Qabalah: Discover Powerful Tools to Explore Practical Magic and the Tree of Life (Hay House Basics) - David Wells 2017
Da’ath
The Sephiroth
Here we meet a point on the Tree that isn’t a Sephira. Halfway between Tiphareth and Kether, it sits on the Middle Pillar and its keyword is ’Knowledge’, but it’s knowledge without understanding or wisdom and is sometimes called the Abyss.
It reminds me of those who have studied and know amazing things, but have never used that knowledge, fully felt it or had the opportunity to show their wisdom, or indeed sought that opportunity.
On your journeys on the Tree of Life you won’t go into Da’ath, you will go over or around it, and that can give it a certain mystique. That does of course mean people are attracted to it. Often students will see the keywords of the Tree and go straight for ’Knowledge’, ignoring everything else and barely stopping to see this circle is not of the Tree and is usually denoted by a dotted line to remind us all of that.
But the knowledge of Da’ath is very important, and if it’s used rather than worn like a badge, it guides you towards understanding and on up the Tree.
Some people get lost here, confusing the knowledge they gain with some sort of divinity or enlightenment when in fact all they have is knowledge of what that should be or look like — which is nothing like feeling, seeing and being it.
Some consider Da’ath to be a melting pot of mistakes, of things that really didn’t go to the divine plan and are waiting to be recycled in some way, shape or form. That may very well be the case when you consider that’s how we move from knowledge to understanding — through our mistakes.
When I teach Qabalah, Da’ath Vader has to be mentioned, the dark lord with all that knowledge, the black cloak and the voice, that unmistakable voice! Vader means ’father’ and the voice synchronizes too, as this is the point on the Tree of Life that sits across your throat. Art imitating the Tree of Life? Hardly. The Tree of Life influencing art, as it has for centuries.
Da’ath is also linked to the doorway of the Qlippoth, to what is sometimes called the Tree of Death, the reverse image of the Tree of Life. This is sometimes seen as some sort of evil twin, but the reality is the Qlippoth are more akin to the vices of the Sephiroth, and therefore part of a choice we all make. You can use Geburah to do the right thing or you can use it to go on some sort of rampage, Tiphareth to help others or to help yourself, and so on.
Some see the Abyss then as that file on your computer, the one where your half-baked failures are put, but, as previously stated, you have learned from them. You just don’t want to dwell on them too much. But hey, here if you need me!
Astrology
The planetary association for Da’ath is one that’s open to debate. Some place Uranus here, some Neptune, but Pluto seems to fit more for me. Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, describes the depths of Da’ath, where powerful truths can be found by those adept enough to hear them as knowledge and ready to turn that knowledge from being into doing.
Leaping the Abyss
We live in a world that often feeds our fears. What Da’ath offers you is a way to make sense of all that nonsense. It shows you that worry, fantasy and concerns about what might happen next week or in the next hundred years are just holding you on some higher level of inertia that will no doubt be expressed in your daily life with the words ’What’s the point?’ As you’ll see, the point is in Kether, literally. So Da’ath wakes you up, calls rubbish on it all and shovels it out the back door.
Take that leap of faith and believe not just in yourself but in the support of those divine powers waiting for you above and supporting you from below.
In order to take the leap across the Abyss, you must be sure you’re working from your most divine nature rather than being caught in false enlightenment. So, are you working for the good of others or the good of yourself?
Correspondences
The correspondences of Da’ath are tricky, as the symbolism of Da’ath is the absence of symbolism! But here are some of those commonly quoted:
· Keyword: Knowledge
· Archangel: Mesukiel, Veiler of God
· Order of angels: Serpents
· Planet: Pluto
· Virtue: Self-knowledge
· Vice: Self-delusion, false enlightenment
· Crystals: Moldavite, obsidian
· Body part: Throat
· Tarot cards: All cards
Exercise: Leaping over Da’ath
There is no temple working in Da’ath, but take some time to contemplate what irrational fears may be holding you back, where a leap of faith is needed or if you’re using the knowledge you have to better your time on Earth and that of others.
By now you may also be feeling as if things that once mattered to you don’t matter anymore, especially when you look at the true cost of technology and fashion, for example? Not that I’m advocating wearing robes and telling the time by the rising of the Sun, though that does sound heavenly to me!
Whatever your opinion on that one, you will have noticed many changes in your life by now, and as you move into the realms of the spirit there will be many more. Here you see the immense and true being you are.
