T H E T R E E OF L I F E

Lesson Twelve

THE PRINCIPAL THING

"W isdom is the p rincipal thing; th e re fo re get w isdom ." P rov. 4 :7.

So the Authorized V ersion . A b e tte r rendering of the orig inal is: "W isdom firs t; get w isdom ." The word tran s la ted " f irs t" is n'OTfl, ra sh ith , concerning which you have already had som e instruction in connection with the beginning of w hirling m otion .

H ere we have an exam ple of a fine d istinction made often by Q abalists . K ether is the p rim ary , o r f i r s t , activ ity of the L ife-pow er itse lf , and K ether is the beginning of all m anifestation . Yet W isdom, o r HDDR, Chokmah, which is the aspect of m an ifes­tation we a re about to study, is regarded as being the f i r s t exp ression , and, as such, is R ashith o r F ir s t , with re sp ec t to a ll succeeding em anations.

Wisdom, th e re fo re , though it is sym bolized by the num ber 2, and is one of the nam es fo r that num ber, has o ther designations indicating that the num ber 2 is the p rim ary ex ­p ressio n from which a ll o thers a re developed.

In Qabalah, th is Sephirah Chokmah is said to correspond to Yod ( 1) , the f i r s t le t ­te r of m n 1; but you will rem em ber that the upper point of Yod is re fe rre d to K ether, the num ber 1. F rom that point, in w riting a Yod, the form ation of the le tte r begins. The body of the le tte r is the development of th is F ir s t Point, but that developm ent is a con­sequence, an e laboration , which is rea lly secondary .

Again, K ether is a concentration of the L im itless Light, p receding the m anifestation of any le tte r of the alphabet; but on the T ree of Life the num ber 2, o r Chokmah, is at the end of the eleventh path, o r canal, which is a ttribu ted to the le tte r Aleph. Chokmah th e re ­fo re follows Aleph in the o rd e r diagram m ed on the T ree , but a t the sam e tim e Chokmah precedes Beth. In T a ro t, th e re fo re , the "p lace" of Wisdom is logically between Aleph and Beth, o r between the Fool and the M agician.

We begin our study, th e re fo re , with the le tte r Aleph. In th is connection, you will do well to review all that has been said in TAROT FUNDAMENTALS, and elsew here in theB .O .T .A . instruction , concerning the m eanings of th is l e t t e r .

F ir s t , observe that the name of the le tte r , *)?K, is the re v e rsa l of the adjective pehleh, " w onderful," used to describe K ether. It is as if the le tte rs w ere re f le c t­

ed in a m ir ro r , and th is idea is exactly what should be ex p ressed , because the c u rren t of influence flowing down through the path of Aleph is a re v e rsa l of the contracting sp ira l which condenses the L im itless Light into the F ir s t Point, o r K ether. F u rth e rm o re , the activ ity rep resen ted by Aleph is one whereby the One re flec ts Itse lf to Itse lf, and so p ro ­duces the num ber T w o. T his reflection has been sym bolized as a m irro r in g w herever w ise men have sought fo r an im age to exp ress the idea that Wisdom is the L ife-pow er’s own perception of what It is , in I tse lf .

At the stage of m anifestation we a re considering, no fo rm s have been brought into apparent ex istence . We a re carefu l to say "apparent ex is ten ce ," because, in tru th , th e re

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is only One E x istence. F o r the L im itless Light, since it is infinite, there can be no out- s id e . W hatever com es into m anifestation as a consequence of the L ife-pow er’s activity should never be thought of as ex isting , because to ex ist is , lite ra lly , "to stand ou t."

All m anifestation is within the fram e of Infinity. The field of the L ife-pow er’s o p e ra ­tion is inside the Being of the L ife-pow er. Hence, no m a tte r how big the un iverse may be, it is never outside, but always inside . The L im itless Light surrounds a ll c rea tio n . That Light therefo re stands outside what it m akes m an ifest. " In Him we live, and move, and have our be ing ." T herefo re "He" is the only Being to Whom belongs exclusively the no­tion of ex istence . The existence of the un iverse is only ap p a ren t.

When the mode of consciousness corresponding to Aleph begins to be active, not even th is apparent existence has reached the stage w here distinguishable objects a re p e rc ep ­tib le . T h ere a re no things of which to be conscious. Hence th is mode of consciousness may rightly be te rm ed "consciousness of nothing,” and because, from our human point of view, to be conscious of nothing is the sam e as to be unconscious, Aleph is p ic tu red in T a ro t as the Fool, and the num ber of th is Key is Z e ro .

Up in the co rn e r of the p ic tu re , how ever, is a white sun sym bolizing K ether, the White B rilliance, and the en tire purport of the design has to do with an outgoing activ ity . The Fool is , in a m easu re , a symbol of attention, because he gazes tow ard a height he expects to re a ch . Yet he rea lly sees that height in his m ind’s eye only, and p ic tu res the idea that what appears to us to be unconsciousness is actually a mode of consciousness which transcends the lim its of our p re sen t self-co n sc io u sn ess.

A nalysis of the word Aleph, shows that th is path on the T ree of Life is p r i ­m arily one of pure sp iritu a l activ ity , since the single le tte r K, in the e so te ric in te rp re ­tation of the alphabet, stands fo r the L ife-B reath , o r Pure S p irit. T h is is the p rim ary energy, of which o ther fo rm s of energy and fo rce a re spec ia liza tions. It is rea lly the sub­stance, as well as the working pow er, of the en tire u n iv e rse .

The second le tte r of is *)t Lam ed, which re p re se n ts action, whereby the po­tencies of the L ife-pow er becom e ac tu a lities , and whereby possib ility is tran sfo rm ed into experience of definite, m easureab le re s u lts . In Hebrew, Lam ed m eans "ox-goad ," o r that which inc ites Aleph, the ox, to ac tio n .

As a verb , spelled ju s t like the le tte r-n am e but pronounced a little d iffe ren t­ly, lawmawd, it signifies "to teach , to in s t ru c t .” Even God, om niscient as He m ust be, cannot know anything as an actuality unless that thing is an a c tu a lity . What is som etim es called the "fore-know ledge of G od," is rea lly no m ore than an inference from His know­ledge of H im self and of His pow ers. This d iffers from our in ferences in being always absolutely c o rre c t . It is like our in ferences, how ever, in being an unrealized m ental con­clusion . Because the L ife-pow er m ust be always true to its own na tu re , not even the U ni­v e rsa l Mind can re v e rse the law s of thought. O m niscience cannot be m ade to include knowledge of anything, as a thing, p r io r to the m oment when that p a rtic u la r thing has b e ­come m an ifest. Thus there is a tru e sense in which the L ife-pow er may be said to be gaining experience, and th e re fo re increasing in knowledge. Yet we should rem em b er that th is in c rease in knowledge and gain in experience add nothing to the L ife-pow er’s p e rfe c t­ly accu ra te perception of the tru th about its e lf . It would be fa lse to say that what the L ife-

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power gains in experience does anything to c o rre c t a s ta te of ignorance p receding that ex p erien ce .

T here is yet another idea rep resen ted by Lam ed, because th is le tte r is the alphabetical symbol fo r the zodiacal sign L ib ra . A p a ir of sca les suggests weighing and m easu ring .Here we have a hint that all action is a specialization of grav ita tion , the fo rce we have identified (because i ts Hebrew nam e, "J23 kebad, is also the num ber 26) with the One Reality named H in ', Jehovah. T here is only one fo rce , only one substance, only one active p rincip le , and, when anything o ccu rs , w hatever form the occurrence may take is rea lly a veil fo r the One R eality designated by the Name of N am es.

F u rth e rm o re , w herever there is action, th e re is a lso reaction , so that fo r every ap ­pearance there is , som ew here in the un iverse , a corresponding d isappearance . Thus the balance of the universe is m aintained perpetually , and th is is the basis of the old H erm e­tic maxim: "Equilibrium is the basis of the G reat W ork."

The la s t le tte r of Aleph is o r Peh (*|>, as in being the c h a r a c t e r em p lo y edwhen Peh com es a t the end of a Hebrew w ord). To it Q abalists assign M ars, the planet of action . The name of the le tte r signifies "the mouth of m an, as organ of sp eech .” Peh is th e re fo re a symbol for the active expression of the W ord--th e Logos, o r C reative Thought. It stands fo r Spirit in action, and even the sound of the le t te r is an explosive propulsion of b rea th through the lip s . Such verbs as puff, push, put, place and pull b e ­gin with "P ," and so do w ords in m ore ancient languages whence these verbs a re derived . Thus even our common speech p re se rv e s the o rig inal m eaning of the le t te r .

To Peh, m oreover, Q abalists assign the d irection N orth, and the Hebrew nam e fo r th is m eans "hidden, dark , unknown." The push of the L ife-pow er is always forw ard , to ­w ard the unknown. W hatever is unknown to u s, and th e re fo re likely to excite our fe a rs , is rea lly never anything o ther than the fundam entally beneficent operation of the One L ife- pow er. In T aro t, th e re fo re , the Fool, illu s tra tin g the occult m eanings of Aleph, faces tow ard the N orth .

So does the E m pero r, symbolizing a sign ru led by M ars . Again, in Key 13, a sign ru led by M ars is also sym bolized, and the r iv e r which p ic tu res the power of th is watery sign, Scorpio, flows at f i r s t from the North, then m akes a tu rn tow ard the E a s t. F in a l­ly, Key 15, the Devil, is a symbol fo r C aprico rn , the sign w here M ars is exalted, o r ra ised to its highest p o w er.

T his Key is a rep resen ta tion of the paralyzing fea r of the unknown, yet it is also a p ic tu re of what provides the m ost fe rtile field for the ex erc ise of a ll our pow ers. It is the p re s su re of appearances which d rives us to try to do som ething to solve our p ro ­blem s . The challenge of adversity m akes us pit our pow ers against conditions which seem to hold us in bondage. Thus do we prove the worth of the p rincip les we believe in, and purge our m inds of the ignorance which is the only f e t t e r . (Notice how the le tte r "P" dom inates th is paragraph , together with its so fte r pronunciation, which corresponds to English "ph" and "F .” )

On the T ree of Life, then, the eleventh path, connecting K ether, and f ir s t path, to Chokmah, the second, signifies the f i r s t outpouring of the sp iritu a l influence (R) from

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K ether. T h is influence is the basis fo r a ll action w hatever, and all action b rings with it experience, and is a lso p a rt of the e tern al balancing which is the b a sis of the G reat W ork ( * } ) . This outpouring influence, finally , is a positive expression of the C re a ­tive Thought (£5, o r p|) of the Living Mind which is the C auseless Cause of all m an i­festation .

T his week, m editate on the re la tionsh ips, inside y o u rse lf, between K ether and Chokmah. L ay out the T aro t Keys 0, 11, 16, which sym bolize the pow ers of the path of Aleph. See yourse lf as developing a growing Wisdom through the push of the P rim al W ill. Remind yourse lf each day that these a re the fo rces which a re in charge of your every ex p erien ce .

A p a r t f ro m m eT h e re i s n e i th e r w isd o m ,N o r K now ledge, n o r u n d e rs ta n d in g .

In to e v e ry s ta te of know ledge do I e n te r ,In to f a ls e know ledge a s w e ll a s in to t r u e ,So th a t I a m no t l e s s th e ig n o ra n c e of th e d e lu d ed T han th e w isd o m of th e sa g e .F o r w hat th o u c a l l e s t ig n o ra n c e an d fo lly I s m y p u re know ing,Im p e r f e c t ly e x p re s s e d T h ro u g h an u n c o m p le ted im a g e Of m y d iv in e p e r fe c t io n .

Woe un to th e mWho co n d em n th e s e m y w o rk s u n fin ish e d !B eh o ld , th e y who p r e s u m e to ju d g e A re th e m s e lv e s in c o m p le te .T h ro u g h m a n y a f ie r y t r i a l of s o r ro w

M u st th e y p a s s ,E r e th e c le a r b e a u ty of m y w isd o m M ay sh in e f ro m o u t th e i r h e a r t s ,

L ik e un to a lig h t B u rn in g in a la m p of a la b a s te r .

F r o m TH E BOOK O F TO K ENS by D r . P a u l F o s t e r C a se