Tree of Life- Averse Reflection
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@Freya said
"Does Thelema follow the left-hand path?"
Thelema tends to move avoid sharp either-or dichotomies.
If the question might be expressed as, "Is there anything called Left Hand Path in the curriculum of A.'.A.'., or in anything Crowley ever endorsed?" then the answer is No.
If you ask, instead, whether the Thelemic philosophy per se is aligned with or avoiding of LHP, then the answer is that the Thelemic philosophy is averse to a priori polarities,
The matter is complicated further because the modern LHP-identified community uses the term in ways that don't necessarily have anything to do with how the term has been used in the history of the world (including the way Crowley used it).
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@Jim Eshelman said
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Thelema tends to move avoid sharp either-or dichotomies.If the question might be expressed as, "Is there anything called Left Hand Path in the curriculum of A.'.A.'., or in anything Crowley ever endorsed?" then the answer is No.
If you ask, instead, whether the Thelemic philosophy per se is aligned with or avoiding of LHP, then the answer is that the Thelemic philosophy is averse to a priori polarities,
The matter is complicated further because the modern LHP-identified community uses the term in ways that don't necessarily have anything to do with how the term has been used in the history of the world (including the way Crowley used it)."
Well said, Jim.
Balance.
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@Freya said
"So how would a Thelemite refer to the averse reflection of the Tree of life? What is the correct term? would tree of the Qlipoth be correct or tree of evil as I saw written in a book? (can't remember which one)"
It's not a Thelemic issue. It's a Qabbalistic terminology issue, neither inherently Thelemic or un-Thelemic.
As Takamba said, you can just call them the Q'lippoth. The "Tree" idea is just one way of modeling it. You can equally think of a mirrored tree reflected downward from Malkuth, or a dense layer (what I sometimes jokingly call the Fifth World, or World Minus-1) of the Four World stack, or other ways.
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@Freya said
"I must get the book, it's on my wishlist.
The book by Dragon Rouge describes Samael as the one who tempts with knowledge. This is quite different from "false accusers" which one is correct?""False accuser" is a title, not a translation. The basic idea is a distortion, degradation, and reactive-defensive misapplication of Mercury ideas.
For a literal translation, sm- refers to a category of poisons, drugs, and other related chemicals. I like to call Samael (SMAL) "God's Dope."
There is significant reason to believe, though, that a lot of the ideas related to Samael are concatenations of Mars ideas, caused by confusing the name with Zamael (ZMAL), the Angel of Mars. -
@Jim Eshelman said
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@Freya said
"So how would a Thelemite refer to the averse reflection of the Tree of life? What is the correct term? would tree of the Qlipoth be correct or tree of evil as I saw written in a book? (can't remember which one)"It's not a Thelemic issue. It's a Qabbalistic terminology issue, neither inherently Thelemic or un-Thelemic.
As Takamba said, you can just call them the Q'lippoth. The "Tree" idea is just one way of modeling it. You can equally think of a mirrored tree reflected downward from Malkuth, or a dense layer (what I sometimes jokingly call the Fifth World, or World Minus-1) of the Four World stack, or other ways."
As far as the averse diagram, I agree with Jim - this is just merely one way of looking at the Qlippoth. I looked at it and I was very meh about it. There are many ways to look at the Qlippoth...
Another (and definitely related to the A.'.A.'.) way of looking at it would be contained in the Class A Document Liber CCXXXI, which includes the Genii of the Carcer and of the Dome - the plates/sigils in Liber XXII. The Carcer (Prison) shows the Qlippoth Genii as they relate to the 22 paths, as well as the Genii of the Dome (House) of Mercury.
Evoking these Qlippothic entities are part and parcel to tests related to the mastery of the Astral Plane in the A.'.A.'. System. Also, they aren't so bad and they sure do have a lot of knowledge.
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This gives me food for thought........ Jim, when you mentioned angel of mars and the distortion of mercury ideas, I suddenly thought: would working with the corresponding planetary angel helps someone with an afflicted mercury or mars, someone who displays the destructive influences of Samael? Would this help or is it best left alone?
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Yes, that's one traditional approach.
Remember that "working with the angel" means starting with the Divine Name and working down. What you are doing, in effect, is taking ownership of the principle, identifying yourself more closely with it, etc.
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Thank you Jim... do you believe that planetary angels have their corresponding planetary elementals, like a planetary fairy for example? I read this concept in a book, but I have never come across it before. It would make sense that above mirrors below, but maybe not with this one
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@Freya said
"Thank you Jim... do you believe that planetary angels have their corresponding planetary elementals, like a planetary fairy for example? I read this concept in a book, but I have never come across it before. It would make sense that above mirrors below, but maybe not with this one"
"Elementals" isn't the usual word. (It's correct in the dictionary sense, just not the usual magical sense.) Each of the planetary hierarchies has a Choir of Angels this is its primary Yetziratic expression. These can be directed solely on the authority of the God and Archangel, but technically the Angel stands at their head as the immediate emissary of the Archangel.
If you aren't familiar with this structure, you need to learn it before jumping in. I give all the tables, plus examples of different types of work, in 776 1/2, so you might want to check it out. (Other books also go through this, of course - those of Denning & Phillips are especially excellent.)
