The Cube of Space (Correlations)
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93,
I left the title general in case others wanted to post their attributions, but I wanted to share some non-traditional correlations for the Cube of Space that I think are notably elegant. I first arrived at them by coloring the faces of the Cube so that each side is opposite the others in color, using the 6 primary and secondary colors, as:
~Face of Cube-Element-Color-Planet
Top Face-Yang-Yellow-Sun
Southern Face-Fire-Red-Mars
Eastern Face-Air-Orange-Mercury
Western Face-Water-Blue-Jupiter
Northern Face-Earth-Green-Venus
Bottom Face-Yin-Purple-MoonBy making East/Air Orange and the Top Yellow and Bottom Purple, we achieve a completely color balanced cube (Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue-Violet). From this color balance the 12 zodiac signs may be attributed specifically to the 12 vertices by color combination. For example Taurus as Red-Orange is placed on the SE vertical shaft of the Cube (in between Air/Orange and Fire/Red). This creates a cube where all the vertices are the color combinations of the two faces. There is a small problem however in that the 3 primary colors attributed to Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius cannot be precisely fitted in this way (as no color mixing can result in a primary color). There is an indirect indication as to where they should go though when one considers the common 12-fold color wheel. The 3 shafts that are left are:
The East-Below shaft = Orange-Purple should be Aries.
----The color in between Orange and Purple on the color wheel is Red = Aries.
The East-North shaft = Orange-Green should be Leo.
----The color in between Orange and Green on the color wheel is Yellow = Leo.
The North-Below shaft = Green-Purple should be Sagittarius.
----The color in between Green and Purple on the color wheel is Blue = Sagittarius.Aries (Red)--Horizontal shaft conjoining East & Below Faces.
Taurus (Red-Orange)--Vertical shaft conjoining the East & South Faces.
Gemini (Orange)--Horizontal shaft conjoining South & Top Faces.
Cancer (Yellow-Orange)--Horizontal shaft conjoining the East & Top Faces.
Leo (Yellow)--Vertical shaft conjoining East & North faces.
Virgo (Yellow-Green)--Horizontal shaft conjoining the North & Top Faces.
Libra (Green)--Horizontal shaft conjoining the West & Top Faces.
Scorpio (Blue-Green)--Vertical Shaft conjoining the West & North Faces.
Sagittarius (Blue)--Horizontal shaft conjoining North & Below Faces.
Capricorn (Blue-Purple)--Horizontal shaft conjoining the West & Below Faces.
Aquarius (Purple)--Vertical shaft conjoining the South & West Faces.
Pisces (Red-Purple)--Horizontal shaft conjoining the South & Below Faces.In this model it is fascinating that Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius all come together at the bottom NE point, as they are the three primary colors. Lastly, I'd like to link two essays on the path progression upon the Tree of Life I think deserve some attention (a bit out of place, but no one ever talks about the Cube of Space
www.aiwaz.net/tree-of-life-logical-progression/a40
www.abrahadabra.com/proximity.principle01.htm -
And this comes from where, exactly?
The attributions of the Hebrew letters to the directions has been settled (well, except for the Tzaddi-Heh thing) for somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 years. I'm assuming what you give here is something someone recently made up?
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These correlations come from me as I clearly state “I first arrived at them…” I would like to point out that I did not once mention the Hebrew alphabet in my post, and tried to make it clear that I was listing new, non-traditional correspondences that I think have notable merit (as the attributions can be certainly derived on the basis of color, once one has settled on the colors for the six faces of the cube). I was simply dealing with the 12 zodiac signs and 6 planets (with one in the middle) as they are correlated to color.
I assume Jim you are implying the attributions you think are “settled” (as in the true and correct ones) are those as set forth in the Short Version of the Sepher Yetzirah, which is what I consider to be the “traditional” correspondences. It is dangerous to prostitute oneself to tradition with a blindfold on; I do not adhere to the ability of ideas and correlations to become truer with age nor accept that we should automatically assume they are correct without scrutiny: enter Simon Iff. It is by people working with the systems creatively and thoroughly, really internalizing them, that progress is made. The perfect example of this is in the two links I have cited above, where it is proven that 6 path allocations are out of place on the traditional Kirchner Tree of Life.
As far as the Hebrew letters correlated to the Cube of Space, the correlation of the 3 Mother letters to the axes of the Cube seems to have originated with Paul Foster Case, as David Hulse remarks “no prior published verion of The Book of Formation gives any directional correspondences for these letters.” He connects Aleph to the Above-Below axis, Mem to the East-East axis, and Shin to the South-North axis. In this vein Case also changed the correspondences of Lamed and Nun by flipping them to become Northwest and Southwest, rather than the reverse (he probably saw the nuttiness of the attributions going out of turn, but by doing this he skews the zodiacal oppositional balance as I discuss below). David Hulse likes Case’s attributions. Anyway, here are the “traditional” correlations to the Cube of Space from the Short Version of the Sepher Yetzirah:
Beth (Mercury)—Above
Gimel (Moon)—Below
Daleth (Venus)—East
Kaph (Jupiter)—West
Peh (Mars)—North
Resh (Sun)—SouthHeh (Aries)—Northeast vertical
Vav (Taurus)—Southeast vertical
Zain (Gemini)—East Above horizontal
Cheth (Cancer)—East Below horizontal
Teth (Leo)—North Above horizontal
Yod (Virgo)—North Below horizontal
Lamed (Libra)—Southwest vertical
Nun (Scorpio)—Northwest vertical
Samekh (Sagittarius)—West Above horizontal
Ayin (Capricorn)—West Below horizontal
Tzaddi (Aquarius)—South Above horizontal
Qoph (Pisces)—South Below horizontalAn analysis of the logic for the “traditional” allocation of the 12 simple letters upon the Cube seems to be based on having the zodiac signs opposite each other, however in this schema the zodiacal letters on the horizontals are on oppostite faces rather than diagonally opposite each other like the vertical poles, which I think is a weakness. In contrast my color correlated attributes are in flawless diagonal zodiacal opposition to each other. Here is a summary of the traditional logic:
Start in the East and the verticals come first, NE (Aries) then SE (Taurus); then the East Above horizontal (Gemini) comes before the East Below horizontal (Cancer). The allocations proceed in the North but do not follow the pattern began in the East where the vertical poles were correlated first. Instead Teth (Leo) is put on the North Above horizontal and Yod (Virgo) is put on the North Below horizontal. Then Lamed (Libra) is skipped and Nun (Scorpio) is placed on the Northwest vertical; Lamed (Libra) will be placed on the Southwest vertical. The reasoning behind this is to preserve the zodiacal balance of Aries being opposite Libra, and Taurus opposite Scorpio. The process of allocating the signs from East to North to West is continued where Samekh (Sagittarius) is placed on the West Above horizontal as Ayin (Capricorn) is placed on the West Below horizontal. Finally as said Lamed (Libra) is reserved for the Southwest vertical to align with the opposite vertical of Aries. Finally in the South Tzaddi (Aquarius) is placed on the South Above horizontal and Qoph (Pisces) is placed on the South Below horizontal.
Analysis: There are a few placements in this schema that are problematic logically, as the pattern set forth in the way the East was allocated is not followed. Teth (Leo) was assigned to the North Above horizontal when it seems it should have been allocated to the Northwest vertical given to Nun (Scorpio) by the rule of vertical poles being attributed first, but see this would make it opposite Vau (Taurus) and these are not zodiacal opposites. It is clear from this, as well as placing Nun (Scorpio) ahead of Lamed (Libra) and further waiting until after Ayin (Capricorn) to place Lamed (Libra), that the logic of fully correlating the East first then proceeding to the North, West, and South is seriously flawed and pseudo-logical. I also think it a weakness that the signs are not all diagonally opposite each other, but that only the four vertical poles exhibit this symmetry.
An analysis of my proposed schema is that all the zodiac signs are in flawelss diagonal opposition to one another, and that every plane and pole is opposite in color creating a seamless color-coded cube. The three Fire signs emerge from the bottom NE point while the three Air signs emerge from the top SW point, a harmony the traditional schema does not possess. My schema also follows a line of correlation one can follow that is unbroken to form the whole cube, in contrast to the traditional model which breaks the line for instance between Cancer and Teth, and at other spots. What I mean by this is that the Aries line connects to the Taurus line which connects to the Gemini line, etc.
My conclusion is that my zodiacal correlations are more perfectly harmonious and that I see nothing spectacular about the traditional Hebrew zodiacal allocations upon the Cube of Space, that I rather see disharmony and breaks in logic inherent in it.
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@Wizardiaoan said
"These correlations come from me as I clearly state “I first arrived at them…” I would like to point out that I did not once mention the Hebrew alphabet in my post, and tried to make it clear that I was listing new, non-traditional correspondences that I think have notable merit (as the attributions can be certainly derived on the basis of color, once one has settled on the colors for the six faces of the cube). I was simply dealing with the 12 zodiac signs and 6 planets (with one in the middle) as they are correlated to color."
Thanks for the clarification.
I think, perhaps, the term "Cube of Space" was confusing to me, since that's a technical term for a specific representation of the Hebrew letters. I think it would be better to give your creation a different name.
"It is dangerous to prostitute oneself to tradition with a blindfold on"
Our policy has usually been: Don't change anything until there's a specific and definite reason for doing so.
"As far as the Hebrew letters correlated to the Cube of Space, the correlation of the 3 Mother letters to the axes of the Cube seems to have originated with Paul Foster Case, as David Hulse remarks “no prior published verion of The Book of Formation gives any directional correspondences for these letters.”"
The exact correlations, yes; but the Sepher Y. gives the setup for them.
"Case also changed the correspondences of Lamed and Nun by flipping them to become Northwest and Southwest, rather than the reverse"
I'll have to look back at source manuscripts, but I don't think you're right if the Short Version of the S.Y. is the point of reference. (I'm going from memory right now, so might be wrong.)
"My conclusion is that my zodiacal correlations are more perfectly harmonious and that I see nothing spectacular about the traditional Hebrew zodiacal allocations upon the Cube of Space, that I rather see disharmony and breaks in logic inherent in it.
"I'm guessing you haven't spent many years of both ceremonial and alchemical application of them. - Regardless, I entirely support you're finding your own patterns. I just recommend using a different name since "The Cube of Space" is so specific a reference.
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I just had the chance to check some notes on the Short Version. It says in V:2:
"Twelve Simple Letters: Heh, Vav, Zayin, Cheyth, Teyth, Yod, Lamed, Noon, Samekh, A‟ayin, Tzaddiy, Qof. Their foundation is twelve diagonal boundaries: the boundary North-East, the boundary South-East, the boundary East-Above, the boundary East-Below, the boundary North-Above, the boundary North-Below, the boundary North-West, the boundary South-West, the boundary West-Above, the boundary West-Below, the boundary South-Above, the boundary South-Below."
So Lamed and Noon are correctly attributed to North-West and South-West.
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93,
I got my info on Case’s work via the Cube from pg. 106 of Hulse’s “New Dimensions for the Cube of Space.” Here Hulse says that there are some versions of the Sepher Yetzirah that differ between their allocations of Lamed and Nun. Hulse goes ad nauseum upon Case’s switching of these on page 113. Also, I used the model of the Cube on pg. 134 of Wang’s “Qabalisitc Tarot” to write my post, which has Nun as NW and Lamed as SW. There is obviously some confusion on these two letters’ placements upon the Cube. According to David Hulse on pg. 113:
“Paul Foster Case firmly established the directional correspondence of the Northwest as Lamed and Southwest as Nun when first drawing the Cube of Space. Undoubtedly, Case used as his source the 1923 translation of The Book of Formation by Knut Stenring. This is the only version that corroborates Case’s own vision of the cube of letters.”
I am not sure on this issue myself, but was the Short Version you quoted Stenring’s translation? According to Hulse this is the only version that has Lamed as NW and Nun as SW. Note Wang’s model cited above attributes them as what according to you would be out of place or switched.
Upon contemplation I have solved this confusion for myself and agree with you that in the traditional schema Lamed should be NW and Nun SW. The key is to note how the zodiacal horizontals are opposite each other: they are not diagonally opposite but opposite on the same plane (for example Teth as Above North opposite Aquarius as Above South). Thus by putting Lamed (Libra) in the NW it is opposite Heh (Aries) as NE on the same plane, and by putting Nun (Scorpio) in the SW it is opposite Vau (Taurus) as SE on the same plane. This also has the advantage of making the sequential Hebrew allocations to the East, North, West, South faces of the cube more logical (thought it is not obvious to me the why they start in the East and go counterclockwise). This placement does alleviate a lot of the critique I waged against the other arrangement, and results in a more elegant set of correlations. There is still the anomaly that the first assignemt of Teth (Leo) in the North is not upon a vertical pole, but oh well, the pattern is as sane as it can be while keeping the zodiac aligned non-diagonally.
Now suggesting I change my use of the term “Cube of Space” in order to provide some non-Hebrew correlations for it seems a bit bullying to me. Having a set word to describe the Cube where people posit their occult correlations of how the planets and zodiac fit upon it seems more reasonable; it is the differing sets of correlations that should have different names, not the similar matrice.
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@Wizardiaoan said
"Hulse says that there are some versions of the Sepher Yetzirah that differ between their allocations of Lamed and Nun. Hulse goes ad nauseum upon Case’s switching of these on page 113."
Different versions of the Sepher Yetzirah, reaching across at least a thousand years, shuffled the attributions in many ways. It became a little chaotic. For my own translation of S.Y., I followed the pattern most common and (to me) most sensible approach of using the attributions from the Short Version, the earliest and simplest of the main versions (from which the others built). In the Short Version, they're as stated. Hulse would be correct that there are variations in other versions. (I couldn't quote these without checking references at home.)
But if Hulse went on at length about Case swapping these two, he was wrong. Case also used the oldest forms as his standard (even down to, and including, the YHV permutations in chapter 1).
"Now suggesting I change my use of the term “Cube of Space” in order to provide some non-Hebrew correlations for it seems a bit bullying to me."
Sorry. Not my intent. But I'd make the same type of suggestion if you were coming up with something of your design and calling it the Tree of Life (or any of a dozen other examples either one of us could think of). CoS has a specific meaning, and communication benefits from people knowing what the names of things mean.
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Let me clarify what Hulse said: “Case exchanges the directional attributes for the Hebrew letter Lamed with those of Nun, making the card of Justice fall in the Northwest, while Death becomes the Southwest.” Now I think what Hulse meant here is that Case made the conscious decision to attribute those letters as he did, based on Stenring’s translation and not on the others. I mispoke when I said Hulse discusses Case’s switching of these ad nauseum on pg. 113 of his book, even though the section is titled “Case’s Switching of the Directional Poles Northwest and Southwest” lol, it is really just an exhaustive listing of how different authors and their tranlsations attribute Lamed and Nun to different poles—and as I have said, Hulse states that only Stenring’s translation attributes Lamed to the Northwest and Nun to the Souwest. Sorry to get “weighty”, I just wanted to clear this issue up. Here is a new comparison of the two models, mine and the traditional.
Comparison of the Two Models
TRADITIONAL
The Traditional Model’s Planets are not aligned oppositionally; they are skewed from what we know to be the opposites, and the colors of the cube are also non-aligned oppositionally.*Beth (Mercury) as Above is opposite Gimel (Moon) as Below, positing Thinking/Unconscious as the Above/Below axis as Orange/Purple.
*Daleth (Venus) as East is opposite Kaph (Jupiter) as West, positing Sensation/Feeling as the East/West axis as Green/Blue.
*Peh (Mars) as North is opposite Resh (Sun) as South, positing Intuition/Conscious as the North/South axis as Red/Yellow.The Traditional Model’s Zodiac is not perfectly symmetrical:
*The zodiac signs are all opposite each other on the same plane, but not in true diagonal opposition to each other.
*There is no alignment of the four cardinal, fixed, and mutable signs along similar axes.PERFECTED
The Perfected Model’s Planets are all aligned oppositionally:*Resh (Sun) as Above is opposite Gimel (Moon) as Below, positing Conscious/Unconscious as the Above/Below axis as Yellow/Purple.
*Beth (Mercury) as East is opposite Kaph (Jupiter) as West, positing Thinking/Feeling as the East/West axis as Orange/Blue.
*Daleth (Venus) as North is opposite Peh (Mars) as South, positing Sensation/Intuition as the North/South axis as Green/Red.The Perfected Model’s Zodiac is perfectly symmetrical:
*The zodiac signs are all opposite each other in true diagonal symmetry.
*There is a precise alignment of the cardinal, fixed, and mutable signs along similar axes. The four cardinal signs run North-South, the four Fixed signs run Above-Below (symbolically holding the Cube up), and the four Mutable signs run East-West.
*A further symmetry is that all three fire signs spring from the bottom NE point of the Cube, while all three Air signs spring from the top SW point of the Cube.PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPES
I originally conceived of this model by being interested in the color balance it possessed, using Air as Orange ritually for a long time—but now I see what has been discovered is the perfect synthesis of Jung’s Psychological Types. The Perfected Cube is thus an exceedingly perfect model of the mind’s balance.Sun--Conscious--Above
Mars/Fire--Intuition--South
Mercury/Air--Thinking--East
Jupiter/Water--Feeling --West
Venus/Earth--Sensation--North
Moon--Unconscious--BelowAries--Unconscious Thinking (Moon/Mercury)
Taurus--Intuitional Thinking (Mars/Mercury)
Gemini--Conscious Intuition (Sun/Mars)
Cancer--Conscious Thinking (Sun/Mercury)
Leo--Sensory Thinking (Venus/Mercury)
Virgo--Conscious Sensation (Sun/Venus)
Libra--Conscious Feeling (Sun/Jupiter)
Scorpio--Sensory Feeling (Venus/Jupiter)
Sagittarius--Unconscious Sensation (Moon/Venus)
Capricorn--Unconscious Feeling (Moon/Jupiter)
Aquarius--Intuitional Feeling (Mars/Jupiter)
Pisces--Unconscious Intuition (Moon/Mars)One can map these out and it creates a beautiful colored hexagram with Sun at its top rather than Saturn, which can be seen as the center. The types above posit four more than the 8 types Jung posited. It implies that some people represented by the four fixed signs are not introverted or extraverted (they possess a balance of both), but rather combine two of the four elements in their personality. A summary of Jung's 8 types is here:
www.mdani.demon.co.uk/wword/types.htm
Alternately, one could also assign Jung's 8 types to the 8 trigrams/planets, based on the Fu Hsi model, but rather assigning two trigrams to each of the four directions. For example in the South one would have Male of Fire (Ch'ien) and Female of Fire (Tui), which equal Extravert Intuitional and Introvert Intuitional respectively.
TAU (SATURN) as CENTER
Tau (Saturn) as the center is intriguing as it represents the balanced and harmonious mind, all the opposites coming together. Not considering the three axes for a moment, this center principle can be seen as without a path going to it, just like Binah upon the Tree of Life. There is a jump that has to be made off of the wheel and into the center. It also elucidates every idea being conjoined with its opposite above the abyss. There is also an interesting and natural “Devil Current” hypothesied as the harmonious mind.
I am suggesting the Traditional attributes for the Cube of Space are not in their optimal order based on the above, that rather it is the Perfected Model that possesses the optimal harmony.
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Thanks for the clarification in your first paragraph. I'm not sure why Hulse got on that bandwagon - since the simplest way to assess PFC's work in this regard is to point out that he consistently adhered to the Short Version's attributions.
On Saturn - I see the temptation of the "leap" interpretation - but remember that the attribution of Saturn to the center is Tav, not Binah.
BTW, the intersection of the Three Mothers at the very point defined by Tav is one of the most poignant synmbol sets in the entire cube. It explains whole blocks of Qabalistic doctrine about the interface of Assiah and Yetzirah.
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Case, The Tarot (1947 edition), page 125: "North-West is the direction properly belonging to Lamed. In the first edition of this book, it was incorrectly given as South-West, as in some versions of The Book of Formation, but subsequent research and comparison of ancient texts has shown the inaccuracy of this attribution."
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This new Cube of Space should be given another term, I think, also. It's like referring to the Statue of Liberty to Americans. You might mean a new representation based on it as a gateway, but most people would not understand why the Statue of Liberty is different from the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. It's what they call it.
The Cube of Space by Paul Case is the Cube of Space by Paul Case. The fact that Hulse wants to create his own Cube of Space and say whatever he wants about what Paul Case really meant, is beside the point.
How valid is Hulse? As valid as Case?
I insulted someone on another list by saying that Hulse just took over what Case wrote and commercialized it. He knew Hulse and like him.
Why don't you just call yours, a "Newer COS".
As you can see I am someone from BOTA.
No, I am not objective.
In L.V.X.,
chrys333 -
The phrase “Cube of Space” connotes to me the archetypal Cube correlated to the planets and zodiac via the Hebrew letters historically; I used the term so that people would recognize the model I was implying. The fact is we are talking about the Cube, a very archetypal geometrical form. To quote myself, “it is the differeing sets of correlations that should have different names, not the similar matrices.” Thus what should really occur is that we all should abandon the name “Cube of Space” and simply call it the Cube, and we should then name our attribution sets for it differently. I have done this by calling the Sepher Yetzirah correlations the “traditional model” and mine “the perfected model,” due to the increased harmony they establish. I realize this makes a value judgement between the two, I probably need a better name for them—I do not not want to put my own name to it, as they are fairly archetypal and beyond me as a person: my attributions are the ones you would probably use if you aren’t sticking to the traditional model.
Now, Hulse did not “create his own Cube of Space,” in fact he uses the same attributions Case uses as found in the Sepher Yetzirah. I applaud his vision and creativity using this model as a basis, and you are not in a position to disallow him this right. Hulse never conjectures what “Case really meant”: your facts are wrong I think, cite some examples. I am not impressed you insult people, and think your view that “Hulse took over what Case wrote and commericalized it” negative and false. In “New Dimensions for the Cube of Space” Hulse rather reveals a creative vision of soul progression he had with the traditional Cube correlations; he used Case’s Tarot because he saw that Case included Cube symbolism therein. None of this is plagiarizing Case for commerical gain or notoriety as you foolishly suggest.
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You said: "Hulse goes ad nauseum upon Case’s switching of these on page 113. .... According to David Hulse on pg. 113:
I understood your sentences to mean that David Hulse did indeed speak about what Case meant that there was an esoteric switching of those cards.
To me that means that Hulse was saying what he knew Case really meant by what he was doing.
I didn't say Hulse created his own COS. Or I didn't mean that with whatever I said. I did mean he took the COS from Paul Case and simplified it and made changes."Now, Hulse did not “create his own Cube of Space,” in fact he uses the same attributions Case uses as found in the Sepher Yetzirah. I applaud his vision and creativity using this model as a basis, and you are not in a position to disallow him this right. Hulse never conjectures what “Case really meant”: your facts are wrong I think, cite some examples. I am not impressed you insult people, and think your view that “Hulse took over what Case wrote and commericalized it” negative and false. In “New Dimensions for the Cube of Space” Hulse rather reveals a creative vision of soul progression he had with the traditional Cube correlations; he used Case’s Tarot because he saw that Case included Cube symbolism therein. None of this is plagiarizing Case for commerical gain or notoriety as you foolishly suggest."
I am not in what kind of position? What position should I be in to be able to think that he took all of Case's information and redid it?
I do not care that you are not impressed with me.
My view is my view. It is negative, and whether or not it is false depends on whether you see things my way or not.
How do you know what Hulse thinks? As you foolishly suggest? I agree that what I said is only a opinion and is negative. To me, it is as if someone decided on a new Tree of Life and wrote a primer on it only mildly mentioning it came from a Jewish tradition. I grant that I could be wrong. It is just an opinion.
Also, I don't think it is a very good book. It's just a primer, which some people probably need, but seems shallow.
Again, it's my opinion. Feel free to create your own Cube of Space or Cube Nouveau. A fresh perspective is always appreciated.
Sort of In L.V.X.,
chrys333 -
Hulse disregarded a number of ideas developed by Case and therefore I would argue that Hulse's work is not a continuation of Paul Foster Case's; rather it is his own approach based on the Sepher Yetzirah.
Paul Case did originally attribute Lamed to South-west and Nun to North-west but sometime in the mid to late twenty's swapped these two "directions".
This swapping allows Mars governed signs and Venus governed signs to be at opposite ends of the vertical edges balancing the "polarity" of such.
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@Wizardiaoan said
"The phrase “Cube of Space” connotes to me..."
Yes, I understand you have your own interpretation of the term. The point some of us are making is that it's not a generic term, it's a proper noun designating a specific thing. You might just as well say, "The phrase 'Tree of Life' means to me," and then give your own made-for-generic definition allowing you to bypass the whole history of Qabalah to present your own recent thoughts. You, of course, have the "right" to do any such thing, but surely wouldn't be surprised if someone suggested you were being confusing.
(Chris, your Statue of Liberty example was sublime! I was going to use White House. <g>)
"Thus what should really occur is that we all should abandon the name “Cube of Space” and simply call it the Cube,"
Now you're just being ridiculous. There's a long-standing standard term for a thing and, if you can't abrogate it to yourself, everyone should stop using it? That's pathetic. The term "Cube of Space" was coined almost a century ago by the adept who first used the cube to represent the model of spatial assignments (directions) attributed to the Hebrew letters in Sepher Yetzirah (specifically the Short Version).
"I probably need a better name for them—I do not not want to put my own name to it, as they are fairly archetypal and beyond me as a person:"
No, the attributions you provide aren't archetypal, they're your own intellectual construct. Why not call them, "My atttribution of astrological ideas to the parts of a Cube."
"In “New Dimensions for the Cube of Space” Hulse rather reveals a creative vision of soul progression he had with the traditional Cube correlations..."
I gave it a fairly positive review in Black Pearl No. 9. I'll post the review below for general information.
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(From Black Pearl No. 9, copyright College of Thelema, all rights reserved.)
**NEW DIMENSIONS FOR THE CUBE OF SPACE
The Path of Initiation Revealed by the Tarot upon the Qabalistic Cube **
by David Allen Hulse (Samuel Weiser, Inc., 2000. Paper, 146 pp. $16.95. ISBN 1-57863-137-8.)Finally, a book to stir the imagination about the Cube of Space!
The name, “Cube of Space,” is a 20th Century title coined by Paul Foster Case to describe one of the oldest esoteric models of the Qabalistic (or any other) tradition. Preceding the Zohar by half a millennium – or perhaps double that – the Sepher Yetzirah, or “Book of Formation,” described the creation of Reality in terms of an infinite-size cube, then proceeded to attribute the Hebrew letters to its defining dimensions. Until Case’s work in the last century, nothing much appears to have been done with this, despite the ubiquitous presence of the cube itself as a symbol of the inmost mystery of at least half a dozen major mystical traditions.
But Case’s material – besides a few teasing remarks in his remarkable book, The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages – is all locked away in private lesson materials of Builders of the Adytum. Kevin Townley’s 1993 book, The Cube of Space: Container of Creation, ably provided the raw parameters of the cube, its mathematical structure, and its basic attributions. Hulse, on the other hand, uses the medium of story and powerful imagery to ignite an inner quest.
His story is of the path of incarnation and initiation, journeying, in turn, the six surfaces of the Cube of Space and its hidden interior. His language is vivid, and his narrative compelling.
The book has weaknesses, though. For one, the model of spiritual passage he portrays is marred by artifice. That is, while the broad parameters (his main thesis) are probably right on the mark, his minute details are surely overly structured and simply do not portray any generic Path. (They do not, for example, portray the Path along which life has led this reviewer nor half the questing souls I know; though it might just happen to fit the other half!) There is also a surprisingly noisy sense of self-importance by the author regarding his mission in this authorship, something I haven’t seen as characteristic of Hulse’s earlier writings. I suspect the explanation of both of these points is that the book is far more personal than the author lets on. He does give clues that it’s personal; and in some of his advertising (for example, his remarks in Amazon.com’s ad for the book), he lets even more be known. I suspect that this work erupted from within Hulse, and is rather autobiographical. If this assessment is correct, though, it might, have made a much more compelling book if he had written it as that autobiography.
His definition of the Holy Guardian Angel, and the particular way he differentiates it from the Higher Self, is quite different from any definition I would ever use. (Hardly a sin!) He gets credit for defining his terms – unlike most authors of the subject.
Nonetheless – regardless of whether the individual reader’s soul confirms the exacting mapping of minute steps of the pathways of aspiration and attainment – this book will fire imagination and likely inspire to years of personal digging and discovery using the Tarot and the remarkable model of the Cube of Space. Beautifully illustrated, and containing some of the richest insights on Tarot we’ve ever read (frankly, there aren’t many authors who can still startle me with new insights on familiar old cards – but Hulse did!), we give it a warm four rose recommendation. (****)
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Hi Jim and Wizardiaoan,
I'll look at the book with a different perspective. Case has a certain type of prose that is razor sharp intelligent, and Hulse was sloppy, I felt. Now that Wizardiaoan has mentioned that it was inspiring, and Jim mentions it was more autobiographical than technical, I will understand what the message really was. It wasn't an explanation of the Cube, as much as a discussion of the experience of the Cube.
I thank you both for this chance to see it in a different light.
In L.V.X.,
chrys333 -
I'm not bickering with you guys any more on the name thing, nor whether my attribution set is just as archetypal as the traditional.
I basically agree with Jim's review of Hulse's "New Dimensions for the Cube of Space." While I applaud creative vision, Hulse does overstate himself: "the message that was meant for the world is about to be revealed in all its glory and splendor." (p. 19) "This story has never seen print in any form until now. It is one of the most esoteric teachings contained in the tarot, and could not be revealed before the dawn of the 21st century. It is a doctrine of the Aquarian Age and is intended to help all souls now incarnating on the planet." (p. 19) In other words New Age rubbish, lol? It seems almost to be an early vision Hulse had which he couldn't let go of. I really wish he would have devoted an equal amount of time to the story the serial progression of the Tarot produces. I'm a big fan of Hulse's 2 volume Mysteries series, but this book really goes nowhere. It is also confusing, and I must say I would not want any inititate trying to follow its path. Like Jim this sequential experience does not coincide with my understanding of the Initiation experience as it unfolds through Life.
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I hit submit instead of preview, I was going to go a bit more into the book review. Rather than end on the negative, I do agree with Jim that Hulse expounds Tarot symbolism wonderfully. Again I love his two big volume set and am even writing a book building on it called Liber MXI Grammatometria.
It may not be out of place for me to say that I think one of his most ingenious perceptions was to realize that the cipher in AL II:76 might be alluding to the S.A.T.O.R. Mars square via the letters RPST, which are its 4 consonants. I have made personal contact with Hulse in the past, and in December 1997 he sent me his unpublished Liber CCCXXX ABRAHADABRA which details his AL II:76 solution along with a lot of Serial English qabalah work on Liber Legis. Anyway, I have summarized his solution in my own; I list the link here for anyone interested in his original solution and my building from it:
www.4shared.com/u/zkrgqsq/3498f130/Wizardiaoanyahoocom.html
Now I would like to post some grammatometric work on the hexagram I have done, which I thought was significant. Here are the models of the hexagram I am talking about, they can be seen really as just variations of the color wheel (since my Cube attributions are all color correlated):
www.flickr.com/photos/waltdelong
The Hexagram with Sun, Mercury, Venus at the Top may be the best model, even though it is not how the hexagram is usually correlated using the Tree of Life as a basis. This model is in sync with the color wheel, Orange and Green are at the top by Yellow rather than flipping them to the bottom. This results in a more harmonized hexagram, it’s downward triangle is composed of the three primary colors of the Fire signs, and its upward triangle is composed of the three secondary colors of the Air signs. It thus includes an even mixure of cardinal, fixed, and mutable signs within it.
Downward Triangle:
- Aries--Red--5
- Leo--Yellow--9
- Sagittarius--Blue--15, 60
Upward Triangle:
7. Libra--Green--12, 30
11. Aquarius--Purple--18, 90
3. Gemini--Orange--7The hexagram equals (29, 74) + (37, 127) = 66, 201. The zodiac signs serially equal 36. The hexagram + the planets = (66, 201) + (57, 309) = 123, 510.
66 contains two 6's, as 66 it is 1-11 which seems to connote its center as Saturn as perhaps Daath. 201 is very good, as it is RA in Hebrew, the chief Sun God principle. The zodiac numbered serially as Aries = 1, etc., sum the hexagram to 36 which is again very good as 36 = 6x6. Finally if ones adds up the 6 planets (Mercury = 2, Moon = 3, Venus = 4, Jupiter = 20, Mars = 80, Sun = 200), and adds them to the hexagram total you get 201+309 = 510, which is RISh = Resh in Hebrew, the name for its 20th letter R = Sun. These synchronous results are not evident in the hexagram with Jupiter and Mars at its top, whose hexagram equals (53, 260) + (31, 67) = 84, 327. The zodiac signs serially equal 50. The hexagram + the planets equal (84, 327) + (57, 309) = 141, 636.
There seems to be a mystery that the hexagram of light comes from darkness, which was denoted by it equalling 66 as 1-11. I say this because 510 also equals NUX and KRONOS in Greek, Night and Saturn, as well as PhI (the letter name for the 23rd Greek letter Ph which begins PhAOS "Light").
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I'd just like to note that my model above as said posits the four fixed signs to the four vertical poles of the cube of space. I didn't realize the importance of this. It resurrects the early visions of the "Chariot of God" and the four Kerubs. It makes me wonder if the four fixed signs to the four vertical poles of the cube of space have been posited in the past? To recap my model is color-coded, and by assigning the the 6 planets to the faces, one inherently assigns the 12 zodiac signs to the vertices (Orange Mercury in the East + Red Mars in the South = Red-Orange Taurus as the Southeast vertical pole). The traditional model of the cube of space does not put the four fixed signs in the four vertical poles (it only puts two of them there, Taurus in the SE and Scorpio in the SW). Here is how the four fixed signs are assigned in my model:
--------------------South
SE-Earth—Taurus (Bull)------SW-Aquarius (Man)—Air
-----East------------------------West
NE-Fire—Leo (Lion)-----------NW-Scorpio (Eagle)—Water
---------------------NorthThese can be seen as Temple Statues.
Key VII The Chariot
Crowley is the only one that places the four kerubs as the forces pulling the chariot. His center two kerubs should be switched (as said below), then the line up with the standard attributions. It is again seen that one is then looking into the west at the charioteer, and that he is riding eastward (the golden light of the sun hitting his body). The Kerubs are guardians to the astral, and the sky blue above the four poles represents Nuit and upper astral.Key XXI The Universe
My attributions fit the classical attributions, and posit one is looking into the West in this card (note Crowley in the Thoth deck changed the Kerub symbolism to have the Eagle represent Aquarius and the Man Scorpio I believe, they are switched in others. This seems a flaw to me on Crowley's part.)The Pentagram
The standard pentagram attributions fit in with this schema, as they are in line with the classic kerubic assignments. If one imagines a pentagram rotated rightwards so where its apex of Spirit extends way into the West, one can see how it may be overlaid.I wanted to note per my YANG vs IHVH order of the four elements post that the two are intimately intertwined upon the standard pentagram, and that they will likely remain so. The Yang order of Spirit-Fire-Air-Water-Earth is interlaced in the pentagram. Starting at Spirit and drawing a pentagram clockwise gives the order. For the IHVH order, the IHShVH order on the pentagram, one starts at Fire and draws a counterclockwise circle around the pentagram.
It is interesting to think about from what direction one is looking in on the Tarot cards. In The Chariot one is looking westward at the charioteer. In The Universe, one is either looking westward, or downward from above. With the pentagram, although Spirit should be seen as the center and above, there is the interesting postulation that it is associated with the far West perhaps as the setting sun.