Hebrew Literature Part 75

842 Binah.

843 See Introduction concerning the parts of the soul, Chiah, Neschamah, Ruach, and Nephesch.

844 See "Greater Holy a.s.sembly," ch. xlii. ---- 984-996; ch. xxvi. ---- 513-532.

845 See "Book of Concealed Mystery," chap. i. ---- 2, 3, 4 et. seq.

846 Compare this with Miolner, the hammer of Thor, of Scandinavian mythology.

847 Chokmah and Binah, included in Kether.

848 It is to be noted that this word is MNA, Manna, and is a Metathesis of the letters of AMN, Amen, which has been shown in the "Book of Concealed Mystery" to be equal by Gematria to IHVH ADNI.

849 Astral Light.

850 Right and left; while in Macroprosopus "all is right."

851 At first sight this seems a contradiction, but on careful examination the difficulty disappears. A triangle is a fit expression of the number 3. It has three angles, it has three sides; but there is the whole figure itself also, which is the synthesis of the sides and the angles. So there are the three angles and the whole figure itself which contains them, and thus completes the Trinity by the Quaternary: in the Tetragrammaton, IHV, and H final, which forms the synthesis.

852 Thus rigidly following out the rule of the symbolism before given, that Chokmah and Binah are contained in Kether. In this is the key of all religions.

853 BCHKMTHA, Be-Chokmatha; CHKMTHA is the emphatic Chaldee form of CHKMA, which is Chaldee for Hebrew CHKMH.

854 That is, the locks which have their origin in the influence of the Great Mother are interwoven mutually with those which originate from Chokmah.

855 Meaning, let him supplicate Macroprosopus, developed in the forms of Chokmah and Binah, which are summed up in Aima the Great Mother, to incline Microprosopus to be favorable. This is identical with the Catholic custom of invoking the intercession of the Virgin with her Son; for Mary = Mare = Sea;and the great Sea is Binah.

856 The word translated "forehead" is MTZCH, Metzach; now if a metathesis be formed of this word by placing the last letter between the first and second letters, we get MCHTZ, "he shall smite." Hence the first form symbolizes Mercy, and the second Severity.

857 And therefore is the divine name of Tzabaoth, or hosts, attributed both to Netzach and to Hod, the seventh and eighth Sephiroth.

858 And 20 is H, He, in the four worlds, for H = 5, which multiplied by 4 = 20.

859 The simple meaning of this and the preceding section is, that the eyes can only see when the upper eyelashes are separated from the lower ones by the lids being raised.

860 Moses, in this pa.s.sage of Deuteronomy.

861 That is, MRs.h.i.+TH, instead of MRAs.h.i.+TH.

862 That is, irrevocably, so that the word would cease to bear the same meaning were A not there. In other words, were A a radical letter of it.

863 The first, RASHVN, Rashon, where this word, derived from the same root as RAs.h.i.+TH, is spelt with A.

864 The Hebrew idiom for having mercy always refers to the nose, as "to defer anger" is in Hebrew "to lengthen the nose," etc.

865 The three divisions of the Brain of Microprosopus.

866 See Introduction concerning the names of the parts of the Soul.

_ 867 I.e._, the various degrees of the whiteness.

868 Answering to the number of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which together with the ten Sephiroth form the thirty-two paths of wisdom of the "Sepher Yetzirah."

869 See "Book of Concealed Mystery," chap. ii. ---- 31, 40, etc.

870 In the "Book of Concealed Mystery," chap. i. -- 31, HVA and ALHIM are shown to be interchangeable, and they both are feminine. And now we come to the "Three Mothers," of the "Sepher Yetzirah," the Great Supernal Feminine Triad, which is even before the triune father. I may say no more here; in fact, I have almost revealed too much. Let the reader carefully meditate on -- 651, for there the indicible Arcanum is shadowed.

871 That is the number 18 on the plane of Asiah. And 18 is the fourth part of 72. And 72 is the number of the Schemahamphorasch (see ante), and the number of the Quinaries or sets of five degrees in the 360 degrees of the Zodiac. And there are six such sets in the thirty degrees of each sign. And thus we return to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and these are operated on from the ten Sephiroth through the "seven paths of the Queen," and these again depend from the first three Sephiroth, and these again from Kether, and Kether is Macroprosopus, from whom backward depend the Negative Existences in their Veils; and Macroprosopus is called HVA, Hoa, which = 12, and finds its expression in "Aima Elohim." Thus rusheth through the Universe the Flux and Reflux of the Eternal Word.

872 I am doubtful as to whether this is the best translation of the last clause; Rosenroth has not translated it at all. The Chaldee is MMTHQIM VDAI MAI CHKV KDA VCHIK ITOVM LAKVL, Mamthaqim Vadeai Maai Chiko Kedea Vecheik Yitauom Leakol.

873 This whole section requires comment. I must first observe that Knorr de Rosenroth in his Latin version has supposed that in the word "MCHMDIM," Machemadim, fire and water (ASH and MIM) are hidden as in a sort of anagram. Now while it is true that "MIM" can be thus extracted, "ASH" cannot, for the remaining letters, CHMD, will by no exegetical rule I know of form a word signifying fire. The following I take to be the real meaning of the pa.s.sage. Chokmah is the fire, I, and Binah is the water, H, the Father and Mother Who, conjoined, produce the Son. Now the fire is symbolized by a triangle with the apex uppermost, and water by a triangle with the apex reversed; these two together united form the sign of the Macrocosm, the external symbol of Vau, V, Microprosopus. And He inherits the double qualities of the Father and the Mother, shown by the word "delights"

("Machemadim") being written in the plural.

874 The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are usually cla.s.sed in the following manner:

Gutturals = A, H, Ch, O (R by some).

Palatals = G, I, K, Q.

Linguals = D, Th, T, L, N.

Dentals = Z, S, Sh, Tz (R by others).

l.a.b.i.als = B, V, M, P.

The "Sepher Yetzirah" further cla.s.ses them as-

3 Mothers (Primitives) = A, M, Sh.

7 Duplicated = B, G, D, K, P, R, Th.

12 Simples = H, V, Z, Ch, T, I, L, N, S, O, Tz, Q.

In the above cla.s.sification it cla.s.ses R as a dental.

875 This section contains references to the Edomite kings and their symbology; namely, as denoting the primal worlds which were destroyed. (See "The Book of Concealed Mystery," chap. i. -- 3; "The Greater Holy a.s.sembly," chap. ii. and chap. xxvi.; and "The Lesser Holy a.s.sembly," chap. x.

_ 876 I.e._, tracing out the properties, etc., of the Sephiroth which form the King, Microprosopus, and, as appears from the latter part of this section, those only in their aspect of Judgment and Wrath.

877 This section is another all-sufficient proof of the teachings maintained throughout the Qabalah, namely, that Man and Woman are from the creation coequal and coexistent, perfectly equal one with the other. This fact the translators of the Bible have been at great pains to conceal by carefully suppressing every reference to the Feminine portion of the Deity, and by constantly translating feminine nouns by masculine. And this is the work of so-called religious men!

878 Chokmah, Wisdom, the second Sephirah, is Male in respect of Binah, but Female in respect of Kether. This is somewhat a.n.a.logous to the Greek idea of the birth of Athene, Wisdom, from the brain of Zeus.

879 Compare the symbolism of the many b.r.e.a.s.t.s of the Ephesian Diana.

880 The original of the "Hymn of Unity" is in seven very long parts.

These short ones merely give the leading idea in each of the original parts.