The Lightning Bolt

The Tree of Life (the Otz Chiim) is, as I’ve mentioned before, the cornerstone of the Kabbalah. It is an extremely profound and versatile symbol, with ties and links to a myriad of systems, and all sorts of internal representations and schemas. On a purely superficial level, it is perhaps easiest to think of the Tree of Life as a map. It describes the route that the divine energy of God’s sundered self uses to find expression in the physical world, via ten spheres, the Sephiroth, connected by 22 pathways, the Nativoth.

The Tree of Life from Wikimedia

By winding its way down from one Sephira to the next, God’s divine energy gains texture and meaning. Eventually, it is grounded into reality and takes its allotted form. The shards of the sundering become all the aspects of our physical world – inanimate matter, human consciousness, physical actions, even intangible ideas. The Tree can illustrate any and all of these end results, but as a foundation, it’s most useful to consider the Tree from the viewpoint of the creation of the universe. Just bear in mind that it encompasses all possibilities.

Before the existence of the Tree, there is just the infinity of God’s divine light. Nothing else exists. The light is not God Himself, but it is His essence. In accordance with God’s will and the sundering, the light becomes conscious. This is the first Sephira of the Tree – Kether, the Crown. Limitless light, Kether awakens to its own existence.

Despite its consciousness, Kether has no awareness. It is still undifferentiated – unity allows no externalisation. The second Sephira, Chokmah (Wisdom) forms in response to Kether’s unity. Chokmah is able to look back at Kether and perceive the wonder of the divine love. Two points provide the basis for a path, and the energy of the Sundering cascades down that path. Chokmah is both the source and recipient of that energy, and broadcasts it out joyfully in all directions.

A straight line allows polarity, but not meaningful motion. The energy flooding out from Chokmah travels an infinite distance – but the universe of expression is curved back on itself. Eventually the energy returns to the point it originated from, back at Chokmah, whilst still travelling in a straight line. The limitless light is filled with Chokmah’s energy, but the curve that the energy has been around describes an infinite blackness. This blackness becomes the third Sephira: Binah, Understanding, the Womb of God. With Binah’s formation, movement and space become meaningful. The new sphere receives Chokmah’s infinite energy, the mother to Chokmah’s fatherhood.

(BINAH) The Seas of Binah by *pathworking

Now that there are three points of reference in the limitless light, it is possible to begin to map out distance and direction. Binah organises the energy of Chokmah, and divides it into quanta – the individual shards. All are still part of the whole, and Binah’s oceans are very much still one, but there is also a sense that it is possible for subdivisions to exist. Having organised the divine energy, Binah emits it again, into the infinities it encompasses – a new direction. Finally the three dimensions of space are complete, and the real universe comes into being with the creation of the fourth sphere: Chesed, Mercy. In Chesed, the shards from Binah are clothed in all of the infinite variety of form that three dimensions of space allows for. Chesed is constant change and plenty without discrimination; perfect inclusiveness. Everything is welcome within Chesed, for there is no idea of shortage or foreignness.

The undiscriminating bounty of Chesed causes problems, however. Not everything is meant to exist; there is not enough room for infinite amounts of every possibility. That brings up the requirement for some hard decisions. The fifth Sephira is Geburah, Severity. In its infinite love, Geburah understands that some elements must be sacrificed to make way for others that are more appropriate, necessary or successful. That which is not needed is slashed away, so that the whole may take its most perfect form.

That perfect form is manifested in the sixth Sephira: Tiphareth, Beauty. This is the City of Gold, home of the soul. It is the pinnacle of refinement, but it still reflects the perfection and beauty of the divine in all its wisdom. Tiphareth does not yet have any impetus for action, and without action, there can be no exploration. The perfection of Tiphareth, perceiving the need for motion, gives birth to the seventh Sephira: Netzach, Victory. Netzach is an engine of energy and direction. It is powered by the limitless energy of divinity, and seeks restlessly to provide the motion than Tiphareth requires. This motion is both physical and spiritual, and gives rise to emotion, the force that drives the personality.

(TIPHARETH) The Golden City by meekel

Motion without direction however is self-defeating. To balance its energy, Netzach’s need seeks dispassionate intelligence – Hod, Glory, the eighth Sephira. In Hod, Netzach’s energy is analysed, examined and given purpose. This is the place of rational thought and scrutiny, where communication becomes possible because the personal mind is taking shape. Drawing on the power of Netzach to drive it, Hod pushes its energies down into Yesod, the Foundation, the ninth sphere. In Yesod, the glory of Tiphareth is reflected and mingled with the thought of Hod and the feeling of Netzach into a great melting pot of possibility. Splendours and nightmares exist here, in the realm of the imagination and unconscious. Yesod encompasses all that may be, all that was and all that can be envisaged.

(YESOD) Misty Forest by Freya Sensei (minor liberties taken)

Yesod is a murky and impure mirror, however. The true image of the divine can not be allowed to manifest purely in the universe, for it would be a beacon to all of the shards of God’s self, sweeping all individuality and free will away. For the Sundering to have meaning – for the shards of God to be able to experience – then the glory of Tiphareth must be hidden, at least a little. The manifest world cannot bear the light of God’s perfection. Therefore, Yesod provides a filter between the rest of the Tree and the final Sephira: Malkuth, the Kingdom.

In Malkuth, Hod and Netzach are able to reach down to organise the energies of the divine – and the bounty of Chesed and Binah – into the patterns that lie beneath reality. These patterns are slotted into place within Malkuth, which then works with the primal forces to bring the world of matter into being. By coming into existence, Malkuth creates the universe, and the purpose of the Tree is finally realised and completed.

This is the lightning-flash that creates the universe, the energy of God pouring down the Tree. As a spiritual pursuit, Kabbalism is about the individual climbing back up the Tree, along the sword-stroke path, to regain some unity with God.