Qabalah: Discover Powerful Tools to Explore Practical Magic and the Tree of Life (Hay House Basics) - David Wells 2017

Tarot and planets
Symbolism and The Tree of Life

Return now to your drawing of the Tree. All those circles need to be linked by a network of paths. Each path has a specific meaning and as part of your journey they of course have a specific experience attached to them. Draw them in, just blank for now, and we will discuss their meanings in a moment.

When you’ve done that, look at the next drawing and notice the names on the paths. Do they remind you of anything?

Tarot

For those who study the Tarot, it will be very clear that these paths represent the 22 major arcana of the Tarot deck. Each path is named after one of those archetypes or symbols. As you would expect, they draw to you the experience of the card in question, just as meditating on the card would do, and knowing where you are and what you need next is why you would choose to walk that path. That will only be after you have built the Tree successfully on all your bodies, physical to metaphysical.

Figure 6: The Tree and the Tarot

The Sephiroth are sometimes referred to as paths too, but it’s been my experience that the paths themselves are a different sort of energy. They can be pretty tough going!

If you read the Tarot, think about the names of the paths as you link the Sephiroth. If you don’t, don’t worry, the paths will become your teachers as the Tree of Life becomes your guide.

In some Tarot decks, the major arcana have different names. In my own Thoth deck the following paths are:

· Judgement: Aeon

· Temperance: Art

· Justice: Adjustment

· Strength: Lust

They hold the same qualities and share symbols, so don’t be confused by this. Just go with what’s on your own Tarot deck. If you don’t have one, be guided to one and lose the thought that someone has to buy you one or it has to magically appear from thin air. Go get a deck, one you feel drawn to, and when you’ve got it, meditate with it around you and let the cards dance in your aura. Charge them with your energy.

As you can see, the paths run from each of the Sephiroth. They will be described in more detail later, but it’s crucial to understand the basics of the Tree and to anchor it firmly before walking the paths, so let’s concentrate on the Sephiroth for now.

The planets

Each of the Sephiroth is associated with a planet. This helps to understand its energy, but it also opens up the world of astrology to the student of Qabalah. A little astrological knowledge goes a long way.

Exercise: Planetary influences

Start with a print-out of a blank Tree of Life. If you can’t copy it on your reader, remember there is one on the Qabalah drop down on my web page, davidwells.co.uk. If you can’t download or print that, you can use the one you’ve already drawn.

If you already study astrology, still do this exercise. You will see each planet’s influence in its Sephira and this will help you to store even more symbolism in the memory bank of your subconscious.

So let’s begin.

Kether

· Number: One

· Planet: Neptune

· Symbol:

Draw the symbol for Neptune on your Tree where Kether stands. It looks like a trident.

Neptune is the planet of mystery. It’s veiled and sometimes hard to see behind. It governs magic and all things mystical; fitting, then, that it sits at the top of the Tree of Life. It’s also a planet that can cause confusion and throw a veil over things so we have to work extra hard to see them.

Chokmah

· Number: Two

· Planet: Uranus

· Symbol:

Now put this symbol where Chokmah sits. It’s sort of like a television aerial, representing the electric force that comes from this planet, and is shown in this Sephira as it gives energy to your ideas, inspiring you and putting the spark of life onto the Tree. It takes no-thing and turns it into some-thing, and as a planet it can sometimes indicate where there may be disruption. But how often does disruption lead to new beginnings? Frequently.

Binah

· Number: Three

· Planet: Saturn

· Symbol:

In Binah form is added. Saturn, with his rings around him, brings form to the Tree, and here in Binah the first rules are applied. It is by acknowledging the laws of the universe that all things come into manifestation. Get the rules in place, that’s what Saturn asks, and where they aren’t, things will be brought into order soon enough. Put his perfect form on your Tree. His. Notice this male planet represents the Great Mother. Binah is also polarity, the complementary aspect of opposites.

Chesed

· Number: Four

· Planet: Jupiter

· Symbol:

The big four! Easy to remember, as it looks like a figure four. Jupiter is benevolent, he’s the gift-giver and he offers abundance, but sometimes abundance is a hard one to deal with — abundance can lead to excess. This is where we can get carried away with the adventure. But Jupiter has a big smile, big pockets and a generous nature. Draw him on your Tree.

Geburah

· Number: Five

· Planet: Mars

· Symbol:

Yes, it does look like the symbol for male. Fittingly, as Mars is the planet that governs war, anger, passion and sport. But he’s also creative, active and wants us to get on with it! Here we look at what has to go, what confrontation has to happen so that things can run smoothly, what lessons have been learned and what lessons need to be delivered. Mars cuts away what’s no longer required.

Tiphareth

· Number: Six

· Planet: The Sun

· Symbol:

A circle with a dot in the centre, the Sun, our life’s force and the balancing point on the Tree, the place where it can be reflected horizontally as well as vertically. This planet is one of healing, one that makes us all feel good when we feel its energy on us. It lights our way ahead. The Sun is also our will, where the strongest focus in our life is likely to be.

Netzach

· Number: Seven

· Planet: Venus

· Symbol:

Yes, that’s the symbol for female, funnily enough, and of course Venus is a female goddess. She is feminine energy, love and feelings, as well as all things nature. Often seen surrounded by animals, as well as wearing white, looking fabulous and generally being adored, she brings her grace and charm to Netzach. But make no mistake, she can (and does) bring tough love when required.

Hod

· Number: Eight

· Planet: Mercury

· Symbol:

The talkative one, Mercury is the winged god of communication, the planet of images, and sits perfectly in Hod, where we create pictures before we manifest our dreams and goals. This boy is fleet of foot and can occasionally cause mischief, as we sometimes create images that aren’t quite what we want, sometimes through fear and sometimes through advertising bombarding this planet to get us to buy stuff we don’t really need! Be aware. And yes, when Mercury goes retrograde, or appears to go backwards in the heavens, everyone clutches their cardigans and gets ready for travel disruption.

Yesod

· Number: Nine

· Planet: The Moon

· Symbol:

Please always draw as shown above — a happy Moon, one that is waxing, gaining power instead of losing it. The Moon is about our emotions, as distinct from our feelings. She is silvery, like a mirror, and holds more information in our subconscious than we will ever have time to use! Past-life work is often associated with Yesod and the Moon’s influence is behind many of our reactions.

Malkuth

· Number: 10

· Planet: Earth

· Symbol:

This symbol represents the four elements. In our chart it’s the Part of Fortune, where we will find most benefits in this life. It’s a great indication of life purpose. Here, however, it really does remind us of the work we’ve just done. We’re in a physical environment that gives form to all of the Sephiroth above it.

So now you have a Tree that has the planets on it, colour has entered the picture and all those images, together with the name, number and general influences of each Sephira, are starting to build a bigger picture.

Figure 7: The Tree and the planets

Personal information

You are ruled by one of the Sephira. Consider your link:

· Kether is Pisces

· Chokmah is Aquarius

· Binah is Capricorn

· Chesed is Sagittarius

· Geburah is Aries and Scorpio

· Tiphareth is the Sun

· Netzach is Taurus and Libra

· Hod is Gemini and Virgo

· Yesod is Cancer

· Malkuth is your rising sign. Discoverable if you know your time of birth, this shows your approach to living here on Earth.

Think about what your personality Sephira offers you.

Exercise: Listening to your subconscious

Here is an opportunity to listen to what your subconscious is already telling you, based on the Tree of Life.

· Draw the Sephiroth again, but this time do it free-hand. Just draw 10 circles in order from one to 10. There’s no need for the paths.

· Now look at the circles. Have you drawn one much bigger than the others? One much smaller? The small circle may denote which area needs more work, the larger where you may find it easier, but does that bring some complacency too?

Record your findings. Record your thoughts so far. Perhaps lay out some Tarot cards and have your natal (birth) chart printed.