As
stated earlier in the year, my beloved and I are embarking upon a 15
month long Pathworking on The Qabalah Tree of Life. You can read what
that's all about here. In the meantime, I will be 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 31, now for Path 30 .....
Path 31 completes a triad of Pathworking among Malkuth, Yesod, and Hod. The primary symbol of this path, as denoted by the Tarot Trump, is the Sun. In Path 32 one has delved into the Underworld of the subconscious, in Path 31 one has been tasked to manage and discern those unconscious aspects into one's waking life, now in Path 30 to fully realize and integrate the spiritual with the material. The Sun, of course, is our highest attribute of Spirit in this Path.
The Sefer Yestzirah refers to this Path as the Collective Intelligence, as it is heralding of Enlightenment. Not the "enlightenment" most assume comes from yogic meditations, but more closely associated with the Age of Enlightenment beginning in the late 17th Century which heralded an age of science and reason, bringing us out of the depths of the dark ages and into a time of philosophy, comfort, and technological progress. As with every aspect of being on the Tree (and thus Life) there is a virtue to these attributes, as well as a vice. This is inherent is a quote from Gareth Knight: "One can have too much of a good thing however. The Sun shining unremittingly causes life to wither and die. and Reason unremitting and unbalanced has a similar effect." (p.51, A Practical Guide to Qabalastic Symbolism)
An important element to note in the Trump is the wall in the card. Spiritual liberation is not about unhindered freedom, left unchecked. The wall represents restriction in a sense, discernment, for "it is by limitation only that growth can be attained." (p.52, Gareth Knight, A Practical Guide to Qabalastic Symbolism) The stems directly from the Judgement Trump where one learned what to discern, what to discipline, and now the Sun is a refinement of this discipline to allow one's Great Work to continue pristine.
The Hebrew letter, Resh, is the Head. This is the seat of the mind, of intelligence. And it is now apparent that this Path consists of improving the relationship between Hod (the Sun, mind) and Yesod (the Moon, dream). As Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki states: "The object of a pathworking is to create a balance between these two ways of thinking, using the opposing spheres as the twin aspects and the path as the balancing agent. On the thirtieth path we hope to create a balance between the reasoning mind and the intuitional, both working in harmony." (p.38, The Shining Paths)
Path 31 completes a triad of Pathworking among Malkuth, Yesod, and Hod. The primary symbol of this path, as denoted by the Tarot Trump, is the Sun. In Path 32 one has delved into the Underworld of the subconscious, in Path 31 one has been tasked to manage and discern those unconscious aspects into one's waking life, now in Path 30 to fully realize and integrate the spiritual with the material. The Sun, of course, is our highest attribute of Spirit in this Path.
The Sefer Yestzirah refers to this Path as the Collective Intelligence, as it is heralding of Enlightenment. Not the "enlightenment" most assume comes from yogic meditations, but more closely associated with the Age of Enlightenment beginning in the late 17th Century which heralded an age of science and reason, bringing us out of the depths of the dark ages and into a time of philosophy, comfort, and technological progress. As with every aspect of being on the Tree (and thus Life) there is a virtue to these attributes, as well as a vice. This is inherent is a quote from Gareth Knight: "One can have too much of a good thing however. The Sun shining unremittingly causes life to wither and die. and Reason unremitting and unbalanced has a similar effect." (p.51, A Practical Guide to Qabalastic Symbolism)
An important element to note in the Trump is the wall in the card. Spiritual liberation is not about unhindered freedom, left unchecked. The wall represents restriction in a sense, discernment, for "it is by limitation only that growth can be attained." (p.52, Gareth Knight, A Practical Guide to Qabalastic Symbolism) The stems directly from the Judgement Trump where one learned what to discern, what to discipline, and now the Sun is a refinement of this discipline to allow one's Great Work to continue pristine.
The Hebrew letter, Resh, is the Head. This is the seat of the mind, of intelligence. And it is now apparent that this Path consists of improving the relationship between Hod (the Sun, mind) and Yesod (the Moon, dream). As Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki states: "The object of a pathworking is to create a balance between these two ways of thinking, using the opposing spheres as the twin aspects and the path as the balancing agent. On the thirtieth path we hope to create a balance between the reasoning mind and the intuitional, both working in harmony." (p.38, The Shining Paths)
As stated earlier in the year, my beloved and I are embarking upon a 15 month long Pathworking on The Qabalah Tree of Life. You can read what that's all about here. In the meantime, I will be 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 32, now for Path 31 .....
Path 32 was interesting and an excellent start to the Pathworking for any proper Initiation into the Mysteries. Path 31 still begins the journey from Malkuth, another reminder that all true esoteric work takes place here on Earth, not elsewhere. But now this Path leads to Hod, the more intellectual, numbers-based Sephirah of the Tree.
With Hod's planetary body being of Mercury, the primary element for this Path then is Fire. But, it is not wild fire for the purging of things, it is a controlled fire, a flame of the Perpetual Intelligence. To understand Path 31 is to understand the origins of man. The discovery of fire led to man's evolutionary leap from being at the mercy of the elements, to controlling one's environment. "It is a fact that fire stimulates thought, and thought is the basis of form. Without thought nothing can be brought to the physical level." (Ashcroft-Nowicki, p. 29) The Greek Goddess Hestia (whose name means 'hearth') is perfect symbol for this, as she presided over the fires of domestication which sat in every home in the family unit as well as the community: ""She is therefore at the very hub of civilization [which makes this] the Path of the Hearth Fire, that is the building of a home and raising a family according to spiritual principle." (Knight, p.31-32)
Another myth associated with this Path is that of Prometheus (whose name means Foresight), who defied the Gods to bring the secret of fire to man. Again, fire denotes the higher, spiritual Will of consciousness, the awakening of true identity and individuality. Fire not only protected man from the elements, but is the element of the Blacksmith, leading to the development and forging of tools and weapons. This suggests the honing of our spiritual Will applied in real life: the Path leads from Malkuth to Hod, but also leads from Hod to Malkuth. How can we best apply our spiritual principles in this world?
" . . . this path is one of learning passed from a higher level. Fire was man's liberator from the inertia that grips when one is hungry and cold. Inertia is also the vice of Malkuth our starting point." (Aschroft-Nowicki, p.30)
The Hebrew Letter for this Path is Shin, which means Tooth, itself very much resembling the flames of a flickering fire. The tooth is a symbol for creativity, cutting and grinding one's way through life. As Gareth Knight says, "...the Hebrew Letter indicates that the Path is concerned with individuation--spiritual evolution through the discipline of experience and the development of powers of creation." (p.33) In the Flaming Sword sequence of creation from Kether to Malkuth, Hod comoes after the highly imaginative waters of Netzach, therefore Hod is about communicating those ideas into Form.
The Tarot Trump is Judgement, or as we know what "judgement" means in this work, discernment and/or adjustment. This again implies one's ability to refine your works, your communication, your actions to conform to the Spiritual Will of one's Higher Self.
" . . .the Way of Evolution is a process of harmonisation [sic] of the contending forces arising from the most primitive levels. The middle way between two opposites is suggested by the shape of the letter Shin. This Middle Way is shown also on the Tarot Trump, for the true design seems to have been a child rising from a tomb and the man and woman [on] each side rising from the ground, not as persons, but as principles of positive and negative in Nature. The child is the growing point in the evolving man." (Knight p.33-34)
SOURCES:
The Shining Paths: An Experiential Journey through the Tree of Life by Dolores Aschroft - Nowicki
A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II by Gareth Knight
As stated earlier in the year, my beloved and I are embarking upon a 15 month long Pathworking on The Qabalah Tree of Life. You can read what that's all about here. In the meantime, I will be documenting our work as we explore the Paths.
To begin, Path 32.....
The is the first Path on any initiatory Pathworking with the Tree of Life. It is the Path between Malkuth (The Kingdom) and Yesod (The Foundation). As Malkuth is the Earth, Yesod is symbolized by the Moon, so this Path highly represents the relationship between the two as the basis for Initiation: before exploring the rest of the Universe, we must first spring from the Earth to the Moon. This is not just an outer (exoteric) experience but an inner (esoteric) one. This Path is the gateway to the inner world, which is the true key to the Great Work.
Occultist Gareth Knight says of Path 32: "It is like the hole in the earth into which Alice fell, leading to her strange adventures in Wonderland." (A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II)
The myth associated with this Path, that of Persephone, was the foundational teaching of Initiation for the Eleusinian Mysteries (and still is for modern Mystery Schools). Persephone (who represents the Path) is the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of the Earth (Malkuth). She is kidnapped by Hades and brought into the Underworld (inner world). Hecate, Goddess of the Moon and Magic (Yesod) then guides Demeter to Persephone who are then reunited. The key here is that Path 32 is two-fold: a descent to the interior realms then a return (resurrection). The Great Work is performed and then the Initiate returns to Malkuth where the results of the Work can be put to action.
This is why the Major Arcana Trump of The World: XXI is the primary Tarot card for this Path. The Four Holy Living Creatures at the corners of the card symbolize the four elemental attributes of the Earth (Malkuth). The woman (in actuality a hermaphrodite, the genitalia covered by the floating sash) in the card further signifies Spirit entering Malkuth as shown through the two rods she holds in her hands: the positive and negative attributes of Spirit joining to descend into material form (the wreath being the World). This is further illustrated through the Hebrew letter Tau or Tav: its primary symbol a three-armed cross....a cross without the upper bar. Like The World card, it signifies two forces impacting on a higher level and producing a form on a denser level below.
To work this Path, it is vital to understand the two-way nature of it: Spirit ascending and Matter descending. Gareth Knight again states: "The Path represents [...] the first stages of Devotional Mysticism as well as a Way-in to the inner planes and the unconscious mind. It's main lessons are, ascending, the existence of the causality of things on a higher or deeper level than the physical world; and descending, the acceptance of densest Form limitation by the Spirit . . ." (A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II) To be an Initiate in the Mysteries, acceptance of all that is (both positive and negative) has to not just be a posture of the mind, but the whole attitude of all being.
We will begin our Work with Path 32 on Spring Equinox, March 20th, 2014.
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.
To begin, Path 32.....
The is the first Path on any initiatory Pathworking with the Tree of Life. It is the Path between Malkuth (The Kingdom) and Yesod (The Foundation). As Malkuth is the Earth, Yesod is symbolized by the Moon, so this Path highly represents the relationship between the two as the basis for Initiation: before exploring the rest of the Universe, we must first spring from the Earth to the Moon. This is not just an outer (exoteric) experience but an inner (esoteric) one. This Path is the gateway to the inner world, which is the true key to the Great Work.
Occultist Gareth Knight says of Path 32: "It is like the hole in the earth into which Alice fell, leading to her strange adventures in Wonderland." (A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II)
The myth associated with this Path, that of Persephone, was the foundational teaching of Initiation for the Eleusinian Mysteries (and still is for modern Mystery Schools). Persephone (who represents the Path) is the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of the Earth (Malkuth). She is kidnapped by Hades and brought into the Underworld (inner world). Hecate, Goddess of the Moon and Magic (Yesod) then guides Demeter to Persephone who are then reunited. The key here is that Path 32 is two-fold: a descent to the interior realms then a return (resurrection). The Great Work is performed and then the Initiate returns to Malkuth where the results of the Work can be put to action.
This is why the Major Arcana Trump of The World: XXI is the primary Tarot card for this Path. The Four Holy Living Creatures at the corners of the card symbolize the four elemental attributes of the Earth (Malkuth). The woman (in actuality a hermaphrodite, the genitalia covered by the floating sash) in the card further signifies Spirit entering Malkuth as shown through the two rods she holds in her hands: the positive and negative attributes of Spirit joining to descend into material form (the wreath being the World). This is further illustrated through the Hebrew letter Tau or Tav: its primary symbol a three-armed cross....a cross without the upper bar. Like The World card, it signifies two forces impacting on a higher level and producing a form on a denser level below.
To work this Path, it is vital to understand the two-way nature of it: Spirit ascending and Matter descending. Gareth Knight again states: "The Path represents [...] the first stages of Devotional Mysticism as well as a Way-in to the inner planes and the unconscious mind. It's main lessons are, ascending, the existence of the causality of things on a higher or deeper level than the physical world; and descending, the acceptance of densest Form limitation by the Spirit . . ." (A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, Volume II) To be an Initiate in the Mysteries, acceptance of all that is (both positive and negative) has to not just be a posture of the mind, but the whole attitude of all being.
We will begin our Work with Path 32 on Spring Equinox, March 20th, 2014.
