Inner Court II: The Alchemy of Tov and Raa (Part Two)

Let’s go with some final thoughts on the alchemy of Tov and Raa, which parallels the alchemy of water and fire (as per the elements emphasized in the respective accounts). Both mysteries and elements are natural and necessary, only the second one of each pair entails more risk, and hence requires greater maturity and divine alignment to constructively activate. In the fourth discipline this focused alignment with divine spirit (consciousness/presence) is described in terms of the principle of fire, generated out of the watery condition of the preceding discipline. We can sum up the process as: ignition of the terrestrial or natural energy field of the subject via the energizing of the inherent water principle therein with the presence of highly focused essence-consciousness. The latter is accessed within the AIN contemplative state when qualified by the presence of Elohim Chayim.

Let’s follow the process: 1) Tune into the AIN consciousness state of Elohim Chayim. 2) Infuse with it the sensate (energy) awareness that is breath-generated so that one can be conscious of the denser energy of incarnate presence on earth. 3) Expand one’s awareness of this presence through space of “ether” to establish spatial sacred awareness (sacred space), and 4) reach into AIN consciousness to focus it into the place of one’s standing as a seat or throne so that the watery principle itself ignites.   

Higher consciousness may result in a prophet, but also in a heretic- whereupon one had blasphemed and was misled by evil. It could be that the percentage of those engaging in inner cultivation and the pursuit of higher consciousness that aligned with the status quo may not have been large enough to allow indiscriminant alchemical knowledge to float freely without some kind of cautionary. This is speculative, of course, but I would say the editing of the SY original text could have been partly based on this concern.

Igniting the alchemical fire, as implied, entails the focus of a “higher” or perhaps more “central” dynamic of being. This penetrates and saturates the earth energy in the body down to the ground. Presumably the “throne” is literally the seat of the body, the pelvic floor where the igniting awareness (focused AIN consciousness) is collected. It is the essence upon which we stand, and the foundation support of our incarnate being. We can, however, extend it to include the throne of the heart and head, giving it a threefold conception that has it extending through the human axial pillar. This Seat (or Throne) can be considered in terms of physical localization, while its nature is that of ignited space directed toward a specific purpose- being one’s support of existential/spiritual authority.

To the degree one can attain this higher consciousness, the fourth discipline’s mystery of RO– a word also meaning friend and guide- qualifies the discipline in terms of the aspirant’s receptivity to Divine companionship and guidance, without which the possibility of unbalanced or compromised results- side effects- of cultivation may increase. This foundation awareness is the presence that subdues angels, and turns the Winds of the Quarters into personal envoys.

To reiterate, when the third discipline is accomplished successfully the fourth is open to us. We undertake the next discipline on its own merit, while sustaining the enclosure formed therein. In cultivation terms, we maintain awareness of the environmental medium, which we have established around the body, and within that state we focus awareness to channel celestial presence (higher consciousness) to the seat of our being. The state is that of AIN, further refined through the toning of Elohim Chayim in the first discipline. This awareness is brought into energy-perception through the second discipline, while in the third we divert our awakened energy perception into the denser sensate earth energy, also resonant with the energies of pelvis and up to the abdomen.

Within this sensation dynamic we inject higher consciousness until the denser energy is animate by it. We only need construct the throne or seat so it encompasses our main body centers (coinciding with Taoist Elixir Fields), and extends through the spinal pillar (as well as the pillar running through the fields themselves). The ignited medium becomes a purified conduit of higher awareness without perpetually igniting everything it touches. In other words, higher consciousness ignites the waters in a selective manner so the fire is still surrounded by a watery enclosure. The latter structures the reference frame to define and sanctify the spatial dimensions of our perceived environmental field via the revealed sealing process of the Outer Court.

We are describing parallel vectors of specialized awareness: the space of Waters, the igniting force of focusing cultivated consciousness and the power of the consciousness state itself- which can be cultivated by meditating on the word AIN as a mantra (pronounced eing). All this is cultivated in a state of trusting receptivity to Divine influence. In this way, we let our RO (companion) be our guide.

The portion of the text dealing with the alphabet powers elaborates alchemical ignition with the following verse:

3.V.Fashion the substantial from emptiness and work it with fire and they will be harnessed. And sculpt great pillars you ignite (or: out of air) when His AIN is skillfully wielded.

The pillars in mention reference the four cardinal directions.Emptiness is our mud and clay, which we work into our experience as with the third discipline. Working the substance (of the waters) with fire will harness them- as referred in the fourth discipline. These points are defined as great pillars. The verse is most often translated to express the pillars are constructed out of air– in terms of the second discipline. It is likely that we can read some verses at least, with multiple renderings so that different options are complementary. Esoterically speaking, in this case, both renderings are true. The pillars are carved out of air, but at the same time they become our envoys when selectively ignited. We are, moreover, informed that the pillars’ ignition depends on mastery of the contemplative state based on the mantra AIN.

From the above we can see the ten disciplines as an outline of practice that is fleshed out more in the portion of the text regarding the letters, but also in the final seven verses or so that sum up the material. The cultivation process is, therefore, given more detail throughout the subsequent textual development, and it does this quite smartly in the next section by using the alphabet symbols as a means of application and study. That more or less concludes my analysis of the Inner Court disciplines of the Sepher Yesirah.

The Outer Court practices are less ambiguous, and can be addressed without delay. They are less abstract and build upon the awareness and energy experiences of the Inner Court made of our hallowing consciousness and three elemental dynamics expressed in a specific manner. Although more abstract, the first four disciplines deal with awareness of physical space, and how that awareness can be infused with consciousness through mind guided breath-energy, which animates by a more relaxed focus, and through the impact of igniting consciousness.

At the end of the day we have an activated “seat” (axial pillar) within an enclosure of earth force, defined by four pillars carved by our life-force as channeled by breath. The next six disciplines will solidify this synthesis of energy-consciousness into a three dimensional equivalent of the magic circle. As such, the three dimensional structuring of one’s spatial awareness can be rendered as an octahedron, a cube or even a sphere, and regardless of conception, leads directly to the potentials of applying the power of activated sacred space.

There and Back Again

I have been away from this medium for a while, for lots of reasons. What matters here is that I needed to practice what I have been outlining in theory, and what I was planning to outline further. It may appear otherwise, but where the Sepher Yetsirah is concerned, I am documenting the application of probable cultivation practices. That means without specific experience in the practices I am not documenting more than a translation attempt. This took more time than I thought given I have some experience with cultivation practices. The benefits of cultivation practice are cumulative, but they can be slow to process.

If you sum up the whole of the ten disciplines, they describe a rather basic alchemy practice, and its application in the esoteric processing of spatial awareness. The alchemy involves fusing sentient awareness (one’s feeling and energy sense) with the essence of consciousness of one’s being. The fused awareness is then projected spatially to form constructs of protection and empowerment. The process tends to work best with the right background of understanding, something the text provides prior to enumerating the sephiroth. It would include familiarity with contemplation practice, and its associated states of awareness, as well as with the sensing of subtle perception states, such as those involving “energy work”.

In terms of Western (Hermetic) Alchemy, the “Work of the Sun (Spirit)” involves dissolving inner qualities from the psyche’s status quo state, then transforming and re-fusing them so they can embody higher spirit and channel the deeper energy states responding to its presence. Ultimately one is “turned on” as a human being, which is a natural and healthy existential condition all around. Such an individual becomes a blessing to anything they encounter- able to turn drab, worthless/toxic lead into the riches of pure gold.

The fusion of being can be expressed in terms of interacting poles. Be these termed soul and spirit, inner male and female, Sulfur and Mercury, fire and water, they identify paired, yet independent principles that are tasked to come into a greater synthesis. The gist of it is that consciousness of self/being becomes one with the energy of reality engagement. They form a unified field of awareness that is best experienced rather than intellectualized. Interestingly, a progression of inner focus leading to the aforementioned fusion is described as the result of the Yoga of Eight Limbs elaborated in Patañjali’s Aphorisms.

The Earliest Recoverable Text (ERT) of the Sepher Yetsirah, on the other hand, barely describes the basics of contemplation, while energy sensing is addressed directly in the disciplines with elemental imagery. The text is clearly not introductory, and possibly a form of teacher’s manual. In the section following the exposition of the sephiroth, working with the alphabet letters involves practices that activate the middle pillar, the four directions of the compass, and the lines connecting each axis (meridians of a sphere surrounding the practitioner). Working with the letters is based on the application of fusion awareness capacity, cultivated with the sephirot and applied to spatialized presence. All in all, the ERT initiates the student into alchemy, after which the alphabet becomes the medium of refined cultivation, but also to realize the power of the word in applications of “magic”.

In working with all of this, I have made refinements and adaptations that improve on what I have outlined from text. There has been a (to me irresolvable) debate between purists and eclectics in modern western occultism. Purists advocate traditions to be practiced as intended. Eclectics will mix and match traditions from different cultures and time periods as they see fit. I see no reason why both camps can’t constitute valid practice. Perhaps the antagonism can be related to a third option that does not seem to get much attention, that of the creative practitioner.

It’s understandable that esoteric creativity isn’t much emphasized. A creative occultist would be original to the extent they could claim to start their own “tradition”, which would be a “big deal”. Anybody can just make things up and claim to be an occult big shot of sorts, even if to a barebones group of online fans these days. The problem I see is making a big deal of the distinction between purist, eclectic and creative occultist. Ideally every practitioner would benefit from learning through all of these options, as they each can be beneficial depending on circumstance. Practice must be consistent with a coherent theoretical underpinning to work when deliberate. Otherwise, one can be open to spontaneous expression without the need for conscious conception and interference.

I am elaborating on this because after the next post (after this one), I will break from the letter of tradition in favor of applications that I have worked with and can stand behind. Traditional forms, on the other hand, represent a subtle alignment with a narrative that doesn’t represent me. I am not speaking of overt philosophical diatribes, but of a simple organization of letters. Namely, according to an alternative to the traditional view, the original Tetragrammaton was not IHVH, but VAIH, and the three-letter name is properly VAI. This is important because the disciplines from five through ten are based on the sealing of six directions of alchemically transformed spatial awareness with a permutation of the three-letter name.

The intellectual reasons for the alteration are developed in this paper. My motives, however, rest on my experience with the letter energies and what they represent. The- to me- amended order for the three-letter name permutations is more stable, more grounded and makes more sense when one interprets the letter sequences. I will discuss the aforementioned paper as well as my own evaluation in a forthcoming post.

This blog is about esoteric themes, which may not always be traditional. You can always, however, expect to be made aware of where the information is heading and why, when things change. The point I want to make here is two-fold: 1) Esoteric possibilities are living organic dynamics- as is all reality- rather than rigid or mechanistic conceptions, and 2) any creative madness has its method. No matter how arbitrary things may seem to an observer (as opposed to an initiate), there must always be underlying meaning for effective outcome. Creative freedom does not mean one is absolved from making sense. On the contrary, narrative meaning and coherence of what is being presented insures the power doesn’t become repressed, corrupted or scattered.

Alchemy, yoga, magic and other marginalized- and/or misused- facets of human psycho-biological potential are Arts based on creative skill and insight, and not the mechanistic products of a scientific method, unless any activity requiring a skill-set be cemented under the label of “scientific”. I am speaking from the perspective of forty years of study and practice, and with the awareness that everyone is unique in terms of how they relate to the “Arcane”. It is my experience and the desire to share it that encourages me to be more fluid, but also application-minded where the information presented here is concerned.

In the next post I will finish up with the alchemy of Tov and Raa, which I have been practicing over the last year. Following that, I will discuss the changes made regarding letter correspondences and the Tetragrammaton I mentioned here. Then I plan to finish up with a post on the six final disciplines of the Sepher Yetsirah. I am going on a limb here, since I cannot be sure if I can plan that far ahead, but there is information I wish to impart on the alchemy presented here and the process of alchemy in general. Also that magic and “occult abilities”- misunderstood as these topics often are- are natural extensions of mystical and alchemical cultivation practices. In my view, it is when the “occult” or psychic potentials are expressed without mystical/alchemical connotations that one can be walking a slippery slope.

Mystical experience does not refer to religious dogma or its moral dictates. It seeks to expand one’s sense of existential boundaries and even lead one to be comfortable with dissolving them completely (but not necessarily permanently). I find the emphasis of cultivation on transforming consciousness and identity key to priming the psyche to contain greater possibility. It is a crucial partner to focusing on energy cultivation, transmutation and circulation so the psycho-physiological foundation of enhanced being can be insured.

Without an anchor in grounded awareness and a cultivated integration of body and mind, exposure to influences resulting from working with symbols or vibrations of entities or occult forces can be like contracting a parasite that inflicts the psyche. I am being rather vague about these “parasitic” influences because details are not only unnecessary, but can lead to more confusion and misunderstanding. It is better to get familiar with cultivation and experience things for one’s self first and then use available resources of knowledge to navigate a terrain such as this blog seeks to cover.