Origins of the Qabalah
The term Qabalah denotes a tradition or something that is handed down. In Hebrew, it is referred to as QBLH, Qabalah, originating from the root word QBL, Qibel, which means “to receive.” The term Qabalah has been spelled in numerous ways, such as Cabala, Kabalah, and Kabbala. The form Qabalah aligns more closely with the Hebrew spelling of the word, and it denotes the practice of preserving the esoteric tradition through oral communication. The origins of Qabalah are deeply rooted in ancient history, with its exact beginnings shrouded in mystery. The author and early instructors are unknown; however, substantial evidence indicates its origins date back to the Hebrew Rabbis who were prominent during the Second Temple around 515 B.C. Many sources in Qabalistic literature assert that the Qabalah was a form of esoteric knowledge revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai, connecting it with the early origins of Jewish Law.
In the Image of God
The Sepher Yetzirah, or “Book of Formation,” is one of the treatises that make up the written Qabalah. The origin of the Sefer Yetzirah is traditionally ascribed to Abraham, who was born in Mesopotamia and lived in Egypt. It is a text that explains the creation of the universe through the 22 Hebrew letters and 10 sephiroth. The ancient Qabalists characterized the 32 paths of Wisdom (Chokmah), which serve to delineate and define creation, as various states of consciousness. As Aryeh Kaplan writes in Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation, “man’s form parallels the structure of the delineating forces that define creation.” Throughout the first chapter of Genesis, the name Elohim appears 32 times corresponding to these paths which serve as conduits for Wisdom, with Understanding (Binah), or the Will to Form, representing their fundamental essence.
Man as the Measure of All Things
The intellectual paradigm of the Renaissance era significantly contributed to the development of the modern Hermetic Qabalah by merging the Jewish Qabalah with Hermetic teachings. The Renaissance marked an era in which man was regarded as “the measure of all things,” diverging significantly from the dominant medieval belief which reinforced the idea of man as inherently sinful. The Hermetic Qabalah confirms the following Old Testament declarations: the Unity of God, God’s incorporeal form, the origin of the world at God’s will, the laws that govern the Universe, and the creation of man after the image of God. The main principle of the Hermetic Qabalah is that everything consists of four elements activated by a fifth, which is Spirit. The fundamental teachings of the Qabalah aim to explore inquiries about the Divine Being, its characteristics and essence, human destiny, the nature of the soul, elemental attributes, and the balancing of opposing forces.
Tree of Life
The Tree of Life, a symbol that represents the manifest universe, has undergone an extensive developmental process. Its origins are deeply intertwined with the hidden history of ancient Mystery religions. Since Jewish Qabalists embraced various versions of the Tree, it is challenging to establish a standard developmental sequence. The Tree of Life that is commonly used by modern Hermetic Qabalists was initially presented in Kircher’s Oedipus Aegypticus in 1652. The diagram consists of ten spheres known as Sephiroth and twenty-two connecting lines referred to as Paths. Together, they are known as the Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom. The Tree of Life represents the descent of an idea into manifestation and the ascent of the soul from being identified with materiality to higher and higher levels of awareness.
The Archetypal Man
The Tree of Life is a compound symbol which may be considered at two levels: the individual, the Microcosm, and the Greater Universe, the Macrocosm. Adam Kadmon, the whole Tree of Life pictured as a man, is “all ten Sephiroth, a great organic unity, a spiritual body in which each of us might be considered a single cell carrying all of the potential attributes of the whole.” The ten Sephiroth condense their energy into four planes with each plane contributing an essence that collectively forms the human being. Humans are viewed as a microcosm, with each component in the body mirroring something within the forces of creation. With regard to the practical work with the Hermetic Qabalah, the Sephiroth are considered subjectively within the body and the energies of the Sephiroth are purposely invoked and built up within the individual.
Pathworking
While Qabalistic purists typically advocate for a single Tree attribution, the Qabalah has improved as a descriptive system over time, and the four-Tree attribution proves most effective for Tarot interpretation.
The Qabalah seeks to explain by emanations the transition from the Infinite to the finite, the multitude of forms from a unity, and the production of matter from spiritual intelligence. The Doctrine of Emanation proposes successive phases of the manifestation of the Ultimate Spirit, which can be seen as existing on distinct planes. The World of Atziluth (Emanation), or archetypal world, represents the highest divine pattern of Adam Kadmon. The World of Emanations gave birth to three other worlds, each containing a repetition of the Sephiroth, but in a descending scale of brightness. The second world is the World of Briah, or the World of Creation, which proceeds from Atziluth. The third world is the World of Yetzirah, or World of Formation, which proceeds from Briah. The fourth is the World of Assiah, the World of Action, which is this World of Matter.
A common meditative practice using the tarot cards is referred to as pathworking or ascending through the planes. Through the practice of visualization, tarot cards are utilized to intellectually examine and creatively construct the Tree of Life within oneself. This involves directing attention towards a distinct intelligent energy personified in a card, establishing an unconscious connection with the archetype illustrated.
