archangels and sephiroth
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I would recommend you read a good introduction to the structure of the worlds, such as 'The Beginning of Wisdom' translated by Amiram Markel and M T Wolkenfeld, followed by 'De'ah et HaShem' , The knowledge of G-d, written by Shimon Markel and edited by Amiram Markel. These are two of the best introductions to the structure of the worlds without which the concept of 'garment', angelic or otherwise, are liable to lead to error. These are free to download in PDF format at TrueKabbalah.com
Atzilut
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Thanks for the recommendation, Atzilut, but when I go to TrueKabbalah.com, I just find a curt lesson in web site design written by someone stuck in the 1990s.
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Ah sorry about that. Just checked links so try this. Otherwise I can email the docs concerned
www.truekabbalah.com/documents.php
Best Wishes
Atzilut
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Thanks for the talk everyone, and the reference materials. I'm finally going to have time to sit down with the Wake World tonight so hopefully it'll shed light on my thinking here.
I have another question in response to Jim.
"One invokes ("calls in") something existing at a higher level than that at which we are functioning. One evokes ("calls out") something existing at a lower level."
Does this mean that its impossible to invoke (because, perhaps, its already "in") something existing at a lower level, or is it a practical recommendation not to do so? I read somewhere about magicians invoking Goetic demons and other earth type spirits, thats why I'm asking.
Thanks.
-Cody
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@poor+blind+misfi said
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"One invokes ("calls in") something existing at a higher level than that at which we are functioning. One evokes ("calls out") something existing at a lower level."Does this mean that its impossible to invoke (because, perhaps, its already "in") something existing at a lower level, or is it a practical recommendation not to do so? I read somewhere about magicians invoking Goetic demons and other earth type spirits, thats why I'm asking."
It's a mix of a couple of things.
First of all, it's probably not a possibility at all.
However, what IS possible is employing the methods AS IF you were invoking, and this has some real dangers - because in invocation you "lose yourself" to the invoked power. Even if there isn't an overtly subservient element in the ceremnony of doing so, the process of invocation makes the magician's ego subservient to the invoked being or power.
Now... do you really want to approach interaction with a Goetic demon in this particular way?
Furthermore, by approaching it as invocation, you're specifically NOT approaching it with the distinctive protections that are normal to evocations. (See, for example, 776 1/2, sample ritual #8 for a discussion of that.) This, too, puts you at significant risk.
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@poor+blind+misfi said
"I read somewhere about magicians invoking Goetic demons and other earth type spirits"
The distinction we're making here between "invoking" a higher being and "evoking" a lower one is an artificial nicety suggested by the words' etymology: in+voke means call in, e+voke means call out. But historically, "invoke" has been used in both senses, and when you read of people invoking demons, it probably just means that they conjured or summoned them.
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Good point.
It wasn't the spirits that were being invoked. Divine forces were being invoked in order to compel the appearance of the spirits.
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"It wasn't the spirits that were being invoked. Divine forces were being invoked in order to compel the appearance of the spirits."
Yes, hence it is useful to know how those divine forces were structured according to the teachings of the Kabbalists.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the majority of works on magic and quabalah are incomplete and inaccurate,
and therefore are not effective in the way they are thought to be. This is because nearly all work written in the
western esoteric tradition fails to understand and apply the inner significance of idolatry, particularly with reference to the S'firot.Atzilut
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@Atzil said
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"This is because nearly all work written in the
western esoteric tradition fails to understand and apply the inner significance of idolatry, particularly with reference to the S'firot.Atzilut"
"Would you care to elaborate?
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Yes I would be happy to elaborate, and will post reply as soon as time permits.
Atzilut
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The S'firot(Light) along with any 'garment' it is connected to was never intended to be an object of study separate from the context in which it arose, namely an instrument in the government of the worlds, under the rulership of the Divine. One of the problems is that many would be magicians, instead of realising that the invoking of the Divine force is a prerequisite to summoning a spirit to appearance, tend to rush past this and focus on what they think is more interesting, namely the appearance of the spirit. Now this is idolatry, but it isn't simply a matter of obeying the Orthodox Jewish ruling concerning the mitzvot. In the deepest sense, it is impossible not to be involved in idolatry at some level. The goal is to understand this and move closer to the Divine. The names and images of these demons, spirits etc are worthless for reasons that make sense to anyone who understands the nature of the texts.
Those traditional Kabbalists who spent more time with these systems understand the dangers...mistaking something for which it is not. The most obvious example is the belief that you can know something in its essence. The faculty of imagination is the biggest stumbling block further along the path in this respect. Another example is believing that there is another power in the world, namely Klipot(shells), or that by one's own authority one achieves a particular end. The Quabalah of Crowley, Blavatsky, Mathers et al, was linked to a far broader program of spiritual correspondences and religious synthesis, to have allowed the deepest aspects of Kabbalah to come out. Indeed, it is only in the last few years that many translations and writings have become available. However, the fact remains that the majority of western students, without any real knowledge of Kabbalah, Hebrew and Torah, are attempting to use a system that simply is defeating the very purpose for which it was intended, originally. I am not speaking purely theoretically either. Even books of Quabalah that address some of the more historical aspects of Kabbalah, such as J Bonner's 'Quabalah, a magical primer' fall short of providing any real understanding of the four worlds etc. They simply repeat a list of correspondences that has absolutely nothing to do with the relationships that the S'firot express in terms of Man's purpose.
The Inner significance of idolatry focuses on the subtle awareness of the individual as he/she rises and falls in accordance with the Ladder. These energies reveal the method by which one is concealed from the Light of G-d, and therefore one is forced to relinquish that state for another. These are the demons and spirits that 'conceal' or garb the S'firot. They do not require any other summoning, other than the left line which presents itself day to day
in every thought and emotion that separates you from your 'neighbour', friend, humanity. Anything, that appears to sustain this separation, although having a divine function, is idolatry and the path to correction.