Jon Hassinger qabala101.com. Qabala for the Absolute Beginner A Guide for the Study of Consciousness (Complete with Astrological Correlations)

Transcription

1 Jon Hassinger qabala101.com Qabala for the Absolute Beginner A Guide for the Study of Consciousness (Complete with Astrological Correlations)

2 Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Jon Hassinger Qabala101.com Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved

3 Table of Contents Introduction... 1 The Meanings of the Hebrew Letters in the Qabala... 2 Aleph A, E... 2 Beth B, V Gimel G Daleth D Heh H Vav V,W,U,O Zain Z Cheth CH Teth T The Letters In Relation To Their Numerical Values Yod Y, I, J Kaph K Lammed L Mem M Nun N Samekh S Ayin Ay, Aa, O, Ng, U Peh P, Ph, F Tzaddi Tz Qoph Q Resh R Sheen Sh Tav T, Th... 73

4 List of Figures Figure 1. The Tree of Life in color Figure 2. The Tree of Life showing the signs and planets Figure 3. The Tree of Life showing psychological elements Figure 4. The Tree of Life showing the Hebrew letters Figure 5. The Tree of Life showing the numbered Sephiroth Figure 6. The Tree of Life showing Gimel and the Abyss Figure 7. The Hebrew letters showing their corresponding numbers

5 Qabala for the absolute beginner Introduction Welcome to Qabala for the absolute beginner. You might be asking yourself, what is the Qabala? A good friend of mine once said, Well, that s easy. Qabala is the study of God and everything. And several authors state, The Holy Qabala is the study of consciousness. Of course, this leads to the question, what is consciousness? The answer to that will be explored throughout the text. According to the teaching, when God spoke the word, living forces came into existence. These forces are symbolized by the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and are the basic forces that resulted in creation. So an excellent place to begin the study of the Qabala is by examining each of these letters. Please understand that the Qabala is not strictly a Jewish approach. A person from any background can relate to the Qabala since it is simply an explanation of how God created all that exists. Further, it s possible that letters in other languages also symbolize these forces, but the Hebrew letters will be presented here. Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 1

6 The Meanings of the Hebrew Letters in the Qabala Aleph A, E ( ah lef) (The constantly recurring present moment) The first letter is Aleph. Aleph symbolizes one of the basic forces that resulted in existence, namely the constantly recurring moment in time. From the point of view of Aleph, there is no past or future, only the present moment. The past is composed of memories and the future exists as possible courses of action. Both of these, the past and future, exist only in the mind. But the present moment is different. In the present moment you can look outside yourself and physically perceive the world as it exists now. The present moment, therefore, is a clue to understanding Aleph. When God, who is timeless, spoke, the present moment, Aleph, came into being. Aleph is the first step in the infinite becoming finite. Without this constantly recurring moment in time, there could be no creation, no instant of existence; only timelessness, limitlessness. In the Bible, Genesis isn t written in the past tense. Biblical Hebrew isn t written in any tense at all. It s just as accurate to say And God is speaking the word and all things are coming into existence. God speaking the word moment by moment is also the key to the basic vibration of creation. The whole of creation vibrates, or sings, with a timeless pulsation: on off, on off. This is the way the present comes into existence. This on off vibration is necessary, because if there was no pause (off) there would be no present moment (on). Everything would be mentally solid, outside of time, and this is a perfect definition of the past. The past is a frozen, unchanging mental image which is simply there. So, a break has to occur in order for this unmoving past to be separated from each present moment. As a bit of time comes into existence, it immediately becomes created, fixed, and part of the past. For this reason, Aleph is called the scintillating consciousness or intelligence. To scintillate means to throw out sparks, to emit quick brilliant flashes of light. But this isn t some cold, automatic force like the Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 2

7 flashing light on the corner of Sixth and Main; this is a living force, God speaking the word, desiring creation! Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has its own spelling, but the rules are different. In this way, the letter is included in the spelling. For example, Aleph is spelled with three Hebrew letters: Aleph, Lammed, and Peh. In English this would be: ALP. Notice that Aleph is used in spelling Aleph. A little unusual, perhaps, but that s how it s done. In the Hebrew dictionary, ALP, when spelled out, literally means ox. The ox was the strongest animal in the Middle East. In America it would be the bear or buffalo and in Africa most likely the elephant. The point is great strength. The fact that Aleph means ox is an indication that there is a powerful urge to become. This vibrating, scintillating desire is emphasized by the ancient Hebrews as being the most powerful of all the letters, symbolizing God wanting existence and life to come into being; scintillating, very powerful, and eternally present. Another thought concerning the ox: the ox is a bull castrated by farmers in the Middle East so it can be more easily controlled. So Aleph represents a controlled, directed energy, not just a wild bull running loose. This again indicates that the creator didn t speak the word and then wander off, so to speak. It s still being spoken now and in a powerful, directed manner. The Qabalistic Tree of Life is a map of consciousness. A proper exploration of Aleph must include the Qabalistic Tree of Life. As you can see, the tree consists of circles, called the Sephiroth, and connections between them called channels or paths. In the same way that the exploration of the living forces, symbolized by the Hebrew letters, is a study of consciousness, the Tree of Life is a map of Figure 1. The Tree of Life in color consciousness. The tree is a teaching aid which puts the Qabalistic ideas together into an understandable form, like a road map. There are many Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 3

8 ways to label the Sephiroth and paths, depending on what you are studying. For example, from an artist s point of view the Qabalistic meanings can be hinted at through the use of color. Astrology is a very important part of the Qabala and will be presented in conjunction with the letters as we go through them. Here is a tree labeled with the astrological signs and planets. Figure 2. The Tree of Life showing the signs and planets Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 4

9 This tree is labeled with psychological elements. Figure 3. The Tree of Life showing psychological elements Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 5

10 This tree shows the twenty two Hebrew letters placed in their various locations on the paths. Figure 4. Tree of Life showing the Hebrew letters Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 6

11 And here is a tree with the Sephiroth numbered, showing the flow from the first Sephirah at the top, Kether, down to the bottom of the tree, physical existence. Figure 5. Tree of Life showing the numbered Sephiroth Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 7

12 The top Sephirah, Kether, is the Prime Mover, the Godhead, the vast countenance emanating out of the Great Unmanifest. The second Sephirah is Chokmah. This is called the Second Glory. The letter Aleph is placed on the path between Kether and Chokmah. This path describes the relationship between Kether and Chokmah and is the interaction of the prime creator, the first principle, with its reflection, Chokmah. The thinking goes like this: From the nothingness of the Great Unmanifest, a Vast Countenance (the Godhead) manifests. It stands alone and is self created. It is all there is, so it has no choice but to reflect upon itself. In order to be a perfect reflection, as God is perfect, the image must also be self conscious and looking back at God. This produces a change in Kether because it now has an additional awareness of itself through the mirror of Chokmah. This in turn produces a change in the Chokmah image which now includes Kether s additional awareness, which then produces more additional instantaneous feedback, back and forth, back and forth, setting up the first vibration, the scintillation symbolized by Aleph. Various books talk about the descent of a lightning bolt of consciousness from Kether on a zigzag path down the Tree of Life through each Sephirah until it reaches Sephirah ten, the Sephirah at the very bottom of the tree (notice physical existence is at the very bottom of the tree the final result). The beginning of this lightning flash is from Kether to Chokmah along the Aleph path. Uranus is the most appropriate astrological symbol for this path since more than any other planet or sign, Uranus is associated with lightning. Psychologically speaking, Uranus is the lightning flash of sudden inspiration, the awakening to some new concept, intuitive idea, or new awareness. Uranus, The Awakener, is placed here with the idea of the instantaneous flash of lightning or consciousness from instant to instant, the always present instantaneous moment symbolized by Aleph. Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 8

13 The placement of Uranus in your astrological horoscope indicates the area in your life which is subject to sudden insight, the need for excitement, and the desire for the new and unusual. Here is where you have the potential to encapsulate the new idea. Uranus is associated with general unpredictably and, because of the Aleph connection, with life s newness and freshness. Uranus is also one of the indicators of the humanitarian instincts, the general concern for others. More will be said about this when the letter Tzaddi and the Aquarius connection are covered. In Biblical Hebrew, the first letter of a word often is a strong indication as to the meaning of the word. It s an interesting fact, therefore, that many of the names of God begin with Aleph. Some of them are: Elohim ALHYM (Aleph Lammed Heh Yod Mem) Eloha ALVH (Aleph Lammed Vav Heh) Adoni ADNY (Aleph Dallet Nun Yod) El AL (Aleph Lammed) Eheieh AHYH (Aleph Heh Yod Heh) These words are also interesting: Fire ASh (Aleph Sheen) Light AVR (Aleph Vav Resh) Love AHBH (Aleph Heh Beth Heh) Truth AMT (Aleph Mem Tav) To summarize: Qabala is the study of consciousness. The twenty two Biblical Hebrew letters symbolize living forces. God, who is timeless, is speaking the word and all things are coming into existence. The moment in time is the first element of creation and is symbolized by Aleph. Qabala for the Absolute Beginner Page 9