The Kabbalah: Its Magical Practice & Occult Philosophy

The Kabbalah begins above the Tree of Life with the three levels of the Unmanifest: AIN, AIN SOPH, and AIN SOPH AUR. AIN is Negativity or the Unmanifest the eternal quintessence. AIN SOPH is the Limitless . AIN SOPH AUR is the Limitless Light. These are the negative veils of Existence and the three spheres of Non-Manifestation. They reside in different dimension than the rest of the manifested universe out of which it is emanated. Nothing can truly be known about their intrinsic nature except that they are the basis for existence and from which all proceeding manifestations flow from. 

  This is the Supernal Triangle and first level of the Tree. Here we see the Sephiroth Kether, Chokmah, and Binah which are the initial trinity of densification from the Unmanifest Limitless Light AIN SOPH AUR. The Light crystallizes into Kether descending into the first stage of Involution. Kether overflows its manifestation into Chokmah and then overflows itself into Binah. This trinity of force and form completes the first equilibrium of emanations and is the source of all successive Sephirothic emanations. These Supernal Sephiroth are above the Abyss, the part of existence that separates the ACTUAL from the ARCHETYPAL, with the rest of the Sephiroth residing below the ABYSS in the realm of the tangible. 

 Kether is the First Sephirah In Kabbalah and is called the Crown. It is the initial crystallization of the condensed Unmanifest, Limitless Light, and the root of all substance.  It is the basis of polarity and the duality of Chokmah and Binah issues from its manifestation into more complex substances. It also represents microcosmically the divine consciousness of man and macrocosmically the divine consciousness of Deity. Kether is also purportedly not a manifestation and is undifferentiated until it bursts into Chokmah. It is also synonymous with the LOGOS, the dynamic imaginative and creative essence of the DIVINE MIND of the Originator.

The second Sephiroth is Chokmah and it means Wisdom. It is the Male potency or positive principle of the densification of Kether into duality.  This Sphere expresses this principle we see in the Involution of Kether into energies of force and complexity. The Sphere of the Zodiac is assigned to Chokmah. It is referred to as Aman, the Supernal Father, and is the first expression of the Pillar of Mercy. Chokmah is also the first true manifestation of the Cosmos and is essentially a bursting forth of dynamic creative energy free-flowing until bound up in form by Binah.

The third Sephiroth is Binah and it translates into Understanding. This is the negative and female aspect or principle  through which the Condensed Kether in Chokmah converts over to the energy of Form. The Planet of Saturn is assigned to Binah and it is called the Great Mother and first expression of the Pillar of Severity. It is also called Ama the Supernal Mother. It is also the first emanation of form and thus the initial bringer of the end of duration or death, though this is a necessity for existence.

The hidden Sephiroth is Daath and it means Knowledge. This Sphere is the one which forms through the conjunction of Chokmah, Wisdom, and Binah, Understanding you gain synthesized Knowledge and a harmony of opposites. Daath is the veiled level of consciousness on the Pillar of Mildness right between Kether and Tiphareth. This Sephiroth is not existent in the dimension in which reside the other Sephirothic Spheres and more akin in Nature to the three veils of negative existence. It is the root of primordial knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of the divine.

 The fourth Sephiroth is Chesed, or Gedulah, and it means Mercy or Greatness. It is the Sphere of expansion, construction, and solidification. Its ascribed to the planet Jupiter and the positive force of manifestation.  Chesed begins the Formative Triangle which is the Second Trinity of Sephiroth. It is the first manifestation of the ACTUAL and the tangible with a certain solidity to it, though more of a mental solidity than one concretized by form.  Chesed is the stimulater of the Archetypal spiritual ideas which design the Cosmic superstructure and provide the basis for the astral formulations and forces which become ensouled into apprehendable images upon the planes of existence of the four lowest Sephiroth. 

The Fifth Sephiroth in Kabbalah is Geburah and it means power, might, or greatness. It is the fiery destructive force which dissolves all forms, ideas, and manifestations which have lost their usefulness and their healthy life being expired.  The Planet of Mars is assigned to Geburah. Symbolizes not so much a fixed-state of things but an act, a further passage, or transition of potentiality into actuality. Geburah is the destroyer of mentally and formative stagnation's which arise during evolutionary manifestation and is inherently necessary to retain vibrant manifestations after older ones have ceased to exhibit proper vitality and must be eliminated if further progress is to be generated. It is a necessary destruction, so new creation can be initiated. 

The Sixth Sephiroth is Tiphareth and it translates to mean Beauty or Harmony. It is the Sphere of Reconciliation between Gedulah and Geburah representing the principle that creates the basis of equilibrium between the Creative force and Destructive Form. It is also assigned to the Sun and connects in direct pathways to all other Sephiroth save Malkuth. It has been called the SON of the Supernal Father and Mother, being Kether on a less sublime plane and state of existence. Microcosmically it corresponds to our spiritual or higher consciousness and can be attained through subsequent involution or ascent up the lesser forms of consciousness such as Astral or Psychic mind and the more physical mind states.

The Seventh Sephiroth is Netzach and it means Victory. It is the Sphere of Venus and of Fire. It is the realm where the Elements of Nature begin to hold sway and beginning of the Astral Triangle and Plane. It is a classification of man's principles and the representation of his emotional world microcosmically.  This Sephirah is associated with nature mysticism and Elemental forces. It is also the region in Human Sphere typically associated with the Unconscious Mind. It is also the plane or mode of existence whereby the One Force becomes differentiated into many forces, the One becoming the Many. Netzach is the mode of existence where the totality of the forces, elements, and energies reside in the Astral Plane as gods which represent the force or energy it is associated with, thus it is the plane of Mysticism, Druidism, and Paganism after a fashion. 

The Eighth Sephiroth is Hod which translates to Glory or Majesty. It is the Sephirah of the Planet Mercury and the Aspect of Water. Hod is symbolic of the logical capacity of man, his reason and intellect, and it is also the repository of man's magical or nervous force which is akin to Prana in Tantra. It is considered by Occultists to be the Sephirah of Books being associated with Thoth, Lord of Magic. This is Sphere of the Intellectual, psychic, and occult magical path as opposed to the Dionysian Mystical one in Netzach or devotional one in Tiphareth. Hod is the plane of existence and aspect of cosmic involution whereby the myriad of energetic forces residing within Netzach undergo their concretized ensoulment into a permanent form which becomes a representation or symbolic image of the force or power which resides within the image. This allows it to become comprehensible to human consciousness. 

The Ninth Sephiroth is Yesod and it translates to The Foundation. This is the Sephiroth which is assigned to Luna, the Moon, and to the Alchemical Element of Air. It is representative of the fourth Dimension by Occultists and the Astral Plane. It is associated also with Astral Psychism. Here we find the subtle electromagnetic substance, the Aether, into which all higher forces become focused and concentrated for their constitution into their final form from which physical Universe Arises.  In all its fleeting forms and motions of Yesod, and all its implications, we find the assurety and permanence of the Physical World. Yesod is further called the plane of Maya, the plane of Illusion, due to the fact that within this mode of existence the astral phenomena and phantasmagoria encountered and perceived are simply the symbolic imagery or representations of archetypal spiritual forces and ideas which have become ensouled into a form, and are not real in and of themselves. 

The Tenth Sephiroth is Malkuth and is The Kingdom. This is the realm of Earth and its material force of physicality. It is the bottom of the Middle Pillar of Mildness and Consciousness analogous with man's everyday conscious state of awareness and specifically of physical existence. Malkuth is the Pendant of the three sephirothic trinities or triangles being the final coalescing of all higher forces into the material plane of existence and densification. It is often called the Lesser Mother, or the Bride of Microprospus, The Bride of Saturn, Realm of Gaia. It is comprised of the coalescence of the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth but also infused with the yesodic fifth element of Aether. 

 The Four Worlds of Kabbalah Are Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah. The World of Atziluth is the primary realm of the Sephiroth being the Divine realm where the Unmanifest Force is present itself in emanation in the highest authority with a Divine name; the Realm of Briah is the primal realm of Creation ruled by Archangels and of the Union through Chokmah and Binah, the realm of Yetzirah is the one of Formation comprised of the central Sephiroth ruled by the Divines Angelic hosts. Lastly, in Assiah you find the realm of Malkuth with man, matter, demons, and physical manifestation in the Zodiac, Planets, and Elements. 

The Twenty two Paths of the Kaballah for the various intersecting lines of reconciliation and subjective manifestation connecting all the Spheres of the Sephiroth into a single composite glyph or symbol. The Paths are the subjective  side of the Tree of Life Diagram and are the way and path for initiation. In a sort of double-blind there are actually thirty-two paths due to the representation of the Sephirothic Nodes being the initial ten paths followed by the twenty-two typical paths. Also assigned to the Paths are the twenty-two trumps of the Tarot Deck, the twenty-two Hebrew Letters, and the twenty-two parts of the physical realm relating to the Seven Planets, the Twelve Zodiac Signs, and the four Elements with Malkuth assigned Earth alone.

The Three Pillars of the Tree in Kabbalah are a particular way of representing correlations and dimensions running through the Sephiroth vertically and aid in understanding certain affinities between  Sephiroth from these connections. They are The Pillar of Mildness, Pillar of Mercy, and Pillar of Severity.  Each of these Sephirothic alignments reflect a particular degree of consciousness from the divine Mind down to super-consciousness, the subconscious, and then base consciousness in Malkuth. 

The Pillar of Mildness is the Pillar of Consciousness with it running vertically from Kether down over Daath and into Tiphareth, Yesod, and finally Malkuth.The Pillar of Mercy are the sequential aspects of the involutionary forces and energies emanating from Kether and becoming formulated in Chokmah, Chesed, and Netzach, but are also the human aspects of emotionality, instinct, and intuition. The Pillar of Severity is the sequential aspects of cosmic unfoldment of force becoming encased in Forms and are represented by Binah, Geburah, and Hod. It is also the rationale, intellectual, and philosophical aspect of the Tree.  

The Placement of the Tarot Deck with the various suits and numerical cards is required to adequately apprehend the Kabbalah Schematic. The Cards must be properly attributed to both the path and the Sphere its assigned and associated with. Perticular suits are assigned to the four worlds of the Tree with the Wands and Fire to Atziluth, the Cups and Water to Briah, the Swords and Air to Yetzirah, and lastly the Pentacles or Coines to the physical and Earthen Assiatic world. Furthermore, the numeric base cards are assigned to the sephiroth in descending order of both card and Sphere such that Aces are given to Kether, two's to Chokmah, threes to Binah, and on down to Malkuth with ten's given to The Kingdom. And thus the Ace of Wands is assigned to Atzliuthic Kether but the Ten of Pentacles would be given to the Malkuth of Assiah. 

The attributions associated with aligning the Sephiroth with the Tarot Cards is to delineate and formulate additional conceptualized imagery, associations, and aspects to the Sephiroth they are placed upon for the purpose of expanding the Occultist's repertoire of symbolic images upon which to meditate upon and attain understanding of the Sephiroth through the mental associations he can then correlate through the depictions on the cards to the related aspects of the corresponding Sephiroth. 

The Twenty-Two Sacred Hebrew Letters is the traditional language used in Kabbalah, just as the Sacred Letters of Sanskrit are used by the Yoga and Occultist of the East. The Letters in Hebrew are also used as numerical digits to form mathematically arranged words, ideas, divinities, and encodings of Forces. Every Letter is given a number, power, name, and meaning. They are quite multfacited in their application. The are three Mother Letters which are Shin, Aleph, and Mem. Then there are the seven double letters Gimel, Koph, Peth, Beth, Dhaleth, Tau, Resh and then the twelve basic letters. The power is the Letters alphabetical association for forming names of archangels and angels, etc. The name is such the A is Aleph, V is Vau, and T is Tau, etc. The meanings assigned are such that Aleph, A, is given to mean Ox, Lamed, or L, is given to mean Ox Goad, SHin, or Sh, is given to mean tooth, and Tau, or Th, is given to mean Cross, etc. Furthermore, the Hebraic alphabet is utilized in placement upon the 22 paths of initiation connecting the Sephiroth on the tree and are also considered the subjective aspect of the Tree, with the Sephiroth being the objective aspect. There is also the Hebraic aspect of converting the letters in to their numerical values for the use of creating additional associations between correlating values and is called Gematria.