Liber 231

Alrah

@Jim Eshelman said

"
@Alrah said
"Jim - would you know the date of when the text for Liber 231 was written please? (As opposed to when it was first published?)"

My best information is that it was written sometime in 1911. It appears to have been part of the "second wave" of Holy Books.

Wave Zero was Liber Legis, of course.

Wave One began approximately a year after he attained to 5=6 (in the A.'.A.'. sense) in fall 1906, i.e., in fall 1907. This wave consisted of Libri 7, 65, 66, 231 (the sigils etc. but apparently not the text), 10, 400, and 27 (with Ararita a few months later).

Wave Two began approximately a year after he attained to 8=3 (which was December 1909): They began in early 1911 and continued at least into the fall. This included Liber B, Tzaddi, Cheth, A'ash, and the text of 231."

Great! Thank you Jim. That's useful.

"
"Also - could you tell me (if you will, as this second is pure curiosity on my part ) - does the Temple of Thelema do any work on the 7 palaces in your 4=7 grade these days (derived from the GD or otherwise)?"

I can't answer the question exactly as you asked it. I can (and will) say that it appears several places in our work, some of them earlier than that."

I note in the (GD?) ritual of the Philosophus (published in Vol. I No ii of the Equinox) it ends: The lamp and cup are then replaced, after which the following symbols are explained to the Philosophus: The Image of Nebuchadnezzar's Vision; The Symbol of the Great Hermetic Arcanum; The Tablet of Union between the four Elements; The tablet of the Symbolic Latin Names; The Seven Palaces of the Briatic World; and the Kerubim in the Visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and St. John.

"
"Looking back on the old GD 4=7 work it appears that the GD were using the 7 palaces without any of the paths added (unless adding the paths was part of the 4=7 work)."

Right. The 7 Palaces do not have Paths. They haven't yet taken the form of a Tree. (They begin to do that once the 1st Palace is trifurcated and the 7th is bifurcated.)"

I can see why you would think that as you've been taught they are purely Briatic, but I've read references to 7 earthly palaces corresponding to the 7 heavenly (Briatic) palaces, so the 7 Palaces do have paths, as they exist across the 4 worlds. Now that is one tradition in Herkalot literature, but in the latter texts of the middle ages then we see this 7 to 10 conformation of the Palaces to the Tree of Life.

"
"So it's logical to assume that Crowley encountered the 7 palaces during his work as a Philosophus and then derived the paths at some point after that when he realized the 7 Palaces had wider significance - (as indicated when he wrote in Liber 231 that "This book is true up to the grade of Adeptus Exemptus")."

I don't follow that in the slightest. (Really.) Note that he would have first been exposed to them in G.D. 2=9, would have seen various diagrams organized in terms of it IIRC in 3=8, and would have seen another version such as you drew in 3=8 and 4=7."

That I drew? You aren't confusing my diagram with the Golden Dawn one are you? Interesting. I have never seen another diagram of the 7 palaces with the paths on yet, although there must be one. Would you have a link or reference? I'm just working through the GD brick and there's no mention of the 7 palaces until the Fifth Knowledge lecture. Can I trouble you for the references to the 7 palaces in GD 2=9 & 3=8?

"
""The Ten Sephiroth are also conformed into Seven Palaces.""

I think she has it backwards. I think the 7 Palaces are the simpler form, that evolves into the Tree. - It's at least easier to teach the whole thing that way <!LOL!>, which doesn't mean it's the way it unfurled; but I do think that's the flow of development."

I agree with this. Historically the 7 palaces precede the appearance of the Tree of Life as they were developed in Judaic mysticism. The 10 sephiroth incorporate the story of the Fall, and express the need to redeem the world from evil inclinations following the loss of the 3rd Temple of Solomon.

"
"However, it seems from her comments that she also did not regard the 7 palaces as purely 4=7 work."

No, they aren't. As mentioned above, they appear even in the G.D. work at different levels. Also, the G.D. didn't give any "work" with them, it just showed a diagram that had to be memorized and fed back."

Can you imagine Crowley being given the 7 palaces (sans paths) and just memorizing them to pass the grade?

"They're a very old - Medieval or earlier - Qabalistic pattern. I don't have the history in my head, They might have been part of early Mercabah."

That's right. They're definitely Merkabah. Probably dating somewhere from 70 BCE onwards - the Babylonian period.

"
"But what is crystal clear now, is that Crowley regarded work on the 7 palaces to commence with the Grade of Philosophus as he writes Ararita for that grade, which when properly rearranged (as indicated in Vision and the Voice footnote 33 of the Cry of the 22nd Aethyr) gives 14 chapters for the 14 Temple paths between the palaces... and this is probably due to him encountering the 7 palaces when he himself was 4=7. Now I just need to find out when exactly that was and hope there are some diary entries about it so I can get a timeline..."

I don't think that's "crystal clear" at all. One could as well argue that it's 1=10 since Liber VII is given there. One runs into it a lot earlier than 4=7, and there is no task in 4=7 that requires one to do anything with it at all. (In fact, the 1=10 astral work gives more opportunity to work with the 7 Palaces than anything in 4=7.)

Also, please don't confuse G.D. 4=7 with A.'.A.'. 4=7."

What has Liber VII to do with it?

I wasn't confusing the GD 4=7 with the A.'.A.'. 4=7. I'm simply acknowledging that Liber Ararita is for the Philosophus. The 1909 printing contains the words "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all. The Philosophus must nevertheless acquire a copy and throughly acquaint himself with the contents. He must commit one chapter to memory." Crowley may had raised the bar (substantially) but he was using the basic GD grades as a map. He didn't remap all the work on the tree.

To your other point - the 33rd footnote in Vision & the Voice says: * ARARITA (--- a name of God, which is a Notariqon of the sentence: "One is His beginning; One is his Individuality; His Permutation One.") The use of this Name and Formula is to equate and identify every idea with its opposite; thus being released from the obsession of thinking any one of them as "true" (and therefore binding); one can withdraw oneself from the whole sphere of the Ruach. See Liber 813, vel Ararita. Contrast each verse of Cap. I with the corresponding verse of Cap. II for the first of these methods. Thus in Cap. III (stil verse by verse correspondence) the Quintessence of the ideas is extracted; and in Cap. IV they are withdrawn each one into the one beyond it. In Cap. V they have disappeared into the Method itself. In Cap. VI they reappear in the Form appointed by the Will of the Adept. Lastly, in Cap. VII they are dissolved, one into the next until all finally disappear in the Fire Qadosh, the Quintessence of Reality.*

Now, this is a concealed work, so it's obvious that it requires someone working with it (the Philosophus) to reveal it (at least if they are to pass the Inner Grade).

Jim Eshelman

@Alrah said

"I note in the (GD?) ritual of the Philosophus (published in Vol. I No ii of the Equinox) it ends: The lamp and cup are then replaced, after which the following symbols are explained to the Philosophus: The Image of Nebuchadnezzar's Vision; The Symbol of the Great Hermetic Arcanum; The Tablet of Union between the four Elements; The tablet of the Symbolic Latin Names; The Seven Palaces of the Briatic World; and the Kerubim in the Visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and St. John."

Yes, those are the G.D. rituals. But the paragraph you quoted is from the Portal, not the Philosophus. The G.D. Portal ritual was dramatically different from the Stella Matutina versions generally known, and the only full version I know of it print is the A&O version in Nick Farrell's book, Mathers' Last Secret: The Rituals of the Alpha et Omega. The entire speech "presenting" them simply shows the diagram, and gives the name of each Palace, its sephrothic correspondence,, etc.; for example: "The Fourth is the Palace of Benevolence answering to Tiphereth and the Divine Name: YHVH Tetragrammaton. The Fifth is the Palace of the Substance of Heaven, answering to Netzach and to Elohim ALHYM." No work was ever assigned regarding this diagram.

"
"
"Looking back on the old GD 4=7 work it appears that the GD were using the 7 palaces without any of the paths added (unless adding the paths was part of the 4=7 work)."

Right. The 7 Palaces do not have Paths. They haven't yet taken the form of a Tree. (They begin to do that once the 1st Palace is trifurcated and the 7th is bifurcated.)"

I can see why you would think that as you've been taught they are purely Briatic"

There are also 7 Palaces in Assiah, and other uses - none of these are ever drawn with Paths, or discussed with Paths (in the Tree of Life sense). - At least, in anything I've ever seen. The pattern is really an elegant, primal portrayal of the 7 spheres in relation to each other.

"
"I don't follow that in the slightest. (Really.) Note that he would have first been exposed to them in G.D. 2=9, would have seen various diagrams organized in terms of it IIRC in 3=8, and would have seen another version such as you drew in 3=8 and 4=7."

That I drew? You aren't confusing my diagram with the Golden Dawn one are you?"

Sorry, I mistyped (in the middle of the night for me btw). I meant the GD one that you provided in the post.

"I'm just working through the GD brick and there's no mention of the 7 palaces until the Fifth Knowledge lecture. Can I trouble you for the references to the 7 palaces in GD 2=9 & 3=8?"

The diagram itself appears in the discussion (at the end of the 32nd Path) of the 7 Infernal Mansions, 7 Earths, and 4 Seas (which is placed in counterbalance to the Heavenly Jerusalem). Here it contains "dark" (quasi-Q'lippothic) content.

In the 3=8, First Point (Shin), we find the formal introduction to this representation, which is quite basic: "The diagram before you represents the 10 Sephiroth comprised in seven Palaces. The first Palace contains Ketherm, Chokmah, and Binah; the second Chesed; the third Geburah..." (You see where this is going.)

Soon after, there is a presentation of the 7 Heavens of Assiah. Same model.

":-) Can you imagine Crowley being given the 7 palaces (sans paths) and just memorizing them to pass the grade? "

Not if something about it caught his attention. It WAS one of a dozen or more diagrams that he was given in a grade he passed in a week or two. Whether he came back and revisited it... that's a separate question.

He knew enough to reproduce these names etc. in 777, but not enough to catch small errors or to know (at least, he didn't comment on it) that Rabbinical literature generally takes these in the opposite sequence.

"That's right. They're definitely Merkabah. Probably dating somewhere from 70 BCE onwards - the Babylonian period."

And, as I mentioned, they may be referenced in the Sepher Yetzirah but, if so, not with the sephiroth so much as the planets through the Hebrew letters. Chapter 4, speaking of the 7 double letters, has the following in verse 15 (my translation): "Seven Double Letters: Beyth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaf, Peh, Reysh, Tav. By them were engraved seven universes, seven heavens , seven earths , seven seas, seven rivers, seven desert wildernesses, seven days, seven weeks, seven years, seven sabbaticals, seven jubilees, and the Holy Temple. Therefore, He made sevens be-loved under all the heavens."

This is from a very old part of the SY (in contrast to several paragraphs right before it).

The word I translated "universes" probably refers to the traditional “7 Palaces of B’riyah.” The word is olamiym, which can be translated “worlds, universes, eternities.” Any of these might fit here. “Universes” was selected for consistency with the way I translated OVLM throughout. Gesenius emphasized that the root idea is something hid-den, especially if vast or immeasurable.

The word I translated "heavens" is raqiah, which can be translated “heaven” or “firmament.” It is a technical term, well-explained by Gesenius as follows: “the firmament of heaven, spread out like a hemisphere above the earth… like a splendid and pellucid sapphire (Ex. 24:10, com-pare Dan. 12:3), to which the stars were supposed to be fixed, and over which the Hebrews believed there was a heavenly ocean (Gen. 1:7; 7:11; Ps. 104:3; 148:4; compare, however, Gen. 2:6).” The Long Version of the SY (slightly later than the earlier Short Version on which I based my translation) openly identifies these with the traditional “7 Heavens (or Palaces) of Assiyah.”

The word I translated "earths" appears to refer to the traditional “10 Earths in 7 Palaces.”

"What has Liber VII to do with it?"

It's far more related to a universe composed of the 7 planets than is ARARITA. (It was just a toss-off, though, not an argument.)

"To your other point - the 33rd footnote in Vision & the Voice says: [etc.]*
Now, this is a concealed work, so it's obvious that it requires someone working with it (the Philosophus) to reveal it (at least if they are to pass the Inner Grade)."

OK, agreed as stated.

I'm unclear how that differs from any of the other Holy Books as a "concealed work," though. From the same source, Liber LXV's note says, "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all, save only the Shining Star." For Liber VII it says, "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all save only the Sixfold Star." For The Book of the Law, Liber Trigrammaton, and Liber ARARITA, it says, "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all."

Alrah

@Jim Eshelman said

"
@Alrah said
"I note in the (GD?) ritual of the Philosophus (published in Vol. I No ii of the Equinox) it ends: The lamp and cup are then replaced, after which the following symbols are explained to the Philosophus: The Image of Nebuchadnezzar's Vision; The Symbol of the Great Hermetic Arcanum; The Tablet of Union between the four Elements; The tablet of the Symbolic Latin Names; The Seven Palaces of the Briatic World; and the Kerubim in the Visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and St. John."

Yes, those are the G.D. rituals. But the paragraph you quoted is from the Portal, not the Philosophus. "

Then hermetic.com has made an error then because it says it's the RITUAL OF THE 4° = 7¤ GRADE OF PHILOSOPHUS here: hermetic.com/crowley/equinox/i/ii/eqi02020h.html

If this is from the portal then why are all these symbols being explained to the Philosophus?

"The G.D. Portal ritual was dramatically different from the Stella Matutina versions generally known, and the only full version I know of it print is the A&O version in Nick Farrell's book, Mathers' Last Secret: The Rituals of the Alpha et Omega. The entire speech "presenting" them simply shows the diagram, and gives the name of each Palace, its sephrothic correspondence,, etc.; for example: "The Fourth is the Palace of Benevolence answering to Tiphereth and the Divine Name: YHVH Tetragrammaton. The Fifth is the Palace of the Substance of Heaven, answering to Netzach and to Elohim ALHYM." No work was ever assigned regarding this diagram."

Strange. I wonder where they got those names from?

I could see how they might have thought the seven palaces was something special to Netzach due to the Zohar, but I don't recognise the source of these names in any of the Judaic lit I've read so far. Thanks for the tip Jim - I shall do some further searching and see if I can find the proper source (if there is one).

"Then are opened the gates of the seven palaces, the first of which is the palace of love, the second of reverence, the third of mercy, the fourth of the luminous mirror, the fifth of the non-luminous mirror, the sixth of justice, the seventh of judgment." - The Zohar - 'The Kings Palaces'. www.sacred-texts.com/jud/zdm/zdm014.htm

"
"
"Right. The 7 Palaces do not have Paths. They haven't yet taken the form of a Tree. (They begin to do that once the 1st Palace is trifurcated and the 7th is bifurcated.)"

I can see why you would think that as you've been taught they are purely Briatic"

There are also 7 Palaces in Assiah, and other uses - none of these are ever drawn with Paths, or discussed with Paths (in the Tree of Life sense). - At least, in anything I've ever seen. The pattern is really an elegant, primal portrayal of the 7 spheres in relation to each other."

None of the palaces were drawn at all in the early texts, so that's no surprise. The very idea of 'paths' seems to be an invention of the middle ages. Instead we have other symbolic descriptions which precede paths - such as rivers, tributaries, Gods 'beard', gates, gods 'arms' etc. You know what I mean. And to each of these since they are created by God, they are assigned a letter in his creation. So you are right - there are not paths* per se*, but they are just as important to the creation story in this literature as the 7 palaces are and they should not be discounted. They exist in the metaphysical mindset of ancient Israel.

"
"I'm just working through the GD brick and there's no mention of the 7 palaces until the Fifth Knowledge lecture. Can I trouble you for the references to the 7 palaces in GD 2=9 & 3=8?"

The diagram itself appears in the discussion (at the end of the 32nd Path) of the 7 Infernal Mansions, 7 Earths, and 4 Seas (which is placed in counterbalance to the Heavenly Jerusalem). Here it contains "dark" (quasi-Q'lippothic) content."

Interesting. That sounds Lurianic to me (quite late period and very different from it's origins... almost a complete reinvention infact - like Kenneth Grants tunnels of Set).

"In the 3=8, First Point (Shin), we find the formal introduction to this representation, which is quite basic: "The diagram before you represents the 10 Sephiroth comprised in seven Palaces. The first Palace contains Ketherm, Chokmah, and Binah; the second Chesed; the third Geburah..." (You see where this is going.)

Soon after, there is a presentation of the 7 Heavens of Assiah. Same model."

Thank you.

"
":-) Can you imagine Crowley being given the 7 palaces (sans paths) and just memorizing them to pass the grade? "

Not if something about it caught his attention. It WAS one of a dozen or more diagrams that he was given in a grade he passed in a week or two. Whether he came back and revisited it... that's a separate question."

I would say that I have more than enough evidence to show he did.

"He knew enough to reproduce these names etc. in 777, but not enough to catch small errors or to know (at least, he didn't comment on it) that Rabbinical literature generally takes these in the opposite sequence."

Well the paths are assigned in the opposite sequence in Ararita actually. However, Dion Fortune does the same thing so that may just be down to different sources presenting different sequences.

"
"That's right. They're definitely Merkabah. Probably dating somewhere from 70 BCE onwards - the Babylonian period."

And, as I mentioned, they may be referenced in the Sepher Yetzirah but, if so, not with the sephiroth so much as the planets through the Hebrew letters. Chapter 4, speaking of the 7 double letters, has the following in verse 15 (my translation): "Seven Double Letters: Beyth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaf, Peh, Reysh, Tav. By them were engraved seven universes, seven heavens , seven earths , seven seas, seven rivers, seven desert wildernesses, seven days, seven weeks, seven years, seven sabbaticals, seven jubilees, and the Holy Temple. Therefore, He made sevens be-loved under all the heavens.""

Yes, but the 7 planets are part of the 10 (including the 3 elements) that make up the world of Assiah. It's the inspiration for the latter 7 heavenly to 10 earthly development of the Tree imo.

However - although SY is an early text that's not what I was thinking of, since it was written after the Merkabah period and at a time where Jewish mysticism was into the Greco-Roman period... and was generally boogying on down with the Gnostics and Christians etc. and having lunch with their apocalyptic ideologies.

"This is from a very old part of the SY (in contrast to several paragraphs right before it).

The word I translated "universes" probably refers to the traditional “7 Palaces of B’riyah.” The word is olamiym, which can be translated “worlds, universes, eternities.” Any of these might fit here. “Universes” was selected for consistency with the way I translated OVLM throughout. Gesenius emphasized that the root idea is something hid-den, especially if vast or immeasurable.

The word I translated "heavens" is raqiah, which can be translated “heaven” or “firmament.” It is a technical term, well-explained by Gesenius as follows: “the firmament of heaven, spread out like a hemisphere above the earth… like a splendid and pellucid sapphire (Ex. 24:10, com-pare Dan. 12:3), to which the stars were supposed to be fixed, and over which the Hebrews believed there was a heavenly ocean (Gen. 1:7; 7:11; Ps. 104:3; 148:4; compare, however, Gen. 2:6).” The Long Version of the SY (slightly later than the earlier Short Version on which I based my translation) openly identifies these with the traditional “7 Heavens (or Palaces) of Assiyah.”

The word I translated "earths" appears to refer to the traditional “10 Earths in 7 Palaces.” "

Sounds right.

"
"What has Liber VII to do with it?"

It's far more related to a universe composed of the 7 planets than is ARARITA. (It was just a toss-off, though, not an argument.)"

But I don't suggest that the Merkabah Mystics saw the universe composed of 7 planets. I suggest instead that each palace was a palace of El - and that each letter of the palaces represents a voice of El as he was bringing the world into creation. SY suggests the idea of Assiah being of 7 planets and 3 elements, but it's clearly derivative of earlier work on the palaces and is developing the idea of the fourth world in line with the idea's about the fall of man. And by this time, the P source had already removed and replaced the proper name of God, the identity of manna, and written in a lot of prohibitions that were not there before (like burning honey on the altar for instance).

"
"To your other point - the 33rd footnote in Vision & the Voice says: [etc.]*
Now, this is a concealed work, so it's obvious that it requires someone working with it (the Philosophus) to reveal it (at least if they are to pass the Inner Grade)."

OK, agreed as stated.

I'm unclear how that differs from any of the other Holy Books as a "concealed work," though. From the same source, Liber LXV's note says, "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all, save only the Shining Star." For Liber VII it says, "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all save only the Sixfold Star." For The Book of the Law, Liber Trigrammaton, and Liber ARARITA, it says, "The full knowledge of the interpretation of this book is concealed from all.""

The content that has been concealed will differ. For instance, in Ararita the concealed content is appropriate to the Grade of the Philosophus. It's not Bhakti but it is the Jewish equivalent to Bhaki if you like and employs more structural means to pit idea's against each other until they are dissolved. However - in Liber 231, while the 7 palaces are there, it's an Egyptian affair for the 7=4 with all the Genii and the nasties that the magician will need to confront and deal with when it comes to the crossing. Moreover it pertains to the Temple diagram explicitly in verse 3 - where it says "3. The Virgin of God is enthroned upon an oyster-shell; she is like a pearl, and seeketh Seventy to her Four. In her heart is Hadit the invisible glory." The 70 is obviously the value of Ayin which is the connecting path on the Temple to the 4 of Daleth, and isn't the word for pearl in Hebrew DR - and when we look Daleth is connected to the path of Resh on the Temple. (But I digress). Liber VII probably has hidden content pertinent to 5=6 although I don't know what that might be. The concealed content of Liber AL is the cornerstone of the work, obviously, while LVX... the Star appears both on the lowest palace and on the Inner Temple.

Anonymous

@Alrah said

"Liber VII probably has hidden content pertinent to 5=6 although I don't know what that might be."

But Liber VII refers to the attainment of 8=3, doesn't it?

Jim Eshelman

@Alrah said

"If this is from the portal then why are all these symbols being explained to the Philosophus?"

You have to be a Philosophus to pass through the Portal.

The Portal ritual begins on p. 284 of Equinox No. 2, under the heading, "THE RITUAL OF THE 24TH, 25TH, AND 26TH PATHS Leading from the First Order of the G.'.D.'. in the Outer to the 5=6." Your quote is from
p. 288, the fifth page of that ritual. The next sentence (after the part you quoted) begins a new paragraph that says, "The Hierophant Inductor now congratulates the Philosophus on the progress he has made, and proclaims him Master of the 24th, 25th, and 26th Paths in the Portal of the Vault of the Adepts. After which the Closing of the Portal takes place, the Hierophant Inductor saying..." etc.

"
"The entire speech "presenting" them simply shows the diagram, and gives the name of each Palace, its sephrothic correspondence,, etc.; for example: "The Fourth is the Palace of Benevolence answering to Tiphereth and the Divine Name: YHVH Tetragrammaton. The Fifth is the Palace of the Substance of Heaven, answering to Netzach and to Elohim ALHYM." No work was ever assigned regarding this diagram."

Strange. I wonder where they got those names from?"

Standard list from ancient sources. (Don't ask where, I'd have to dig out a book that's in storage to tell you.) For example, to Tiphereth (4th Palace) is attributed Hekel Ratzon which was translated into Latin by Medieval writers as Palatium Benevolentiae. This is where the "Palace of Benevolence" came from (from the Latin). In 776 1/2, where I give these in Cols. 904-906, I translated Hekel Ratzon as "Palace of Delight." Similarly, the 5th Palace is called Hekel Etzem ha-Shamaim, which got rendered into Latin as Palatium Substantiae Coeli - which Mathers renedered "Palace of the Substance of Heaven." I nearly agree, but think "Palace of the Essence of Heaven" is closer.

"I could see how they might have thought the seven palaces was something special to Netzach due to the Zohar, but I don't recognise the source of these names in any of the Judaic lit I've read so far."

They are older than the Zohar - as all the original Mercabah source literature is. I took a couple of minutes to look for the book that references the original documents, but couldn't find it. (That's what comes from not putting things away carefully.) - Ah, wait, I referenced them in the end notes of 776.5: The "palaces" named in lines 10 and 7 are referenced in Exodus 24:10. (That's a partial reference, but a start.) Not sure where I have the other book.

""Then are opened the gates of the seven palaces, the first of which is the palace of love, the second of reverence, the third of mercy, the fourth of the luminous mirror, the fifth of the non-luminous mirror, the sixth of justice, the seventh of judgment." - The Zohar - 'The Kings Palaces'. "

That's a much later list, but there's some overlap. (The Zohar "came late to the game" on many things.) I translate the seven Hebrew names as

Palace of the Holy of Holies
Palace of Love
Palace of Merit
Palace of Delight
Palace of the Essence of Heaven
Palace of Luster (Splendor)
Palace of the Pavement of Sapphire (i.e., of Lapis Lazuli)

"The very idea of 'paths' seems to be an invention of the middle ages."

The Sepher Yetzirah may have been as early as 1st C. BCE, or in any case came within a few centuries after. It refers in its first line to the "32 paths."

"Instead we have other symbolic descriptions which precede paths - such as rivers, tributaries, Gods 'beard', gates, gods 'arms' etc. You know what I mean."

Yes, I do... and that all came about 1,300 years later.

"However - although SY is an early text that's not what I was thinking of, since it was written after the Merkabah period and at a time where Jewish mysticism was into the Greco-Roman period... and was generally boogying on down with the Gnostics and Christians etc. and having lunch with their apocalyptic ideologies."

As mentioned above, it is probably from as early as 1st C. BCE. There is at least a work of the same name mentioned early 1st C. CE as having been around a while. It's mentioned in the Talmud, which was written down between the 3rd and 5th Centuries CE. This is probably the same work we know (an early version such as the Short Version) but, if we want to be extremely conservative, it isn't until about the 5th C. that some passages begin to be quoted in other works, so that we can confirm it's the same work.

I accept the earliest of these dates (1st century BCE or, in any case, a pre-Talmud date) for the following reason: The Hebrew of Sefer Yetziyrah is, almost without exception, Biblical Hebrew. It does not rely on the characteristic rabbinical vocabulary emerging in the first millennium CE such as was catalogued by Jastrow in his Sefer Meliym. This stands in sharp contrast (for example) to The 32 Paths of Wisdom, which relies heavily on the post-Diaspora rabbinical vocabulary.

Alrah

@Patrick Ossoski said

"
@Alrah said
"Liber VII probably has hidden content pertinent to 5=6 although I don't know what that might be."

But Liber VII refers to the attainment of 8=3, doesn't it?"

It's the birth words of an 8=3, but pertinent to those of a lower grade.

I have no idea what might be concealed in Liber VII.

Alrah

@Jim Eshelman said

"
"The very idea of 'paths' seems to be an invention of the middle ages."

The Sepher Yetzirah may have been as early as 1st C. BCE, or in any case came within a few centuries after. It refers in its first line to the "32 paths.""

But the idea of 32 paths of the Sophia is a Greek one. It's not found in earlier Merkabah sources. And most academics estimates the date of the composition of SY between the second and the sixth centuries.

From 'Origins of Kabbalah' by Gershom Scholem.

"The book contains a very compact discourse on cosmogony and cosmology. The verbose and solemn character of many sentences, especially in the first chapter, contrasts strangely with the laconic form in which the fundamental conceptions and the cosmological scheme of things are presented. The author undoubtedly wished to bring his own views, clearly influenced by Greek sources, into harmony with the talmudic disciplines relating to the doctrine of the Creation and of the Merkabah, and it is in the course of this enterprise that we encounter for the first time speculative reinterpretations of conceptions from the Merkabah.
{..}
The symbolism of the number thirty-two reappears also in some Christian gnostic documents, but it is in this text that it seems to be established for the first time and in the most natural manner. Mention should, however, be made of Agrippa von Nettesheim, who informs us (De occulta philosophia 2:15) that thirtytwo was considered by the Pythagoreans as the number of righteousness because of its well-nigh unlimited divisibility. More recently Nicholas Sed has discussed in a remarkable essay the relationship of the symbolism of the Book Yesirah with the Samaritan Memar of Marqah. The ten primordial numbers are called sefiroth—a Hebrew noun, newly formed here, that bears no relation to the Greek word sphaira, but is derived from a Hebrew verb meaning "to count."

Steinschneider's contention (Mathematik bei den Juden [Hildesheim, 1965], p. 148) that the original term acquired its specific kabbalistic meaning as a result of the similarity to the Greek word is not borne out by an analysis of the oldest kabbalistic texts. By introducing a new term, sefirah, in place of the usual mispar, the author seems to indicate that it is not simply a question of ordinary numbers, but of metaphysical principles of the universe or stages in the creation of the world. The possibility that the term refers to emanations from God himself can be excluded in view of both the wording and the context; it could only be read into the text by later reinterpretation. {...}"

To summarise then: 1) the author of SY is introducing Greek concepts and trying to marry them with Tulmudic thinking (including that of the 32 paths of Sophia). 2) The noun 'sefirah' is newly formed here (has no earlier precedent). 3) It is a reinterpretation of Merkabah concepts.

The author then goes into a marvelous deconstruction as to what in SY came from Merkabah sources and what is a Greek import. It's well worth a read! He finishes thus:

"I have briefly developed here some of the fundamental concepts of the Book Yesirah because they are of essential importance for the understanding of what follows and because this book was later read and interpreted by the kabbalists as a vade mecum for the Kabbalah. In contrast to later interpretations, the special charm of this text consists in the frequently felicitous and in any event ever-vivid imagery and fullness of meaning it lends to most of the concepts newly created in order to express abstractions. The author finds concrete and appropriate designations for notions that, until then, Hebrew did not know how to render in adequate terms.

That he failed on certain points and that his images sometimes remain obscure for us—which only encouraged their subsequent reinterpretation—is a clear sign of the difficulty of his efforts and of the energy with which he undertook them. The book's solemn and enigmatic manner of speaking made it possible for the Jewish philosophers as well as the kabbalists of the Middle Ages to appeal to its authority. Saadya, in the earliest extant (although certainly not the oldest) commentary interpreted it around 933 in accordance with his philosophic conception of the doctrine of Creation and his Jewish theology in general. Since then, a complete series of more or less detailed Hebrew and Arabic commentaries continued to be written down to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Everyone found in the book more or less what he was looking for, and the fact that Yehudah Halevi devoted extensive attention to it, almost a complete commentary, in the fourth tractate of his principal work of philosophy and theology, Sefer ha-Kuzari (around 1130), may serve as an indication of the great authority the book enjoyed. But at the same time, this text also remained influential in entirely different circles, those who saw in its theory of language some sort of a foundation of magic, or those for whom the doctrine of the
book included authentic elements of the Merkabah gnosis and of cosmogony. The Book Yesirah was studied in the schools of the sages of Narbonne as well as among the French rabbis of the school of the tosafists and among the German Hasidim of the same period, and many commentaries have come down to us from these circles, which were generally averse to philosophic speculation. It offers remarkable parallels, to say the least, to the turn which the Kabbalists gave to the doctrine of the sefiroth. It is no longer possible to say with certainty to what extent the study of the Book Yesirah was regarded in these circles as an esoteric discipline in the strict sense of the term. Perhaps one could view the text as situated at the limits of esotericism, partly within it, but partly already beyond it."

"
"Instead we have other symbolic descriptions which precede paths - such as rivers, tributaries, Gods 'beard', gates, gods 'arms' etc. You know what I mean."

Yes, I do... and that all came about 1,300 years later."

Not at all! Merkabah literature overflows with rivers flowing out of heaven and ladders which can be ascended and descended to reach the throne of God, a gate at every palace, windows in the palaces, and God himself was anthropomorphised and not faceless. If we completely ignore the Zohar (since arguments on it's authenticity or otherwise are stale) then we still see this looking at the other texts attributable to the second century.

For the origin of the 7 palaces we can look to Sumerian literature (indeed - the technical term used in these texts for the heavenly palaces, hekhalot, is a loan from Akkadian ekallu (pl. ekalliiti), "palace." You have the story of Inana descending (and in Merkabah to descend is to ascend) into the underworld through 7 gates, and there is also the story of the 7 heavens and heavenly palaces through which Etana passes through. Lions, eagles, serpents and the like all feature as symbolic representations of rites of passage from one state of consciousness to another on these heavenly travels and travails.

I still haven't found the source of the names of the palaces you have references yet. I hope you dig the book out. The HEKHALOT RABBATI calls one a 'Palace of Silence' and another a 'Palace of loftiness'. That's a 3rd Century work: www.digital-brilliance.com/contributed/Karr/HekRab/HekRab.pdf

Jim Eshelman

@Alrah said

"But the idea of 32 paths of the Sophia is a Greek one."

I'm certain that isn't the case. (More likely that idea travelled the other direction.)

Kaplan demonstrated elegantly - it's a simple demonstration - that the pattern of 32 ideas (broken down into a 10, a 3, a 7, and a 12) is locked into the architecture of Genesis 1. This would place it as existing at the foundation of Jewish mystical and liturgical thought from at least 6th C. BCE.

"Not at all! Merkabah literature overflows with rivers flowing out of heaven and ladders which can be ascended and descended to reach the throne of God, a gate at every palace, windows in the palaces, and God himself was anthropomorphised and not faceless."

True. I'd forgotten that.
'

Alrah

@Jim Eshelman said

"
@Alrah said
"But the idea of 32 paths of the Sophia is a Greek one."

I'm certain that isn't the case. (More likely that idea travelled the other direction.)

Kaplan demonstrated elegantly - it's a simple demonstration - that the pattern of 32 ideas (broken down into a 10, a 3, a 7, and a 12) is locked into the architecture of Genesis 1. This would place it as existing at the foundation of Jewish mystical and liturgical thought from at least 6th C. BCE."

mmmmmmmm..... but ALHIM appears in Genesis 1. only 31 times and not 32 (Kaplan counts an 'implied instance that isn't actually there, which is fudging it). And there are 31 instances only when you count in decimal. Do you realize that 31 in base 7 is 22 in decimal?

Alrah

Btw... there is evidence that Aleister Crowley used such number base conversions in text. For instance, in Ararita he writes:

1. Even for five hundred and eleven times nightly for one and forty days did I cry aloud unto the Lord the affirmation of His Unity.

And 511 in decimal is 777 in base 8, and 41 in decimal is 56 in base 7.

{added - for context - with number conversion done and rearranged for the proper path on the Temple}

Let me extol Thy perfections before men.
I saw the twin heads that ever battle against one another, so that all their thought is a confusion. I saw Thee in these.
Even for 777 times nightly for **56 **days did I cry aloud unto the Lord the affirmation of His Unity.
Glory to God, and Thanksgiving to God! There is One God alone, and God is exceeding great. He is about us, and there is no strength save in Him the exalted, the great.
So wrote the Exempt Adept, and the laughter of the Masters of the Temple abashed him not.
The great goddess that bendeth over the Universe is my mistress; I am the winged globe at her heart.
At the touch of the Fire Qadosh the earth melted into a liquor clear as water.

Takamba

@Alrah said

"Btw... there is evidence that Aleister Crowley used such number base conversions in text. For instance, in Ararita he writes:

1. Even for five hundred and eleven times nightly for one and forty days did I cry aloud unto the Lord the affirmation of His Unity.

And 511 in decimal is 777 in base 8, and 41 in decimal is 56 in base 7.

{added - for context - with number conversion done and rearranged for the proper path on the Temple}

Let me extol Thy perfections before men.
I saw the twin heads that ever battle against one another, so that all their thought is a confusion. I saw Thee in these.
Even for 777 times nightly for **56 **days did I cry aloud unto the Lord the affirmation of His Unity.
Glory to God, and Thanksgiving to God! There is One God alone, and God is exceeding great. He is about us, and there is no strength save in Him the exalted, the great.
So wrote the Exempt Adept, and the laughter of the Masters of the Temple abashed him not.
The great goddess that bendeth over the Universe is my mistress; I am the winged globe at her heart.
At the touch of the Fire Qadosh the earth melted into a liquor clear as water."

I just noticed you chose base 8 for one calculation and base 7 for another, all from the same phrase. What rule did you use to decide this was so? Without a rule, this is not "proof."

Alrah

@Takamba said

"
@Alrah said
"Btw... there is evidence that Aleister Crowley used such number base conversions in text. For instance, in Ararita he writes:

1. Even for five hundred and eleven times nightly for one and forty days did I cry aloud unto the Lord the affirmation of His Unity.

And 511 in decimal is 777 in base 8, and 41 in decimal is 56 in base 7. "

I just noticed you chose base 8 for one calculation and base 7 for another, all from the same phrase. What rule did you use to decide this was so? Without a rule, this is not "proof.""

I suggest for the rule -

777 in base 8 - by night.
56 in base 7 - by day.

There is equivalence in the evidence here (bearing a stronger weight than correspondence). However, I would not claim it as 'proof' Crowley used number base conversions to conceal meaning in his text until other instances come to light that are consistent with the rule.

Alrah

93,

I thought Jim might be interested in some new research about the seven palaces and the 14 paths which suggests that the schematic was fully fledged in the Sumerian cult of Inana prior to the Merkabah mystics approbation of it. Well... it had to come from somewhere, did it?

In the Sumerian schema there are three worlds – the heavens, the earth, and the underworld which may be represented by the mother letters of Aramaic. Upon death in the earthly abode, you enter first into the underworld until you eventually enter into the palace of Ganzer, going through the door. In Aramaic this door is symbolized by the letter Daleth on the right side of the Seven Palaces. In the Sumerian legend of the Descent of Inana into the underworld she descends from the Sky and so enters the Palace of Ganzer first, and what is also interesting about this tale is that before descending from the Sky into the underworld there are 14 locations she abandons, no longer fulfilling the office of divinity and priestess for them (the 'en' & 'lagar'), and this is significant as there are 14 paths between the seven palaces.

She abandoned the office of en, abandoned the office of lagar, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-ana in Unug, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-muc-kalama in Bad-tibira, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Giguna in Zabalam, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-cara in Adab, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Barag-dur-jara in Nibru, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Hursaj-kalama in Kic, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-Ulmac in Agade, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Ibgal in Umma, and descended to the underworld.
8 ) She abandoned the E-Dilmuna in Urim, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Amac-e-kug in Kisiga, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-ecdam-kug in Jirsu, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-sig-mece-du in Isin, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Anzagar in Akcak, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the Nijin-jar-kug in Curuppag, and descended to the underworld.
She abandoned the E-cag-hula in Kazallu, and descended to the underworld.

Translation from etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm

After abandoning the 14 paths she collects the seven divine powers and travels towards the underworld. This shows that the seven palace arrangement with their paths existed prior to the merkabah mystics, as well as signifying that the cult of Inana was a highly complex and sophisticated one, with her temples dedicated to each of the 14 paths and fulfilling different religious and administrative functions.

But what I really find fascinating about this story is how it predates and prefigures the story of Jesus. By giving up her divinity and her role of priestess, Inana descends and becomes a mortal woman, then descends even further through the underworld until she dies and is resurrected after 3 days...

Talk about "When God was a Girl" eh?

Best, Alrah. 93 93/93.