Inner Shift

Posts Tagged ‘sephiroth’

“There is a natural tendency to view the Tree as a series of discrete objects rather than as the unified, undifferentiated whole it actually is, and the paths allow us to begin the process of reintegrating the Tree by exploring the relationships between pairs of sefirot. A thorough understanding of two sefirot and the path between them creates a new unit of understanding that can then be put together with other such units. A solid grasp of the sefirot is required before any path may be usefully meditated upon and followed, and a path is realized through study, visualization, empathy and guided meditation. Thorough knowledge of the sefirot linked by the path and the correspondences of the path itself are an important part of this process.” ~ Byzant Kabbalah

{Note: Paths 1-10 correspond to the ten sephiroth.}

Quotes: Gray, William G.

The Talking Tree

The Four Worlds of the Tree of Life consist of: Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah. These are modes of creative force and form in the evolution of the Universe. As Gray writes they amount to “cosmic consciousness focusing itself into material existence through creative cycles of energy seen from four angles of approach”. Each of the four worlds corresponds with a letter from the Great Name of God–IHVH.

Atziluth ~ Origination, I Conceive, Yod

“This is where God actually originates anything by conceiving the archetype in his own awareness.” The principle identifies with a God-name.

Briah ~ Creation, I Create, He

“This is where the concept is carried further along its line of life by leading orders of creative spirits.” The principle identifies with Archangels.

Yetzirah ~ Formation, I Form, Vau

“Here, as the name implies, shape, form, arrangement and all other detailed specifications are given to the concept by spiritual workers with specialized yet limited skills…” The principle identifies with orders of Angels.

Assiah ~ Expression, I Express, He (final)

“This is where the concept emerges into existence as we recognize the term. That is to say, it reaches us through natural laws and channels of consciousness.” The principle identifies with Cosmic Phenomena.

These concepts can be applied to anything you see around you, even the way you were created! They also are the four stages in the development of each sephirah. It is important to remember that creation is a process and not something that happens instantaneously. It proceeds from Spirit to Matter via these channels. Your own creations will follow this same process.

Quotes: Gray, William G.

Qabalistic Concepts

Hermetic Qabalah holds to the neoplatonic conception that the manifest universe, of which material creation is a part, arose as a series of emanations from the godhead. These emanations arise out of three preliminary states that are considered to precede creation. The first is a state of complete nullity, known as Ain (אין “nothing”); the second state, considered a “concentration” of Ain, is Ain Suph (אין סוף “without limit, infinite”); the third state, caused by a “movement” of Ain Suph, is Ain Suph Aur (אין סוף אור “limitless light”), and it is from this initial brilliance that the first emanation of creation originates.

The emanations of creation arising from Ain Suph Aur are ten in number, and are called Sephiroth (סְפִירוֹת, singular Sephirah סְפִירָה, “enumeration”). These are conceptualised somewhat differently in Hermetic Qabbalah to the way they are in Jewish Kabbalah.

From Ain Suph Aur crystallises Kether, the first sephirah of the Hermetic Qabalistic tree of life. From Kether emanate the rest of the sephirot in turn, viz. Kether (1), Chokhmah (2), Binah, Daath,(3) Chesed (4), Geburah (5), Tiphareth (6), Netzach (7), Hod (8), Yesod (9), Malkuth (10). Daath is not assigned a number as it is considered part of Binah or a hidden sephirah.

Each sephirah is considered to be an emanation of the divine energy (often described as ‘the divine light’) which ever flows from the unmanifest, through Kether into manifestation. This flow of light is indicated by the lightning flash shown on diagrams of the sephirotic tree which passes through each sephirah in turn according to their enumerations.

Each sephirah is a nexus of divine energy and each has a number of attributions. These attributions enable the Qabalist to form a comprehension of each particular sephirah’s characteristics. This manner of applying many attributions to each sephirah is an exemplar of the diverse nature of Hermetic Qabalah. For example the sephirah Hod has the attributions of; Glory, perfect intelligence, the eights of the tarot deck, the planet Mercury, the Egyptian god Thoth, the archangel Michael, the Roman god Mercury and the alchemical element Mercury. The general principle involved is that the Qabalist will meditate on all these attributions and by this means acquire an understanding of the character of the sephirah.

Source: Wikipedia