Most souls seeking to learn and understand the Kabbalah are advised to find a school and a teacher who can lead you along the path of initiation. To a certain extent this advice may be helpful as you traverse the myriad paths of Hebrew interpretation and mystical misinformation. But there is a limit to the amount of information that you should be spoon fed before it becomes parrot-learning and institutionalised manipulation of truth. There is a reason why there are many quotations of the phrase “for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see”.
Perhaps the best book that I have found for dissecting the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life is Dion Fortune’s “The Mystical Qabalah” but even so, here is a section of a foreword to Dion Fortune’s book presented by the Secretary of the Fraternity of the Inner Light:
Perhaps the best book that I have found for dissecting the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life is Dion Fortune’s “The Mystical Qabalah” but even so, here is a section of a foreword to Dion Fortune’s book presented by the Secretary of the Fraternity of the Inner Light:
These schools and teachers ensure that the beliefs and interpretations of their minds are promulgated and persistently maintained as “the pupils are trained” in a way of thinking. There is a difference between education and training. Soldiers are trained, thinkers are educated. The second paragraph clearly warns about the issues associated with the transliteration of Hebrew words into English and the “diversity of opinion, every scholar appearing to have his own system”.
I urge you to seek knowledge and wisdom wherever you can find it in your research but it comes down to your mind and your interpretation. In his book “God without Religion”, the author Sankara Saranam says, “When guided by reason, we approach problem solving through direct evidence rather than handed-down claims of truth”. He wisely advises that as you walk through any doorway into any hall of teaching or religion, there is no sign above the door that tells you to turn off your mind as you enter. Everything is open to questioning and mental rigour.
I personally have found that I disagree with the structure of the Kabbalah’s traditional Tree of Life. This places me in jeopardy with many learned minds out there who follow the learned path but I cannot justify following thinking that does not stand up to reason and until they can provide a better line of logic and a better explanation, then I choose to follow my own path.
For those who follow my line of thought, I would gladly accept any communication that shows an open-minded approach that explains where I have tripped up and should perhaps adjust my reasoning but I do not accept being rejected merely because I do not follow the mainstream, traditional schools of thought.
I often cite the following poem which highlights the dangers in following the traditional ways of thinking:
I urge you to seek knowledge and wisdom wherever you can find it in your research but it comes down to your mind and your interpretation. In his book “God without Religion”, the author Sankara Saranam says, “When guided by reason, we approach problem solving through direct evidence rather than handed-down claims of truth”. He wisely advises that as you walk through any doorway into any hall of teaching or religion, there is no sign above the door that tells you to turn off your mind as you enter. Everything is open to questioning and mental rigour.
I personally have found that I disagree with the structure of the Kabbalah’s traditional Tree of Life. This places me in jeopardy with many learned minds out there who follow the learned path but I cannot justify following thinking that does not stand up to reason and until they can provide a better line of logic and a better explanation, then I choose to follow my own path.
For those who follow my line of thought, I would gladly accept any communication that shows an open-minded approach that explains where I have tripped up and should perhaps adjust my reasoning but I do not accept being rejected merely because I do not follow the mainstream, traditional schools of thought.
I often cite the following poem which highlights the dangers in following the traditional ways of thinking:
Another favourite poem of mine tells about perception and blinkered thinking.
It doesn’t require rigorous research to identify the frailty of established teachings. Subsequently the solution is to apply your mind and follow your own path. Having done that now for over 40 years I have a body of knowledge that stands up to examination, providing answers that you will not find elsewhere.
Starting with Arthur Edward Waite and the “Pictorial key to the Tarot”, my path then introduced me to the writings of Papus and the “Tarot of the Bohemians”. I later encountered Dion Fortune and the “Mystical Qabalah”. I can easily revisit any of these books and read them with the freshness of finding new meanings and understandings.
The key to understanding Tarot and Numerology is to understand the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life and the key to understanding the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life is to understand Tarot and Numerology. There is a sacred path that we follow and it is the path of the soul. The Tree of Life, Tarot and Numerology lead us to understand the structure and pattern of this path. With this understanding, prediction is not a mystical mystery, it is a logical progression.
The Tree of Life, known in Hebrew as Otz Chiim, is the graphical representation of the structure and principles of the Cosmos and the Soul. The source document for this information is the Sepher Yetzirah which translates as “Book of Formation”. Many things about the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life are not very clear and Hebrew words translate into various forms but the term “Sepher Yetzirah” is one of the clearest. “Sepher” is a word that means “Book”. “Yetzirah” is the name of one of the Kabbalistic Worlds which are Atziluth (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Assiyah (Manifestation).
You will find many authors who refer to the Sepher Yetzirah as the Book of Creation which is clearly incorrect as this would be “Sepher Beriah”. When reading the contributions of these authors I am immediately dubious and I am less likely to accept them as reliable sources. If they get this wrong, then it worries me what else they have misconstrued.
Similarly, with books on Tarot, I look immediately for the order in which they place the Major Arcana cards of Justice and Strength. If they follow Arthur Edward Waite’s twisted logic, then I discount them immediately as they have indicated to me that they do not understand the seminal data.
Starting with Arthur Edward Waite and the “Pictorial key to the Tarot”, my path then introduced me to the writings of Papus and the “Tarot of the Bohemians”. I later encountered Dion Fortune and the “Mystical Qabalah”. I can easily revisit any of these books and read them with the freshness of finding new meanings and understandings.
The key to understanding Tarot and Numerology is to understand the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life and the key to understanding the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life is to understand Tarot and Numerology. There is a sacred path that we follow and it is the path of the soul. The Tree of Life, Tarot and Numerology lead us to understand the structure and pattern of this path. With this understanding, prediction is not a mystical mystery, it is a logical progression.
The Tree of Life, known in Hebrew as Otz Chiim, is the graphical representation of the structure and principles of the Cosmos and the Soul. The source document for this information is the Sepher Yetzirah which translates as “Book of Formation”. Many things about the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life are not very clear and Hebrew words translate into various forms but the term “Sepher Yetzirah” is one of the clearest. “Sepher” is a word that means “Book”. “Yetzirah” is the name of one of the Kabbalistic Worlds which are Atziluth (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Assiyah (Manifestation).
You will find many authors who refer to the Sepher Yetzirah as the Book of Creation which is clearly incorrect as this would be “Sepher Beriah”. When reading the contributions of these authors I am immediately dubious and I am less likely to accept them as reliable sources. If they get this wrong, then it worries me what else they have misconstrued.
Similarly, with books on Tarot, I look immediately for the order in which they place the Major Arcana cards of Justice and Strength. If they follow Arthur Edward Waite’s twisted logic, then I discount them immediately as they have indicated to me that they do not understand the seminal data.
The Tree of Life structure consists of the following elements:
- The Ain Soph Aur (Absolute Limitless Light).
- 10 circles known as Sephira (singular) – Sephiroth (plural).
- 22 connecting lines known as Paths.
- 3 vertical columns known as Pillars.
- 4 horizontal planes known as Kabbalistic Worlds.
For me, the traditional image of the Tree of Life is confused and fails to follow the principles upon which it is based. The circles (the Sephiroth) are referred to as emanations and they emanated from the Ain Soph Aur, the Absolute Limitless Light, in sequential order. The first Sephira is Kether, the Crown, and Kether contained all of the others. They issued forth following the structure of the Lightning Flash or Flaming Sword, descending downwards through the 4 Kabbalistic Worlds, becoming denser as they progressed until finally manifesting in the Earth below. This information is generally depicted in the form of the Tree of Life with a Serpent entwined around the paths, supposedly indicating the order of the return paths.
The Lightning Flash is intended to determine the order of the downward paths and the Serpent determines the order of the return paths. The path numbers are shown in the above diagram and the first path from Kether to Chokhmah is number 11. (Remember, the traditional Kabbalists number the paths from 11 to 32 with the Sephiroth being numbered 1 to 10.) The second path from Chokhmah to Binah is numbered 14 and already we are confused. The table below shows the traditional downward path order, following the Lightning Flash design:
As you can see the Path Numbers are all over the place.
The Serpent then winds back up the paths returning to the Source, apparently indicating the way of the order of the upward paths. If this is diagrammatically correct, then it becomes clear that quite a number of paths in the diagram are not travelled by either the Sword or the Serpent and the table of the Lightning Flash clearly shows that there is no identified path between Binah and Chesed. Explain away and prattle gibberish as much as you like, the model of the traditional Tree of Life is an illusion and a mesmerising distraction.
The confusion increases as you consider the Kabbalistic Worlds that the Sephiroth are associated with. As stated above there are 4 Kabbalistic Worlds and the Sephiroth are aligned with these worlds as follows:
The Serpent then winds back up the paths returning to the Source, apparently indicating the way of the order of the upward paths. If this is diagrammatically correct, then it becomes clear that quite a number of paths in the diagram are not travelled by either the Sword or the Serpent and the table of the Lightning Flash clearly shows that there is no identified path between Binah and Chesed. Explain away and prattle gibberish as much as you like, the model of the traditional Tree of Life is an illusion and a mesmerising distraction.
The confusion increases as you consider the Kabbalistic Worlds that the Sephiroth are associated with. As stated above there are 4 Kabbalistic Worlds and the Sephiroth are aligned with these worlds as follows:
In my interpretation the Kabbalistic Worlds align with the following elements and human functions:
Using this information each of the Sephiroth have the following associations:
According to my reasoning, Chokhmah and Binah (Wisdom and Understanding) do not belong in the world of Spirit. They belong in the world of the Mind. Similarly, Chesed and Geburah (Mercy and Severity) do not belong in the world of the Mind. They belong in the world of the Emotions. Hod and Netzach (Glory/Splendour and Victory/Power) do not belong in the world of the emotions but rightly in the world of physical manifestation.
Call me ignorant if you will but I am not going to walk into an art gallery and look at a stick picture and proclaim the wonder of the art and the prowess of the artist. As you can see, I am not an Initiate, if that’s what is required to be an Initiate. In fact, I will gladly speak out and question the nonsense. Perhaps I would be better served to hold my thoughts in silence and appear to be wise and better serve the ego.
My solution to the Path of Initiation is set out below:.
Call me ignorant if you will but I am not going to walk into an art gallery and look at a stick picture and proclaim the wonder of the art and the prowess of the artist. As you can see, I am not an Initiate, if that’s what is required to be an Initiate. In fact, I will gladly speak out and question the nonsense. Perhaps I would be better served to hold my thoughts in silence and appear to be wise and better serve the ego.
My solution to the Path of Initiation is set out below:.
Starting at the Ain Soph Aur (the Spiritual Source), follow the downward paths to the Earth (place of the Living Soul). When you are ready to seek enlightenment and return to the Source, flip the model over and traverse up the back of the downward paths, now following the upward paths. The downward and upward paths are just like the front and back of a coin.
On the middle column (Middle Pillar) of the Tree, the transition points from one Kabbalistic World to another, shown by the red-coloured, horizontal lines, intersect the 4 Sephiroth on that Middle Pillar – Kether, Tiphareth, Yesod and Malkuth. At each of these Sephiroth consciousness transitions from one level to another. I refer to these 4 sephiroth as Gateways of Consciousness.
Kether (the Crown) is the Gateway from Spiritual Consciousness to Higher Intellectual Consciousness (the Conscious Self).
Tiphareth (Beauty) is the gateway from Higher Intellectual Consciousness to Emotional awareness and the Lower Consciousness of the Ego.
Yesod (Foundation) is the seat of the Ego and the gateway from Lower Consciousness to physical awareness and the sensory awareness of the 5 senses – sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste.
Malkuth (Kingdom) is the seat of physical/sensory awareness and is the gateway to Life on Earth where the 4 levels of consciousness coalesce into one living being. I call this the world of the Living Soul or Nephesh. Nephesh is a Hebrew word that may be interpreted as meaning “Living Soul”.
On the Tree of Life diagram on Page 4, notice that the heads of the Serpents come together at a point identified as Daath. Daath is a Hebrew word meaning “knowledge”. Chokhmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding) sit above Daath, indicating that Wisdom and Understanding are not knowledge. Knowledge is a different thing. Wisdom and Understanding are what you do with knowledge. Knowledge derives from the human experience and you cannot gain it without the incarnation of the soul into human form.
For those that are unaware, let me explain that the form of the traditional Tree of Life, represents the condition of humankind after the event known as “the fall”. The Tree of Life structure that I present you with is the human condition before “the fall”. “The Fall” is analogous with the Garden of Eden story in the Bible book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, against the will of their creator and God, who then expelled them from the Garden. This ended their direct communication with their God.
On the middle column (Middle Pillar) of the Tree, the transition points from one Kabbalistic World to another, shown by the red-coloured, horizontal lines, intersect the 4 Sephiroth on that Middle Pillar – Kether, Tiphareth, Yesod and Malkuth. At each of these Sephiroth consciousness transitions from one level to another. I refer to these 4 sephiroth as Gateways of Consciousness.
Kether (the Crown) is the Gateway from Spiritual Consciousness to Higher Intellectual Consciousness (the Conscious Self).
Tiphareth (Beauty) is the gateway from Higher Intellectual Consciousness to Emotional awareness and the Lower Consciousness of the Ego.
Yesod (Foundation) is the seat of the Ego and the gateway from Lower Consciousness to physical awareness and the sensory awareness of the 5 senses – sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste.
Malkuth (Kingdom) is the seat of physical/sensory awareness and is the gateway to Life on Earth where the 4 levels of consciousness coalesce into one living being. I call this the world of the Living Soul or Nephesh. Nephesh is a Hebrew word that may be interpreted as meaning “Living Soul”.
On the Tree of Life diagram on Page 4, notice that the heads of the Serpents come together at a point identified as Daath. Daath is a Hebrew word meaning “knowledge”. Chokhmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding) sit above Daath, indicating that Wisdom and Understanding are not knowledge. Knowledge is a different thing. Wisdom and Understanding are what you do with knowledge. Knowledge derives from the human experience and you cannot gain it without the incarnation of the soul into human form.
For those that are unaware, let me explain that the form of the traditional Tree of Life, represents the condition of humankind after the event known as “the fall”. The Tree of Life structure that I present you with is the human condition before “the fall”. “The Fall” is analogous with the Garden of Eden story in the Bible book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, against the will of their creator and God, who then expelled them from the Garden. This ended their direct communication with their God.
On the traditional Tree of Life this event of “the fall” is shown by the existence of Daath which sits within an Abyss which was created by “the fall”. The Abyss separates the 3 higher Sephiroth from the 7 lower Sephiroth. This is why Binah and Chokhmah are associated with Kether in the Kabbalistic World of Atziluth meaning Emanation and Spirit. “The fall” also created various veils of consciousness which subsequently very cleverly explains our veiled consciousness in the living human form and the amnesia that affects our memory of the Soul’s pre-incarnation life and previous lives.
This is the thing about the traditional Tree of Life model. It helps us to understand the human condition but it doesn’t provide the key to enlightenment and the return to the Spiritual Source. To overcome the human condition, you must repair and rebuild the broken Tree to its original form. If you use a ladder and it then breaks, before you can use it again, you must fix it. It is of no good use to you in the broken form.
It is my understanding that Daath (Knowledge) existed prior to “the fall”. It existed exactly where it is currently displayed but was hidden behind Tiphareth (Beauty). When “the fall” occurred, Tiphareth, Yesod and Malkuth, the Sephiroth on the Middle Pillar literally fell down one level on the Middle Pillar.
Of all of the Tarot cards, the Moon is probably the most instructive concerning Daath, the Abyss and the return across the Abyss on the path to the Spiritual Source. The imagery on this card shows a gnarly crayfish emerging from a murky pool in the dim light of the moon. At first, all is not clear, the experience of the Moon imports deep understanding and wisdom concerning the human condition. But just emerging from the pool (the Abyss) does not complete the journey. Wisdom is learned and developed through the experience of navigating the narrow winding path between the warring aspects of our self – the howling wild wolf of instinct and the domestic dog of trained behaviour. It is only when we have shown our understanding and newly attained wisdom that we arrive at the fore-court of the palace of the Sun.
The psychology of the Path of Initiation is such that I cannot give it to you, you must walk the path yourself and come to the point of understanding that I am talking about. Once you have arrived at Chokhmah (Wisdom), on your return journey to the Spiritual Source, your next path from Chokhmah (Wisdom) to Kether (the Crown) is the path of the Sun. How wise you must be to walk this path and gain the return to enlightenment and spiritual consciousness. When you arrive at Kether (the Crown) you have attained the gateway of consciousness from Higher Intellectual Consciousness to Spiritual Consciousness.
The next path from Kether (the Crown) to the Spiritual Source of the Ain Soph Aur is the path of Judgment which is the return of the soul to spirit. The judgment is about determining the karma of your soul as a result of this life and the next life to come.
On my 300-acre property here at Cannon Creek, 12km outside of Stanthorpe on the Granite Belt of Queensland, Australia, I have laid out the Path of Initiation in the form of my Tree of Life as a Spiritual Walk. In the aerial shot below you can see the lines forming the paths.
This is the thing about the traditional Tree of Life model. It helps us to understand the human condition but it doesn’t provide the key to enlightenment and the return to the Spiritual Source. To overcome the human condition, you must repair and rebuild the broken Tree to its original form. If you use a ladder and it then breaks, before you can use it again, you must fix it. It is of no good use to you in the broken form.
It is my understanding that Daath (Knowledge) existed prior to “the fall”. It existed exactly where it is currently displayed but was hidden behind Tiphareth (Beauty). When “the fall” occurred, Tiphareth, Yesod and Malkuth, the Sephiroth on the Middle Pillar literally fell down one level on the Middle Pillar.
Of all of the Tarot cards, the Moon is probably the most instructive concerning Daath, the Abyss and the return across the Abyss on the path to the Spiritual Source. The imagery on this card shows a gnarly crayfish emerging from a murky pool in the dim light of the moon. At first, all is not clear, the experience of the Moon imports deep understanding and wisdom concerning the human condition. But just emerging from the pool (the Abyss) does not complete the journey. Wisdom is learned and developed through the experience of navigating the narrow winding path between the warring aspects of our self – the howling wild wolf of instinct and the domestic dog of trained behaviour. It is only when we have shown our understanding and newly attained wisdom that we arrive at the fore-court of the palace of the Sun.
The psychology of the Path of Initiation is such that I cannot give it to you, you must walk the path yourself and come to the point of understanding that I am talking about. Once you have arrived at Chokhmah (Wisdom), on your return journey to the Spiritual Source, your next path from Chokhmah (Wisdom) to Kether (the Crown) is the path of the Sun. How wise you must be to walk this path and gain the return to enlightenment and spiritual consciousness. When you arrive at Kether (the Crown) you have attained the gateway of consciousness from Higher Intellectual Consciousness to Spiritual Consciousness.
The next path from Kether (the Crown) to the Spiritual Source of the Ain Soph Aur is the path of Judgment which is the return of the soul to spirit. The judgment is about determining the karma of your soul as a result of this life and the next life to come.
On my 300-acre property here at Cannon Creek, 12km outside of Stanthorpe on the Granite Belt of Queensland, Australia, I have laid out the Path of Initiation in the form of my Tree of Life as a Spiritual Walk. In the aerial shot below you can see the lines forming the paths.
The name of this spiritual walk is:
The World, the 22nd Path, numbered XXI in the Tarot, is the compilation of everything that is. The Tree of Life Spiritual Walk sits within a tree-lined perimeter with the only view to the outside world being the domed rock on the horizon above the tree-line.
Following is a guided walk that I developed. The walk starts at the Spiritual Source, descending the outward paths to Earth and then returning the inward paths, reconnecting with the Spiritual Source.
Here again is the guided walk with the text placed on the Tree of Life paths. This first image takes you from the Spiritual Source to the Earth.
And then you return on the same path structure, from the Earth to the Spiritual Source.
This is the view from the Spiritual Source (the Ain Soph Aur) to Kether (the Crown) and the dawning of a brand-new day. Enjoy your life.
Regards… Mark (the Hanged Man).
Regards… Mark (the Hanged Man).