THE TREE OF LIFE

THE SURE FOUNDATION (3)

L esson T h irty -se v e n

One Q abalistic tre a tm e n t of the nam e 11D', Y esod, tra n s p o s e s the le tte rs
to m ake ' 11D, Sod Yod, " S e c re t of Y od.” Y our e a r lie r stu d ies have p re p a re d
you to u n d erstan d t h i s .

As a le tte r of the alp h ab et, Yod ( ') , c o rre sp o n d s to Key 9 . In le sso n s on that
key, you have le a rn e d about the reg io n of the p h y sical body ru le d by V irg o . T h is is the
p a rt of m a n 's o rg an ism w here what the a lch e m ists c a ll V irg in 's Milk is p o u red by the
la c te a ls fro m the upper p a rt of the sm all in te stin e into th e c irc u la to ry s y s te m .

T his w hite, oily substance (a blend of chym e and chyle) is the p roduct of d ig estio n .
As it is c a r r ie d to every p a rt of th e body by the blood s tre a m , it su p p lies each p a rt and
o rg an w ith the m a te ria ls needed fo r th e r e p a ir and m aintenance of the o rg a n is m .

The c ru c ia l point in a ssim ila tio n is at the p la ce w h ere th is su b stan ce p a s s e s fro m

the sm all in te stin e into the blood. F o r in th is su b stan ce, under the sp e c ia l conditions
p re v a ilin g at th at p a rtic u la r point, is hidden what a lc h e m ists te rm aurum p o ta b ile , o r
flu id g o ld .

Physical scie n c e, as y e t, knows little o r nothing of th is . It is s o la r energy in its

p u re s t f o r m . . .w hat the yogis c a ll P ra n a , and what o u r Q ab alistic term in o lo g y d esig n ates
by the noun j-pn, C haiah, th e life f o r c e .

A lchem ists have a saying; "T o m ake gold, you m u st have i t ." The idea is s im ila r
to J e s u s' doctrine; "T o him that hath sh a ll be g iv e n ." F undam entally, the alch em ical
gold is P ran a o r Chaiah; and b ecause th is is , in a ll re s p e c ts , id en tical w ith the ra d ia n ce
poured out by suns, w rite rs on H erm etic Science c a ll " th e ir" gold S o l.

S piritually co n sid ered , how ever, the Sol of th e a lc h e m ists is also th e illum ination
which re s u lts fro m the p e rfe c t union of the Ego dwelling in hum an h e a rts w ith the One,
Indivisible SELF in K e th e r. E liphas Levi say s, th e re fo re :

"T he gold of the p h ilo so p h ers is , in re lig io n , th e ab so lu te and su p rem e reaso n ; in

philosophy it is tru th ; in v isib le n a tu re it is the sun, which is the em blem of th e sun of
tru th , a s th a t is its e lf the shadow of the F ir s t Source w hence a ll sp len d o rs spring; in
the s u b te rra n e a n and m in e ra l w orld it is th e p u re s t and m ost p e rfe c t gold. But th e v iv i-
fic gold, th e vivific sulphur, o r the tru e f ir e of th e p h ilo so p h e rs, m ust be sought in the
house of m e rc u ry ."

The "house of m e rc u ry " is none o th e r than V irgo, the zo d iacal sign co rresp o n d in g
to the le tte r Yod. T his is th e "house of b re a d ," o r Bethlehem , w here the C h rist is born
of the V irg in . The living gold, o r living su lp h u r, is the ra d ia n t energy in the V irg in 's
M ilk. He who u n d erstan d s the tru e alch em ical w ork, which is id en tical w ith yoga, is
able to c h arg e h is blood s tre a m with a g r e a te r supply of th is philosophic fire ; and it is
fro m th is e x tra life fo rc e , com bined w ith re s id u a l energy (the se rp e n t pow er) ris in g
through the spinal canal and the in te rio r s ta r s , th a t th e T h ird Eye g ain s stre n g th to open.
- 2 - THE TR E E OF LIFE: 37

In C hinese alchem ic-yoga, th is T h ird Eye is called th e Golden F lo w e r. In W estern

H erm etic Science it is the STONE. In Q abalah, the STONE is ]3R, ehben, w herein
3R, the F a th e r, and the Son, a re conjoined.

Now, 3R> the F a th e r, is also Yod, o r In T a ro t, th e re fo re , the le tte r

Yod is p ic tu re d as a b e ard ed p a tria rc h . On the T re e of Life th is Yod is un d ersto o d to
be the f i r s t le tte r of m il’ (also of m ’n ’, Y ekhidah), which is the sp ecial
le tte r of T e tra g ra m m a to n assig n ed to Chokmah, W isdom .

T hus, ' TIO, Sod Yod, th e S ecret of Yod, is not only th e s e c re t of th e tw entieth
path, but also the s e c re t of the second p a th . It is the s e c re t of w isdom , the s e c r e t of
th e Divine F atherhood, the s e c re t of the s o la r rad ian ce which is also C haiah, the life
fo rc e running through c re a tio n 's v e in s.

T he te rm n ’ n, C haiah, is one fo rm u la rev ealin g th e s e c r e t. Its f i r s t le tte r,

Cheth ( Hi), is sym bolized in T a ro t by Key 7, re p re se n tin g the path of the Intelligence
of the House of Influence, which jo in s Binah to G eburah. The m eaning of th is path, and
of Key 7, is that the life fo rc e in m an is a flow , a c u rre n t of energy which o rig in a te s out­
side the boundaries of the fo rm it an im ates, and p a s s e s through th e se fo rm s into o th e r
fie ld s of m an ifestatio n .

The second and th ird le tte r s of n 'n a re Yod and Heh, and th e se , on the T re e ,
have sp e c ia l re fe re n c e to Chokmah ( ' ) and to Binah ( H ), th e m ale and fem ale,
p a te rn a l and m a te rn a l, asp e c ts of the ONE SELF seated in the f i r s t Sephirah, K e th e r.
Thus C haiah, the life fo rc e , is to be understood as being the flow of the c u rre n t of r a ­
diant energy which descends fro m K e th e r. It is the LIGHT, o r L .V .X . T h is is both
m ental light and p h y sical lig h t. In its e lf it is N o-T hing ( p R ), and has no lim i­
tatio n s w hatever (*HD P R ) . Yet it is also tru ly th e B reath of Life, the link
connecting a ll fo rm s, and the ra d ia n t energy condensed into suns ( U K .)

In Y esod, th is light and life take fo rm as N ep h esh , the V ital Soul, com m on to m an
and all fo rm s of being below h im . In th e m in e ra l kingdom , the V ital Soul e x p re ss e s i t ­
self a s the fo rc e which binds e le c tro n s to g e th e r to fo rm ato m s, and re s u lts in the e le c ­
tr i c , m agnetic and chem ical phenom ena of th at kingdom . In the vegetable kingdom, the
v ita l quality of th is energy is m o re fully e x p re sse d , and m o re than one in v e stig ato r has
d em o n strated the fa c t th at plan ts have sen satio n , and even the ru d im en ts of d e s ire and
v o lition. In the an im al kingdom , th e se p sy ch ical a sp e c ts of the life fo rc e a re m o re and
m o re fully displayed through the ascending sc a le of anim al fo r m s . In m an, the whole
ran g e of p o w ers, fro m the low est m in e ra l to the h ighest anim al fo rm s, is re c ap itu late d ,
and th e se pow ers a re p re s e n t in the autom atic co n scio u sn ess of the V ital Soul.

T h e re a re dangerous fo rm s of occult p ra c tic e which c o n sist in a descent fro m the

hum an level tow ard the low er fo rm s of life -e x p re s s io n . Even th e safe m ethods which
have stood the te s t of thousands of y e a r s of investigation c a ll fo r som e acquaintance with
the n a tu re of the sub-hum an levels of th e L ife-p o w er's a ctiv ity .

T hus th e R o sicru cian allegory say s that B rother C .R . went down into Egypt, to in ­
c re a s e his knowledge of plan ts and an im als; but say s also that he stay ed th e re "no long
 THE TR EE OF LIFE: 37 - 3 -

tim e ." F o r Egypt is a sym bolical type of Y esod, and the Biblical s to rie s of Joseph, of
M oses, and of Jesu s a ll re c o rd a te m p o ra ry so jo u rn in th is land of m y ste ry and d a rk n e ss .

U nderstand that the sub-hum an lev els a re not in th e m selv e s e v il. The ev il and the
danger com e into being when m an d e lib e rately s u rre n d e rs h is divine h e rita g e fo r the
Egyptian fle s h -p o ts . Man’s p re ro g a tiv e is to ru le the sub-hum an p o w ers, and to ru le
them he m ust know th e m . What he m u st avoid is the s u rre n d e r of th is p re ro g a tiv e . He
m ust not, as one of the C haldean O ra cles p h ra s e s it, "sto o p down into the darkly sp len ­
did w o rld .”

Some p ra c tic e s of debased T a n trik Hatha Yoga lead to th is u n d esirab le r e s u lt. So

do many of the equally debased p ra c tic e s of the m agic tru ly called " b la c k ." T he fo rcin g
of p sy ch ical developm ent, w hether by m e sm e rism o r hypnosis, o r by s p iritu a lis tic
" d a rk c irc le " m ethods, to say nothing of the u se of d ru g s, is a dangerous b u s in e s s . F o r
in a ll such m ethods the self-co n scio u s a w are n e ss of the p e rso n who is the subject of e x ­
p e rim e n t m ust be s u rre n d e re d .

R em arkable phenom ena a re so m etim es produced in th is w ay. F o r the pow ers of the
autom atic c o n scio u sn ess go f a r beyond what m ost p e rso n s r e a liz e . Yet none of th e se
pow ers of the V ital Soul has any r e a l value a p a rt fro m the in tellig en t s e lf-d ire c tio n of the
p e rso n through whom they a re m an ifested .

The a v erag e m edium has no conscious knowledge of what he say s o r does in tra n c e .
He who has advanced to any of the g ra d e s of adeptship m ay, so m etim es, a p p ea r to be in
a tra n c e lik e condition, with a ll the pow ers of h is p h y sical o rg an ism in te m p o ra ry ab ey ­
an ce. Y et, to h im self, the adept is alw ays aw ake, alw ays aw are of h is p e rso n a l id e n ti­
ty , n e v e r fo r a m om ent p o s s e s s e d o r o b se sse d by any o th e r e n tity .

A utom atic w ritin g affords an exam ple of th e g re a t d ifferen ce betw een p o sitiv e and
negative use of the pow ers which have th e ir se a t in Y esod. T he negative autom atic w rite r
re m a in s wholly unconscious of the w o rd s which com e fro m h is p encil p o in t. A s c re e n
may hide the p a p er fro m h is ey es, y et the s c rip t w ill be re la tiv e ly c le a r . At the sam e
tim e , the w rite r w ill be unaw are of the su b stan ce o r m eaning of th e s c r ip t. A p o sitiv e
w rite r, on the c o n tra ry , w ill know the w ords as they com e, and w ill be fully aw are of
th e ir m eaning, even though the m e ssa g e itse lf m ay b rin g him inform ation of which he had
no p rev io u s know ledge. Some positiv e w rite rs a re able also to w rite w hile they c a r r y on
a c o n v ersatio n on su b jects rem o te fro m th e tex t of the w ritin g . Yet they know what they
a re w ritin g , although they have nothing to do w ith the com position of the te x t.

C om position, indeed, is la rg e ly a subconscious p ro c e ss ; and the way many w rite rs

get th e ir m a te ria l on p a p e r is a kind of p o sitiv e autom atic w ritin g . So is the p ro c e d u re
of many extem pore sp e a k e rs alm ost wholly the w ork of the autom atic c o n sc io u sn e ss. What
they say includes many ideas a s new to them as to any of th e ir h e a r e r s . Yet they a re wide
awake, and a re able to change the d ire c tio n of th e c u rre n t of id e a s . T ra n c e sp ea k e rs and
negative autom atic w rite rs , on the c o n tra ry , n e ith e r know what they produce n o r can they
a lte r the flow of ideas .

It is through the autom atic co n scio u sn ess th at we com e in touch w ith what, in occult
-4 - THE TREE OF LIFE: 37

lite ra tu re , is often te rm e d the a s tr a l p la n e . Indeed, Y esod c o rre sp o n d s to th a t field

of fin e r substance, and of su b tle r fo rc e s .

The T re e of Life d iagram shows seven p lan es of life -e x p re s s io n . Of th e se , the

low est and o u term o st is the phy sical, and th is plane (as w ell as m an’s p h y sical body)
is re p re se n te d by MaLkuth.

Within and above the p h y sical plane is the a s tr a l plane c o rresp o n d in g to Y esod. In
it a re the e th e ric and a s tr a l c o u n te rp a rts of p h y sical f o r m s . T h is is the abode of what
the ancient G reek s c alled " s h a d e s ." It is the H ades, o r underw orld, co rresp o n d in g to
the Sheol of the Old T e sta m e n t.

Of fin e r su b stan ce, and the field of m an ifestatio n fo r fin e r fo rc e s than those of the
a s tr a l plane, is what may be c alled the m ental p la n e. T h is includes two c e n te rs o r
field s of life -e x p re s s io n . They a re of equal im p o rtan ce, and balance each o th e r. One
is N etzach, the seat of d e s ire , the o th e r Hod, th e seat of in telle ctu al activ ity .

The p hysical, a s tr a l and m ental plan es a re the field s of action fo r the fo rm s and
fo rc e s constituting hum an p e rs o n a lity . Im m ediately above and w ithin them is the egoic
plane, corresp o n d in g to T ip h are th . It is the abode of the one E go, seated in the h e a rts
of m en, and directin g also the lives and a ctiv itie s of all sub-hum an fo rm s in th e m en ­
ta l, a s tr a l and ph y sical p la n e s . T h is c e n tra l Ego is the m ed iato r betw een the planes
below it and those above. Of th e se th e re a r e t h r e e .

The fifth plane, counting upw ard fro m M alkuth, may be called the co sm ic m ental
plane, to distinguish it fro m the p e rso n a l m ental plane which com bines the a c tiv itie s of
Hod and N etzach. Like the p e rso n a l m ental p lan e, its a c tiv itie s a re a com bination of
pow ers re p re se n te d on the T re e by two Sephiroth, C hesed (of which N etzach is th e r e ­
flectio n at the p e rso n a l m ental level) and G eburah (which has its p e rso n a l m en tal re fle c ­
tion in Hod). C hesed is the sea t of m em ory, and G eburah is the se a t of the pow er e x ­
p re s s e d in a c ts of v o lition.

The sixth plane is that of th e s p iritu a l m ind, o r Divine Soul. On the T re e it is r e ­

p re s e n te d by Chokmah and Binah. Chokmah is the se a t of the life fo rc e , C haiah. Binah
is th e s e a t of the D ivine Soul, Ne sham a h , and of the " m y ste rio u s pow er" which governs
the production of fo rm throughout a cycle of the L ife-p o w er’ s s e lf-e x p re s s io n .

T he seventh plane is the highest and in n e rm o st. On the T re e it is K eth er, sea t of
Y ekhidah, the u n iv e rsa l SE L F. T his is th e p u re s p iritu a l Being te rm e d Atman in Hindu
philosophy. All fo rm s of m anifestatio n below th is h ighest plane a r e e x p re ssio n s of its
p o ten cies, and a re re la te d to it by pow ers re p re se n te d on th e T re e by the Sephiroth below
K ether, and by the paths connecting th e m .

T hus, w hatever p a rtic u la r path we may be studying, it is im p o rtan t to re m e m b e r

that it is alw ays an asp ect of the m an ifestatio n of the p o ten cies of K e th er. The w hirling
m otion which has its beginning in the f ir s t Sephirah is the pow er which e n te rs into ev ery
o th e r activity re p re se n te d by the path s of the T r e e . K eth er is , as we have sa id e lsew h ere,
the fly-w heel of the cosm ic m o to r. It is also th e so u rce of a ll pow ers which a re e x p r e s s ­
ed through the agency of human p e rs o n a lity .
 THE TR EE OF LIFE: 37 -5 -

Section 8 of THE BOOK OF CONCEALED MYSTERY says: " F a th e r and M other a re

p erp etu ally conjoined in Y esod, the Foundation, but co n cealed under the
m y ste ry of riJFl, D a 'a th , o r know ledge.” T his m eans th at in th e ninth Sephirah the
pow ers of Chokmah and Binah a re com bined, ju st a s they a re in K eth er and T ip h are th ,
above Y esod on the T re e , and in Malkuth below it. T hat is , in Y esod, as in th e o th e r
th re e Sephiroth on the M iddle P illa r of the T r e e , th e re is an e q u ilib riu m , balance and
conjunction of positiv e and negative, m ascu lin e and fem inine p o w e rs. F o r a ll m ale a s ­
p e c ts of the L ife-pow er a re , in som e sen se , a sp e c ts of Chokm ah, F a th e r, and all f e ­
m ale, a sp e c ts of Binah the M other.

T his m ay be shown by another Q abalistic an aly sis of the w ord 11 O’ its e lf. We
have seen before that Yod, o r 11\ is th e sp ecial le tte r of Chokmah, the F a th e r.
Thus we may u n d erstan d the Samekh, 0 , in 11D’ to be a re p re se n ta tio n of the
pow ers of Binah, the M other. The le tte r-n a m e Samekh, "JCD, m eans "p ro p , su p ­
p o rt, s u s ta in e r," and th is re la te s to the d o ctrin e th at Binah, the M other, is the fo rm ­
giving pow er which supports all fo rm s of m an ifestatio n below it on th e T re e of L ife. The
num ber of the c h a r a c te r 0 , m o re o v e r, is 60, and th is is 3, the sp ecial n um ber of
Binah, m u ltip lied by 20, the value of 1 1 ', so th a t Samekh, as a n u m ber, is fo r
Q abalists a sym bol of the conjunction of Chokmah ( 1 1 ') and Binah in th e m anifold
fo rm s of the L ife-p o w er’s s e lf-e x p re s s io n . You may find it h a rd to follow th is kind of
Q abalism , because it is so f a r rem o v ed fro m y o u r usual ways of thinking. We include it
h e re , p a rtly to give you another exam ple of Q abalistic m ethods, and p a rtly to e x e rc is e
y o u r m ind in a kind of activity which, as you p ro g re s s in y o u r w ork, you w ill find in c r e a s ­
ingly useful and in te re stin g .

T h e re is , m o re o v e r, a p ra c tic a l value in th is thought th at the po w ers of Chokmah and

Binah a re p erp etu ally com bined in Y esod. To many stu d en ts, the Sephiroth at th e top of
the T r e e of Life seem to be re m o te , and a lm o st in a c c e ssib le to th e a v erag e hum an being.
The pow ers of su b consciousness, on th e c o n tra ry , fe e l c lo s e r to us, as they re a lly a r e .
T hus it w ill help many to know th at through the autom atic co n scio u sn ess in Y esod they
have d ire c t a c c e ss to the sam e pow ers th at a re a sso c ia te d w ith the second and th ird Se­
p h iro th . In m an’s V ital Soul we m ay touch the lim itle s s life fo rc e of Chokmah, and by
the o p eratio n of th a t sam e V ital Soul, we may avail o u rse lv e s of th e intuitive knowledge
of N esham ah, the Divine Soul.

It is in th is sen se th at we r e s t o u r liv es upon the s u re Foundation of E te rn a l Being.

T hat r e s t is not s u rre n d e r to the influences of th e a s tr a l p la n e . It is th e quiet confidence
re su ltin g fro m our knowledge that a ll pow ers re q u ire d fo r th e su c c e ssfu l conduct of o ur
liv es a re im m ediately available through the agency of the autom atic c o n sc io u s n e s s . We
do not s u rre n d e r to th is low er level, but we do m ake use of its p o w er. We m ust s te e r o u r
ship of life fro m the self-c o n sc io u s level; but it is good fo r us to know th a t down in the
e n g in e-ro o m of the autom atic c o n scio u sn ess th e re is a p o w er-p lan t which may be tru s te d
to c a r ry us to o u r d estin atio n , and which is , like the en g in e-ro o m of an ocean lin e r, a l­
ways re sp o n siv e to sig n als sen t down fro m the cap tain on the b rid g e .

GEMATRIA

The value of 11D'» Y esod, is 80, and we have alre ad y alluded to the c o r r e s ­
- 6 - THE TR EE OF LIFE: 37

pondence of- th is num ber w ith the le tte r Peh. T h is is why THE BOOK OF TOKENS says:
"D estru ctio n is the foundation of e x iste n c e ." The G e m atria of 80 includes:

Z 'T IH ' lV ha-Y ehudim , (the Jews E s th e r 6:13). T h is is one of many

h ints th at the fo rc e s re p re se n te d by the T rib e of Judah (re la te d to Leo, to T eth, and thus
to Fohat) a re fundam ental in hum an life . T he num ber of the le tte r T eth (£3) is 9,
which is also the num ber of Y esod. Many Q abalists use the c h a ra c te r £3 in th e ir
d iag ram s of the T r e e , and in th e ir w ritin g s, when they m ean th e ninth Sephirah.

*11*1* v a 'a d , a g athering, a m eeting o r a sse m b ly . R efers to Y esod a s being a

Sephirah in which a r e conjoined the influences of th e path s above it on the T r e e .

k a lal, to com plete, to fin ish , to m ake w hole. C om pare th is with the m ean ­
ings of 9, the sp ecial num ber of Y esod.

m i n ' 'D, m iy Yehudah, w a te rs of Judah (Isaiah 48:1). 'D is a H ebrew

fig u re of speech fo r sem en v i r i l i s . T h is has a connection with the Q abalistic doctrine
th at Y esod re p re s e n ts the g e n erativ e o rgans of the A rchetypal M an.

I am T en,
Y et f r o m m e p r o c e e d e th th e T w e n ty ,
F o r I a m T e n In e ffa b le
A nd T e n m a n if e s te d in c r e a tio n .
T h e r e f o r e i s YOD b o th T e n a n d T w e n ty .

A nd th e T e n m a d e m a n if e s t a r e a ls o S e v e n ,
A nd t h e s e a r e th e E lo h im .
T h e s e S e v e n b rin g f o r th T e n a g a in ,
F o r th e H e p ta d w h ic h i s b e lo w th e S u p e rn a l T r ia d
C o m p le te th i t s e l f in th e K in g d o m o f th e B r id e .

F o r te n fo ld i s m y s e lf-u tte ra n c e ,
A nd t h e r e f o r e i s i t w r itt e n o f th e L ig h ts o f E m a n a tio n ,
"T en , and not e le v e n , te n a n d n o t n in e . "
( F r o m TH E BOOK O F T O K E N S, by D r . P a u l F o s t e r C a s e )