Since not everyone here is familiar with the Tree of Life, it might be worthwhile to hit some of the basics before moving on.
First, what the hell are we talking about? Kether? Chokmah? The Tree of Life?
Basically, the Tree of Life is a metaphor used in Cabala to organize one's understanding of the universe. It also has uses in practical magic. The Tree of Life as discussed here is not exactly the classical Hebrew concept -- it's been filtered through Christian occultists like Pico della Mirandolla and further developed and refined by more-or-less recent occult groups like the Golden Dawn and individuals like Crowley.
The (simplified) myth: God decided to create the Universe. A bit of divine energy passed from the unmanifest into the manifest (whatever that means). It then descended through a series of "levels" -- the sephirot of the Tree of Life -- before finally culminating in, and creating, material reality. This can be compared to how high-voltage power from a power plant repeatedly has to be "stepped down" before it is weak enough to use for your toaster at home.
Here's a cool animated illustration of that divine lightning bolt:
http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.org/Animated.htm
The ten sephirot -- the circles in the diagram above -- are Keter (Crown), Chokmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), Chesed (Mercy), Giburah (Strength), Tiferet (Beauty), Netzach (Victory), Hod (Splendor), Yesod (Foundation), and Malkot (Kingdom). (The plural term is "sephirot," the singular is "sephira.")
Each of the sephirot is said to manifest a particular quality of the divine. Generally, each represents the qualities of the planet (if any) associated with it. (This varies a bit based on the name and number of the sephira, how high or low it is on the Tree, and whether it's on the left or right side, or in the middle, of the Tree.) For example, Netzach, which is associated with the planet Venus, generally is considered to manifest or encompass the quality of love.
Over the years occultists have associated all sorts of things with the ten sephirot, using them as a mental "filing cabinet" of sorts. For example, since Netzach is associated with Venus and love, it also is associated with Aphrodite, the rose, emeralds, the color green, etc., etc. For less obvious reasons, Netzach also is associated with the divine name YHVH Tzabaot, the archangel Haniel, the angels Elohim, etc., etc. Since Netzach is the seventh sephira, it also is associated with the four Sevens in the tarot deck.
So what's the PRACTICAL point of any of this?
First, as noted above, it's a fun, useful and interesting way of organizing occult knowledge.
Second, the associations built up around each sephira can be useful in structuring a practical magical working. For example, if you wanted to do a working to heal, you would organize your working around Tiferet, the sephira connected with healing. You could use the color gold, an invocation to Apollo, frankincense as an incense, etc.
Why should structuring a working around a sephira's attributions have any particular effect? First, you could say that the correspondences have some sort of universal validity, and by using them you are tapping into some sort of archetypal current associated with the sephira in question. Second, you could say that these correspondences serve as mnemonics directing your consciousness toward your goal. (This can be particularly effective if -- as in many Golden Dawn-style groups -- before beginning ritual work you first spent months drilling the associations connected with each sephira into your conscious and unconscious mind.)
Modern cabalists and chaos magicians often attribute popcult phenomena like comic book characters, music, etc. to the ten sephira. (Example: Superman, as a form of the solar deity, is associated with Tiferet.) This is not only fun but trains the mind in the correspondences, which in turn may help with future practical workings for the reasons noted above.
Anyway, sorry if I'm belaboring the obvious. On with Chokmah. |
