Author: Robin Fennelly [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: April 6th. 2014
Times Viewed: 730
The focus of these articles is not the Paths of the Tree, but some explanation of their energetic state and connective function from sphere to sphere is necessary. The 22 Paths that connect the Sephiroth act as conduits/ filters and refiners of the energies of the connecting spheres. The Spheres are the pure states of Being, and the Paths allow for the movement of energy between the pillars of Force and Form. On the evolved or “Middle” Path, they become the direct line that mirrors the adage “as above (Kether or the Divine) , so below” (Malkuth or Manifestation) .
For this series of articles, the inclusion of the connecting Paths of the Tree will be those that follow the Evolutionary Path of the Lightning Flash. The next Path of connection on ascending the tree is called the Hidden Path and is not assigned a number. It is the path of crossing the Great Abyss of Da’at having made choice to continue into the realms of the supernal spheres.
This is the path of connection between Chesed, the sphere so Mercy, great perspective and knowledge of the individualized, being unhindered by ego. This is the path of ultimate faith that allows the Divine energy inherent within to take hold of the reins and carry the soul back to its place of origin. As this path is traversed the cosmic mind and greater gnosis of purpose is held within the invisible sephira of Da’at and the test of faith occurs in the descent into the workings of the unrevealed mystery.
Keywords For the Sphere of Binah
Mother/Creatrix
Primordial Womb
Feminine Principle
Form
Contraction
The Energy of the Sphere
The Sphere of the Creation of Form
Having crossed the Abyss of Da’at, there is now a distinct and clear separation between the Supernals of Kether, Chokmah and Binah and all that lay below them. The Supernals are the creators of what is given form, essence, personality and life in the subsequent spheres below it. The final product of this creative emanation flows downward into the sphere of Malkuth and the physical manifest form.
Binah provides the necessary structure that supports and oversees the contraction and the confinement of the flood of force and flow that has emanated via Chokmah from the primary source of Kether. This is the action of “Divine Will to Form”. Binah is the vessel of creation that contains within the darkness of her waters the Divine Spark in preparation for its eventual initiatory experience of birth. This birthing is achieved through the cyclical energy of expansion and contraction, the expansive nature being the insemination from Chokmah and the contractive being the receptive and quickening application of Binah.
Within the energy of Binah we find the Great Mother/Creatrix, the archetypal womb through which all life is made manifest (Malkuth) . It is the nature of the male to provide the seed of life, but it is the feminine principle that gives it life, provides the space for gestation and ultimately releases the resultant manifest form into existence or being. It is that feminine principle that holds the primal form within the womb that is both void and full. The vessel that holds nothing also provides the space and potential for it to be filled. This dynamic of the feminine is expressed as a triune nature of water, light and reformation and She is called by the names of MARAH, AIMAH and AMA:
Marah/of the Sea
Binah in this form is the primordial waters that contain all of life in its formless state of potentiality. This is the space of the Neschamah or The Intuitive SELF. Within this fluid container flow the knowledge of and the complete understanding and gnosis of the properties and generative qualities of force being acted upon by temporary limitation of form. Even the great oceans have boundaries of shoreline to prevent the overtaking of a formless substance as well as to create the container within which sea life may thrive.
Another concept that often arises in conceptualization of this primal soup is the utter silence that is held. This is the powerful Silence that is deafening and overwhelming. The silence before life comes into being. This is the silence that holds the space within which manifestation may be quickened and brought to fruition. This is the Silence that is spoken of regarding magickal and mystical work. To be silent is to invite action and provide the opening to receptivity.
Aimah- Fertile/Light Mother
The Bright Mother is the giver of life. She is the ground that teems with the proper balance of nutrients that will produce the most bountiful of harvest. This is the energy of Binah when her fertility of creative effort is at its prime point. Flush and full from the force of flow from Chokmah and through the dynamic charge of Light giving way to matter, progeny is raised from the primal waters and issues forth into the care of the Dark Mother.
Ama- The Dark Mother/Crone
The Dark Mother is the restrictive nature of Binah. She is, when necessary the destroyer of the Life the Bright mother has bestowed. All endeavors do not go as planned, just as all life is not always viable. In the form of AMA, Binah becomes the selective creator. Issuing forth enough so that a choice and selection can be made from the strongest forms that hold the most potential for eventual outcome. She represents the empty womb awaiting revitalization; but holding onto the expressive charge of Life.
The Sanctified Consciousness
The energy of Binah is a state of Consciousness that understands the concepts that have gone into the creation of all manner of things. This is the consciousness that is the Church that holds the life of the church; the Temple that contains the essence of the beliefs and foundations of that belief; the Holy of Holies and the force that has consecrated and has raised the sacred energy to a place of sacredness. Binah is the origin of the form of the idea of consciousness and as such is the essence of that form as well as a state of arrival at that space of consciousness. She is both the ending and the beginning.
Location on the Tree
Having arrived at the level of the Supernals, there are greater levels of communication and collaboration between the three and the energy is one of cohesive singularity although differentiated. Each is directly impacted by the other and all affect the ultimate outcome of what flows out of Binah’s womb. They are inextricably interwoven having come from the same desire and urge towards creation of something more.
Binah is the pinnacle Sphere on the Pillar of Severity. On ascent, the pure thought and mind of Hod flows into the space of culling and reshaping in Geburah and continues in its refined back into the womb of its creation and place of deeper understanding in Binah. On descent, the flow of energy moves from an understanding of the requirements for manifestation into the quantifying realms of Geburah and finally arrives as the seed of pure inventive mind readied for filtering through Yesod in continued downward emanation.
Force (Chokmah) and Form (Binah) must work cohesively and the Sphere of Chesed serves as the Gateway to both Wisdom (Chokmah) and Understanding (Binah) . Having crossed this threshold through Da'at and approaching Binah, the realm of Pure Spirit has been entered. Binah provides the place of structure and organized application. Drawing from its connection to Chokmah via the 14th Path of the Lightning Flash, the two interact together balancing these highly refined energies in readiness for reunion and regrouping into the singular nature of the Source point of Kether.
The Briatic Color of Binah: Black
Any artist will confirm that Black is not the absence of color but all the colors contained in a state waiting for light to be shone and reflected upon it. What happens when you shine a light across a seemingly black surface? You can easily see the blues, purples, deep reds, and more reflected in shimmering dots across that surface. These are the emanations of the other spheres that sit below the supernal of the Great Mother. And, within her all are contained and given life.
The Four Worlds
Each of the spheres is assigned four colors in accord with which of the Four Worlds that sphere’s energy is correlating to. In some readings you will find them identified by the nomenclature of a Royal Scale.
The King Scale, which correlates to the Divine World of Atziluth
The Queen Scale, which correlates to the Archangelic World of Briah
The Prince Scale, which correlates to the Angelic World of Yetzirah. This color is a combination of the King and Queen Scale colors of the sphere. In this way, you could think of Divinity (Atziluth) sending froth its Divine Messenger (Archangel of Briah) to command and guide the work to be done by the Angels (Yetzirah) that will extend into manifest creation (Assiah) .
The Princess Scale, which correlates to the Manifest World of Assiah. This color is the deepest hues and tones of the combination of the colors preceding it. This is also the densest form of those combined colors (often with flecks of light corresponding to the King or Queen scale colors) .
The Expression of Binah in the Four Worlds
Atziluth- The World of Archetypes- Deity
King Scale: Crimson
The Creatrix Goddesses
In the sphere of Binah, Atziluth is exemplified in the archetypical energy of those Deity from whose being worlds are given the spark of life. These Creation Goddess are considered the Aloath Elohim or the Mother of Mothers. They initialize the realization of the Higher Self and the potential for exchange and interchange between Lower and Higher SELF. They act as the mother who wants the best for her child and prods and urges that child towards its highest potential and eventual understanding of its own nature. The Goddesses
Isis is the path of memory of wholeness and reassembling the parts to make the whole so that Osiris may transform all who pass through the Gates of the Underworld. Nuit is the body of the heavens that gives birth to all matter of the Cosmos as Geb is the sustaining Earth seed that enlivens and is enlivened by the Creatrix. The energy of Shakti with her Lord Shiva in union is the fire and heat of the first Divine spark that quickens the primordial waters towards creation from creation.
Briah – The Creation of a Concept- Archangelic
Queen Scale: Black
Tzaphkiel- “The Beholder of God ”
The Archangel Tzaphkiel (not a typo and not to be confused with Tzadkiel of Chesed) is called " The Beholder of God". It is his province to observe and contemplate the Divinity of matter. It is through this channel that God and Man can observe one another. Tzaphkiel acts to focus the intent of scrutiny where it may be best used towards the realization of what the creator has created and what the creation sees of Himself reflected through the force that created him.
Knowledge is gained through observation and action is upheld by knowing what that action will bring. Tzaphkiel looks from all perspectives, sees all and then forms that knowing into what may transformed by Binah into deep understanding. To see the true face of God is to see the image of our Divine Selves and ultimately to bring that divinity to a place of understanding within our own being.
Yetzirah- Forming the Image of the Concept- Astral/Angelic World
Prince Scale: Dark Brown
The Angels are the Aralim or “The Thrones”
The Aralim are the strength and stability that is the necessary foundation upon which Binah can build. Through their dynamic of energy the individual may come to an understanding of how to build and form their own thrones and temples of power within. It is through the Aralim that one learns and masters authority over and of the self so that a higher form of this SELF may come to a place of selflessness. They are the upholders of the many containers through which the energy of Binah may continue to move in a stabilized and controlled way.
Assiah- Active/Material World- Manifestation
Princess Scale: Grey flecked with Pink
Saturn
Saturn is the planet of applied boundaries, limitations and restriction to create form. These are the requirements of initiatory experience. The structure provided enables the taking of those lessons learned by way of other life time experience or experience within this lifetime and reforming them, restating them and then setting up the necessary limiting form to make us confront them head on. Every initiation works to provoke a ‘death and rebirth’ of mind, body soul or way of life. This is the Saturn of Binah. This is the womb before rebirth/manifestation, the barrier that must be passed and the challenge unrealized and incomplete. The struggle that teaches us the most about who we are and what is our greater purpose. What greater struggle is there then birth? The unsettling nature of being separated from She who is comfort, love, care free and blissful existence into the unknown and unknowable. The fear that arises when taking the leap of faith into the light of manifest form? This is the sorrow of Binah. Losing that what has been held closely within and urging it on towards its own place of creation knowing that all will not complete its intended course, yet the release must be made nonetheless.
The Spiritual Experience of Binah: The Vision Of Sorrow
The spiritual experience of Binah is that of Sorrow. Sorrow having been borne from the deep underlying understanding of the greater principles and concepts that are part of the evolutionary process of creating manifest form. It could be considered the worrisome foreboding that is experienced by the mother as each child leaves the protection and guidance of her wisdom to venture forth into the world. Because the mother has knowledge and understanding of what that transition may hold in future events, there is a deep sorrow as well as joy that her beloved child will endure the trials and tribulations of becoming self-sufficient, independent and an individualized being. This is the sorrow of the Great Mother for all the seeds of life she will initialize and set forth towards individual form.
The Illusion of the Sphere: Death
The illusion of Binah is that of Death, finite and complete. This would be the natural vice of this sphere as there is so much life and birth contained within her. For those who do not see the cyclic nature of the mysteries, death is the final chapter. But if you probe deeper you will find that within the decayed body of the lifeless, other forms of life thrive and continue on. All that returns to the Mother, whether it be the Mother Earth, The Cosmic Mother or the human Mother returns to a state of rebirth, nurture and new life. Death is at once the final and the beginning stage of all living matter, for in order that something new may burst forth, something must give way.
The Magickal Image: "A Mature Woman. A Matron "
An excellent example of the magickal image for Binah is that of an elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair. You can easily visualize her rocking back and forth as she reflects on her life’s work, achievements, disappointments and perhaps even thinking about her loved ones and the children she may have nurtured. There is a regal quality in this image and great power that is both subtle and overwhelming at the emotional level.
This is the energy of the Crone, the wise woman who has lessons to teach and will not always do so in a loving manner because she has the wisdom of past experience as her guide. She knows that life is difficult, but within those difficulties lie the great opportunities for complete transformation and in this space of comfort, we may all embrace the mortality of our existence and welcome the embrace of the Great Mother.
Personal Study: The Living Tree-Journaling
This exercise is intended to make you more aware of the impact of holding onto those areas and things within our lives that are no longer productive and using the space of deeper insight to birth a new plan of action.
Facing Your Place of Surrender:
Find a place where you will not be disturbed and that can be made very dark. It should be a place of quiet as well. Set aside at least 30 minutes of time to be held in the cocoon of this space. You may set an alarm for the 30-minute period, but be sure that it is not jarring in sound or pitch. If there is not adequate darkness use an eye mask or blindfold. If there is not adequate quiet put on a pair of good headphones or earplugs.
Sitting in your selected space, take a few deep breaths allowing each to completely fill your lungs and then completely exhale. Envision any cares, concerns or issues of the day that you brought into the space with you, gently falling away with each exhalation, leaving you lighter and more relaxed. When your breath has established an easy and gentle rhythm allow your conscious focus to move up into the space of the third eye. Envision a blank screen in this space.
Now with purpose and intent declare that you will rest in the darkness and quiet listening for the breath and heartbeat of the great mother to call you forth. Do not force this and do not be discouraged if nothing appears to happen. You may need to do this meditation several times before your mind allows enough of the chatter to move out and the space of silence to fill the void.
Hold this intent for as long as you are able, expecting nothing more than the breath of silence and the heartbeat of the giver of life. Be sure to record any impressions that you have. Often the first sounds you hear are those of your own heartbeat or the gentle pattern of your breath. This is as it should be and soon those sounds will blend and merge into the Source of that life. You will know when you have completely surrendered to Her gentle embrace, as it will be a moment of profound peace and anticipation of what mystery may be revealed.
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