A Short Introduction to the Qabalistic Tree of Life

by Frater Pyramidatus PREAMBLE

It is convenient for initiates to conceive of Qabalah in two distinct modes: the oral Qabalah, and the written Qabalah. I have been lucky enough not only to have read several brilliant books on the subject, but also blessed with two mentors. We find books either rudimentary or overly intellectual and verbose. I hope in this volume to essentially combine the written and oral Qabalah by composing entirely from memory, without using reference manuals and Hermetic tomes as a crutch. he fact I have not indulged in a book on the ree of !ife for some years only helps achieve this objective. We hope that the branches and trunk of this ree will be beautiful to behold even if many of its leaves and fruit have withered with the ravages of time and academic complacency. However, many technical points may be resolved by referring to A Glossary of Thelema that I electronically published nearly seven years ago. It is my ambition to give this te"t reconciling the secretive lineages of the oral tradition with the skeletonic blueprints of its written cousin. We inform the beginner the ree of !ife is but one of many aspects of the Holy Qabalah. It is indeed a magnificent condensation of wisdom but far from the entirety of Qabalistic knowledge. #ne could even argue that it is not the best place to start, due to its multifaceted and often elusive nature.

W AT IS T E TREE !F LIFE"
$. he ree of !ife is the %&ook of the 'ead%. It contains a logical, and mathematically coherent, myriad of symbols and ideas that spirits may hopefully understand and use to communicate. It is a mnemonic, or memory aid, that enables recently liberated souls to come to terms with the life just left. he ree of !ife is a map of the universe. o create a scaled map of the universe in literal terms would be an e"ercise in futility. However, the universe has immutable laws, based on raw mathematics and appreciation of numbers as living, sentient beings. he mathematics behind the universe as conscious entities, with the ree of !ife, is the modus operandi of their interaction and ta"onomy. he ree of !ife is a symbol containing many other symbols. Indeed, the Qabalistic dogma is that each part of the ree contains another ree, ad infinitum. *ymbols are associated with different parts of the ree via the science of correspondences. here e"ist many tables of data that are superimposed conceptually onto the *pheres and +aths. hese include Hebrew and ,reek letters, arot archetypes, astrological symbols, colours, magical weapons, perfumes, precious stones, musical scales, geometrical concepts, magical formulae and much more. he ree of !ife is a mnemonic device, or memory aid. .leister /rowley called it the %spiritual filing cabinet%. 0ost profane memory aids use relatively arbitrary keys, whilst Qabalah is modelled on the science of connectivity. he logically sound structure, and implied hierarchies of the ree, provide an elastic yet inevitable skeleton to improve the ability to memorise lists of various kinds. he ree is also holographic in nature, as are the synaptic pathways of the brain%s neurons. he ree of !ife is a meditative focus. 2ach *phere has a divine name in Hebrew, a corresponding archangel and angelic choir. hese can be chanted, used as a silent mantra, or visualised by the mystic. 0editation may be on isolated aspects of the ree, or by gradually

(.

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-.

1.

3. 4.

5.

7.

climbing the *pheres and +aths. he ree of !ife is a common ground for differing, even mutually e"clusive, spiritual groups. 0agical and mystical #rders that have contrasted viewpoints rely on the ree as a language of the initiates. he ree of !ife represents the mystical hierarchy within certain groups. he *pheres represent different states of consciousness, and attainment, of members within an occult society. he higher up the ree supposedly the higher the degree of knowledge of an individual. he ree of !ife is a creative tool. When we understand that creativity, rather than vacantly waiting for inspiration to strike, is the outcome of following a process6 then we find great hope in the mathematically austere precision of the ree. +arado"ically enough, the way various symbols are so closely packed together enables us to use the ree as a lateral thinking tool also. he ree of !ife is a divination tool. +articularly with arot archetypes we find it an e"pedient for answering unfathomable 8uestions, and giving hints about the near or distant future. his is the most difficult aspect to grasp. We should remember /rowley thought divination the most dangerous magick of all, involving as it does the presumption of the operator to be like ,od, or omniscient.

T E TR#$% !F T E TREE
We now look at the blank diagram adumbrating our entire study6 the veritable trunk of the ree of !ife.

his is the kernel of truth. 9In the history of Qabalah this is the %restored ree% of :ircher.; <ou notice ten circles. he observant reader will see (( sets of parallel lines joining these circles. .lthough most often represented two=dimensionally the ten circles are referred to as %*pheres%, or sometimes %*ephira% and>or %*ephiroth% 9this being closer to the original Hebrew;. he planes between the circles and parallel lines do no represent anything6 I have never read a Qabalistic te"t which mentions them. We therefore have )( aspects to our mystical ree.

he number )( is relevant for several reasons. $. here are )( joints in a pair of human hands. (. here are )( teeth in the human skull. ). here are )( vertebrae in a human spine. -. here are )( he"agram pairs in the I Ching. 1. . dodecahedron, the twelve sided pentagonal prism ? the last of the five +latonic *olids ? is composed by drawing lines across the interstices of the economical grouping of )( spheres. 3. )( implies the upright pentagram, as ) @ ( A 1, with the three points uppermost. he pentagram is a symbol of man, with our five senses, five fingers, five toes, and five anatomical projections from the torso. (( multiplied by ten is ((B, the catalogue number of The Book of Law, the central te"t of helema. he (( +aths and ten *pheres of the ree form the pivotal symbol of the Western 0ystery radition. he ree of !ife may be conceived a development of the %Clower of !ife%, again a development of the %*eed of !ife%.

.nother important configuration, in this conne"ion, is %0etatron%s /ube%.

T E $#MBERS !F T E SP ERES

his is the decimal scale of our diagram. .t this stage we follow /rowley%s advice not to en8uire too much about why it is structured the way it is. Dather we try and memorise the basics on trust. his may sound counter=intuitive but Qabalism is so comple" that trying to dissect its logic on every level, as a beginner, is counterproductive. /rowley advocated learning the layers of correspondences off by heart before trying to strip down everything to some %supreme secret%. I know this temptation, and I succumbed to it years ago. However, we will delve into a few of the logical precursors. his is an academic parado" difficult to e"plain. he number ten was revered by the +ythagorean school in the configuration known as the % etractys%, a simple triangle of ten circles.

T E SP ERES A$& T E PLA$ETS

he *pheres have several, perhaps infinite, symbols attributed to them. the *olar *ystem is perhaps the oldest. he correspondences with

he left diagram contains glyphs of the %planets%, although !una is a moon, and *ol a star. he diligent reader may notice Eranus is left out. However it is not discarded in the Qabalah per se. Here we have the first truly mysterious facet of the ree: the Invisible *phere of 'aath 9see below;. &efore Feptune and +luto were discovered the second *phere corresponded to the %*phere of the Ci"ed *tars%, the first *phere to the %+rimum 0obile%, !atin for %Cirst 0over%. ote Bene .lthough psychological and mythological archetypes of the planets describe all the *pheres, do not be misled. he physical dimension of reality is represented by the tenth *phere, and all the planets 9indeed the entire 0ilky Way; are within this lowest of *pheres. he moon, sun, 2arth and planets all share the same dimension and are all within the same strata of the ree. Cor e"ample the ninth *phere is illustrated by the concept of !una, not the physical mass.

AR' ET(PAL )L(P S !F T E SE*E$ PLA$ETS

0ost planetary glyphs are permutations of three primal concepts: the cross representing matter, the circle representing spirit, and the crescent representing soul. If one ponders this threefold mi"ture the archetypes become evident.

*aturn%s sigil is a cross over a crescent.

he domination of the soul by matter. *aturn is the

chronometer, the time keeper knowing the day of one%s death. he ,rim Deaper whose scythe does not respect individuality, merit or virtue and lays waste to all. ime destroys all things.

6 5 1 4 3 2

Gupiter%s sigil is a crescent over a cross.

he domination of matter by the soul. /onsider

Gupiter%s kingship and rule over lesser gods. He is characterised by joviality 9from %Gove%, a synonymous term;, generosity, humour and good cheer. he only person fit to rule is one with a good heart. he sigil of 0ars is a cross over a circle 9the cross became an %arrow%;. he oppression of the

spirit by matter. 0ars is the god of war, violence and bloodshed. We are reminded of hardship brought about by national conflict, privation and suffering. +eople say events are %testing their spirits% when under stress. *ol is symbolised as a point in the centre of a circle. *pirit, and the centre of spirit. .s the

sun generates life and light in the macrocosm, the spirit of 0an keeps us going through e"istence. he %centre of spirit% is the soul 9*ol;. Henus is shown as a circle above a cross. he subjugation of matter by the spirit. hink of

troubles in our day to day lives soothed by the power of poetry, music and art. *he is the goddess of passion, romance and pride not swerved by mundane concerns. 0ercury%s sigil is a crescent surmounting a circle, in turn over a cross. his means the

domination of matter by the soul, via the medium of spirit. 0agick and spell craft are one%s innermost core utilising principles 9spirits ? elementals ? demons ? angels; to achieve change in the material realm. his threefold division is the nature of the messenger of the gods, the trickster god. he only glyph, of the seven, to have more than two components. !una is a simple crescent. his means the soul. However, in Qabalah, it is more the %animal he true soul is *ol, reflected by !una.

soul%, or anima mundi 9!atin for %the *oul of the World%;.

SE*E$ &A(S !F 'REATI!$

We place the seven classical planets, in the order of the ree, around a heptagram. We follow the lines, from planet to planet at the edges, and get the seven days of the week. 0onday is ruled by the moon, uesday by 0ars, Wednesday by 0ercury, hursday 9 hor; by Gupiter, Criday 9Creya; by Henus, *aturday by *aturn, and *unday by the sun. It helps prove that our science and art are anything but arbitrary.

A$ I$*ISIBLE SP ERE
It is an ancient Qabalistic dogma that there are %ten spheres and not nine, ten spheres and not eleven%. &ut for several reasons, some practical and some technical, there is an eleventh %pseudo *ephirah% halfway between the first and si"th *pheres. his is more often used in Hermetic Qabalah than its /hristian cousin 9%/abalah% with a %/%; or Gudaic predecessor 9%:aballah% with a %:%;. Its Hebrew name is %'aath%, which translates as %knowledge%. .lthough occasionally referred to as the %eleventh *phere% or %))rd +ath% it has no number. 'aath is a bridge between two=dimensional and three=dimensional reality, with no relevant integer. .n entire tradition surrounds this unusual *phere as an entrance to the % unnels of *et%, aka the %Dealm of the Qliphoth%6 for which read :enneth ,rant%s ightside of !den.

If you follow the *pheres from one to ten you will connect all with the parallel lines e"cept the third and fourth *pheres. his disconnection is the %.byss%, the chasm between (' and )'. here is a great deal of cosmological dogma pertaining to 'aath adumbrated later. 9I believe mainstream physics, and mathematics, subscribe to an eleven dimensional model. I am unsure if this connects with our mystical ree and recommend the student investigates this independently.;

EBREW $AMES !F T E SP ERES

he second most important categorisation of the *pheres, after the *olar *ystem, is the Hebrew names. #n the left is number of the *phere, then the 2nglish transliteration, then the 2nglish translation, and then the original Hebrew. $ ( ) 1 3 4 5 7 $B :ether /hockmah &inah 'aath /hesed ,eburah iphereth FetZach Hod <esod 0alkuth /rown Wisdom Enderstanding :nowledge 0ercy Gudgement &eauty Hictory ,lory Coundation :ingdom

JKI LMIL NOPQ RST TUL NJVQW RJXYR L[O TVN TVUP RVI\M

hese Hebrew names are rarely pronounced as written, and are far from phonetic. Hebrew, when written with %'agesh% points, is phonetic, although we will not be dealing with 'agesh here. he first, ninth and tenth *phere are described with concrete nouns, with the rest metaphysical

nouns.

he astute reader will see a parallel with the archetypes of the *olar *ystem.

$. /rown ? +luto . crown is something worn above and on the head. +luto marks the beginning of the trans=+lutonic void and the 0ilky Way. (. Wisdom ? Feptune Feptune, the god of the oceans, has great wisdom and is one of the three #lympians governing the Hellenic pantheon. ). Enderstanding ? *aturn *aturn is /hronos, the chronometer or timekeeper. He is the ,rim Deaper, also known as #ld Cather ime. His symbol, the scythe, understands when it is time to reap, and time to sow. -. 0ercy ? Gupiter Gupiter is ]eus. He governs the Hellenic pantheon from 0ount #lympus, and is not a tyrant like his father *aturn. Gupiter bestows mercy upon subjects, leading by e"ample not fear. 1. Gudgement ? 0ars he god of war has always been 0ars. life and death, often violent death. he supreme judge of

3. &eauty ? *ol &eauty is the central pivot of 0an, reconciling the e"tremes of the fourth and fifth *pheres. &eauty is a different concept to sensuality. he sun is the centre of the *olar *ystem, just as iphereth is the centre of the ree. 4. Hictory ? Henus Henus is .phrodite, the goddess of love, passion and romance. he %victory% in 8uestion is the dissolution of ego in the bonds of love. 5. ,lory ? 0ercury 0ercury is Hermes, the trickster god, the god of symbols, signs and wonders. /ontrasted with %4% above, the %glory% is that of enlarging ego by complicating oneself with lu"ury, ambition and adoration from others. 7. Coundation ? !una he moon is the chronometer of 2arth, and is connected with gestation and female periodic cycles. Without the moon there would by no life on 2arth, she is indeed a %foundation%. $B. :ingdom ? 2arth 0ainstream science states intelligent life only e"ists on 2arth within the *olar *ystem. 2arth is indeed the %kingdom%.

T E T REE PILLARS
Having introduced some astrology and Hebrew, we use these to illustrate the concept of the three +illars. hese are the +illar of *everity, the +illar of 0ercy and the +illar of 0ildness.

90ost Qabalistic books illustrate the three +illars by backing the ree onto pictures of pillars supporting the scheme6 all three of e8ual height. .lthough often the case I have not used this depiction as I think it little more than artistic liberty.; he red section is the +illar of *everity, blue is the +illar of 0ercy, and yellow the +illar of 0ildness. 9 he primary colours are merely illustrative with no specific Qabalistic import.; In occultism the world over initiates talk of the !eft Hand +ath versus the Dight Hand +ath, with the reconciling 0iddle Way. %!eft% is considered sinister, %right% as god fearing, and %middle% as temperate. he nature of these +illars is fleshed out perfectly by the associated planets. he +illar of *everity is composed of *aturn, 0ars and 0ercury. *aturn is the god of time, conformity, discipline and death. 0ars presides over warfare, bloodshed, violence and discord. 0ercury rules over communication, magick, travel and money. He is also the god of tricks, deception and cunning. hese three planets could be considered %negative%. he +illar of 0ercy is composed of Feptune, Gupiter and Henus. Feptune rules over the live giving oceans fecundating the 2arth. Gupiter is the god of joviality, laughter, royalty and lu"ury. Henus is the goddess of love, passion, music and romance. hese three planets are therefore %positive%. he +illar of 0ildness is made up of +luto, *ol, !una and 2arth. he sun is the fulcrum of the entire astrological theme. !una regulates the oceans and stimulates life on 2arth. 2arth itself is balanced between e"tremes represented by the other +illars. he +illar of *everity is considered feminine, and the +illar of 0ercy masculine. It figures that the +illar of 0ildness is androgynous. *ometimes the +illar of 0ercy is called the %+illar of Corce%, and the +illar of *everity the %+illar of

Corm%. hese +illars balance the ree of !ife. However, the centre of the system is *ol, the si"th *phere.

TIP ERET + S!L , T E B#&& IST W EEL !F LIFE

*ol is the centre of the *olar *ystem, and iphereth the fulcrum of the ree. he diagram below shows the si"th *phere connecting with all other *pheres, e"cept the tenth. he eight +aths that e"tend from iphereth are tenuously linked with the eight spokes of the &uddhist Wheel of !ife. hese spokes are associated with the Foble 2ightfold #ath. he centre of the &uddhist Wheel is %Firvana%, a state of enlightened timelessness. he outer rim of the Wheel is %*amsara%, the world of the senses and the ravages of time.

T E T REE TRIA&S
he ree of !ife is composed of a % rinity of riads%. *pheres one, two and three compose the *upernal riad6 *pheres four, five and si" the 2thical riad6 *pheres seven, eight and nine the 0undane riad. he tenth *phere of 0alkuth is referred to as a %pendant% to the riads.

he *upernal riad are sometimes called %the *upernals%. hey are the most spiritual, abstract and lofty of the *pheres and are the Qabalistic %Holy rinity%. hey e"ist %above the .byss% 9of 'aath; and considered incomprehensible, save for the 0agister empli. he 2thical riad is the intellectual plane of %right and wrong%, although these ethics are not constant but relativist. here is a tradition of Qabalah called the %,reat &inaries%, or the logical syntheses of the moral e"tremes of /hesed and ,eburah. he 0undane riad, with the pendant of 0alkuth is the world of the four 2lements of 2arth, .ir, Water and Cire. +ure materiality is the domain of 0alkuth. he psychological substrata of humanity is represented as an interplay of 2lements. hese riads are e"tremes reconciled in their respective *pheres on the 0iddle +illar. hus Wisdom and Enderstanding are reconciled by the /rown6 0ercy and Gudgement by &eauty6 Hictory and ,lory by Coundation. .ll these riads are metaphysically repeated in 0alkuth, the e"pression of them all.

T E SE*E$ PLA$ES
he placement of the *pheres make seven horiZontal +lanes. I have numbered them from the bottom of the ree upwards, but this is only a preference. If one was working magically then numbering the +lane of the first *phere as %one% would be acceptable. his idea of the +lanes does not occur often in the Qabalistic literature. 'o not confuse this with the %Dising on the +lanes% that /rowley mentions in Liber $. #ccasionally these are referred to as the %*even *ouls%.

T E *EILS !F T E TREE
here are three horiZontally placed %Heils% on the ree. hese are in place because without them we would go mad. It is the task of the initiate to prepare him or herself to rend these partitions, thus leading to more light and refinement of spiritual substance. :eeping these Heils in place preserves the harmony of /reation. o complicate matters there are three Heils within the ree, and two without. We will deal with the internal Heils first.

Cor the average person the Heil of Qesheth is most pertinent. his is, in some respects, the gulf between the conscious and unconscious. he world of the senses is represented by 0alkuth, the tenth *phere. he .stral +lane, imagination, and the dreaming world are represented by <esod, the ninth *phere. When we wake in the morning and soon find our dreams have evaporated, and their memories van8uished, the Heil of Qesheth is placed over consciousness. It also separates the tenth *phere from the eighth and ninth, as indeed the rest of the ree6 but is generally understood as the partition between waking and dreaming. he word Qesheth is a combination of Qoph, *hin and au, the Hebrew letters corresponding to the three +aths that lead from 0alkuth. he Heil of +aroketh is sometimes shown as being below the si"th *phere rather than bifurcating it. In the scheme of the 0undane riad the lowest four *pheres represent the four 2lements of 2arth, .ir, Water and Cire. Crom this perspective of mystical ascension, iphereth represents the 8uintessence 9literally the %fifth 2lement%; of *pirit. In the list of magical ,rades iphereth is the .deptus, and the uppermost point of the pentagram governing the four %lesser% 2lements. +aroketh also bifurcates the se"ual polarity of the soul. &elow the Heil of +aroketh the soul 9the %sol%; is either male or female. .bove this Heil the soul is androgynous. his is perhaps the best way of describing this Heil, albeit pithy. he Heil of the .byss separates the 2thical and *upernal riads, and e"ists largely as there is no +ath connecting the third and fourth *pheres. It differentiates two=dimensional abstract, from three= dimensional physical, reality. :ether is the point, with no siZe or magnitude. /hockmah is the line 9some say two parallel lines;. &inah is the plane created by three points. hese geometrical

concepts have no physical counterpart. .s far as magical ,rades are concerned the *upernals are the /ollege of Invisible 0asters that instruct the .depts purely through light ? known as the %!imitless !H^% or %!imitless !ight in 2"tension%. *o this Heil protects us lesser mortals from this ineffable light. he .depts prepare themselves to withstand such e"treme voltage for many years, if not lifetimes. Hopefully the reader will agree that the Heils of the ree preserve the harmony of /reation.

*EILS BE(!$& T E TREE

here are three Heils above the first *phere, the % hree Heils of Fegative 2"istence%. here is also a pseudo Heil below 0alkuth. his is not a Heil strictly speaking, as this partition is not there to halt the spiritual light, or !H^. his is a world below 0alkuth, referred to as the %Dealm of Qliphoth% 9sometimes transliterated %:ellipot%;6 this is, for want of a better term, the residence of demons, where divine light is reluctant to shine. he Heils above :ether are .in 9_PX;, .in *oph 9`VUa_PX;, and .in *oph .ur 9JVXa`VUa_PX;. hese are respectively translated as %Fothing%, %Fo !imit% and %!imitless !H^%. %!imitless !H^% is a magical term also rendered %!imitless !ight in 2"tension%. he Hebrew %.ur% is probably connected with the 2nglish %aura% through the !atin %aurum%, which means %gold%. 9%.u% is gold on the +eriodic able of the 2lements.; hey can also be translated, less literally, as %Fothing%, %Fothing &ecomes% and %Fothing Is%. &ecause I have encountered different illustrations of how these Heils are positioned above :ether in different books, I thought it best not to do a diagram. I am unsure which depiction is correct and think it best not to take sides.

T E FI*E ELEME$TS
.s this volume is intended for beginners we will delve into the five 2lements of the Western 0ystery radition before adumbrating their relevance to the ree. he five 2lements are Cire, Water, *pirit, .ir and 2arth. .lthough these can be interpreted literally most often they represent emotional, metaphysical and spiritual states. he diagram below shows a pentagram with the traditional positions of the 2lements.

here are different ways to trace the pentagram and thus invoke or banish different 2lements. Cire and .ir are %.ctive 2lements%6 Water and 2arth are %+assive 2lements%. hus Cire and .ir are both upward pointing e8uilateral triangles, Water and 2arth downwardly directed. *pirit is represented by the wheel of eight spokes. Cire corresponds to the colour red, Water to blue, .ir to yellow and 2arth to green or black. *pirit is most often given as black. hese colours have little to do with the 2lements manifesting in the natural world, but it is the most convenient use of the primary colours.

In terms of geometry Cire corresponds to the tetrahedron, Water to the icosahedron, *pirit to the dodecahedron, .ir to the octahedron, and 2arth, 8uite naturally, to the cube 9or %he"ahedron%;. hese so called %+latonic *olids% are intimately linked in the classical mind with the five 2lements. he +latonic #rder of the 2lements is different to that of the Qabalah6 and is based on the economical grouping of spheres with lines drawn across the interstices. he best source describing this is :eith /ritchlow%s $rder in %pace. his se8uence is tetrahedron, octahedron, icosahedron, cube and dodecahedron6 Cire, .ir, Water, 2arth b *pirit. his is the se8uence used in geomancy 9although without *pirit;. It is worth detailing these five *olids as they do occur in Qabalah and /rowley%s Thoth Tarot.

he tetrahedron has four faces, four points and si" lines. he octahedron has eight faces, si" points and $( lines. he icosahedron has (B faces, $( points and )B edges. he cube, or he"ahedron, has si" faces, eight points and $( lines. he dodecahedron has twelve faces, (B points and )B edges. here is a correspondences with the five senses. Cire is sight 9visual;, Water is taste 9gustatory;, *pirit is hearing 9auditory;, .ir is smell 9olfactory; and 2arth is touch 9kinaesthetic;. Quite often the 2lements are represented by the attwa symbols. hese are used more as an astral projection tool than a system of Qabalistic notation. Cire is called % ejas% and is an upward pointing and red e8uilateral triangle6 Water is called %.pas%, a silvery crescent moon with the two points uppermost6 .ir is called %Hayu% and is a blue circle6 2arth is %+rithivi%, a yellow s8uare6 *pirit is %.kasha%, an indigo egg.

When referring to the four 2lements in the macrocosm we use four different he"agrams. hese have different permutations of the seven planets, so that each planet can be invoked or banished in the conte"t of the four 2lements. *ol, however, is only invoked or banished in the he"agram of 2arth.

ELEME$TAR( REFLE'TI!$S
In general the four lesser 2lements are attributed to various *pheres, whilst *pirit corresponds to the +aths as a whole. However, from the perspective of the 0undane riad 9*pheres $B, 7, 5 b 4; the *phere of iphereth is allocated to *pirit. he three 2lements of Cire, Water and .ir are allocated to the *pheres $ to 7, whilst *phere $B alone is 2arth.

We see the 0iddle +illar is composed of .ir, with 2arth at 0alkuth. he Doot of Cire is in /hockmah, its +rimary Deflection in ,eburah, and its *econdary Deflection in FetZach. he Doot of Water is in &inah, its +rimary Deflection in /hesed, and its *econdary Deflection in Hod. he Doot of .ir is in :ether, its +rimary Deflection in iphereth and its *econdary Deflection in <esod. he 2lement of 2arth at the bottom is considered the %condensation% of the interplay of the three more rarefied 2lements. Fotice that the +illar of 0ercy has two .ctive 2lements which reinforces the earlier statement that the it is predominantly masculine. *imilar logic applies to the +illars of *everity and 0ildness.

Q#EE$ S'ALE !F '!L!#R

here are four colouring methods: the :ing *cale, Queen *cale, +rince *cale and +rincess *cale. he Queen *cale is the most popular techni8ue: :ether is white 9sometimes %white brilliance%;, /hockmah grey and &inah black. he 2thical riad employs the primary colours with /hesed as blue, ,eburah red and iphereth yellow. FetZach is green 9sometimes %emerald green%; a combination of the blue /hesed and yellow iphereth. Hod is orange, formed by mi"ing the red of ,eburah with the yellow of iphereth. <esod is purple, a blend of the blue and red of /hesed and ,eburah. 0alkuth has a fourfold attribution of citrine, russet, olive and black, these representing the four 2lements.

ote Bene he lowest *phere is incomplete because I forget the allocation of citrine, russet and olive, nor their H 0! colour codes. *orry, but this book is a blend of the oral and written Qabalah.

TETRA)RAMMAT!$
% etragrammaton% is !atin for %Cour !ettered Fame%. he 2nglish transliteration is %Gehovah%, or, more commonly in the esoteric schools, %<ahweh%. It is a Fame of ,od so powerful that orthodo" Gews will not write it, and instead employ the euphemism %.donai%. 9However, note that the first Fame of ,od in the Holy &ible is %2lohim%, not Gehovah.; In Hebrew it is <od Heh Hav Heh.

&eginners should note that Hebrew is written from right to left, and from top to bottom. Cor technical simplicity the last Heh, or %Heh final%, is often written with a dot.

his Fame is of fundamental importance in Qabalah. Fot least with the so called %Cormula of etragrammaton%. his states that the first letter, <od, is the Eniversal Cather6 the ne"t letter, Heh, is the Eniversal 0other. hese two produce the *on, then the 'aughter, as Hav and Heh final. We will not go into details, suffice to say this formula is a magical rather than a mystical affair. In ,ematria 9this is dealt with later; these letters add up to (3. his is also the product of adding up all the *pheres of the 0iddle +illar: $B @ 7 @ 3 @ $ A (3. If we reposition these four !etters

vertically we create a wonderful glyph of the human body.

here are $( rearrangements of these four !etters. hese are the % welve &anners of the Fame% and correspond to the $( ]odiac *igns. Cor these refer to Liber &&& by .leister /rowley. +erhaps the most famous permutation of etragrammaton is the triangular one.

&y the numerical value of the Hebrew letters this arrangement totals to 4(. his is an e"tremely important number in Qabalah and elsewhere in the Western 0ystery radition. In the ,nostic schools, both ancient and modern, <ahweh is considered to be the 'emiurge, or 'emiurgos. his is the type of ,od that is purely machine and without true sympathy of the human condition. <ahweh is the 'emiurge, whilst <eheshuah is the 0essiah. When we place the Hebrew letter *hin in the middle of the etragrammaton we create the +entagrammaton, which is again !atin and means %Cive !ettered Fame%. his is the #ld estament Gesus.

his treatment of Hebrew Fames of ,od may seem a deviation from the ree of !ife, but we will see later that it is anything but. he three other Fames are .HIH, .,!. and .'FI.

T E F!#R W!RL&S
he etragrammaton leads us ine"orably to the concept of the four Worlds.

P N V N

<od is the seed of .tZiluth, the .rchetypal World. Heh is the seed of &riah, the /reative World. Hav is the seed of <etZirah, the Cormative World. Heh final is the seed of .ssiah, the World of .ction.

.s mentioned earlier, etragrammaton is a magical rather than a mystical formula. It is concerned with bringing things into material manifestation. his doesn%t necessarily mean manifesting spirits, demons or angels, but could mean anything. .ll works of art, of poetry, science and literature etc. are manifested by degrees. .n object first %appears% in the .rchetypal World. his realm is beyond human understanding. It could be a prompt to clear up some bad karma from a previous life. It could be an e"ternal intelligence incepting a concept into you. It could be a dream, or vision. It could be a suggestion from a friend who perhaps knows you better than you know yourself. #nce an archetypal suggestion is implanted we then begin to have feelings towards an idea. he

World of &riah is the primal emotive incentive to flesh something out. his could be the desire to please a loved one with a poem. +erhaps the yearning to visit a foreign country. 0aybe an intense nostalgia makes one wish to compose a painting. .s the magical seed nears completion we start to plan and intellectualise what it is we wish to create. .n architect may produce blueprints. . musician may write score. .n artist could produce sketches before applying the brush itself. Cinally the archetypal seed is manifested in reality. he building is built, the poem is written, the painting fleshed out. his is the realm of %trial and error%. We fre8uently find snags in any creative process but the impetus from the three higher Worlds of .Ztiluth, &riah and <etZirah keep us going until the end. he four !etters of etragrammaton, and the four Worlds they initiate, are applied to the ree in an ostensibly peculiar manner. he <od is in /hockmah, with the uppermost tip of this letter touching :ether. he Heh of &riah occupies &inah. he Hav governs a vast circle with its centre in iphereth, yet e"tending out to the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth *pheres. Hav also reaches up to 'aath ? this is one reason the Invisible *ephira is sometimes called the %/rown of 0ind%. he final Heh is in 0alkuth, the tenth and final *phere. his attribution of the the four Worlds to a single ree of !ife vary enormously from author to author, and is probably the most varying allocation in the ree of !ife literature.

*ometimes the four Worlds are depicted as four separate rees e"tending from a shared :ether, fanning out in a cross. 9 he design below is for a Qabalistic board game devised by Crater +yramidatus in The Game of Twelve 'ays.;

We can take four rees and assign each to a World by making iphereth of .tZiluth correspond to :ether of &riah etc.

he scheme known as %Gacob%s !adder% has four rees vertically superimposed on each other. lower :ether is connected to the higher iphereth and so on. . dogma e"ists that each *phere contains another ree of !ife, and so on, ad infinitum. more a philosophical than practical concern.

he his is

MI$!R AR'A$A !F T E TAR!T

Ep to now we have studied relatively simple symbols and their allocations. We are ready to take our ne"t step, the arot. 2ach card contains a wealth of data, and more often than not the pictures help us understand the ree. ote Bene I will be using the correspondences of Harris and /rowley%s Thoth Tarot. his is a radical departure from the Dider Waite deck of $7$B6 indeed consider it a big jump from any

predecessor in the world of arot decks. Fot only does it employ a virtually uni8ue genre of pictorial e"pression, it also has differences in its correspondences and titles. he arot comprises 45 designs and is divided into three categories: -B 0inor .rcana, $3 /ourt /ards and (( 0ajor .rcana. %0inor .rcana% is !atin for %!esser 0ysteries%. he -B !esser 0ysteries 9sometimes called %spot cards% or %pip cards%;, along with the /ourt /ards, are divided into four %*uits%: Wands, /ups, *words and 'isks. arot is the predecessor of playing cards and its four *uits correspond thus: Wands become /lubs became *pades e and 'isks became 'iamonds f. he four *uits correspond to the four lesser 2lements in a very natural and logical way. turn correspond to the letters of etragrammaton. Wands are connected with the 2lement of Cire. /ups are connected with the 2lement of Water. *words are connected with the 2lement of .ir. 'isks are connected with the 2lement of 2arth. he four .ces are considered the %Doots of the 2lements% rather than the 2lements themselves. What really matters are the )3 0inor .rcana left. hese are conveniently allocated to the *pheres that correspond with their numbers. hus the wo of 'isks is found in the second *phere, the *even of /ups in the seventh *phere etc. 2ach 0inor .rcanum 9e"cept the four .ces; is allocated to a %decan% of the ]odiac, that is a ten degree arc of the ]odiacal Wheel. 2very ]odiac *ign, from .ries to +isces, has )B degrees of arc within the astrological scheme. hus each House of the ]odiac has three 0inor .rcana dividing and defining its sphere of influence. 2ach of these )3 designs have a ]odiacal *ign and a planet associated. he cycle begins with the wo of Wands 90ars in .ries; and the planet of the .rcanum changes once with each card, according to the formula of the seven planets in the se8uence mentioned earlier. he ]odiac *ign changes every three cards until we reach the en of /ups 90ars in +isces;. 2ach ]odiac *ign is either one of four 2lements, and one of three Quadriplicities. 9 he 2lement associated with the *ign is called the % riplicity%;. he Quadriplicities arise from the division into /ardinal, Ci"ed or 0utable. he /ardinal *igns are found in the second, third and fourth *pheres of the ree6 the Ci"ed *igns in the fifth, si"th and seventh6 the 0utable *igns in the eighth, ninth and tenth. hey in

c, /ups became Hearts d, *words

2ach design has a title that helps comprehend the *phere to which it belongs. In technical manuals these titles are prefi"ed with %!ord of...%. *o the Cour of *words, % ruce%, is called the %!ord of ruce%. hat convention is ignored in this volume. &elow we find the )3 0inor .rcana in their astrological order. $. (. ). -. 1. 3. 4. 5. 7. $B. $$. $(. $). $-. $1. $3. $4. $5. $7. (B. ($. ((. (). (-. (1. (3. wo of Wands hree of Wands Cour of Wands Cive of 'isks *i" of 'isks *even of 'isks 2ight of *words Fine of *words en of *words wo of /ups hree of /ups Cour of /ups Cive of Wands *i" of Wands *even of Wands 2ight of 'isks Fine of 'isks en of 'isks wo of *words hree of *words Cour of *words Cive of /ups *i" of /ups *even of /ups 2ight of Wands Fine of Wands 'ominion Hirtue /ompletion Worry *uccess Cailure Interference /ruelty Duin !ove .bundance !u"ury *trife Hictory Halour +rudence ,ain Wealth +eace *orrow ruce 'isappointment +leasure 'ebauch *wiftness *trength 0ars in .ries *ol in .ries Henus in .ries 0ercury in aurus !una in aurus *aturn in aurus Gupiter in ,emini 0ars in ,emini *ol in ,emini Henus in /ancer 0ercury in /ancer !una in /ancer *aturn in !eo Gupiter in !eo 0ars in !eo *ol in Hirgo Henus in Hirgo 0ercury in Hirgo !una in !ibra *aturn in !ibra Gupiter in !ibra 0ars in *corpio *ol in *corpio Henus in *corpio 0ercury in *agittarius !una in *agittarius

(4. (5. (7. )B. )$. )(. )). )-. )1. )3.

en of Wands wo of 'isks hree of 'isks Cour of 'isks Cive of *words *i" of *words *even of *words 2ight of /ups Fine of /ups en of /ups

#ppression /hange Works +ower 'efeat *cience Cutility Indolence Happiness *atiety

*aturn in *agittarius Gupiter in /apricorn 0ars in /apricorn *ol in /apricorn Henus in .8uarius 0ercury in .8uarius !una in .8uarius *aturn in +isces Gupiter in +isces 0ars in +isces

he four *uits also represent divisions of time. Wands are days, /ups are weeks, *words are months and 'isks are years.

T E '!#RT 'AR&S
In arot divination the $3 /ourt /ards represent real people in the life of the Querent. Qabalistically they represent permutations of etragrammaton, and the formula of the four lettered Fame, with a twofold permutation of the four 2lements. he se8uence is :night, Queen, +rince and +rincess. 9In the Dider Waite arot we have instead +age, :night, Queen and :ing.; :nights correspond to .tZiluth and Cire, Queens to &riah and Water, +rinces to <etZirah and .ir, and +rincesses to .ssiah and 2arth. . table giving the permutation of 2lements is given below. :night of Wands Queen of Wands +rince of Wands +rincess of Wands :night of /ups Queen of /ups +rince of /ups +rincess of /ups :night of *words Queen of *words +rince of *words +rincess of *words :night of 'isks Queen of 'isks +rince of 'isks +rincess of 'isks Cire of Cire Water of Cire .ir of Cire 2arth of Cire Cire of Water Water of Water .ir of Water 2arth of Water Cire of .ir Water of .ir .ir of .ir 2arth of .ir Cire of 2arth Water of 2arth .ir of 2arth 2arth of 2arth

'avid .llen Hulse, in The (ey of it All, allocates the $3 /ourt /ards to the $3 %Invisible +aths%. hese are connections between *pheres not covered by the (( +aths normally used. It is highly 8uestionable whether the Invisible +aths are valid, but I would imagine many magicians, rather than mystics, try to get something out of the concept. +ersonally, I find the idea horrifying, but I must admit that the picture of the Invisible +aths on the ree is alluring. he fact that there are $3, and this is half of )( 9the total of *pheres and +aths;, again points at the wisdom of our Qabalistic blueprint.

M(STI' $#MBERS A$& MA)I'% SQ#ARES

. %0ystic Fumber% is a mathematical progression of an integer. he 0ystic Fumber of any *phere is a sum of all the numbers preceding an integer plus the integer itself. herefore the 0ystic Fumber of si", or *ol, is $ @ ( @ ) @ - @ 1 @ 3, the total being )3. !ikewise the 0ystic Fumber of Henus is $ @ ( @ ) @ - @ 1 @ 3 @ 4, or (5. he formula is: "9">(; @ 9">(;. In classical mathematics these are called %triangular% numbers. hese can be shown with +ascal%s riangle, in its third diagonal.

. 0agick *8uare is an arrangement of numbers in a s8uare so that every row, column and diagonal totals the same.

Planet *aturn Gupiter 0ars *ol Henus 0ercury !una

S-here ) 1 3 4 5 7

S-here s.rd/ 'ol/+ Ro0 , &ia1/ 7 $3 (1 )3 -7 35$ $1 )31 $$$ $41 (3B )37

Total of S.aure -1 $)3 )(1 333 $((1 (B5B ))($

he science of %Qemea% 9sometimes %:amea%; is the Hebrew word e8uivalents of the above numbers. Harious names of +lanetary *pirits and +lanetary Intelligences are used, for which see .leister /rowley%s Liber &&&. hese *8uares are often used in sigil magick.

M(STI'AL )RA&ES
he helemic mystical #rders start their gradual initiation from the bottom of the ree of !ife upwards. he ,rades are the *pheres. 2ach one attained represents genuine advancement6 and one only proceeds to the ne"t ,rade after e"act specifications have been met. *pheres ten to seven comprise the ,rades of the #rder of the ,olden 'awn6 *pheres si" to four the #rder of the Duby Dose and ,old /ross6 and *pheres three to one the #rder of the *ilver *tar.

)rade Ipsissimus 0agus 0agister empli &abe of the .byss .deptus 2"emptus .deptus 0ajor .deptus 0inor 'ominis !iminis ? the link +hilosophus +racticus ]elator Feophyte +robationer *tudent

$otation $Bg A $h 7g A (h 5g A )h

S-here :ether /hockmah &inah 'aath

4g A -h 3g A 1h 1g A 3h

/hesed ,eburah iphereth

-g A 4h )g A 5h (g A 7h $g A $Bh Bg A Bh

FetZach +racticus <esod 0alkuth

&efore Feophyte, the aspirant undergoes a year of probation during which he or she is allowed to undergo any type of program as long as a scientific journal of the e"periments is diligently kept. &efore that one has three months as a *tudent, which no more than reading prescribed books to garner a broad intellectual grasp of the system. hese elementary stages may deal with the realm of demons below 0alkuth that the aspirant better come to terms with before embarking upon the path of initiation. he four ,rades of the ,olden 'awn #rder are to master the four lesser 2lements. he main aim is to attain the %:nowledge and /onversation of the Holy ,uardian .ngel% which is constitutes an .deptus 0inor. Crom this perspective iphereth is *pirit, and in ceremonial magick is the !amp which hangs above the altar. Epon this altar lay the Wand, /up, 'agger and 'isk that are literally crafted by the aspirant as physical representatives of the ordeals and powers. %'ominis !iminis% is !atin for %!ord of the hreshold%. .deptus 0inor has two levels within and without. 9*ee the e"planation of the Heil of +aroketh above;. Here the aspirant chooses a new magical motto, or name. 9Cor men this is prefi"ed with %Crater%, with women %*oror%, these meaning %brother% and %sister%.; However, one%s magical name for this ,rade is normally kept secret. .deptus 0ajor represents %a master of magick, in all its forms, although without comprehension%. .deptus 2"emptus is as far as one can go before entering the .byss. he *eventh 'egree aspirant is e"pected to collate his or her knowledge into a written %thesis of the Eniverse%. he /ollege of the .depts is separated from the #rder of the *ilver *tar by the Heil of the .byss. It is here the .dept renounces all his knowledge and power. #ne faces the 'weller of the .byss, /horonZon, and either defeats this demon through silence, becoming a 0agister empli, or succumbs to the temptations of ego, and clinging to a false identity becomes a &lack &rother. .nyone can become a 0agister empli by swearing the #ath of the .byss in the presence of a 0agister. his is not recommended for us mere mortals, who should con8uer the lower strata of our psyche first with the curriculum of the lower ,rades. Gust as the ,rade of 0agister teaches the 0ystery of *orrow, the ne"t ,rade, 0agus, teaches the 0ystery of /hange. I believe that the Finth 'egree cannot be awarded to someone younger than -B, and I think this because /rowley attained 0agus on his -B th birthday. Ipsissimus teaches the 0ystery of *elflessness, also called the 0ystery of +an. It is here that one can %e"ist without form%.

#MA$ A$AT!M( , T E TREE

When the ree of !ife design is projected onto a human frame we find manny coincidences. he first *phere of :ether, he /rown, is just above the head. iphereth, or *ol, is located at the solar ple"us. <esod, the *phere of !una, is over the genital region. 0alkuth, although some designs places it between the knees, can also refer to the feet *ome Qabalists elongate the ree to reach the feet. <ou must get it firmly in your head that the +illar of 0ercy corresponds to the left side of the body, and the +illar of *everity to the right. When we look at the ree design adumbrating human anatomy we are looking at someone staring at us, or a reflection. I am reminded of the ancient Qabalistic verse: %&efore countenance beheld countenance e8uilibrium was not established in the void.% ,enerally the fifth *phere corresponds to the right arm, the fourth to the left arm. !ikewise the eighth *phere of Hod corresponds to the right leg, the seventh to the left leg.

&inah, Enderstanding, is associated with the right hemisphere of the brain6 /hockmah, Wisdom, to the left hemisphere. Feuroscience has long established that the normally dominant left hemisphere is concerned with logic, mathematics, language, prioritising, habit reinforcement and the like. he twofold nature of /hockmah allocates most situations into a %right or wrong% paradigm. he right hemisphere deals with raw emotion, colour, rhythm, intuition and appreciation of art forms. his is akin to the feminine, all encompassing, and intuitive &inah. he four central *pheres, and the three points where +aths of the 0iddle +illar intersect with Deciprocal +aths 9see below;, give the general locations of the seven /hakkras, or Wheels, of <oga.

In some schemes the ten fingers represent the ten *pheres as a simple se8uence of one to ten. However, I use the method where the fingers correspond to the planets Henus, Gupiter, *aturn, *ol and 0ercury. his stems from palmistry where the %mounts% at the base of each finger have these correspondences.

hese allocations can be used as a rudimentary sign language. We simply combine the planets on the fingers to orifices on the head, and this gives a card of the 0inor .rcana. hus if we touch the nose 9.ir b *mell ? *words; with the forefinger 9Gupiter, the number four; we mean the Cour of *words, which is % ruce%. If we touch the eye, or near the eye, with the forefinger, we get the Cour of Wands or %/ompletion% etc. &i1it humb humb humb Corefinger Corefinger Corefinger 0iddle 0iddle 0iddle Ding Ding Ding !ittle !ittle !ittle S-here *eventh *eventh *eventh Courth Courth Courth hird hird hird *i"th *i"th *i"th 2ighth 2ighth 2ighth !rifice 2ye 0outh Fose 2ye 0outh Fose 2ye 0outh Fose 2ye 0outh Fose 2ye 0outh Fose Element Cire Water .ir Cire Water .ir Cire Water .ir Cire Water .ir Cire Water .ir 'ard *even of Wands *even of /ups *even of *words Cour of Wands Cour of /ups Cour of *words hree of Wands hree of /ups hree of *words *i" of Wands *i" of /ups *i" of *words 2ight of Wands 2ight of /ups 2ight of *words Meanin1 H.!#ED '2&.E/H CE I!I < /#0+!2 I#F !E^ED< DE/2 HID E2 .&EF'.F/2 *#DD#W HI/ #D< +!2.*ED2 */I2F/2 *WIC F2** IF'#!2F/2 IF 2DC2D2F/2

he 2lement of 2arth, and the sense of touch, can be indicated by simply s8ueeZing the relevant finger with the other hand.

T E

EBREW LETTERS

.fter covering the *pheres we turn to the (( +aths of the ree. he +aths are said to simultaneously connect and separate the *pheres. We can conceive of them as doorways. .rguably the Hebrew letters, or .lephbeth, are the most important correspondences and perhaps the oldest. here are (( letters in Hebrew, along with five e"tra %!etters of Gudgement%. hese additional letters are an issue that doesn%t interfere with the given allocations as much as you might think. ote Bene he ten *pheres and (( +aths are sometimes collectively known as the %)( +aths of Wisdom%. #ften enough .leph is termed the eleventh +ath, right through to au as the )( nd. <ou must not, however, think of .leph as eleven, or &eth as $( etc. his is a notional method rather than an integral facet of the ree. We find this listing format in Liber &&&, but it is no more than a convenience. 2ach letter has a meaning 9always a common noun;, a numerical value, a numerical value when spelt in full, as well as position on the ree. .lthough it may appear overwhelming at first we will list the main attributions.

$ame

Trans/ . & , ' H H ] /h

S-ellin1 .!+ &I h ,0! '! h HH HH ]IF /hI h I h

*alue Full *al/ $ ( ) 1 3 4 5 7 $B (B )B -B 1B 3B 4B 5B 7B $BB (BB )BB -BB $$$ -$( 4) -)$B $( 34 -$5 -$7 (B $BB 47B $B3 $(B $)B 51 $B$53 1$B )3B -B3

Meanin1 #" House /amel 'oor Window Fail *word Cence *erpent Hand +alm #" ,oad Water Cish +rop 2ye 0outh Cish Hook

S-heres $=( $=) $=3 (=) (=3 (=)=3 )=1 -=1 -=3 -=4 1=3 1=5 3=4 3=7 3=5 4=5 4=7

X Q W T N V i L j P I \ M O U S Y [ k J l R

.leph &eth ,imel 'aleth Heh Hav ]ayin /heth eth <od :aph !amed 0aim Fun *amekh .yin +eh Zaddi Qoph Desh *hin au

I : ! 0 F * # + Z Q D *h h

<H' :+ !0' 0I0 FHF *0: #IF +H Z'I QH+ DI*h *hIF hH

&ack of Head 4=$B Head ooth /ross 5=7 5=$B 7=$B

he Cive !etters of Gudgement are complements to :aph, 0aim, Fun, +eh and Zaddi. hey are only employed when found at the end of a word. hey have a different typography, four of the five becoming elongated below the writing line6 and a different value. However, they are still found on the same +aths of the ree.

m n _ ` o

:aph final has a value of 1BB and is transliterated %: fin.% or %: f.% 0aim final has a value of 3BB and is transliterated %0 fin.% or %0 f.% Fun final has a value of 4BB and is transliterated %F fin.% or %F f.% +eh final has a value of 5BB and is transliterated %+ fin.% or %+ f.% Zaddi final has a value of 7BB and is transliterated % Z fin.% or % Z f.%

When we find a letter written larger than its companions, in a sentence or word, its value is sometimes multiplied by a thousand.

T E 'E$TRAL (!&

P
Gust as the 2nglish letter %I% is the basis of the alphabet, being the straight line out of which all other letters are composed, the Hebrew <od is the central letter of Hebrew. he Hebrew used in this volume is %Clame% Hebrew, rather than the older %Dock% Hebrew. he <od is the central flame which gives birth to the other (3 forms. <od has the value of ten, the number of *pheres. It connects *pheres four and si", which totals to ten. he si"th *phere is iphereth, and the centre of the ree. he fourth *phere of /hesed elaborates as $@(@)@-A$B. he first letter, .leph, is a metathesis of <od when spelt in full, that is <od Hav 'aleth. 9 he 'aleth is reversed.;

. further e"ample of the central <od occurs in the Thoth Tarot. In rump ^IH, .rt, is depicted the full spelling of the H.I. .D.I.#.!. formula. his is a !atin formula translating as %Hisit the interior parts of the 2arth and by rectification you shall find the hidden stone%. However, the central letter %I%

is missing from this illustration. %I% is of course <od in 2nglish. the central *phere of iphereth.

rump ^IH connects <esod with

he art of %projective synthetic geometry% is used on many, if not all, of the Thoth Tarot illustrations. However, the most blatant and overt usage is found on he Hermit design, and this rump corresponds with <od.

E2P!$E$TIAL SPELLI$)
2ach Hebrew letter is also a word. #ne can e"ponentially e"pand the word of each letter into other words, cohering to an internal logic. hus !0' becomes !0' 0I0 '! h, which in turn becomes !0' 0I0 '! h 0I0 IH' 0I0 '! h !0' hH. !ikewise :+ becomes :+ +H which elaborates into :+ +H +H HH. When one e"ponentially e"pands Hebrew thus one finds that ,imel 8uickly becomes the longest se8uence after every iteration. his is profound as ,imel is the letter of the longest geometrical +ath on the reep

)E!METRI'AL !RI)I$S !F EBREW

.ccording to *tan enen, of the 0eru Coundation, the Hebrew letters have a verifiable geometrical origin. Cirst we take the tetrahedron, that is the triangular sided +latonic *olid, the first in the se8uence6 and we make this prism transparent. Inside this we place a ) b q turn %heli"%. his shape is difficult to e"plain, but it is asymmetrical in every a"is. his heli" is not transparent. We thus have symmetry and asymmetry, darkness and transparency, two fundamental opposites of /reation. his configuration is referred to as the %!ight in the 0eeting ent%. When we shine a light through this prism we find, as we rotate it in various ways, symbols very similar to the Hebrew letters cast as shadows. hey are not precisely like the classical Hebrew, but it is averred by the 0eru Coundation that they compose the %root forms% of the alphabet used most in the Holy Qabalah.

M!T ER+ SI$)LE A$& &!#BLE LETTERS , T E ASTR!L!)I'AL LI$%

he (( Hebrew characters are divided into three 0other !etters, twelve *ingle !etters and seven 'ouble !etters. his classification stems from a short, yet highly influential, :abalistic te"t called the %epher )et*irah or Book of +ormation. he three 0other !etters are *hin, 0aim and .leph. here is a connection with the pronunciation of Hebrew. We have free flowing breath 9the %.% of .leph;, the closed mouth vibration 9the %0% of 0aim; and the primal dental sibilant 9the %*h% of *hin;. hey correspond to the 2lements of .ir, Water and Cire respectively. #n the back of the cards in the Thoth Tarot you will see a simplified version of the %*igil of the Dosy /ross%. In the centre of this design is the (( petalled %rose%. he three innermost petals are the three 0others, surrounding this in a circle are the petals of the 0others, and finally the *ingles. his design is used in sigil magick by tracing the letters of a Hebrew word within these three circles of petals. his is the perfect place to begin the astrology within the +aths.

l M X

O primarily, and also to *pirit . 0aim corresponds to the 2lement of Water N. .leph corresponds to the 2lement of .ir M.
*hin corresponds to the 2lement of Cire

9 he 2lement of 2arth not a 0other !etter.;

L, tallies with au R, the last letter, even though

au is a 'ouble and

he last two letters of the .lephbeth, *hin and au, have two astrological

correspondences each. 9In Qabalistic notation the double meaning of *hin is %)$ bis%, and that of au %)( bis%.; he $( *ingle !etters are Qoph, Zaddi, .yin, *amekh, Fun, !amed, <od, !amed, /heth, ]ayin, Hav and Heh. hey correspond to the $( ]odiac *igns.

k [ S U O \ P j L i V N

Qoph corresponds to the *ign of +isces. Zaddi corresponds to the *ign of .ries. .yin corresponds to the *ign of /apricorn. *amekh corresponds to the *ign of *agittarius. Fun corresponds to the *ign of *corpio. !amed corresponds to the *ign of !ibra. <od corresponds to the *ign of Hirgo. eth corresponds to the *ign of !eo. /heth corresponds to the *ign of /ancer. ]ayin corresponds to the *ign of ,emini. Hav corresponds to the *ign of aurus. Heh corresponds to the *ign of .8uarius.

he correspondence of Heh with .8uarius, and Zaddi with .ries, is a modern helemic rearrangement of the traditional allocations. his was e"acted by /rowley some years after it was hinted at in The Book of the Law /hapter #ne, Herse 14. he diagram below shows a looping concept of the ]odiac *igns. .ries and .8uarius form one polarity, with !eo and !ibra making another. /rowley also switched correspondences of rumps HIII and ^I, reversing the numberings. his diagram is given as an e"planation of the changed allocations in The Book of Thoth. I don%t pretend to fully understand this.

he seven 'ouble !etters tie in with the seven classical +lanets 9this scheme was devised long before the discovery of Eranus, Feptune and +luto;. hey are au, Desh, +eh, :aph, 'aleth, ,imel and &eth. hey are called %'ouble% as they can be pronounced hard or soft, depending on the 'agesh point.

R J Y I T W Q

au corresponds with the +lanet *aturn Desh corresponds with *ol. +eh corresponds with the +lanet 0ars. :aph corresponds with the +lanet Gupiter. 'aleith corresponds with the +lanet Henus. ,imel corresponds with !una. &eth corresponds with the +lanet 0ercury.

7, and the 2lement of 2arth. L 1 5 6 4 2 3

)EMATRIA
Hebrew letters work double time as numbers. It follows that every word also have a value. 9/rowley helped compile a dictionary of Hebrew according to numerical value called Liber , or %epher %ephiroth.; Words of e8ual value are said to be e"planatory of each other. ./hd %unity% A 34 A .H&H %love% F/h*h %serpent% A 456 A 0*hI/h %0essiah% .&D.H.'.&D. %Word of .eon% A 736 A /hI h %fence% . hH % hou .rt% A 789 A hH %cross% &IFH %understanding A 9: A ]IF %sword% /h:0H %wisdom% A :4 A ,0! %camel%

+D: h 9the Heil of the *anctuary; A :88 A Fun final &#] %&oaZ% A :; A I/hIF %Gachin% 9 hese are the two +illars of the emple; .I0. %the fertiliZed mother% A 5< A &F %son% However this is only one aspect of ,ematria, which literally means %geometry%. Word substitution is merely %isopsephy%, and little more than the trinket shop phenomena knowns as %numerology%. ote Bene ,ematria proper, Hebrew, ,reek and .rabic, deals with the ratios between shapes, typically circles and their diameters and radii, e8uilateral triangles, vesicas, the ,olden *ection and so on. It also deals with the ratios found in the *olar *ystem. he numbers of these ratios are concealed in names, which then implement the astro=theology of varying religions. It is also used to determine ratios and proportions in buildings of worship. Dead William *tirling%s The Canon for detailed analysis of ,ematria proper, light years beyond the simple word and number substitution people mistakenly assume it to be. #ne method of ,ematria is %counting well%. With this method we combine two words. he value of the first word is multiplied by the number of letters in the second6 the value of the second word is multiplied by the number of letters in the first6 and the two values are totalled. Cor e"ample the Hebrew for % ree of !ife% is # Z /hII0. # Z A $3B /hII0 A 35

$3B " - A 3-B 35 " ( A $)3 3-B @ $)3 A 443 # Z /hII0 A 443 counted well his is 8uite the Qabalistic gem as 444 is a key number describing the ree, and the value of the +aths that connect a se8uential progression of :ether to 0alkuth. In the ,reek Qabalah there is a convention called %colel%, where words that value one more, or one less, are still considered e8uivalent. here are two methods of ,ematria, additional and digital. .dditional techni8ue is characterised by the use of tens, hundreds and thousands etc. .fter <od, with a value of ten, we do not get :aph as eleven, or a return to two, but (B, )B, -B, 1B etc. he digital system breaks down each letter into an integer between one and nine. his is the %.i8 &ekar% or %Qabalah of Fine /hambers%. We simply take the first digit of each value and apply that instead. .i8 &ekar is seldom used. ,ematria is one aspect of the !iteral Qabalah6 the others being Fotarikon 9acrostics; and emura 9codes and permutations;.

T E <43 )ATES
he ()$ ,ates are permutations of the Hebrew letters in pairs. We begin with .leph=&eth and end with *hin= au. hese are often used in a progressive chant, firstly going down the ree of !ife and then up. 2ach ,ate is discussed in A Glossary of Thelema, by Crater +yramidatus. When I have chanted this I did not pronounce the entire letter pair6 and instead utilised the first syllables. hey are sometimes called he ()$ ,ates of the %epher )et*irah.

MA=!R AR'A$A !F T E TAR!T

%0ajor .rcana% is !atin for %,reater 0ysteries%. Where Hebrew has (4 letters, and there are (astrological symbols, we find our arot deck fitting the ree of !ife perfectly with (( designs. hese are sometimes called % rumps% or %.tus%. ,enerally the rumps have more wealth of symbolism than 0inor .rcana. his is very much the case with the Thoth Tarot. hey are numbered by Doman numerals, comprised of the seven characters: %0%, %'%, %/%, %!%, %^%, %H% and %I%. 0 ' / ! ^ H I $BBB 1BB $BB 1B $B 1 $

9If we put all the figures in order, e"cepting the %0%, we get '/!^HI which is 333.; hese follow the logic that a lesser character before a greater character is deducted from the greater6 and a lesser character after a greater character is added. We are only dealing with the easy task of one to ($.

$um/ Roman $umeral B $ ( ) 1 3 4 5 7 $B $$ $( $) $$1 $3 $4 $5 $7 (B ($ n>a I II III IH H HI HII HIII I^ ^ ^I ^II ^III ^IH ^H ^HI ^HII ^HIII ^I^ ^^ ^^I

Title he Cool he 0agus he High +riestess he 2mpress he 2mperor he Hierophant he !overs he /hariot .djustment he Hermit Cortune !ust he Hanged 0an 'eath .rt he 'evil he ower he *tar he 0oon he *un he .eon he Eniverse

S-heres $=( $=) $=3 (=) 4=7 (=)=3 )=1 1=3 -=3 -=4 -=1 1=5 3=4 3=7 3=5 4=5 (=3 4=$B 5=7 5=$B 7=$B

here are discrepancies with the older decks. $. (. ). -. 1. 3. 4. 5. 7. % he 0agus% was normally % he 0agician%. % he Hierophant% was sometimes called % he High +riest%. %.djustment% was normally %Gustice% and numbered ^I rather than HIII %Cortune% was normally % he Wheel of Cortune%. %!ust% was normally %*trength% and numbered ^III rather than ^I. %.rt% was normally % emperance%. % he *tar%, in much older decks, was called %Hope%. % he .eon% was normally % he !ast Gudgement%. % he Eniverse% was normally % he World%.

In a general, and arguably la*y, sense the rumps are the *pirit that binds and separates the four 2lements represented by the *pheres. Indeed 2 h, the first and last Hebrew letters %spirit%.

RX, means

rumps can be conceived either magically or mystically depending on which direction they are traversed. . rump encountered whilst travelling from a lower numbered to a higher numbered *phere is magick. . higher numbered *phere crossing to a lower is mysticism. I mean %higher% as closer to ten. ravelling from one to ten is magick, and from ten to one mysticism. he perfect magician counts from *pheres one to ten consecutively. his is the %!ightning Clash% or %Claming *word%. he wise mystic travels up the +aths in reverse order towards :ether6 and this is the %*erpent of Wisdom%. he 0other, 'ouble and *ingle !etters are applied to the 0ajor .rcana in an intensely profound configuration called % he /ube of *pace%. he three 0others 9 he Cool, he Hanged 0an and he .eon; correspond to the length, width and breadth of the /ube 9I am unsure in which order;. he

seven 'oubles 9 he 0agus, he High +riestess, he 2mpress, Cortune, he ower, he *un and he Eniverse; correspond to the si" faces and the centre. he $( edges of the /ube correspond to the $( *ingle letters 9 he 2mperor, he Hierophant, he !overs, he /hariot, !ust, he Hermit, .djustment, 'eath, .rt, he 'evil, he *tar and he 0oon;. his utterly precise arrangement is covered comprehensively in 'avid .llen Hulse%s The Cube of %pace. he numbering of the arot, if tweaked a little, can add up to 333. We take the /ourt /ards as being eleven, $(, $) and $-. he 0ystic Fumber of $- is $B1, we mulitply this by four 9for the four *uits; and get -(B. he 0ystic Fumber of ($ 9the rumps; is ()$. ()$ @ -(B A 31$. he e"tra $1, to make 333, comes by adding another 'evil rump. he 'evil is twofold in nature6 also each hand has $1 joints, with the two 'evils representing the two hands that shuffle the cards. o balance this we add another Cool rump. Quite often arot decks come with two e"tra cards, a cover card and perhaps a card with publishing details, or an occult symbol of some kind. here is a conceptual polarisation of $3 of the rumps when placed on the ree. We take the 0iddle +illar as an a"is of symmetry and analyse eight pairs. he digram below shows the ree without the +aths of the 0iddle +illar, or three Deciprocal +aths.

he Cool and he 0agus are obvious opposites. We have the spontaneity, rashness, whimsicalness, and lack of forethought with rump B, contrasted with the calculating, precise, formulaic character of rump I. he Hierophant sits in his temple meditating upon ancient wisdom6 irreverently into uncharted lands. he /hariot hurtles off

Cortune relies on auspicious circumstances and %good luck%6 he Hanged 0an is condemned and beyond redemption. he 0oon governs the female se" cycle, the whims of lovers, and gradual evolution of types6 he .eon cares not for any individual and is set in motion despite any creed, race or even planet. While he 0oon is the precise chronometer of our daily calender, he .eon can reach inception on a spiritual time cycle of which there is no mortal timepiece.

he *tar is alone, immutable and amongst an unchanging community of galactic proportions, and is a unit of the macrocosm6 he !overs are together and the product of their union provides fleshly sustenance for the ever changing evolution of the species, and create a unit of the microcosm. he Hermit is single. .djustment is twofold, as the balances in the illustration. he Hermit is perfection, the central immutable <od of the ree re8uiring no interference. .djustment is employed on e"traneous matters, most often upon superfluity. 'eath is finality and profound change. he 'evil represents phallic force, or the seed of life, and represents subjugation to a specific type or species. he Thoth Tarot shows 'eath with an orderly procession of souls, an endless cavalcade, leaving for the #ther *ide. /ontrasting to this the 'evil rump shows a small group of souls fighting over who will incarnate first. he 2mperor rules over the microcosm forcing people to %fit in% and live in rows of s8uare houses. He is the top of the social pyramid. he *un enlightens the macrocosm. *ol is the centre of a cosmic circle.

$I$ET(>T REE
7) is the number most associated with helema. It is the value in ,reek ,ematria of the words % helema% 9rstuvw; and %.gape% 9wxwyu;, meaning %will% and %love%. We add up the three Deciprocal +aths, that is 'aleth, eth and +eh, or four plus nine plus 5B, and we get 7). We take the numerals of the arot rumps and total the +aths connecting *pheres one through to ten 9we allot a value of two for the Invisible +ath between &inah and /hesed; and we again get 7). 0ore tenuously 7) in he"adecimal, or base $3, is 1', and will in Qabalah is the fifth dimension.

?)!&? A$& T E T IR& E(E

he +aths ,imel and 'aleth form an upright cross. When this cross is projected onto a plan of the human body we find the intersection of +aths meeting in the middle of the forehead. his is the location of the % hird 2ye%, that long fabled, perhaps vestigial, organ of ancient occultism. When we remember that the Hebrew for %2ye% is .yin, and that .yin transliterates as %#%, we get the word %,#'% spelled out clearly. his adds up to 44, one less than the 0ystic Fumber of $(. ,imel connects *pheres one and si", 'aleth two and three, and these four *pheres add to $(.

BIBLI!)RAP (
A Garden of #omegranates, Israel Degardie A Glossary of Thelema, Crater +yramidatus Liber &&& and $ther -abalistic .ritings, .leister /rowley $rder in %pace, :eith /ritchlow -abalah, /harles +once The Anatomy of the Body of God, Crater .chad The Book of Thoth, .leister /rowley The Canon, William *tirling The Cube of %pace, 'avid .llen Hulse The (ey of it All, 'avid .llen Hulse The Ladder of Lights, William ,ray The /iddle #illar, Israel Degardie The ew Living -abalah, Will +arfitt The Thoth Tarot, .leister /rowley b Crieda Harris The Tree of Life, Israel Degardie