Download Chokmah, the Sphere of the Zodiac - Young (1984)

© 2008 International Order of Kabbalists
CHOKMAH - THE SPHERE OF THE ZODIAC
Jane E. Young (1984)
It is at Chokmah that 'God’ or Kether the Crown is seen face to face, and not through a glass
darkly - because this Sephirah is Lucifer the Light Bearer from on high - the second principle
which is the Illuminating Intelligence. From the Crown the force of the first swirlings flows
through Chokmah which is a channel, dividing the potential of Kether into the 12 Rays and the
12 Zodiacal signs. Chokmah is known in Hebrew as "Mazlott" (the Zodiac) - the 12 banners of
the Holy Name; and here there is pure force without boundaries or limits. There is incessant
movement and rotation as the sparks emerge from the 12 gateways impregnated with wisdom,
each individuals in their own right on their own particular rays - these sparks are sped across to
the awaiting ovum or Binah via Daleth the door.
It is Chokmah which is the prism of the Tree, splitting up the totality, the crystalline brilliance of
Kether, into its many facets which are the Rays. Chokmah is Wisdom because it is here and
nowhere else that the totality can be seen.
Chokmah at the lower levels, in the world of Assiah, sends out a different Ray of physical being
each time an incarnation occurs. If we consider the subjective path of the Fool we see how
everything is made in the image of the Greater and thus this is Zero Arcanum, symbolising the
wheel or round of immortality from which all emerges and to which all returns. The Fool is the
spark, the blueprint for all paths, who in his time plays many roles in the Divine Comedy - thus
on his death he wears the wheels of the zodiac, which represent the many, many incarnations
he will go through in his journey from unconscious perfection to conscious perfection.
At a mundane level close bonds have always existed between medicine and astrology, indeed
until the 18th century the two sciences were inextricably mixed, a study of astrology being, as a
matter of course, part of a doctor's training, and a vital element in his treatment of disease. To
my mind this makes sense; through a deep study of astrology and the Rays, healers could have
a wider understanding of the basic principle that disharmony is the root cause of dis-ease.
The various parts of the body were considered to be under the rulership of specific signs and
planets, which were also associated with specific diseases if those organs or glands were
blocked or not functioning properly. Astrological medicine was first formalised in the writings of
Hermes Trismegistos, the name the Greeks gave to the Egyptian God Thoth, a God of Wisdom,
appropriate to Chokmah. This put forward the view that man is both a macrocosm and a
microcosm - reproducing in himself a miniature. The structure of the whole universe.
Aries
governs the head and adrenal glands (the fight and flight mechanism).
Taurus
governs the throat, neck and thyroid
Gemini
the nervous system, lungs, arms and legs
Cancer
the stomach, alimentary canal and breasts
Leo
the heart, spine and back
Virgo
the nervous system and intestines
Libra
the kidneys
Scorpio
the sexual organs
Sagittarius
the liver, hips and thighs
Capricorn
the knees, bones and teeth
Aquarius
the circulation, shins and ankles
Pisces
the feet
Bailey also lists the 7 major Rays known to man with the 7 Chakras and the 12 Zodiac signs.
The Arabs were the first to link the curative qualities of herbs with specific signs and planets,
and various systems of attribution were used to decide which planet should rule a herb,
generally through the triplicities. "The Complete Herbal" by Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54)
attributes herbs according to the diseases they cured, e.g. agrimony was good for liver
complaints - Jupiter rules the liver, therefore Jupiter rules agrimony. Each planet became in turn
"Lord of a day", e.g. Sun - Sunday, Moon - Monday, etc., and herbs gathered on their planet's
day especially at the appropriate hour were considered to be at their most effective. With the 12
Zodiacal signs we have 13 as the synthesising principle - the 12 disciples or 12 types of man
plus Christ, Jacob and his 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 foundation stones of New
Jerusalem, the Pearl as the synthesising gemstone. From the esoteric standpoint these
represent the 12 qualities which make up a perfect whole. 13 is the number which is said to
contain the Key to all mysteries, and it reverts to 4 in numerology - a number of construction
which holds the key to all arrangement and interpretation of form, plans and ideas.
One important way of dividing the Zodiacal signs is into triplicities - each consists of 3 signs
linked with one of the 4 elements - Air, Fire, Earth and Water -and each of these represent types
of initiations undergone by the Fool during his experience. Likewise, races and planets also go
through initiations, and initiations are experiences of wheels within wheels - as a planet the life
forms of Earth are entering a major initiation under the influence of the Amethyst Ray of the
Aquarian Age.
When we are born under a Zodiacal sign our aim should be in a particular incarnation to
develop the positive attributes of that sign and master the negative vices.
Signs linked with the Air element, namely Gemini, Libra and Aquarius - here we have the
principle of creative thought and mental activity, the motivating force of the intellect, of reason,
communication and refinement.
Water signs, Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces - here we have the principles of desire and emotions,
of wisdom and receptivity, of caution and secrecy.
Fire signs, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius - here we have the energising and activating principle, the
ambitious pioneer, the Fool with his head in the air who goes boldly where angels fear to tread.
Earth signs, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn - here we have the practical, solid, down to earth
types, often blunt, rigid and stubborn, yet also reliable, steadfast and true.
With the 4 we have the division of the wheel of life into the quaternary - East: Air, South: Fire,
West: Water, North: Earth.
The signs on a mundane level are also classified into 3 groups of 4 signs called Quadruplicities.
According to some modern astrologers, the 4 cardinal signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and
Capricorn rule the conscious mind of man, and have a dynamic influence although sometimes
lacking direction. At an esoteric level, Bailey refers to these 4 cardinal signs as the 4 arms of the
Cross of the Risen Christ - of the spirit which has risen and freed itself from matter - of the
superhuman. She uses the symbol of the arrow to represent the cardinal signs, or a fire triangle
over a wand, and she calls this Father, or the mind of God, and the highest form of spiritual
man.
Individuals governed by the fixed signs - Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius -are said at a
mundane level to have a tendency to strong desires and are often stubborn and rigid, but
reliable creatures also. At an esoteric level these 4 signs are referred to as the 4 arms of the
Cross of the Crucified Christ. It is the cross of the Son of God, driven through love to incarnate
in matter and to be consciously crucified for the redemption of lower man. The fixed signs
underline the principle of service. The symbol Bailey uses is the Christian cross with a circle in
the centre: spirit crucified on matter, the cross of a pledged disciple.
The mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, are said to be linked with the spiritual
qualities which struggle to develop in the material man. Bailey refers to the 4 mutable signs as
the 4 arms of the Cross of the Hidden Christ, who works subtly and unnoticed, refining matter,
nurturing and developing the indwelling Christ within. It is the Cross of the Holy Spirit which
activates the mind. On the negative side it can be the cross of the trickster and thief. The
swastika is its symbol - the wheel of karma - the journey of the spark through many incarnations
to ultimate union with the infinite and it is the cycle of cause and effect.
Thus the 4 triplicities and the 4 elements are represented on the Arcanum of the Wheel of
Fortune by the 4 Holy Living Creatures. The wheel is Taro, the royal Path of Truth and
knowledge. It is Rota, the cyclic effect of many incarnations, and Tora, universal law and ancient
wisdom which is Chokmah.
The Hebrew letter for the Path is Kaph, which means "palm of the hand" - the celestial palm each fingertip representing a different planet and other areas of the palm being associated with
the Zodiac.
The 12 gateways are the 12 houses of life through to death. These were numbered by ancient
astrologers from East downward under the horizon.
The planets were described according to the houses they occupied and also in terms of the
aspects they formed with each other, the angles between them revealing the kind of influence
they were likely to exert.
The planetary influences of an astrological chart indicate the trend of the outer life
circumstances. To the average man in the street this means fate; to the occultist it means karma
- cause and effect - of the principle that "we are the sum total of all our yesterdays, and the
potential of all our tomorrows".
The sun sign indicates the nature of the individual at physical, mental and spiritual levels. It
indicates the present problem of the man. Thus, for example, a person born under the sign of
Libra is not born in perfect balance, but has to learn and strive to seek balance and harmony
within.
The rising star or ascendant indicates the more remote possibilities and the spiritual goal for an
incarnation, as well as for future incarnations. It indicates the intended life or immediate destiny;
and represents the secret force which, when rightly used, will lead the human into success
because he has fulfilled his destiny and followed his Royal Star.
The position of the moon in the chart indicates that which is past, and some suggest that it can
summarise a certain amount of limitation or an emotional weakness in a particular area.
Returning to the number 13 as the synthesizing principle of the zodiac, 13 seems for some
reason to have undergone considerable purging from the text of the bible. As one religion
succeeds another, those elements of the old religion that can be assimilated become part of the
new religion, the remaining elements are strongly suppressed. It seems reasonable to suggest
that the purging of the number 13 from the bible indicates that it was of significance that
Judaism and later Christianity perhaps replaced the older religion of moon worship, where the
number 13, the number of the full or new moon in the 13 months of the year, was held in great
reverence. An American researcher, James Togh, recently discovered the remnants of a moon
Zodiac in a Jewish Gnostic synagogue in Beth Alpha in the Jezreel Valley in Israel. Orthodox
Jewish thought even today maintains that there are 13 central qualities to God.
Through the study of astrology we can appreciate that we are an integral part of a still greater
life. From what we know about this subject, it seems that at its deeper, most occult level,
astrology is far more than a rigid, exact science. The planets are points of light and transmitters
within the universal life, and it is these Rays which are the creators, maintainers and destroyers.
Bailey writes on behalf of her inner plane master when she mentions that it is important for each
occultist to consider the true nature of the emanating source and the eternal causative principles
(rays), rather than concentrating solely on the effects of ephemeral creations, solar systems or
planets which are themselves mere recipients of divine energy or rays.
This fact can be underlined by the words of the poet Tennyson:Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease to be.
But thou O God art more than they,
And we are broken lights of thee.
© 2008 International Order of Kabbalists