Qabala for Inner Alchemy

Qabala for Inner Alchemy (Part One) Basic concepts of Mind Structure By Rubaphilos © 2008 (Draft v.01-24708) This lecture, and those which follow it in the series, is designed to provide an explanation of those aspects of the Qabala which are of use to students of the inner alchemy process. For the purposes of understanding this subject I recommend that you obtain copies of the following books, as reference works: The Holy Kabbalah, by A.E.Waite The Golden Dawn (Encyclopedia), by Israel Regardie The Golden Chain of Homer Setting the Scene Firstly, it is important to describe the way in which we should look at the Qabala. In modern times we almost exclusively associate Qabala with the Hebrew secret tradition. But it is often ignored the fact that the Hebrews themselves inherited their Qabala from an older culture, or cultures, probably Egypt or Sumeria. So the Hebrew format we see Qabala in today is simply the Judeo-Christian adaptation of a much older teaching. So the first consideration we should take when studying Qabala, in order to get to the heart of the pure tradition, is to be aware that a huge amount of Judeo-Christian religious flotsam has been added to that pure system over the centuries. It might be said that much of that religious veneer serves only to pollute the original Qabalistic teaching. Likewise, all kinds of questionable magical concepts have been added to the system over the ages, some of which is of little or no value at all to productive esoteric study. The original, proto-Qabala, is that which we might more accurately call essential Hermetism. Since the teachings covered in this body of knowledge originated from the Hermetic tradition. So the Hebrew Qabala is simply a translation of Hermetism into a Judaic Esoteric-Religious system. So what we want to see if we can do in these

lectures is strip away the Judaic and the religious overlays, and get back to the root teaching. So what was the original … proto-Qabala? It is most productive to think of it simply as being a teaching concerning esoteric psychology. This means that it provided its students with a description of such things as: 1) A history of consciousness. The structure of the mind. The use of the mind as the basis of the initiatory process (inner alchemy). A tool for magic. It also describes the esoteric structure of reality (its physics). Many of the aspects of modern Qabala, which are studied by contemporary students of the occult, such as the Hebrew Alphabet, gematria, notiraqon and temura are of little use to us. What we want to know, when we study Qabalistic texts, is … … what can this tell me about: 1)

The structure and function of mind, About initiation (inner alchemy), and About the lab alchemical work.

When we put to one side the superfluous subject matter in modern Qabala, and focus on these three essential core concepts, we discover that Qabala has one of the deepest, most complex and accurate teachings in the Western Tradition, concerning esoteric psychology. This is very important because almost nowhere else in the Western Mystery tradition, outside of Qabalistic teaching, can we find teaching on esoteric psychology. Since, in twork, we are all deeply concerned with the structure and function of the mind, Qabala is a very important a tool for study. Qabala is, therefore, the best theoretical foundation for explaining twork. Now, in having made all of that clear, I hope, we need to understand that for many people who study Qabala, and many systems which teach it, only a very remedial understanding of the psychology that is contained in Qabala is grasped. For this reason, when we study Qabalistic texts, we will find that we are not being handed an understanding of esoteric psychology on a plate. So you have to dig for it. You have to look deeper, beyond the literal common descriptions of Qabala, and start to reach

more profound conclusions about what is being taught, based on that common superficial teaching. As far as source works are concerned, the places where we are going to find the most accurately preserved remains of the proto-Qabala are in the Sepher Ha Zohar (The Book of Splendour), in the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and in certain aspects of theoretical alchemy. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn does two things for us. First, it explains the basic keys to understanding Qabalistic terminology. This is important because many systems, including orthodox Qabala, have a very inaccurate way of looking at technical Qabalistic terminology. Secondly, the Golden Dawn has attempted to dramatise the initiatic teachings of the Qabala. That is, the initiation ceremonies of that Order are a dramatisation of the Qabalistic teachings described in important Qabalistic source works. The Golden Dawn has organised the messy Hebrew system into one relatively orderly body of teaching, saving us a great deal of effort. Prologue The Zohar is essentially an esoteric commentary on the Old Testament. The Zohar explains how secret knowledge has been encoded in to the Torah. Nobody is sure where the huge volume of writings that make up the Zohar, originated. Waite, in his Holy Kabbalah (HK), explains the history of this document, and the arguments about its origins, in much detail, if you are interested. But for our purposes, I think it is safe to say that the collection of writings that we now recognise as the Zohar begun as a bunch of scattered oral teachings, preserved in various lineages of secretive Qabalistic teaching. Then at some point during medieval times, in Spain, some Qabalists made it their business to gather together these teachings and publish them as a single volume. Today, many of the published versions of the Zohar only include the main sections of the original work. At the same time, many books on the subject of the Zohar are only commentaries on the original, such as Waite’s HK. (If you want to read the basic original text I suggest you obtain a copy of the Soncino Press edition (in five volumes), which is widely respected. Otherwise Waite’s HK is one of the better commentaries in my opinion. Mather’s Qabala Unveiled follows close behind Waite’s work, but doesn’t really help us gain a grasp of what the Zohar has to teach. The Golden Chain of Homer gives us another view, a different angle on the teachings of the proto-Qabala. There are a number of versions of the Golden Chain available. Online you will easily find a few ‘bare bones’ versions, which are only a dozen or so

pages long. These short versions provide what is essentially the basic original text of the Golden Chain. There are also more extensive versions available, and these are largely the original brief text with various (historic) commentaries added. Any of the shorter or long versions is acceptable as reference for understanding what I will be discussing here. But I highly recommend the longer versions. First Principles The very first word in the Torah is Bereshith. There are two translations of this word in to English. First … In the beginning … and secondly … In wisdom. Bereshith is composed of four Hebrew letters … Beth Resh Shin Teth. One of the esoteric translations of these letter-words is … BaRa-Shith … He created six. Here is the core and beginning of our understanding of Qabalistic psychology and physics. These ‘six’ are first (in physics) the directions of space.

Figure 1: The structure of 3rd dimensional awareness.

Line 1-2 = Up-down Line 3-4 = left-right Line 5-6 = back-forward

When our consciousness first enters the physical reality the first thing that happens is that our mind adjusts from its unitary condition and separates into three dimensions. These dimensions are the spatial expression of the three conditions of being … intelligence, energy and form. These are the modern names for what the old alchemists called Mercury, Sulphur and Salt (respectively). The Principals intelligence, energy and form exist together as a single functioning unit in our Yechidah (Higher Genius). When we enter physical existence these Principals cause the illusion of our 3-dimensional space. Each dimension is in itself a binary. That is, it is conceptually a line that is bounded by two reference points. Together our three dimensions are bounded by three pairs of these reference points. Six points in all. These six points, which define the three dimensions of space, are the physical manifestation of the … six He created … as explained in reference to the word Bereshith. In twork we learn that every condition in nature is governed by an intelligence. So when we apply this rule to the subject of the six directions of physical space, we learn that each direction is governed by a specific intelligence. We call these intelligences, in twork, the primary archetypes of the human awareness, and of the initiatory process. In Qabala these six archetypes are called (1) The Shadow, (2) Nephesch, (3) Ruach, (4) Neschamah, (5) Chiah, and (6) Yechidah. In this way we can see that the ‘cube of space’ concept is a very basic map of both physical reality (the exosphere and its dimensions), and psychological reality (the esosphere and its intelligences). This cube analogy is the most simple way of representing the idea that mind and matter, the exosphere and the esosphere, are in fact one system. The Defining Characteristics of the Six Primary Archetypes The Shadow (Nachash) Is that intelligence that splits the unified ‘pre-incarnation’ awareness into a binary ‘incarnated’ awareness. When we read traditional Qabalistic descriptions of the Shadow, in its most basic form we are told that it is two contending forces. Because our incarnate awareness is infested with the Shadow function, every aspect of the physical world that we observe appears to also be binary in nature.

So for example, if we observe an atom we will see it is composed of electrons and protons as its two binary poles. If we look at an electron we will see that they create negative and positive charges. If we look at the charges well will see that they manifest as both particles and energy. If we look at the energy we will see that it is either hot or cold … etc, etc. The presence in our awareness of the thing we call the Shadow, both creates binary awareness and is binary awareness. The Nephesch She is a complex intelligence, but the best way of describing her is that she is the unconscious mind. The Qabalists call her the animal soul, which means the same thing as the modern term unconscious mind. Soul is simply an old traditional term for what we now call mind (roughly speaking). Other traditional terms for mind are: sidereal universe, astral plane, the firmament and spirit. The unconscious mind was called the animal soul because inside of her is all the mental machinery that evolved during our evolution through the animal kingdom. Most of that machinery is biosoftware that governs the functioning of the various systems in our physical body. Functions such as heart beat, digestion, body temperature, breathing, etc. All of these functions are automatic (habitual) and operate without us having to consciously think about them. Habit forming is a very important part of the functioning of the Nephesch. Nephesch is also that function which creates our view of the outer environment. She creates the outer world. As we all should by now be aware, the outer world is also a learned habit. An important aspect of the government of bodily functions, and the creation of the outer world, is long term memory. Nephesch is, therefore, an important part of the storage of long term memory. She also produces emotion, and is the source of instinct. Instinct is simply an awareness of the conclusions drawn from many 1000’s of years of evolution, about the most productive way of doing things. For quick reference I like to refer to Nephesch as the subjective mind. The Ruach He is the thinking mind. I prefer to call him the objective mind. This is because he concerns himself with the structure and dynamics of the physical world. He likes concrete things. His primary task is to observe the outer world and to think about what

is going on out there. He does this so that he can calculate the best ways of … (1) finding shelter, (2) finding food, and (3) reproducing (finding sex). Anything that helps him find and maintain these three goals he will cleave to, and defend. So it should be obvious that is primary motivation (programming) is survival as an inhabitant of the exosphere. Largely the Ruach learns how to make choices about survival by observing the habits of other people. Specifically people who have adapted to the same environment he himself inhabits. Together Nephesch, Ruach and Nachash form the triad of psychological conditions which govern the temporal consciousness. The Neschamah The Neschamah is the feminine aspect of the immortal part of the consciousness. She is the vehicle of the Higher Self, just as the Nephesch is the vehicle of the lower consciousness. For this reason Qabalists call her the Presence [of God]. This means that she is the part of the divine functions in us that manifests. When talking about her as the Neschamah of the race (collective) consciousness, Qabalistic literature, such as the Zohar, refers to her as the Shekinah. In the average person the Neschamah is dormant. In the same way that the sprout is dormant in a seed. If the right conditions are created around the seed, it germinates, and the sprout appears. It is the same in the human mind. Common people do not have a Neschamah operating in their minds. But, once a commoner reaches a certain degree of soul (mind) maturity, conditions present themselves that allow the Neschamah to awaken. This is the primary difference between a common person (Homo vulgaris) and a true initiate (Humanus lumens). The initiatory process only works on people that have reached a point where their Nephesch and Ruach are evolved enough to be able to sustain the germination and existence of a Neschamah. One of the Qabalistic titles for Neschamah is … a love for the Divine. In other words, when Neschamah awakens in the mind, you can notice it in the individual because she or he has a love for divine (esoteric) things. The degree of depth of that love is measured by the degree of maturity of the individual’s Neschamah. So, for example, a person who is devoutly religious, or who is heavily involved in the new age movement, could be said to have a freshly awakened Neschamah. Whereas, a person

who is a ‘natural’ student of serious occultism, could be said to have a quite developed Neschamah. Because Neschamah focuses on the divine, and is a part of our higher functions, when we have her operating inside our mind, aiding us in making choices, we think more productively. Productive thinking is that kind of cognition that not only takes care of food, shelter and reproduction, but also nurtures the further development of the higher functions themselves. This kind of mentation not only concerns itself with physical survival, but also … long term spiritual (mind) survival as well. So, again, a person with no properly functioning Neschamah only cares about physical survival. Their interests do not involve taking seriously anything that would ensure improvement or survival (or quality of life), of the mind. Neschamah begins to awaken in the mind at the point where Nephesch and Ruach start to cease being completely at odds with each other. Once they start to agree upon things this agreement is a merging together of ideas and feelings. This merging is what alchemists call the chymical wedding. The portions of Nephesch and Ruach that form this merge are the Neschamah. Neschamah is the harmony that exists between the two poles of the lower, incarnate, consciousness. The Chiah Just as Neschamah is the vehicle (Salt Principal) of the higher functions, Chiah is the Energy (Sulphur Principal). The most common term used in esoteric terminology to refer to him is … the force of life. He is often also called, the power of life, and the higher will. It is this will aspect of his functions that encourages us to see him as the inner magus or inner alchemist. His will is focused on effecting our evolution, and therefore our eventual readiness for initiation. He is also the initiator itself. Once we find our outer teacher, it is our Chiah who directs our behaviour so as to ensure we do what is required to succeed in initiation. Ultimately, the Chiah is the Foreman of our initiation. He knows all about the mechanics of the process, so he knows what tools are required in order for us to succeed. Therefore it is his job to assemble those tools, and the workmen, into our lives, so that the Great Work can begin. The Yechidah (Higher Genius)

The Yechidah is the source of our individuality. He is a spark of the divine in our personal mind. Neschamah is His vehicle, Chiah His energy, and He himself is the intelligence of the higher triad. In Him all that we are is homogenous. In Him there is no up-down, left-right, back-forward … there is only being. Another way of representing these six aspects of being is shown in the following figure:

Figure 2: The six archetypes of Qabalistic human psychology A more complex way of representing these archetypes is in the following well known figure:

Figure 3: The Rose Cross The Rose Cross lamen is (in its simplest form) an unfolded cube. Figures 2 and 3 deserve a lot of contemplation, because they describe in their symbolism many ideas about the nature of the six archetypes, and their relationships to each other. So here we have, in this lecture, the first concept that is important to our understanding of the proto-Qabala … Qabala is a teaching about the psycho-physical nature of reality. The physical reality is composed of six fundamental ‘fields’ The psychological reality is composed of six fundamental ‘intelligences’ The intelligences are the software that governs the functioning of the fields. Suggested reading for this lecture: A.E.Waite, The Holy Kabbalah – Book VI , Part I, “The Soul In Kabbalism”.