 Hey there! Today we're going to step into yet another important topic to lay the foundation for some major projects coming down the road. This topic is called the Kabbalah, which is commonly titled the Tree of Life. While many have heard about it, there are only a few who truly understand what it represents. Even then, the real adepts of the Kabbalah know that the amount of information derived from this ancient teaching is actually one of infinite depth. It is a fundamental key which describes the nature of the universe and how all of creation fits together. In the words of Dion Fortune, the curious symbol system known to us as the Tree of Life is an attempt to reduce to diagrammatic form every force and factor in the manifested universe and the soul of man, to correlate them one to another and reveal them spread out as on a map so that the relative positions of each unit can be seen and the relations between them traced. In brief, the Tree of Life is a compendium of science, psychology, philosophy, and theology. The journey into understanding the Tree of Life can begin in many ways and so today we will look at an overview of this system from an extremely basic perspective in order to bring clarity and awareness to what it is and how it works. From there, we will deepen our discussion with greater details of all of the various compartments of this mystical system. The Tree of Life, in its simplest sense, is made up of ten spheres and twenty-two interconnecting pathways. These are often added together and described as the thirty-two paths of the Tree of Life. The ten spheres are actually called Sephiroth. No, not that Sephiroth. These spheres represent successive divine emanations or outpourings of energy in the continuous flow and evolution of the universe. They are numbered one through ten, each of which holds the numerological correspondence that you might expect when studying numerology. Each Sephiroth represents a unique perspective of divine power and by our awareness of them, we can gain insights from each level to help us on our spiritual journey. Balance among the Sephiroth is of paramount importance, as each positive energy will turn negative when taken to an unbalanced extreme. Each of the Sephirah are reflected within all levels of the universe, both in the microcosm, such as within our bodies, and the macrocosm, when observing all of creation as a part of a greater whole. Now, the twenty-two pathways, which lay in between these ten Sephiroth, are each associated with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and also the twenty-two major arcana in the tarot. Each one holds a deep spiritual message. When they are all in harmony together, they describe that all things from heaven and earth are fully united in one, even when we perceive them to be otherwise. Where the Sephiroth represent divine powers, the pathways are the channel of energy between them, the journey, obstacles, and rewards for moving towards the next Sephiroth. These energies are all found within us, and if we are open to it, we consciously take part in the wisdom and understanding moving throughout this tree. By coming to understand these pathways, which is also called pathworking, we begin to harmonize and balance the internal and external worlds of ourselves. These paths represent stages of personal development, and are required to pass between the Sephiroth and are seen as roadways to spiritual enlightenment. In addition to the Sephiroth and the pathways, there are several other key ingredients to understand about the tree. The tree of life is largely based on the principle of three unique forces working together, for instance, male, female, and child. You can also look at it simply as the polarity between the two extremes, and then the balance in the middle. The tree has three pillars, which are the pillar of severity, the pillar of mercy, and the pillar of equilibrium. The left side is the yin, and the right side is the yang, one of which is principally formative and constricting in nature, and the other of which is expansive and illuminating in nature. The central pillar is the harmonization and balancer of all of these polarities. The tree also has three triangles. The supernal triangle is made up of the top three Sephira, and represent the three states of God, the supreme oneness from which all things emerge, the divine masculine, and the divine feminine emanations, which go on to create all things. The central triangle is called the abstract or ethical triangle, which is the level of the soul or the part of us which experiences infinite lifetimes and continues to evolve our spirit beyond the understanding of our physical existence. The bottom most triangle is the astral or magical triangle, which is the place where unique egos and personalities are formed. The collective thoughts and feelings of our individual identity combine together and are channeled downwards through our bodies into the bottom Sephira and dictate how we live our lives. There are also three major barriers within the tree, which symbolize our disconnection with nature, and then how we can transcend them. The first barrier is called the 32nd pathway, or simply called the gulf, and is the connection between the physically manifested realm and the ether. Crossing this barrier is the realization that we are more than our physical bodies. The second barrier is called the veil of paracath, located between the bottom two triangles and represents the disconnect between our soul and our egos. This barrier marks the highest point to which our normal human consciousness can rise without transcendence. The third barrier is called the abyss, which is between the upper two triangles. This represents the ultimate disconnect from spirit that we all experience and why we believe we are separate from everything. This abyss was created in the fall of consciousness. It is also worth noting that the four elements play a very symbolic relationship to the tree of life, which attempts to express the inexpressible name of God through the tetragrammaton, yad he vau he. Yad being fire, the male symbol of forces that set the creative process in motion. The first he being the symbol of water, the female or receptive principle, which develops the impulse of the first fire. Vau being air, the formative principle of intellect and mind, the son of the mother and the father. And the final he being earth, the manifestation and material principle of the daughter, the final combined result of the whole creative process. Together, this combines with what is called the four worlds of the tree of life. The four worlds can be depicted in several ways, depending on the varying esoteric practices. But very simply, it divides the cabala into four unique planes of becoming in order to delineate the various states by which creation manifests through, bringing more detail to the structure as a whole. At the top you have the world of emanation, which is fire, the world of creation, water, the world of formation, air, and the world of action, earth. These are the four stages in the process of creation, according to the cabala. All of these concepts and more will be discussed and explored in more detail as we go along. But we thought it would be best to give an overview of everything before we get too deep for anyone who is just beginning, so that you can have a clear roadmap of all of the places that you can explore. And to be completely honest with you, this is still only the tiniest tip of the iceberg. We've published some articles on each of these topics on our website too, which you can read about and continue on in your learnings. We've also included a number of sources for you to reference, in case you really want to go even deeper. Let the learnings continue. See you next time.