The Mystic Path - Path 28
4:21 PM
My beloved and I have been on a 15 month long Pathworking with The Qabalah Tree of Life. You can read what that's all about here. In the meantime, I have been documenting our work as we explore the Paths.
It is important to know these are brief notes. A true understanding of each Path begs a vital understanding of the Sephiroth connecting them. Further research on your own is highly recommended.
It is important to know these are brief notes. A true understanding of each Path begs a vital understanding of the Sephiroth connecting them. Further research on your own is highly recommended.
We have done Path 29, now for Path 28 .....
Immediately this Path has started with some mild confusion, as we were naturally following the flow of the Major Arcana in reverse up the Tree of Life, so the next card to be associated with the Path would have been The Star. However, it turns out this is a transitional point during Pathworking on the Tree in which many esoteric systems have switched The Star for the Emperor. I have not uncovered a whole lot of information on why this is, though I imagine one can read something about in Israel Regardie's work, specifically The Golden Dawn, as I believe the GD's system was instrumental in this change. Because we are following the system incorporated by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Gareth Knight, and Dion Fortune, we are following their lead and using the Emperor, though Dolores does suggest that if the The Star works for you then by all means use it.
UPDATE: Dolores' specific meditation actually uses The Star, even though she referred to it everywhere else as The Emperor. So, we are going to use The Star.
It must be noted this Path highly distinguishes the importance of knowledge regarding the Individuality and Personality, which have specific definitions in occult philosophy. As Dion Fortune states: "The four Sephiroth below Tiphareth represent the personality or lower self; the four Sephiroth above Tiphareth are the Individuality , or higher self; and Kether is the Divine Spark, or nucleus of manifestation." (The Mystical Qabalah, p. 176) The point is to get in touch with the Individuality, recognizing the mirroring quality of the Personality on the lower planes, as represented by the astrological symbol for this Path, Aquarius:
We are not to fall short and succumb to the Personality. The lower self should be the reflection the higher self, not the other way around. This Path takes everything we have learned so far and seeks to implement it into action with balance. "The Personality should be a simulacrum of the Individuality in the developed person; in other words, that which is below should be as that which is above - in accordance with the Hermetic axiom." (Gareth Knight, Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II, p. 39)
A follow up from Path 29 (primarily about sexual union) in this Path the Holy Naked Man symbol of Yesod and the Holy Naked Woman symbol of Netzach yearn to integrate into a union that is less about the horizontal (physically sexual) conjunction of bodies and more about the vertical (God-centered) synchronization of harmony between two poles: positive and negative, like a battery. Tzaddi is a fitting Hebrew letter for this Path, as it is the fish-hook: the dancing between these poles for balance is much like a fisherman teasing the fish along with his hook skipping along the water, reeling in to the Source.
This is done under the Sun (like the two children dancing in the Sun card) but in this case the Sun being Tiphareth as the guiding principle. There is a great risk of falling into vice regarding sexual work on this Path, so be prepared for tests to one's commitment to Truth/Beauty/The Great Work. Do not mistake the symbols of sexuality as literal interpretations of male-female copulation. Further, do not fall into the guise of believing one can produce supernatural effects to change the natural laws of the Universe. As Gareth Knight states, there is truly is no such thing as the "supernatural". For instance, per Gareth's example, if one is falling off a cliff, a magic wand will do you no good. The magical tool for this issue is a parachute. Be practical and utilize the established Laws of the Universe.
Being tested is a primary component of this Path, which is why Lucifer, the Light-Bringer, is an excellent angelic source to tap into. His role exemplifies the testing of one's spiritual identity, for one cannot truly grow and evolve without the temptation of glamor, power, and perfection, such as the fall from Eden. Only through mistakes is growth allowed to occur: "Mankind had a choice, to bite or not to bite, and on the face of it he made the wrong one, but the Creator was never one to pass up a good opportunity. By falling into matter, man was able to add to the full measure of physical life experience to that of the spiritual." (Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, The Shining Paths, p. 56)
"The 28th Path [...] is the channel of artistic inspiration, whatever the medium of expression, and also of any creative work in the sciences, pure or applied." (Gareth Knight, Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II, p. 44) The Star can be used for this Path, as it is where the higher self, the Individuality, is striving to awaken the sleeper, to come alive within the human Personality. As Aleister Crowley states, The Star is "the goddess [...] shown in manifestation [...] personified as a human-seeming figure." (Book of Thoth, p. 109). The Star awakens these sleeping energies within us as the goddess pours that which is above, below into the waters of the subconscious.
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