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Hug a Tree of Life (and kiss a Sephirah)
by Mark Havenner
Have you ever just thrown your hands up
in the air and asked whoever may be
listening, "What in the hell am I doing
with my life?" Or maybe, "What in the
hell is the meaning of this?" Or, "Where
in the hell am I going?" Or, "Where in
the hell did I come from?" Or perhaps
you didn't throw your hands up and use an expletive
but idly wondered those questions and others. Some
may say that it is natural to do so, and others may even
call you a philosopher for thinking of the questions.
Still others may say nothing at all and instead hand
you the instructions.
And just who are these people who have the
instructions to life? Who answers your otherwise
rhetorical ponderings with a casual gesture to some
geometrical drawing? If they are the people I'm
thinking of, they would be Kabbalists. Also known as
Qabalists. And Cabalists. They could also be
Hermetics. The instructions to life, according to those
that point at an oddly appealing geometric drawing, is
the Ets haChayim.
The Tree of Life.
This is not just any Tree of Life, mind you.
This is not to be confused with the sacred tree put near
shrines honoring the goddess Asherah in ancient
Syrian culture. Nor should it be mistaken for
the ancient Egyptians tree of Saosis that brought Isis
and Osiris into being. It is also not the same as the
world tree, the Yggdrasil, of Norse religion. Some may
argue that the Tree of Life represents the one in the
Garden of Eden of Judeo-Christian fame, but just as
many think they are completely unrelated.
The Tree of Life in the Kabbalistic sense is a
blueprint of the universe. It is a way to break all things
down to its nuts and bolts and ascertain all things from
creation itself to humanity and ultimately the divine. It
is also a roadmap of sorts that can direct the mystic
through certain kiosks of understanding until the
mystic at last figures "it" out.
If one were to take a glance at the common
diagram associated with the Tree of Life, one would
see a series of circles connected in geometric
symmetry. If you squint, it looks like a tree. The
circles look like fruits and the paths between the
circles look like branches. And it is big and bushy,
sprouting from one circle at the bottom. Its tree-like
appearance symbolizes the ten attributes of God. Or, if
you are a mystic, the ten attributes of the divine.
Yes, there are only ten.
1. Crown (or Knowledge depending upon your point
of view)
2. Wisdom
3. Understanding
4. Kindness
5. Severity
6. Adornment
7. Victory
8. Majesty
9. Foundation
10. Kingdom
These aspects of God, called the Sephirot
(Sephirah is singular) also correspond to the different
stages of the creation of the universe and consequently
the different aspects of the universe. Really though, it
is a roadmap. So the next time someone tries to find
God, open up the glove box and show them the Tree of
Life.
Road Movie to Heaven
Got the bags packed. Stopped at the grocery
store and bought sodium-enriched cheesy residual
potato substance. Bubbly soda in a cooler. A CD mix
with Pink Floyd and Barenaked Ladies.
Sunglasses. A full tank of gas. A Tree of
Life. You are ready to go find God.
You are in the driveway still and
although Google Maps may know where you are,
compared to God you are nowhere. This is your home
and you know it really well, but by staying there you
are no closer to finding God. It is a starting place, for
sure, but when the trip
is over, you can come
back. You will be
transformed though
and having been on the
road trip will know
God and perhaps he
will have you in his
blackberry and come
by to play a little Halo
on Saturdays.
This is Malkuth, the
Kingdom. The
Shekhinah, or your
dwelling. Although it
is the bottom of the
Tree of Life it is also,
in many ways, the top.
It is the place you are
most familiar: all
matter and the physical
universe. However,
when one goes far
enough it is the same
as the mystical
state of knowledge.
After the journey you
are home again, but
wiser for it and a
whole new journey can
begin.
Which Interstate?
Your house (Malkuth) is centrally located. You
can go one of three basic ways to get to God. You
could go straight there from where you are. It's an
easy trip with no real mountain passes or potholes to
speak of. You may see some stuff in the distance but it
won't be all that exciting or educational. That's the
aleph, or the Pillar of Mildness. If you take the western
route to God you'll find flooded roads, rocky crags,
and difficult mountain passes. That's the kav smol or
the Pillar of Severity. The eastern route is a beautiful
oceanic and forest drive that is sunny and the type of
road you take with the convertible top down. That's
the kav yamin, the Pillar of Mercy.
This is a road trip, right? Shouldn't you take
the most scenic route? You may think that would be
the eastern road, but why not get the whole experience
of it? You could crisscross between the various routes
and see all there is to see. This path is the Flaming
Sword: the divine way
of the Tree of Life. The
way you are supposed to
go so you can experience
both the severe and
merciful of creation.
So you'll start your
journey straight up along
the aleph to your first
stop. The suburbs. You
will likely need to stop
and get some gas here,
but mostly you need to
decide which way to go:
the severe route or the
merciful one. You could
keep going straight, but
that would be too boring.
This place is the
Yesod, the Foundation.
You are transitioning
from matter to
consciousness and have
left the light pollution of
the city enough to see the
stars and planets. It is
here where all the
invisible forces of your
universe are at play and
you can see the city of
Malkuth from a distant
and broader perspective.
You can go left or right and decide left,
because that's the route God charted out and who are
you to blow against the wind?
Snow Chains
As you leave Yesod you leave civilization.
There is very little out this way to help us out in a
bind. That's not great news because you have to go
over a gnarly mountain pass with lots of snow. The
Flaming Sword took us down the severe path first and
so like it or not, you have to deal with it. Mountains
are beautiful in their own
right. You could
shake your fists at it
or recognize its
importance and adapt or
methods. Time to break out the
snow chains so you can safely drive
over this thing.
This is the Hod, or the
Majesty. It is the path into
consciousness
where you are
overwhelmed
by the power
of creation and
must turn to a
submissive role
to understand
it. You knew
things would
happen along
this path but
now the
concepts have
manifested into
a form that
must be dealt
with in one
way or another.
This is the
place where your journey moves
from fantasy to reality, when you
actualize your thoughts and
intentions. The severity of the
situation first presents itself.
The good news is, this is
just the beginning and you are on
your way to less stressful parts of
the trip.
You Did It!
You are exhausted. What a
mess that Yesod was. No amount of
coffee is helping. And besides, the
more coffee you drink the more you
have to stop. As you cross over the
plains into more friendly country
you feel like pulling over and
sleeping. Or just turning around. I
mean, really . . . is this trip worth
it? If mountain passes are so
problematic what will the final
phases hold?
Wait a minute. This isn't
just any road trip. You are trying to
find God! The ultimate creation!
You are in this to learn Everything.
Why would you give up so easily?
Would Jesus, Buddha or
Mohammed have given up? What if
Ghandi just threw in the towel and
whined about the British being
mean? Not us! You are better than
that. You are on a mission from
God! You just conquered a huge
mountain with lots of snow and can
do anything.
This pleasant landscape is
Netzach, or Victory. You have the
fortitude and passion to move on in
spite of adversity. It is a role of
leadership where you move forward
as a team toward your goal. But
now it is time to take it easy. You'll
go back through the plains for a rest
stop.
Truck Stop
You did have a lot of coffee
and quite a taxing trip, so it's time
for a pit stop. Pulling the car up to
the crossroads you can see roads
branching off in many directions
back the way you came, forward,
over to the severe landscape and
also back over to the merciful
landscape. This is the center of all
the landscape and from here you
can go anywhere. A
nice place to rest,
reflect, and plan
ahead.
This is the Teferet
(Adornment). It is
connected to all
other sefirot and is
considered the most
neutral spot of the
Tree of Life. It is
the exact center of
the roadmap and is
for contemplation,
peace and balance.
Mount
Doom in
the Dark Land of
Mordor
Remember that scene in
Lord of the Rings (movie or book)
when Sam is hoisting Frodo on his
back as they are both dying
climbing their way to the lava pit?
Well, there is always a time in a
road trip that plays out something
like that. You are in the middle of
the desert and you just drank your
last 7-Up and the tire blows along
with the radiator. The last gas
station was 70 miles ago and who
knows how far the next is. You
haven't seen a car in two hours and
your cell phone battery is dead.
Welcome to Gevurah.
Severity. God's judgment. His
wrath. Remember all those guys in
the Old Testament before Country
Music that lost their house, wife,
dog and neighbor to some plague
and had to sit on a mountain and
remember God is good? Well,
that's this time. What is it,
precisely, that you need? Is it
necessary to have a car, cell phone
and soda-pop to find God? Maybe
you should try on your own.
Barefoot. Climbing up hill, both
ways, through scorpion-infested
blistering hot sand.
Hippie Bus
Maybe you've given up on
finding God at this point. Maybe
you are just looking for some water
before you keel over and die like
the leftover skin of a rattlesnake.
Maybe you are regretting having
that last bag of cheddar-flavored
tortilla chips or not investing in a
solar-panel covered car. In any
case, you have learned not to rely
on all the conveniences a road trip
generally offers (like sustenance).
Just when you are about to give up
hope you see a tie-dyed colored bus
come trumping down the highway
as Jefferson Starship tunes blast
from inside.
The hippies have found you
and don't mind at all bringing you
on board the bus to revel in their
music, recreation and peaceful
ideology. They give you water,
snacks, and have organic herbal
ointment for your feet. You are
back on the road - your quest for
creation resumed.
The Chesed (Kindness)
sephiroth is when God shows his
mercy after taking away your car,
water, and Pink Floyd CDs. You
can bask on the hippie bus in a
pleasant part of the country for a
while . . . well until they have a
serious talk with you about the trip.
Road Rules
You see, you may have
forgotten the whole point to this
and were perhaps more preoccupied
with snacks, soda and jamming to
your road trip CD mix than you
were looking around and enjoying
the journey, much less learning
from it. Sure you lost everything
and had to walk in the desert, but
you were only rescued by the
hippies to stop you from losing the
journey. You have to come to
realize why it was important for
you to go through such a judgment.
The hippies will tell you
about how unnecessary things are,
what the importance of nature is,
how great the journey to God is and
suddenly it dawns on you that you
have some splainin' to do. You
were in this perhaps for selfish
reasons, or maybe you just didn't
understand the true importance of
this. It isn't just a road trip - it's a
quest for God! You have to remove
that selfish venture and replacement
with a more noble one.
Having played their role, the
hippies let you off with a new pair
of shoes so you can resume your
journey. This time, for the right
reasons. You have reached Binah,
Understanding. You are repentant
and clear now of the true path
through the Tree of Life and further
you are closer to finding God than
you ever were. Now your journey
has purpose and meaning and with
all frivolities stripped aside you can
move forward an illuminated
creature ready for the road ahead,
whatever it may bring.
God's Doorstep
And you've arrived at God's
house on foot with nothing
burdening you. It is an infinite light
that is full of all understanding and
ultimate consciousness. You are
almost there and need now just ring
the doorbell and be admitted. You
can see the potential for all things
and rest now with the assurance the
road trip is finally at its end.
Through the good and the bad,
you've found Creation at
its source. The
Chockmah (Wisdom)
is the thought that put the
universe in motion.
And from here you have a
choice. You can go in and live
with God and Universal
Consciousness or you can go home
having seen God. If you go in
God's House you are in the Keter
(Crown). You have reached
illumination and ultimate
consciousness. You are
experiencing divinity first hand
and ultimately arrived at your
destination.
That's not the only way.
You can go home, now. A wiser
person. Someone with a clear
understanding of what God and
Creation is. An illuminated person
who can start a whole new journey
for a whole new quest of creation
and perfection right back at home.
This is Da'at, Knowledge. While a
traveler can't have both Keter and
Da'at the journey never has to end.
Even if one goes to Keter that is
the Malkuth of another Tree of
Life. Whereas Da'at is the existing
Tree of Life with a more complete
understanding.
Hugging the Tree
This journey was, of
course, a very simplified notion of
what the Tree of Life is all about,
but perhaps illustrates how it can
be effective in almost all walks of
life. Jews, Christians and secular
mystics alike have adopted this
system and in many cases it is the
core of how mystical systems
work. The Tree of Life is a tool,
one of many, that can be used to
understand and describe the
Universe and Everything In It.
Dissecting your human experience
and understanding your purpose
and direction can make this
experience a meaningful one. And
like a roadmap it is just a guide -
where you go and how you get
there is always up to you.
This work by Mark Havenner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Photo courtesy of dougww at flickr.com
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