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Tarot Cards
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CHAPTER 1
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| Tree of life with the ten Sephiroth and the 22 Hebrew characters as they are presented in the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
1. In two and thirty most occult and wonderful paths
of wisdom did JAH the Lord of Hosts engrave his name: God of the armies
of Israel, ever-living God, merciful and gracious, sublime, dwelling on
high, who inhabiteth eternity. He created this universe by the three
Sepharim, Number, Writing, and Speech.
2. Ten are the numbers, as are the
Sephiroth, and
twenty-two the letters, these are the Foundation of all things. Of these
letters, three are mothers, seven are double, and twelve are simple.
3. The ten numbers formed from nothing are the Decad:
these are seen in the fingers of the hands, five on one, five on the
other, and over them is the Covenant by voice spiritual, and the rite of
Circumcision, corporeal (as of Abraham).
4. Ten are the numbers of the ineffable Sephiroth,
ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Learn this wisdom, and be wise in
the understanding of it, investigate these numbers, and draw knowledge
from them, fix the design in its purity, and pass from it to its Creator
seated on his throne.
5. These Ten Numbers, beyond the Infinite one, have
the boundless realms, boundless origin and end, an abyss of good and one
of evil, boundless height and depth, East and West, North and South,
and the one only God and king, faithful forever seated on his throne,
shall rule over all, forever and ever.
6. These ten Sephiroth which are ineffable, whose
appearance is like scintillating flames, have no end but are infinite.
The word of God is in them as they burst forth, and as they return; they
obey the divine command, rushing along as a whirlwind, returning to
prostrate themselves at his throne.
7. These ten Sephiroth which are, moreover,
ineffable, have their end even as their beginning, conjoined, even as is
a flame to a burning coal: for our God is superlative in his unity, and
does not permit any second one. And who canst thou place before the
only one?
8. And as to this Decad of the Sephiroth, restrain
thy lips from comment, and thy mind from thought of them, and if thy
heart fail thee return to thy place; therefore is it written, "The
living creatures ran and returned," and on this wise was the covenant
made with us.
9. These are the ten emanations of number. One is the
Spirit of the Living God, blessed and more than blessed be the name of
the Living God of Ages. The Holy Spirit is his Voice, his Spirit, and
his Word.
10. Second, from the Spirit he made Air and formed
for speech twenty-two letters, three of which are mothers, A, M, SH,
seven are double, B, G, D, K, P, R, T, and twelve are single, E, V, Z,
CH, H, I, L, N, S, O, Tz, Q, but the spirit is first among these.
Third,
Primitive Water. He also formed and designed from his Spirit, and from
the void and formless made earth, even as a rampart, or standing wall,
and varied its surface even as the crossing of beams.
Fourth, from the
Water, He designed Fire, and from it formed for himself a throne of
honor, with Auphanim, Seraphim, Holy Animals, and ministering Angels,
and with these he formed his dwelling, as is written in the text "Who
maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire." (Psalm civ.
4.)
11. He selected three letters from the simple ones,
and sealed them as forming his great Name, I H V and he sealed the
universe in six directions.
Five.- He looked above, and sealed the height, with I H V.
Six.- He looked below, and sealed the deep, with I V H.
Seven.- He looked forward, and sealed the East, with H I V.
Eight.-He looked backward, and sealed the West, with V H I.
Nine.- He looked to the right, and sealed the South, with V I H.
Ten.-He looked to the left, and sealed the North, with H V 1.
12. These are the ten ineffable existences, the
spirit of the living God, Air, Water, Fire, Height and Depth, East and
West, North and South.
CHAPTER II
1. The foundations are the twenty-two letters, three
mothers, seven double, and twelve single letters. Three mothers, namely
A, M, SH, these are Air, Water, and Fire: Mute as Water, Hissing as
Fire, and Air of a spiritual type, is as the tongue of a balance
standing erect between them pointing out the equilibrium which exists.
2. He hath formed, weighed, transmuted, composed, and
created with these twenty-two letters every living being, and every
soul yet uncreated.
3. Twenty-two letters are formed by the voice,
impressed on the air, and audibly uttered in five situations, in the
throat, guttural sounds; in the palate, palatals; by the tongue,
linguals; through the teeth, dentals; and by the lips, labial sounds.
4. These twenty-two letters, the foundations, He
arranged as on a sphere, with two hundred and thirty-one modes of
entrance. If the sphere be rotated forward, good is implied, if in a
retrograde manner evil is intended.
5. For He indeed showed the mode of combination of
the letters, each with each, Aleph with all, and all with Aleph. Thus in
combining all together in pairs are produced these two hundred and
thirty-one gates of knowledge. And from Nothingness did He make
something, and all forms of speech and every created thing, and from the
empty void He made the solid earth, and from the non-existent He
brought forth Life.
He hewed, as it were, immense column or colossal
pillars, out of the intangible air, and from the empty space. And this
is the impress of the whole, twenty-one letters, all from one the Aleph.
CHAPTER III
1. The three mother letters A, M, SH are the
foundations of the whole; and resemble a Balance, the good in one scale,
the evil in the other, and the oscillating tongue of the Balance
between them.
2. These three mothers enclose a mighty mystery, most
occult and most marvelous, sealed as with six rings, and from them
proceed primeval Fire, Water, and Air; these are subsequently
differentiated into male and female. At first existed these three
mothers, and there arose three masculine powers, and hence all things
have originated.
3. The three mothers are A, M, SH; and in the
beginning as to the Macrocosm the Heavens were created from Fire;nthe
Earth from primeval Water; and the Air was formed from the Spirit, which
stands alone in the midst, and is the Mediator between them.
4. In the Year or as regards Time, these three
mothers represent Heat, Cold, and a Temperate climate, the heat from the
fire, the cold from the water, and the temperate state from the
spiritual air which again is an equalizer between them.
These three mothers again represent in the Microcosm
or Human form, male and female; the Head, the Belly, and the Chest; the
bead from the fire, the belly from water, and the chest from the air
lieth between them.
5. These three mothers did he create, form, and
design, and combine with the three mothers in the world, and in the
year, and in Man, both male and female.
He caused Aleph to reign in the air, and crown it,
and combined one with the other, and with these he sealed the Air in the
world, the temperate climate of the year, and the chest (the lungs for
breathing air) in man; the male with A, M, SH, the female with SH, M, A.
He caused Mem to predominate in Water, and crowned it, and combined it
with others, and formed Earth on the world, cold in the year, and the
fruit of the womb in mankind, being carried in the belly.
He caused Shin to reign in Fire and crowned it, and
he combined one with the other, and sealed them, as heaven in the
universe, as heat in the year, and as the head of Man and Woman.
CHAPTER IV
1. There were formed seven double letters, Beth,
Gimel, Daleth, Kaph, Pe, Resh, Tau, each has two voices, either
aspirated or softened. These are the foundations of Life, Peace, Riches,
Beauty or Reputation, Wisdom, Fruitfulness, and Power. These are
double, because their opposites take part in life, opposed to Life is
Death; to Peace, War; to Riches, Poverty; to Beauty or Reputation,
Deformity or Disrepute; to Wisdom, Ignorance; to Fruitfulness,
Sterility; to Power, Slavery.
2. These seven double letters point out the
dimensions, East, West, height, depth, North, South, with the holy
temple in the middle, sustaining all things.
3. These seven double letters He formed, designed,
created, and combined into the Stars of the Universe, the days of the
week, the orifices of perception in man; and from them he made seven
heavens, and seven planets, all from nothingness, and, moreover, he has
preferred and blessed the sacred Heptad.
4. From two letters, or forms He composed two
dwellings; from three, six; from four, twenty-four; from five, one
hundred and twenty; from six, seven hundred and twenty; from seven, five
thousand and forty; and from thence their numbers increase in a manner
beyond counting; and are incomprehensible. These seven are Planets of
the Universe, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars;
the seven days are the days of creation; and these an the seven gateways
of a man, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and a mouth, through which
he perceives by his senses.
SUPPLEMENT TO CHAPTER IV (Found in some editions)
He caused and produced Beth, predominant in wisdom,
crowned, combined, and formed the Moon in the Universe, the first day of
the week, and the right eye, of man.
Gimel, predominant in health, crowned, . combined and
formed Mars in the Universe, the second day of the week, and the right
ear in man.
Daleth, predominant in fertility, crowned, combined,
and formed the Sun in the Universe, the third day of the week, and the
right nostril in man.
Kaph, predominant in life, crowned, combined, and
formed Venus in the Universe, the fourth day of the week, and the left
eye of man.
Pe, predominant in power, crowned, combined, and
formed Mercury in the Universe, the fifth day of the week, and the left
ear in man.
Resh, predominant in peace, crowned, combined, and
formed Saturn in the Universe, the sixth day of the week, and the left
nostril in man.
Tau, predominant in beauty, crowned, combined and
formed Jupiter in the Universe, the seventh day in the week, and the
mouth of man.
By these seven letters were also made seven worlds,
seven heavens, seven lands, seven seas, seven rivers, seven deserts,
seven days (as before), seven weeks from Passover to Pentecost, and
every seventh year a jubilee.
CHAPTER V
1. The simple letters are twelve, namely: He, Vau,
Zain, Heth, Teth, Yod, Lamed, Nun, Samech, Oin, Tzaddi, and Quoph; they
represent the fundamental properties, eight, hearing, smell, speech,
desire for food, the sexual appetite, movement, anger, mirth, thought,
sleep, and work. These symbolize also twelve directions in space:
northeast, southeast, the east above, the east below, the northwest,
southwest, the west above, the west below, the upper south, the lower
south, the upper north, the lower north. These diverge to all eternity,
and an as the arms of the universe.
2. These twelve letters, he designed, formed,
combined, weighed, and changed, and created with them the twelve
divisions of the heavens (namely, the zodiacal constellations), the
twelve months of the year, and the twelve important organs of the frame
of man, namely the right and left hands, the right and left feet, two
kidneys, the liver, the gall, the spleen, the intestines, the gullet,
and the stomach.
3. Three mothers, seven double and twelve simple,
these are the twenty-two letters with which I H V H Tetragrammaton, that
is our Lord of Hosts, exalted, and existed in the ages, whose name is
Holy, created three fathers, fire and spirit and water, progressing
beyond them, seven heavens with their armies of angels; and twelve
limits of the universe.
SUPPLEMENT TO CHAPTER V (Found in some Versions)
1. God produced He, predominant in Speech, crowned,
combined, and formed Aries in the world, Nisan in the year, and the
right foot of man.
2. God produced Vau, predominant in Mind, crowned,
combined, and formed Taurus in the world, Yiar in the year, and the
right kidney of man.
3. God produced Zain, predominant in movement,
crowned, combined, and formed Gemini in the world, Sivan in the year,
and the left foot of man.
4. He produced Heth, predominant in Sight, crowned,
combined, and formed Cancer in the world, Tammuz in the year, and the
right hand of man.
5. He produced Teth, predominant in Hearing, crowned,
combined, and formed Leo in the world, Ab in the year, and the left
kidney in man.
6. He produced Yod, predominant in Labor, crowned,
combined, and formed Virgo in the world, Elul in the year, and the left
hand of man.
7. He produced Lamed, predominant in sexual desire,
crowned, combined, and formed Libra in the world, Tisri in the year, and
the gall in man.
8. He produced Nun, predominant in smell, crowned,
combined, and formed Scorpio in the world, Marchesvan in the year, and
the intestines in man.
9. He produced Samech, predominant in sleep, crowned,
combined, and formed Sagittarius in the world, Kislev in the year, and
the stomach of man.
10. He produced Oin, predominant in Anger, crowned,
combined, and formed Capricornus in the world, Tebet in the year, and
the liver in man.
11. He produced Tzaddi, predominant in Taste,
crowned, combined, and formed Aquarius in the world, Sebat in the year,
and the gullet in man.
12. He produced Quoph, predominant in Mirth, crowned,
combined, and formed Pisces in the world, Adar in the year, and the
spleen in man.
CHATER VI
1. In proof of these things, and witnessing
faithfully are the Universe, the Year of time, and Man himself, the
Microcosm. He fixed these as testimonies of the Triad, the Heptad, and
the Dodecad; the twelve constellations rulers of the world, the Dragon
(THELE) Tali which environs the universe, and the microcosm, man.
The triad, fire, water, and air; the fire above, the
water below, and the air in the midst. The proof of which is that air is
a participator with both.
2. Tali, the Dragon, is above the Universe, as a king
on his throne; the sphere in the year as a king in his State, the Heart
of man as a king in warfare.
And our God made the states of opposition, good and
evil, good from the good, and evil from the evil. Happiness is reserved
for the just, and misery for the wicked ones.
3. And out of the triad one stands apart; and in the
heptad there are two triads, and one standing apart. The dodecad
symbolizes war, the triad of amity, the triad of enmity, three which are
life-giving, three which are death-dealing, and God, the faithful king,
rules over all from the throne of his sanctity.
One above three, three above seven, and seven above twelve, and all are linked together, and one with another.
4. After that our father Abraham had seen, and
pondered over, investigated, and understood these things, he designed,
engraved, and composed them, and received them into his power (hands).
Then the Lord of all appeared unto him, made a covenant with him, and
kissed his head, and naming him after his own name, called him his
friend; and as it is written, completed a covenant with him and with his
seed forever, who then believed on God, the Tetragrammaton, and it was
imputed to him for righteousness.
God ordained a covenant between the toes of his feet,
that of circumcision; and a covenant between the fingers of his hands,
that of the Tongue. He bound the essences of the twenty-two letters on
his tongue, and God disclosed to him the secrets of them. God has
carried these through waters, He has borne them aloft through fire, and
He has stamped them in the storms of the air; He has distributed them
among the seven stars, and has assigned them to twelve celestial
constellations. Amen.
THE THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM
APPENDIX TO THE SEPHER YETZIRAH
The First Path is called the Admirable or the
Concealed Intelligence (The Highest Crown) - for it is the Light giving
the power of comprehension of that First Principle which has no
beginning, and it is the Primal Glory, for no created being can attain
to its essence.
The Second Path is that of the Illuminating
Intelligence it is the Crown of Creation, the Splendor of the Unity,
equaling it, and it is exalted above every bead, and named by the
Kabbalists the Second Glory.
The Third Path is the Sanctifying Intelligence, and
is the basis of foundation of Primordial Wisdom, which is called the
Former of faith, and its roots, Amen; and it is the parent of Faith,
from which virtues doth Faith emanate.
The Fourth Path is named Measuring, Cohesive, or
Receptacular; and is so called because it contains all the holy powers,
and from it emanate all the spiritual virtues with the most exalted
essences: they emanate one from the other by the power of the primordial
emanation (The Highest Crown), blessed be it.
The Fifth Path is called the Radical Intelligence,
because it is itself the essence equal to the Unity, uniting itself to
the BINAH or Intelligence which emanates from the primordial depths of
Wisdom or CHOCHMAH.
The Sixth Path is called the Intelligence of the
Mediating Influence, because in it are multiplied the influxes of the
emanations; for it causes that affluence to flow into all the reservoirs
of the Blessings, with which these themselves are united.
The Seventh Path is the Occult Intelligence, because
it is the Refulgent Splendor of all the Intellectual virtues which are
perceived by the eyes of intellect, and by the contemplation of faith.
The Eighth Path is called Absolute or Perfect,
because it is the means of the primordial, which has no root by which it
can cleave, nor rest, except in the hidden places Of GEDULAH.
Magnificence, which emanate from its own proper essence.
The Ninth Path is the Pure intelligence so called
because it purifies the Numerations, it proves and corrects the
designing of their representation, and disposes their unity with which
they are combined without diminution or division.
The Tenth Path is the Resplendent Intelligence,
because it is exalted above every bead, and sits on the throne of BINAH
(the Intelligence spoken of in the Third Path). It illuminates the
splendor of all lights, and causes a supply of influence to emanate from
the Prince of countenances.
The Eleventh Path is the Scintillating Intelligence
because it is the essence of that curtain which is placed close to the
order of the disposition, and this is a special dignity given to it that
it may be able to stand before the Face of the Cause of Causes.
The Twelfth Path is the Intelligence of Transparency,
because it is that species of Magnificence., called CHAZCHAZIT, which
is named the place whence issues the vision of those seeing in
apparitions. (That is, the prophecies by seers in a vision.)
The Thirteenth Path is named the Uniting Intelligence
and is so called because it is itself the essence of Glory. It is the
Consummation of the Truth of individual spiritual things.
The Fourteenth Path is the Illuminating Intelligence,
and is so called because it is itself that CHASHMAL which is the
founder of the concealed and fundamental ideas of holiness and of their
stages of preparation.
The Fifteenth Path is the Constituting Intelligence,
so called because it constitutes the substance of creation in pure
darkness, and men have spoken of these contemplations; it is that
darkness spoken of in scripture, Job xxxviii. 9, "and thick darkness a
swaddling band for it."
The Sixteenth Path is the Triumphal or Eternal
Intelligence, so called because it is the pleasure of the Glory, beyond
which is no other Glory like to it, and it is called also the Paradise
prepared for the Righteous.
The Seventeenth Path is the Disposing Intelligence,
which provides Faith to the Righteous, and they are clothed with the
Holy Spirit by it, and it is called the Foundation of Excellence in the
state of higher thing.
The Eighteenth Path is called the House of Influence
(by the greatness of whose abundance the influx of good things upon
created beings is increased) and from the midst of the investigation the
arcana and hidden senses are drawn forth, which dwell in its shade and
which cling to it, from the cause of all causes.
The Nineteenth Path is the Intelligence of all the
activities of the spiritual beings, and is so called because of the
affluence diffused by it from the most high blessing and most exalted
sublime glory.
The Twentieth Path is the Intelligence of Will, and
is so called because it is the means of preparation of all and each
created being, and by this intelligence the existence of the Primordial
Wisdom becomes known.
The Twenty-first Path is the Intelligence of
Conciliation, and is so called because it receives the divine influence
which flows into it from its benediction upon all and each existence.
The Twenty-second Path is the Faithful Intelligence,
and is so called because by it spiritual virtues are increased, and all
dwellers on earth are nearly under its shadow.
The Twenty-third Path is the Stable Intelligence, and
it is so called because it has the virtue of consistency among all
numerations.
The Twenty-fourth Path is the Imaginative
Intelligence, and it is so called because it gives a likeness to all the
similitudes, which are created in like manner similar to its harmonious
elegancies.
The Twenty-fifth Path is the Intelligence of
Probation, or is Tentative, and is so called because it is the primary
temptation, by which the Creator (blessed be He) trieth all righteous
persons.
The Twenty-sixth Path is called the Renovating
Intelligence, because the Holy God (blessed be He) renews by it, all the
changing things which are renewed by the creation of the world.
The Twenty-seventh Path is the Exciting Intelligence,
and it is so called bemuse by it is created the Intellect of all
created beings under the highest heaven, and the excitement or motion of
them.
The Twenty-eighth Path is the Natural Intelligence,
and is so called because through it is consummated and perfected the
nature of every existent being under the orb of the Sun, in perfection.
The Twenty-ninth Path is the Corporeal Intelligence,
so called because it forms every body which is, formed beneath the whole
set of worlds and the increment of them.
The Thirtieth Path is the Collecting Intelligence,
and is so called because Astrologers deduce from it the judgment of the
Stars, and of the celestial signs, and the perfections of their science,
according to the rules of their revolutions.
The Thirty-first Path is the Perpetual Intelligence;
and why is it so called? Because it regulates the motions of the Sun and
Moon in their proper order, each in an orbit convenient for it.
The Thirty-second Path is the Administrative
Intelligence, and it is so called because it directs and associates, in
all their operations, the seven planets, even all of them in their own
due courses.
END OF THE SEPHER YETZIRAH
Images @ Eminpee Fotography
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