The Tree of Life

The kabalah theory is based on this diagram, both marvelous and complex. It was first explained in a book called “Sepher Yetzirah”, the book of formation. It is a manual on universal mechanics. It explains how the light of creation condensed itself to create the many aspects of the univers and the human being. The kabalists say “As above, so below, as below, so above”. It’s their way of saying we are made the same way the universe is made.

The great light of creation came from the “Absolute light without end”, and poured down like water to fill in ten spheres of existence, like jars. The water of creation filled the first, then overflowed in the second, then overflowed into the third, down to the tenth jar/sphere. These jars/spheres are called “Sephirot”. The channels used by the flowing light of creation link the sephiroth together and also permit the flow from one to another. There are 22 of these channels, each represented by a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

In each sephirot, God takes a shape, one of his infinite manifestations. Each sephirot have a universal soul, an envelope of itself. In each sephirot, a “manager” resides, to lead its operations. In each sephirot also live concepts and spiritual beings, and lastly, each sephirot take on a physical shape, a body. Therefore, each sephirot as 5 distinct component: 1- God form, 2- Soul, 3- Regent/master, 4- Family of spiritual beings, 5- Physical manifestation.

By learning about each aspect of these sephirot, and the 22 links between them, we can call/invoke the spiritual energy of the universal mechanics to help us in our lives, assist our development and resolve some problems. From this theory came all forms of occidental magic, divination, astrology, numerology, tarot, and so on. The 22 major cards of the tarot are in fact the 22 channels of kabalah. We does not use big long rituals with enormous amounts of details and artifacts. You may learn about these if you learn kabalah on your own, which is good.

To the right is the basic diagram, with the sephiroth numbered in order of their creation. They all have names in Hebrew that will be given in our practices. With patience, you can learn to understand it’s basic principles and start working with it. Start by understanding the direct meaning of each God name, sphere, regent, entities, planet… to invoke them in your prayers. Afterwards, some of the classical rituals are encouraged. With time, you can go on to more advanced practices. See the practices and rituals sections for more details.