My studies on the Tree of Life

[spiritwind]

As I sit here talking to my team, those energies, beings that have been with me throughout time, accompanying me through all my experiences, I feel great love. Abiding affection. What is love? Love it seems, is defined differently by everyone. For me it has a state of just being, radiating, but also a dynamic state of interacting with whatever environment it finds itself in. Many of my team members, it seems, are along for the ride, to assist me on my inner quest. To help me constantly be in a state of processing the environment through a different lens. It is certainly different than what I am perceiving as the prevailing lens of society as processed through the systems of public education, religion, commerce, media, and other societal preoccupations.

Since I work with the archetypes of astrology, Kabbalah, and tarot, I will use these archetypes for examples of my life journey, as I currently perceive it. I have been thinking much about the Hebrew letter, mem, lately. It's symbol is water, associated with the Hanged Man in the major arcana of the tarot (the Lone Man in the deck I use). It is number 12 (3), but it is actually the thirteenth card, the first card being zero. There is a lot of hidden numerology in this system of understanding that could keep one occupied for a long time.

You can start anywhere and use these archetypes to tell a story. As mem, water, began to go her own way she ( freedom, movement, the Divine Feminine), must have been perceived as a threat by the status quo, thus was hanged because she could no longer be bought off. She is followed by Death - the letter nun - symbol the fish. The age of Pisces, the age of sacrifice and martyrdom, as well as illusion and self deception. The dark night of the soul. To me this is a passage on the way to greater self understanding that many of us are under-going. 

There was more than one tree in the garden, you know. The tree of choice between good and evil, and the tree of life. I would rather eat from the tree of life, myself. To me, the study of these systems together have assisted me in a process of integration, by learning to harmonize the conflicts and imbalances within, by a process of self-reflection on the inner contradictions, so that I might walk a more balanced path that lies between 2 roads, each having their own pitfalls. Learning to recognize my own shadows and painful hidden areas of my psyche, I thought I might shed more light on the path I choose to take.

I have my doubts, now, about some of the organizations that I involved myself in over my life, as part of my search for understanding. A certain mystery school was offering 3 day classes as part of their required curriculum for eventually being able to become a facilitator of these same classes and create a spiritual business of sorts. These classes were not cheap. They also supposedly initiated each participant into the Great White Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Light. Looking back now I have thought about why I chose to participate. The primary reason is because they came highly recommended by someone I had taken many Reiki classes from, and also because I peculiarly had the money to pay for them at that time. 

I talked to someone about a year ago about these classes and instead of providing an answer was asked a question instead, "how do you catch a mouse"? I've thought a lot about that answer ever since. But I don't want to get too off track. 

The thing is, I learned about approaching the world in a more ancient way of looking at things through my involvement in a women's drumming circle where we experimented as a group with many things. I had a couple of shamanic type healing sessions involving what is called soul retrieval. I also a couple years before had went to the mountains to fast for 3 days without food, to camp out and contemplate my purpose in life. These two things had totally brought back what to me is a natural understanding and way of looking at life more holistically and through symbols. I also intensely studied astrology during this time, and bought my first and only tarot deck, Tarot of the Old Path. 

I worked with these separately for years, deepening my understanding along the way. So by the time I took these classes I was ready to learn how to somehow tie these three systems together, the tarot, astrology, and the more shamanic worldview of seeing the world through an experiential understanding of the symbols in your life. So, despite the fact that I now question the wisdom of my involvement with this mystery school organization (which by the way splintered shortly after my involvement), because I now know more about what is actually going on behind the scenes in more ways than one, I can honestly say my personal application of some of this system of understanding did greatly benefit me on several levels.

After I took a series of classes/workshops I got the opportunity to take a year study course on the Kabbalah. There were about 6-7 of us, I think, but only 2 of us continued throughout the year. We studied each of the spheres on the tree, accompanied by meditation, self reflection, and journaling. After the year was over my life had went through many changes, and I felt noticeably stronger in my being, in a good way. I wanted more, so I then continued my studies with 2 more years of path working, connecting the spheres together with 22 paths. Throughout this 2 years I learned to connect and learn the meanings of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, along with an astrological component, as well as an associated tarot card, of which there are conveniently 22 in number. It was for me like feeling pieces of the larger whole coming together.

I strongly tend to think that all of these systems were, at one time, part of a larger body of understanding that was commonly studied throughout life in much earlier times in Atlantis. After the fall, these systems got broken into separate disconnected schools of learning, and the ability to put it all together was lost. There is even a sacred geometry aspect to this as well, which can tie in nicely with quantum physics and the tube torus. I also believe this system, when studied earnestly, must be done with a clear understanding of the need to reflect deeply when aspects of negative ego surface. When I look back at the early pioneers in the occult studies, many of them became quite unstable over time, and some went downright mad. It seems if you are not motivated by a need to alleviate the suffering that you see around you and only live for your own self aggrandizement, it most likely will not produce benefits to your overall well being, and may in fact take those who are already close to the edge straight off the cliff. 

I have definitely noticed that throughout my life I have not been able to take the road well traveled. It just didn't work for me, I was miserable. I still have just as many problems to solve in life, I just don't feel as disempowered by them as I used to. I also feel even less of a need to conform, to think, be, dress, act, like anyone else. I am more comfortable in my own skin, most of the time. Maybe there was some genetic tinkering in there to make me more sensitive than the average person, because what mildly bothered some was creating internal anxiety of astronomical proportions for me. If I physically could have been an alcoholic, I would have. I just don't tolerate it well. I must be allergic to narcotics, because even prescribed pain medication didn't have the addicts pleasurable side effects, they made me itch and feel yucky. So escape by drugs and alcohol didn't work for me. 

I had to do something to help heal those unconscious wounds from beyond my current ability to re(mem)ber even where some of them originated. So, maybe it's part of the symbolic gesture of putting the pieces back together that has helped me put my real everyday life in to some kind of workable perspective. It's like a dynamic constantly changing process, but to me it's like learning to dream a new dream, a dream without so much suffering and lack of honor that we see so prevalent today. A dream that is co-creative, honoring all the multitude of life forms with which we are surrounded by everyday. A dream that understands the interconnectedness of all things. Instead of a web of deception, I want to re(mem)ber how to weave the dream of truth and love and life.

I am going to dig out my notes and, over time, hope to share part of my journey of exploration into this ancient system, which I believe like many things, has been greatly maligned simply because anything that can heal can also harm it appears. And these interrelated systems of understanding have not been taught together so much of how it all fit together was lost. I believe it can be reclaimed and that all it takes is a dedicated process of re(mem)bering. I didn't plan it this way on any conscious level, but that is how it has unfolded for me.

I'm not a computer wiz, and everything I do takes me a lot of time, but I will also look for a good graphic of the Tree with all the associations with the Hebrew alphabet, the tarot and astrology to make it easier to follow what I'm talking about. I've been up and down the tree a few times, but if nothing else it will serve as a good refresher for myself, and hopefully someone else will gain something as well. I guess any good tree needs a bit of pruning now and then, to encourage new growth.

[Robin]

That was beautiful, spiritwind. I can tell that you are a beautiful soul, and I resonate greatly with everything that you just said. I, too, am a student of the Kabbalah and Tarot. Integrating astrology and alchemy into this beautiful ancient tradition is empowering, as it teaches one to understand the sense-of-self. Long ago, it was common knowledge to understand the Kabbalah, but as you've said, the fall of human consciousness after Atlantis turned this teaching into a mystery tradition, only sought by those who have the will to understand the deepest layers of what it means to be human.

I would love to read more about your journey and what knowledge you are willing to share. To be a student of the Kabbalah means going down a path of perpetual learning. Nobody can teach another on how to understand the fabric of their soul, but a guide can provide a blueprint on how to unlock the key. I have much learning yet to do, but I'm a quick learner and thirsty to connect more pathways.

[sandy]

Looking forward to your continued sharing, spiritwind.

[spiritwind]

Hopefully I have uploaded this picture correctly.




A couple of good books I found useful is the Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of our Lives by Ray Grasse and Dynamics of the Unconscious by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas.

[spiritwind]

Posted by SamwiseTheBrave (here)
That was beautiful, spiritwind. I can tell that you are a beautiful soul, and I resonate greatly with everything that you just said. I, too, am a student of the Kabbalah and Tarot. Integrating astrology and alchemy into this beautiful ancient tradition is empowering, as it teaches one to understand the sense-of-self. Long ago, it was common knowledge to understand the Kabbalah, but as you've said, the fall of human consciousness after Atlantis turned this teaching into a mystery tradition, only sought by those who have the will to understand the deepest layers of what it means to be human.

I would love to read more about your journey and what knowledge you are willing to share. To be a student of the Kabbalah means going down a path of perpetual learning. Nobody can teach another on how to understand the fabric of their soul, but a guide can provide a blueprint on how to unlock the key. I have much learning yet to do, but I'm a quick learner and thirsty to connect more pathways.

Thank you for your kind words, SamwisetheBrave. Any insights you've gained along the way are also welcome. You are right about the life long path of learning. I wouldn't have it any other way. I would also love to hear anything you might have intuited about Daath, the sphere above Tiphareth that the paths do not connect to, the 11th sphere. I think there are many secrets to be revealed in the study of this hidden, in a way, sphere on the tree. I can't help ask why it is disconnected and if it has always been this way. Eleven is half of 22, which again is significant. Even the number 32 and 64 can be played around with, and makes me think of the I Ching. Anyway, I think the study of this type can reveal much ancient knowledge, but sometimes it has to be teased out and intuited to some extent. I can also say that my awareness of synchronistic events has become much more common over time. Meaningful symbols seem ever present, when you start to look around and notice.

I just realized that when you add Daath to the equation you end up with that interesting number, 33 (11 spheres and 22 paths connecting them).

[Robin]

Posted by spiritwind (here)
A couple of good books I found useful is the Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of our Lives by Ray Grasse and Dynamics of the Unconscious by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas.

Some other great books are The Qabalistic Tarot by Robert Wang and Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Regardie.

[Robin]

Another configuration to consider is to place the cards on the Sephiroth themselves! I agree with Mark Passio's correspondences, so I'll just post a couple images from his website:

This is the Microscopic Tree. These cards represent the inner consciousness and the soul:


This is the Macroscopic Tree. These cards represent the perceived reality the soul experiences:


As you can see, Mark chose to place The Fool card in the Daath Sephirot of the Micro Tree, and The World card in the Daath Sephirot of the Macro Tree.

As far myself, I've learned everything that I know about the Tarot from J.R.R. Tolkien. I even have his version of the Tree of Life tattooed on my chest!

[spiritwind]

Posted by SamwiseTheBrave (here)
Another configuration to consider is to place the cards on the Sephiroth themselves! I agree with Mark Passio's correspondences, so I'll just post a couple images from his website:

This is the Microscopic Tree. These cards represent the inner consciousness and the soul:
Attachment 28569

This is the Macroscopic Tree. These cards represent the perceived reality the soul experiences:
Attachment 28570

As you can see, Mark chose to place The Fool card in the Daath Sephirot of the Micro Tree, and The World card in the Daath Sephirot of the Macro Tree.

As far myself, I've learned everything that I know about the Tarot from J.R.R. Tolkien. I even have his version of the Tree of Life tattooed on my chest!

Wow Samwise, I have never even played around with different placements from what I originally studied and really like these placements and how they feel. And placing the Fool where Daath is on the micro and the World where Daath is on the macro is very interesting to think about. I don't know if you've heard of the Pattern on the Trestleboard. You might find them interesting if you haven't heard of them.

0. All the power that ever was or will be is here now.
1. I am a center of expression for the primal will to good, which eternally creates and sustains the universe.
2. Through me it's unfailing wisdom takes form in thought and word.
3. Filled with understanding of it's perfect law, I am guided moment by by moment along the path of liberation.
4. From the exhaust less riches of it's limitless substance, I draw all things needful, both spiritual and material.
5. I recognizes the undeviating justice in all the circumstances of my life.
6. In all things great and small I see the beauty of the divine expression.
7. Living from that will, supported by it's unfailing wisdom and understanding, mine is the victorious life.
8. I look forward with confidence to the perfect realization of the eternal splendor of the limitless light.
9. In thought and word and deed, I rest my life from day to day, upon the firm foundation of eternal being.
10. The kingdom of spirit is embodied in my flesh.

[spiritwind]

I guess I'm on a roll today. One last image I would like to share before calling it quits for tonight. I find this one to be quite intriguing and have not seen it represented when discussing this topic before.

[spiritwind]

The above image is interesting to me, in case you didn't notice, because all the primary numbers are there, easily traced out. I saw a video by Stan Tenen on the Hebrew alphabet in which he demonstrated the ability to create shadow figures of each of the 22 letters by holding your hand/fingers in different positions. If you happen to have a copy of the Chumash you can look for yourself to see that if you take the first letter and skip 49 in Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, it spells TORH. Then in Leviticus it's every seven letters and it spells YHWH. I found that to be very interesting as well.

So, I managed to find fairly decent images of the major arcana of the deck I have used for 20 years. We'll start with the first four. What follows is from my condensed notes and assessment of each of these paths as I explored them.




Aleph – Ox
Tarot card: the Fool
Astrological affinity: Uranus
Life breath/creative energy/holds the potential of future possibilities/not really aware yet that one has begun a journey away from home and that the journey may be fraught with danger and pitfalls/naïve optimism.





Beth – House
Tarot card: the Magician
Astrological affinity: Mercury
Concentration/attention/body as vehicle through which the life-force/soul expresses itself/transforming ideas into action by use of will.





Gimmel – Camel
Tarot card: High Priestess
Astrological affinity: Moon
Receptivity/memory/bridge between individual and home, crosses the abyss, represents intuition and ability to balance opposites.





Daleth – Door
Tarot Card: Empress
Astrological affinity: Venus
Creative imagination/bounty of nature/potential forces in the creative process/the Great Mother- fruitfulness, protection, what you get is determined by which door you open.

[spiritwind]

This time we're going to cover the next five, working from the top down. After I finish posting the basics then I can go back and give a few personal life experiences on how some of this played out for me, how the energies expressed themselves in my life. Of course, each individual will have their own unique experiences and this system can be used without necessarily following someone else's method. In fact, I would encourage you to develop your own, as I have, even though I started with what was taught to me by someone else.




Hei – Window
Tarot Card: Emperor
Astrological affinity: Aries
Reason/vision/represents windows of opportunity and courage to act with discipline and self control/authority figure.





Vau – Nail
Tarot Card: High Priest (Hierophant)
Astrological affinity: Taurus
Hearing/true insight and revelation/Joins together wisdom and mercy, tradition and social mores/ancient and hidden knowledge, often acts in a conventional and predictable manner.





Zayin – Sword
Tarot Card: Lovers
Astrological affinity: Gemini
Discrimination/harmonizing opposites/beginning of intellectual analysis/attraction and choice between eating from tree of duality/good and evil or tree of eternal life/love.





Cheth - Fence
Tarot Card: Mastery (Chariot)
Astrological affinity: Cancer
Self mastery/using the higher mind to control the personality as one moves forward in life and learn to direct the flow of sub-conscious forces.





Teth – Serpent
Tarot Card: Strength
Astrological affinity: Leo
Kundalini/learning to awaken in a slow methodical manner leads to balanced strength, cannot be rushed/addresses physical vitality and strength of mind.

[spiritwind]

Here is the next four.




Yod – Hand
Tarot Card: Hermit
Astrological affinity: Virgo
Discerning the presence of God, he who seeks the spiritual over the material often walks alone, acceptance of cosmic law, carrier of higher knowledge.





Kaph – Palm
Tarot Card: Wheel of Fortune
Astrological affinity: Jupiter
Where chance and destiny collide, new beginnings/motion and change, the chance to experience the full spectrum of possibilities, uncertain outcome.





Lamed – Ox Goad
Tarot Card: Justice
Astrological affinity: Libra
Recognizing the undeviating justice in all circumstances while still choosing to move forward, development of faith, learning to use good judgement.





Mem – Water
Tarot Card: Lone Man (Hanged Man)
Astrological affinity: Neptune
Self at peace, going with the flow of the holy spirit rather than the ego/suspended mind/the journey upriver back to source.

[Pam]

spiritwind, I do feel such a connection and understanding to your posts. I really appreciate it when you share of yourself and your life on this forum. I believe you reside in the pacific northwest and I do as well. I will be looking forward to anything you share regarding this topic in the future.

[noprophet]

o synchronicity. Lots of northwest kabalists, maybe it's the trees

<3

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qroxcFynB6I

[spiritwind]

We're over half way there now. The next four are somewhat intimidating by their appearance, but as we all know, appearances can be deceiving.




Nun – Fish
Tarot Card: The Close (Death)
Astrological affinity: Scorpio
Transition, things are not always what they seem/transformation of consciousness/release of energy, endings are also beginnings, time to let go of that which is no longer useful.





Samech: Support
Tarot Card: The Guide (Temperance)
Astrological affinity: Sagittarius
The guidance and support one comes to count on, protects and buffers one from the sea of extremes that must be experienced to progress along the path, derives from developing a relationship with the higher self through meditation and moderation.





Aiyin – Eye
Tarot Card: Temptation (The Devil)
Astrological affinity: Capricorn
Discrimination must be developed to recognize truth from illusion and the tricks negative ego can play, justifications we make to cover our shame/over emphasis on the physical, responsibility and discipline as keys to freedom.





Peh – Mouth
Tarot Card: The Tower
Astrological affinity: Mars
Awakening to new truths/foundations built on false assumptions are destined to crumble, reveals false securities/liberation gained by consciously recognizing and releasing outworn beliefs.

[spiritwind]

Home stretch here.





Tzaddi – Fish Hook
Tarot Card: Star
Astrological affinity: Aquarius
Joy, optimism and peace is experienced as one taps into the river of love and higher consciousness/desire to serve and give to others in honor of the blessings received, lighting up from within.





Qoph – Back of Head
Tarot Card: Illusion (Moon)
Astrological affinity: Pisces
The moon is actually a reflection of the suns light/seeing through the illusion by understanding the emotions, organizing the sub-conscious, instinctive self by forging a conscious relationship with the higher self, intuitive guidance.





Resh: Head
Tarot Card: Sun
Astrological affinity: Sun
The light revealed/regenerated humanity/beginnings and endings – the particle and the wave/innocence that comes from trust in a loving higher order of intelligence/life power, clarity.





Shin: Tooth
Tarot Card: Karma (Judgment)
Astrological affinity: Pluto
The charge of judgment must be acknowledged and transmuted on all levels, physical, mental, spiritual and emotional for total balance to be achieved, and the ongoing process this implies/uncovering the true self.

[spiritwind]

And all of these energies get funneled down into the World/Reality/3D experience (notice she is female).




Tav – Sign of Cross
Tarot Card: The World
Astrological affinity: Saturn
Use of limitation in the world of form, the top rung of one world being the bottom one of the next/as within – so without, as above – so below/blueprint for building, recognition of cycles and elemental forces.

[spiritwind]

And here is the Tree of Life as it looks within the Flower of Life. This is just my take on it, but my feeling is that the tree was purposely altered (as part of our genetic dumbing down), and that there is something missing. I believe at this time that it has to do with Daath, the 11th sphere, the one that remains hidden. The door is there, it's just not easy to find. They purposely did not connect the pathways to it and we have to forge our own pathway to the hidden door. The seed of life is the pattern after which all biological lifeforms are manifest. It is literally in each cell of our bodies.

[Robin]

Thanks again for sharing this, spiritwind. The Kabbalah is one of the most beautiful teachings on the study of the soul journey, and hardly anybody wants to uptake the journey by studying it, and most people don't even know that the Kabbalah exists. I still have much to learn, and I know that it is a journey that takes many lifetimes to come to a higher understanding. Still, I'm doing my best. I'm currently writing a book which the Kabbalah is going to be a large part of, and I'm finding it extremely difficult to communicate the integral messages of the ancient teaching.

It is such an intricate teaching that makes it very difficult to introduce beginners to the teaching without turning them away due to the complexity. And honestly, this is something that everybody needs to be aware of, but I also respect that everybody is on their own spiritual journey.

What I know about the Kabbalah comes mainly through the teachings of the Golden Dawn. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's system is beautiful, and it is sad that this knowledge isn't commonplace within society. I'm intrigued about your special classes, spiritwind. The Golden Dawn also advocates long periods of reflection up to nine months before engaging in the next level of study, not unlike the method that you undertook.

Perhaps you could provide information on this thread of where you got your information from, so others could benefit? Are you a member of the Golden Dawn...?

Robin

[spiritwind]

I laughed out loud SamWise, when I read your question at the end of your post. No, I am not a member of the Golden Dawn. There was a so called mystery school that swept through the area pretty thoroughly where I live. I took classes, as I said, in 2003, and so did a whole bunch of other people, many of them Reiki Practitioners and massage therapists. One of the teachers of these classes, who was also a family therapist, offered the path working structure which provided the early framework for my studies. I'm not sure where he came up with this. We had a telephone session once a month for 22 months, covering one path each month. I don't know if he converted to Judaism or not, but he participated in the ritual daily reading of the Torah. I bought a deck of the major arcana that were un-colored, and as we discussed the energies etc. that were associated with each path, I colored my card, thereby putting my own personal energy into the card. I did not follow the prescribed colors the book said to use. I am kind of independent to the core. 

I had a habit throughout this period of time to draw a bath every day with the card of the month handy, and spend about a half hour contemplating whatever materials I had read to have fresh in my mind the various symbols. I drew and read information about each of the Hebrew letters. I spent time thinking about the astrological association, the numerological, the color, the tone. I thought about what each of the arcana had come to mean to me in readings, having already worked with them for 10 years. This way of study I came up with on my own, although I am sure many of the materials and books I read were either indirectly or directly associated with the materials that were used by the Golden Dawn. For instance, I read Israel Regardie's book, Tree of Life. I also read many of Ted Andrews books (I actually got to meet him in person at a workshop in Seattle).

As to why I have such an interest, I have considered several possibilities. I am told my father was a Jewish attorney, although I have little to go on. But there is that thing about memory being passed through our DNA. I also believe I had a lifetime or more where this was well known information freely available to everyone (yes, back in the age of Atlantis). But so far, I only have fairly clear recollections of being a nun in the Middle Ages who abandoned my children to their abusive father (for which I feel guilt), a pioneer woman married to a preacher, and a young boy who took care of goats and spent a great deal of time alone moving the goats to forage. I remember having a high fever and being very ill just before passing at the age of about 9 in that lifetime. I have a few more, but they are not as clear.

Anyway, hope that answers your question. As for the commentary under each of the images of the major arcana, that is from my own personal notes, not from any book. I would have to agree with you about the difficulty of trying to explain Kabbalah to someone else. In fact, I remember not having a clue and still find it difficult to convey to others it's potential value. I think a lot of it has to do with how you apply the information as well, as like I said earlier, just taking the best of what's out there and developing your own system might be the most meaningful.