by: Brother Christopher Nye
Excerpted from his upcoming book The Seeker
As a student of the Qabalah for a good portion of my life, the mysteries of the Sephiroth have always played some kind of role. This became amplified after my initiation where I began to ponder the Tree of Life and how it could be used to help guide my path through the degrees.
The Tree of Life can reveal doors that one may not even realize exist. Sometimes those doors are locked. Other times some of those doors are not meant to be opened, and only through exercising Prudence does one decide whether or not to open what is revealed. Still other times a right and proper door will be revealed and through that lays the riches of knowledge and secrets within.
Relating my experiences with meditating upon the Qabalah through my journey is something that I feel is worth exploring, but also must stress that with the Tree of Life, every perspective from those viewing it will be different from every other perspective. This is part of the foundational principles of studying the Qabalah. Where my experience written here will be one thing, the reader may have a completely different experience.
These differences of perspectives can frustrate those with a more scientific mind who wish to find an objective truth that remains constant. As Sir James Jeans stated in The Mysterious Universe, “a mathematical formula can never tell us WHAT a thing is, but only how it behaves; it can only specify an object through its properties.” As such it is exactly these differences in perspectives that should be celebrated and shared, for by being able to reconcile a difference in opinion we are better able to not only live in a more harmonious state with our fellow man but also gain the ability to grow ourselves.
Israel Regardie in his book Garden of Pomegranates, makes a wonderful metaphor for the Tree of Life by comparing it to a filing cabinet, where each of the thirty-two paths is a folder within that filing cabinet. The items contained in each folder appertain to the path that it relates to, but the contents of the folder will differ from person to person as we reflect upon the Tree of Life from our own unique perspectives.
The following is from my own perspective. Philosophical pondering on the Tree means learning what each of the Sephora corresponds to as well as what each path is keyed toward, and then tying those meanings to the everyday actions and items all around us. The TAROT itself aligns perfectly with the Qabalah and its Four Worlds, and I took it upon myself to either meditate or draw cards pertaining to the area of the Tree that I was currently contemplating.
I would also like to note that as this is from my own perspective, this means that this is just one way in which glyphs of understanding can be gleaned from the Tree. Indeed, for those esoteric Masons that advance into more practical rites as demonstrated by the Rosicrucian Order (be it in the Free Masonic Rosicrucian Appendant Body or an external body such as AMORC) then my outline can (intentionally) seem simplified, as those other orders spend can use an entire degree on just one Sephiroth.
Or to put it thusly, the Freemasonic Blue-Lodge degrees build for us a solid foundation on which we can then proceed into the more granular after achieving those degrees should we so desire. The exposition I will now go into is geared towards simplified principles to build that foundation.
The 1st Degree are the White Sephiroth
We can see that the Four Worlds of the Qabalah can be fit over the Four levels of Freemasonry: these being walking as a Seeker and then the First, Second, and Third Degrees. Some may argue that the Seeker or Profane has no place in this discussion, but I heartily disagree. The Seeker is the starting point, and by acknowledging the need to expand and build a better man of themselves, the Seeker has tempered Malkuth and makes ready in his heart to take upon the First Degree of Freemasonry, and thus be given the first set of tools to become familiar with.
While this is not a treatise on the Qabalah, to summarize what this means is that the four worlds of the Tree of Life are Azilut, the world of Emanation wherein the Divine dwells. Beriah the world of Creation wherein the Arch Angels sit. Yezirah the world of Formation, the abode of the angelic choirs. Asiyyah, the world of Action where sits the material plane that we live. Four worlds, four Trees, and 4 x 32 paths.
It should be noted that per the Hermetic Philosophy of As Above So Below, that there too dwells the Tree of Life’s darker opposite. The Qlipoth or Tree of Death. These shells form the opposites of what the Sephiroth represents and stand as spiritual obstacles to mastering each Sephiroth. These we will not be exploring in this work.
Each of those worlds is then corresponded to the four states of Chayah, the Crown or “not-a-thing”, Neshamah the Real Higher Self wherein lies the Ego or true soul, Ruach which is where “I” resides and is the false ID and to which many are shackled, and finally Nefesh, the animal-soul where we are bound to the material world.
The world of the profane and the seeker dwells within Asiyyah and sit within its tree. Upon being initiated into the mysteries, one is elevated to Yezirah. As an Entered Apprentice one begins their journey contemplating the Formation of their knowledge.
Figure 1 shows yet another formation to contemplate. The tree itself is composed of three triangles and underneath those sits Malkuth, the Sephiorth meaning Kingdom or the world in which we reside.
Upon elevation from Seeker to Entered Apprentice, we enter the first of the three sacred triangles based in the Astral within the Sephiroth Yesod, the Treasure House of Illusions, and polarized by Hod on the Pillar of Strength and Severity, and Netzach on the Pillar of Beauty and Mercy. This triangle holds the name “The Magical Triangle” or “The Astral Triangle” depending on your source.
During my time as an Entered Apprentice, it was to this triangle that I spent much reflection. Consisting of the Mental (Hod), the Astral (Yesod) and the Vital (Netzach) worlds, this is the bridge to cross from the material and into the higher will of our Being. The realm of ritual which causes vibrations to move into other dimensions, and as such it is to vibration that we use to invoke said rituals.
From the point of view of the Tetragrammaton as it pertains to our initial initiation and elevation from physical world to astral, that being YHVH (יהוה) or the four-letter Hebrew name of God, we can place the last Hé to Malkuth – that being the animal-soul of man or the unconscious mind, and Vav is appropriated toward Tiphareth, the Son which also represents our conscious mind. Our seat as Entered Apprentices places us between these two points in the Sephiroth Yesod. The first two letters of the Tetragrammaton will come to light in the next degrees.
While we remain in our uninitiated state, the conscious and unconscious minds remain locked in an everlasting conflict. It is our first goal upon being initiated that we are elevated up from Malkuth to Yesod and that the conscious ego and unconscious mind become reconciled. From a Qabalastic standpoint, that facet was what remained a steadfast bullet point in my mind.
This first step, of uniting our conscious and unconscious mind, brings us into presence with our astral self. The physical body is but a vehicle that the astral form drives. Our physical bodies are ever changing. Cells are dying. Atoms being shed. New cells created, new atoms obtained, like a car that needs new tires, or its oil changed, or a new set of brakes from time to time.
The astral self is our true self. It remains unchanged and dwells within Yesod, linked to the physical body until such a time that the physical body dies, and our astral form moves to its next destination. Most people have been to the astral without quite realizing it throughout their waking and sleeping dreams.
This reconciliation therefore is vital before we can ascend to the next level wherein we explore further in the Fellowcraft degree.
That was a lot of words used, so to distill them down a little bit for clarity and summarize, we live in dual nature. One side in the material world as a flesh and bone vehicle and the other within the astral that is linked to that vehicle and drives it around to gain the experiences of the material plane (or as a prisoner stuck as such, depending on your point of view or beliefs).
Being initiated into the mysteries is the first act of elevating ourselves up from the material and acknowledging our astral duality, and our time spent in the First Degree is a time spent contemplating the Astral Triangle and reconciling the conflict between our conscious and unconscious mind.
Thus, the works of Jung, Freud, and Adler may become useful during this time, for they explored these concepts from a scientific standpoint. Modern science has been moving us closer to reconcile itself with spiritual “woo-woo” beliefs. Closer than some would be comfortable admitting.
What do the Sephiroth of the Astral Triangle tell us? It should be noted that the deeper one goes into Qabalah, that the primary ten paths, or the Sephiroth, are not the only things to consider, but also the paths that connect them to each other. During this time much thought was spent on the paths and the Sephiroth.
Yesod is number 9. It is the anchor of the Triangle, a part of the great Middle Pillar of Equilibrium, and the Treasure House of Images (and Illusions) per Dion Fortune. It balances the opposing forces of Hod and Netzach, logical thought and emotion, and pushes those energies down into Malkuth. It is overseen by the Arch Angel Gabriel and attended to by the order of Kerubim (or as they are commonly known as, the Cherubim), known as “The Strong” angels. These six-winged guardians and heralds exist to facilitate communication between worlds.
Malkuth is the Elemental sphere, and Yesod the base of its foundation. Yesod, being represented by the moon, is covered by the apron of the Mason.
Hod is number 8. The base of the Pillar of Strength and Severity sits upon the Feminine Pillar as a Masculine entity representing logic and which is called the Perfect Intelligence. It is overseen by the Arch Angel Michael, and attended by the order of Beni Elohim, the Sons of God.
Hod is the realm of Philosophy, and the creation of form. It is here that man gives form to abstract ideas, and that things such as the angels are given their countenance based on man’s wishes.
Netzach is number 7. The base of the Pillar of Beauty and Mercy sits upon the Masculine Pillar as a Feminine entity representing force, form, and emotion. It is in constant opposition to Hod opposite it, that which is rooted in logic and reasoning. Dion Fortune states that Netzach is a group-mind, whereas Hod is the beginning of human intellect.
Netzach forms the basis of our instincts and is overseen by the Arch Angel Haniel, the Grace of God, and attended by the choir of Elohim. The Elohim are not intelligences but rather are the embodiment of ideas.
Any operations that spring forth from Hod must have the element of Netzach to guide it, or it will be doomed to fail. As such though they are opposites, they work in conjunction as one to produce any work or undertaking, for Hod being fortified behind a wall of logic and reasoning will kill off any great workings. This is one of the great challenges to overcome in uniting our animal-soul with the astral.
Like a machine, when all three of these elements come together in harmony, the path is well lit and the operation flawless. While this is not a full discussion on the topic of Qabalah, the lesson that I took to heart was that too much of any one element will poison the well.
Too much Hod kills creativity with an over amplified sense of logic.
Too much Netzach fills us with emotion, and thus blinds us to believe in what we wish to believe in while under its influence.
Too much Yesod and we might become lost in that great treasure house of astral forms staring at that which we believe to be real but is only an illusion.
All three of these I meditate upon regularly and strive to keep them in check. I conclude my thoughts on the Qabalah as it pertains to the First Degree of Freemasonry (that simply being that the Entered Apprentice may seem like it holds trivial lessons to be learned, but each forms a cornerstone in the Masonic journey that deserves to be truly homed in on and thought about) with a thought from Dion Fortune’s Magical Qabalah. I paraphrase.
“The Emerald Tablet declares As Above, So Below. This too can be applied to Physics and to Psychology.”
The foundational pieces of the Astral Triangle, being for the Entered Apprentice to enter into Yesod upon the 32nd path Tav (which is represented by XXI the World in the TAROT), to focus on clearing a foundation in Yesod (the foundational Sephiroth) and reconciling their logical mind in Hod with the artistic emotion of Netzach. To let the two forces generate equilibrium and have them centered upon the foundation that you are working to clear through the lessons of the Entered Apprentice.
To focus on beginning to sense and see that which sits above the material in the astral, and to have a clean foundation on which to begin building the next levels revealed in the Second Degree. It is important to note that as Yesod is represented by the moon, so too is the light of Yesod merely a reflection from the sun above.
If the concepts of the TAROT or the Qabalah at this point are unclear to you and you are interested in concentrating on these aspects, at the point of an Entered Apprentice my recommendation would be to research Malkuth (10), Yesod (9), Hod (8), and Netzach (7), to understand what each Sephiroth given represents, to know where each sits upon the Tree of Life and to which Pillar it rests upon, and the symbology that each represents.
Additionally, each Sephiroth is associated with the TAROT as is each path. For this, focus upon the 7s, the 8s, the 9s, and the 10s and what they represent, as well as XXI The World, for it represents Tav the 32nd path that connects Malkuth with Yesod (that being the material plane and the central sephiroth of Foundation to which you are aspiring to gain understanding).
This may sound like a lot, but one key lesson of the Qabalah that has always been related to me is that casually reading about it does little, but memorizing each path and Sephiroth is crucial to begin applying it to one’s day to day life. Memorizing 32 paths all at once is more than daunting, and as such focus on the level that you currently sit on and only until you are comfortable with their understanding should you advance up the tree.
As an advanced exercise, begin to examine the other paths connecting the Astral Triangle as you should be doing with Tav. You will eventually have to become comfortable with them. The goal here at this stage is not to attempt to master each of these realms, but to gain their understanding.
Once the reconciliation of the Astral Triangle is realized, where the logical mind is brought into harmony with the spiritual and creative heart, the foundation will be prepared and a stillness of that inner voice will begin to manifest, allowing you to hear another voice coming from above that, and it will be to that place we venture next.
