copenhagen qabalah
spiritual
technology lab
a
pathworking ritual
Pathworking
enables you to contact godforces by rising on the planes though the Tree
of Life.
The 10 Sephiroth and 22 Paths represent a selection of inner
spiritual qualities. Working with them means bringing 32 specific
divine energies into your life, one by one from the bottom up,
until you have grown an
entire Tree of Life within. *
Pathworking
is done by the means of visualisation, using the astral screen
that appears when your eyes are closed, and while you are dreaming.
In your dreams you travel strange worlds that are normally out
of reach. These worlds consist not only of individual astral
material, but links through their symbolism to collective layers
of consciousness. A Path is such a world that can be accessed
consciously
and by will,
because it is regularly
travelled
by other magicians. *
"A vision
evoked by the use of the Tree is, in fact, an artificially produced waking dream, deliberately motived
and consciously related to some chosen subject whereby not only
the subconscious content, but also the superconscious perceptions
are evoked and rendered intelligible to consciousness" (...)
"In a spontaneous dream the symbols are drawn at random
from experience; in the Qabalistic vision, however, the picture
is evoked from a limited set of symbols to which consciousness
is rigidly restricted by a highly trained habit of concentration.
It is this peculiar power to turn the mind loose within determined limits which constitutes
the technique of occult meditation" (Fortune;95). *
training
your astral consciousness
In order
to walk the Paths of the Tree, your power of concentration must
be trained to hold a space in consciousness that includes a number
of selected qabalistic symbols. For training, visualise in your
mind a single digit number on a blackboard, then add more numbers
until the visualization slips away. Compose your own exercise
where you are gradually integrating more senses into the experience,
e.g. smell, sound, touch, temperature, etc. Always perform the
Lesser
Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram before such exercises as they too
are magic
rituals.
Do not continue on to pathworking until your visualisations have
reached a high level of stability involving a number of senses.
Shamans are masters of astral visualisation, and a quite radical
approach to "the art of dreaming" is found throughout
the shamanistic works of Carlos Castaneda. *
ritual
initiation - a group alternative
Another,
more powerful way of becoming familiar with the Sephiroth and
Paths is through ritual initiations. In such initiations which
are usually carried out by orders of the Western Mystery Tradition, a physical
Temple is built which is similar to the one visualised in the
ritual below, and a number of people are participating who are
already familiar with the Path in focus. Both the physical manifestation
of the Temple with symbols and the group interaction are adding
energy to the ritual: *
"A ritual
initiation is the act of linking the microcosmic Sephirah
the chakra, with the Macrocosmic Sephirah; it is the introduction
of a newcomer to the Sphere by those who are already there. They
construct a
symbolic representation of the Sphere on the physical plane in
the furniture of a temple; they construct an astral replica by concentrated
imagination; and by means of invocation they call down into this
temple not made with hands the forces of the Sphere of the Sephirah
they are working upon (...) these forces stimulate the corresponsing
chakras of the initiate and wake them up to activity in his aura"
(Fortune;77). *
This website
does not include further material on ritual initiations. A comprehensive
sourcebook is Israel Regardie's "The Golden Dawn",
the 800 page one-volume edition published by Llewellyn in 1998.
*
a pathworking
ritual
1 Choose a Sephirah
or a Path to work with. As all Pathworkings should begin in Malkuth - at the level of
your normal sensory consciousness, you can only add new Paths
to you inner Tree which are continuations of the ones you have already travelled and
become familiar with. Also, don't climb the Tree only though
one of the Pillars - finish each level of the Tree before you
climb the next. If this is you first pathworking, you should
only visit Malkuth. The growth of any Tree begins from the roots.
*
2 Perform the Lesser Banishing
Ritual of the Pentagram to construct a safe magical space around you. Make
sure to perform it with great care and intensity as you are at
the beginning of a long journey. *
3 If you wish to enter
a Path or a Sephirah you are unfamillar with, thoroughly study
their symbolism (enter through the
front
page).
*
Prepare yourself
for building a Temple in consciousness for each Sephirah and
a 'surrealistic' landscape for each Path - what would they look
like? Look at the related Tarot cards: The small cards for each
Sephiroth and Trumphs for the Paths. *
Do not continue
until you have at least recorded in your mind the godname, archangel
and angel choir
of each chosen Sephirah, the hebrew letter, the astrological sign and
the tarot trump
of each Path. When finished, perform The Qabalistic Cross, then stand or sit down in a comfortable
position. *
4 Formulate in the
imagination a Temple of Malkuth. Visualise that your are walking
towards the Temple which bears the name of the Sephiroth. *
Stop before
the building and vibrate slowly the godname of Malkuth: "Adonai ha-Aretz" ('Lord of the Earth').
Feel the presence of this divine energy. *
Now take
four steps, one at a time, up the stairs of the Temple. Stop
and vibrate the name of the archangel of Malkuth "Sandalphon". Sense the enormous
energy of the archangel vibrating through the entire Temple.
*
Take the
last four steps to the door of the Temple and notice what it
looks like. Vibrate three times the name of the angel choir of Malkuth "Ashim" ('Souls of Fire').
See the now Temple being filled with fiery energy creatures.
*
Enter the
Temple and receive the blessings and healing of the powers in
order to bring the Sephiroth's energy into your life. Participate
in whatever may take place. (same procedure for any other Sephiroth,
except that the names of the powers are different). *
5 If you have chosen
to explore a Path leaving the Sephiroth, note a number of exit
doors from the Temple with hebrew letters written on top of them (corresponding
to the number of Paths connecting with the Sephirah). Look for
the door with the hebrew letter for the Path you wish to explore.
Notice what it looks like. If this is your first Pathworking,
go for Tau connecting Malkuth and Yesod. *
Take a short
glance at the tarot
card
corresponding with the Path, its in your pocket. Open the door
and see a 'surrealistic' landscape consisting of visual elements
from the card, as if it became three-dimensional. Enter a Path
into the landscape through a giant version of the hebrew letter.
It seems that the Path is heading towards a remote Temple only
slightly visible (the opposite Sephiroth). *
Follow the
Path through the landscape and notice anything particular, like
in a dream. You probably meet some of the beings shown at the tarot card. If you
intend to meet a guide for the trip, one will show up and lead
you onwards towards the next Temple. Make sure that each being
is not an astral deception: You may ask if the guide works in
the name of "Eheieh", the godname of
Kether, the supreme Sephiroth. Only interact with beings if their
response to this is trustworthy. *
Towards the
end of this Path, you will walk through a giant version of the
corresponding astrological
sign.
This means that you are only a moment away from the Temple of
the opposite Sephiroth. *
6 Visit the Temple
of this other Sephirah by the same procedure as the previous one, except using
the godname, archangel and angel choir corresponding with it. *
Choose whether
you wish to go
on through
the Tree with more Paths and Sephiroth or you prefer to return from here. Don't
go any higher if you aren't yet familiar with all Paths up to
the present level of the Tree. *
7 When you have received
the blessings of the final Sephirah of this Pathworking, go back using a hebrew letter
exit door from the Temple. Follow the now familiar Path in the
opposite direction. Go through all previous Temples and Paths
by the same procedure as was used on the way out. Remember to
willfully close
all doors
securely behind you. *
What happens
on the way back? Has anything changed? Have you? You always know
that you are on a Path when you are learning and get access to new information. *
8 When you are back and have left and
shut the door of the Temple of Malkuth, perform the Lesser Banishing
Ritual of the Pentagram. *
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