The Kabbalah, Part 5

[This is the 5th part of a 6-part series. Parts 1-4 have been posted at this blog.]

In Part 4 of this article, I began to consider the Sephirot in relation to astrology and Tarot, and in this Part I will continue my consideration. A key point I want to make is that I reject the 22 (or 32) paths as having any significance (or any reality, for that matter). What I do in my Kabbalah is to correlate each of the Sephirah (except Malkhut) with a planet and a Major Arcana Tarot card. In the case of the remaining Major Arcana, I associate each of cards with one of the twelve Zodiac signs. In short, my Kabbalah is not the Golden Dawn’s or anyone else’s.

In Part 4, I considered Keter (which I correlated with Pluto and the Magician, and Da’at, which I correlated with Neptune and the High Priestess). In this Part, I will first consider Chokmah.

Chokmah, to my mind, is a perfect match for the planet Uranus. Uranus, like Chokmah, represents the “higher mind,” or “Wisdom,” which is the common keyword associated with Chokmah. Uranus, which can be viewed as a higher octave of Mercury, also correlates with the buddhi (the higher discriminating intelligence in Yoga philosophy), and as such is about detaching from the binding mind forms of discursive thinking. The Tower Tarot card is an ideal match for Chokmah. It’s quite common to associate this card with Mars, but Uranus is a far better match (and I believe that the originators of the Tarot, brilliantly, anticipated the much later discovery of Uranus). The image of the man being unceremoniously tossed from the top of the tower conveys a powerful message: if you build a Tower of Babel (of mental babble), and then attempt to spiritually awaken, be prepared to jettison your mental baggage (or masturbation).

Binah clearly correlates with Saturn, and most Qabalists concur with this. The common keyword for Binah is “Understanding” – meaning mundane, or worldy, understanding, as opposed to the “other-worldly,” or spiritual, Understanding/ Wisdom of Chokmah. Saturn’s rings represent worldly bondage to samsara, the circumscribed karmic circle of life – meaning contracted, sorrowful (or saturnine) becoming, as opposed to free, blissful Be-ing. The World Tarot card is the best match for Binah. The Devil (or Satan) Card could also be construed as an appropriate match, since it emphasizes the suffering inherent in dualistic worldly bondage. But I believe that the prominent goat horns on top of the devil in the Devil card indicate that the card is meant to be a match for Capricorn, the sign of the goat.

Chesed is a match for Jupiter. The common keywords for Chesed, kindness and mercy, reflect the benevolent, generous energy of Jupiter. There is no Major Arcana card that correlates with these common keywords, and from my perspective, this is so because these keywords only reflect one aspect of Chesed/Jupiter. In astrology, Jupiter rules gambling and speculation, hence Chesed is also about these themes, but this is ignored in orthodox Kabbalah, which derives from moralistic Judaism, which wouldn’t associate a Sephirah with gambling and financial speculation. Given the speculative nature of Chesed/Jupiter, the Wheel of Fortune Card is a fine match for Chesed. Unlike the orthodox Kabbalists, the Tarot originators understood, and took into account, the fact that life and fortune are a gamble.

Gevurah and Mars mirror each other. The keywords “might” and “severity” aptly describe both Gevurah and Mars. The ram-adorned throne in the Emperor card indicates that this card correlates with either Aries or Mars, the ruler of Aries. My choice is the latter. First, it makes sense that the Emperor card, the male/yang archetype, would correlate with Mars because the complementary Empress card, the female/yin archetype, prominently displays the glyph of Venus. Secondly, Aries, in my opinion, is a match for the Fool, since Aries leaps before it looks, and the Fool is pictured on the edge of a cliff, oblivious to his next step. Moreover in the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, the sun shines prominently at the top of the card, reflecting the fact the Sun is exalted in Aries. It could be argued that the Strength Tarot card is a match for Gevurah/Mars since “strength” correlates with “might” and “severity.” But the Lion in this card is a giveaway that the match for this card is the sign of Leo.

Netzach/Venus is the feminine counterpart to Gevurah/Mars. The keywords for Netzach – victory and eternity – are reflected by the circle above the cross in the symbol for Venus, which is displayed in the Empress Tarot card, which, as I pointed out in the previous paragraph, clearly correlates with Netzach/Venus. Venus is the goddess of fertility and material growth, hence it refers to “victory” or “success” on the earthly plane. Because the “fertile” life-energy “channeled” through Venus, the nature goddess, is eternal, Venus pertains to eternal fecundity.

In forthcoming Part 6, I will conclude my consideration of the Sephirot -- and I will then commence a “Meditation on the Tarot” series – a card-by-card consideration of the Major Arcana.

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