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

Understanding the astrology
Symbolism and The Tree of Life

You don’t need to be an astrologer, or want to be, to benefit from Qabalah, but there is much value to be gained from the planetary symbolism held within the Tree of Life and I’m sure you’ll find those insights invaluable.

To help make it as easy as possible for you to use your natal chart, here are the symbols you’ll find there and what they mean. You can find more information online. My own website has a chart calculator that explains what your own chart tells you, or you can use one of the many excellent websites out there, but if you can, visit an astrologer local to you. They will be able to help you too.

If you think this may all be a little complicated, please don’t be put off. You’ll only be looking at astrology when you consolidate the information from each Sephira (see Part II). In the next chapter I will go through a consolidation from beginning to end so you can see just how easy that can be.

Remember, finding out information from your chart is akin to pulling down part of the sacred contract you made before incarnation. Here are the symbols:

These symbols, called glyphs, are easy to spot in your chart. What do they mean? Piecing it together is very simple: you take the planet, the sign and the house position it is in. The astrological wheel is divided into 12 houses, which correspond to different areas of life. Counting the first line on the left, the ascendant, as one, the first house, you can count along until you find the house, although to be honest they are usually numbered. For example:

Figure 8: Sample astrology chart

Find the symbol for the Sun (a circle with a dot in the middle).

Which sign is it in? The symbol for the sign is underneath it. On this occasion it’s Libra.

Which house is it in? Bit of a giveaway, as there’s a great big number nine underneath it! Ninth house.

So the Sun is in Libra in the ninth house. You would use this information as part of your consolidation for Tiphareth, the Sephira of the Sun.

You can use your astrology book to find out what all the combinations of planets, signs and houses mean, or you can use the internet. Just remember to use a good site. There are some suggestions at the back of this book.

To find the meaning of the aspects in your chart (the angles, i.e. relationships, between the planets), I would use a good astrologer who can write them down for you or have a print-out of your chart done that includes them. This will take your astrological knowledge to another level and will be even more helpful, but for the purposes of your first look at the Tree of Life, the planet, the sign and the house position will more than suffice.