principle can just as well be called Satan as it can be EHIEH (I am that I am). Although we
must of course place eac
principle can just as well be called Satan as it can be EHIEH (I am that I am). Although we
must of course place each name in its appropriate place, it will be seen that there is far more
to this than meets the AIN.
If we look at the pure doctrine of Kabbalistic thought, we find it is admitted that the forces
that came before a "first principle" are something that is beyond our understanding to either
label or conceive. But I am getting ahead of myself, I will start at the very beginning, I am
assuming that by now, those that are following this have a pretty good grasp of basic
Kabbalism and hermetic thought.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF KABBALISM FROM A SATANIC PERSPECTIVE
AIN- THE UN-MANIFEST!
Before the `first principle' that is named Kether upon the tree of life (see Fig 1.), which is the
also the first Sephira, we have the concept of the `un-manifest' or as it is known, AIN (noth-
ing). In essence we are referring to a state of nothingness before it contracted to become the
first primordial point. This is no ordinary nothing, it is attempting to allude to a condition that
existed before all things that we can have no possibility of understanding on any level! The best
we can do is approximate.
When we say `nothing' in our study of Kabbala, we are speaking of a very different kind of
nothing than when we realize that we have nothing in our hands for example. It is Zero or O,
nothing can define nothing, and yet it is everything. This is an attempt by Kabbalists to
describe the emanation of ALL from NIL by using a light analogy. It is the Tao of the Orientals
The "Boundless Darkness" of Eastern Thought.
I will take a look at the three veils using the Deities of Thelemic thought, as they correspond
quite well with the ideas I am trying to put across. They are also in many ways "non dogmatic"
as any of these points can be expressed as Mathematical formulas for those not inclined to the
notion of Deities, Thelemic or otherwise.
So how do we even describe the three veils of negative existence? Well, traditionally they are
broken down into firstly, AIN (Nothing). Hadit expressed as the point within the infinite circle,
on a macrocosmic level of existence. Hadit is also expressed as the winged globe of the
Magicians personal universe, thus on another level, it is our inner Divine Nature.
AIN SOPH, (The boundless/ without limit)...The Star Goddess Nuith, is depicted as arching
over the Earth in the Egyptian Stele of revealing, She is ultimately the Universe expressed as an
infinitely expanding universe, the cosmic womb without limit.
The final veil is AIN SOPH-UR(Enlightened Limitlessness/ boundless light). Or RA-HOOR-
KHUIT, this is the crowned and conquering child, a result of the union between Hadit and
Nuith. But what does this mean? Nuith is infinite expansion, Hadit is infinite contraction, so
too are their points of contact. This creates a point of vibration that creates out of necessity
the conditions needed for the universe to manifest. Many of you that have performed rites that
unite the God and Goddess will be able to see the Divine play of the universe expressed in the
above. It is a complex subject, and is not easily understood through words or mathematical
formulas alone, I will seek to address this later by giving practical rituals that help with illus-
trating this matter more fully.
There is no reason in particular that the above has any real validity when it comes to the words
used to describe a pre-creative state of the universe, or universes as the case may be. Seeing as
INTRODUCTION TO THE
TREE OF LIFE
There are many good and worth-
while books on the Tree of life
and the Kabbala; thus I feel little
need to go into the fine details
and complexities that are part
and parcel of this tradition.
During the course of these les-
sons, I will give some fundamen-
tals, from a more or less, LHP
perspective that can be used in a
practical way, both in the Ritual
chamber and everyday life out-
side of it.
I will start with the basics of The
Tree of Life, which will be the
maximum and the minimum
information required, making
enough sense of the system to
put it to use, more or less imme-
diately... In the weeks to come I
will give practices of an esoteric
nature from a Satanic perspec-
tive. This will also aid the stu-
dent in using the system without
the necessity of using such things
as Hebrew God names, and
angelic names, if they do not
want to. I will give a brief over
view
of the Sephira, as we go along,
as its pertinent to the ideas I will
be looking at a little later regard-
ing the RHP the LHP and the
Middle Way of balance.
Interesting to note: The Hebrew
God names are not referring to
the God of the Israelites anyhow,
however many Satanists have
been rather put off by all things
relating to Kabbala (and
Ceremonial Magick in general) because of this perceived reliance upon a God that they are
in fundamental opposition too... The fact is the Hebrew God names are no more religious than
Einstein's theory of relativity. They are supposed to be descriptive of cosmic and creative forces
that are beyond human ability to understand in their fullness, not a reference to a tribal desert
god, Jewish or otherwise. When you look at the Glyph of the Tree of Life without any precon-
ceived notions about its origins, one will easily be able to grasp the notion that the creative
Fig 1.
Pg. 1Pg. 2
the generations, to tap into the invisible and Occult areas of existence that have come from the
practices of Occultists in many diverse cultures over many centuries. The term gnosis has often
been used to explain the many and varied insights that have come down to us through the
ages, attempting to provide a more flexible and illuminating view on the nature of existence.
This is the reason for the meditative and Magickal work of the practical Magician, to enter into
a greater understanding of, that which lies unseen behind this world of appearances. Kether
then, is the first primordial point of manifestation (Plato's first form). Simply put, its all of the
prior manifestations of AIN contracted to a point, even at this stage of manifestation, the
point is unable to self reflect upon the nature of what it is. Out of necessity the point extends
itself into the second Sephira.
Correspondences: God Name, EH-HEH-YEH.
Colour: White.
Magickal image:An ancient bearded King seen only in profile.
Incense: Frankincense.
Archangel: Metatron.
Demon: Satan.
CHOCKMA (Wisdom)
At this stage of extension the Kether consciousness is able to "self-reflect", imagine that you
are looking into a mirror and you see your image reflected back and you will begin to under-
stand this. Even though the Kether consciousness is able to see its own image so to speak, it is
unable to formulate any idea of the nature of what it is in essence, why? Because is has no
data upon which to define anything
about its own nature from.The extension of Divinity into Chockma destroyed the symmetry of
the
one thought, thereby creating the first divide between I AM into a secondary manifestation...
ALL legends of a "fall" are derived from this one act of the one thought that destroyed the
symmetry of
paradise, or the undivided unity of the One. Thus, there is no reason to see any of the theologi-
cal speculations (the lumber and religious nonsense of the ages) that followed as anything but
this principle as myths trying to explain this one act of necessity. This is why the Satanist can
with justification apply the notion of "The Prince of Darkness" to this sphere, which is in line
with Setian
ideas of a similar divide, in which Set extricated himself from an undivided unity.
Correspondences: God Name YAH.
Colour: Grey/White.
Magickal Image: A bearded male figure.
Incense: Musk.
Archangel: Ratziel.
Demon Lucifuge.
BINAH (Understanding)
how Hebrew Kabbalists are speaking about an existence or state that is beyond comprehen-
sion, why even introduce the idea of light into it? It can easily be called the Great Darkness.
Even the Atheist is welcome within this description of pre-creative forces; quite simply, the
Atheist can view AIN (Hadit the point within the circle) as the condition that existed before the
Big Bang. The above descriptions of AIN are very much a part of traditional Hermetic thought
when it comes to the `three veils'. Seeing as how three is the number of cosmic birth (among
other things) we see that it's an anticipation of the creative process that followed from the AIN
into
Kether (Baphomet)
Binah (Babalon/Nuith on a lower level) and
Chockma (Satan/Hadit-on a lower level, also Therion The Great Beast 666.
Interesting to note that 6+6+6+=18-1+8=9. The very number of self and Satan.)
Babylon is a lower form of Nuith the Star Goddess, the consort of Hadit (Satan or the Solar
Phallic Lucifer) of our unit of the universe in particular...
We are using the cosmology of Crowley here, not as dogmatism, its just that Uncle Al desired
also to remove the Tree from its pure Hebrew roots into something more akin to his metaphys-
ical ideas, based as it was upon mathematical principles.
The bottom line is that when a Satanist (or LHPer) is talking in terms of a pre-creative state,
the Satanist views this state as one beyond the grasp of mortal minds to grasp on any level
whatsoever, all speculation upon this condition is moot at best, sophism at worst.
The LHP person understands that the forces that created or if you prefer formed the Universe
and everything it contains, is best called The Dark Force. The Dark Force cannot be speculated
upon, all we know is that a great boundless darkness existed, formless and without any quali-
ties that we can identify. What we do know from what is manifest around us, is that this Dark
Force pushes all things into existence; it does this through a seemingly random and chaotic
process known as entropy.
Entropy is both Anabolic and katabolic, creative and destructive what nature breaks down,
destroying its many component parts throughout creation, becomes the fertilizer for new
forms of life. (Even the orgasm that creates is a "little death") the Phoenix can only rise
from the ashes if there are ashes to begin with. We shall now turn to have a look at the sephira
of the Tree of Life, and the essence of the receptacles; after doing so we shall have a look at
some various correspondences that may be of use to the practical Occultist.
KETHER (THE FIRST SWIRLING)
All we know for sure is that there was a point in the history of this planet when things were
manifested into forms through the initial contraction of the "unknown" principle into a point
or circle if you prefer. Scientists would call this the "Big Bang" the moment when all of matter
contracted itself into a "first form" about the size of an average male fist, (although I'm not
personally convinced that this is necessarily the case). Apparently this exploded to form the
universe, as we know it today. Of course the materialistic scientist would have us believe that
there is nothing more to the matter but observing how this initial explosion has effected the
evolution of the planet from matter alone, the hermetic view point is significantly more specu-
lative. The question for us is whether there is in fact more to this than a purely materialistic
interpretation, this is the reason behind the practices of Magicians and Occultists throughout
Pg. 3Pg. 4
Geburah (strength): The fifth Sephira, the dynamic counterpart to Chesed, Geburah is strength
and severity. All matters relating to power and a Machiavellian quest for noble deeds,
expressed through might and courage. Often the strength and power of Geburah can over-
whelm those that walk this path without mercy to temper a personality that may become
drunk on his or her own sense of power over others.
Correspondences: God Name: ELOHEEM GIBOR.
Colour: Red.
Magickal Image: A mighty warrior in his chariot.
Incense: Tobacco.
Archangel:Khamael.
Demon: Asmodeus.
TIPARETH (Beauty)
This is the central point of the sixth Sephira that lies below the abyss. Its is the equilibrium and
synthesis of Chesed and Geburah, also of Hode and Netzach- above it are the planes of force
and below the planes of form. This Sphere is the place or point of cosmic consciousness.
Attributed to it are the Gods of Death and Resurrection. The symbolism should by now be all
too obvious. When one comes to a point of great illumination it is as if he or she has died and
is born anew. The Sun is attributed to this sphere (The divine sun or black flame within).
Correspondences: God Name: is I.A.O. (or YUH HEH VAHV HEH EL-OH-AH-V' DAH ATH)
Colour: A golden sun yellow.
Magickal image: A majestic King, a Child, a Sacrificed god.
Incense: Rose or Jasmine.
Archangel:Raphael.
Demon: Lucifer. (One could split hairs as to whether one would call Lucifer a Demon; it must
be remembered that I am simply using traditional correspondences, even though not many
Kabbalists generally list demons in their lists of things to do!)
NETZACH (Victory)
This is the realm of the emotions and the instincts of the universal mind, the planet Venus, the
very life force of nature, love etc- knowing much about humans, it is easy to see how the lack
of balance (in this Sephiras case its equilibrating Sephira is Hode-glory) within our race is due
to a lack of integration of the cosmic principles of the whole tree of life!
Correspondences: God Name: YUD HEH VAHV HEH TZA-BO-ATH.
Colour: Green. Magickal Image: A beautiful naked woman.
Incense: Patchouli, Rose.
Archangel: Haniel.
Demon: Baal.
HODE (Glory)
Chockma out of necessity projects its essence of self-reflection into the receptacle of Binah. It
dawns upon the awakening consciousness that it has birthed itself in balance with its opposite!
Binah is a
place of birth, a cosmic womb if you prefer a feminine principle balanced with the masculine
(phallic) projection of the energy and wisdom of Chockma. All life proceeds from this cosmic
womb and all
life returns to it. This explains the image of Babylon the Harlot in Thelemic thought, who
"drinks the blood of the saints" as all life must return back to where it came from, even if it be
upon a lower
plane of existence than the City of the Pyramids symbolised by Binah. It is my belief that we
will as energy beings, pass onto a level that our current evolutionary progress has so far
brought us. Because
the "First Form" has now become balanced with its opposite yet complimentary polarity,
understanding finally has birthed from a position that is reflected in the understanding of its
essence, which
is- self-awareness proper. Thus, we have a Trinity or God-head revealed, what is interesting
about all of this is that we can see quite clearly that there is little room for presuming that any
religion has any right to assume that this is speaking about anything that supports exclusivist
dogma, thus any religious dogma in particular. In fact it is quite the opposite. It is best to see
the Divine principle as more like a diamond, as we all know, a diamond has many facets, one
person looks upon one facet of the diamond sees Jesus Christ, another person looking at the
same facet from another angle may well see Satan! The Chaos Magician sees a great amoral
life-force. In fact, we may be looking at another aspect of the diamond entirely and see many
things that are new, bringing a great many insights into the nature of the Divine. Kether,
Chockma, and Binah, are what are known as the celestial triad.
Correspondences: God Name: YUD-HEH-VAHV-HEH.
Colour: Black.
Magickal image: A mature woman, matron.
Incense: Myrrh.
Archangel: Tzaphkiel.
Demon: Beelzebub.
GEDULAH (mercy)
The celestial trinity thus being formed projects further into the fourth receptacle of Gedulah, or
Chesed. The first Sephira below the Abyss (we will discuss the Abyss later, as its not truly a
Sephira),this is actual manifestation in a form the mind can conceive. Chesed is the balancing
Sphere of Geburah. Chesed is constructive, the seat of archetypal ideas. It is the sphere of
Mercy and justice, of largess, compassion, and giving.
Correspondences God Name: EL.
Colour: Blue.
Magickal Image: The merciful crowned and throned King.
Incense: Cedar.
Archangel: Tzadkiel.
Demon: Astaroth.
GEBURAH (Severity)
Pg. 5Pg. 6
There has been a good deal of discussion over the years as to what exactly it means to embrace
the notion of either, the LHP or the RHP. It may come as a surprise to many when they realize
that this whole matter is dealt with in Kabbalistic thought, and with a clarity that clears the air
about what we are trying to fathom in the first place. Are the LHP and the RHP mutually
exclusive, or are they in fact cut from the same dark cloth?
If you look upon any glyph of the Tree of life, you will notice that you have Binah, Geburah
and Hode, to the left of the tree, and Chockma, Chesed, and Netzach to the right of the tree,
in the middle you have, walla! The Middle Pillar of balance. Now, if you imagine a pillar
descending from Binah through to Geburah and Hode, you have in essence the meaning of
what constitutes the LHP. If you look to the right of the tree and visualize another pillar
descending from Chochma to Netzach, you have in essence, the energies or principles that con-
stitutes the RHP. I will now explain this, all I ask is for the student to forget the other spheres
for a moment, excepting those that are on the Left of the tree and those upon the Right, where
the Middle Pillar stands in all of this will be explained a little later.
If we look to the left of the tree (visualizing the pillar through the sephira) we see that our first
sphere is Binah. This is the Sphere of Darkness, it represents all that is hidden (occult) and all
that is to be birthed and all that will be consumed in death. It is also the sphere of time, its
planet being Saturn; you have the symbol of Father Time, complete with Skull and Scythe,
images of Death, restriction and all that binds. The primal Darkness of Binah is the inspiration
for all acts of originality within creation, the Darkness symbolizes that which is undiscovered,
that which holds the secrets of life and death, as well as the Alchemical formula that brings
light to the individual who dares to plumb the Darkness within and the Darkness without.
The true Initiate will use the torch of his or her Holy Guardian Daemon to fathom what it is
that is in the Darkness. We are individuals who travel our own path, it is easy to see how this
vision of the Dark Mother Babylon is one of creativity on a very individual level, as this sephira
represents singularities in their diversity being moved through the Dark Womb into final mani-
festation upon Malkuth. What happens along the way, is what makes one either, fiercely indi-
vidual, or one that prefers the company of like-minded souls in a belief system that does not
require anything but faith. The Satanist and the LHP person, is not so inclined to follow the
creeds and Theologies of another, but prefers the arduous task of forging their own path from
the very Darkness itself, where the answers and direction of their path lie in the Womb of nas-
cent possibility. The Darkness holds all colours within its infinite and
boundless source, it is a brave traveller who understands that the Darkness symbolizes things
not seen, and indeed, many things that can easily destroy and consume the unwary not pre-
pared to have his or her world turned upside down. There are some rather dangerous formulas
that can be used here, but I will not be saying too much about them just yet, if at all. (Not
because of any secret master crap, but because of legalities relating to the prohibition of chem-
ical Gnosis)
Following from the Dark Womb of Creative possibility, we then move through the Sephira of
Geburah, here we have the spark of Darkness united with the principle of severity and power!
The Power of Mars and of War is ascribed to this sphere, and woe betides anyone t… truncated (56,859 more characters in archive)