Tree of Life

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Revision as of 00:08, 16 Apr 2005

The sephiroth (singular sephira) are the ten emanations or manifestations of God or the Universe. They begin with the highest aspect, Kether, and as the energy or concepts pass through creation, they reach the physical world, Malkuth. Connecting many of the sephiroth are pathways, 22 in all. Within the western magical tradition, the Tree is used as a kind of conceptual filing cabinet. Each sephera and path is assigned various ideas, such as gods, cards of the Tarot, astrological planets and signs, elements, etc. Within Thelema, the seminal book which defines all these correspondences is 777 by Aleister Crowley, although there have been other influential writers on the topic, including Israel Regardie and Eliphas Levi.

Table of contents

1 Parts of the Tree of Life

1.1 The Negative Veils
1.2 Sephiroth (Emanations)
1.3 The Paths
1.4 The Veils
1.5 The Pillars
1.6 The Triplicities
1.7 The Four Worlds
1.8 The Parts of the Soul

2 The Correspondences

3 See also

Parts of the Tree of Life

The Negative Veils

Ain, "Nothing"
Ain Soph, "The Boundless"
Ain Soph Aur, "The Limitless Light"

Sephiroth (Emanations)

Kether, "Crown"
Chokmah, "Wisdom"
Binah, "Understanding"
Chesed, "Mercy"
Geburah, "Strength"
Tiphareth, "Beauty"
Netzach, "Victory"
Hod, "Splendour"
Yesod, "The Foundation"
Malkuth, "The Kingdom"

There is also the "false" sephiroth, Daath, or Knowledge.

The Paths

There are 22 paths that connect the ten sephiroth. They are named according to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Aleph, "Ox"
Beth, "House"
Gimel, "Camel"
Daleth, "Door"
Hé, "Window"
Vau, "Nail"
Zain, "Sword"
Cheth, "Fence"
Teth, "Serpent"
Yod, "Hand"
Kaph, "Palm"
Lamed, "Ox Goad"
Mem, "Water"
Nun, "Fish"
Samekh, "Prop"
Ayin, "Eye"
Pé, "Mouth"
Tzaddi, "Fish-Hook"
Qoph, "Back of Head"
Resh, "Head"
Shin, "Tooth"
Tau, "Cross"
32-bis
31-bis

The Veils

The Veil of Paroketh
The Veil of the Abyss

The Pillars

The vertical columns of the sephiroth form three "pillars":

Boaz—the left Pillar, called Severity (Binah,Geburah, and Hod)
Middle Pillar—the center column, called Balance (Kether, Tiphareth, Yesod, Malkuth)
Jachin—the right Pillar, called Mercy (Chokmah, Chesed, Netzach)

The Triplicities

Above the physical world of Malkuth, there are three sets of three sephiroth:

The Supernals—Kether, Chokmah, and Binah
Chesed, Geburah, and Tiphareth
Netzach, Hod, and Yesod

The Four Worlds

Briah (The Creative World)
Atziluth (The Archetypical World)
Yetzirah (The Formative World)
Assiah (The Material World)

The Parts of the Soul

Yechidah (The Self)
Chiah (The Life Force)
Neshama (The Intuition)
Ruach (The Intellect)
Nephesh (The Animal Soul)

The Correspondences

The defining feature of the Tree of Life as it's used in Thelema is the correspondences. The general idea is that all the concepts found in a sephiroth or path have essential ties with each other. Many of the correspondences are from the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition, although there are many that were added on by members of the Golden Dawn and also by Aleister Crowley. The following is a list of conceptual groupings of all the various columns found in the seminal collection of Qabalistic correspondances, Crowley's 'Liber 777.

Here is a full listing of all columns in Liber 777.

The Key Scale—not really a correspondence, but the numerical organizational tool of the Tree.
Major Correspondences:
- Astrology
- Decans
- Astrological Angels
- Godforms
- Tarot
- Colors
- Elements
The Four Worlds
- The Four Worlds
- Correspondences of Assiah
- Correspondences of Yetzirah
- Correspondences of Briah
Material Correspondences:
- Animals
- Plants
- Precious Stones
- Perfumes
- Drugs
- The Human Body
- Metals
Magick & Mysticism:
- Magical Weapons
- Magical Formulae
- Magical Powers
- Parts of the Soul
- The Four Quarters
- Tetragrammaton
- Alphabets
- Eastern Mysticism
- The Grades of the A.'.A.'.
- Alchemy
- Pentagram & Hexagram
- Judaica
- Genii of the Twelve Hours
- Geomantic Intelligences
- Lineal Figures & Geomancy
- Figures related to Pure Number
- Qliphoth & Infernals
- The Perfected Man
- Sepher Yetzirah
- Transcendental Morality
- Legendary Orders of Being

 ==The Correspondences==
-The defining feature of the Tree of Life as it's used in Thelema is the correspondences. The general idea is that all the concepts found in a sephiroth or path have essential ties with each other. Many of the correspondences are from the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition, although there are many that were added on by members of the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|Golden Dawn]] and also by Aleister Crowley. The following list is not complete—these are the correspondences listed on Thelemapedia.
+The defining feature of the Tree of Life as it's used in Thelema is the correspondences. The general idea is that all the concepts found in a sephiroth or path have essential ties with each other. Many of the correspondences are from the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition, although there are many that were added on by members of the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|Golden Dawn]] and also by Aleister Crowley. The following is a list of conceptual groupings of all the various columns found in the seminal collection of Qabalistic correspondances, Crowley's '''Liber 777.''
+<center>''[[Tree of Life:777|Here is a full listing of all columns in ''Liber 777'']].''</center>
 *'''[[Key Scale|The Key Scale]]'''—not really a correspondence, but the numerical organizational tool of the Tree.<BR/><BR/>
-*'''[[Tree of Life:Astrology|Astrology and the Tree of Life]]'''—the [[Planet|planets]] and signs of the [[Zodiac and the Tree of Life]].
+*'''Major Correspondences:'''
-*'''[[Tree of Life:Godforms|Godforms and the Tree of Life]]'''—including those found in Egyptian, Hindu, Scandinavian, Greek, Roman, and Christian traditions.
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Astrology|Astrology]]'''
-*'''[[Tree of Life:Tarot|Tarot and the Tree of Life]]'''—all 72 cards are represented, including the Major and Minor Arcana
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Decans|Decans]]'''
-*'''[[Tree of Life:Colors|Colors and the Tree of Life]]'''—each sephera and path has four "scales" of color: King, Queen, Emperor, and Empress
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Astrological Angels|Astrological Angels]]'''
-*'''[[Tree of Life:Elements|Elements and the Tree of Life]]'''—the "classical" elements, Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Godforms|Godforms]]'''
-*'''The Material Correspondences''':
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Tarot|Tarot]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Animals|Animals]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Colors|Colors]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Plants|Plants]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Elements|Elements]]'''
+*'''The Four Worlds'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:The Four Worlds|The Four Worlds]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Assiah|Correspondences of Assiah]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Yetzirah|Correspondences of Yetzirah]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Briah|Correspondences of Briah]]'''
+*'''Material Correspondences''':
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Animals|Animals]]'''<br/>
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Plants|Plants]]'''<br/>
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Precious Stones|Precious Stones]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Perfumes|Perfumes]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Drugs|Vegetable & Mineral Drugs]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Drugs|Drugs]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:The Human Body|The Human Body]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Metals|Metals]]'''
-*'''The Four Worlds'''
+*'''Magick &amp; Mysticism''':
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Heavens of Assiah|Heavens of Assiah]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Assiah|Assiah: God Names, Archangels, & Angels]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Briah|Briah: Divine Names, Angels, Choir of Angels, Palaces]]'''
-*'''Magick &amp; Mysticism''':
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Magical Weapons|Magical Weapons]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Magical Formulae|Magical Formulae]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Magical Powers|Magical Powers]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Parts of the Soul|Parts of the Soul]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Letters of the Name|The Letters of the Name]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:The Quarters|The Four Quarters]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Alchemy|Alchemy]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Letters of the Name|Tetragrammaton]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Alphabets|Alphabets]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Eastern Mysticism|Eastern Mysticism]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:A.'.A.'.|The Grades of the A.'.A.'.]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Chakras|Chakras]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Alchemy|Alchemy]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Infernals|Qliphoth & Infernals]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Pentagram & Hexagram|Pentagram & Hexagram]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Pentagram & Hexagram|Pentagram & Hexagram]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Hindu/Buddhist Mysticism|Hindu/Buddhist Mysticism]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:The Mansions of the Moon|The Mansions of the Moon]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Genii of the Twelve Hours|Genii of the Twelve Hours]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Judaica|Judaica]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Noble Eightfold Path|The Noble Eightfold Path]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Genii of the Twelve Hours|Genii of the Twelve Hours]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:Geomantic Intelligences|Geomantic Intelligences]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Lineal Figures & Geomancy|Lineal Figures of the Planets, etc., and Geomancy]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Lineal Figures &amp;amp; Geomancy|Lineal Figures & Geomancy]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Forty Buddhist Meditations|Forty Buddhist Meditations]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Figures related to Pure Number|Figures related to Pure Number]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:System of Taoism|System of Taoism]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Infernals|Qliphoth & Infernals]]'''
 **'''[[Tree of Life:The Perfected Man|The Perfected Man]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Figures related to Pure Number|Figures related to Pure Number]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Sepher Yetzirah|Sepher Yetzirah]]'''
-**'''[[Tree of Life:Legendary Orders of Being|Legendary Orders of Being]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Transcendental Morality|Transcendental Morality]]'''
+**'''[[Tree of Life:Legendary Orders of Being|Legendary Orders of Being]]'''
+==See also==
+*[[Qabalah]]
+*[[Hebrew]]
+*[[Hebrew Alphabet]]
 [[Category:Qabalah]]
 [[Category:Tree of Life]]