An Apostate in the Woodpile
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’m now re-reading Isabel Kliegman’s Tarot and the Tree of Life, which has a nicely detailed explanation of the core principles and potentialities of the “Kabbalistic” Tree (as distinct from the “Qabalistic” rendition of Western occultism). But this chapter has rekindled much of my early aversion to the fundamentally religious model when compared to the Hermetic (or esoteric) version I’ve been working with for the last 50 years. I understand the doctrinal bases for the historical prototype, and have even tried to get my head around a translation of the Zohar after familiarizing myself with the Sepher Yetzirah, but I’m neither a Hebrew scholar nor a dogmatic theologian so I find its minutiae far too intricate (not to mention too intimidating) for practical work and therefore it is better left to purely meditative uses.
I’ve written in the past about the orientation of the “Heavenly Man” (Adam Kadmon or Kadman) within the Tree, which in the orthodox version places the positive, traditionally male right side of the body on the right-hand Pillar of Mercy as we view the image, and the negative, classically female left side on the left-hand Pillar of Severity. Kliegman’s premise is that we are walking head-on toward the Tree and it is presenting a mirror image of our anatomy. I admit to experiencing much confusion when trying to grasp the rationale behind this because it seems to assume that we are looking at Adam’s backside (for otherwise his right would be on our left). But there is another way to approach it that departs from the teaching of Judaic mysticism that “mercy” relates to the assertive masculine nature and “severity” to the conventionally docile feminine persona (those ancient mystics must have had passive-aggressive mothers).
Two writers stand out in my memory as proponents of this contrary viewpoint: one is James Sturzaker and the other is Pat Zalewski. The operative paradigm is that, when envisioning Adam Kadmon, we must “back into the Tree” such that we are standing within it looking out rather than regarding it as if we’re standing in front of it looking in. (I also seem to recall that Robert Wang proposed “standing behind the Tree” so all the “parts” match up.) Although I’m aware of the canonical wisdom that God “smites with His left hand (Pillar of Severity) and grants clemency with His right hand (Pillar of Mercy),” it has always made more sense to me that the “strong right arm” (or “sword-arm”) would be associated with Mars in Gevurah on the Pillar of Severity (“He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword”), and the left hand that dispenses mercy would be the province of Jupiter in Chesed and the purveyor of healing.
The “backing-in” postulate aligns perfectly with these precepts and is the one I’ve been using for decades. It also makes tough-minded Saturn and utilitarian Mercury “dominant right-hand” factors joining Mars, and renders harmonious Venus a “recessive left-hand” emphasis, which correlates well with their planetary modes of expression. (In classical astrology, Venus is the “Lesser Benefic” and Jupiter — its “higher arc” on the Pillar of Mercy — is the “Greater Benefic;” both are benchmarks of Divine forbearance and tolerance). I also have no quarrel with feminine Binah at the head of the redefined “male” pillar since as the “Dark Mother” it always seemed rather hard-nosed to me and, astrologically speaking, masculine Saturn represents the Taskmaster and the Great Teacher (my Catholic-schooled wife has told me all about the petty meanness of nuns).
The associated numerology doesn’t play out quite as neatly. In occult number theory, the odd numbers are considered active and positive while the even numbers are passive and negative. All is well in this regard with Saturn as “3” and Mars as “5” on my swapped “active” pillar and Jupiter as “4” on the “passive” side, but subsequently the vertical progression is exchanged in polarity with Mercury on the left as a languid “8” and Venus on the right as an energetic “7.” In the last two cases it seems that mythological influences outrank numerical considerations: Mercury is always portrayed as a male figure and Venus as female, so they are where they belong on my revamped Tree. In Aleister Crowley’s estimation, both Hod (Mercury) and Netzach (Venus) are compromised in their virtue by being “doubly unbalanced; off the middle pillar and very low down on the Tree,” having thus descended quite far into illusion.
After some thought I decided not to post this essay on the kabbalistic pages I frequent because the Hermetic thinkers there are a small minority and I don’t want to start an argument with the traditionalists. This subject has been nagging at me ever since I encountered the Kircher Tree and its esoteric commentary back in 1972, and I’m seeking input that is more useful than a dismissive “Oh, you’re doing it wrong!” While it’s likely that my assumptions regrading the Tree are not all historically sound since I’m a metaphysical theorist and not a practicing mystic, over the years I’ve made my peace with the above position.
I once created a convoluted spread based on my philosophizing about Adam Kadmon. I’m not sure how practical it is for divination, but it was fun to develop.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on April 20, 2023.
