Download Kabbalah and the Tree of Life

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Kabbalah and the Tree of Life
By Jack Daly
In my last article titled Introduction to Sacred Geometry, I covered many
geometric forms with various plant names such as the Seed of Life, the Egg of Life, the
Fruit of Life, and the Flower of Life. One vastly important aspect of Sacred Geometry
that I intentionally did not cover is the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life can be extracted
directly from the Flower of Life. The Tree of Life is a key to interpreting the Torah, and
like Sacred Geometry (which indeed it is a part of), it is the method that God (Ein Sof)
used to create the Universe. There are 10 emanations of God’s being in the Tree of Life,
called Sephiroth, that are used to explore the name of God – the Tetragrammaton. If you
have read my article about Sacred Geometry, (which of course I suggest you do), you
will immediately notice that the Tree of Life fits on to the Vitruvian Man from Da Vinci,
and indeed the Tree of Life is manifested in humans through our Merkaba fields. Each of
the Sephiroth have a Hebrew, Greek, and Egyptian equivalent. What will be amazing to
first time initiates to this tradition is that the names represented by the Greek and
Egyptians are in fact their mythological figures. Thus, studying the Tree of Life also
serves as a key to interpreting mythology. In the Tree of Life, there are the 10 Sephiroth
as well as 22 paths, which represent the 32 paths of Wisdom in Kabbalah and 32 degrees
of Freemasonry. There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, and these paths are
represented in the Tarot, which allegorizes the Fool’s journey, the journey that we are all
assuredly on. There are actually 11 Sephiroth when daath is included, which represents
the Void that my previous readers will be familiar with. There are three triads, plus
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Malkuth, the gateway, four worlds, and three pillars. There will be many unfamiliar
words in this article, so make sure you go over the words you don’t know to familiarize
yourself with them. You can either start from the top or bottom of the Tree of Life, and I
am going to start at the top and work to the bottom, because that is the way I first learned
it.
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Each Sephirot works in conjunction with the others, but contain their own
qualities. The top three Sephirot are called the Supernal Triad. The Supernal Triad exists
above the abyss, and they are represented by Kether (Crown), Chokmah (Wisdom), and
Binah (Understanding). In Exodus 31:3, it says:
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Belazel son of Uri, the son of
Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God (Kether),
with wisdom, (Chokmah), with understanding (Binah) with knowledge (daath)
and with all kinds of skills – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and
bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of
crafts.”
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Coming to an interpretation of scripture and mythology is an illuminating aspect of
studying the Tree of Life.
Without further adieu, let’s analyze each Sephirot individually. The first Sephirot
is called Kether, and it means the crown. In Greek Mythology, Kether is represented by
Zeus, and in Egyptian mythology by Ptah. Kether’s planetary representation is that of the
Primum Mobile, or the first mover, the first cause before the Big Bang, all of reality.
Kether is essentially the eternal, spiritual perfection.
The second Sephirot is called Chokmah, which means wisdom. In Greek
Mythology, Chokmah is represented by Athena, and by Amoun-Ra for the Egyptians.
This is interesting because one of these beings is male, and one is female. This points to
an important aspect of the Sephirot, which is that it is androgynous. The aspects of God’s
name, which it reveals, are made of male and female principles. In mystical studies, male
and female union is absolutely essential to unity. When one has performed this divine
union, this alchemical marriage, within themselves, they are able to overcome duality.
That is the ultimate goal, or result, of studying the Tree of Life and indeed mysticism in
general.
The third Sephirot is called Binah, and it represents understanding. In Greek
Mythology, Binah is represented by Demeter, and by Maut for the Egyptians. Demeter,
the Greek Goddess of agriculture, is also associated with fertility and the harvest.
Demeter is somewhat of a mother earth sort of figure, and this temperament is what
coming to grips with understanding should yield. The understanding that you get from
action and experience is what this understanding is referring to. From action and
experience, you gain insight to develop wisdom. This is how Binah and Chokmah are
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integrally intertwined. In the Supernal Triad, we have three Sephirot, one is male, one is
androgynous, and one is female. These Supernals exist in the world of Atziluth, (the
World of Emanation). Each Sephirot in the Supernal Triad are part of separate pillars.
Kether belongs to the middle pillar of balance, Chokmah belongs to the right pillar of
mercy, and Binah belongs to the pillar of severity. The pillar of severity belongs on the
left side of the Tree of Life, but on the right side of the body, and represents left-brained
functions, and vice-versa for the pillar of mercy.
The second set of Sepiroth is called The Second Triad, and it consists of Gevurah
(strength), Tiphareth (Beauty) and Chesed (Mercy). The Second Triad can be found in 1
Chronicles 29: 11, as it says:
“Yours, Adonai, is the greatness, (Chesed) the power, (Gevurah) the glory,
(Tiphareth) the victory (Netzach) and the majesty; (Hod) for everything (Yesod)
in heaven and on earth is yours. The kingdom (Malkuth) is yours, Adonai; and
you are exalted as head over all”
Many people are assuredly familiar with this verse, and have possibly even memorized
this excerpt in one way or another. I myself have seen people mindlessly recite this,
having it embroiled in their minds with out any awareness of what it is actually alluding
to. It seems to me that perhaps within a Church service itself the deeper meaning of this is
either unknown by the priests or is known but being withheld to the Church-goers, as
they dangle this knowledge above their subjects. In my view, absolutely no Church,
physical are ideologically, is necessary. When you actually realize the glory of the whole
world, you realize literally the entire universe is your sanctuary, our sanctuary. Perhaps it
is a good time to say that although I am glossing over information has been encoded, but
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hidden, in religions, I myself belong to no particular religion. If I am anything I am an
intuitive Kabbalist, a magician, because I intuitively perceived a good deal of Kabbalah
before I formally learned it, by myself.
Anyway, with that out of the way let’s move on to the Second Triad. The Second
Triad belongs to the world of Briah, the World of Creation. Similarly, the Second Triad
has a Sephirot for each pillar. We will begin this time in the pillar of mercy rather than
the pillar of balance, at the fourth Sephirot, Chesed. Chesed means mercy, and is
represented by Poseidon by the Greeks, and Amoun by the Egyptians. Poseidon is of
course the God of the Sea, as well as earthquakes, horses and storms. Posiedon is
portrayed as the wise, benevolent king, who rules by mercy because of his wisdom and
understanding. This, indeed is what Chesed represents. Another connotation of Chesed is
covenant. The world of Briah is important because of its role in the physical world. When
a covenant is formed, whoever it is between, rather two people, or a government to its
people, there needs to be mercy, or again there will be an imbalance. Chesed is exhibited
in human actions such as the conception of a child between two people, or the creation of
a law. This is the Sephirot of authority, and it is the authority that comes with good
leadership. If you are a good parent to your child, or a law is established that does not
essentially enslave one party, there is some mercy because of the understanding between
the parties. In magic studies, it becomes apparent that there is no inherent moral law,
there are no constraints on actions, it is only the constraints we place on ourselves. I’m
sure there are many aspects of society that you can think of that are unnecessary
constraints, and it is because there is a lack of mercy, wisdom and understanding.
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The fifth Sephirot is Gevurah, which means strength. Gevurah is represented by
Ares in the Greek Pantheon, and by Horus in the Egyptian. In Greek Mythology, Ares is
the God of War. Additionally, Gevurah is associated with justice served and passion
uncontrolled, as well as others. One thing to note at this point is that each aspect of
Kabbalah and the Tarot have dualistic aspects, but are beyond duality. That is to say,
everything has a negative and positive aspect, but each are part of the same thing and
balance is important. Ares is a potent example of this. It is curious that Ares is part of the
pantheon due to his association with war and strength, but the wrath of Ares is only
necessary if there is imbalance elsewhere. The link here between wisdom, understanding,
and strength, is that if strength becomes out of balance, there is great importance or
wisdom in understanding. This is largely what has been happening for the last few
hundred years while the patriarchy, the imbalanced masculine aspect of our society, has
been out of balance and has relegated the intuitive and feminine aspect of being. It could
be said that the Gevurah of our society has become cruel and that we need Binah and
Chockmah to balance it. This is how I see it at least.
The sixth Sephirot is Tiphareth, which means beauty. Tiphareth is represented by
Apollo in Greek Mythology, and by Ra in Egyptian. Apollo is the Greek God of
knowledge, as well as music, medicine, and the sun. Apollo is perhaps the nearest and
dearest to my heart in the Sephirot. A couple of years ago, I started making music mixes
under the pseudonym Apollo, (Apollo, the God of Music). After a few months, I had
accumulated thousands of plays on every continent on Earth, it was relatively successful
although I have yet to monetize it. I continue to get hundreds of plays each week as
Apollo, my alter-music identity. What’s else, Apollo represents “Godhead into
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consciousness.” Well, here’s another odd occurrence that previews another esoteric
knowledge I am likely to post on in the future, gematria numerology. Gematria assigns a
numerological value to each letter, and finds its way into each language. Hebrew
gematria is where the names of the Bible come from, (Yahweh, Jesus), these names are
constituted by their numerological value. There is English gematria, and it is a
permutation essentially of Hebrew gematria. In English gematria, the value of “Godhead
into consciousness” is 1038. The gematria value of my name, Jack Daly, is 1039. If you
take just one “a” out of my name, it is 1038. I just so happened to calculate these values
and realized how close they were, the chances of them being similar as they are mindblowing. Clearly there is some inexplicable link between Tiphareth and I.
The third set of Sephirot is called the Third Triad, and exists in the world called
Yetzirah, the World of Formation. The Third Triad exits below what is called the Veil of
Pakoreth, which separates the world of the Second Triad and its amazing lessons that lie
in Tiphareth. This is the world of animal instincts, and sadly most humans are able to
transcend the Veil of Pakoreth, the veil of their own illusions, and come to understand the
higher faculties of being. Most people think limit themselves and stay bogged down by
these animal instincts, but I assure you, you can swiftly pierce your way to Kether. This
is the realm of emotion, intellect, and sexuality.
We will again start on the pillar of mercy, at the seventh Sephiroth, called
Netzach, which means victory. Aphrodite represents Netzach in the Greeks myths, and by
Hathoor in Egyptian myths. The victory which Netzach alludes to is the victory of our
baser instincts, our passions and emotions. This is not a negative victory by suppressing
these instincts, but rather one guided by joy and love. Aphrodite is the Greek Goddess of
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love, as well as sexuality. The role of balance is again essential, because one cannot
become consumed by the passion and emotion that the sexuality of Aphrodite may stir,
but rather be joyful of it and love it. Nietzschean outlooks are important to this Sephirot
as I see it, and indeed each Sephirot, as it is affirmation of life and its’ strangest
problems.
The eighth Sephirot is called Hod, which means splendor. Hod is represented by
Hermes in Greek Mythology, and by Anubis in Egyptian. Hermes is the Greek messenger
God, as well as sports, and is the guide to the underworld. I cover the figure Hermes a bit
in my article Treasure of The Inca, and it is clear that the historical Hermes is also
synonymous with the Egyptian Thoth. Hermes finds expression in many places on the
Tree of Life, including the Tzaddik, and the Star, but this is his Sephirot. This is the
Sephirot of the magician. The magician lies in the world of Briah however, and its
powers will remain stagnant unless taken in conjunction with other aspects of the Tree of
Life. Hod and Netzach are important to think about together, because in Greek
Mythology the union between Hermes and Aphrodite becomes Hermaphrodite, the
androgynous being. Hermes can be thought of as theory, and Aphrodite practice, they
have to go together to create. This is symbolic again of the alchemical marriage, which I
will say again, is something essential that must be performed within oneself if one wants
to emanate their higher self.
The ninth Sephirot is called Yesod, which means foundation. Yesod is
represented by Diana in Greek Mythology, and by Shu in Egyptian. Diana is the Goddess
of the hunt, as well as the moon. The name foundation appears at first as if it suggests it
is the foundation of the tree, but Malkuth exists still below. This is because Yesod is the
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first Sephirot that exists in the upper realm, above the gateway. Hod, Netzach and Yesod
work together just as Chesed, Gevurah, and Tiphareth do. Hod and Netzach are
essentially lovers, and Yesod is the physical manifestation. In this way Diana is
representative of the alchemical marriage.
At this point, the three triads have been covered, but one more Sephirot remains
that does not belong to any triad. This is the 10th Sephirot, Malkuth. Malkuth means
kingdom, and is represented by Persephone in Greek Mythology and by Seb in Egyptian.
In Greek Myth, Persephone is abducted by Hades and taken to the underworld. Malkuth
is the beginning of the great work that makes its way up the tree, it is where energy of the
tree flows into the world. Malkuth is the beginning place where we build up our matrix of
self. From this point there is an infinite number of ways that a being may exhibit
themselves, and the actions they decide are those that shape the universe.
At this point, I assume you are full of questions. I assume this because I too am
full of questions. This paper is not holistic and introductory at best, but it is a start. For
the past essentially three years, since about January 2013, I have been deeply exploring
this topic, and I know just how arduous of a task it is to uncover this information and
understand it. I plead you though, anyone who takes time to read this, to ask questions
and to explore them for yourself. I am happy to talk about absolutely anything anyone
finds interesting. For the first good while when I was researching these topics, Sacred
Geometry, Kabbalah, Alchemy, I kept to myself because I felt like no one would
understand. I am at the point though that I cannot possibly hold all of this information to
myself, I want everyone to know. Obviously, this is a work in progress for me. I don’t
understand everything occult studies have to offer, far from it. There are constantly things
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I am learning and figuring out, but it doesn’t come from nowhere. You have to put in the
time and effort. I know that this information is overwhelming and in a way controversial,
but I promise you, ancient civilizations of earth encoded this information for future
generations, and a very small portion of people seem to be aware of it. I feel as if this
type of knowledge is of vast importance going forward, and I hope we can all learn and
grow together.
Endnote: for further research, I would advise familiarizing yourself with Thoth Tarot
Cards, and reading The Qabalah Workbook for Magicians by Anita Kraft.