names of abraham and sara: at first abram abrm and sarai shri, became abrhm and shrh: they were 100 and 90 years old and were sterile: now h, heh, was deemed of a fertile type, and so the letter h was added to abram, and the yod i, converted into an h of the name sarai. in the very old "sepher yetzirah" is found the allocation of letters to the planets; from this origin arose a system of designing talismans written on parchment or engraved on brass or gems: as each planet had a letter and a number, in regard to each was allotted a magic square of lesser squares; thus for jupiter 4 was the number and daleth the letter, and the magic square of jupiter had 16 smaller squares within it; in

d the composition of the sacred tetragrammaton, the mystical jehovah, ihvh, yod, heh, vau, heh, numbering 26. see plates i, ii, iii, iv, v, and vi. this decad of deific emanations is to be conceived as first formulated on the divine first plane of atziluth, which is entirely beyond our ken; to be reproduced on the second plane of pure spirit, briah; to exist in the same decad form in the world of yetzirah, the third or formative plane; and finally to be sufficiently condensed as to be cognizable by the human intellect on the fourth plane of assiah, on which we seem to exist. from our point of view we may regard the "tree of life" as a type of many divine processes and forms of manifestation, but these are symbols we use to classify our ideals, and we must not debase the divine emanations b

es, upon each of which i have already said you must conceive the whole ten sephiroth to be immanent. by a series of six lines we group them into seven planes referable to the worlds of the seven planetary powers, thus connecting the kabalah with astrology (w. gorn old has recently published a volume called "kabalistic astrology) to each sephira were allotted in briah an especial archangel, and in yetzirah an army of angels; these connect the kabalah with talismanic magic. there is also a close relation between the old kabalistic theology and alchymy; each sephira of assiah becomes the allegoric emblem of one of the metals: and there is a special rabbinic volume named "asch metzareph" entirely concerned with alchymy; its name in english meaning is "cleansing fires (my english translation ca

rules the other archangels of the universe, who govern in their courses all the heavenly bodies, and the evolutions of the dwellers on them: he is, according to the kabalists, the efficient god of our earth--the greek demiourgos. the other arch-angels are according to macgregor mathers, ratziel, tzaphkiel, tzadquiel, kamael, michael, haniel, raphael, gabriel, and sandalphon. in the third world of yetzirah are the ten hosts of angelic beings, a separate class for each sephira; they are intelligent incorporeal beings, clothed in a garment of light, and are set over the several heavenly bodies, the planets, over the elemental forces, and over seasons, times, etc; they are the officers of the great arch-angels. the hosts of angels of the sephiroth are chaioth ha kodesh, auphanim, arelim, chash

BLUE EQUINOX

onditions..o.m] 9 [this examination is a subtle compliment, amounting almost to flattery. it is a much harder paper than would be set in most cases..o.m] the equinox 170 (c) discover by visions the nature of the alchemical principles, sulphur, mercury, and salt. how do they differ from the 3 gunas, and the elements fire, water, air (d) give an account of the sign aquarius in the 4 worlds, assiah, yetzirah, briah, and atziluth (e) visit and describe fully the qliphoth of aries (f) visit lophiel and hismael, and report their appearance, mode of life, and conversation. observe. the a. a. work throughout is definite and directed. there is no room for a single loose thought (3) you must be perfectly stern and austere about the sanctity of the work. you wouldn.t allow your wife to come to the of

BOOK T

e are the four aces, representing the force of the spirit, acting in, and binding together, the four scales of each element: and answering to the dominion of the letters of the name in the kether of each. they represent the radical forces. the four aces are said to be placed on the north pole of the universe wherein they revolve, governing its revolution; and ruling as the connecting link between yetzirah and the material plane or universe. i. the root of the powers of fire ace of wands a white radiating angelic hand, issuing from clouds, and grasping a heavy club, which has three branches in the colours, and with the sigils, of the scales. the right-and left-hand branches end respectively in three flames, and the centre one in four flames: thus yielding ten: the number of the sephiroth. t

CASE PAUL F THE BOOK OF TOKENS

e saying "the lord is a man of war, because the hebrew for "man of war, used in exodus 15: 3, is ish milkhamah, a i sh m l ch m h, which has the value 434, the same as the letter-name. atziluth is the highest of the four qabalistic "worlds. it is the archetypal world, practically the same as plato's world of ideas. below it is briah, the creative world, or world of mental patterns. below briah is yetzirah, the world of formation, or plane of invisible forces. the fourth, and lowest, plane is assiah, the material world, or world of action and things [48] the meditation on heh* 1 in whatsoever object thou perceivest, know me as the essence, as the idea, and as the interior nature. because of this the wise come easily to me by many paths, yet in truth these different roads are but a single wa

ife, to the element of fire, to atziluth, the archetypal world, to yod in i h v h, and to the sephirah chokmah, root of fire. the eagle corresponds to mind, to the element of water, to briah, the creative world, to the first heh in i h v h, and to the sephirah [189] t h e book of t o k e n s binah, the root of water. the man corresponds to the third aspect, truth or law, to the element of air, to yetzirah, the formative world, to vav in i h vh, and to the sephirah tiphareth, attributed to air. the ox or bull corresponds to the fourth aspect, love, to the element of earth, to assiah, the material world, to the final heh in i h v h, and to the sephirah malkuth, attributed to earth. according to the qabalah, the life-power differentiates itself into ten lights of emanation, the sephiroth, and

CHRONOLOGIA RORISPERGIUS

sino and writes an extremely influential rule of life for its inhabitants. 552: the byzantine army under emperor justinian (483-565) invades italy and defeats the ostrogoths at the battle of taginae; justinian establishes a presence at ravenna (technically, an exarchate) which lasts into the eighth century. 560-636. isidore of seville. only fragments of astrology survive in his work. 6th ce sefer yetzirah edited (to 7th cent)-eddas (to 9th cent)-welsh mabinogion. 570-632 muhammed, founder of islam. c. 580 maximus the confessor born. commented on the works of dionysios the areopagite. 590: gregory (540-604) becomes pope. 610 w.v. qur'an 642 third (and final) destruction of library of alexandria (by moslems. arabs bearing the new religion of islam captured alexandria, and the mantle of alche

y inscriptions, which could be read by nobody except the sons of wisdom and learning" 913-982 r. shabbati donnolo (italy "long" recension of the "sefer yezirah" 922 crucifixion of the mystic al-hallaj in baghdad- most famous sufi martyr, was imprisoned for nine years and then, after having hands and feet cut off, executed "ana' al haqq "i am the truth. 931 sa'adiya gaon. first rendition of "sefer yetzirah" in egypt. 955 abu sahl dunash ibn tamim. sefer yetzirah published with gaon's commentary on the short version by tanin. 961 rasa'il-e-ikhwanus safa (epistles of brethren of purity "a mystical muslim order incorporating teachings from neoplatonic, hermetic, and even buddhist sources [netton 1991] and deriving from harran [nasr 1993: 25-104) an encyclopaedic work covering mathematics, astr

n and prophecy in general. sefer ha-shem("the book of the holy name, an exegesis of the names of god and, with hokhmah ha-nefesh, an analysis of ways by which connections are established between the soul and the divine world, together make up the 3rd part of sodei razayya. part 4 is a commentary on sefer yezirah containing detailed instructions for the creation of a golem. commentary on the sefer yetzirah called "pe'ullah ha-yetsirah("practice or practical application of. sefer ha-hokhmah, a major part of which is concerned with exegesis of holy names. 1165-1235 isaac the blind. provencal kabbalist. 1165-1240 ibn arabi (spanish muslim mystic poet) d.1166 abd al-qadir al-jilani founds one of the earliest sufi orders(prominent in india and north africa. d. 1170 natanael ben al-fayyumi, the g

0 r. solomon b. abraham adret, spain. teaches llull about kabbalah. 1235 robert grosseteste, bishop of lincoln, discusses transmutation of metals in de artibus liberalibus and de generatione stellarum. 1236-1319 ramon lull 1237 -1285/88 adam de la halle troubadour 1240 abraham abulafia, sicilian kabbalist, founder of ecstatic kabbala, born in saragosa 1240 elhanan b. yakar(london) publishes sefer yetzirah commentary 1240-1321 yunus emre. anatolian sufi troubadour 1241- 1246 toregene khatun 1241: batu's mongol "blue horde" invade poland, hungary and the balkans 1244: tartars capture jerusalem. massacre of cathari at montsegur, france. 1244-1274 moshe ibn tibbon translated in montpellier commentaries of averroes; al-farabi s book of principles; themisto s commentary on aristotle s metaphysic

paris expounding to beguins on the key of david 1285 "or haskel" abulafia's principal work an influence upon villanova. 1288 the mongols invade india. alexander von roes notitia seculi derived from pseudo-joachim of fiore's de semine scripturarum anticipates the antichrist as a 3rd frederich and looks for charlemagne's return. 1288-1339 john dastin 1289 abulafia, abraham commentary on the sepher yetzirah (camino, italy) franciscan priest and the first archbishop of cambalec john of monte corvino departs from rome through asia into india in 1291. his companions were the dominican nicholas of pistoia and the merchant peter of lucalongo. 1289-1298 peter john olivi led the spiritual party within the franciscan order 1290: all jews are expelled from england. many move to spain. c. 1290 master

. 1260-1327) teaches in latin at paris and preaches vernacular sermons in strassburg and cologne. 1311-2: the council of vienne legislates against beguines and the beguine-associated "heresy of the free spirit" 1313 friars minors' constitution generales antique forbade the friars to practice alchemy 1314 destruction of the knights templar 1316? ramon llull dies; peter de abano dies 1316/17 "sefer yetzirah "i" parma de rossi, 1390, foll. 36b-38b. italian writing. 1316 1329 friar odoric despatched to the east; in western india soon after 1321; spent three years in china between the opening of 1323 and the close of 1328. 1317 pope john xxii's papal bull against alchemical counterfeit spondet quas non exhibent. cistercians ban alchemy. 1323 joseph gikatilla dies 1323 dominicans in france prohi

and studied zoroastrianism, as well as occult teachings, with eliseus, a learned jewish scholar. his followers regarded him as the reincarnation of plato. 1362 d. john of roquetaillade 1363-1437 niccoli, niccol c.1365 judah ben nissim ibn malka(moroccan. commentary on sefer yetsirah mentions that students of this book were given a magical mansucript named "sefer raziel" to study. 1365-1393 "sefer yetzirah "l" paris 764 (1, foll. 1a-3a. paper, written in spanish (n. africa (gruenwald, 136) 1370 william langland's piers plowman criticises alchemists as deceivers. 1375-1425 author of red book of hergest (mabinongion. 1376 the dominican directorium inquisitorum, the textbook for inquisitors, places alchemists among magicians and wizards. 1377: the earliest mention of playing cards. 1379-1439 i

c holland 1380 king charles v the wise issues a decree forbidding alchemical experiments 1383-1440's giorgio anselmi 1385 d. haydar amuli "all the imams are one and the same light, one and the same essence (haqiqa, exemplified in twelve persons" 1385-1441 georges aurach 1388 geoffrey chaucer canterbury tales discussed alchemy in the canon's yeoman's tale 1388 d. telesphorus de cosenza 1390 "sefer yetzirah "k" parma de rossi, foll 36b-38b. italy, 1316/7. short version of tamim (from 9thc. c.1390 the regius poem( halliwell ms) ms. is admitted to be the oldest genuine record of the craft of masonry known..the good clerk euclid taught the craft of geometry full wonder wide" 1391 laventian codex 14 fol. 79 verso-100 recto (florence, medici collection, catalogue plutoeo44. this ms. version of "s

477+ bonifacio bembo 1420 splendor solis manuscript 1423 cards are condemned in a speech made a bologna by st. bernardin of siena. he does not refer to the tarot major arcana 1423-77 townbooks of nuremberg name several women as card-painters. 1425 1495 judah messer leon teacher of yohanan ben isaac alemanno 1431 d. ibn turka ispahani iranian sufi continues suhrawardi's ishraq 1433 or later "sefer yetzirah "n" british museum 600 (l) foll 2a-3b. paper. greece) short recension of tamim 1435 cyriac of ancona, who visited egypt in 1435 and copied a hieroglyphic inscription for niccol niccoli. 1435-1512 marsilio ficino 1435- 1504 yohanan alemanno synthesized averroist, kabbalistic, neoplatonic and renaissance humanist themes; instructing pico della mirandola in hebrew and in kabbalah. 1439- 40 "

cesco della vigna; she explained passages of the zohar to guillaume postel 1549-1550 who believed her to be the holy spirit embodied. together working among the poor at the ospedaletto of venice, which was operated by a confraternity. 1499 (d. after) ibn abi jumhur..12th or, hidden imam, is the pole during the period of occultation" 1499 hypnerotomachia poliphili (written before 1467) 1500 "sefer yetzirah "r" paris 809 (2, foll 93a,-94a. italy. short recension of tamim. 1500 kaf ha-ketoreth "the censer"-apocalyptic commentary written in italy on the psalms as text of the millenium; magical weapons of purification and destruction to annihilate the forces of evil. 1501 d. ibn abi jumhur al-ahsa'i. imami author of kitab al mujli, combined mu'tazilite theology with illuminationist philosophy a

DICTIONARY GLOSSARY OF OCCULT TERMINOLOGY

alistic worlds. assiah: pronounced "ahs-sie-ah" the fourth of the four kabalistic worlds in descending order. it means world of creation. atziloot: pronounced "ahts-ih-loot" it is the uppermost of the four kabalistic worlds. it means the world of archetypes or emanations. b'riah: pronounced "b'ree-yah, it is the second of the four kabalistic worlds in descending order. it means world of creation. yetzirah: pronounced "yeht-sihr-ah" it is the third of the four kabalistic worlds in descending order. it means world of formation. hazard "pure chance" in testing with a standard, plain deck of esp (q.v) cards, the average of right answers which can be expected from a "random" machine or a person of no psychic ability is termed "hazard level" in practice, this is twenty percent (20, or five (5) c

the godhead in the form of ten divine names or spheres of light. a mystical system which is the basis for western religion as well as ceremonial magick. the word is transliterated hebrew, and is spelled in english in several ways including qabala, cabala, etc. there are many different forms of the kabalah. kabalah, dogmatic: the study of books of the kabalah such as the torah (q.v) and the sepher yetzirah (q.v. kabalah, literal: interprets the codes found in hebrew words, especially words found in the torah (q.v) and other mystical books. methods include: gematria (q.v, notarikon (q.v, and temurah (q.v kabalah, practical: refers to kabalistic methods of making talismans (q.v) and amulets (q.v. kabalah, unwritten: that part of the kabalah which deals with the correspondences of the

ious. also called "the higher self" yeheshuah: the pentagrammaton (q.v. the name given to jesus by christian kabbalists during the renaissance, who used it as the supreme word of power (q.v) in their magick and worship. they intended it replace the tetragrammaton (yhvh (q.v) of the jews. yesode: hebrew for "foundation" pronounced "yea-sohd" the ninth (9th) sephirah (q.v) on the tree of life (q.v. yetzirah: the third of the four kabalistic worlds in descending order. it means world of formation. yetzirah, sepher: hebrew for "the book of formation" considered to be the first kabalistic book. re-produced in a.e. waite's (q.v) the holy kabbalah, and s.l macgregor mather's (q.v) the kabbalah unveiled. yhvh: the tetragrammaton (q.v. the ultimate, unpronounceable, supreme name for god/goddess. a

DION FORTUNE MYSTICAL QABALA

in the sand and waving my tail, i will return to the consideration of the matter in hand. 12. the essence of the unwritten qabalab lies in the knowledge of the order in which certain sets of symbols are arranged upon the tree of life. this tree, otz chiim, consists of the ten holy sephiroth arranged in a particular pattern and connected by lines which are called the thirty-two paths of the sepher yetzirah, or divine emanations (see the sepher yetzirah, by wynn westcott. here there exists one of the "blinds" or traps for the uninitiated, in which the ancient rabbis delighted. we find, if we count them, that there are twenty-two, not thirty-two paths upon the tree; but for their purposes the rabbis treated the ten sephiroth themselves as paths, thus misleading the uninitiated. mystical qabal

tzirah, by wynn westcott. here there exists one of the "blinds" or traps for the uninitiated, in which the ancient rabbis delighted. we find, if we count them, that there are twenty-two, not thirty-two paths upon the tree; but for their purposes the rabbis treated the ten sephiroth themselves as paths, thus misleading the uninitiated. mystical qabala page 18 thus the first ten paths of the sepher yetzirah are assigned to the ten sephiroth, and the following twenty-two to the actual paths themselves. it will then be seen how the twentytwo letters of the hebrew alphabet can be associated with the paths without discrepancy or overlapping. with them also are associated the twenty-two tarot trumps, the atus, or abodes of thoth. concerning the tarot cards there are three modern authorities of no

only understand its significance by taking into account the nature of the linked spheres upon the tree. but a sephirab cannot be understood upon a single planc; it has a fourfold nature. the qabalists express this by saying that there are four worlds: atziluth, the archetypal world, or world of emanations; the divine world. briah, the world of creation, also called khorsia, the world of thrones. yetzirah, the world of formation and of angels. assiah, the world of action; the world of matter (see macgregor mathers, the qabalah unveiled) 15. the ten holy sephiroth are held to have each its own point of contact with each of the four worlds of the qabalists. in the atziluthic world they manifest through the ten holy names of god; in other words, the great unmanifest, shadowed forth through th

th it are predominantly female; it is interesting to note in confirmation of our assignation of the holy spirit to yesod that according to macgregor mathers the holy spirit is a feminine force. he says (kabbalah unveiled p. 22 "we are usually told that the holy spirit is masculine. but the word ruach, spirit, is feminine, as mystical qabala page 36 appears from the following passage of the sepher yetzirah 'achath (feminine, not achad, masculine, ruach elohim chum: one is she, the spirit of the elohim of life" when we consider the middle pillar as referring to levels of consciousness we shall find further confirmation of this view. 31. there remains for our final consideration the scphitah malkuth, the kingdom of earth. this sephirah differs from the others in several respects. firstly, it

nslation of the hebrew names given to the four levels into which the qabalists divide manifestation. 18. these four levels permit of yet another grouping of the sephiroth. the highest of these is atziluth, the archetypal world, consisting of kether. the second, briah, called the creative world, consists of chokmah and binab, the supernal abba and ama, father and mother. the third level is that of yetzirah, the formative world, consisting of the six central sephiroth, viz. chesed, geburah, tiphareth, netzach, hod, and yesod. the fourth world is assiah, the material world, represented by malkuth. 19. the ten sephiroth are also conformed into seven palaces. in the first palace are the three supernals; in the seventh palace are yesod and malkuth; and the rest of the sephiroth each has a palace

manifestation; so that just as am soph aur, the limitless light of the unmanifest, concentrated a point, which was kether, and the emanations worked down through increasing grades of density to malkuth, so the malkuth of atziluth is conceived of as giving rise to the kether of briah, mystical qabala page 42 and so on consecutively down the planes, the malkuth of briah giving rise to the kether of yetzirah, the malkuth of yetzirah giving rise to the kether of assiah, and the malkuth of assiah, in its lowest aspect, abutting upon the qliphoth. 3. it is atziluth, however, which is considered the natural sphere of the sephiroth as such, and for this reason it is called the world of emanations. it is here, and here only, that god acts directly and not through his ministers. in briah he acts thr

rise to the kether of assiah, and the malkuth of assiah, in its lowest aspect, abutting upon the qliphoth. 3. it is atziluth, however, which is considered the natural sphere of the sephiroth as such, and for this reason it is called the world of emanations. it is here, and here only, that god acts directly and not through his ministers. in briah he acts through the mediation of the archangels, in yetzirah through the angelic orders, and in assiah through those centres which i have named the mundane chakras-the planets, elements, and signs of the zodiac [page 62] 4. we have, then, in these four sets of symbols a complete system of notation for expressing the mode of function of any given power at any given level, and this system of notation is the basis of ceremonial magic with its names of

sical terms, and according to the name used we know the aspect of divine force in question and the plane on which it is functioning. 6. in the world of briah it is held that the mighty archangels carry out the mandates of god and give them expression, and assigned to the sephirothic spheres on the tree in this world are the names of these ten mighty spirits [page 64] mystical qabala page 43 7. in yetzirah it is the choirs of angels, innumerable in their concourse, who carry out the divine commands; and these also are assigned to their sephirothic spheres, thus enabling us to know their mode and level of function. 8. in assiah, as we have already noted, certain natural centres of force are given similar correspondences. we will consider all these associations when we come to study the sephi

lopment; and one that is peculiarly valuable in that it is equilibrated, for the different aspects of manifestation are, as it were, dissected out and dealt with in turn, nothing being neglected. by the time we have trodden all the paths of the tree we shall have learnt the lessons of death and the devil, as well as of the angel and the high priest. chapter x the paths upon the tree 1. the sepher yetzirah refers to the ten sephiroth theni selves, as well as the lines connecting them, as paths, and justly so, for they are all equally channels of divine influence; but it is usual in practical working to consider the lines between the sephiroth only as the paths, and the sephiroth themselves as spheres upon the tree. this is one of the many tricks and blinds to be found in the qabalistic syst

s paths, and justly so, for they are all equally channels of divine influence; but it is usual in practical working to consider the lines between the sephiroth only as the paths, and the sephiroth themselves as spheres upon the tree. this is one of the many tricks and blinds to be found in the qabalistic system, for if we think of the paths as thirty-two in number, as they are given in the sepher yetzirah, we shall not be able to equate them with the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphabet which, with their numerical value and correspondences, form the key to the paths. 2. each path is said to represent the equilibrium of the two sephiroth it connects, and we have to study it in the light of our knowledge of these sephiroth if we are to appreciate its significance. certain symbols are al

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 1

ben joseph (ca. 50.135 c.e) a jewish rabbi of the first century, who began as a simple shepherd, then became a learned scholar, spurred by the hope of winning the hand of a young lady he greatly admired. according to jewish legend, he was taught by the elemental spirits, was a wonder worker, and at his peak had as many as 24,000 disciples. he was reputed to be the author of a famous work entitled yetzirah (on the creation, which is by some ascribed to abraham, or to adam. an early hebrew edition of the sepher yetzirah was printed at lemberg in 1680: a latin version was printed in paris in 1552. rabbi akiba was a great teacher who developed a rabbinical school at jaffu, and his mishnah became the foundation of the religious code. he was involved in the revolt of bar-cochba against hadrian i

hinduism, where the pairs of opposites like good and evil are regarded as twin poles of a larger reality, where anthropomorphic concepts of god the creator are considered legal fictions for a divine infinity, beyond time, space, and causality. sources: achad, frater. the anatomy of the body of god. chicago: collegium ad spiritum sanctum, 1925. akiba ben joseph rabbi. the book of formation (sepher yetzirah. london: william rider, 1923. angeles, peter a. the problem of god; a short introduction. buffalo, n.y: prometheus books, 1981. arya, ushbarbudh. god. honesdale, pa: himalayan international institute, 1979. brightman, edgar s. the problem of god. new york: abingdon press, 1930. goat encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. 648 goblet d alviella, e. f. lectures on the origin and

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

ng fire. n.p, 1894. the chaldean oracles of zoroaster. london: theosophical publishing society, 1895. egyptian magic. london: theosophical publishing society, 1896. numbers: their occult power and mystic virtue. 1890. reprint, london: theosophical publishing society, 1911. the pymander of hermes. n.p, 1894. rosicrucians, their history and aims. n.p, 1894. the science of alchymy. n.p, 1893. sepher yetzirah, the book of formation. london, theosophical publishing society, 1893. rev. ed. gillette, n.j: heptangle books, 1987. somnium scipionis. n.p, 1894. west indies the importation of africans into the caribbean area as slaves began in the sixteenth century but expanded greatly after 1640 when the islands became a major source of sugar and workers were needed for the plantations. most of these

FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

and occult subjects. i went to see any teacher from any mystical tradition who brought their show to town xand in the late 1960 s and the 70 s there were a lot of shows! i learned and experimented with a wide spectrum of meditation practices, and was blessed with some breakthrough experiences that further fueled my spiritual thirst. at that ripe moment, i found an english translation of the sefer yetzirah (book of formation) published by the work of the chariot trust. the wct edition contained the entire text in the so-called ezra hebrew alphabet, as well as, in a more ancient hebrew alphabet xthe sinatic or gezer hebrew. as soon as i saw the letters of the older alphabet, something resounded very deeply within me. i immediately became obsessed with learning more about the sefer yetzirah a

ncludes with a comparison between the qabalistic teachings regarding the work of creation (ma aseh b reshith) and the work of the chariot (ma aseh merkabah, and contemporary ideas in modern scientific cosmology. chapter two introduces and describes the primary textual sources of the mystical qabalah of the children of abraham. these sources include the sefer hashmoth (book of the names; the sefer yetzirah (book of formation; the seferim hatorah (books of the law; the sefer hazohar (book of splendor, and particularly its three core texts xthe sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed, the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly, and the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assembly; merkabah (lit. throne) literature, including the seferim hachanokh (books of enoch son of yared, the ver

as of modern scientific cosmology to the qabalistic model of the work of creation. the appendices are followed by a glossary of terms. a companion volume to this book will contain the translations published by the work of the chariot trust in the early 1970 s. these translations have been out of print for almost two decades. the contents of the second book will include: e translation of the sefer yetzirah (book of formation) e translation of the sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed) e translation of the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly) e translation of the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assembly) e merkabah passages from the books of ezekiel and isaiah e excerpts from the seferim hachanokh (books of enoch) e translation of the sh ir qoma from the sefer raziel hagado

mposition, and cultural and religious milieus from which abraham came? how was his faith influenced by the cosmologies of the sumerians, egyptians, and canaanites? was 8- f e the original hebrew alphabet developed before abraham s time as a way to alphabetically represent sumerian cuneiform glyphs? or, did it originate in the mystical manual on the hebrew letters ascribed to him, called the sefer yetzirah (book of formation? as the vehicle for a fresh expression of the universal mystical spirituality promoted directly in the face of widespread idol worship, how did abraham and the israelite tribes practice their religion? the life of the early israelites would have had much in common with all nomadic tribes who dwelled in tents under the starry skies of the desert savannas of canaan and th

med into metatron(]vruum).12 the thirteen enochian keys of enoch son of qain are reflected in such works as the book of the sacred magic of abramelin the mage, the greater and lesser keys of solomon, and medieval grimoires such as the armadel, goetia/lemegeton, etc.13 the primary text of the mystical qabalah that appears to occupy a central place of importance in the hermetic qabalah is the sefer yetzirah (book of formation. however, from what is written in many of the books of hermetic qabalah, it is apparent that the structure of the tree of life, nature of the inner court, and function of the lettergates as explicated by the sefer yetzirah are widely misunderstood. the two most prominent contemporary schools of practical or hermetic qabalah are the golden dawn and the ordo templi orient

n christian intellectual circles and ignited an interest in this previously unknown esoteric jewish tradition that spread across italy, germany, and france. in the sixteenth century ce, the appearance of qabalistic texts in latin translation enhanced attempts to draw further parallels between esoteric jewish doctrines and christianity. guillaume postel translated and published the zohar and sefer yetzirah into latin even before they were published in hebrew. latin texts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were influential in standardizing cabala as the spelling commonly associated with the christian perspective to qabalistic doctrines.21 in the seventeenth century ce, the center of christian cabala moved to england and germany, where its status was boosted by the theosophical writi

ission, whereby they either burn out or assume new forms. the universe continues to expand in a four-dimensional space-time continuum until it reaches a point where it starts to contract and return to its original condition. the expansion of the everlasting arms that connect the six directional sefiroth to one another around the periphery of the double pyramid tree of life delineated in the sefer yetzirah, and the movement of the chayot in the chariot of the book of ezekiel allude to the same idea. in the hindu holy books known as the vedas, we find another analogy to modern cosmology in the comparison of the creator to a spider that weaves a web and then retrieves it back into its body. the mentor in the work of the chariot trust speculated further on the correlation between torah b reshi

material has wide regard among contemporary religious students of the jewish kabbalah, and yields some unique forms of the tree of life not found in the earlier primary texts. the work of the chariot study group focused upon the following primary texts: e the sefer hatorah (books of the law, so-called five books of master mosheh) e the sefer hashmoth (book of the names) of master adam e the sefer yetzirah (book of formation, manual on the hebrew letters written by master abraham e the sefer hazohar (book of splendor, five volume exegesis on the torah dictated by rabbi shimeon ben yochai; and more specifically, the zohar s innermost core texts, the sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed, the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly, and the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assemb

k with him. the sefer hashmoth came back into the world again with the covenant of abraham.11 abraham gave the book to ishmael, isaac, and his offspring by his concubines.12 isaac s copy was handed down to master mosheh and was later sealed in the vault of the first temple of jerusalem. buried in the temple vault, access to the book was limited to those who had the psychic skill to see/read it in yetzirah (astral world of formation, and the strength to survive the impact of its power without shattering their shells.13 the powerful sefer hashmoth resurfaced in the early 1970 s, when it was transmitted through the gentleman responsible for the creation of the work of the chariot trust. for a series of nights, he would awaken in the early hours and record the succession of sinatic hebrew divi

d sinatic hebrew, ezra hebrew, and english versions of the sefer hashmoth in 1971-72. most of the working and perfect forms of the tree of life that appeared in those books had never been seen before. the complete list of divine names contained in the work of the chariot edition is provided in appendix a. all of the various trees diagrams are included in the seven chapters of this text( the sefer yetzirah (book of formation) attracts heated debate about its authorship and date of origination. many scholars attribute a medieval or hasmonean date to the book. it is not in the scope of the present work to delineate the varied opinions that attribute a medieval date to the book s inception. the references to the book of abraham in the qur an (see surahs 87:19 and 53:37) may allude to this book

FRANCIS A YATES GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION

cabala, and one of them is "the supreme part of natural magic' pico, opera, p. 105. 2 ibid, loc. cit. 3 ibid, p. 107. 4* 91 pico della mirandola and cabalist magic the cabala' as it developed in spain in the middle ages had as its basis the doctrine of the ten sephiroth and the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphabet. the doctrine of the sephiroth is laid down in the book of creation, or sefer yetzirah, and it is constantly referred to throughout the zohar, the mystical work written in spain in the thirteenth century which embodies the traditions of spanish cabalism of that time. the sephiroth are "the ten names most common to god and in their entirety they form his one great name- they are "the creative names which god called into the world",3 and the created universe is the external d

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

omon ben yehudah ibn gebirol or avicebron, isaac myer, 1888; la kabbale ou la philosophie religieuse des hebreux, ad. franck, 1889. the kabbalah, its doctrines, development, and literature, christian d. ginsburg, second impression, 1920. the holy kabbalah, a. e. waite, 1929. the secret doctrine of israel, a. e. waite, 1913. the history of magic, eliphas levi, 1913. the book of formation or sepher yetzirah, knut stenring, 1923. the zohar in moslem and christian spain, ariel bension, 1932. a garden of pomegranates, israel regardie, 1932. q.b.l. or the bride's reception, frater achad, 1922. the anatomy of the body of god, frater achad, 1925. secret wisdom of the qabalah page 11 chapter i the wisdom of the qabalah the qabalah the qabalah is not a holy book as are the vedas, the bible, and the

the abode of pure spirits; consequently it contains no matter. it is the dwelling of the angel metatron and constitutes the world of angels or spirits. as adam qadmon is the form of the ain soph, metatron is his garment and under his command come the myriads of the angelic hosts of the next world. secret wisdom of the qabalah page 33 plate 5: the zodiacal secret wisdom of the qabalah page 34 (3) yetzirah or the yetziratic world, the world of formation- the ten sephiroth of which represent the angels or intelligences of the stars and planets. the zohar says: for the servants [sephiroth] that serve the holy, blessed be he! it made the throne [the briatic world, and four supports [pillar of mildness] and six steps [pillars of mercy and justice] to the throne, together ten. the whole is like

ony between them and by which man exercises the divine power of judgment. man is, therefore, a living representative of the tree of life, or conversely the tree of life is a pictorial representation of man. to the tree of life each sephirah is both good and evil: good in its relation to the sephirah immediately above it, and evil in its relation to the sephirah immediately below it. in the sepher yetzirah we read the ineffable sephiroth. they are. the infinity of the beginning and the infinity of the end, the infinity of the good and the infinity of the evil. 7 and again: twenty-two basal letters; they are placed together in a ring, as a wall with two hundred and thirty-one gates. the ring may be put in rotation forwards or backwards and its token is this: nothing excels gno= ong= pleasure

om adam qadmon to metatron, the third from metatron to sammael, and the fourth from the angelic sammael to his demoniacal counterpart; for we are told that glife in the present dispensation is cut short through the influence of the evil serpent, whose dominion is symbolized by the darkened moon h. 11 the mention of the gevil serpent h presupposes the existence of a ggood serpent h- the serpent of yetzirah. to simplify this problem it is necessary to enter more deeply into the idea of the fall. sammael of necessity revolts against deity, as symbolized by metatron, and of necessity he is cast out of heaven- that is out of the yetziratic world. in the assiatic world, the world of matter, in order to redeem himself, of necessity he has to tempt the earthly adam. his task there is to cause deat

erpent, gtakes away the souls of all flesh h, 12 that is he liberates them from matter. he is called the angel of venom, of poison, of death; for sam means gpoison h and el means gangel h. his number is 131, that is trinity set between two unities, the whole adding up to 5- the microcosm. his world is now the yetziratic world reversed; that is to say assiah is the simulacrum, shadow, or image, of yetzirah. its three supernal sephiroth are tohu, the formless, bohu, the void, and chshk- darkness. its seven lower sephiroth are seven hells. each of these ten infernal sephiroth is inhabited by a host of demons, of which the first two orders are without form, the third is of darkness, and the remaining seven represent all human vices (activities. these seven infernal halls [or hells] are sub-div

d a separate chamber of torture for every species of sin. the prince of this region of darkness is called satan in the bible. he is the same evil spirit, satan, the serpent, who seduced eve. 13 we are also told that: the ten sephiroth of atziluth have scintillated and brought forth the ten sephiroth of briah, and from the energy of these ten of briah sparkled forth the scintillations of the world yetzirah, and through these the ten sephiroth of the world assiah were sealed. 14 secret wisdom of the qabalah page 40 these are the seals of st. john's apocalypse. thus it is disclosed to us that the god of assiah is the reversed sammael of yetzirah, who is the reversed metatron of briah, who is the reversed adam qadmon of atziluth. in brief, sammael in assiah is the reversed adam qadmon three ti

. john's apocalypse. thus it is disclosed to us that the god of assiah is the reversed sammael of yetzirah, who is the reversed metatron of briah, who is the reversed adam qadmon of atziluth. in brief, sammael in assiah is the reversed adam qadmon three times removed; he is the gdark shadow of the manifestation of the great androgene of good h. 15 he is metatron in an active form, just as when in yetzirah he is metatron in a passive form- the serpent above and the serpent below. he is tetragrammaton reversed; and this was grasped by picus de mirandula when he wrote in his kabbalistic conclusions. the letters of the name of the evil demon who is the prince of this world are the same as those of the name of god. tetragrammaton- and he who knows how to effect their transposition can extract o

phabet. its sound is like the hiss of a serpent, its appearance that of the open mouth of a snake (jaws and tongue, and its numerical value clearly shows its triadic nature; further still, 300, its value, esoterically symbolizes the 300 sephiroth of the three worlds which preceded the creation of the world of matter. though as spiritual fire, or glory, it is the symbol of the shekinah, the sepher yetzirah hints that it also represents transmutation and the devil.23 usually the thirty-first path of the tree of life is referred to it, and according to the 32 paths of wisdom, this path gis called the perpetual intelligence. because it rules the movement of the sun and the moon according to their constitution, and causes each to gravitate in its respective orb h. 24 in other words, it is the e

ormation, reformation, and transformation; activity, passivity, and equilibrium; and good, evil, and deliverance. thus it is not one od but three odin, which to unite must climb the three trunks of the inseparable trees and, interlacing in kether, the crown, reformulate the letter shin, a trinity in unity. thus will it deliver back to tetragrammaton the power he lost in his fall from the world of yetzirah. such is the accomplishment of the messianic act. secret wisdom of the qabalah page 57 the integration of the disintegrated. thus far the mystery of the od, the positive force of jah (yh; next, as to eve, who being possessed of the negative force, the heh, has upset the balance of equilibrium. in the centre of the name of eve is the active and virile vau, the subtle serpent of the third c

rom gthe presence of the lord god h. when questioned, the active force (vau) accuses the passive force (heh, and jah curses the serpent (the messianic force) 4 and assumes his full satanic form by putting enmity into the heart of woman and sorrow into the life of man. then he clothes them in animal desires which are symbolized by the coats of skins. that this is the voice of the fallen sammael of yetzirah there can be no doubt, because tetragrammaton says to eve: gthy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee h; 5 in other words- the passive shall be subservient to the active, which means that equilibrium cannot be established. lastly, tetragrammaton acknowledges the active force by saying: behold, the man is become as one of us [the elohim, to know good and evil; and now

GILBERT AE WAITE A MAGICIAN OF MANY PARTS

theprogression was asfollows:the0=0gradeofneophyte, and1=10gradeofzelator (corresponding to the sephirahofmalkuth on the treeoflife) were in the worldofaction (assiah) and comprised the first order.thenext three grades,of2= 9 theoreticus; 3= 8' practicus; and 4= 7 philosophus; corresponding respectively to yesod,hod,and netzach, comprised the secondorderand were held' to be intheworldofformation (yetzirah; while thethirdorder, in the world of creation (briah, comprised the portalofthethirdorder, and the grades of 5= 6 adeptus minor; 6 =5 adeptus major; and 7= 4 adeptus exemptus, corresponding to the sephiroth tiphereth, geburah, and chesed. there was a portal grade for the fourth order, in the world of the supernals (atziluth),butno rituals for grades corresponding__fratersacramentumregis1

GILBERT THE MAGICAL MASON

of man's nature, the group of planetary bodies, the metallic elements, the zigzag flash of the lightning, and the compositionofthe sacred tetragrammaton.thekabalah91this decad of deific emanations is to be conceived as first formulated on the plane of atziluth, which is entirely beyond our ken; to be reproduced on the plane of pure spirituality briah; to exist in the same decad forminthe world of yetzirah or the formative plane; and finally to be sufficiently condensed as to be cognizable by the human intellect on thefourthplane of assiah, on which we seem to exist.fromour point of view we may regard the tree of life as a type of many divine processes and forms of manifestation,butthese are symbols we use to classifyourideals, and we must not debase the divine emanations by asserting these

iroth of the kabbalah, one proceeding from the other, produce, as they are always designed in visible form, a tortuous path, at once reminding us of the winding staircase. indeed one form of the contemplation of the eternal was described by the kabbalists as ascending by the sephirotic names and descending by the paths. this tortuous path is also like the lightning flash, as is said in the sepher yetzirah or 'book of formations, which has been translated by myself and is now published at bath, and is, perhaps, the oldest monotheistic philosophical tract in exist255 ence. note, the son of god is also spoken of as the 'light of the world. four tassels refer to four cardinal virtues, says the first degree tracing board lecture, these are temperance, fortitude, prudence, and justice; these aga

r, is named in isaiah xiv. 12. apollyon, is the greek for abaddon. of female devils, the chief are: lilis or lilith, called the first wife of adam. nahemah or naamah, mother of asmodai, sister of tubal cain. agereth, daughter of machalath. machalath, wife of samael.thekabalistic theosophy teaches that from god emanated the four worlds: atziluth, of emanations. briah, of pure spirits and creation. yetzirah, of forms; and finally assiah, of matter. in this last place is the visible world, and man; and the devils dwell in its lowest and most gross layers, seven of them, they are the abodes called hells; and in them dwell also the shells of the wicked dead of mankind.thebiblical satan rules in them under his title of samael. with him in power is his female companion asheth zenunim or the woman

, the lion's grip is the attraction of the magnet, and the eagle's wings are types of the far-reaching flashes of the electric fluid. ezekiel's additional imagery of the wheel has supplied the enigma of the wheel of past ellus, intimately connected with the156themagical masontetrad of god; hisrota, the latin word for which is also torah, the hebrew 'law, and taro the mystical keys of the paths of yetzirah, and 22 trumps of the tarot cards, the lost book of the secrets of hermes trismegistus, as levi names it. but one book of hermes is with us still, the words of the 'emerald tablet' are still in our possession; it speaks of the great magical agent, or wonder-working creative god power 'its father is the sun, its mother is the moon, and the wind carried it in its belly, and its nurse was th

th his three sons, shem, japhet, and ham, who peopled the four quarters of the ancient world.thelater kabalists referred the four letters ihvh again to the human relations of father, mother, son and daughter, and to birth, life, death and resurrection: the four letters also to the river of eden, euphrates, hiddekel, gihon and pison, and the four spheres of creation, the worlds of atziluth, briah, yetzirah, and assiah. grseco-roman mythology had four rivers in itshell-styx,acheron, cocytus and phlegethon. in this matter of rivers, w.j. colville ends an analogy with four parts of the arterial system of the human body: springing from the heart is first the innominate artery feeding the right side, then the left carotid artery, then the left sub-clavian, and lastly the descending aorta, feedin

corpus sariraofmanhebrew kabalistic egyptian emblems.,atziluth an axe of green jade, yechidah yod kether neter a god or deified manira shining form (but briah may be good or bad) neshamah khou heh ph bi sahu is doubtful ba the soul as a bird with a flying upward ruach ren is the name and char- acter, knowing which one has power over,geb chs another tiph vau ab the heart as the the vehicle of the yetzirah hati passional element i-nepheith- net hod nepheshiesodthe dark or hidden sekhem one, or power of the god ka, the personality; man with tzelem arms up. a shadowmkhaibitform-afan malkuth heh assiah guph khat a limp dead fishfinalmaterial man28. man's bloodandgenerationthe german rosicrucian theosophist, rudolph steiner, the author of several very instructive books in regard to man's origin

GILBERT THE SORCERER AND HIS APPRENTICE

hings entrusted to himself alone; that, after the fall, this book was taken back into heaven; that after many prayers and tears god restored it to adam; and that it passed from adam to seth.thebook being lost, and the mysteries contained in it almost forgotten, in the degenerate age preceding the flood, they were restored by special revelation to abraham who transmitted them to writinginthe book 'yetzirah; and that the revelation was renewed to moses, who received a traditionary and mystical as well as athekabbalah17written and preceptive law from god. accordingly the jews believe, that god gave to moses on mount sinai, not only the law,butalso the explication of that law; and that moses, after his coming down, retiring to his tent, rehearsed to aaron both the one and the other. when he ha

he ruachelohim, formulate the eternal pronunciation of. the ineffable name: that name which the rabbins of old have said rllsheth through the universe;thatname before which rolled back the darkness at the birth of the morning of time. the flame-red triangular capitals which crown the summits of the pillars represent the triune manifestation of the spirit of life, the 'three mothers' of the sepher yetzirah, the three alchemical principles of nature, the sulphur, the mercuryandthe salt, and each pillar is surmounted by its own light-bearer, though veiled from the material world. the hieroglyphical figures upon the pillars are taken from the vignettes of the 17th and 125th chaptersofthe 'ritual of the dead' theegyptian'per-m-hru. this celebrated and48 the sorcerer and his apprenticemost ancie

we could see at a glance that it contained the real secret of the tarot, however ingenuous the theories advanced by levi and etteila had seemedtillthen.thetwenty-two atus ofthoththetarottrumpsandthegenuineattributiontothehebrewalphabetandthepathsofyetzirah,etc.[fromtheancienta:.0:.cyphermss]learn now, 0 practicus of our ancient order the true mean255 ing ofapcl 225thirty and two are the paths of yetzirah, the ten sephiroth, the twenty and two letters. the ten sephiroth are the ten numbered cards of each suit; the four suits are the four worlds; the sixteen" cards are the fourfold tetragrammaton; the twenty and two letters are the twenty andtwo**atus or mansions of thoth. the twenty-two letters are divided into three mothers, seven doubles and twelve simples; three elements, seven planets

the incarna" tion of christ, thosewhobelieved that here was the prophesied fulfilment of the pleroma banished the 7 great gods from their position of being worshipped; the 7 being now included in one, as returning to the primitive unity. there is again another aspect of that. these 7 belong to the four planes: the archetypalplaneof atziluth;thephysic plane, or plane of briah; the planeofformation,yetzirah; and267267 the material plane .assiah-.this may be illustrated as follows: a sculptor desiring to make a great statue first conceives of it in his mind- the first plane, atziluth. he then conceives of a picture, or something of that kind, which he may sketch. on paper, or perhaps onlyseeas.a mental picture; that isa.further materialising of the idea, bringing it into form, though not yet

first conceives of it in his mind- the first plane, atziluth. he then conceives of a picture, or something of that kind, which he may sketch. on paper, or perhaps onlyseeas.a mental picture; that isa.further materialising of the idea, bringing it into form, though not yet concrete and visible form, and that is the second plane, briah. he then proceeds to makeaclay model; that is the third plane, yetzirah. his conception is then incarnated in the permanent. marble, where it istoremain, and that is thefinal plane of assiah, the most materialofall. andthuswegetthe four. now the four is also, as willbefoundinagreat many books on occultism, the number oftheletters of the great name of god inhebrew-yod, he, vall, he. there is a peculiarity there, for there are onlythreeletters really, the he be

ave, and knight; and these four correspond, the king to the active or energising force, the queen to the passive or receptive force, and the knight to the juncture, the union, completing the triangle. the knave or squire(ger255man, knabe)is the term of transition. these again refer not only to the letters of the great name,butto the four worlds orthescience of numbers169planes of atziluth, briah, yetzirah, and assiah. assiah, the lowest of all, is the key corresponding to the 4 knaves of the court cards; and these knaves are the terms of transition, as the material world is the term of transition standing midway between the divine world, which is above and the world of demons which is below. the 3, which is supernal, and the 4, which is human, constitute together the 7 principles, the high

GNOSTIC STUDIES THE GNOSTIC HANDBOOK II GNOSTIC THEURGY

on a more tangible level, the dimension from which the source of light originates. this is the goal for those on the celestial path. the seven planes. four worlds traditional lifeforms (rosicrucian (kabbalah. divine plane. atziluth. source of all light. plane of virgin spirits. atziluth. gods. plane of divine spirit. briah. arch angels. plane of life spirit. briah. arch angels. plane of thought. yetzirah. angels. desire plane. yetzirah. angels. physical world. assiah. human spirits. from briah through to assiah there are mixtures of light and darkness due to the alpha event. accordingly there are destructive as well as constructive arch angels, demons as well as angels and fallen spirits as well as human spirits. fig 5 gnostic theurgy page 28 the plane of virgin spirits this is also known

e. it is the dimension where the forces and archetypes take creative solidity and manifest. on a human level, it is the dimension of high level intuition and cosmic awareness. the plane of the divine spirit and the plane of the life spirit are equivalent to the kabbalistic world of briah. traditionally the alpha event caused the fall of everything below the world of atziluth. the worlds of briah, yetzirah and assiah all contain mixtures of light and darkness. however, it is in the desire and the physical planes that the dialectic has gained the most influence. the plane of thought this is also known as the mental plane. here the flood of energy takes the form of reason and thought, the ground plane are formulated and laid. gnostic theurgy page 29 the desire plane the desire plane is also k

is also known as the emotional or astral plane. in some traditions it is also seen as the reflective sphere or astral light. the division between the thought and desire plane is not as clear as it seems and intermingling occurs between them both, the lower reaches of both planes are nearly totally dialectally controlled. the planes of thought and desire are equivalent to the kabbalistic world of yetzirah. the physical plane is the kabbalistic world of assiah, the fallen world of matter. now i realise these descriptions are far from satisfactory, however it is very difficult to define alternate realities without reference to other subjects which we have not covered as yet. since the gnostic system is self referencing, we have a situation where each truth is dependant on an understanding of

seven planes. four worlds. lifeforms. rosicrucian kabbalah traditional static. divine plane. atziluth. source. static. plane of virgin spirits. atziluth. gods. static. plane of divine spirit. briah. arch -angels. static. plane of life spirit. briah. arch -angels. dialectic. plane of infernal spirit. briah. arch-demons dialectic. plane of death spirit. briah. arch-demons static. plane of thought. yetzirah. aeons. dialectic. plane of thought. yetzirah. archons. static. desire plane. yetzirah. angels. dialectic. desire plane. yetzirah. archons. static physical world. assiah. human spirits. dialectic. physical world. assiah. fallen forces. fig 9 static systems mixed systems chasm gnostic theurgy page 38 this barrier cannot be crossed by those who are governed by dialectic law and this include

e through his instincts (the soul) and through his mind (ruach) and constructs a little sense of self from these experiences. however, neither of these offer a truly discrete, individual identity. the kabbalistic structure of man body. description. world& description. god-name. yechidah. potential self atziluth- word of gods. yod. ruach. personality. briah- creative world. he. nephesh. instincts. yetzirah- etheric world. vau. guph. physical body. assiah- physical world. he. fig 11 gnostic theurgy page 46 hence the yechidah only exists in potential, as a possibility and, i am afraid, in most cases is never realised. ultimately then, cessation of existence, after a cycle of lives and many lost opportunities, becomes the end for most of humanity. when man descended into the fallen world of ma

en kingdoms- expect trouble. it is not possible to achieve a state of perfect balance, for we are exiles in an gnostic theurgy page 71 the bodies, mind and related titles mind, planes and worlds the mind. the planes. the worlds. self. divine. atziluth. anima/animus. monadic. atziluth. collective unconscious. spiritual. briah. collective unconscious. intuitive. briah. personal unconscious. mental. yetzirah. rational mind. emotional. yetzirah. cellular consciousness. physical. assiah. seven bodies levels of the psyche. hebrew titles. self. self. yechidah. mediator self. anima and animus. neschamah& chiah spiritual soul. collective unconscious. higher ruach. psychic soul. collective unconscious. intermediate ruach. animal soul. personal unconscious. lower ruach. astral body. rational mind. ne

breeches in the emanation scheme. there is the great chasm or abyss between the supernals and the lower seven centres, and the lesser veil or paroketh which divides the lower tree from the higher spiritual dimensions. the supernals form the treasury of light in the world of atziluth, while below everything is a mixture of static and dialectic, aeons and archons. in briah and the upper reaches of yetzirah the forces are fixed, in the lower reaches of yetzirah (the astral) there is the strongest dialectic presence. the chasm or abyss is of great significance to the gnostics. it is the division between the light world and the archons, it is described variously as a wall, palisade, turnstile and portal. it is seen as the great divide or barrier (horos, and is said to be bounded with an embank

demiurge. the abyss is both a doorway and a seal, it tests and also destroys. the twenty two paths each of the ten sephira is connected to the others by a sequence of paths. while there are many different forms these paths take, the most accepted system is that shown in fig 24. each of these paths is attributed to a hebrew letter according to the kabbalistic tradition first outlined in the sepher yetzirah. to each of these paths a mass of correspondences may be added; colours, sounds, godforms, animals, images and so on. according to one tradition the tarot cards can be attributed to these paths as well. the minor cards (1-10) are attributed to the sephira, the king, queen, prince and page (princess) cards are attributed to chokmah, binah, gnostic theurgy page 95 tiphareth and malkuth and

seen as the four stages of the secret formula of the israelites, the tetragrammaton of yhvh. each symbolises a facet of the emanation process, in modern terms, they could be seen as initiation, transmission, fixation and manifestation or as archetypal, creative, formative and materials. they are also attributed to the four elements. atziluth. fire. yod. initiation. briah. water. he. transmission. yetzirah. air. vau. fixation. assiah. earth. he (final. manifestation. there a number of ways in which they can be related to the tree of life. the way we favour is to relate each world to the trinities of sephira, and assiah to malkuth. this can be extended so that there is a further tree of life in each world, thus formulating forty centres. in this second attribution the whole tree of life in a

ion. there a number of ways in which they can be related to the tree of life. the way we favour is to relate each world to the trinities of sephira, and assiah to malkuth. this can be extended so that there is a further tree of life in each world, thus formulating forty centres. in this second attribution the whole tree of life in atziluth is the treasury of light, while the lower trees in briah, yetzirah and assiah are mixed. the supernals in the lower mixed trees are the more refined phases of the mixed worlds. atziluth. fire. kether, binah and chokmah. briah. water. chesed, geburah and tiphareth. yetzirah. air. netzach, hod and yesod. assiah. earth. malkuth. atziluth: the world of fire this is the world of the treasury of light, it is the pleroma, the source of initiative energy forces

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS U1

man which can truly say- hyha, i am. this is but the rtk of assiah of the microcosm, that is, it is the highest part of man as man. it is that which toucheth the manifestor of the higher and greater range of being. this yechidah is, at the same, the higher human self and the lower genius- the god of man, the atziluth of his assiah, even as the chiah and the neschamah form his briah, and ruach his yetzirah. this is the higher will and the divine consciousness, as tud is the spiritual consciousness, trapt, the human consciousness, and dwsy the automatic consciousness. it is the divine consciousness because it is the only part of man which can touch the all-potent forces. behind yechidah are archangelic forces of which the yechidah is the manifestor. it is, therefore, the lower genius or vice

n human, and thus gradually raise and unite myself to my higher and divine genius, and that in this event, i will not abuse the great power entrusted unto me" note that this clause answereth unto trapt, seeing that it is the lower will that must apply itself unto this work because it is the king of the physical man. all of the shining ones (whom we call angels) are microcosms of the macrocosms of yetzirah, even as man is the microcosm of the macrocosm of assiah. all archangelic forms are microcosms of the macrocosms of briah, and the gods of the sephiroth are consequently the microcosms of the macrocosm of atziluth. therefore apply this perfecting to the spiritual nature as the preparation of the pathway for the shining light, the divine light. the evil persona of man is in the sphere of t

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS ZAM2

ithin the center of the name hwhy. it has also been interpreted as: igne natura renovatur integra; igne natura renovando integrat; igne nitrum roris invenitur; intra nobis regnum dei" j.s.m. ward, in his book on free masonry and the ancient gods, provides us with yet more understanding of the letters: i.n.r.i. hebrew hebrew element element i y yam n n n nur o r r ruach m i y yebeshas l the sepher yetzirah gives us a deeper and more profound meaning for inward meditation by assigning the astrology to the keyword: i.n.r.i. hebrew astrology i y f n n h r r a i y f! f is the pure virginal state of nature. this sign relates unto the great goddess isis! h is the sign of death and regeneration. it is also a sign of energy in that ?ruleth. this sign relates to apophis, the greek for set, the slaye

GOLDEN DAWN RITUALS ZAM8

ons and polygrams. the point within the circle, the primordial point, is a representation of rtk. much can be said about this primordial point, for in it is the potential of all things and of no thing. all things emanate from the primordial point, and all things end at the primordial point. the cross within the circle is attributed to hmkj. here, we have the root of wisdom according to the sepher yetzirah. thus, the cross within the circle is a representation of all things and no thing in perfect harmony and balance, as well as unity. hnyb is represented by the triangle inside the circle. the triangle is the only lineal figure in which all the surfaces can be reduced. what we are saying here is that every polygon can be divided into triangles by simply drawing lines from its angles to its

GRERALD SCHUELER AN ADVANCED GUIDE TO ENOCHIAN MAGICK

ir correspondences. cosmic water is somewhat like physical water. for example, it is reflective, and expressive. both can be easily molded into any desired shape. but the similarities can only be stretched so far. the golden dawn taught the qabalistic doctrine of four worlds or planes as follows: 1. atziluth, the divine world of archetypal ideas. 2. briah, the creative world of the archangels. 3. yetzirah, the astral world of angels and demons. 4. assiah, the physical world, the lowest and most material. these bear striking sinnilarities to the enochian earth, water, air, and fire tablets. you must always remember that the earth tabeet refers to the etheric plane rather than to our physical world. in the same way, the hebrew qabalah equates the lowest sephira, malkuth, with our planet eart

to the body in order from the head to the feet. the exact correspondence depends on the number of letters in the name. to build up a telesmatic image, you can either use your magical imagination to construct it in the etheric or astral planes, or you can draw it on paper first, one part at a time. the golden dawn divided these images into four types, depending on the world (i.e, atziluth, briah, yetzirah, or assiah. in general, kings, seniors, and governors should be considered archetypal and therefore, telesmatic figures cannot apply. archangels and kerubic angels are creative and original. telesmatic figures only apply to these in a restricted sense. for example, they should be shadowy and barely discernible. the greater and lesser angels of the watchtowers, however, are formative. tele

GREY W G CONDENSATION OF KABBALAH

all the spheres. 2. briah or creation wherein originated consciousness became somewhat more defined by individual archetypes known as archangels, one per sphere into clearer categories like- a light sky, a hard metal, a wet ocean. then originated and created consciousness was handed over to whole specialist orders of intelligences called angels, one type per sphere into the next condition of: 3. yetzirah or formation. here everything gets shaped and formed into the likeness of what it was supposed to become such as light sky over the earth, hard metal of iron under the earth, wet ocean of salt sea in the earth. lastly the processed consciousness was produced as some time-space-event in physical terms at the world of 4. assiah orexpression. here things become located with very definite pla

GRIFFIN DAVID MAGICAL EVOCATION OF THE AVERSE FORCES

ehicle for magical evocation. these hierarchies descend through all four of the qabalistic worlds and onward into the realm of the averse forces. unto aziluth, the highest of the four qabalistic worlds corresponds a divine name attributed unto each sephirothic, zodiacal, planetary, and elemental force. likewise, unto briah, the next descending world, corresponds the name of an archangel, and unto yetzirah, the name of an angel or choir of angels presiding over each of the forces. unto assiah, the lowest qabalistic world corresponds a name for the sphere of the operation of each force, and in the infernal realm beyond assiah corresponds the name of an averse force. thus we find in the tree of life an excellent model and vehicle for use in magical evocation. preparation for evocation magical

idering it as a wave and others by considering light as a particle. we may thus gain new insight into the nature of demons by considering the averse forces as subjective forces within the psyche of the magician. these complexes exist beyond the threshold of consciousness, beyond the light of reason so to speak, in the darkness of the psyche. in qabalistic terms, the four worlds of aziluth, briah, yetzirah, and assiah, with their corresponding gods, archangels, and angels are forces of light. they exist in the light of consciousness. the averse forces, qlippoth, spirits, and demons are unconscious forces, which exist in the dark realm beyond our conscious awareness. indeed, the demons are but the "shadows of the gods" a lotus flower opens gracefully in the light, but its root grows in the d

KARR DON NOTES ON EDITIONS OF SEFER YETZIRAH IN ENGLISH

s your purpose better. the important part is just to finally and completely let go of your intention, so that the energy can be recycled in whatever form the creative force and your own consciousness will allow. out of this release, new the basics of magick get any book for free on: www.abika.com 38 lives, new opportunities, and new magical opportunities are bogh20073 1 notes on editions of sefer yetzirah in english don karr sefer yetzirah (book of formation, hereafter sy) is the oldest known speculative treatise in hebrew. there are three prime recensions of sy: short, long, and one somewhere in between called the saadian recension (in that it was the basis of saadia s commentary of the early tenth century* even the longest of these contains something less than 2500 words. the date of sy

ts on the origins of sefer yesirah (in aleph: historical studies in science and judaism, no. 2 (2002, edited by gad fruedenthal, indiana university press, at http//inscribe.iupress.org/loi/ale; see also wasserstrom s comments in between muslim and jew: the problem of symbiosis under early islam (princeton: princeton university press, 1995, pages 126-133. further, refer to wolfson s summary, sefer yetzirah: linguistic mysticism and cosmological speculation, which is a section of jewish mysticism: a philosophical overview, in history of jewish philosophy, edited by daniel h. frank and oliver leaman (london new york: routledge, 1997. don karr, 1991, 1994; updated 2001-7. email: dk0618@yahoo.com all rights reserved. license to copy this publication is intended for personal use only. paper copi

cketed or parenthetical words, and explanatory remarks in regular type. what we get is an earnest effort upon a rather terse version of sy (which, for instance, omits the predominations of the letters from chapter 4. the notes and additions are more helpful than intrusive, and where he is unsure, edersheim nobly places a question mark next to his variant renderings. westcott, william wynn. sepher yetzirah. the book of formation and the thirty-two paths of wisdom, translated from the hebrew. bath: robert h. fryar, 1887; 2nd revised edition: london: theosophical publishing society, 1893; 3rd edition: london: j. m. watkins, 1911; reprinted new york: samuel weiser, 1975; reprinted san diego: wizards bookshelf, 1990 (this edition adds notes from mme blavatsky s works. fourth revised edition, wi

account of the derivatives of the letters, and a general resume. papus follows sy with not only the thirty-two paths of wisdom but also the fifty gates of understanding. the fifty gates is a hierarchic list of features of the universe; papus version is derived from athanasius kircher s oedipus agyptiacus (3 volumes, rome: 1652-5. papus section on sy concludes with an essay, the date of the sepher yetzirah by dr. sair a.c. which advances the notion that sy is from the patriarchal age or earlier on the basis that scholars have not proven otherwise at least not to the satisfaction of subscribers to the occult tradition* papus rendering of eser sefirot belimah (a phrase which opens a series of statements in sy, chapter 1) is the ten sephiroth, excepting the ineffable. it must be conceded that

sirah, white county [ga: 1896) is mentioned. i have not seen it. given the time and place of this publication, it does seem that this p. davidson is peter davidson (1837-1915) of the hermetic brotherhood of luxor; see godwin, chanel and deveney: the hermetic brotherhood of luxor (york beach: samuel weiser, inc, 1995. mordell, phineas. the origins of the letters and numerals according to the sefer yetzirah. the present thesis appeared in the jewish quarterly review, new series for april 1912 vol. ii, and for april 1913 vol. iii. published by dropsie college philadelphia pa. supplement: a solution of the pythagorean number philosophy. copyright 1922 by phineas mordell. reprinted, new york: samuel weiser, 1975. mordell s thesis regarding sy contains notions which are difficult to credit: the

ah. the present thesis appeared in the jewish quarterly review, new series for april 1912 vol. ii, and for april 1913 vol. iii. published by dropsie college philadelphia pa. supplement: a solution of the pythagorean number philosophy. copyright 1922 by phineas mordell. reprinted, new york: samuel weiser, 1975. mordell s thesis regarding sy contains notions which are difficult to credit: the sefer yetzirah, as the earliest hebrew grammar, contains the fundamental rules of hebrew orthography. according to the sefer yetzirah, there are ten double letters, and not only seven, as is believed by all commentators since saadya. in spite of the numerous works written on hebrew orthography since the beginning of the tenth century, there is not one which may be considered as really based on the hebre

works written on hebrew orthography since the beginning of the tenth century, there is not one which may be considered as really based on the hebrew [on which the sy is based. many more troubling statements could be quoted; however, i shall leap to mordell s conclusion: already abraham abulafia perceived that the pythagorean number philosophy is identical with the sefiroth philosophy of the sefer yetzirah. the relation they bear to each other is variously explained. a. f. thimus shares the view that the pythagorean philosophy is an adaptation from the sefer yetzirah. others hold that the author of sefer yetzirah borrowed his philosophy from pythagoras and plato. would it be to [sic] bold to conclude that sefer yetzirah represents the genuine fragments of philolaus? mordell develops his the

s and translations put the number of double letters of the hebrew alphabet at seven* it is puzzling that, out of all the possible translations, david meltzer chose mordell s quirky rendering to represent sy in the secret garden. alas, this is not the only doubtful aspect of this well-circulated anthology. see below, the second) note on page 8. 20073 7 stenring, knut. the book of formation (sepher yetzirah) by rabbi akiba ben joseph including the 32 paths of wisdom, their correspondences with the hebrew alphabet and the tarot symbols, with an introduction by arthur edward waite. philadelphia: david mckay co, 1923; reprinted new york: ktav publishing house, 1970. stenring refers to his own work as a word-for-word translation from the hebrew. he used a number of sy texts to construct his vers

hich, such as the works of mme. blavatsky and eliphas levi, are notoriously unreliable. with hall, we come to the end of a cycle of fairly frequent productions of sy in english. between hall s translation and the next one reviewed here (that of work of the chariot, 1971, there is a lapse of over forty years. falling between are two translations, neither of which have i seen: doreal, dr. m. sepher yetzirah. the book of creation. a verse by verse analysis. denver: brotherhood of the white temple, 1941. listed in sheila spector s jewish mysticism: an annotated bibliography of kabbalah in english (new york/london: garland publishing, inc, 1984) under the history of kabbalah, f. merkabah mysticism and jewish gnosticism; doreal= f15) raskin, saul. kabbalah in word and image, with the book of cre

1941. listed in sheila spector s jewish mysticism: an annotated bibliography of kabbalah in english (new york/london: garland publishing, inc, 1984) under the history of kabbalah, f. merkabah mysticism and jewish gnosticism; doreal= f15) raskin, saul. kabbalah in word and image, with the book of creation and from the zohar. new york, academy photo offset, inc, 1952* listed in aryeh kaplan s sefer yetzirah [discussed below] under translations/ english; and in spector s bibliography, where it is listed twice (1) under introductory surveys= c7 (2) under the history of kabbalah, f. merkabah mysticism and jewish gnosticism= f17* waite s version of the thirty-two paths can be found in the holy kabbalah, pp. 213-219* this item came up for sale on ebay (november 2004; the display page provided num

KARR DON NOTES ON THE STUDY OF EARLY KABBALAH JEWISH MYSTICISM IN ENGLISH

ich precipitate it. see below, page 4 1.b. haskell, ellen. metaphor and symbolic representation: the image of god as suckling mother in thirteenth century kabbalah. ph.d. dissertation, chicago: university of chicago, 2005. see especially chapter four, gsuckling as spiritual transmission in early kabbalistic literature. h gthe texts presented in this chapter, isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yetzirah, the early kabbalistic volume sefer ha-bahir, and ezra of gerona fs commentary on the song of songs, will be examined in order to reveal the exegetical dynamics and theological concerns that prefigure the powerful imagery of sefer ha-zohar, in which the image of god as a suckling mother expresses an emotionally rich and textured form of spiritual communication. h (p. 167) 20081 3 formativ

KNOWLEDGE LECTURE FIVE

ally to tiphareth. malkah the queen and kalah the bride are titles of malkuth when considered as the spouse of zauir anpin, the microprosopus. the letters of the name yhvh contain these meanings: yod is referred to abba. heh to aima. vau to zauir anpin. heh (1) to malkah. these letters are also referred to the four worlds and the four suits of the tarot thus: yod atziluth wands heh briah cups vau yetzirah swords heh (f) assiah pentacles there are ten sephiroth in each of the four worlds. each sephirah has its own ten sephiroth making 400 sephiroth in all- the number of the letter tau, the cross, the universe, the completion of all things. the tarot is referred to the tree of life in the following manner. the four aces are placed on the throne of kether. the remaining small cards of each su

KNOWLEDGE LECTURE THREE

soul. ruach- the middle part, answering to six sephiroth from chesed to yesod, inclusive. and to the mind and reasoning powers. nephesch- the lowest, answering to malkuth, and to the animal instincts. neschamah itself is further divided into three parts: yechidah- is referred to kether. chiah- is referred to chokmah. neschamah- is referred to binah. the three classes of hebrew letters the sepher yetzirah divides the hebrew alphabet into three classes of 3, 7, and 12 letters. three mothers wma seven doubles trpkdgb twelve singles qxisnlyeczvh the holy place of the temple embraces the symbolism of the 22 letters. the table of shew-bread, the single letters. the altar of incense are the three mother letters. astral spirits are those belonging to the astral plane. such are false and illusiona

me are good and some are evil. an angel is a pure and high spirit of unmixed good in office and function. in the tarot, the ten small cards of each suit refer to the sephiroth. the four suits refer to the letters of yhvh. wands to yod, cups to heh, swords to vau, and pentacles to heh (final. these four suits also refer to the four worlds of the qabalah. wands to atziluth, cups to briah, swords to yetzirah, and pentacles to assiah. the honours of the tarot pack are, as it were, the vice-gerants of the great name (yhvh, in the qabalistic world to which each suit is referred. they also symbolize father, mother, son, daughter; birth, life, death, resurrection. the fylfot cross the 17 squares out of a square of smaller squares, refer to the sun in the twelve signs of the zodiac and the four ele

KNOWLEDGE LECTURE TWO

ity, archangel and angelic host attributed to it. the twenty-two paths are bound together by the serpent of wisdom. it unites the paths but does not touch any of the sephiroth, which are linked by the flaming sword. the flaming sword is formed by the natural order of the tree of life. it resembles a flash of lightning. together the sephiroth and the twenty-two paths form the 32 paths of the sefer yetzirah, or book of formation. the two pillars on either side of the altar represent: active: the white pillar on the south side. male. adam. pillar of light and fire. right kerub. metatron. passive: the black pillar on the north side. female. eve. pillar of cloud. left kerub. sandalphon. the second meditation let the zelator meditate on a straight line. let him take a ruler or pencil and by movi

zelator grade. let him meditate upon the earth triplicity, visualizing the symbols of a bull--a virgin--a goat which stand for kerubic earth--mutable earth--cardinal earth. for the above ideas consult a simple astrology manual. make notes of the ideas and pictures which arise in your mind. the four worlds of the qabalah are: atziluth, archetypal pure diety twlyxa briah, creative archangelic hayrb yetzirah, formative angelic hryxy assiah, action matter, man, shells, demons hycu the ten houses, or heavens, of assiah, the material world, are: 1. primum mobile, rashith ha gilgalim \ylglgh tycar 2. sphere of the zodiac, mazloth twlzm 3. sphere of saturn, shabbathai yatbc 4. sphere of jupiter, tzedek 'qdx 5. sphere of mars, madim \ydm 6. sphere of the sun, shemesh cmc 7. sphere of venus, nogah h

LEADBEATER CW GLIMPSES OF MASONIC HISTORY

resents a growth of many centuries under the influence of many types of thought- jewish, gnostic, neo-platonic, greek, arabic and even persian- and it has never been fully translated into any european language. it consists of certain great texts written in hebrew and aramaic, and a mass of commentaries upon them compiled by jews of many lands and many ages. the most important texts are the sepher yetzirah, which explains the mystic meanings underlying the hebrew alphabet, and erects a vast system of mystical and occult speculation upon the combinations and permutations of the various letters; and the sepher ha zohar, or book of splendour, which is a medley of history and legend, of fable and of fact, of mysticism and fantastic speculation which, like all such literature, contains priceless

irteenth. they became known to the educated people of europe about the time when speculative masonry was beginning to emerge into the light of day (that is during the seventeenth century) through various latin works, the chief of which are baron knorr von rosenroth s kabbala denudata, the oedipus aegyptiacus of athanasius kircher, the de arte cabalistica of reuchlin and a latin translation of the yetzirah. as bro. a. e. waite, our chief authority in this field, has pointed out: 301. the written jewish tradition presupposes throughout a tradition which did not pass into writing. the zohar, for example, which is its chief memorial, refers everywhere to a great body of doctrine as something perfectly well-known by the circle of initiation for which the work was alone intended(*secret traditio

LIBER 141

n to toy with any hypothesis, investigating as probability may determine us to do. thus we may assume an ether or akasa, inflamed or stressed by a particular prana. and all stresses in this akasa being of one kind ultimately, though mediately diverse, it may be as easy to arrest the course of the earth as to destroy a worm. for the work is taking place in a world of causes fluid and not solid, in yetzirah (or even briah) rather than in assiah. it will be impossible or very difficult to move infantry from one wing of the engaged line to the other, but in the quarters of the staff it is indifferent whether that body, being at the base, is pushed forward to either. one cannot easily oxidize gold precipitated from the chloride, but having the chloride, it is easy to prepare the oxide rather th

od all things are possible" however, god himself is not found to interfere arbitrarily with the course of nature, but to work within his laws. let the adept act not otherwise. ix of the course of the moon, and her influence it is said that the second party is useless, even dangerous, when the influence of the moon first shews itself [yet the motion of the earth, implying great causes in briah and yetzirah, must be difficult to check, unless by briatic forces of much intensity] but on the second day and after, though perhaps not on the last day, the sacrament is more efficacious than at any other time, as is figured by our ancient brethren the alchemists in their preference of the red tincture to the white. this we also believe, though we hold it hitherto not proven. x of the second party t

LIBER 777

96 hot and dry b 8 10 32 the serpent of wisdom follows the course of the paths or letters upwards, its head being thus in a, its tails in t. a, m, and c are the mother letters, referring to the elements; b, g, d, k, p, r, and t, the double letters, to the planets; the rest, single letters, to the zodiac. 528. 9 10 32 bis. cold and dry e. 31 bis. table i (continued) 5 xiii. the paths of the sepher yetzirah. xiv. general attribution of tarot. xv* the king scale of colour (y. 0. 1 admirable or hidden intelligence the 4 aces brilliance 2 illuminating i. the 4 twos kings or knights pure soft blue 3 sanctifying i. the 4 threes queens crimson 4 measuring cohesive or receptacular i. the 4 fours deep violet 5 radical i. the 4 fives orange 6 i. of the mediating influence the 4 sixes emperors or prin

mcj chashmalim wxr lkyh h. ratzon 7 \yhla laysw usiel \yklm malakim \ymc \xu lkyh h. etzem shamaim 8 pxm laynsh hisniel \yhla ynb beni elohim hnwg lkyh h. gonah 9* lawhy yehuel \ycy ishim 1010 ynda-la lakim michael \ylara aralim rypsh tnbl .h h. lebanath ha- saphir lxxxviii. translation of col. lxxxvii. lxxxix* the revolutions of hyha in briah xc. the 42-fold name which revolves in the palaces of yetzirah. xci. the saints or adepts of the hebrews 0. 1 hyha ba messias filius david 2 yhha yg mosheh 3 palace of the holy of holies hhya xf enoch 4 p. of love ayhh fcurq abraham 5 p. of merit yahh ckydgk jacob 6 p. of benevolence yhah gtxrmb elijah 7 p. of the substance of heaven hyah unmmqh mosheh 8 p. of serenity hayh qzplgy aaron 9 hhay yqc joseph (justus) 1010 palace of crystalline whiteness

david 2 yhha yg mosheh 3 palace of the holy of holies hhya xf enoch 4 p. of love ayhh fcurq abraham 5 p. of merit yahh ckydgk jacob 6 p. of benevolence yhah gtxrmb elijah 7 p. of the substance of heaven hyah unmmqh mosheh 8 p. of serenity hayh qzplgy aaron 9 hhay yqc joseph (justus) 1010 palace of crystalline whiteness ahhy hahy ydc la tyu david, elisha xcii. the angelic functions in the world of yetzirah. xciii. the heavens of assiah. xciv. english of palaces (col. xciii. 0. 1 2 3 above it stood the seraphim: six wings twbru araboth plain 4 six wings wkm makhon emplacement 5 one: with two wum maon residence 6 he covered his faces: and with two he covered lwbz zebul dwelling 7 his feet and \yqjc shechaqim clouds 8 with two he was flying. uyqr raquia firmament 9 1010 and one cried to the ot

ces: and with two he covered lwbz zebul dwelling 7 his feet and \yqjc shechaqim clouds 8 with two he was flying. uyqr raquia firmament 9 1010 and one cried to the other and said: holy, holy, holy, lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory \ymc wlyw lbt tebel vilon shamaim veil of the vault of heaven table of correspondences 22 xcv. contents of col. xciv. xcvi* the revolutions of hwhy in yetzirah. xcvii. parts of the soul. xcviii. english of col. xcvii. 0. 1 hwhy hdyjy yechidah the self 2 whhy hyj chiah the life force 3 blessings, all good things hhwy hmcn neshamah the intuition 4 snow, rain, spirit of life, blessings hywh 5 angels singing in divine presence ywhh 6 altar, mikhael offering souls of just wyhh 7 millstones where manna for just is ground for future whyh 8 sol, luna, p

nmyt mch husham of temani 6 wyhfyf titahion pit of destruction belphegor awyj tywu ddh hadad of avith 7 twmyruc shaarimoth gates of death yadmca hqrcm hlmnc samlah of masrekah 8 twmla tzelmoth shadow of death adramelek laylb tybhr lwac saul of reheboth 9 tylyl nh lub baal-hannan 1010 \nhyg gehinnom hell hmun wup rdh hadar of pau cix (continued* the dukes of edom. cx. elements and quarters (sepher yetzirah. cxi. sephirothic colours (dr. jellinek. 0. 1 \yyj \yhla hwr concealed light 2. air sky blue 3. water and earth yellow 4 hmbylha aholibamah fire white 5 hla elah height red 6 kyp pinon depth white-red 7 znq kenaz east whitish-red 8 myt teman west reddish-white 9 laydgm and rxbm mibzar and magdiel south white-red-whitsh-red-reddish-white 1010 \ryu eram north the light reflecting all colour

]yra long of face. ymwy the ancient of days [also name of seven inferiors] hyha rca hyha existence of existences. yqytud aqytu ancient of ancient ones. acydq aqytu holy ancient one. fwcp rwa the simple light. yrmfd hrymf concealed of the concealed acyr the head ymynp rwa the inner light wylu the most high awh he. ald acyr the head which is not. line 2. chokmah has additional titles: hmjk power of yetzirah.1 y of tetragrammaton. ba aba it has also the divine name, hwhy. line 3. binah has these additional titles: ama the dark sterile mother. amya the bright pregnant mother \yhla \yhla hwhy divine names. aysrwk throne. line 4. chesed has this additional title: hmjk majesty. line 5. geburah has these additional titles: yd justice. djp fear. line 6. tiphereth has these additional titles: ypna r

kings and dukes as in the printed edition, i have split this column. for daath add king bela son of beor (rwub b ulb) and dukes timnah (uamt, alvah (hwlu) and jetheth (tty. col. cx. line 1. ruach elohim chayyim, the spirit of the living gods. the first edition of 777 had as a subtitle \yyj \yhla hwr tja, achath ruach elohim chayyim( one [is] the spirit of the living elohim, a line from the sepher yetzirah which adds to 777. cols. cxii cxiii. these sets of attributions were extracted by the golden dawn from the first volume of kabbala denudata. the symbols in 7 and 8 apparently represent hermaphroditic brass. col. cxiv. the numbers are an addition; each password adds to the mystic number of the sephirah corresponding. vide col. x. col. cxv. the entries in this column were originally given a

in s cabalistic encyclopedia. cols. clxvii clxxi. a completely different set of names for the dekans and the gods referred to them may be found in budge s gods of the egyptians, vol. ii pp 304-310. i am unaware of crowley s source for these attributions: generally the names seem at the very least somewhat hellenized. notes to crowley s notes 1 because jk= koch, power, and hm is the secret name of yetzirah (vide col. lxiv. 2 i.e, the hebrew word for ten. 3 the g.d. qliphoth lecture as published by zalewski, etc) has wdba, abaddon; crowley s reading matches that in kabbala denudata (tom. i. pars. iv. fig. xvi (y; although this entity is there described as innominatus, nameless or unnamed; unnamable would be innomindandus (cf. the magnum innominandum mentioned by h. p. lovecraft in the whispe

western occultists (the version printed by kircher is not proportioned to a 60 mesh as the modern version is; stirling in the canon argues that kircher s figure is rather proportioned so a vesica can be inscribed in it, the points in kether and malkuth, and the sides touching the left and right pillars. other tree of life arrangements are discussed by aryeh kaplan in his translation of the sepher yetzirah, and in an appendix to the third edition of godwin s cabalistic encyclopedia. appendix: the yi king transliterations of chinese names follow the system used by legge in sacred books of the east, which is not in general current use. in particular, note that consonants have different phonetic values when italicised (k is thin (tenuis) modified guttural consonant, kh aspirated thin modified

LIBER CLXV A MASTER OF THE TEMPLE

onditions. o.m] 9 [this examination is a subtle compliment, amounting almost to flattery. it is a much harder paper than would be set in most cases. o.m] the equinox 170 (c) discover by visions the nature of the alchemical principles, sulphur, mercury, and salt. how do they differ from the 3 gunas, and the elements fire, water, air (d) give an account of the sign aquarius in the 4 worlds, assiah, yetzirah, briah, and atziluth (e) visit and describe fully the qliphoth of aries (f) visit lophiel and hismael, and report their appearance, mode of life, and conversation. observe. the a\ a\ work throughout is definite and directed. there is no room for a single loose thought (3) you must be perfectly stern and austere about the sanctity of the work. you wouldn t allow your wife to come to the of

LIBER HHH

s based on these three .enthusiasms. 6 to explain this piece of qabalistic analogic: the divine names hyha and hwhy, having as they do the letter-pair hy in common, may be combined to give a single six-letter name hwhyha, which is said to unite microprosopus and macroprosopus (it enumerates to 32, the total number of paths and sephiroth, the number of the .paths of wisdom. mentioned in the sepher yetzirah. next, since h is the letter of the mother, we substitute for the three h.s the three .mother letters. of the hebrew alphabet, a, m and c, giving awmyca (or some permutation thereof, which enumerates to 358, the number of cjn, nechesh, a serpent (e.g. in gen. iii, and jycm, messiach, the anointed one. the three mother letters are referred to the three chapters of liber hhh as indicated, a

LIBER LVII

ut we hear nothing of the mother in the ordinary religions of the day. but in the qabalah we find that the ancient of days conforms himself simultaneously into the father and the mother, and thus begets the son. now, this mother is elohim. again, we are usually told that the holy spirit is masculine. but the word jwr, ruach, spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the sepher yetzirah \yyj \yhla rwr tja, achath (feminine, not achad, masculine) ruach elohim chayyim .one is is she the spirit of the elohim of life. now, we find that before the deity conformed himself thus.i.e, as male and female.that the worlds of the universe could not subsist, or, in the words of genesis (i, 2 .the earth was formless and void. these prior worlds are considered to be symbolized by the .k

he second world is the britic world, hayrbh \lwo, olahm ha-briah, the world of creation, also called aysrwk, korsia, the throne. it is an immediate emnation from the world of atziluth, whose ten sephiroth are reflected herein, and are consequently more limited, though they are still of the purest nature, and without any admixture of matter. the third is the yetziratic world, hryxyh \lwo, olahm ha-yetzirah, or world of formation and of angels, which proceeds from briah, and though less refined in substance, is still without matter. it is in this angelic world where those intelligent and incorporeal beings reside who are wrapped in a luminous garment, and who assume a form when they appear to man. the fourth is the assiatic world, hycoh \lwo, olahm ha-assiah, the world of action, called also

we could more easily read anm. to sacrifice to death is folly. lkt. thy kingdom shall be fortunate, for it is just. crp the tower of thy glory shall endure until the last days. there! that didn.t take two minutes; and belshazzar would have exalted us above daniel. similarly al, god, may be interpreted .his folly is justice. as it is written .the wisdom of this word is foolishness with god. or, by yetzirah .the air is his balance. as it is written .god made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. or by meaning .the ox and the goad. i.e .he is both matter and motion. we here append a sketch ms by frater p, giving his explanation by tarot, etc, of the letters of the alphabet spelt in full. 28 liber lviii mystic readi

umber of fixed law, 4 10, tetragrammaton, the lesser countenance immutable in the heaviness of malkuth. 41 \a, the mother, unfertilised as unenlightened. 42. ama, the mother, still dark. here are the 42 judges of the dead in amennti, and here is the 42-fold name of the creative god. see liber 418. 44 \d, blood. see part ii. here 4 11= the corruption of the created world. 45. hm, a secret title of yetzirah, the formative world \da, adam, man, the species (not .the first man. a is air, the divine breath which stirs \d, blood, into being. 49. a number useful in the calculations of dr dee, and a mystic number of venus. 50. the number of the gates of binah, whose name is death (50= n= by tarot .death. 51. a, pain. an, failure \wda, the country of the demon kings. there is much in the qabalah ab

erial 3, the spiritual 7, and all cancelling to zero. also \lc= peace. 400. the letter t .the universe. it is the square of 20 .the wheel of fortune. and shows the universe as the sphere of fortune.the samsara-cakkram, where karma, which fools call chance, rules. 400 is the total number of the sephiroth, each of the 10 containing 10 in itself and being repeated in the 4 worlds of atziluth, briah, yetzirah, and 55 [the canon: an exposition of the pagan mystery perpetuated in the cabala as the rule of all the arts; by william stirling. first published anonymously, london: elkin matthews, 1897] 38 liber lviii assiah. these four worlds are themselves attributed to hwhy, which is therefore not the name of a tribal fetish, but the formula of a system. 401. ta .the. emphatic, meaning .essence of

his number. in reality it is the final extension of the number 6, both because 6 111([la= 111= 1= 6, and because the sun, whose greatest number it is, is 6 (i here interpolate a note on the .mystic numbers. of the planets. the first is that of the planet itself, e.g. saturn, 3. the second is that of the number of squares in the square of the planet, e.g. saturn, 9. the third is 56 [see the sepher yetzirah. t.s] 57 [in equinox i (2, or regardie (ed) the golden dawn. t.s] 58 [see the golden dawn z1 document. t.s] on the qabalah 39 that of the figures in each line of the .magic square. of the planet, e.g. saturn 15. a .magic square. is one in which each file, rank, and diagonal add to the same number, e.g. saturn is 8 1 6, 3 5 7, 4 9 2, each square being filled in with the numbers from 1 upwa

had never examined it and so had acquiesced in it as accursed. when it was brought by a messenger whose words proved true, i then understood it as an attack on the 4 by the 11 .without shedding of blood(\d= 44) there is no remission. also since the messenger could teach this, and prophecy, it added credit to the adept who sent the message. 45. useful as the number of man \da, identified with hm, yetzirah, the world of formation to which man aspires as next above assiah. thus 45 baffles the accuser, but only by affirmation of progress. it cannot help that progress. 52. amya and b. but orthodoxy conceives these as external saviours; therefore they serve no useful purpose. 60. like 30, but weaker .temperance. is only an inferior balance. 120, its extension, gives a better force. 65. fully de

ght rbd= 206, deber, voice. the vision and the voice. a phrase which meant much to me at the moment of discovering this word [by taking each alternate letter] 205= rbg, mighty 213= ryba, mighty this shows abrahadabra as the word of double power, another phrase that meant much to me at the time. a a a a r a d b h b (3) baa at the top of the hexagram gives ba, amya, b, father, mother, child. rdh by yetzirah gives horus, isis, osiris, again father, mother, child. this hexagram is again the human triad. dividing into 3 and 8 we get the triangle of horus dominating the stooping dragon of 8 heads, the supernals bursting the head of daath. also a r b a a a a h d r b the supernals are supported upon two squares: daba= dd, love, 8. arha= rwa, light, 207. now 8 207= 1656= 18= yj, living, and 207= 9

LIBER LXXVIII

LIBER MMCMXI NOTE ON GENESIS

the paths whereby the forces of the three (see second symbol) were concentrated into four, we find they read 1+ 4= 5, 2+ 4= 6, 3+ 4= 7. and thus is revealed the second triangle of the hexagram of creation* further, this reflected triangle showeth forth the evol-ution of the four worlds and their consolidation: for 1+ 2+ 3+ 4= 10= y= atziluth 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5= 15= hy= briah 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6= 21= why= yetzirah 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 7= 28= 2+ 8= 10 assiah the number 28, the total numeration, therefore represents malkuth, the tenth sephira: assiah made manifest.the work of creation accomplished: wherefore god rested on the seventh day. and 28 is 7 4, the seven stars shining throughout the four worlds* as it is written in the path of the child of the sons of the mighty .and the chaos cried aloud for t

these balanced figures together make 16, whereof the key is 7; the total number of letters in the third symbol. then we have left at either end 4 and 6= 10* the perfection of the sephiroth, as if to declare that this verse from, beginning to end thereof reflected the voices from kether even unto malkuth: and 6- 4= 2 again, the central will, b, thoth, in the heart of the universe (as* vide sepher yetzirah for this division of the holy sephiroth into a hexad and a tetrad. liber mmcmxi 12 in the centre of the verse. note, then, this perfect equilibrium of the verse, and remember that mystery.that equilibrium is strength. let us now look at the letters themselves. counting them, we find that the two central ones are am, the supernal mother; even as the number of letters had the dual symbol in

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

of paracelsus--palingenesis--hermetic theories concerning the cause of disease--medicinal properties of herbs--the use of drugs in the mysteries--the sect of the assassins. 109 the qabbalah, the secret doctrine of israel the written and unwritten laws--the origin of the qabbalistic writings--rabbi simeon ben jochai--the great qabbalistic books--the divisions of the qabbalistic system--the sepher yetzirah. 113 fundamentals of qabbalistic cosmogony ain soph and the cosmic egg--the qabbalistic system of worlds--the qabbalistic interpretation of ezekiel's vision--the great image of nebuchadnezzar's dream--the grand man of the universe--the fifty gates of life. 117 the tree of the sephiroth the thirty-two paths of wisdom--the greater and the lesser face--kircher's sephirothic tree--the mystery

to writes that it is needful for the philosopher to know how the seven circles beneath the first one are arranged according to the egyptians. the first triad of fire denotes life; the second, water, over which rule the ibimorphous divinities; and the third, air, ruled by nephta. from the fire the heavens were created, from the water the earth, and air was the mediator between them. in the sephira yetzirah it is said that from the three originate the seven, i. e, the height, the depth, the east, the west, the north, and the south, and the holy temple in the center sustaining them all. is not the holy temple in the center the great throne of the many-formed spirit of nature which is shown in the middle of the tablet? what are the seven triads but the seven powers that rule over the world? ps

numerous medi val qabbalists devoted their lives to the practice of ceremonial magic. the transcendentalism of the qabbalists is founded upon the ancient and magical formula of king solomon, who has long been considered by the jews as the prince of ceremonial magicians. among the qabbalists of the middle ages were a great number of black magicians who strayed from the noble concepts of the sepher yetzirah and became enmeshed in demonism and witchcraft. they sought to substitute magic mirrors, consecrated daggers, and circles spread around posts of coffin nails, for the living of that virtuous life which, without the assistance of complicated rituals or submundane creatures, unfailingly brings man to the state of true individual completion. those who sought to control elemental spirits thro

whole forty years, but received lessons in it from one of the angels* moses also initiated the seventy elders into the secrets of this doctrine and they again transmitted them from hand to hand. of all who formed the unbroken line of tradition, david and solomon were most initiated into the kabbalah (see the kabbalah) according to eliphas levi, the three greatest books of qabbalism are the sepher yetzirah, the book of formation; the sepher ha zohar, the book of splendor; and the apocalypse, the book of revelation. the dates of the writing of these books are by no means thoroughly established. qabbalists declare that the sepher yetzirah was written by abraham. although it is by far the oldest of the qabbalistic books, it was probably from the pen of the rabbi akiba, a.d. 120. the sepher ha

es de le n. the probability is that moses de le n himself compiled the zohar about a.d. 1305, drawing his material from the unwritten secrets of earlier jewish mystics. the apocalypse, accredited to st. john the divine, is also of uncertain date, and the identity of its author has never been satisfactorily proved. because of its brevity and because it is the key to qabbalistic thought, the sepher yetzirah is reproduced in full in this chapter. so far as is click to enlarge the seventy-two names of god. from kircher's oedipus gyptiacus. this rare cut shows the name of god in seventy-two languages inscribed upon the petals of a symbolic sunflower. above the circle are the seventy-two powers of god according to the hebrew qabbalah. below two trees, that on the left bearing the symbols of the

in the power, magnitude, and actual substance of the sidereal bodies, and also revealed the mystical constitution of the planet itself. the fifth, or magical qabbalah, was studied by such as desired to gain control over the demons and subhuman intelligences of the invisible worlds. it was also highly valued as a method of healing the sick by talismans, amulets, charms, and invocations. the sepher yetzirah, according to adolph franck, differs from other sacred books in that it does not explain the world and the phenomena of which it is the stage by leaning on the idea of god or by setting itself up as the interpreter of the supreme will. this ancient work rather reveals god by estimating his manifold handiwork. in preparing the sepher yetzirah for the consideration of the reader, five separ

reader, five separate english translations have been compared. the resulting form, while it embodies the salient features of each, is not a direct translation from any one hebrew or latin text. although the purpose was to convey the spirit rather than the letter of the ancient document, there are no wide deviations from the original rendition. so far as known, the first translation of the sepher yetzirah into english was made by the rev. dr. isidor kalisch, in 1877 (see arthur edward waite) in this translation the hebrew text accompanies the english words. the work of dr. kalisch has been used as the foundation of the following interpretation, but material from other authorities has been incorporated and many passages have been rewritten to simplify the general theme. at hand also was a m

rial from other authorities has been incorporated and many passages have been rewritten to simplify the general theme. at hand also was a manuscript copy in english of the book of the cabalistick art, by doctor john pistor. the document is undated; but judging from the general type of the writing, the copy was made during the eighteenth century. the third volume used as a reference was the sepher yetzirah, by the late win. wynn westcott, magus of the rosicrucian society of england. the fourth was the sepher yetzirah, or the book of creation, according to the translation in the sacred books and early literature of the east, edited by prof. charles f. horne. the fifth was a recent publication, the book of formation, by knut stenring, containing an introduction by arthur edward waite. at hand

s the sepher yetzirah, or the book of creation, according to the translation in the sacred books and early literature of the east, edited by prof. charles f. horne. the fifth was a recent publication, the book of formation, by knut stenring, containing an introduction by arthur edward waite. at hand also were four other copies--two german, one hebrew, and one latin. certain portions of the sepher yetzirah are considered older and more authentic than the rest, bur the controversy regarding them is involved and nonproductive that it is useless to add further comment. the doubtful passages are therefore included in the document at the points where they would naturally fall. the sepher yetzirah, the book of formation chapter one 1. yah, the lord of hosts, the living elohim, king of the univers

, two nostrils, and the mouth. 8. note. knut stenring differs from other authorities in his arrangement of the planets and days of the week in the following seven stanzas. kircher has still a different order. rev. dr. isidor kalisch, wm. wynn westcott, and the sacred books and early literature of the east adopt the following arrangement. click to enlarge the hebrew letters according to the sepher yetzirah. in the central triangle are the three mother letters from which come forth the seven double letters--the planets and the heavens. surrounding the black star are the signs of the zodiac symbolized by the twelve simple letters. in the midst of this star is the invisible throne of the most ancient of the ancients--the supreme definitionless creator. p. 116 1st. he caused the letter (b) to p

MATHERS MACGREGOR THE GREATER KEY OF SOLOMON VOL 2

rciful, and the eternal, who liveth and reigneth throughout the ages. amen. the end of the key of solomon the king. book two page 123 ancient fragment of the key of solomon. translated from the hebrew by eliphaz levi; and given in his "philosophie occulte" serie ii, page 136. i will now give unto thee the key of the kingdom of the spirits. this key is the same as that of the mysterious numbers of yetzirah. 84 the spirits are governed by the natural and universal hierarchy of things. thrice command three through the medium of three. there are the spirits of above, those of below, and those of the center; then if thou investest the sacred ladder, if thou descendest instead of ascending, thou wilt discover the counter-hierarchy of the shells, or of the dead spirits. know thou only that the pr

ra, i have sought out and obtained in my lot the holy chokmah, which is the wisdom of adonai. and i have become king of the spirits as well of heaven as of earth, master of the dwellers of the air, and of the living souls of the sea, because i was in possession of the key of the hidden gates of light. i have done great things by the virtue of the schema hamphorasch, and by the thirty-two paths of yetzirah. number, weight, and measure determine the form of things; the substance is one, and god createth it eternally. happy is he who comprehendeth the letters and the numbers. the letters are from the numbers, and the numbers from the ideas, and the ideas from the forces, and the forces from the elohim. the synthesis of the elohim is the schema. the schema is one, its columns are two, its powe

MICHAEL WYNN THE SOUL TRAVELERS

he rulers of those universes. in the kabala, the universe is divided into 10 parts, each called sephirah, and these 10 sephirah are further divided into 4 worlds and constitute a separate universe, each containing its own ruler and inhabitants. the 4 worlds, in which the 10 sephirah are divided into, are: atziluth, the divine world of archetypal ideas; briah, the creative world of the archangels; yetzirah, the astral world of angels and demons; assiah, the material world. in the kabala, and occult in general, the universe is seen as series of layers where energy, originating from the top, cascades downwards becoming increasingly solid. each layer represents a slightly more solid reflection of the contents of the layers above. since this energy is constantly flowing down through the worlds

MORALS AND DOGMA

ison. pain, in the human being, is a feeling or sensation. it must be _produced. to produce it, there must be, not only the _capacity_ to _produce_ it, in the nerves, but also the _power_ of _generating_ it by means of that capacity. this generative power, the passive capacity which produces, and the pain produced, are like hakemah, binah, and daath. the four worlds or universals, aziluth, briah, yetzirah, and asiah, of emanation, creation, formation, and fabrication, are another enigma of the kabalah. the first three are wholly _within_ the deity. the first is the universe, as it exists potentially in the deity, determined and imagined, but as yet wholly formless and undeveloped, except so far as it is contained in his emanations. the second is the universe in idea, distinct within the de

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 1

ut the tenth achor b achor back to back panim b achor face to back& achor b panim back to face panim b panim face to face a point under yesod malchut keter malchut the desire for kingship the sefirot of malchut thought, speech& action of speech the divisions& combinations of the letters of speech abba yasad barta the father founded the daughter the combinations of the six days of creation briyah, yetzirah& asiyah in general the masach the screen, between atzilut& briyah the source of the masach the expansions of the holy name the lower unity the world of briyah creation the world of yetzirah formation the world of asiyah action everything that g-d desired he did hechalot u malachim the chambers& angels kelipat nogah the intermediary shell olam hashafel the lowly world part two: contemplati

their interrelationships with each other, the intellect, the desire and the self, we must first understand several important matters in regard to lights and vessels. the zohar states that "he and his life force are one" and "he and his organs are one "he and his life force are one" refers to the lights of the sefirot, and "he and his organs are one" refers to the vessels of the sefirot. the sefer yetzirah calls the lights of the ten sefirot "the ten sefirot without whatness (esser sefirot blee mah. in other words, the lights themselves are beyond form or description. as we learned above, the essential light is a quintessential singularity which is beyond description altogether. it is specifically the vessels which give description and tangible existence to the lights. this will now be expl

mah) founded the daughter (speech, we see that the source of speech is actually higher than the source of thought (binah, only "lends the clothing to the daughter) why then does thought precede speech? furthermore, a human being is called a "speaking soul" or "speaking spirit. why is this so if we see that thought precedes speech by several years? the reason for this is because as stated in sefer yetzirah "the beginning is bound up with the end and the end with the beginning. therefore speech, which is the end, is bound up with the beginning (chochmah. furthermore, from this we see that something which essentially is higher descends further down. the example for this is a very large bonfire, whose light can be seen at a great distance. in contrast the light of a small fire will not be visi

, the thought descends further and further through all the above levels until it finally comes out in revealed thought, enclothed in the emotions of the heart, which is called leah. these three levels, thought, speech and action, are also included on the level of leah, as explained (generally speaking, these three levels of thought, speech and action, correspond to the worlds of briyah (creation, yetzirah (formation) and asiyah (action. thought corresponds to the world of creation, as mentioned above that thought is like a creation of something from nothing. speech corresponds to the world of formation, and of course, action corresponds to the world of action. from an even broader, more general perspective, adam kadmon is called "the man of creation (adam d briyah. atik yomin and arich anp

ught corresponds to the world of creation, as mentioned above that thought is like a creation of something from nothing. speech corresponds to the world of formation, and of course, action corresponds to the world of action. from an even broader, more general perspective, adam kadmon is called "the man of creation (adam d briyah. atik yomin and arich anpin are called "the man of formation (adam d yetzirah, and zeir anpin is called "the man of action (adam d asiyah. through the contemplation of this matter one may come to an understanding of a great many details in the chaining down of the worlds (seder hishtalshelut) all the way from the "essential thought, until the "action of thought of zeir anpin) intellectual thought, malchut of tvunah machshevet sechel it is self understood that the s

peech and action, because the speech of a king is tantamount to an action. if a king commands something with his mouth, it happens, as stated "dvar melech shilton (the word of the king rules. the sefirot of malchut from the above, we may now understand how malchut of atzilut which is "the end of all levels (sof kol dargin) is g-d s desire and pleasure to be king over the created worlds of briyah, yetzirah and asiyah (creation, formation and action. now, in order for this kingship to be realized, there must be a tzimtzum and a separation between atzilut and the created worlds. this is called a masach (screen, and will be discussed later. from the above, we may also gain insight into the statement in sefer yetzirah that "the beginning is bound up with the end, and the end is bound up with th

food, it will turn into a dog. the combinations of these letters come from malchut of atzilut. this will now be explained. the combinations of each of the six days of creation correspond to the six emotional sefirot of malchut of atzilut. for example, the combinations of the first day "yehi ohr (let there be light, correspond to the aspect of influencing kindness (chesed) to the worlds of briyah, yetzirah and asiyah (creation, formation and action. in contrast, the combinations of the second day "yehi rakiya (let there be a firmament) correspond to an influence of gevurah etc (each of these qualities is the source for a millennium of influence to the created worlds of briyah, yetzirah and asiyah, as stated "one thousand years is like a day etc" the six thousand years of this world are draw

this is the meaning of the verse "everything that g-d desired he did. being that he created nature and is infinitely above it, he is not bound by any of its rules and can change them at will, all the way from the essential desire before the tzimtzum, to malchut of malchut of atzilut, and even lower, all the way down until the final physical actualization in this physical and lowest world. briyah, yetzirah and asiyah in general before we continue to explain the next part of the creation and expression of g-d, let us first have a general overview of the next three worlds, briyah, yetzirah and asiyah (creation, formation and action. in general, these three worlds are known by the acronym biy"a. generally, the world of atzilut corresponds to the general sefirah of chochmah. the reason for this

is is because atzilut itself is still totally bound up with the essence, and is therefore still considered to be part and parcel of the infinite world of total g-dliness. furthermore, just as chochmah is called "ain (nothingness) and binah is called "yesh (somethingness, this applies likewise, to the world of atzilut relative to the lower worlds which follow it. in contrast, the worlds of briyah, yetzirah and asiyah generally correspond to thought, speech and action. briyah corresponds to thought, yetzirah corresponds to speech and asiyah corresponds to action. as was explained before, it is only in these realms of thought, speech and action, where "somethingness" arises. being that binah represents comprended thought, it is called yesh (somethingness. likewise, the six emotions are felt e

ness. likewise, the six emotions are felt emotions of the heart, and malchut is the "revealed world" of action or speech. therefore, they too are in the realm of somethingness (because of this sense of somethingness, it is in these three worlds that evil arises, as will be explained later) the masach screen, between atzilut and briyah we will now explain the chaining down of the worlds of briyah, yetzirah and asiyah (creation, formation and action. however, we must first understand the partition between atzilut and briyah. this partition is called the masach (screen. it is stated that malchut of atzilut breaks through the screen, thus becoming the keter of briyah (this was explained earlier that the influence from the malchut (speech) of the upper world becomes the motivating desire (keter

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 2

r, chochmah is likewise called a yesh (something) relative to its depth, as stated "chochmah is found from "nothingness. be understanding with wisdom, and wise in understanding from the above, we understand that there are different depths within the intellect, such as the depth and source of chochmah (insight) and the depth and source of binah (comprehension. this clarifies the statement in sefer yetzirah "be understanding in wisdom, and wise in understanding" this statement refers to binah of chochmah and chochmah of binah. be wise in understanding, refers to chochmah of binah (insight of comprehension. this is the innovative insight into the subject of one s study. as explained above, this is the automatic result of the analysis into the particulars of the subject matter in which he clar

RABBI MOSHE WISNEFSKY APPLES FROM THE ORCHARD THE ARIZAL ON THE PARASHAH

bavitch media center. all rights reserved. in everlasting memory of rabbi yosef y. kazen, pioneer of torah, judaism and jewish information on the web 11 parashat bereishit the first verse in the torah literally reads gin the beginning, g-d created the heavens and the earth. h the verb in this verse, gto create, h refers to the second of the four worlds, atzilut( gemanation h, beriah( gcreation h, yetzirah( gformation h, and asiyah( gaction h. the torah does not [here] speak about the world of atzilut, but rather the world of beriah. the torah is therefore called gthe torah of beriah. h and therefore the torah begins with the letter beit, for the alef (which is the first letter) alludes to atzilut [which is both the first world and begins with the letter alef, while the letter beit (which i

to the world of beriah both because its numerical value is 2 and because it is the initial of the word beriah. it is also known that gima nests in the [world of the] chariot. h1 this is another reason why the torah begins with the letter beit, for beit is the first letter of binah. it is stated in the zohar that abba nests in the world of atzilut; ima in the world of the chariot; z feir anpin in yetzirah, and nukva d fzeir anpin in asiyah. beriah is called here gthe world of the chariot h because the divine chariot that figures in the vision of ezekiel is identified with this world. the partzufim referred to here are the partzufim of atzilut; the meaning is that abba of atzilut nests in atzilut, while ima of atzilut descends and rests in beriah, and so forth. all this simply means that, a

s self-awareness that he uses to evaluate the effect of his insight. this self-awareness is what distinguishes the world of beriah from the world of atzilut. in beriah, for the first time, there is such a thing as self-awareness or self-consciousness; the beings that exist in this world are aware of themselves as entities distinct from g-d. the same paradigm applies to z feir anpin with regard to yetzirah and nukva d fzeir anpin with regard to asiyah. this is why the world was created in tishrei, which is [an expression of the idea contained in the verse] ghis left hand is under my head. h2 for abba is always [associated with] the right side, and ima the left. the letters of the word for gin the beginning h [bereishit, beit-reish-alef-shin-yud-tav] may thus be rearranged to spell gon the f

nd the half of the year it ushers in is thus clearly an expression of g-d fs left hand (cf. g-d as judge on rosh hashanah, etc, while nisan and its halfyear are an expression of g-d fs right hand. this is also why [in the entire account of creation] the name elokim is mentioned 32 times. for the 32 pathways of abba are 32 names havayah, while in ima they are 32 names elokim. it is stated in sefer yetzirah that there are 32 gpathways of chochmah. h3 the simplest understanding of these pathways is that they are the ten sefirot and the 22 letters of the hebrew alphabet, i.e, ideas and their means of expression. the two principle names of g-d, havayah and elokim, are associated with chochmah and binah, respectively. this is because the name elokim, whose numerical value (86) is the same as tha

e beit [the first letter] of bereishit[ gin the beginning h [the dagesh inside the letter] alludes to gthe point in its palace, h i.e [the state in which] abba and ima are equal and together. the dagesh (point) inside the beit alludes to chochmah, the gpoint h or gdrop h of insight surrounded and encompassed by the three-line (i.e, three-dimensional) letter beit itself, alluding to binah. 3 sefer yetzirah 1:1. 4 psalms 111:10; proverbs 4:7. the arizal on parashat bereishit 13 as we have mentioned previously, chochmah and binah have a gsymbiotic h relationship. the insight of chochmah, if not processed by binah, will disappear and be forgotten, since it was not integrated into the individual fs mental structures. on the other hand, if binah is left to pursue its analysis unchecked, it is li

ngs h exist in every world. as we have discussed previously, the seven kings of edom who are all referred to as having ruled and died allude to the midot of tohu whose vessels broke. the sparks of tohu gfell h into the subsequently created worlds of tikun (the four mentioned above, the most sublime elements remaining in atzilut, the less refined falling to beriah, the even less refined falling to yetzirah, and the least refined falling to asiyah. this is the mystical meaning of the next verse, gthe earth was without form and void, h referring to the shattering of the vessels. we must therefore read this verse as if the verb were in the pluperfect: gthe earth had been without form and void, h i.e, the world of tohu had previously collapsed, losing its stability (form) leaving sparks in all

nother bowl. the bowl of perfect fruit becomes the world of atzilut. the second bowl now contains only grade b, c, and d apples. gd removes all the grade c and d apples from this bowl, which then becomes the world of beriah, and puts them in a third bowl. the third bowl contains only grade c and d apples. g-d removes the grade d apples, leaving a bowl of grade c apples, which becomes the world of yetzirah. the bowl into which the grade d apples have been placed is the world of asiyah) similarly, in the six days of creation of this world, g-d first created the lower types of creatures, the mineral world. to do this he had to separate out the lowest, coarsest elements from the creation-soup he had to work with from the first day. the creation-soup left was thus gpurified h from all the eleme

-name that rectified [reality. 1 psalms 53:4. the arizal on parashat bereishit (2) 19 g cand there was light h refers to the actual rectification, which occurred during the seven days of creation [the torah] therefore says at the end [of the creation account] gfor on it he rested from all his work, h for the gwork h took place only in the world of atzilut, inasmuch as all the other worlds.beriah, yetzirah, and asiyah.are nothing but the seal of atzilut. it is therefore stated that gfor on it he rested from all his work. h now, up to this point [in the first creation account, man has not been mentioned [all that has been mentioned is] heaven and earth, above at the level of the 63-name, and the ensuing days of the rectification, as stated. after the rectification of atzilut was completed, f

hat gfor on it he rested from all his work. h now, up to this point [in the first creation account, man has not been mentioned [all that has been mentioned is] heaven and earth, above at the level of the 63-name, and the ensuing days of the rectification, as stated. after the rectification of atzilut was completed, from this point downward man is mentioned, referring to z feir anpin of beriah, of yetzirah, and of asiyah. when [the torah] says in its account of the sixth day, gand g-d created man in his image, h this refers to the gman h of beriah. the preceding phrase, glet us make man, h refers to [the gman h of] asiyah, while the following phrase[ gand g-d created man in his image h] refers to [the gman h of] beriah. in the first phrase [referring to the gman h of asiyah, it is said, gin

two hei fs. the first hei refers to beriah and the second to asiyah. the four letters of the name havayah refer to the four worlds; the first hei refers to beriah and the second hei to asiyah. there are actually three ways of spelling out the letter hei (i.e, with an alef, a hei, or a yud, as we have seen. but the most gnatural h way of spelling it out is evidently with another hei. the world of yetzirah [alluded to by the vav of the name havayah] had not yet been revealed, for that indeed was the original intention, i.e, that gthe woman of valor [be] the crown of her husband. h8 just as the crown is higher than the king who wears it, the woman of valor is higher (i.e, precedes) her husband. in this context, the woman of valor is the final hei, asiyah, and the husband is the vav, yetzirah

REGARDIE ISRAEL THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN

four letters may be used as hebrew initials of the four ancient elements. in the nineteenth century when the hermetic order of the golden dawn came to be formed, these letters were picked up and integrated into the complex structure of the order symbolism. to understand the interpretation used by the order, we need only the most superficial knowledge of the basic attributions given in the sepher yetzirah, the tarot pack of cards, a smattering of gnosticism and astrology. the first gesture is to convert the four letters into their hebrew equivalents and then to direct yetziratic attributions, as follows: i= yod= virgo n= nun= scorpio r= resh= sun i= yod= virgo the final 't, being repetitious, is dropped, only to be picked up again in a later place in order to extend the significance of the

ty, archangel and angelic host attributed to it. the twenty two paths are bound together by the serpent of wisdom. it unites the paths but does not touch any of the sephiroth, which are linked by the flaming sword. the flaming sword is formed by the natural order of the tree of life. it resembles a flash of lightning. together the sephiroth and the twenty two paths form the 32 paths of the sepher yetzirah or book of formation. the two pillars either side of the altar represent: active: the white pillar on the south side. male. adam. pillar of light and fire. right kerub. metatron <123> the serpent on the tree of life second knowledge lecture passive: the back pillar on the north side. female. eve. pillar of cloud. left kerub. sandalphon <124> the second meditation let the zelator meditate

lator grade. let him meditate upon the earth triplicity, visualising the symbols of a bull-a virgin-a goat-which stand for kerubic earthmutable earth-cardinal earth. for the above terms consult a simple astrology manual. make notes of the ideas and pictures which arise in your mind. the four worlds of the qabalah are <125> atziluth, archetypal-pure deity. nl??ll briah, creative-archangelic. 7n'lx yetzirah, formative-angelic. 71'y' assiah, action-matter, man, shells, demons. 7'wy the ten houses, or heavens, of assiah, the material world are: 1. primum mobile, rashith ha gilgalim. p9?1?27 vwnl 2. sphere of the zodiac, mazloth. m?m 3. sphere of saturn, shabbathai 'hllaw 4. sphere of jupiter, tzedelc. 373 5. sphere of mars, madim. p'713 6. sphere of the sol, shemesh. wdw 7. sphere of venus, no

ee supemals. 2. ruach the middle part, answering to the six sephiroth from chesed to yesod, inclusive. 3. nephesch the lowest, answering to malkuth. neschamah answers to the higher aspirations of the soul. ruach answers to the mind and reasoning powers. nephesch answers to the animal instincts. chiah answers to chokmah, yechidah to kether, while neschamah itself is referred to binai-i. the sepher yetzirah divides the hebrew letters into three classes of three, seven, and twelve. three mothers v: d: n seven double letters n'lb27j3 twelve single letters 33y b2?'ul?lfl the holy place embraces the symbolism of the 22 letters <130> the table of shew-bread, the single letters. the altar of incense the three mothers. astral spirits are those belonging to the astral plane. such are false and illus

nd some are evil. an angel is a pure and high spirit of unmixed good in office and operation. in the tarot, the ten small cards of each suit refer to the sephiroth. the four suits refer to the letters of tetragrammaton thus- sceptres or wands to ,yod cups heh swords vau pentacles heh (final) the four suits also refer to the four worlds of the qabalists thus- sceptres to atziluth cups briah swords yetzirah pentacles assiah 68 the golden dawn: volume i book one the honours of the tarot pack are, as it were, the vice-gerants of the great name, in the qabalistic world to which each suit is referred. they also syrnbolise father, mother, son, daughter, birth, life, death, resurrection <131> the fylfot cross the 17 squares out of a square of lesser squares, refer to the sun in the twelve signs of

alkah i l 3 9 t h e queen, and kalah il%th e bride are titles of malkuth considered as the spouse of zauir anpin, the microprosopus. the letters of the name yhvh contain these meanings, thus- yod is referred to abba. heh to aima. vau to zauir anpin. heh (final) to malkah. these letters are also referred to the four worlds and the four suits of the tarot thus- yod atziluth wands heh briah cups vau yetzirah swords heh (f) assiah pentacles in each of the four worlds are the ten sephiroth of that world, and each sephirah has its own ten sephiroth, making 400 sephiroth in all- the number of the letter tau, the cross, the universe, the completion of all things. 78 the golden dawn: volume i <154> tetragrammaton on the tree the tarot is thus referred to the tree of life: the four aces are placed o

key of the forces which lie in qesheth the bow. treasure it in thy heart and mark it well, seeing that therein is the key of nature. meditate on it and reveal it not unto the profane, for many and great are its mysteries. note: there are four scales of colour which correspond to the four worlds. they are: the king scale atziluth wands yod fire the queen scale briah cups heh water the prince scale yetzirah swords vau air the princess scale assiah pentacles heh earth the golden dawn: volume i book one the colors differ according to the world or aspect of the great name they represent: thus samekh in: the king scale is deep blue the queen scale is yellow the prince scale is green the princess scale is grey blue <193> tiphareth in: the king scale is rose the queen scale is gold the prince scal

y-ei-ieieh, i am. this is then but the kether of the assiah of the microcosm, that is, it is the highest part of man as man. it is that which toucheth, or is the manifestation of a higher and greater range of being. this yechidah is at the same time the higher human self and the lower genius, the god of the man, the atziluth of his assiah, even as chiah and neschamah form his briah, and ruach his yetzirah. this is the higher will and the divine consciousness, as daath is the spiritual con106 the golden dawn: volume i book one sciousness, tiphareth the human consciousness, and yesod the automatic consciousness. it is the divine consciousness because it is the only part of man <215> which can touch the all-potent forces. behind yechidah are angelic and archangelic forces of which yechidah is

han human, and thus gradually raise and unite myself to my higher and divine genius, and that in this event, i will not abuse the great power entrusted unto me" note that this clause answereth unto tiphareth, seeing that it is the lower will that must apply itself unto this work, because it is the king of the physical man. all the shining ones (whom we call angels) are microcosms of the macrocosm yetzirah, even as man is the microcosm of the macrocosm of assiah. all archangelic forms are microcosms of the macrocosm of briah, and the gods of the sevhiroth are conseauentlv the microcosms of the macrocosm of atziluth. hiref fore apply this ierfeiting of the spiritual nature as the preparation of the pathway for the shining light, the light divine. the evil persona of a man is in the sphere of

l- presence of fire. heaven cannot speak their fullness- earth cannot utter it. yet hath the creator bound them in all things. he hath mingled them in water. he hath whirled them aloft in fire. he hath sealed them in the air of heaven. he hath distributed them through the planets. he hath assigned unto them the twelve constellations of the universe (places cross aside) the 32nd path of the sepher yetzirah, which answereth unto malkuth and the letter tau, is called the administrative intelligence, and it is so-called because it directeth and associateth in <79> all their operations, the seven planets, even all of them in their own due courses. to it, therefore, is attributed the due knowledge of the seven abodes of assiah, the material world, which are symbolised in the apocalypse by the se

REGARDIE TALISMANS

e as the basis for the construction of sigils. it related to the old symbol of a rose upon a cross not necessarily a new symbol in itself. however, it is not any antecedently known type of rose-cross symbol. it has no parallels in occult or symbolic history. the novelty consisted of drawing the twenty-two hebrew letters in the petals of the rose according to the archaic attributions of the sepher yetzirah. they were placed in a certain order. the so-called twelve single letters, referred to the twelve signs of the zodiac, were placed in the outermost circle of rose petals. within this ring were the seven double letters attributed to the seven planets. inside this second ring, was a third subdivision of large petals where were found the three mother letters so-called, referred to the three

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART I

nce of being; it alone reconciles reason with faith, power with liberty, science with mystery: it has the keys of the present, past and future! to become initiated into the kabalah it is insufficient to read and to meditate upon the writings of reuchlin, galatinus, kircher, or picus de mirandola; it is necessary to study and understand the hebrew writers in the collection of pistorius, the sepher yetzirah above all; it is essential in particular to master the great book zohar, to investigate the collection of 1684, entitled kabbala denudata, especially the treatise on kabalistic pneumatics and that on the revolution of souls; and afterwards to enter boldly into the luminous darkness of the whole dogmatic and allegorical body of the talmud. we shall be then in a position to understand willi

ntained in three words, and these three words have established three dogmas and three hierarchies. all science reposes upon three principles, as the syllogism upon three terms. there are also three distinct classes, or three original and natural ranks, among men, who are called to advance from the lower to the higher. the jews term these three series or degrees in the progress of spirits, assiah, yetzirah and briah. the gnostics, who were christian kabalists, called them hyle, psyche and gnosis; by the jews the supreme circle was named atziluth, and by the gnostics pleroma. in the tetragram, the triad, taken at the beginning of the word, expresses the divine copulation; taken at the end, it expressed the female and maternity. eve has a name of three letters, but the primitive adam is signi

enser. raymund lully enriched sovereigns, planted europe with institutions and remained poor. nicholas flamel, who in spite of his legend is really dead, only attained the great work when asceticism had detached him completely from riches. he was initiated by a suddenly imparted understanding of the book aesh mezareph, written in hebrew by the kabalist abraham, possibly the compiler of the sepher yetzirah. now this understanding was for flamel an intuition deserved, or rather, rendered possible, by the personal preparations of the adept. i believe that i have spoken sufficiently. divination is therefore an intuition, and the key of this intuition is the universal and magical doctrine of analogies. by means of these analogies the magus interprets visions, as did the patriarch joseph in egyp

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART II

; but it has been the doom of the human mind, blinded by insensate passions, to realize literally the allegorical history of the hebrew hercules: by over-throwing the pillars of the temple, it has been buried itself under the ruins. the masonic associations of the present time are no less ignorant of the high meaning of their symbols than are the rabbins of the sepher the triangle of pantacles 27 yetzirah and the zohar concerning the ascending scale of the three degrees, with the transverse progression from right to left and from left to right of the kabalistic septenary. the compass of the g a and the square of solomon have become the gross and material level of unintelligent jacobinism, realized by a steel triangle: this obtains both for heaven and earth. the initiated divulgers to whom

n, a rainbow for nimbus and a cloud for vestment, having pillars of fire for his legs, and setting one foot upon the earth and another on the sea, is truly a kabalistic panthea. his feet represent the equilibrium of briah, or the world of forms; his legs are the two pillars of the masonic temple, jakin and boaz; his body, veiled by clouds, from which issues a hand holding a book, is the sphere of yetzirah, or initiatory ordeals; his solar head, crowned with the radiant septenary, is the world of atziluth, or perfect revelation; and we can only express our astonishment that hebrew kabalists have not recognized and explained this symbolism, which so closely and inseparably connects the highest mysteries of christianity with the secret but invariable doctrine of all the masters in israel. the

rator. there-fore the great work is something more than. chemical operation: it is an actual creation of the human word initiated into the power of the word of god himself. this hebrew text, which we transcribe in proof of the authenticity and reality of our discovery, is derived from the rabbinical jew abraham, the master of nicholas flamel, and it is found in his occult commentary on the sepher yetzirah the sacred book of the kabalah. this commentary is extremely rare, but the sympathetic potencies of our chain led us to the discovery of a copy which has been preserved since the year 1643 in the protestant church at rouen. on its first page there is written: ex dono, then an illegible name, followed by dei magni. the creation of gold in the great work takes place by transmutation and mul

side of the ark, and their heads were turned to the four corners of the mercy-seat, which they covered with their wings inclined archwise, thus overshadowing the crown of the golden table, which they sustained upon their shoulders, facing one another at the openings and looking at the propitiatory, as shown in the figure above. the ark, moreover, had three parts or stages, representing atziluth, yetzirah and briah. the three worlds of the kabalah: the base of the coffer, to which were fitted the four rings of two levers, analogous to the pillars of the temple, jakin and boaz; the body of the coffer, on which the sphinxes appeared in relief; and the cover, overshadowed by the wings. the base represented the kingdom of salt, to use the terminology of the adepts of hermes; the coffer, the re

SEPHER YETZIRAH WESTCOTT

eath and punishment all came because she added to the commandment of the blessed holy one. regarding this it is said, whoever increase diminishes. may god enlighten our eyes with the light of his torah, may he place in our hearts his fear, may we be worthy to greet him. he will enlighten the hear waken the heart with understanding make the heart shine with brilliance. the bahir 57 inde the sepher yetzirah (translated from the hebrew by wm. wynn westcott (note: the sepher yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient qabalistic texts. it was first put into writing around 200 c.e. westcott's translation of the sepher yetzirah was a primary source for the rituals and knowledge lectures of the golden dawn. this is the third edition of westcott s translation, first published in 1887. a four

rew by wm. wynn westcott (note: the sepher yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient qabalistic texts. it was first put into writing around 200 c.e. westcott's translation of the sepher yetzirah was a primary source for the rituals and knowledge lectures of the golden dawn. this is the third edition of westcott s translation, first published in 1887. a fourth revised edition of the sepher yetzirah by darcy k ntz, complete with hebrew text, notes and bibliography, is available from holmes publishing group, p.o. 623, edmonds, wa 98020) introduction the "sepher yetzirah" or "book of formation" is perhaps the oldest rabbinical treatise of kabalistic philosophy which is still extant. the great interest which has been evinced of late years in the hebrew kabalah, and the modes of thought

is tractate from the original hebrew texts, and to collate with them the latin versions of mediaeval authorities; and i have also published an introduction to the kabalah which may be found useful to students. three important books of the "zohar" or "book of splendour" which is a great storehouse of kabalistic teaching, have been translated into english by s. l. macgregor mathers, and the "sepher yetzirah" in an english translation is almost a necessary companion to these abstruse disquisitions: the two books indeed mutually explain each other. the "sepher yetzirah" although this name means "the book of formation" is not in any sense a narrative of creation, or a substitute genesis, but is an ancient and instructive philosophical treatise upon one aspect of the origin of the universe and m

ic tractates which have succeeded it in point of time and development, many of which are associated together in one volume known as the "zohar" which is in the main concerned with the essential dignities of the godhead, with the emanations which have sprung therefrom, with the doctrine of the sephiroth, the ideals of macroprosopus and microprosopus, and the doctrine of re-incarnation. the "sepher yetzirah" on the other hand, is mainly concerned with our universe and with the microcosm. the opinions of hebrew kabalistic rabbis and of modern mystics may be fitly introduced here. the following interesting quotation is from rabbi moses botarel, who wrote his famous commentary in 1409-"it was abraham our father--blessed be he--who wrote this book to condemn the doctrine of the sages of his time

r of good. the second sect admitted three great powers; two of them as in the first case, and a third power whose function was to decide between the two others, a supreme arbitrator. the third sect recognised no god beside the sun, in which it recognised the sole principle of existence" rabbi judah ha l vi (who flourished about 1120, in his critical description of this treatise, wrote "the sepher yetzirah teaches us the existence of a single divine power by shewing us that in the bosom of variety and multiplicity there is a unity and harmony, and that such universal concord could only arise from the rule of a supreme unity" according to isaac myer, in his quabbalah (p. 159, the "sepher yetzirah" was referred to in the writings of ibn gebirol of cordova, commonly called avicebron, who died

e bosom of variety and multiplicity there is a unity and harmony, and that such universal concord could only arise from the rule of a supreme unity" according to isaac myer, in his quabbalah (p. 159, the "sepher yetzirah" was referred to in the writings of ibn gebirol of cordova, commonly called avicebron, who died in a.d. 1070. eliphas levi, the famous french occultist, thus wrote of the "sepher yetzirah" in his histoire de la magie, p. 54 "the zohar is a genesis of illumination, the sepher jezirah is a ladder formed of truths. therein are explained the thirty-two absolute signs of sounds, numbers and letters: each letter reproduces a number, an idea and a form; so that mathematics are capable of application to ideas and to forms not less rigorously than to numbers, by exact proportion an

seize, appropriate and make use of it" upon another page eliphas l vi writes "the sepher jezirah and the apocalypse are the masterpieces of occultism; they contain more wisdom than words; their expression is as figurative as poetry, and at the same time it is as exact as mathematics. in the volume entitled la kabbale by the eminent french scholar, adolphe franck, there is a chapter on the "sepher yetzirah" he writes as follows "the book of formation contains, i will not say system of physics, but of cosmology such as could be conceived at an age and in a country where the habit of explaining all phenomena by the immediate action of the first cause, tended to check the spirit of observation, and where in consequence certain general and superficial relations perceived in the natural world pa

rit of observation, and where in consequence certain general and superficial relations perceived in the natural world passed for the science of nature "its form is simple and grave; there is nothing like a demonstration nor an argument; but it consists rather of a series of aphorisms, regularly grouped, and which have all the conciseness of the most ancient oracles" in his analysis of the "sepher yetzirah" he adds-"the book of formation, even if it be not very voluminous, and if it do not altogether raise us to very elevated regions of thought, yet offers us at least a composition which is very homogeneous and of a rare originality. the clouds which the imagination of commentators have gathered around it, will be dissipated, if we look for, in it, not mysteries of ineffable wisdom, but an

word of this system is the substitution of the absolute divine unity for every idea of dualism, for that pagan philosophy which saw in matter an eternal substance whose laws were not in accord with divine will; and for the biblical doctrine, which by its idea of creation, postulates two things, the universe and god, as two substances absolutely distinct one from the other "in fact, in the 'sepher yetzirah' god considered as the infinite and consequently the indefinable being, extended throughout all things by his power and existence, is while above, yet not outside of numbers, sounds and letters--the principles and general laws which we recognise "every element has its source from a higher form, and all things have their common origin from the word (logos, the holy spirit. so god is at onc

the reign of the emperor titus, a.d. 70-80, is considered to have been the first to commit these to writing, and rabbi moses de leon, of guadalaxara, in spain, who died in 1305, certainly reproduced and published the "zohar" ginsburg, speaking of the zoharic doctrines of the ain suph, says that they were unknown until the thirteenth century, but he does not deny the great antiquity of the "sepher yetzirah" in which it will be noticed the "ain suph aur" and "ain suph" are not mentioned.i suggest, however, that this omission is no proof that the doctrines of "ain suph aur" and "ain suph" did not then exist, because it is a reasonable supposition that the "sepher yetzirah" was the volume assigned to the yetziratic world, the third of the four kabalistic worlds of emanation, while the "asch me

SIFRA DETZNIYUTHA

llusion to the single combination of all the sefiroth; weights are individual sefirah. 7 face-to-face is the condition whereby small face (ze ir anafim) is turned toward vast face (arikh anafim, so no creation is manifest. 8 the primordial kings are the unmanifest sefiroth in the alef worlds, which are witness states of vast face. 9 the term crowns here alludes to the world of atziluth. see sefer yetzirah, chapter three. 10 head (sar, rosh) is another name for the supernal sefirah crown/above. 11 the garments of splendor are the manifest sefiroth. 12 hy( yah or yod heh) constitute the first two letters of the name hvhy, indicating the action described is in the world of creation (b riyah. the yod y corresponds to world of emanation, upper heh h to the world of creation, the vav v to the wo

h. 41 ezekiel 1:14. 42 torah b reshith 1:4. 43 isaiah 3:10. 44 proverbs 7:4, say unto wisdom (sefirah wisdom/east, you are my sister, and call understanding (sefirah understanding/north) friend. 45 daniel 7:8, 20. the tongue is the sefirah knowledge (of the ayn)/the first. see zohar ii:123a. 46 isaiah 44:5. 47 these are the first three letters of the name hvhy, extending only through the world of yetzirah. in the sefer yetzirah, the six directions are sealed with permutations of the three letters. 48 torah b reshith 1:14. 49 proverbs 10:25. 50 the hairs of the beard are the atziluthic letters convoluting into divine names. see fig. 51 man sya, ish, pronounced eesh as in leash. 52 adam kadmon, celestial man, vast face. in the eleventh chapter of the bhagavad gita, this is described as the u

THE CRAFT GRIMOIRE OF ECLECTIC VERSION 2

e material world. page 8 elements and watch towers continued( grimoire of eclectic magick air is the intellectual element. it is clear and uncluttered. in magick its color is bright pale yellow, and it is employed in spells for visualization, inspiration, learning, and freedom. the celtic god, dagha is associated with air. in the tarot it is the suit of swords (sometimes wands. it is also know as yetzirah, the formative world. water is the creative element. it is emotional, fluid, and forever changing. in magick, its color is deep blue, and it is used in spells for friendship, fertility, creation, and emotional healing or purification. the celtic goddess, cerridwen is associated with water. in the tarot it is the suit of cups or chalices. it is also known as briah, the creative world. fire

THE KEY TO THE MYSTERIES

and numbers; by its combinations, it realizes the mathematics of thought. solomon represented this alphabet by seventy-two names, written upon thirty-six talismans. eastern initiates still call these the "little keys" or clavicles of solomon. these keys are described, and their use explained, in a book the source of whose traditional dogma is the patriarch abraham. this book is called the sepher yetzirah; with the aid of the sepher yetzirah one can penetrate the xiii hidden sense of the zohar, the great dogmatic treatise of the qabalah of the hebrews. the clavicles of solomon, forgotten in the course of time, and supposed lost, have been rediscovered by ourselves; without trouble we have opened all the doors of those old sanctuaries where absolute truth seemed to sleep- always young, and

nd it reenters thus into the symbolism of the septenary. each letter represents a number: each assemblage of letters, a series of numbers. 184 the numbers represent absolute philosophical ideas. the letters are shorthand hieroglyphs. let us see now the hieroglyphic and philosophical significations of each of the twenty-two letters("vide" bellarmin, reuchlin, saint- jerome, kabala denudata, sepher yetzirah, technica curiosa of father schott, picus de mirandola, and other authors, especially those of the collection of pistorius. the mothers the iod- the absolute principle, the productive being. the mem- spirit, or the jakin of solomon. the schin- matter, or the column called boaz. the double letters beth. reflection, thought, the moon, the angel gabriel, prince of mysteries. gimel. love, wil

tic arcanum. we have just said that alchemy is the daughter of the qabalah; to convince oneself of the truth of this it is sufficient to look at the symbols of flamel, of basil valentine, the pages of the jew abraham, and the more or less apocryphal oracles of the emerald table of hermes. everywhere one finds the traces of that decade of pythagoras, which is so magnificently applied in the sepher yetzirah to the complete and absolute notion of divine things, that decade composed of unity and a triple ternary which the rabbis have 192 called the berashith, and the mercavah, the luminous tree of the sephiroth, and the key of the shemhamphorash. we have spoken at some length in our book entitled "dogme et rituel de la haute magie" of a hieroglyphic monument (preserved up to our own time under

orresponding trumps> the table-turners, and those who make the spirits speak with alphabetical charts, are, then, a good many centuries behind the times; they do not know that there exists an oracular instrument whose words are always clear and always accurate, by means of which one can communicate with the seven genii of the planets, and make to speak at will the seventy-two wheels of assiah, of yetzirah, and of briah. for that purpose it is sufficient to understand the system of universal analogies, such as swedenborg has set it forth in the hieroglyphic key of the arcana; then to mix the cards together, and draw from them by chance, always grouping them by the numbers corresponding to the ideas on which one desires enlightenment; then, reading the oracles as qabalistic writings ought to

t lazarus "by this time stinketh, for he hath been dead four days" one may then attribute this remark to imagination- e. l. rather to the arrogance of the a priori reasoner- trans) let us now come to the secret of the great work, which we have given only in hebrew, without vowel points, in the "rituel de la haute magie" here is the complete text in latin, as one finds in on page 144 of the sepher yetzirah, commented by the alchemist abraham (amsterdam, 1642: 216 semita xxxi vocatur intelligentia perpetua; et quare vocatur ita? eo quod ducit motum solis et lunae juxta constitutionem eorum; utrumque in orbe sibi conveniente. rabbi abraham f. d. dicit: semita trigesima prima vocatur intelligentia perpetua: et illa ducit solem et lunam et reliquas stellas et figuras, unum quodque in orbe suo

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

r similarities to the journey of the soul into the underworld depicted in the egyptian book of coming forth by day, with magical words or appropriate names of the gods to be spoken before each door is passed and each palace entered. three classical texts formulate the basic structure of traditional kabbalah, being; the sefer-ha-zohar; book of splendour- first printed 1558-60 and 1559-60 the sefer yetzirah; book of formation- first printed in mantua 1562 the sefer-ha-bahir; book of light- first printed in amsterdam 1651 the zohar was written around 1280-86 by moses b. shem tov de leon in guadalajara, north-east of madrid, spain, where there was a lot of kabbalistic activity at this time. many of the later kabbalistic schools are formed about these books, finding in them interpretation and m

e of examination is undoubtedly the publication of christian knorr von rosenroth's (1636-89 "kabbala denudata" in latin in 1677 and 1684, which provided translations from the zohar and extracts from the works of issac luria. it was this work which, when translated into english by macgregor mathers (1854-1918) in 1887 as "the kabbalah unveiled, alongside already existing translations of the sepher yetzirah, provided the kabbalistic backbone of the golden dawn society, from which issued many of the more recent occult kabbalists, such as dion fortune (1891-1946, who summarised the sephiroth in her "mystical kabbalah (1935) and aleister crowley (1898-1947. the christian occultist, and golden dawn member, a.e. waite also produced many works examining the secret tradition of kabbalah, although o

er quaternary systems. sedir, quoted by papus, gives the nature of each world as (a) azilut, the world of emanations, at which level that which renders possibility becomes real (i.e. the thirty-two paths of wisdom (b) beriah, the world of creation, at which level the spirit is moved to general manifestation without differentiation. the zohar calls this world the pavilion which veils the point (c) yetzirah, the world of formation, the level at which the general spirit is broken down into a crowd of individual minds (d) assiyah, the world of production. at each level the practical kabbalist works with a different mode of personification of the divine, in that at the world of assiyah he works with the elemental spirits, in the world of yetzirah he works with the angels, in the world of briah

ishes to pass such judgement, it must have this fourfold aspect. this judgement, of course, is that made by geburah once the first four sephiroth are in place. rudy rucker proposes the following conceptual tetrad to match jungs four modes, which i feel can be usefully referred to the four worlds as they exist in the psyche (a) number (sensation) referred to assiyah (b) space (feeling) referred to yetzirah (c) logic (thinking) referred to briah (d) infinity (intuition) referred to atziluth. the fifth concept, that of information, can be seen (as the top point of the pentagram or the shin descending into yhvh) as the binding or redeeming concept and may be referred to the divine presence in each of the worlds in terms of communication, complexity, and meaning. information, in terms of cohere

serpent. it can be noted that a rearrangement of the letters of kthr gives krth, meaning "to cut off, and "divine punishment, hence referring that any deviation from the crown brings about a fall from the state of grace represented by kether. kl, to comprehend, measure, all every, whole, any, referring to kether as the all and the highest comprehension (the "admirable intelligence" as the sepher yetzirah entitles it, also "invisible intelligence" in that if something is everything, it cannot ever be perceived because there is nowhere outside it to perceive it from. thus "occult" and "unspeakable" experiences are so because they defy comprehension as they partake of this ultimate ground of reality. lk, a word meaning "to you" and hence can be seen as the mystical return up the tree of life

ive in respect of binah("understanding, the third sephirah. it connects to kether, binah, tiphareth and chesed, and the linking paths have the following tarot cards attributed to them; fool, empress, emperor, and hierophant. in the berakhot (7a, it is written "the beginning of thought, and the first revelation of the array, is the second sefirah, which is called chockmah-wisdom, and in the sepher yetzirah, chockmah is more fully defined as "the illuminating intelligence, the crown of creation, the splendour of unity, equalling it. it is exalted above every head, and is named by kabbalists the second glory. chockmah is essentially the concept of force, dynamism, and energy. it is the extension of the point of kether, contracted from the ain, into manifestation as a line. in terms of astroph

e divine name of chockmah (or embodiment of chockmah in the world of atziluth, emanation) is yah, spelt yod-heh, relating to sapentia, or wisdom. this name formulates the first duality of divinity into active (yod) force and passive (heh) form. the extension is completed by binah as the lightning flash of the creative process continues its expansion. through the auphanim (chockmah in the world of yetzirah, formation, chockmah influences the forms of all circular movements, and lays the "astral" template of swirling movements, evident in everything from the shape of shells, the physical structure of the brain and to the grand dance of planets in orbit, and the vast sprawls of spiral star-dense galaxies. chockmah is the first order, and that order is spiral. as crowley drew upon the "star" a

to malkuth. the court cards are attributed to the elements, and the major arcana are attributed to the paths, and through them to the zodiacal, astrological and elemental systems. the suits of the cards are said to represent the worlds, or levels, at which each of the sephiroth are acting. thus, for chockmah we have; two wands dominion fire atziluth two cups love water briah two swords peace air yetzirah two pentacles change earth assiah the two of wands represents the energy of fire, which is in its highest aspect as "that invisible fire that darts and flashes throughout the hidden depths of this universe (zoroaster. the implied "dominion" is that of the "pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result (liber al, i.44. the magus has surrendered his will by merging and

. the axiom of maria prophetissa applies to chesed "one becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth. chesed is the kether of the manifest, jupiter as the demiurge, the gnostic creator god. the fours of the tarot represent the action of chesed in the four worlds as follows: four of wands atziluth perfected work four of cups briah lord of pleasure four of swords yetzirah rest from strife four of pentacles assiah lord of earthly power the atziluth of chesed is the both the completion and source of all manifest power. the fire of all that may be called energy plays here, but as crowley notes "it is also referred to venus in aries, which indicates that one cannot establish one's work without tact and gentleness. at the level of briah, it can be noted that th

gentleness. at the level of briah, it can be noted that the number four, the number of chesed, is also a number of limitation and restriction. the equal-armed cross is not the cross of the four elements redeemed by spirit, the fifth element, and is in some ways a full-stop to progress in the creation process. it is only once the process continues that chesed can function as a source of power. in yetzirah, the astral world, chesed functions as the archetype of authority and religion, with again the danger of stagnation as dogma, convention and compromise. in assiah, chesed is the establishment of the universe in the dimensions, and the generative archetype (reflected in the procreative and generative aspects of netzach at a further stage of the creative process. chesed in assiah signifies

THE MIDDLE PILLAR

ta" u refers to swapna, and" m relates to sushupti. the silence that succeeds each intonation of aum refers to turya, the highest state of consciousness. turya is described as conscious dreamless sleep or meditative sleep. in the western tradition, the four worlds of the qabalah as placed upon the tree of life are atziluth (containing kether, bn'ah (composed of the sephiroth of chokmah and binah, yetzirah (including all sephiroth from chesed to yesod, and assiah (consisting only of malkuth. atziluth is the divine world of archetypes, briah is the creative world of archangels, yetzirah is the formative world of angels and the astral realm, and assiah is the active, material world. 20. the state of mind in dreamless sleep. 21. these are known as the chakras. see part two, chapter eight. 22

tions, alluding to the four quarters (sub-elements) of malkuth: air of malkuth, water of malkuth, fire of malkuth, and earth of malkuth. 15. yhvh is transliterated english for m7, which is called the tetragrammaton or "four-lettered name" it is considered the ineffable name of god. each letter of the name is also attributed to one of the four worlds of the qabalah: yod= atziluth, heh= briah, vav= yetzirah, and heh final= assiah. 16. keep the hand or dagger extended as you turn from the east to the south, west, north, and back around again to the east, drawing the appropriate pentagrams as you go. visualize a ribbon of light extending from the center of the first pentragram in the east to the center of the second pentragram which will be drawn in the south. the four pentagrams are thus conn

ny important qabalistic words have the numerical value of thrteen, including achad (yilk "unity" and ahavah( 7 1 7 k "love" other words tied to this number include gahah (ti "healing" or "health; ziv (lt "glory; and hegeh (717 "to separate" or "to imagine" the thrteenth key of the tarot is titled "death" and it is attributed to scorpio, transformation, and change. the thrteenth path of the sepher yetzirah, an important qabalistic text, corresponds to the tarot card of "the high priestess" and is attributed to the moon. ths path is the primary conduit by which the higher, divine consciousness flows down to lower levels. it is also a path of change. interestingly, thirteen multiplied by two is twenty-six, the value of yhvh (7137) and kabedh (712 "to honor" the twenty-sixth path of the sepher

etzirah, an important qabalistic text, corresponds to the tarot card of "the high priestess" and is attributed to the moon. ths path is the primary conduit by which the higher, divine consciousness flows down to lower levels. it is also a path of change. interestingly, thirteen multiplied by two is twenty-six, the value of yhvh (7137) and kabedh (712 "to honor" the twenty-sixth path of the sepher yetzirah is attributed to the tarot card of "the devil" to which is assigned the powers of material force and generation. thirteen multiplied by three is thrty-nine, the value of yhvh achad('tilt4 71;t7) or "yhvh is one" thuteen multiplied by four is fifty-two, the number of yhvh spelled 0ut.19 it is also the value of aima (kt37k, the supernal mother and ben (11, the reconciling son. finally, thir

letion of cosmic manifestation. twenty-one is the value of eheieh (vnn, the divine name of kether. eheieh is one of the highest names that is associated with the act of creation. figure 12: the pentagram and pentagon. 190 the balanceb etweenm ind and magic other words that correspond to the number twenty-one are hagig (212n "meditationff and khezev (lth "vision" the twentyfirst path of the sepher yetzirah is called "the wheel of fortune" and it is attributed to the planet jupiter. in addition, the mystic number of tiphareth is twenty-one. the total length of all lines on the pentagram (twenty-one multiplied by five) is 105, which is formed by adding all the numbers from one to fourteen. the fourteenth key of the tarot is "temperance" the card of the hga or higher self. the fourteenth path

lled "the wheel of fortune" and it is attributed to the planet jupiter. in addition, the mystic number of tiphareth is twenty-one. the total length of all lines on the pentagram (twenty-one multiplied by five) is 105, which is formed by adding all the numbers from one to fourteen. the fourteenth key of the tarot is "temperance" the card of the hga or higher self. the fourteenth path of the sepher yetzirah is attributed to daleth (1)th, e "door" of initiation. fourteen is also a number associated with the hebrew words atad (tun "thorn, the piercer; debach (hll "sacrifice; gaye (ryi "rising earth; dai?'i "abundance; david( l l l "beloved; habhab (lnln "sacrificial offering; hadah (tl "to direct with the hand; yod (t "hand; and zahav (l7t "gold" other words associated with the number 105 are

inciple. yechidah: in qabalah, the highest part of the soul located in kether and is described as the true divine self. the purest form of consciousness. yeheshuah: hebrew name for jesus. a divine name associated with the five elements of fire, water, air, earth, and spirit. referred to as the pentagrammaton. yesod: hebrew word for "foundation" referring to the ninth sephirah on the tree of life. yetzirah: the qabalistic world of formation, consisting of chesed, geburah, tiphareth, netzach, hod, and yesod. attributed to the element of air. yhvh (mv) four letters which stand for the highest hebrew name for god, which is considered unknown and unpronounceable. often referred to the tetmgrammaton. yhvh elohim: divine hebrew name of binah, meaning "the lord god" associated with daath in the ex

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

ihvh archangels evangelists beasts quarters seasons motions worlds elementals winds rivers growth colors instruments fire ihvh tzabaoth yod michael mark lion south summer linear atziluth salamanders notus pison stalk red rod water elohim el chai he gabriel matthew eagle west fall rotary briah undines zephyrus gihon fruit blue cup air shaddai ha-aretz va u raphael john angel north winter vibratory yetzirah sylphs boreas hiddikel seed yellow dagger earth adonai tzabaoth he auriel luke bull east spring mixed assiah gnomes eurus phrath root black pentacle the four elements are a philosophical division of form into its essential quali- ties based on its kinds of motion. they are not physical elements as science under- stands them but the locus upon which the physical elements are based. for exa

brought the uni- verse into being. in the marseilles deck there are no individual pictures associated with them, only multiplications of the same suit symbols, to emphasize that they are numerations. the four suits stand for the four kabbalistic worlds. the suit of coins is usually called pentacles in modern esoteric decks: scepters: atziluth (emanation) fire cups: briah (creation) water swords: yetzirah (formation) air coins: assiah (action) earth each of the forty numbered cards thus stands for one sephirah in one of the four kabbalistic worlds. for example, the seven of cups symbolizes netzach, or victory, in the world of briah, creation. the sixteen face cards belong to the philosophical elements in this order: kings: fire queens: water knights: air pages: earth since each suit also c

of the four elements used in modern magic have descended from those taught by the golden dawn, and are fairly widely accepted. red is the color of fire, blue the color of water, yellow the color of air, and black the color of earth. however, earth is also said to have four earthy colors associated with it that correspond to the four worlds of the kabbalah. russet (atziluth, olive (briah, citrine (yetzirah, and black (assiah. these derive from the path of malkuth (ten) on the queen scale, and are represented in the pentacle of earth used in golden dawn magic. the signs of the zodiac were assigned the colors on the king scale of those paths on the tree where the zodiac signs appear. these are, in the golden dawn order: aries (fifteen, scarlet, taurus (sixteen, red-orange, gemini (seventeen

after the face cards of the tarot, which were applied to the ten sephiroth and twenty-two channels on the tree of the kabbalah in the four worlds. because this system was so complex and its logic was not immediately apparent, it has not found wide use in modern magic, being restricted mainly to systems of magic descended directly from the golden dawn. king queen prince princess (atziluth (briah (yetzirah (assiah) brilliance soft blue crimson deep violet orange clear pink rose amber violet purple indigo yellow bright pale yellow yellow blue emerald green scarlet red-orange orange white brilliance gray black blue scarlet-red yellow (gold) emerald orange violet citrine, olive, russet, black sky blue purple silver sky blue red deep indigo pale mauve white brilliance bluish mother of pearl dee

olden dawn (st. paul: llewellyn publications, revised edition, 1989, 288-92. 11. agrippa, occult philosophy, 371. 12. mathers, trans, the book of the sacred magic of abramelin the mage (new york: dover publications, 1975, 57. 13. agrippa, occult philosophy, 318-27. 14. knight, a practical guide to qabalistic symbolism, 2 vols (new york: samuel weiser, 1978, vol. i, 37. 15. westcott, trans, sepher yetzirah (york beach, maine: samuel weiser, 1980, 15. 16. hermes trismegistus "the emerald tablet' occult philosophy, 71 1. 17. larousse encyclopedia of mythology (new york: prometheus press, 1960, 328. 18. regardie, the golden dawn, 82. 19. mathers, trans, the kabbalah unveiled (london: routledge& kegan paul ltd, 1962, plate iv facing p. 30. 20. crowley, book of thoth, 53. 21. waite, pictorial ke

TYSON DONALD SOUL FLIGHT

o be floating in a brilliant blaze of glory in kether, with the kerubim circling all around."201 the tree of life is derived from the system of jewish mysticism known as the kabbalah, which westcott and mathers incorporated into the teachings of the golden dawn. the kabbalah was developed mainly in europe during the middle ages and the renaissance, although portions of it, such as the text sepher yetzirah, are much older. the tree was an attempt to represent in a single diagram the stages in the emanation of the universe from the undifferentiated godhead to the physical environment that most people think of as surrounding them. kabbalists understood the process not so much as a creation, but as a coming forth or extension of the divine essence in ten stages, which were called sephiroth (si

e numbered as they descend the tree, the twenty-two paths that link pairs of sephiroth are described descending from higher sephirah to lower sephirah. included with each path is the corresponding verse from a short kabbalistic tract known as the thirty-two paths of wisdom, which was often bound under the same cover chapter thirteen: pathworking 231 with the seminal work of the kabbalah, sephirah yetzirah. the translation is from the 1887 edition of sepher yetzirah by william wynn westcott, one of the original human chiefs of the golden dawn. meditation on these verses is sometimes helpful in conceiving the astral appearance of the paths on the tree. 1. kether (crown) divine name: eheieh (i am) archangelic name: metatron correspondence: primum mobile "the first path is called the admirable

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

he void between heaven and earth, leading to the interpretation "he who rides the wind" or "he who makes the winds to blow" earlier speculations that there is a connection between tetragrammaton and the greek god of thunderbolts (jehovah= jove, or with the gnostic deity iao, are generally discounted (although gershom scholem finds a connection between iao and the truncated name ihv used in sepher yetzirah to seal the six directions of space-see scholem, kabbalah, p. 27. so are wilder claims that the name can be traced back to ancient china, egypt, or babylonia. all these propositions have been put forth at different times, but there is little hard evidence to support them. the pronunciation jehovah, which occurs in many english bibles, including the king james, is the result of an error th

destroy, for human ends. according to the esoteric doctrine of the jewish mystic-magicians known as kabbalists, the structure of tetragrammaton forms the blueprint upon which the entire universe of space and time, matter and energy, good and evil, humans and angels, is based. the name does not merely reflect the makeup of the world-it is the world. in the most ancient book of the kabbalah, sepher yetzirah (the book of formation, it is written "he selected three letters from among the simple ones and sealed them and formed them into a great name, i h v, and with this he sealed the universe in six directions. he looked above, and sealed the height with i h v he looked below and sealed the depth with i v h. he looked forward, and sealed the east with h i v. he looked backward, and sealed the

h v, and with this he sealed the universe in six directions. he looked above, and sealed the height with i h v he looked below and sealed the depth with i v h. he looked forward, and sealed the east with h i v. he looked backward, and sealed the west with h v i. he looked 8 tetragrammaton to the right, and sealed the south with v i h. he looked to the left, and sealed the north with v h i (sepher yetzirah, westcott translation [new york: weiser, 19801, p. 17. the very substance of space itself is composed of the letters of ihvh. only three letters of the name are employed, not all four, because it is possible to permute three letters in six different ways, and in three-dimensional space there are six fundamental directions-up, down; before, behind; left, right. this is sufficient, because

are employed, not all four, because it is possible to permute three letters in six different ways, and in three-dimensional space there are six fundamental directions-up, down; before, behind; left, right. this is sufficient, because there are only three different letters in the name, the h being repeated. in the later kabbalistic theory of the zohar, which was written centuries after the sepher yetzirah, the relationship between tetragrammaton and the creation of the world became more complex and specific. to understand this relationship, it is necessary to say a few words about the doctrine of emanations. kabbalists hold that creation, all forms of creation of being from nothingness, occurred and continues to occur through the mediation of ten spheres of living sacred fire called sephir

d and seen him, that he would also tell him his name, that when he offered sacrifice he might invoke him by such his name in his oblations. whereupon god declared to him his holy name, which had never been discovered to men before; concerning which it is not lawful for me to say any more (antiquities of the jews [first century, bk. 2, ch. 12, sec. 4 [london: george routledge, n.d.1, p. 66) sepher yetzirah he selected three letters from among the simple ones and sealed them and formed them into a great name, ihv, and with this he sealed the universe in six directions (sepher yetzirah [third century, wynn westcott edition [new york: weiser, 19801, p. 17) and from the non-existent he made something; and all forms of speech and everything that has been produced; from the empty void he made the

WEOR SAMAEL AUN ESOTERIC COURSE OF KABBLAH

siempre a sus devotos. en la tierra sagrada de los vedas, fue el iluminado ramakrishna, uno de los m s grandes devotos. quer is las alturas del nirvikalpasamadhi? necesit is desarrollar a anubaya (percepci n de vuestro dios interno en la meditaci n) quer is la ciencia de jinas. recordad que ten is una madre adorable "pedid y se os dar "golpead y se os abrir. 21 arcanum 3 remember that the sepher yetzirah marvelously describes all the splendors of the world and the extraordinary play3 of the sephiroth in god and in man through the thirty two paths of wisdom. the entire science of the sephiroth is hidden within the sexual mysteries. the soul has three aspects: 1. nephesh, the animal soul. 2. ruach, the thinking soul. 3. meshamah, the spiritual soul. the sephiroth are the substratum of these

spiritual principle i. a o is the supreme mantra of the arcanum a.z.f. whosoever wants to raise the soul of the world through the medullar channel must work with the sulfur (fire, with the mercury (water) and with the salt (philosophical earth. it is only in this way that one can be born in spirit and in truth. 3 jeugo extraordinerio is literally extraordinary game arcano iii recordad, el sepher yetzirah describe en forma maravillosa todos los esplendores del mundo y el juego extraordinario de los sephirotes, en dios y en el hombre, por las treinta y dos sendas de la sabidur a. en el misterio de los sexos se oculta toda la ciencia de los sephirotes. el alma tiene tres aspectos: primero nephes, el alma animal. segundo ruach, el alma pensante. tercero mes hamah, el alma espiritual. el subst

WESTERN MANDALAS OF TRANSFORMATION SR AL

ful creative force on the tree that brings all things into formation. in godwin's cabalistic encyclopedia (an excellent gematria resource book that is a must for the serious student of kameas, the word mah also means the secret name of the world of formation; and the tetragrammaton ihvh when spelled out, yod-ha-vav-ha (which also equals forty-five, is said to be the spelling of the divine name in yetzirah, or the world of formation. if all the letters are connected in a sigil, it looks like figure 5-k. since it thus creates an enclosed geometric form, one could then color it and even make a flashing color tablet, as we did with the example of graphiel in chapter four (see figure 5-l. figures 5-m and 5-n are the traditional kameas found in agrippa, the latter in hebrew, figure 5-0 shows the

f numbers in kamea 45: adm, adam: generic humanity 45: agial, agiel: intelligence of saturn 45: hm, hame: abundance, multitude, themselves root: universalized life, vital power of the universe 45: amd, ahmad: to appraise, value, estimate 45: zbvl, zebul: habitation, dwelling place 45: zzal, zazel: the spirit of saturn 45: mad, meode: strength, force, might 45: mh, mah: what? why; secret nature of yetzirah. root: female generation, root of all nourishment, passive and creative 45: ivd-ha-vav-ha, yod-heh-vav-heh: spelling of ihvh in yetzirah, world of formation 45: ylh, yelah: 44th name of shem hamphorash, associated with the 2nd quinance of pisces 45: hvld: begat chapter 6. the kamea of chesed/jupiter the magical numbers connected to the jupiter kamea are four, sixteen, thirty-four, and 136

nce said "nothingness is more existent than all the being of the world" and the christian mystic meister eckhart echoed this thought when he said that "god's nichts fills the entire world; his something though is nowhere" this "nowhere" is often thought of in qabalistic terms as the chaos from which the divine being created the world. god, it is thought, made the universe from nothing. the sepher yetzirah tells us that "he formed something actual out of chaos and made what is not into what is (2: 6. and the gnostic basilides said that the non-existent god made the cosmos out of the non-existent, casting down and planting a single seed containing within itself the whole seed-mass of the cosmos (jonas, 1963. the book of proverbs tells us "with wisdom god established the earth, with understan

WILLIAM WESCOTT NUMBERS THEIR OCCULT POWER AND MYSTIC VIRTUES

hebraic lore in his talmudic miscellany, and genesis, according to the talmud. 8. the midrash ha zohar of d. h. joel, leipzig, 1849, narrates the relation between the kabalah and platonism, neo-platonism, greek philosophy and the zoroastrian doctrines of the parsees. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott perhaps the oldest extant kabalistic book is the sepher yetzirah, or book of formation, an english translation of which has appeared in three editions from the author s own pen. the fundamentals of the numerical kabalistic ideas on creation are laid down in that treatise; it has also been printed both in french and german, and there is an american edition. upon the mathematical aspect of numbers, readers may consult for further detail in the works of g

irtues. 4 evangelists and gospels; matthew, mark, luke, john, related to the four kerubic forms of the man, lion, bull and eagle (see wheel of fortune of tarot, key 10--hew65) and thus to the zodiacal signs--aquarius, leo, taurus and scorpio (the relation of aquila to scorpio is a rosicrucian secret. one of the abstruse dogmas of the kabalah concerns the four worlds of emanation; atziluth, briah, yetzirah and assiah. these are not worlds in any ordinary sense, but rather planes of development and existence, the former the most diaphanous and exalted, the others becoming more and more concrete and manifest. the ten sephiroth exist on each plane, those of the higher planes being more sublime than those of the lowest. each world has a secret name and number. man displays 4 evil tendencies, on

xxxv. v. 6. there were six things hated by jehovah. prov. vi. v. 16. the seraphim of isaiah had each 6 wings. in a freemasons lodge there are 6 jewels, three of which are immovable and lie open in the lodge for the brethren to moralize upon, while the other three jewels are transferable from one brother to another at the periodical changes of officers. in the hebrew, book of creation, the sepher yetzirah, the hexad is spoken of. the units representing the four quarters of the world; north, south, east and west, and also height and depth, and in the midst of all is the holy temple. see my translation; cap. i. v. ii, and notes. third edition. 1911. the druids had a mysterious religious preference for the number 6. they performed their principal ceremonies on the 6th day of the moon, and on

lower tetrad of principles. the lower four are kama rupa, the passions; linga sarira, the astral body; prana, life essence; and sthula sarira, the lower body; see the dogmas of esoteric buddhism. the kabalah divides these into four planes of the soul, which are further separated by adepts; these are chiah, neshamah, ruach and nephesh, which correspond to the symbolical worlds of atziluth, briah, yetzirah and assiah. there is an occult reference in the seven stars in the head of taurus called the pleiades, six present and one hidden said to be daughters of atlas, who, pursued by numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott orion, were changed by zeus in mercy into pigeons (peleia. the missing one is merope, who married the mortal sisyphus and hides herself for

dor, passive; the ninth is ysvd, yesod, the foundation, completing the third trinity or triangle. mlkt, malkuth, the tenth sephirah, completes the emanations. she is the bride of microprosopus the son, the sun, logos; she is the inferior mother, queen and the manifested universe. the whole ten are viewed as reigning over four worlds or planes of existence. these are the worlds of atziluth, briah, yetzirah and assiah. malkuth on the plane of assiah alone is the visible tangible universe. these ten sephiroth are the prototypes of everything spiritual and also of every part of creation. they are traced in the angelic host and in our universe. three superior and seven succedent exist in all things. the lower seven are obvious to the uninitiated, but in these manifestations, the supernal triad

s off the quinsy. at 30 years of age jesus began his ministry; joseph was 30 years old when he stood before pharaoh; david was 30 years old when he began to reign; 30 pieces of silver was the price judas received and jair had 30 sons. 31. the number of el, god=al. 1+30. joshua did not complete the conquest of canaan until he had slain 31 kings. 32. the number of the paths of wisdom, of the sepher yetzirah, being 10 sephiroth and 22 letters of the hebrew alphabet. 33. the years of the life of jesus. king david reigned in jerusalem 33 years. the number of vertebrae in the human spinal column. 35. the number of agla, agla, a composite kabalistic wonder-working name. see page 27. 36. abaji said there are never less than 36 holy men of any regeneration upon whom the shekinah does not rest. plut

am, adm. the world is preserved for the sake of 45 righteous persons. chullin, 92. 48. there have been 48 prophets in israel. 48 cities were assigned to the levites. 49. moses received 49 reasons for the cleanness and uncleanness of each thing; so says the talmud. 50. the number of the gates of binah (binh) the understanding. the kabalah states that even moses only reached the 49th. see my sepher yetzirah, third edition, 1911. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott 116. 58. noah, nch. 60. aristotle stated that the crocodile lives naturally 60 years, and sits 60 days on 60 eggs. the chinese have a time cycle of 60 years, and call it kya-tse. the people of malabar call this period chi-tam. the talmud refers to 60 deadly drugs and 60 sorts of wines; the sow

bones in the human body. 207. this is the number of ain soph, ain, svp, the boundless, and aur, avr, light, and of adonai olam, adni ovlam, lord of the universe. 216. the cube of six (6; 216 years, the period of the pythagorean metempsychosis. 221. the cup of david in heaven contains 221 logs of wine (about 20 gallons) says the talmud. 231. the sum of the numbers 1 to 21, the gates of the sepher yetzirah. 243. circles of zoir anpin; the number of the permutations, without reversal of the hebrew letters. kalisch. 248.there are 248 members of the body, says talmud eiruvin, 53. 2, and an anathema enters into all of them. the word chrm, accursed, is 248,but so is rchm, mercy. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott 252. it is said that the disciples of rabbi

WILLIAM WESCOTT THE CHALDEAN ORACLES OF ZOROASTER TRANSLATION

dation upon which the whole structure of the hebrew kabalah rests is an exposition of ten deific powers successively emanated by the illimitable light which in their varying dispositions are considered as the key of all things. this divine procession in the form of three triads of powers, synthesized in a tenth, is said to be extended through four worlds, denominated respectively atziluth, briah, yetzirah and assiah, a fourfold gradation from the subtil to the gross. this proposition in its metaphysical roots is pantheistic, though, if it may be so stated, mediately theistic; while the ultimate noumenon of all phenomena is the absolute deity, whose ideation constitutes the objective universe. now these observations apply strictly also to the chald an system. the accompanying diagrams suffi

mplacable thunders_ elementary world hypezokos the demiurgos of the (flower of fire) material universe effable, essential and elemental orders_ the earth-matter kabalistic scheme. world of atziluth the boundless ain suph. or of god the illimitable ain suph aur light a radiant triangle_ 3 of 13 kether world of briah (crown) divine forces binah chokmah (intelligence (wisdom_ geburah chesed world of yetzirah tiphereth or of formation hod netzach yesod_ malkuth world of assiah ruled by material form. adonai melekh_ the earth-matter chald an scheme of beings. representatives of the previous classes guiding our universe. i. hyperarchii archangels ii. azon i unzoned gods iii. zon i planetary deities_ higher demons: angels_ human souls_ lower demons, elementals fiery 4 of 13 airy earthy watery_ ev

ZALEWSKI GOLDEN DAWN ENOCHIAN MAGIC OCR

enlighten them when thus harmonized so that therein may be manifested which is emethsh or amethsh, herein as the shin of the divine fire entered, and this order of letters is that of the angles of the tablets, and of the 4 tablets themselves, viz: first is air and aleph. second is water and mem. third is earth and tau. fourth is fire and shin "this again is the order of the elements in the sepher yetzirah' of the qabalah. from these 4 sigils there are the 4 names drawn forth as may follow in order. from the tau with 4 yods or a t surmounted by four yods of the sigillum ameth, t and 4 other letters counting by the rule of 4, 22, 20, 18. from the first letter t thus: this yields the name tahaoelog for the air tablet "the 4th square each time from the last will shew the letter and figure give

ned by the 12 angels of the 12 tribes, which are, in turn, governed by the 7 that stand before the presence of god (dee mss) from this we have a direct line of authority back to the seven archangels of the heptagon in the holy seal the sigillum dei aemeth as follows: zadkiel, cumael, raphael, hainiel, michael, and gabriel. these archangels are from the world of briah, the angels from the world of yetzirah with the 30 aethyrs, and their governors from assiah. these assignations will be discussed in depth later. from the mathers lecture on the "zodiac signs and the twelve tribes of israel" one is able to establish the functions of the three holy names of each tablet as shown in the diagram of the shewbread (figure 17. the angelic names are kings who rule the 30 aethyrs and the 12 tribes. eth

ZALEWSKI SECRET INNER ORDER RITUALS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN OCR

gates of the land of night" note also the war of the titans who rise and fight against jupiter. the edomite kings therefore, are not altogether evil. they are the forces of restriction. the result therefore, on a higher plane in the tree, is that the great serpent rises to daath, and the four worlds belanced upon the tree itself; it will be observed that the cutting off by the serpent is between yetzirah and briah. thus, evil cannot arise into the world of briah, or indeed transcend the limits of yetzirah. but if we seek for the correspondence of evil in the worlds of briah and atziluth, it will be found to consist in a lesser form of good: a limiting, restricting and binding force without which you cannot have form on the higher planes. it is only in the worlds of yetzirah and assiah tha

this principle becomes absolutely evil. this idea was first expressed by the gnostics, when they said that achamoth attempted to comprehend the pleroma, but could not understand it, and from the grief of her were formed the demons and evil spirits. if therefore we seek to institute an analogy concerning the microcosm, it will be seen the nephesch refers to malkuth and assiah; ruach will refer to yetzirah, which is the world of formation. therefore, the formative principle operating in the ruach gives form to all ideas, and is that which weighs, balances and works in things. ruach can also have an evil side. neschamah is equated with the higher aspirations of the soul, which aspires to the ideal there can be no positive evil side to neschamah. there will be only a higher or lower aspiratio

be a might angelic power, and in a form far different from the petty personages we are here "in that hour, when the son of man is invoked before the lord of spirits, and his name, in the presence of the ancient days" this will be the synthetical form of the son of man, the ben adam, who is the synthesis of the ruach of the universe: in other words, the allusion is to the great god of the world of yetzirah or the microprosopus, the son of the first adam when he is invoked before the lord of spirits, which can but be in kether; and his name in the presence of the ancient of days "he who is ancient before the gods, ancient before time, ancient before the formation of the worlds, he the eternal amen, or even he who is before amen, and whom the plumes of amen's head-dress only touch" now the fo

thus shall the soul, upheld by the firm will, tread under foot the desires of the flesh, and rule her kingdom by the light of the spirit. mercy and truth have met together. righteousness and peace have kissed each other, and in that embrace shall spring the perfected man, ready to face with tranquil mien, whatsoever the day may bring forth: life or death, joy or sorrow. the 21st key of the sepher yetzirah is known as the intelligence of conciliation, and it is so called because it receiveth the divine influences which flow into it from its benediction upon each and all existence" the ch.ad. moves to e. of altar: 2nd ad. hands him the censer. 3rd ad. slips cowl over postulant's eyes and lights the 33 candles. 2nd and 3rd ads. then take their places south and north of the altar, each with an

of the great mother, a spark of the indwelling glory which ever hallows the holy places of humanity. thus may be loosed the binding cords of desire and lust. thus may he truly dedicate himself, body, soul, life and spirit to the living service, and thus may be at length exchange the robe of earthly darkness for the wedding robe of glory and attain the beatific vision "the 20th path of the sepher yetzirah is called the intelligence of will: it is so called because it is the means of preparation of all and each created being; and by the intelligence the existence of the primordial wisdom becomes known "the 19th path of the sepher yetzirah called me intelligence of the secret of all the activities of the spiritual beings, and it is so called because of the influence diffused by it from the m

hich it is referred. in symbolical advancement through the grades and degrees of our fraternity, there is no point of entrance thereto or path of communication therewith, except in the great mystery of daath. the threefold division which i have mentioned offers a complete analogy with the four worlds of kabalism. for in malkuth is the world of assiah, to which the life of the body corresponds. in yetzirah are netzach, hod and yesod, being the inward parts of the natural man his will, emotions and mind. assiah and yetzirah are dedicated in the, which symbolises the conquest of the edomite kings. thereafter it is the kingdom of israel, the reign of the spirit and of holy souls in briah. beyond these things there is the world of atziluth. the kerux leads the philosophus to the east. celebrant

ant the first meaning lies with utter plainness on the surface of the card, and it does not concern us here. it reminds us, however, of the great truth which is commemorated and symbolised in the mysteries of all ages and countries that we must pass ultimately through death to life in the mystical sense. but the time is not yet, nor is the place of the experience here. the 24th path of the sepher yetzirah is called the imaginative intelligence, and it is said to be the ground of similitude in the likeness of beings and of things. the explanation is that the deep things of spiritual life are in correspondence with life manifested in the material world. similar bonds of comparison subsist between pysical and mystical death; both are a veil, and the curtains in both cases aer parted from with

literally and ritually the symbol of the second death, and to confront it by a forced entrance would be the attempt to attain spiritual life by going down into hell, and by the worship of satan in the place of god. it would be also as if one should seek to work evil by good, to enthrone the spirit of denial, and to open the abyss that heaven might be swallowed thereby. the 26th path of the sepher yetzirah is called the renewing intelligence, and all renovation in the world is said to be operated therewith. we come in this manner to recognise another aspect of the symbol, as a counterpoise to the previous memorials. satan is also god's emissary; he is life unregenerated, nature on the lower side, which is red in tooth and claw. he answers to the circle of necessity, blind force, and the bon

n and equilibrium, of providence in desirable change, as for example, in the transit from the material that is without to the spiritual that is within. it is also the principle of sacramental life, the ascent of human nature that the divine may come down therein. as here depicted, the key of temperance is really a synthesis of tiphereth and of the path which leads thereto. that path in the sepher yetzirah is called the intelligence of temptation or of trial, because it is the test of merit which god applies to those whom he calls to his service. the sacred name of tiphereth is bound upon the breast of the figure before you; the star of the hexagram is beneath it. the splendour of her five-pointed crown is drawn from the five upper sephiroth, and she directs with her hands the influences of

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 2 2

cticus the title of "lord of the twenty ninth path" and the first part of the ritual is ended. 278 illustration on page 279 approximated below_ hb:resh hb:samekh hb:tzaddi_ names in air tablet yetzirat- the_ ic attri- four lamp) pentacle butions worlds_ heiroph- hegemon ant lamp_ banner of_ the east. 17th key. of tarot_ black white /incen_ spirit/ se dee hiereus earth/ fire/ lamp_ geomant- water_ yetzira- ic figu- water tic num- res on_ bers tree_ grams_ grams& gore_ hb:taw_ diagram 42. arrangement of the temple for the 28th path in the 4= 7 ritual "the second part" the second part, the passage of the path of hb:tzaddi begins by the "hierophant" saying to the practicus "frater monokeros de astris, the path now open to you is the twenty- eighth, leading from the 2= 9 of theoricus to the 4=

ALICE BAILEY THE LABOURS OF HERCULES

ake the twisted line subservient to the straight line (the key of destiny, h. a. and f. h. curtiss. pp. 246- 247. it is interesting to note also that we are told in the kabalah "the eighteenth path is called the house of influence. and from the midst of the investigation the arcana and hidden sense are drawn forth which dwell in its shade and which cling to it from the cause of all causes (sepher yetzira, no. 30. this is what hercules, at the age of eighteen, is setting out to do. he must tread the path whereon all the hidden things can be brought forth into the light; he has reached the point where he can achieve knowledge of himself and can begin to investigate the hidden forces of nature. this is the problem of all disciples. the next episode in his career is his marriage and the birth

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

ritings (gospel of thomas, gospel of philip, book of enoch, writings from nag hammadi) and modern mormon revelations (oracles of mohonri, the order of the sons of zadok. the group believes in a secret oral tradition passed from moses to the essenes, to the gnostics, and eventually to joseph smith jr. that tradition is believed to be preserved in mystical books such as the pistis sophia and sepher yetzira. a 22-item statement of sai beliefs posits a heavenly hierarchy consisting of the heavenly father and mother; their son, jesus christ; the holy spirit; angels and archangels; and ministers of the flame (righteous humans made perfect. human beings are the literal offspring of the heavenly parents and have come into earthly existence to experience the mystery of mortality. redemption for hum

KARR DON NOTES ON EDITIONS OF SEFER YETZIRAH IN ENGLISH

4.14, derossi 1390 fols. 36b-38b (short; vatican library (cat. assemani) 299(8, fols. 66a-71b (long; the genizah scroll, cambridge university library, taylor-schechter k21/56+ glass 32/5+ glass 12/813 (saadian. these are supplemented by numerous others. see above, page 13 for articles which are sure to be included in such a collection. 20073 16 reiss, dr. fred. ancient secrets of creation: sepher yetzira, the book that started kabbalah, revealed. new york lincoln shanghai: iuniverse, inc, 2007 reiss sets up his translation/commentary with chapters summarizing greek philosophies on creation and jewish theologies of creation. the new translation is supplemented by lengthy explanations, complete with diagrams and tables. with its somewhat rosicrucian tone, reiss reinterpretation, has been wri

summaries are often misleading and frustratingly lacking in nuance, e.g, his statement, the knowledge that we call kabbalah is based on the doctrine and teachings of isaac luria, who was born in jerusalem during the 16th century( ancient secrets, page 87; reiss does go on to mention the zohar and moses de leon. in an excerpt from an interview with the author of ancient secrets of creation: sepher yetzira, the book that started kabbalah, revealed* dr. reiss begins to understand why god chose the aleph, mem, and sheen to be the mother letters of creation, we have to know three things. the first is that the author of sepher yetzira understood that the scroll of the five books of moses, called in hebrew, the torah, was the blueprint for the world because it contains the story of creation. the

uzari, in studies in medieval jewish philosophy (mentioned above) yochanan silman, philosopher and prophet: judah halevi, the kuzari, and the evolution of his thought (albany: state university of new york press, 1995) diane lobel, between mysticism and philosophy: sufi language of religious experience in judah ha-levi s kuzari (state university of new york press, 2000. chapter 4 (titled the sefer yetzira) of joseph dan s unique cherub circle (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 1999, begins the literature of the unique cherub circle is devoted, almost exclusively, to the interpretation of sefer yetzira. although we do not understand the main aspects of the circle s pseudepigraphical framework, its dependence on sefer yetzira without doubt the source of its mystical discourse is clear and obvious. chap

t bingen: mohr siebeck, 1999, begins the literature of the unique cherub circle is devoted, almost exclusively, to the interpretation of sefer yetzira. although we do not understand the main aspects of the circle s pseudepigraphical framework, its dependence on sefer yetzira without doubt the source of its mystical discourse is clear and obvious. chapter 12 discusses the commentaries on the sefer yetzira by elhanan ben yakar. dan points out (p. 37) that sy served as the main source of mystical speculation for 20073 25 sefer ha-bahir* the iyyun circle* the provence school as headed by rabbi isaac the blind, and the ashkenazi hasidim. the commentary of gaon of vilna (elijah ben solomon zalman) on sy is discussed in elliot r. wolfson s from sealed book to open text: time, memory, and narrativ

LAITMAN M BASIC CONCEPTS IN KABBALAH

ects to the created beings. the task of these filters is to weaken the light to such an extent that the creatures existing in our world will be able to perceive it. b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 24 sefirat (singular for sefirot) keter is also called the world adam kadmon; sefirat hochma is called the world atzilut; sefirat bina the world beria; the sefirot hesed to yesod the world yetzira; and sefirat malchut the world assiya. the last level of the world, assiya, constitutes our universe (see drawing 1. drawing 1 kabbalah calls this level olam ha zeh (this world. it is perceived by those who exist in it, and the vessel, or the will to enjoy, is called the body. the light, called pleasure, is perceived as the force of life. although the light that fills the body is reduced s

ld: matter, form in matter, abstract form, and essence. these four levels of attainment also exist in the ten sefirot. the first boundary: the zohar researches only matter and form in matter, but it in no way concerns itself with abstract form and essence. the second boundary: all that was created consists of three levels: 1. the world ein sof (infinity; 2. the world atzilut; 3. the worlds beria, yetzira, and assiya (bya. the zohar studies only the three last worlds bya. it does not study the worlds ein sof and atzilut in and of themselves, but only what the worlds bya receive from atzilut and ein sof. f r o m t h e p r e f a c e t o t h e z o h a r 55 the third boundary: each of the worlds bya consists of three levels: the ten sefirot that constitute the creator s part in each world; huma

rything else that exists: mala'achim (angels, levushim (dresses, and heichalot (palaces. the book of zohar studies human souls, whereas all other objects are analyzed only with respect to human souls. it is worth noting that all mistakes, inaccuracies, and delusions are the results of transcending these three boundaries. the following sefirot correspond to the four reviewed worlds atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya (abya: sefififirat (sefira of) hochma corresponds to the world atzilut; sefirat bina corresponds to the world beria; the six sefirot, from hesed to yesod, collectively called tifferet, correspond to the world yetzira; sefirat malchut corresponds to the world assiya. all that exists above the world atzilut refers to sefirat keter. however, each of the above worlds is also divided in

to the light. if we compare the white light to paper, then the message written on it presents the information, and its color stands out against the white background. in the same way, by perceiving red, green, and black, we are able to perceive light. the world atzilut (sefirat hochma) is the white background of the book, thus we are unable to conceive it. however, bina (the world beria, tifferet (yetzira, and malchut (assiya) that respectively correspond to red, green, and black, provide us with information based. f r o m t h e p r e f a c e t o t h e z o h a r 57 on their combinations, interactions, and reactions to the light passing from the world atzilut to our world. thus, it is as if the worlds beria, yetzira, and assiya form concentric coverings of the world atzilut. now let us look

er people. the desires for education and knowledge are met through higher objects. b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 60 all the spiritual worlds resemble one another, differing only in their levels. in this way, the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels in the world beria project themselves onto the corresponding inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human levels in the world yetzira. in their own turn, these levels of the world yetzira become imprinted in the corresponding levels of the world assiya and so on down to our world. the inanimate level in the spiritual worlds is called heichalot; the vegetative level is called levushim; the animate level is called mala'achim; the human level is called human souls in a particular world. the ten sefirot in each world are con

o contact with it. since the zohar studies only souls that are clothed in bodies of this world, ein sof is also studied only in that respect. in other words, the book researches the influence, program, and desire of ein sof with regard to us, but not with regard to any other objects in other worlds. the entire program of creation from beginning to end is included in ein sof, and the worlds beria, yetzira, assiya, as well as our world, constitute the actual implementation of this program. therefore, all actions in all the worlds are consequences of the execution of the program that was rooted in ein sof, and from there they descend to the world atzilut and break into distinct sub-prof r o m t h e p r e f a c e t o t h e z o h a r 61 grams. they come down in a certain order through the world

a accordingly receive the program, method, and time allotted for the implementation of each of its parts from the ten sefirot of the world atzilut. since in the world atzilut, the plan of creation exists as a program, the light of ein sof that passes through atzilut remains uncolored. all the information we obtain is based on the endless transformations of light, which reveal the colors of beria, yetzira, and assiya to us. 62 c h a p t e r 10 f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e z o h a r to understand at least something about the surrounding nature and ourselves, we need to have a clear idea of the purpose of creation and its final state, as the intermediate states are rather deceptive. kabbalists assert that the purpose of creation is to bring the created beings to the ultimat

please ourselves cannot break through this shell without kabbalah, the instrument of our correction. we cannot turn the will to enjoy into a will to please others and the creator. this is why we think that the entire world is only what we see and feel, failing to perceive how much good the creator has prepared for us. all that was created is divided into five worlds: adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya. nevertheless, every one of them consists of an endless number of elements. the five worlds correspond to five sefirot: adam kadmon corresponds to sefirat keter, atzilut corresponds to sefirat hochma, beria to sefirat bina, yetzira to sefirat tifferet, and assiya corresponds to sefirat malchut. f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e z o h a r 75 the light (pleasure) th

o h a r 75 the light (pleasure) that fills the worlds is accordingly divided into five types: yechida, haya, neshama, ruach, and nefesh (the abbreviation in the reverse order forms the word nrnhy. therefore, the world adam kadmon is filled with pleasure (light) called yechida; the world atzilut is filled with pleasure called haya; the world beria is filled with pleasure called neshama; the world yetzira is filled with pleasure called ruach; and the world assiya is filled with pleasure called nefesh (see table 1. table 1 b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 76 from the creator come the worlds. that is, both the desire to receive delight and the delight that fills them come from the creator. yet, each world is in turn divided into sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, tifferet, and malchut

s no difference between the sefirot from the highest (keter of ak) to the lowest (malchut of assiya, such a difference does exist with respect to the person receiving the light. sefirot are divided into vessels and the light that fills them. the light emanates from the creator himself. the vessels are also called sefirot keter, hochma, bina, tifferet, and malchut. in the last three worlds, beria, yetzira, and assiya, these vessels constitute filters that block and precisely measure portions of light to the receiver. in this way, everyone receives a portion that exactly corresponds to that soul s spiritual level of development. although the light inside them is homogeneous, from the perspective of the receiver, we refer to the lights as nrnhy because the light is divided according to the pr

LAITMAN M FROM CHAOS TO HARMONY

ce of others. when we correct each of the desires by using them altruistically instead of egoistically, kabbalah calls this performing mitzvot (keeping commandments. this refers to changing the intention with which we use our desires, not to any physical actions. the method for achieving equilibrium with nature, beyond the ego, was discovered by abraham. it is called the wisdom of kabbalah. sefer yetzira (the book of creation) is also ascribed to abraham. abraham began to teach this wisdom to his people, the ancient babylonians. it was written that abraham the patriarch would bring them into his home, give them food and drink, and would bring them closer (bereshit raba 84:4. however, most of the people did not take interest in correcting their egos. but after abraham and his wife, sarah, m

LAITMAN M KABBALAH REVEALED

. moreover, the worlds don t actually exist unless we create them by becoming like the creator. the reason they are spoken of in past tense is that kabbalists who have climbed from our world to the spiritual worlds tell us what they ve found. if we want to find the spiritual worlds as well, we will have to recreate these worlds within us by becoming altruistic. the origin of creation 71 the world yetzira is the workable part of the speaking level, and the lower part of the speaking level, the creature, is the unworkable part. finally, the world assiya is the workable part of the spiritual, most intense level of desires, and the lower part of the spiritual level, the creature, is the unworkable part. now you know why, if we correct humanity, everything else will be corrected at the same tim

se will be corrected at the same time. so let s talk about us and what happened to us. a dam h a r i s h o n x t h e c ommo n s o u l adam ha rishon, the common soul (the creature, is the actual root of everything that happens here. it is a structure of desires that emerged once the formation of the spiritual worlds was completed. as we ve said above, the five worlds, adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya complete the development of the upper part of phase four. but the lower part still needs to be developed. in other words, the soul is made of unworkable desires that couldn t receive light in order to give to the creator when they were first created. now they must surface one by one and become corrected xworkable xwith the help of the worlds, the workable desires. thus, just li

tructed similarly, but with a different intensity of desires. because of that, the worlds can show the soul how to work in order to bestow and thus help adam ha rishon become corrected. roughly speaking, each desire is corrected in a specific world: the still level is corrected in the world adam kadmon; the vegetative in the world atzilut; the animate in the world beria; the speaking in the world yetzira; and the desire for spirituality can only be corrected in the world assiya, the lowest part of which is our physical universe. and that brings us to the topic of our next chapter. 75 4 our universe in the beginning of the previous chapter, we wrote that before anything was created, there was the thought of creation. this thought created phases one through four of the will to receive, which

he greater the light; the greater the light, the quicker we ll find the correct path. we still need to understand how the surrounding light builds our kli and why it is called light to begin with. and to understand all that, we must understand the concept of reshimot. the spiritual worlds and the soul of adam ha rishon evolved in a certain order. in the worlds, it was adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya; and in adam ha rishon, the evolution was named after the kind of desires is there a difference between naming the light surrounding light or just light? the different titles, surrounding light and light, relate to two functions of the same light. light that is not considered surrounding is what we experience as pleasure, while surrounding light is the light that builds our kli

, the spiritual force created a corporeal particle, which began to evolve. this was the big bang. keep in mind that when kabbalists talk about the spiritual world and the corporeal, physical world, they are referring to altruistic or egoistic features, respectively. they never refer to worlds that take up physical space in some undiscovered universe. we can t take a spaceship and fly to the world yetzira, for example, or even discover spirituality by changing our behavior. we can only discover it by becoming altruistic x similar to the creator. when we do that, we will discover that the creator is already within us and that he has always been here, waiting for us. all degrees prior to the last, evolve without awareness of their selves. in terms of our personal awareness, the fact that we e

l, the level of spiritual ascent. we must always remember that our final level of human development should unfold consciously and willingly. without an explicit desire for spiritual growth, no spiritual evolution can occur. after all, the spiritual evolution from above downward had already happened. we have been brought down the four phases of light to the five worlds adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya, and were finally placed here in this world. if we are now to climb back up the spiritual ladder, we must choose to do so. if we forget that the purpose of creation is for us to become like the creator, we will not understand why nature doesn t help us xand sometimes even places obstacles on our way. but if, on the other hand, we keep only nature s goal in mind, we will feel th

great it is until i have actually reached it. if i knew my reward in advance, it wouldn t be real altruism, but disguised egoism. i n a n u t s h e l l the physical world evolves by the same order of degrees as the spiritual world, through a pyramid of desires. in the spiritual world, the desires (still, vegetative, animate, speaking, and spiritual) create the worlds adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya. in the physical world, they create minerals, plants, animals, people, and people with points in their hearts. the physical world was created when the soul of adam ha rishon shattered. in that state, all the desires began to appear one by one from light to heavy, from still to spiritual, creating our world phase by phase. today, at the beginning of the 21st century, all the deg

ha rishon. this is how the spiritual worlds were created. however, we have already passed the creation of these worlds, and are on our way up to higher levels, though it doesn t always feel like it. in our state, adam s soul has already broken in pieces. the zohar teaches that the vast majority of the pieces, whose reality is reality? 97 99 percent to be exact, were scattered to the worlds beria, yetzira, and assiya (bya, and the remaining one percent rose to atzilut. since adam s soul makes up the content of the worlds bya and has been scattered throughout these worlds, and since we are all pieces of that soul, clearly everything we perceive can only be parts of these worlds. everything we sense as coming from higher worlds than bya, such as atzilut and adam kadmon, is therefore inaccurat

LAITMAN M KABBALAH ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND

nd the creator. the existence of a spiritual place is not related to any actual space. all those who reach this state after correcting their spiritual qualities can see and perceive the same things. the ladder of the creator has 125 levels. these levels are divided evenly between five spiritual worlds. these worlds are: the world of adam kadmon the world of atzilut the world of beria the world of yetzira the world of assiya. each level provides a different perception of the creator, depending on each level s particular properties. therefore, those who have acquired the properties of a specific level see kabbalah and the creator in a completely new way. everyone who attains a particular level of the spiritual world receives the same perception as everyone else on the same level. when the ka

the worlds bya. then, we should determine what will please the creator. consequently, we will see that we can only please the creator by experiencing pleasure. this is called "receiving for the sake of the creator" and denotes the level of the world (atzilut. attaining the different degrees of intensity of the desire to give selflessly to the creator is called "the steps of the worlds bya (beria, yetzira, assiya. acquiring the power to receive pleasure from the creator for his sake is known as "reaching the level of the world (atzilut. beit midrash is the place where we learn to demand (lidrosh) spiritual strength of the creator and the spiritual strength. there we also learn to demand the perception of the goal of creation, as well as the perception of the creator. since we (our bodies, o

creator, and entreaties of friends to elevate oneself to new desires to love and fear the creator; if one displayed shallowness of thought, disrespect for the spiritual, and a pull towards base pleasures, then that person would descend to the level of evil powers. in this case, the person would step along the left lane in the corresponding levels of the evil (egoistic) worlds abya (azilut, beria, yetzira, assiya. however, the suffering would become a vessel into which a new perception of the creator can be received. progress made through the way of kabbalah differs from the way of suffering, in that we are given the light of the- 206- attaining the worlds beyond creator. this is a feeling of the creator s presence, which is then taken from us. when we lack this pleasure, we begin to long f

he indifference and laziness of the body, seek in kabbalah the ways to draw closer to the creator, this point gradually becomes filled with pure and good desires. thus, we gain the perception of the creator on the first spiritual level, the level of the world assiya. then, passing in his perceptions all the stages of the world assiya, we can begin to perceive the creator on the level of the world yetzira, and so on, until we reach the highest level the perception of the creator on the level of the world atzilut. every time, we experience all our perceptions in the same inner point of our hearts. in the past, when our hearts were under the influence of the desires of the body, so the inner point in the heart received absolutely no perception of the- 212- attaining the worlds beyond creator

them closer to him, the creator gradually decreased his presence by diminishing his light in order to create our world. the four phases of gradual (from above downwards) concealment of the creator s presence are known as "the worlds" these are: atzilut: a world in which those present are completely unified with the creator. beria: a world in which those present have a connection with the creator. yetzira: a world in which those present perceive the creator- 227- assiya: a world in which those present almost completely or completely do not perceive the creator. this level includes our world as the last, the lowest and the most removed from the creator. all the above worlds have emerged one from the other and, in a way, are replicas of one another. each lower world, the one further removed f

ave already taken place in the past in a higher world, and all that has taken place there is the result of what took place even earlier, and so on, up to the point where all four parameters world, time, soul, and the source of existence merge in a single source of existence, in the creator! this "place" is known as atzilut. the clothing of the creator in the garments of the worlds atzilut, beria, yetzira (his appearance to us by means of illuminations of light through screens which weaken these worlds) is known as kabbalah. the clothing of the creator in the garment of our world, the world of assiya, is known as the written torah. in truth, however, there is no difference between kabbalah and the torah of this world. the source of everything is the creator. in other words, to study and to

d to live according to kabbalah, is determined by the spiritual level of the student. if one is on the level of this world, then one sees and perceives this world and the torah as everything. however, should the student move to a higher level, a different picture will emerge. the sheath of this world will vanish and what will be left are the sheaths of the worlds- 228- attaining the worlds beyond yetzira and beria. then the torah and all reality will appear different, as it does to those who reach the level of the world, yetzira. at that point, the bible, with all its stories about animals, wars and the objects of this world, will be transformed into kabbalah the description of the world, yetzira. if the person elevates himself even further into the world of beria or atzilut, then an entir

those from whom the creator is in complete concealment exist in the world of assiya. that is why, in the end, all appears to them as not good: the world appears as full of suffering, since they cannot perceive it otherwise due to the concealment of the creator. if they do, in fact, experience pleasure, it appears merely as pleasure that follows suffering. it is only when one attains the level of yetzira that the creator partially reveals himself and allows a person to see his governing by reward and punishment; thus is born love (dependent on the reward) and fear (dependent on punishment) in that person. the third step unconditional love appears when one realizes that the creator has never caused one harm, but only good. this corresponds to the level of beria. when the creator reveals the

creator to help us, then we strengthen our bond with him and instead receive a pure force. this elevates us to a higher spiritual level, and at that moment the impure force stops affecting us, since it has already performed its role. the impure force of the world assiya (step 1) this force aspires to instill events through the denial of the existence of the creator. the impure force of the world yetzira (step 2) this force aspires to convince us that the world is governed not through reward and punishment, but by means of arbitrariness- 230- attaining the worlds beyond the impure force of the world beria (step 3) this force aspires to neutralize our perception of the creator s love for us, which in turn invokes our love for the creator. the impure force of the world atzilut (step 4) this

evelation of the creator and the attainment of pleasure from getting closer to him, requires our overcoming the corresponding opposite forces. these arise in the forms of thought and desire. only when they are overcome can we ascend to the next level and take another step forward on our path. from the above, we can conclude that the range of spiritual forces and senses of the four worlds, assiya- yetzira- beria-atzilut, has a corresponding range of opposite and parallel forces and senses from the four impure worlds of assiya-yetzira-beria-atzilut. movement forward is an alternating process. only after overcoming all the impure forces and obstacles sent to us by the creator, and then asking the creator to reveal himself, thus endowing us with the strength needed to withstand the power of im

LAITMAN M KABBALAH SCIENCE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

tion of eternal life, and endless, boundless stream of pleasures. this is where our lives are leading us. 26 t h e n at u r e o f m at t e r the wisdom of kabbalah has evolved over thousands of years and been disseminated among kabbalists throughout history. i would like to briefly review the key points in this process. the first kabbalist was abraham the patriarch (approximately 1,800 bce. sefer yetzira (the book of creation) is ascribed to him. 500 years after abraham, moses wrote his book of torah (the pentateuch, around 1,350 bce. in the 2nd century ce rabbi shimon bar-yochai wrote sefer ha zohar (the book of splendor. kabbalah thrived in the 16th century israeli town of safed, led by the kabbalist rabbi yitzhak luria ashkenazi, the ari (1534-1572. he presented his method in his books

ents (coverings) on the upper light, called worlds (the hebrew word for world is olam, which stems from the word haalama, concealment. at the bottom of the chain of worlds stands this world. because the process that created the creature was comprised of five parts, the lessening of the upper light occurs through five degrees of concealment, five worlds whose names are adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya. in the process of constructing these worlds, the creature builds a surrounding environment for itself. in the world atzilut, the will to receive is split in two: an inner part soul--and an outer part environment (surroundings, in which the soul operates. this stage still does not pertain to our world. as a result of later events, the soul and its environment will experience a

introduction to the book of zohar. the first researcher to ask about the universe and the forces that conduct humanity was abraham. he was one of many people who lived in mesopotamia (ancient persia, and in those days there was no division into nations. he discovered the method by which we can know the reality beyond our ordinary perception, and described his research and discoveries in his sefer yetzira (book of creation. abraham began to gather students and teach them the wisdom of kabbalah. in time, this group of kabbalists became a nation. many years later, after the ruin of the first and second temples, this group of kabbalists lost its perception of the upper reality; they fell from their degree of spiritual consciousness and were able only to perceive their physical reality. this wa

world. from here we humans must climb back to our roots. consequently, kabbalah deals with two successions: from above downward, t h e s t ru c t u r e o f r e a l i t y 95 pertaining to the cascading of the worlds and their degrees, and from below upward, pertaining to the soul s ascent through the very same degrees. the worlds that stem from the creator are ein sof, adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya, and finally, our world (figure 12. kabbalah describes both the creation of the worlds and how a soul descends from the creator through all the worlds down to ours. between the upper worlds and our world is the barrier that separates the material world from the spiritual world. figure 12 below the barrier, the body and the soul are at the level of this world, and we begin our corre

all the worlds down to ours. between the upper worlds and our world is the barrier that separates the material world from the spiritual world. figure 12 below the barrier, the body and the soul are at the level of this world, and we begin our correction process at this level. from this world, the soul ascends by accumulating knowledge of the spiritual reality, traversing the worlds assiya, beria, yetzira, atzilut, pa r t i i: t h e e s s e n c e o f t h e w i s d o m o f k a b b a l a h 96 adam kadmon, ultimately returning to the world ein sof. there, in a state called gmar tikkun (the end of correction, the soul is completely reunited with the creator. the wisdom of kabbalah encompasses the entire reality below the creator: the worlds, everything within them, the descent of the soul to th

onstructing a house and even puts one s thoughts in writing without having the materials. below the world atzilut is the parsa, the separation between the atzilut and the world below it. the creatures begin from the parsa downward. yet, the creator does not have to wait for the creatures actions. for him, the thought and the blueprint are the whole reality. below the parsa exist the worlds beria, yetzira, assiya, and below them is this world (figure 14. figure 14 light comes from the world atzilut downward according to one s desire to build the house. this desire, which one raises towards the upper light, is one s intention to please the creator and resemble him. in other words, it is the intention to obtain similarity with the creator. r e g a i n i n g c o n s c i o u s n e s s 141 the p

t existence of nature, existence in the positive, not the negative. all levels of existence are contained within man; they rise and fall along with him. if a person becomes a real human, similar to the creator, all of nature inanimate, vegetative, and animate receive a different nourishment and fulfillment. when humankind resembles the creator, this world will be incorporated in the worlds beria, yetzira, and assiya, and will rise along with them to ein sof. all of nature will then rise and bond with the creator. in the egoistic and corrupted state, one does not see that the picture of reality is empty and lacks the presence of the creator in it. the creator appears as the provider of reality along with the acquisition of the sixth sense. he appears as the one who is inside reality s every

material world the reality sensed through the five physical senses. matter the will to receive. nearing the creator obtaining greater measures of the attribute of bestowal. our world the reality that is felt in the will to receive. parsa the boundary between the upper guidance and leadership, and the creatures that it operates. the parsa is situated between the world atzilut and the worlds beria, yetzira, assiya. partzuf a structure made of the ten sefirot of the creature that operate in equivalence of form with the upper light. k a b b a l a h, s c i e n c e, a n d t h e m e a n i n g o f l i f e 198 patterns (forms) manners of reception or bestowal. perfection the state when the creature is in equivalence of form with the creator. person (in this world) the will to receive is in a state

LAITMAN M THE KABBALAH EXPERIENCE

nnot stem from the same spiritual root. each creation has its own spiritual root. but i thought that everything came from the same root v keter? a: you are right, everything does come from the creator and then descends to the world of atzilut, where the system of the management and the correction of the soul of the first man (meaning our souls) is formed. the three lower worlds to atzilut (beria, yetzira, assiya) were created in its image. these worlds are a diminished, yet accurate image of the world of atzilut. our world was created much like those worlds. everything that exists in any of the four worlds descends from the world of atzilut. by the same path, the soul rises from our world to atzilut. we attain the world of atzilut by replacing our attributes, which are called our world, wi

t law. everything that happens at any given moment in creation, its t h e k a b b a l a h e x p e r i e n c e 36 sole purpose is to make people come to the point of utter bliss v to be filled with the light of the creator. the creator acts much like gravity: in the center of creation is the creator. the souls were distanced five worlds away from him. these include ak (adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira and assiya, all the way to the farthest point called our world. from that last point, he pulls us toward him. we sense that pull as pain v beginning with disease and ending in painful death. but if we make an effort to approach the creator by cooperating with that force, we will not feel the pain. instead, we will feel that force as good. if, however, we refuse to go along with that pullin

ation, we may possibly accelerate our ability to sense, analyze, correct and digest the pains of the desire to enjoy. as a result, these go by so quickly that we immediately use them in the opposite way, meaning we turn desires that were meant to give us pleasure into a basis for desires to please the creator. a great part of the kabbalist s journey is spent in the worlds of abya (atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya, where the kabbalist gradually turns intended and unintended sins into virtues, and thus justifies the works of the creator and his guidance. in these worlds, the system makes it possible to shorten the process significantly. r e a l i t y i n t h e e y e s o f k a b b a l a h q: i read that kabbalah develops the ability to sense the elements of reality and the spiritual worlds. bu

ty works. using charts and formut h e k a b b a l a h e x p e r i e n c e 72 las, it depicts the control room of reality in a form much like a user s manual. these visuals teach us how the laws work in spirituality, and how we can influence them with mind and will, consequently affecting the results that return to affect us. t h e b o o k o f c r e at i o n q: rav laitman, when you say that sefer yetzira (the book of creation) was written by abraham the patriarch, should we imagine one man who reached the spiritual level called, abraham, or was it abraham, the historical figure. in the second case, if abraham wrote the book before moses, then how is the name of the prophet, yehezkel (ezekiel, mentioned there (mishnah 8, p.1? this prophet lived centuries after abraham did. a: the book of cr

ezkel (ezekiel, mentioned there (mishnah 8, p.1? this prophet lived centuries after abraham did. a: the book of creation was supposedly written by abraham. this is the opinion of judaism, not my own. i actually never say anything on my own and can always provide a reference for my words. that is why my adversaries do not oppose me, they oppose kabbalah! baal hasulam says in his letters that sefer yetzira was written by some other kabbalist. regarding the time, this is a question only for you and not for abraham or another kabbalist. however, nothing will help until you, too, see from the beginning of the world to its end. the kabbalist mastering a certain spiritual level sees, feels and bonds with everyone on that level regardless of whether it already happened in our world or is yet to co

m reality. that is the science involved, and today it can be revealed to anyone who seeks it. 85 c h a p t e r 3. t h e s t u dy o f k a b b a l a h i n t r o d u c t i o n kabbalah has always been taught through books. the first books about kabbalah were written thousands of years ago. adam ha rishon (the first man) wrote the book, the angel raziel, and abraham the patriarch wrote the book sefer yetzira (book of creation. the zohar was written some 1900 years ago. all of these books are still for sale today. through them, we can study the wisdom of kabbalah. the principal, fundamental book that we study by is called talmud eser hasefirot (the study of the ten sefirot. it consists of six volumes and more than 2000 pages that depict the laws of the system of creation in scientific terms. wh

upper light, our torments will gradually increase until they finally make us realize the reason for our pain. it is our souls need to reclaim the light that filled it before it came down to our world. the soul of man starts its existence in the world of ein sof. it then descends through five higher worlds, before finally clothing our physical bodies. those worlds are: adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya. the result of the descent is that we are completely dependent on the components and characteristics of that spiritual system. thus, we must study that system in order to function according to its laws, instead of roaming blindly through our world, beaten time and again but not knowing why. the principal law of that system is altruism. it acts whether we are aware of it or not

desires and thoughts. but how can we creatures, with our will to enjoy, want to delight in the creator, in his perfection and his stature, and make that will stem from within ourselves? for that purpose, the creator hides himself. by gradually descending from above, he slowly distances himself and creates five worlds (in hebrew the word, world, also means concealment: adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya. s p i r i t ua l wo r k 149 each degree, or each world, is another degree of concealment of the creator. below these worlds is our world, where the creator is not felt at all. the will to enjoy is five worlds apart from the creator, until the light reaches our world, which is why we only feel ourselves in this world. but that can only be felt through the concealment that the world

god above. only that desire can be filled with light, meaning the sensation of the creator. the creator created only one thing: a desire to enjoy. that desire is divided in several parts: 1. desires of the world of ein sof (infinite world- the greatest desires. 2. desires of the world of adam kadmon. 3. desires of the world of atzilut. 4. desires of the world of beria. 5. desires of the world of yetzira. 6. desires of the world of assiya. 7. desires of this world- the smallest of all desires, which operate with the intent for myself. our substance is a small desire for pleasure. the soul evolves in us gradually. we develop our lowest desires through desires for food, sex and family. then come the desires for wealth, respect, control and power; then for knowledge. if we have developed thes

d e o f pa r t z u f i m a n d b o d i e s q: after the breaking of the first man (the collective soul, 600,000 parts were created. why, then, are we so different if each of us forms a similar part of something uniform and whole? a: the vessel, or body of the first man, is comprised of ten sefirot. the whole body of the first man is, or dresses on, the thirty sefirot of the worlds of bya (beria, yetzira, assiya: its head (rosh) in beria, its throat (garon) in the six upper sefirot of yetzira, its body starts from the chazeh (chest) of yetzira, down to the chazeh of assiya, and its legs (raglaim) start from the chazeh through the end of assiya. the characteristics of the sefirot are different from one another and are linked with one another only by the intent for the creator. if the intent

LAITMAN M THE PATH OF KABBALAH

creen, there is no need for the curtain, because the screen can resist the light. t h e d i v i s i o n o f t h e 1 2 5 d e g r e e s t h at c o n s t i t u t e o u r wa y there are 125 degrees of attainment between our world and the world ein sof. but all we need for our correction is to reach the world of atzilut, meaning the end of the second restriction. we have to cross the worlds of assiya, yetzira, and beria, each consisting of 2,000 years (states, degrees. thus, the sum total of the corrections we have to go through is 6,000, after which we enter the corrections that belong to the first restriction. our souls consist of five parts: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. they are divided by the intensity of their will to receive, and t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 30 form t

ascending to the world of atzilut, we confirm that our vessels of bestowal are corrected. we cannot correct our vessels of reception. so what can we do? we can gradually raise our vessels of reception (ahp) from the worlds of bya to the world of atzilut. we first raise the ahp from the world of beria, which is the ahp with the least amount of egoism. after that we raise the ahp from the world of yetzira, which are more egoistic, and finally we raise the ahp from the world of assiya, the most egoistic of all vessels. we don t actually correct the vessels/desires, only connect them with their corresponding ge, and combine them with the altruistic desires. after every correction we receive more light. the correction is called an ascent. there is an ascent from each of the places of the world

ch are more egoistic, and finally we raise the ahp from the world of assiya, the most egoistic of all vessels. we don t actually correct the vessels/desires, only connect them with their corresponding ge, and combine them with the altruistic desires. after every correction we receive more light. the correction is called an ascent. there is an ascent from each of the places of the worlds of beria, yetzira, and assiya. the ahp that rise to the world of atzilut are not real desires to receive (vessels of reception, they are not our self, our stony heart. we are incapable of correcting that part. the only part we can correct is a small portion called ahp de aliyah (raised ahp. but no greater correction is needed. as soon as this correction is made, the creator himself will correct the stony he

e seventh day of the pa r t o n e: t h e b e g i n n i n g 31 week, and the beginnings of the month. they are given to us only because we have already corrected our vessels of bestowal, want nothing for ourselves, and are already in the world of atzilut. the first act the ascent will be the joining of the ahp de aliyah of the world of beria; the second will occur by adding the ahp of the world of yetzira; and the third will be the adding of the ahp of the world of assiya. when a person has already ascended these three degrees, the stony heart is corrected, constituting the end of correction. we can feel pleasure either from receiving or from giving. the pleasure from giving is felt in the vessels of bestowal, while the pleasure from receiving is felt in the vessels of reception. but both t

the world of assiya. then, as a result of our studies and the additional efforts we make, we acquire a screen over a greater amount of egoism, that of aviut aleph (first degree of coarseness) and can now receive the light of ruach in order to bestow. accordingly, we have protection against stealing a larger sum of money, say $1000. in such a case, we pass from the world of assiya to the world of yetzira. in the same way, when acquiring a screen for the second degree of coarseness, we ascend from yetzira to beria. by passing from one world to the next, the curtain falls off the previous world and instead we place over it a screen that suits the coarseness of that world. the screen that covered the higher world moves into the vessel and the higher world appears. when that happens, we are ab

se above it and keep it of our own conscious will. since our souls consist of five parts, we must acquire five separate screens in ascending degrees of power, according to the coarseness of the egoism. we cross the barrier when we acquire a screen of root coarseness and attain the spiritual degree of the world of assiya. a screen for first degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of yetzira. a screen for second degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of beria. a screen for third degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of atzilut. and finally, a screen for fourth degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of adam kadmon. above adam kadmon, the soul ascends to the world of ein sof. there are five partzufim in every world, comprised of f

to partzuf zeir anpin of the world of assiya. five more sefirot and we come to partzuf bina of assiya, five more and we are in partzuf hochma of assiya, and the last five sefirot render us partzuf keter of the world of assiya. in this way, the soul acquires the screens in the root coarseness of the world of assiya and goes over to the first screen of the first degree of coarseness of the world of yetzira. the soul continues this way until it crosses all the worlds and all 125 degrees. when we are in the world of assiya with our root coarseness, our soul evolves through a number of degrees like a fetus in its mother s womb (bina. the conception lasts nine months, the same time it takes for a woman to give birth in our world. the birth of the soul is the transition from root to first degree

all the worlds and all 125 degrees. when we are in the world of assiya with our root coarseness, our soul evolves through a number of degrees like a fetus in its mother s womb (bina. the conception lasts nine months, the same time it takes for a woman to give birth in our world. the birth of the soul is the transition from root to first degree coarseness, from the world of assiya to the world of yetzira, which corresponds to the birth of a baby in our world. in the world of beria, the soul undergoes a two-year phase of suckling, during which the soul evolves and receives light that gradually increases its screen. t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 34 but in the world of beria, the soul is still in a state of katnut (meaning it only has vessels of ge. beyond the world of atzilut begins the g

them differently. the spiritual world is attained from below upward. but in order for this instruction to be suitable for everyone, kabbalists wrote it from above downward, not from below. it is actually the same road, but when looking from above, it is described in more general terms, more uniform. light descends from the creator, building five worlds on its way down adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya. below the world of assiya there is the barrier a partition that separates this world from the spiritual worlds. there is another partition between the world of atzilut and the worlds below it. it is called parsa. between the world of ein sof and the world of atzilut, there is the restriction. thus, from the highest state the world of ein sof down to the lowest, where we are, t

re is the barrier a partition that separates this world from the spiritual worlds. there is another partition between the world of atzilut and the worlds below it. it is called parsa. between the world of ein sof and the world of atzilut, there is the restriction. thus, from the highest state the world of ein sof down to the lowest, where we are, there are five worlds adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya, each consisting of five partzufim and each partzuf of five sefirot. in total, the number of degrees that stand between our (necessary) future state and our present state is 125. these degrees are not carved in stone, but are inside us. they are degrees of internal spiritual development. when we change something inside us, we ascend by one degree. when we change another, we climb a

THE PATH OF KABBALAH

reator. when there is a screen there is no need for the curtain, because the screen can resist the light. what is the division of the 125 degrees that our way consists of? there are 125 degrees of attainment between our world and the world ein sof. but all we need for our correction is to reach the world of atzilut, meaning the end of the second restriction. we have to cross the worlds of assiya, yetzira and beria, each consisting of 2,000 years (states, degrees. thus, the sum total of the corrections we have to go through is 6,000, after which we enter the corrections that belong to the first restriction. our soul consists of five parts: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin and malchut. they are divided by the intensity of their will to receive, and form two groups: galgalta and eynaim (keter

y ascending to the world of atzilut we confirm that our vessels of bestowal are corrected. we cannot correct our vessels of reception. so what can we do? we can gradually raise our vessels of reception (ahp) from the worlds of bya to the world of atzilut. we first raise the ahp from the world of beria, which is the ahp with the least amount of egoism. after that we raise the ahp from the world of yetzira, which are more egoistic, and finally we raise the ahp from the 22 of 273 world of assiya, the most egoistic of all vessels. we don t actually correct the vessel-desires, only connect them with their corresponding ge, and combine them with the altruistic desires. after every correction we receive more light. the correction is called an ascent. there are three ascents altogether, or better

f 273 world of assiya, the most egoistic of all vessels. we don t actually correct the vessel-desires, only connect them with their corresponding ge, and combine them with the altruistic desires. after every correction we receive more light. the correction is called an ascent. there are three ascents altogether, or better phrased, there is an ascent from each of the places of the worlds of beria, yetzira, and assiya. the ahp that rise to the world of atzilut are not real desires to receive (vessels of reception, they are not our self, our stony heart. we are incapable of correcting that part. the only part we can correct is a small portion called ahp dealiyah (raised ahp. but no greater correction is needed either. as soon as this correction is through, the creator himself will correct the

the shabbat (saturday, the seventh day of the week) and the beginnings of the month. those are given to a person only for the reason that he has already corrected his vessels of bestowal, wants nothing for himself and is already in the world of atzilut. the first act the ascent will be the joining of the ahp dealiyah of the world of beria; the second will be done by adding the ahp of the world of yetzira, and the third the adding of the ahp of the world of assiya. when a person has already climbed these three degrees, there is the correction of the stony heart, constituting the end of correction. we can either feel pleasure from receiving or from giving. the pleasure from giving is felt in the vessels of bestowal while the pleasure from receiving is felt in the vessels of reception. but bo

led the world of assiya. then, as a result of the study and the additional efforts we make, we acquire a screen over a greater measure of egoism, that of aviut aleph (1st degree coarseness) and can now receive the light of ruach in order to bestow. accordingly, we have protection against stealing for a larger sum of money, say $1000. in such a case we pass from the world of assiya to the world of yetzira. in the same way, when acquiring a screen for 2nd degree of coarseness, we ascend from yetzira to beria. by passing from one world to the next, the curtain falls off the previous world and instead we place over it a screen that suits the coarseness of that world. the screen is swallowed inside and becomes redundant. when that happens, we become able to keep the law of the world we are in a

eed the law; we rise above it and keep it of our own conscious decision. since our soul consists of five parts, we must acquire five separate screens in power, according to the coarseness of the egoism: we cross the barrier when we acquire a screen of root coarseness, and attain the spiritual degree of the world of assiya. a screen for 1st degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of yetzira. a screen for 2nd degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of beria. a screen for 3rd degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of atzilut. and finally, a screen for 4th degree coarseness raises us to the degree of the world of adam kadmon. above adam kadmon the soul ascends to the world of ein sof. there are five partzufim in every world, comprised of five sefir

se us to partzuf zeir anpin of the world of assiya. five more sefirot and we come to partzuf bina of assiya, five more and we are in partzuf hochma of assiya, and the last five sefirot render us partzuf keter of the world of assiya. this is how the soul acquires the screens in the root coarseness of the world of assiya and goes over to the first screen of the 1st degree coarseness of the world of yetzira. the soul continues this way until it crosses all the worlds and all 125 degrees. when we are in the world of assiya with our root coarseness, our soul evolves through a number of degrees like a fetus in its mother s womb (bina. the conception lasts nine months, the same time it takes for a woman in our world. the birth of the soul is the transition from root, to 1st degree coarseness, fro

ntil it crosses all the worlds and all 125 degrees. when we are in the world of assiya with our root coarseness, our soul evolves through a number of degrees like a fetus in its mother s womb (bina. the conception lasts nine months, the same time it takes for a woman in our world. the birth of the soul is the transition from root, to 1st degree coarseness, from the world of assiya to the world of yetzira, which corresponds to the birth of a baby in 24 of 273 our world. in the world of beria the soul undergoes a two year phase of sucking, during which the soul evolves and receives light that gradually increases its screen. but in the world of beria the soul is still in a state of katnut (meaning its only got vessels of ge. beyond the world of atzilut begins the gradual process of the growth

t though the ways are common to all, each person experiences them differently. in order for this instruction to be suitable for everyone, kabbalists wrote it from above downward, not from below. it is in fact the same road, but when looking from above, it is described in more general terms, more uniform. light descends from the creator, building five worlds on its way adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya. below the world of assiya there is the barrier a partition that separates this world from the spiritual worlds. there is another partition between the world of atzilut and the worlds below it. it is called parsa. between the world of ein sof and the world of atzilut there is the restriction. thus, from the highest state the world of ein sof down to the lowest, where we are, there

re is the barrier a partition that separates this world from the spiritual worlds. there is another partition between the world of atzilut and the worlds below it. it is called parsa. between the world of ein sof and the world of atzilut there is the restriction. thus, from the highest state the world of ein sof down to the lowest, where we are, there are five worlds- adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya, each consisting of five partzufim and each partzuf of five sefirot. thus, the total number of degrees that stand between our (necessary) future state and our present state is 125. these degrees are not made of marble or stone, they are inside us. they are degrees of internal spiritual development. when a person changes something inside himself, he ascends by one degree. when he ch

CHRONOLOGIA RORISPERGIUS

by plotinus. 875 d. abu yazid al-bistami sufi said to have first expressed symbolism of wine, cup, and cupbearer "i have come to know allah through allah, and i have come to know what is other than allah with the light of allah "praise to me, for my greatest glory "i set forth on an ocean when the [earlier] prophets were still by the shore" 882-942 se'adia ga'on of fajum. commentary on the "sefer yezirah" 10th ce sword of moses composed 900- beginning of the bogomils of bulgaria, a manicheian sect, roots of cathari. 904 abu bakr ahmed (or mohammed) ibn ali ibn al-wahshiya al-kaldani or al-nabati. kitab al-falaha al-nabatiya (nabatean agriculture."the hermesians let nobody into the secrets of their knowledge but their disciples, lest the arts and sciences should be debased by being common a

rusade officially called against christian (in this case, cathar) enemies and christian lands. the eventual winners are the capetian kings of france, who wind up incorporating the sizeable domains of the count of toulouse into their kingdom. c.1210- 1272 jehan brete. trouv re member of the confr rie des jongleurs d'arras. c.1210 azriel of gerona(student of isaac the blind) commentary on the sefer yezirah promoted neoplatonic elements in kabbalah; aquainted with the ideas of john scotus erigena and ibn gabirol. 1210-1281 guglielma, princess blazena vilemina, daughter of the king of bohemia. guglielmites believed that guglielma of milan was the incarnation of the holy spirit and wished to establish a church with a female pope and female cardinals. 1214 franciscan friar roger bacon, born in s

y. 1271 mongols conquered the area around harran. they deported the populace of the city, walled up the city gates, and left it. r. baruch torgami in barcelona, teacher of abraham abulafia. his circle had access to al-gazali's description of sufism contributing to the crystalization of prophetic kabbalah. wrote maftehot ha-kabbalah("the keys to kabbalah, containing a short commentary on the sefer yezirah. 1272 provincal chapter at narbonne forbade the franciscans to practice alchemy. 1273 dominican order at pest warned friars not to study or teach alchemy. d.1273 jalal al-din al-rumi. 1274 ramon llull's vision on mount randa. d. 1275 peire cardenal troubadour. 1275-1325 menahem ben benjamin recanati italian kabbalist and torah commentator. 1275 nestorian christian monk, rabban sauma travel

aspects of man as a christian 1329 king edward iii requests thomas cary to find two alchemists who have escaped, and to find the secret of their art 1330 pope john xxii gives funds to his physician to set up a laboratory for a "certain secret work. friar ordorico da pordenone s travelogue includes description of the land "where dwelleth the pope of the idolators" tibet? 1331 commentary on "sefer yezirah" by meir b. solomon ibn sahula (rome, angelica library, ms. or. 45. 1332-78 ibn khaldun the muqaddimah "we saw with our eyes one of these magicians fashion the image of the person he desired to bewitch" 1335 petrus bonus of ferrara pretiosa margarita novella c. 1336 alaoddawleh semnani, persian sufi linking the seven prophets of the koran with the mystical physiology of seven latifa and re

nd vida de jesuchrist(catalan. influenced by arnold of villanova and jean roquetaillade. c. 1400 moses ben isaac botarel provencal kabbalist 1400-1464 nicholas of cusa 1402-1442 bernard of treviso 1403-1472 cardinal johannes bessarion encouraged the spread of greek studies in italy 1403 king henry iv of england issues a prohibition of alchemy and to stop counterfeit money 1405 moses botarel sefer yezirah commentary 1412-1480 lacinius 1415 early german ms buch der heiligen dreifaltigkeit paralleling the christ and the philosophers' stone 1419 cristoforo de' buondelmonti's purchase, on the island of andros of a manuscript of the hieroglyphica, attributed to horapollo. 1420-1477+ bonifacio bembo 1420 splendor solis manuscript 1423 cards are condemned in a speech made a bologna by st. bernardi

ight. 1528-1578 adam von bodenstein 1529 geoffrey tory- champ fleury ou l'art et science de la proportion des letters. c. 1530-1598 jean ii de gourmont, engraver for guillaume postel's map of the poles credited with executing 'tarots. 1531 agrippa's three books of occult philosophy 1532 earliest manuscript of the splendor solis 1532-1595 thurneisser zum thurn 1531-1588 valentin weigel 1531 "sefer yezirah" recension "gruenwald=b" oxford bodleian library (cat neubeaur) 1531 (8) foll 95b-103b, vellum. germanic writing of 12-13th c, long recension of donnalo (913ad. 1533-1588 theodor zwinger frater of guillaume postel paracelsian universal scholar, nephew of johannes oporinus. 1533 isaak luria, jewish kabbalist, born in jerusalem; queen elizabeth i born at greenwich palace in london (september

. member of freemasonic jewish lodge, zur aufgehenden morgenroethe. 1780-1860 giovanni d'anastasi greek diplomat and collector of papyri graecae magicae 1780 alliette (etteilla) collection sur les hautes sciences 1781 court de gebelin (antoine gebelin) le monde primatif 1783 alliette (etteilla) maniere de se recreer avec le jeu de carte nomme les tarots 1784 nearly the entire commentary on "sefer yezirah" by abraham abulafia (munich ms. 58) is in the "sefer ha peli'ah (koretz, 1784, fols. 50-56. 1785 geheime figuren the secret symbols of the rosicrucians 1785 etteilla publishes book devoted to divination by tarot. c.1788: etteilla publishes deck specifically for esoteric purposes, including divination. 1785 cagliostro founds the memphis rite, which later becomes the ancient and primitive r

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 1

berg, phillip s. kabbalah for the laymen. new york: research center of kabbalah, n.d. franck, adolphe. the kabbalah. new hyde park, n.y: university books, 1967. reprint, new york: citadel, 1979. gaster, moses. the origin of the kabbalah. new york: gordon press, 1976. halevi, z ev ben shimon. an introduction to the cabala.tree of life. new york: samuel weiser, 1972. kalisch, isidor, trans. sepher yezirah. new york, 1877. reprint, san jose, calif: rosicrucian press, 1950. reprint, north hollywood, calif: symbols and signs, n.d. levi, eliphas. the book of splendors. new york: samuel weiser, 1973. luzzatto, moses. general principles of the kabbalah. new york: research center of kabbalah, 1970. meltzer, david, ed. the secret garden: an anthology of the kabbalah. new york: seabury press, 1976

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

ctice them. sources: das, krishna. pilgrim heart. new york: triloka records, 1998 easwaran, eknath. the mantram handbook. london: routledge& kegan paul, 1978. godwin, joscelyn. music and the occult. rochester, n.y: university of rochester press, 1995. gopalacharlu, s. e. an introduction to the mantra sastra. adyar, madras, india: theosophical publishing house, 1934. kalisch, isidor, trans. sepher yezirah: a book on creation. new york, 1877. lakshmi montra. mantra on net. http :www.mantraonnet.com. february 26, 2000. narayana, har, trans. the vedic philosophy; or, an exposition of the sacred and mysterious monosyllable aum; the mandukya upanishad. bombay, 1895. radha, swami sivananda. mantras: words of power. spokane, wash: timeless books, 1994. shiva montra from mantra on net. http :www.ma

FREEMASONS SATANISM AND SYMBOLISM

pike identifies lucifer as the masonic light-bearer. however when you understand the esoteric explanation from doc marquis, your understanding clears up completely. the apocalypse is identified first by pike as being the book of revelation written by the apostle john. pike then states that similar books from other religions are just as 'inspired' as revelation, mentioning plato, philo, the sephar yezirah, and the sohar. pike says all three of these books- apocalypse [revelation, the sephar yezirah, and the sohar, are all identically "inspired" and since the last two books are of non-christian faiths, albert pike is saying that the contents of revelation are no big deal. therefore, it is no big deal that the book of revelation denigrates the "pomp and works" of satan, since the god of that

KARR DON NOTES ON EDITIONS OF SEFER YETZIRAH IN ENGLISH

speculative and mystical thought from that time on. commenting on sy, elliot r. wolfson stated, properly speaking, the work should not be described as a single composition, but rather as a composite of distinct literary strands that have been woven together through a complicated redactional process whose stages are not clearly discernable* ithamar gruenwald a preliminary critical edition of sefer yezirah, in israel oriental studies 1 (1971; a. peter hayman, introduction, sefer yesira: edition, translation and text-critical commentary (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 2004. aryeh kaplan adds a fourth: the gra/ari version; see below, p. 13* the comments of both steven m. wasserstrom and elliot r. wolfson were made as discussants at the association for jewish studies 33rd annual conference (washington

nto english many times. all of the english translations of sy which i have seen are discussed in part 1: translations. i deal with these in chronological order, starting with the first, that of isadore kalisch from 1877, and concluding with the most recent, that of dr. fred reiss from 2007* in the introduction to preliminary critical edition. 20073 3 part 1: translations: kalisch, isadore. sepher yezirah. a book on creation; or the jewish metaphysics of remote antiquity, with english translation, preface, explanatory notes and glossary. new york: l. h. frank& co, 1877. reprinted san jose: amorc, 1948, with several reprint editions following; more recently (late eighties) reprinted by heptangle (gillette) in an overpriced deluxe edition. kalisch gives a straightforward translation, showing

(gillette) in an overpriced deluxe edition. kalisch gives a straightforward translation, showing the english and hebrew side by side. his notes clarify the ideas and language of sy, often referring to readings from major commentaries and other rabbinic works. the publisher s forward in the amorc edition says, the service dr. kalisch rendered in 1877 by his first english translation of the sepher yezirah has grown ever greater with the passing years. other translations, it is true, have a certain merit; none the less, none has surpassed and few have equaled the work which he did. this comment was written in 1948, but one could have made a case to fully concur until relatively recently (i.e, until kaplan [1990; see below, page 13. kalisch translated what appears to be the long version* the

osen with a view to making clear [sy s] basic structure and leading ideas. an introduction to the text appears on pages 27-29, the translation on pages 117-120 (of the 64 paragraphs established by gruenwald, alexander s translation includes 1, 2, 6-8, 10, 12-19, 23, 25, 27-30, 37, 39, 40, 43, 45, 49, 53, 56-58, 61, and 64* purists might fault friedman and others for choosing the word creation for yezirah. conventionally, creation is reserved for briah, and formation is applied to yezirah, even as emanation is used for azilut and making or action is used for asiah. 20073 13 also based on gruenwald s sy are the observations and translations in peter hayman s series of articles: some observations on sefer yesira (1: its use of scripture, in journal of jewish studies, vol. 35, no. 2 (1984) som

ns both open and secret knowledge. the actual scroll of the torah is written in straight lines of black ink letters separated by white spaces, the parchment, itself. the black letters are clearly visible, so the black is the open knowledge, while the while spaces show nothing and represent the hidden wisdom* on-line at http//www.fredreissbooks.com/wst_page3.html. 20073 17 part 2: studies on sefer yezirah franck, adolphe. the kabbalah. the religious philosophy of the hebrews. french original: la kabbale ou la philosophie religieuse des hebreux, paris: 1843. german translation by adolph jellinek: die kabbala, oder die religion- philosophie der hebraer, liepzig: 1844. 2nd french edition, paris: hachette et cie, 1892. hebrew translation from the german by m. rabinsohn: ha-kabbalah o ha- philos

tin and french translations available to him. 20073 19 comment: scholem [waite s] work is distinguished by a real insight into the world of kabbalism; it is all the more regrettable that it is marred by an uncritical attitude toward facts of history and philology (major trends in jewish mysticism, p. 212) the 1906 edition of the jewish encyclopedia (vol. xii, pp. 602-8) contains the article sefer yezirah by louis ginzberg. joshua abelson s jewish mysticism: an introduction to the kabbalah (london: g. bell and sons, 1913; rpt. new york: sepher-hermon press, 1969& 1981; and mineola: dover publications, inc, 2001) has a brief chapter (v) on sy. ponce, charles. kabbalah. an introduction and illumination for the world today. san francisco: straight arrow press, 1973. ponce s sections of sy may

and its grammar and three phases of the history of the sefer yezira, which are chapters 5 and 6 of dan s collected articles: jewish mysticism, vol. 1: late antiquity (northvale jerusalem: jason aronson inc, 1998. in moshe idel s ambitious absorbing perfections: kabbalah and interpretation (new haven london: yale university press, 2002, there are several discussions of sy, as in (page 34ff) sefer yezirah and linguistic creational processes and the subsequent through the conclusion of chapter 1, the world-absorbing text, and elsewhere* it was by means of the sy that a golem (artificial human) was made. on this, see moshe idel, golem: jewish magical and mystical traditions on the artificial anthropoid (albany: state university of new york press, 1990. on idel s and scholem s conclusions rega

n age, edited by steven kepnes (new york: university press, 1996. raphael jospe s early philosophical commentaries on the sefer yesirah: some comments, in revue des tudes juives, 149 (1990, pages 369-415 contains a useful summary. consideration is given to the commentaries of saadia, dunash ibn tamim, judah ben barzillai al-bargeloni, and judah ha-levi. an addendum contrasts the case of the sefer yezirah with that of the shi ur qomah. note also klaus herrmann, an unknown commentary on the book of creation (sefer yezirah) from the cairo genizah and its re-creation among the haside ashkenaz, in creation and re-creation in jewish thought [festschrift in honor of joseph dan on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, edited by rachel elior and peter schaefer (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 2005. diss

ciplines compliment (sic) each other both in man s quest for knowledge of the true nature of reality, as well as in man s resultant connection to divinity. from the abstract, page xii. volume two (part d) contains the annotated english translation of two recensions of the running commentary on sy. sendor, mark brian. the emergence of provencal kabbalah: rabbi isaac the blind s commentary on sefer yezirah (volumes i and ii (ph.d. thesis cambridge: harvard university, 1994. volume i is an in-depth discussion of rabbi isaac the blind s commentary on sy and its milieu; volume ii is an annotated translation of the text. sendor also offers a neat summary of commentaries on sy in his third chapter, the reception of sefer yezirah, discussing saadia, dunash ibn tamim, shabbetai donnolo, judah halev

ersity, 1994. volume i is an in-depth discussion of rabbi isaac the blind s commentary on sy and its milieu; volume ii is an annotated translation of the text. sendor also offers a neat summary of commentaries on sy in his third chapter, the reception of sefer yezirah, discussing saadia, dunash ibn tamim, shabbetai donnolo, judah halevi, and judah ben barzilai al-barceloni. 20073 27 part 4: sefer yezirah on the internet the ease of search engines and links obviates an extended report on sy translations and studies on the internet. many versions of sy offered are already quite familiar to us from their predecessors in print. westcott s translation turns up at numerous sites* two examples: 1. copenhagen qabalah: spiritual technology lab at http//qabalah.mortenhass.com both sy and the thirty

KARR DON NOTES ON THE STUDY OF EARLY KABBALAH JEWISH MYSTICISM IN ENGLISH

development of a mystical school, ca. 1200. this school fs second generation was headed by r. isaac the blind (d. 1235, g cthe first jewish scholar whom we know by name that dedicated all his creative powers to the field of kabbalah h (dan fs introduction to ek, p. 31. on isaac the blind, see ek (pp. 31-4, translations on pp. 71-86, and ok (pp. 248-309. r. isaac fs major work, commentary on sefer yezirah, gthe first systematic treatise of kabbalah, h is fully analyzed and translated by mark brian sendor in the emergence of provencal kabbalah: rabbi isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yezirah, volumes i& ii (ph.d. dissertation, cambridge: harvard university, 1994. further, in mystical union, individuality, and individuation in provencal and catalonian kabbalah (noted above, page 2, yechi

by mark brian sendor in the emergence of provencal kabbalah: rabbi isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yezirah, volumes i& ii (ph.d. dissertation, cambridge: harvard university, 1994. further, in mystical union, individuality, and individuation in provencal and catalonian kabbalah (noted above, page 2, yechiel shalom goldberg analyzes key passages from r. isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yezirah as well as from the works of r. isaac fs nephew, r. asher ben david, and r. azriel of gerona (see below. further reference. zinberg, israel. a history of jewish literature, volume iii: the struggle of mysticism and tradition against philosophical rationalism (philadelphia: 20081 5 the jewish publication society of america, 1973: chapter one, gthe mystics of provence. h. koren, sharon faye

ied selection of streams representative of.or having influence upon.jewish mysticism can be outlined thus: 1. early beginnings a. pseudepigrapha (ca. 200 bce onward) b. philo (ca. 20 bce to 50 ce) c. qumran= dead sea scrolls: 100 bce onward) d. rabbinic and synagogue traditions (100 ce onward) e. miscellaneous magic texts and other goccult h works 2. merkabah and hekhalot (200 ce onward) 3. sefer yezirah (between 200 and 900 ce) 4. transition a. geonic period (600-1000) b. early commentaries on sefer yezirah c. religious philosophers i. solomon ibn gebirol (1020-1070) ii. judah halevi (1075-1141) iii. abraham ibn ezra (1089-1164) 5. hasidei ashkenaz (german hasidism: ca 1170-1240) 1. early beginnings since jewish mysticism is ultimately based on the hebrew bible, the beginning, really, is

daism, jewish mysticism and magic, h in envisioning magic: a princeton seminar and symposium, edited by p. schafer and h. kippenberg (leiden: brill, 1997. schafer, peter. gjewish magic literature in late antiquity and early middle ages, h in journal of jewish studies, vol. xli, no. 1 (1990. gmagic and religion in ancient judaism, h in envisioning magic. 2. merkabah and hekhalot material& 3. sefer yezirah on these, see my papers, gnotes on the study of merkabah mysticism and hekhalot literature in english h and gnotes on sefer yezirah in english. h 4. transition a. geonic period it is generally thought that the geonic period left little by way of evidence of theosophical development. apocalyptic, merkabah, and rabbinic writings continued to exercise authority, this material being compiled a

afer on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday (leiden. boston: brill, 2003. refer also to scholem fs kabbalah, pp. 30-5: gmysticism in the geonic period. h an example of a work from this period is pirke de rabbi eliezer (chapters of rabbi eliezer, which has been translated and annotated by gerald friedlander (london: 1916; rpt. new york: sepher-hermon press, 1981 [4th ed. b. commentaries on sefer yezirah see my gnotes on sefer yezirah in english, h part 3, for a review of english sources on these commentaries* the eunique cherub f circle (tubingen: mohr siebeck, 1999, page 17. 20081 18 c. religious philosophers* a history of mediaeval jewish philosophy by isaac husik (philadelphia: jewish publication society of america, 1916; rpt. 1941) is considered a classic, but husik grants only perfun

ork: yesod publishers, n.d, writes (pp. 73-74: in spain the cabbalah assumed a more philosophical form, due to the influence of the religious philosophy which was already fully developed in that country. there are numerous points of contact between it and the work of the three great thinkers jehudah halevi, solomon ibn gabirol, and abraham ibn ezra. the first-named devoted some space to the sefer yezirah in his great work cuzari. gabirol as a neo- platonist has many resemblances with the cabbalah. c finally abraham ibn ezra made mystical numerical and literal analyses of the name of god, particularly in his writings yesod mora c i. on ibn gabirol, refer to. raphael loewe fs ibn gabirol (new york: grove weidenfeld, 1989, an analysis of ibn gebirol fs life and writings. included is a full tr

versity of new york press, 1992- dillon, john m. gsolomon ibn gabirol fs doctrine of intelligible matter h- mathis, c. k. gparallel structures in the metaphysics of iamblichus and ibn gabirol h- mcginn, bernard. gibn gabirol: the sage among schoolmen h ii. judah halevi fs principal work, kuzari (or cuzari, has been put into english a few times, but not all versions include the commentary on sefer yezirah. two that do are. hirschfeld, hartwig. the book of kuzari. new york: pardes publishing house, 1905; rpt 1946; rpt new york: schocken books 1964. the commentary on sefer yezirah is in 4:25. korobkin, n. daniel. the kuzari: in defense of the despised faith. northvale. jerusalem: jason aronson inc, 1998: pp. 232-248. also see. baneth, david hartwig (zwi. gjudah halevi and al-ghazali, h in stu

dei ashkenaz; among these is dan fs gthe language of the mystics in medieval germany. h. harris, monford. gdreams in sefer hasidim, h in proceedings of the american academy for jewish research 31 (new york: american academy for jewish research, 1963. also in harris f studies in jewish dream interpretation (jason aronson, 1994. herrmann, klaus, gan unknown commentary on the book of creation (sefer yezirah) from the cairo genizah and its re-creation among the haside ashkenaz, h in creation and re-creation in jewish thought [festschrift in honor of joseph dan on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, edited by rachel elior and peter schafer. tubingen: mohr siebeck, 2005. idel, moshe. golem: jewish magical and mystical traditions on the artificial anthropoid [suny series in judaica. albany:

en rabbinic literature and the conventionally circumscribed kabbalah. idel fs view suggests a more continuous, less neat development which gradually coalesced into a proto- kabbalah.11 the medieval jewish mystics referred to as gkabbalists h did not abandon the mysticism.or any other part of the vast rabbinic literature.which came before them. the hekhalot writings, german hasidic material, sefer yezirah and the various commentaries on it, etc, along with the talmud, midrashim, and the rest of the rabbinic writings, were all considered authoritative.all part of the same chain of tradition (kabbalah) of which the medieval and later kabbalists considered themselves links.12 kabbalah did not spring up ex nihilo. it seems prudent to open channels for the origins and growth of kabbalah back int

losophy and mysticism (1969) 3. jewish thought today (1970) to these could be added jacobs f jewish mystical testimonies (new york: schocken books, 1977. 20081 30 for full bibliographic information on various stages of jewish mysticism, refer to my series on sources in english. gnotes on the study of merkabah mysticism and hekhalot literature in english h. with an appendix on jewish magic. gsefer yezirah in english h. gnotes on the study of early kabbalah in english h [the current paper. gnotes on the zohar in english h. gnotes on the study if later kabbalah in english: the safed period and lurianic kabbalah h. gthe study of christian cabala in english h these papers can be accessed on-line at http//www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/karr. gpopular h books on kabbalah and jewish mysticism are

MACNULTY W KIRK KABBALAH AND FREEMASONRY

ur worlds the universe as it was perceived43 by the renaissance philosophers consisted of "four worlds" the hermetica describes such a division with each of the four worlds associated with one of the classical "elements."44 kabbalah has the same division as review of "tree mechanics" will indicate.45 they are the "elemental" or physical world (asiyyah, the "celestial" world of the psyche or soul (yezirah, the "supercelestial" world or spirit (beriah, and the divine world (azilut. we can see that these same levels are represented on the board. the pavement represents the "elemental" physical world, the central part of the board including the columns and most of the symbols, represents the "celestial" world of the psyche or soul, the heavens represent the "supercelestial" world of the spirit

the ritual) the volume of the sacred law represents azilut, the divine world which is the source of the material it contains. i have placed it above the rest of the diagram to indicate that it represents the divine world. the compasses represent the world of the spirit, and i have shown them in the upper face of this tree, the part of the tree that is contiguous with beriah. the square represents yezirah; and i have placed it at tiferet, the central sefirah and the essence of that world. these six symbols will be shown on all the tree diagrams that we will use and will form the background for the more detailed consideration of the degrees. the ladder refer again to the first degree tracing board (figure 8. thus far we have not spoken of its central feature, the ladder.47 remember that one

ctive and passive, respectively. they are made of brass, cast in the clay ground, and cast hollow "to hold the archives of masonry."62 this is an intriguing picture; by being metallic and cast in the earth, these pillars are related to the physical world; they are hollow to hold archives; and they are opposites. now, we are looking at a yeziratic model of the individual; and an archival record in yezirah of material relating to the physical world sounds a lot like memory (both conscious and unconscious) organized into active and passive material. we will examine this concept in more detail when we put these symbols on the tree. before we do that we must consider the middle chamber. that is the place where fellow crafts received their wages (note 60. this is presented as a cheerful idea in

k first of the pencil. it is often said that the pencil reminds us that all our actions are recorded in the upper worlds.701 certainly have no argument with that idea, but i think there is more. think about what happens when you write or draw with a pencil. at the point of the pencil a very interesting phenomenon occurs; as you mark on the paper the idea or image which is resident in your mind in yezirah changes worlds; and becomes manifest on the paper in asiyyah as a text or as a picture. text and pictures are the manifestation as which ideas and images exist in the physical world. now think of the nature of hokmah; it is the sefirah of revelation. through the processes of inspiration and creativity genuinely original material from the tiferet of beriah, the world of creation, enters our

ge of perfection or regeneration."72 evidence of this idea of death not being an end, but rather a mystical process through which to pass, is to be found quite early in the development of the ritual. it is reflected on this french drawing in figure 18. this drawing is from la desolation des entrepreneurs modernes (c. 1747)73 and it shows the footsteps of the candidate as he steps from the square (yezirah/psyche, past the emblems of death and past the grave, to the compasses (beriah/spirit. with this notion of transformation in mind i have placed the coffin/grave at the daat of yezirah, as you will see in figure 15. there is one more thing we should note before leaving the tracing board of the third degree: the points of the compass on the frame of the board. you will remember that in the f

ow, daat is not a sefirah. i think of daat as a place in its own world where the texture of that world is such that one has access to the corresponding area in the next higher world. for an example, consider the situation one world lower. the daat of the physical body is the person's face; and if you look at a person's face, you have access to his persona, an aspect of his psyche, at the yesod of yezirah. that is the nature of daat; and with that in mind, let us turn to the consideration of the royal arch. the three degrees of masonry take place at the building of king solomon's temple. that temple was the wonder of its age, but it had a difficult history. in the process of various invasions of the holy land the temple was finally destroyed. it was to be rebuilt several hundred years later

the chapter; and it seems to fit very nicely. on the central column we see the sojourners at malkhut, the candidate at yesod, the volume of the sacred law at tiferet, the pedestal at daat, and the three principal officers at the supernal sefirot. now, consider this situation on the extended tree (figure 23. we have seen that the mystical death, the experience of transition, occurs at the daat of yezirah. as the candidate becomes aware of the corresponding part of the next higher world we would expect to find him at the yesod of beriah, and that is exactly where he is located as a candidate in the chapter. kneeling at yesod (in figure 22, the candidate looks up the path of honesty to tiferet, up the path of awe and through the daat of beriah to glimpse the divine persona at the yesod of az

MORALS AND DOGMA

his wholeness, only as an infinitesimal fraction of a unit, compared with an infinity of units. in the world of creation, which is that of second causes [the kabalistic world briah, the autocracy of the first principle is complete, but we conceive of it only as the cause of the second causes. here it is manifested by the binary, and is the creative principle passive. finally: in the third world, yezirah, or of formation, it is revealed in the perfect form, the form of forms, the world, the supreme beauty and excellence, the created perfection. thus the principle is at once the first, the second, and the third, since it is all in all, the centre and cause of all. it is not _the genius of plato_ that we here admire. we recognize only _the exact knowledge of the initiate. the great apostle s

column on the right hand, the column _jachin: glory_ is the column _boaz, on the left hand. and thus our symbols appear again in the kabalah. and again the light, the object of our labors, appears as the creative power of deity. the circle, also, was the special symbol of the first sephirah, kether, or the crown. we do not further follow the kabalah in its four worlds of spirits _aziluth, briah, yezirah, and _asiah, or of _emanation, creation, formation, and _fabrication, one inferior to and one emerging from the other, the superior always enveloping the inferior; its doctrine that, in all that exists, there is nothing purely material; that all comes from god, and in all he proceeds by irradiation; that everything subsists by the divine ray that penetrates creation; and all is united by t

glyphically with numbers and images; and the apostle often appeals to the intelligence of the initiated "let him who hath knowledge, understand! let him who understands, calculate" he often says, after an allegory or the mention of a number. saint john, the favorite apostle, and the depositary of all the secrets of the saviour, therefore did not write to be understood by the multitude. the sephar yezirah, the sohar, and the apocalypse are the completest embodiments of occultism. they contain more meanings than words; their expressions are figurative as poetry and exact as numbers. the apocalypse sums up, completes, and surpasses all the science of abraham and of solomon. the visions of ezekiel, by the river chebar, and of the new symbolic temple, are equally mysterious expressions, veiled

hom all emanated, created adam kadmon, consisting of all the worlds, so that in him should be somewhat from those above, and somewhat from those below. hence in him was nephesch [psyche _anima infima, the lowest spiritual part of man _soul, from the world asiah, which is one letter _he_ of the tetragrammaton _ruach [spiritus _anima media, the next higher spiritual part, or _spirit, from the world yezirah, which is the _vav_ of the tetragrammaton; neschamah [the highest spiritual part _mens_ or _anima superior, from the world briah, which is the other letter _he; and neschamah leneschamah, from the world atsiluth, which is the yod of the tetragrammaton. and these letters [the sephiroth] were changed from the spherical form into the form of a person, the symbol of which person is the balance

of earth; and ten of earth, one of fire; the whole by the active symbol of the one, and the passive symbol of the other, whereby the conversion of the elements is effected" the allusion of the ritual, here, is obviously to the four worlds of the kabalah. the ten sephiroth of the world briah proceed from malakoth, the last of the ten emanations of the world aziluth; the ten sephiroth of the world yezirah, from malakoth of briah; and the ten of the world asian, from malakoth of yezirah. the pass-word of the degree is given as _metralon, which is a corruption of metatron, the cherub, who and sandalphon are in the kabalah the chief of the angels. the active and passive symbols are the male and female. the ritual continues "it is thereby evident that, in the great work, we must employ ten part

ushed into a formless mass, lest the malignant demons created from the fragments of the others should receive bodies from it, since from it came bodies and vitality [nephesch. from the fragments of the vessels came all evils; judgments, turbid waters, impurities, the serpent, and adam belial [baal. but their internal light re-ascended to binah, and then flowed down again into the worlds briah and yezirah, there to form vestiges of the seven numerations. the sparks of the great influence of the shattered vases descending into the four spiritual elements, fire, air, water, and earth, and thence into the inanimate, vegetable, living, and speaking kingdoms, became souls. selecting the suitable from the unsuitable lights, and separating the good from the evil, the deity first restored the unive

inhabited; and when rigorous judgments rule in it, it is inane because its processes cannot be carried on. wherefore the balance must needs be instituted, that there might be a root above, so that judgments might be restored and tempered, and live and not again die. and seven conformations descend; and all things become in equilibrium, and the needle of the balance is the root above. in the world yezirah, says the _pneumatica kabalistica [hebrew] denotes kether [hebrew, hakemah and binah; and [hebrew, gedulah, geburah, and tephareth; and thus vau is beauty and harmony. the _man_ is hakemah; the _eagle, binah; the _lion, gedulah; and the _ox, geburah. and the mysterious circle is thus formed by the sohar and all the kabalists: michael and the face of the lion are on the south, and the right

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

server-created" worlds. the final outcome of the variations of the many-worlds doctrine came around the 14th century, but is also mentioned in the zohar, and was developed by the lurianic school (amongst others) in the 16th century. this version depicted four worlds (a) olam ha-azilut, the world of emanation (the sephiroth (b) olam ha-beriah, the world of creation (the throne& chariot (c) olam ha-yezirah, the world of formation (the angels (d) olam ha-asiyyah, the world of making (the terrestrial sphere) the four worlds obviously can be connected with the four letters of the divine name yhvh, the four quarters, the four elements, and other quaternary systems. sedir, quoted by papus, gives the nature of each world as (a) azilut, the world of emanations, at which level that which renders pos

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