The Mystical Qabalah - Dion Fortune 2000

The Three Supernals

1. Having considered in outline the development of the three first Divine Emanations, we are now in a position to obtain a deeper insight into their nature and significance, for we can study them in relation to each other. This is the only way to study the Sephiroth, for a single Sephirah, taken by itself, is barren of significance. The Tree of Life is essentially a scheme of relationships, stresses, and reflections (see Diagram II).

2. The Rabbinical books apply many curious appellations to the Sephiroth, and we learn much from considering these; for every word in these books has a weighty significance, and none are used lightly or for the sake of idle poetic imagery; all are as precise as scientific terms, which, in fact, is what they are.

3. The meaning of the word Kether, we have already noted, is Crown. Chokmah means Wisdom, and Binah means Understanding. But pendent to these two latter Sephiroth is a curious and mysterious third, which is never represented in the glyph of the Tree; this is the invisible Sephirah, Daath, Knowledge, and it is said to be formed out of the conjunction of Chokmah and Binah and is situated astride the Abyss. Crowley tells us that Daath is in another dimension to the other Sephiroth, and forms the apex of a pyramid of which Kether, Chokmah, and Binah form the three basal angles. To me, Daath presents the idea of realisation and consciousness.

4. Let us now proceed to elucidate the Three Supernals according to the method of the mystical Qabalah, which consists in filling the mind with all the correspondences and symbols assigned thereto and letting contemplation work among them.

5. It will be observed that these three and their mysterious fourth all contain symbolism relating to the head, which in the archetypal man represents the highest level of consciousness. When we seek in the Rabbinical literature to see what further names may have been applied to them, we find yet more head symbolism applied to Kether; this, although not specifically referred to them, may be taken to embrace the other two Supernals also, for they are aspects of Kether on a lower plane.

6. The Rabbis called Kether, among other titles, which we need not consider now, Arik Anpin, The Vast Countenance, The White Head, The Head Which Is Not. The magical symbol of Kether, according to Crowley, is an ancient bearded king seen in profile. MacGregor Mathers says: “The symbolism of the Vast Countenance is that of a profile in which one side only of the countenance is seen; or as it is said in the Qabalah, ’In him is all right side.’” The left side, being turned towards the Unmanifest, is for us like the dark side of the moon.

7. But Kether is primarily the Crown. Now the Crown is not the head, but rests upon it and above it. Therefore Kether cannot be consciousness, but the raw material of consciousness when considered microcosmically, and the raw material of existence when considered macrocosmically. For there is this twofold way of considering the Tree, as we have already noted; it can be regarded as the universe and as the soul of man, and these two aspects throw light upon each other. In the words of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes: “As above, so below.”

8. Kether differentiates into Chokmah and Binah before it achieves phenomenal existence, and these two are called by the Qabalists, Abba, the Supernal Father, and Ama, the Supernal Mother. Binah is also called the Great Sea, and Shabbathai, the Sphere of Saturn. As we continue, we shall find that the Sephiroth are called successively the Spheres of the Planets, but Binah is the first of the Emanations to be so assigned; Kether is called the First Whirlings, and Chokmah the Sphere of the Zodiac.

9. Now Saturn is the Father of the Gods; he is the greatest of the old gods that were the predecessors of the Olympians over which Jupiter rules. In the secret titles attributed to the Tarot trumps, the Path of Saturn is called, according to Crowley, The Great One of the Night of Time.

10. We have, then, Kether differentiating into an active male potency, Chokmah, and a passive female potency, Binah, and these are placed at the head of the two side columns formed by the vertical alignment of the Sephiroth in their spacing on the Tree of Life. Of these two columns, the left-hand one under Binah is called Severity; the right-hand one under Chokmah is called Mercy; the middle one under Kether is called Mildness, and it is said to be the Column of Equilibrium. These two side columns are the two pillars that stand at the entrance to King Solomon’s Temple and are represented in all Lodges of the Mysteries, the candidate himself, when he stands between them, is the Middle Pillar of Equilibrium.

11. Here we meet with the idea put forth by Mme. Blavatsky, that there can be no manifestation without differentiation into the Pairs of Opposites. Kether differentiates its two aspects as Chokmah and Binah, and manifestation is in being. Now in this supernal triangle, The Head Which Is Not, the Father and the Mother, we have the root concept of our cosmogony, and we shall return to it again and again under innumerable aspects, and each time that we return to it we shall receive illumination. These earlier chapters do not attempt to deal with any of the points exhaustively for reasons already noted, for the student unfamiliar with the subject (and there are very few students who are familiar with it) has not yet got the necessary mental furniture of facts to enable him to appreciate the significance of a more detailed study; we are at the present moment engaged in assembling this furniture; in due course we shall begin to arrange it into a house of life, and study it in detail.

12. Binah, the Superior Mother (as distinguished from Malkuth, the Inferior Mother, the Bride of Microprosopos, the Isis of Nature, the Tenth Sephirah), is two-aspected, and these aspects are distinguished as Ama, the Dark Sterile Mother, and Aima, the Bright Fertile Mother. We have already noted that she is called the Great Sea, Marah, which not only means Bitter, but also is the root of Mary; and here we meet again the idea of the Mother, at first virgin, and then with child by the Holy Spirit.

13. By the association of Binah with the sea we are reminded that life had its primordial beginnings in the waters; from the sea arose Venus, the archetypal woman. The association of Saturn suggests the idea of primordial age: “Before the gods that made the gods had drunk at eve their fill.” It suggests the most ancient rocks: “Within the shady stillness of the vale ... sat greyhaired Saturn, quiet as a stone.” Max Heindel speaks of the Lords of Form as among the earliest phases of evolution, and an inspirational work in my possession, The Cosmic Doctrine, speaks of the Lords of Form as the Laws of Geology.

14. Considering again the symbolism of the two lateral columns of the Tree, we see Chokmah and Binah as Force and Form, the two units of manifestation.

15. It would not profit us to go more deeply into the endless ramifications of this symbolism at the present moment, for it is carrying us beyond the three Sephiroth we have already studied. Let us proceed to a further consideration of the mysterious Daath, which never appears on the Tree, and to which no Deity-name or angelic host is assigned and which has no mundane symbol in planet or element, as have all the other stations on the T ree.

16. Daath is produced by the conjunction of Chokmah and Binah, as has been already noted. The Supernal Father, Abba, marries the Supernal Mother, Ama, and Daath is the issue. Now Daath is called some curious things by the Qabalists; we will note a few of them.

17. In verse 38 of the Book of Concealed Mystery (Mathers’ English translation from the Latin translation of Knorr von Rosenroth) it says: “For Father and Mother are perpetually conjoined in Yesod, the Foundation (the ninth Sephirah), but concealed under the mystery of Daath or Knowledge”; and in verse 40 we read concerning Daath: “The man that shall say, I am the Lord’s, he descendeth ... Yod (the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet) is the foundation of Knowledge of the Father; but all things are called Byodo, that is, all things are applied to Yod concerning which this discourse is. All things cohere in the tongue which is concealed in the mother. That is, through Daath or Knowledge, whereby Wisdom is combined with Understanding, and the Beautiful Path (Tiphareth, the Sixth Sephirah) with his bride the Queen (Malkuth, the Tenth Sephirah); and this is the concealed idea, or soul, pervading the whole emanation. Since it is opened for that which proceedeth from itself; that is, Daath is itself the beautiful path, but also the inner, whereto Moses referred; and that Path lieth hid within the mother, and is the medium of its conjunction.” When it is noted that Yod is identical with the Lingam in the Hindu system; and that Kether, Daath, and the Beautiful Path, Tiphareth, the Sixth Sephirah, are in a line on the Middle Pillar of the Tree, which equates with the spine in man, the microcosm; and that Kundalini is coiled in Yesod, also on the Middle Pillar, we shall see that we have here an important key for those who are equipped to use it.

18. In the Greater Holy Assembly, verse 566 (Mathers’ translation), we read concerning the Head of Microprosopos, whose whole body is being taken as a glyph of the cosmos: “From the Third Cavity there goes forth a thousand times a thousand conclaves and assemblies, wherein Daath, Knowledge, is contained and dwelleth. And the hollow place of this cavity is between the other two cavities; and all these conclaves are filled from either side. This is that which is written in Proverbs, ’And in knowledge (Daath) shall the conclaves be filled.’ And those three are expanded over the whole body, on this side and on that, and with them does the whole body cohere, and the body is contained by them on every side, and through the whole body are they expanded and diffused.”

19. When it is recalled that Daath is situated at the Point where the Abyss bisects the Middle Pillar, and that up the Middle Pillar lies the Path of the Arrow, the way by which consciousness goes when the psychic rises on the Planes, and that here also is Kundalini, we see that in Daath is the secret of both generation and regeneration, the key to the manifestation of all things through the differentiation into pairs of Opposites and their union in a Third.

20. Thus doth the T ree unfold its secrets to the Qabalists.

21. The Second Triangle upon the Tree of Life is formed of the Sephiroth Chesed, Geburah, and Tiphareth. Chesed is formed by the overflowing of Binah, and is situated in the Right-hand Pillar of Mercy, immediately below Chokmah; the angle of the Lightning Flash, which is used to indicate the course of the emanations upon the Tree, slopes downwards to the right across the glyph, from Binah at the head of the Pillar of Severity to Chesed, which occupies the middle section of the Pillar of Mercy. Then the Flash turns and goes horizontally across the glyph back again to the Pillar of Severity, in the middle section of which is found the Sephirah Geburah. Down and to the right slopes once more the symbol of emanating force, and indicates the Sephirah Tiphareth, which occupies the very centre of the Tree in the Pillar of Mildness or Equilibrium. These three Sephiroth constitute the next functional triangle we have to consider, and although we do not intend to go exhaustively into their symbolism until we have completed our schematic survey of the whole system, it is necessary to say enough to give some clue to their significance and enable them to be assigned to a place in the concept we are building up. This concept is so vast and so infinite in its elaboration of detail that to attempt to teach it exhaustively from A to Z must end in confusion. Only gradually can it reveal its significance to the student as one aspect interprets another. My method of teaching the Tree may not be ideal from the point of view of systematic thought, but I believe it is the only one which will enable the beginner to “get the hang” of the subject. It was upon the Tree that I got my own mystical training, and I have lived and moved and had my being in its company for a good many years now, so I feel that I am competent to speak upon it from the point of view of practical mysticism; for I know from my own experience the difficulties of getting hold of the Qabalistic system, so intricate, abstract, and voluminous, and yet so comprehensive and satisfactory when once it is mastered.

22. Before we can consider the Second Triangle of the Tree as a unit, we must know the meaning of its component Sephiroth. Chesed means Mercy or Love; it is also called Gedulah, Greatness or Magnificence, and to it is assigned the Sphere of the planet Jupiter. Geburah means Strength; it is also called Pachad, Fear; to it is assigned the Sphere of the planet Mars. Tiphareth means Beauty, and to it is assigned the Sphere of the Sun. When the gods of the various pagan pantheons are being correlated with the Spheres on the Tree, it will be found that the sacrificed gods invariably come on to Tiphareth, and for this reason it has been called the Christ centre in the Christian Qabalah.

23. We now have sufficient material to make a survey of the Second Triangle. Jupiter, the beneficent ruler and lawgiver, is balanced by Mars the Warrior, the fiery and destructive force, and the two are equilibrated in Tiphareth, the Redeemer. In the Supernal Triangle we see the primary Sephirah emanating a pair of opposites which express the two sides of its nature, Chokmah, Force, and Binah, Form, masculine and feminine Sephiroth respectively. In the Second Triangle we have the pairs of opposites which find their equilibrium in a third, placed upon the Middle Pillar of the Tree. From this we deduce that the First Triangle derives its significance from that which lies behind it, and the Second Triangle derives its significance from that into which it issues forth. In the First Triangle we find a representation of the creative forces of the substance of the universe; in the Second we have a representation of the governing forces of evolving life. In Chesed is the wise and kindly king, the father of his people, organising his realm, building up industry, fostering learning, and bringing the gifts of civilisation. In Geburah we have a warrior king, leading his people in battle, defending his kingdom from the assaults of the enemy, extending his boundaries by conquest, punishing crime, and destroying evil-doers, In Tiphareth we have the Saviour, sacrificed upon the Cross for the salvation of his people, and thereby bringing Geburah into equilibrium with Gedulah, or Chesed. Here we find the sphere of all the beneficent sun-gods and healing gods. Thus we see that the mercies of Gedulah and the severities of Geburah unite for the healing of the nations.

24. Behind Tiphareth, traversing the Tree, is drawn Paroketh, the Veil of the Temple, the analogue, on a lower plane, of the Abyss which separates the Three Supernals from the rest of the Tree. Like the Abyss, the Veil marks a chasm in consciousness. The mode of mentation on one side of the chasm differs in kind from the mode of mentation prevailing upon the other. Tiphareth is the highest sphere to which normal human consciousness can rise. When Philip said to Our Lord, “Show us the Father,” Jesus replied, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” All the human mind can know of Kether is its reflection in Tiphareth, the Christ-centre, the Sphere of the Son. Paroketh is the Veil of the Temple which was rent asunder at the Crucifixion.

25. We now come in our brief preliminary survey to the Third Triangle composed of the Sephiroth Netzach, Hod, and Yesod. Netzach is the basal Sephirah of the Pillar of Mercy, Hod is the basal Sephirah of the Pillar of Severity, and Yesod is upon the Middle Pillar of Mildness or Equilibrium, in direct alignment with Kether and Tiphareth. Thus the Third Triangle is an exact replica of the Second Triangle upon a lower arc.

26. The meaning of Netzach is Victory, and to it is assigned the Sphere of the planet Venus; the meaning of Hod is Glory, and to it is assigned the Sphere of the planet Mercury; the meaning of Yesod is Foundation, and to it is assigned the Sphere of the Moon.

27. While the Second Triangle might not inaptly be termed the Ethical Triangle, the Third may well be called the Magical Triangle; and if we assign to Kether the Sphere of the Three in One, the undivided Unity, and to Tiphareth the Sphere of the Redeemer or Son, we may be justified in referring to Yesod the Sphere of the Holy Spirit, the Enlightener; this is an attribution of the Christian Trinity that fits better upon the Tree than its assignation to the Three Supernals, which brings the Son in the place of Abba, the Father, and the Holy Spirit in the place of Ama, the Mother, and is obviously irrelevant and productive of innumerable discrepancies in the correspondences and symbolisms. In this we see an example of the value of the Tree as a method of counterchecking vision or meditation; correct attributions fit upon the Tree through endless ramifications of symbolism, as we saw when considering Binah as the Mother; incorrect symbolism breaks down and reveals its bizarre associations at the first attempt to follow out a chain of correspondences. It is amazing what ramifications of association-chains can be followed when the attribution is correct. It seems as if it were only the extent of our knowledge which limits the length of the chain that can be linked logically together; it will extend through science, art, mathematics, and the epochs of history; through ethics, psychology, and physiology. It was this peculiar method of using the mind which in all probability gave the ancients their premature knowledge of natural science, knowledge which has had to await the invention of instruments of precision for its confirmation. We get clues to this method in the dream-analysis of analytical psychology. We might describe it as the symbol-using power of the subconscious mind. It is an instructive experiment to toss a mass of irrelevant symbolism into the mind and watch it sort itself out in meditation upon the Tree, rising into consciousness in long association-chains like dream analysis.

28. Netzach is the Sphere of the Goddess of Nature, Venus. Hod is the Sphere of Mercury, the Greek analogue of the Egyptian Thoth, Lord of Books and Learning. Observing their opposition, we shall expect to find two different aspects represented in them, these finding their equilibrium in a third, Yesod, the Sphere of Luna. We see then a Triangle Composed of the Lady of Nature, the Lord of Books, and the Mistress of Witchcraft; in other words, subconsciousness and superconsciousness correlate in psychism.

29. Anyone who is familiar with practical mysticism knows that there are three paths of superconsciousness—devotional mysticism, which correlates with Tiphareth; nature mysticism, of the inebriating Dionysian type, which equates with the Venus Sphere of Netzach; and intellectual mysticism of the occult type, which equates with Hod, the Sphere of Thoth, Lord of Magic. Tiphareth, as will be seen by reference to the diagram of the Tree, belongs to a higher plane than any member of the Third Triangle; Yesod, on the other hand, is drawing very near to the Sphere of Earth.

30. To Yesod are assigned all the deities that have the moon in their symbolism: Luna herself; Hecate, with her dominion over evil magic; and Diana, with her presidency over child-birth. The physical moon, Yesod in Assiah, as the Qabalists would say, with its twenty-eight day cycle, correlates with the reproductive cycle of the human female. If the symbolism of the luna-crescent be traced through the various pantheons it will be found that the deities associated with it are predominantly female; it is interesting to note in confirmation of our assignation of the Holy Spirit to Yesod that according to MacGregor Mathers the Holy Spirit is a feminine force. He says (Kabbalah Unveiled p. 22): “We are usually told that the Holy Spirit is masculine. But the word Ruach, Spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the Sepher Yetzirah, ’Achath (feminine, not Achad, masculine), Ruach Elohim Chiim: One is she, the Spirit of the Elohim of Life.’” When we consider the Middle Pillar as referring to levels of consciousness we shall find further confirmation of this view.

31. There remains for our final consideration the Sephirah Malkuth, the Kingdom of Earth. This Sephirah differs from the others in several respects. Firstly, it is not part of any equilibrated triangle, but is said to be the receptacle of the influences of all the others. Secondly, it is a fallen Sephirah, for it was cut off from the rest of the Tree by the Fall, and the coils of the Stooping Dragon arising from the World of Shells, the Kingdoms of Unbalanced Force, separate it from its brethren. Behind the shoulder of the Queen, the Bride of Microprosopos (Malkuth), the Serpent rears his head, and here is said to be the place of severest judgments. The Sphere of Malkuth abuts upon the Hells of the Averse Sephiroth, the Qliphoth, or evil demons. It is the firmament whereby Elohim separated the supernal waters of Binah from the infernal waters of Leviathan.

32. The signification of the Qliphoth must be considered fully in due course; but having referred to them here in order to explain the position of Malkuth, we must say something further in order to render the explanation intelligible.

33. The Qliphoth (singular Qliphah, an immodest woman or harlot) are the Evil or Averse Sephiroth, each an emanation of unbalanced force from its corresponding Sphere upon the Holy

Tree; these emanations took place during the critical periods of evolution when the Sephiroth were not in equilibrium. For this reason they are referred to as the Kings of Unbalanced Force, the Kings of Edom, “who ruled before there was a king in Israel,” as the Bible puts it; and in the words of the Siphrah Ditsniutha, the Book of Concealed Mystery (Mathers’ translation), “For before there was equilibrium, countenance beheld not countenance. And the kings of ancient time were dead, and their crowns were found no more; and the earth was desolate.”

34. We have now completed our preliminary survey of the Tree of Life, and the arrangement of the Ten Holy Sephiroth thereon; we also have some clue to their significance and have been given a hint or two of the manner in which the mind works when it uses these cosmic symbols for its meditations. Consequently we are now in a position to assign each fresh bit of information to its correct position in our scheme; we are building up the jigsaw puzzle with a knowledge of the outlines of the picture. Crowley has aptly likened the Tree to a card-index file, in which each symbol is an envelope. This is a simile which it would be difficult to improve upon. In the course of our studies we shall begin to fill these filing cases, and to find the cross-indexing among them indicated by the appearance of the same symbol in other associations.