The Cube of Space (Correlations)
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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.