An introduction to Kabbalah
What is Kabbalah?
It is very hard to find out exactly what Kabbalah is from books or the internet. Partly because the bulk of Kabbalah is orally transmitted and so what these books tell you sometimes makes little sense or is written in a very difficult style.
Kabbalah (which means “to receive”) has its roots in ancient Egypt and beyond. It is the mystical sect of Judaism (Kabbalists), Christianity (Gnostics) and Islam (Sufis). Mysticism means that unity with God or enlightenment can be attained through one’s own efforts and not through organised religion. Sometimes you will see this written as Qabala. So no need to become confused with this spelling.
Kabbalah uses the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is old. Some say it was with us from the beginning. It has been considered a blueprint for life, an ancient DNA sequence, a mind map, an evolutionary tool, an alchemical device,a way to expand our consciousness, a device which shows us how energy works and, by extension, how we can work with energy.. The Tree of Life is held within the pattern of the Flower of Life. It provides a structure or framework for our intellect to hold on to while we explore and learn to trust our feelings. It becomes an excellent way of starting your journey into meditation.
The Tree is an image of ourselves. If you superimpose your body onto this Tree, your head clearly is at the top, then follows your ears and third eye, throat, shoulders, heart, hips, groin and feet.
As we take a meditative journey and walk this Tree, we will be accessing parts of our inner selves and learning.
“The work with TOLK, as it is done by Asharni, opened me up to the Kabbalah teachings and to so much more (tarot, astrology, planets and cycles, mythology, chanting) and took me on a gentle and subtle journey of self-discovery where I could experience how all these elements related to me personally.” Alessandra
Astrology has always been an integral part of Kabbalah.
We are in the solar system and the solar system is in us, is one of Kabbalah’s basic tenets. Indeed the Tree is a map of the solar system from a geocentric perspective. We stand upon the earth and all revolves around us. To take this a step further, WE ARE THE SOLAR SYSTEM. The planets are physical manifestations of energy bands we are being asked to master and move on. A study of Kabbalah is therefore a study of astrology.
The Tarot, however, comes much later into Kabbalah. Arthur Waite from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society which worked the Tree of Life in the 1880s, had the Rider Waite tarot deck drawn in 1910 to help people with no astrological knowledge to understand the paths of the tree in a visual way. This has served to enrich one’s experience of the Tree of Life.
In these highly energetic times, when many of us are realising that it is time to connect with nature, with ourselves, with each other, with our beautiful planet, Kabbalah is correspondingly making a resurgence.
The Emerald Tablet
Some of you may have heard of the Emerald Tablet, especially in relation to the Tree of Life. The tablet contained a message engraved on green moldavite and has been recorded by various key figures in history, such as Alexander the Great. It has always been considered to be of very ancient origin. It was last seen in 400AD in Alexandria, Egypt. Its whereabouts today is unknown.
There have been many translations of this Tablet, also known as the Philosopher’s Stone, made by great thinkers through the ages, the most notable by Sir Isaac Newton. But each new rendition saw fit to add more to the original text. The original text is beautiful in its simplicity:
As it is above, so it is below
As it is below, so it is above
In order to accomplish the miracles of the one thing
Its father is the sun; its mother is the moon
The wind carries it in its belly and the earth is its nurse.
The information on this tablet is key to understanding the teachings of the Tree of Life. To walk the Tree, as I teach in meditation, is not only for our benefit on earth, but it also is a chance to “give back” to that which is above. The circle of life. The miracles of the one thing.