Chapter Two: The Sephiroth and the Four Worlds

As discussed within Chapter One, each Sephirah "descends into itself" in an infinite regression, creating a recursive fractal pattern. However, each Sephirah within itself contains a complex of aspects. That is ;

(a) A concealed aspect that exists even before its manifestation or emanation as a Sephirah.

If we see the Sephiroth as prisms reflecting the light in ways particular to their own structure, we can see that each prism is equally a limited perspective, a layer of reality convenient to the purposes of conceptualisation. That we have split the Universe and all that composes us, whether it be a concept such as revenge, an object such as a cheese grater, or a process such as condensation into ten generalised views should indicate that the ultimate aspect of that view must return to the unknown from which it was generated. This can be demonstrated by asking a simple question such as "why is that typewriter in this room?" which leads to a further "why did I buy it?", and so on in an infinite regress. Take the question "What is ...?" and a similar regression can be found. We can never know what a thing is, or why, and it is this same unknowable that lies at the heart of each of the Sephiroth. This also demonstrates how the Sephiroth "proceed" from Ain Soph Aur, and yet still "reside" within it.

(b) The manifest and apparent aspect in its emanation as a Sephirah.

The form of a Sephiroth is represented by its name, and hence the apparent aspect and main form of Yesod is "foundation". Within any system to which the Tree is applied, the "foundation" will be Yesod. Again, splitting the Universe into ten aspects of its manifestation is probably based purely on our propensity as ten-digited beings to count in decimal. However, this does seem to work and orders of "ten" are found at many levels of the Universe around us. The concept should be applied in its most general sense, in that Chesed is not merely "loving kindness", but also the "expansive" aspect of any system.

The Yesod of manifestation can be seen in the foundation of all events, concepts and objects, for example the foundations of a building, the founding of a company, or the personality that nature and nuture provides us as the foundation of our self-identity.

There are three further aspects of each Sephirah that relate to the networked structure of the Tree. A Sephirah cannot be seen merely in terms of itself, but also must be viewed as part of a holistic system. A Spinning Wheel has one meaning in a Casino, where it is part of a financial system, and another in a Windmill, where it is part of a production system. The "context" in which a Sephirah is viewed is one of its aspects;

(d) The aspect which enables the Sephirah above it to instil within it the power to emanate further Sephirah.

This is the "receptive" aspect of the Sephirah, which reflects its qualities in terms of those Sephiroth within the process which come before it. Thus, Hod has an aspect whereby Geburah, Tiphareth and Netzach instil within it an ability to continue the process by generating Yesod.

(e) The aspect by which it gains the power to emanate the Sephiroth within it to their manifested existence within its own essence.

This is the "central" aspect of the node of activity, whereby it coalesces its own nature and from that proceeds forwards in the system. It is somewhat like the sudden chemical reaction which takes place in the slow mixture of two liquids when they reach the saturation point. Sometimes, this point of the process then begins a new reaction, such as the crystallisation of a solid, or the violent emission of heat.

(f) The aspect by which the following Sephirah is emanated to its own place.

This is the "active" transmitting aspect of the Sephirah, by which it governs the nature of the next Sephirah in the process. Obviously, the transmission or outflowing of a Sephirah is bound to shape the next, although in the networked nature of the Tree, each of the Sephiroth is more truly created by a conflux of prior Sephiroth, and result as their convergence. For example, Tiphareth (sometimes called the "son"), is the result of the convergence of Kether, Chockmah, Binah, Chesed and Geburah. A good example of this is Da'ath, "knowledge", which is seen as the union of Chockmah and Binah, and sometimes depicted as a "non-Sephirah" on the Abyss which separates the upper three Sephiroth from the rest of the Tree.

This complex sub-system within each Sephirah was developed by Cordovero and is known as the doctrine of the behinot, the infinite number of aspects which can be differentiated within each of the Sephiroth.

In addition to this type of description, two other versions describe how each Sephirah exists as a vector (from the Latin, meaning a "bearer" or "carrier") of the Light. The first details how light is reflected from each Sephirah back to the preceding Sephirah, as well as the light "flowing" downwards, as an object reflects light back to a torch, for example. The second uses the premise of "channels" (zinnor) that form between each Sephirah, apart from the emanative process, in that they model reciprocal influence between the Sephiroth, and not the "lightning flash" itself. This doctrine is obviously more in accord with the standard Occult map of the "paths" of the Tree of Life.

One of the other fundamental concepts of Kabbalah is that of the existence of a number of worlds. This can range from the millions of worlds depicted as the strands of the beard of the "long face" of God, to the "aborted" worlds which preceded our own and referred to as the "Kings of Edom" (see the later chapter on the Klippoth). Again, we can make a parallel of this concept to modern physics, and the "Cophenhagen Interpretation" with its many "observer-created" worlds.

The final outcome of the variations of the many-worlds doctrine came around the 14th century, but is also mentioned in the Zohar, and was developed by the Lurianic school (amongst others) in the 16th century. This version depicted four worlds :

(a) Olam ha-azilut, the world of emanation (the Sephiroth)

(b) Olam ha-beriah, the world of creation (the Throne & Chariot)

(d) Olam ha-asiyyah, the world of making (the terrestrial sphere)

The four worlds obviously can be connected with the four letters of the divine name YHVH, the four quarters, the four elements, and other quaternary systems. Sedir, quoted by Papus, gives the nature of each world as :

(a) Azilut, the world of emanations, at which level that which renders possibility becomes real (i.e. the thirty-two paths of wisdom).

(b) Beriah, the world of creation, at which level the spirit is moved to general manifestation without differentiation. The Zohar calls this world the pavilion which veils the point.

(c) Yetzirah, the world of formation, the level at which the general spirit is broken down into a crowd of individual minds.

(d) Assiyah, the world of production.

At each level the practical Kabbalist works with a different mode of personification of the Divine, in that at the world of Assiyah he works with the elemental spirits, in the world of Yetzirah he works with the Angels, in the world of Briah the Archangels, and at the world of Atziluth he works directly with the ten names of God in each of the Sephiroth (see Table One). However, the basic idea is that the Universe is broken down into four layers of functionality, each of which resonates with the others. A more practical example of a "four worlds" application is in business planning, where the layers are seen as strategic, tactical, operational, and functional. A full business plan will integrate these layers by having a simple, but broad strategic goal, broken into tactical means of attaining this goal, each tactic being further analysed in terms of its operation, and then being applied in the day-to-day functioning of the business. The "worlds" must be consistent with each other to ensure the overall objective is reached - every function must be in line with the overall plan (or "that which is above is like unto that which is below").

It is important to appreciate also the background concepts underpinning the doctrine of the four worlds of Kabbalah :

(a) The Quaternary

The number four has a symbolic connection to the concepts of space, classification, and the physical world. It is the number of order and relativity. It is the Cube or Altar upon which the Emperor (card IV of the Tarot) is seated, dispensing order and form to the manifest world.

Jung saw the balanced quaternary (or Tetrad) as a fundamental pattern of thought, "... the quaternary is an archetype of almost universal occurrence. It forms the logical basis for any whole judgement. If one wishes to pass such judgement, it must have this fourfold aspect". This Judgement, of course, is that made by Geburah once the first four Sephiroth are in place.

Rudy Rucker proposes the following conceptual tetrad to match Jungs four modes, which I feel can be usefully referred to the four worlds as they exist in the Psyche :

(a) Number (Sensation) referred to Assiyah.

(b) Space (Feeling) referred to Yetzirah.

(d) Infinity (Intuition) referred to Atziluth.

The fifth concept, that of Information, can be seen (as the top point of the Pentagram or the Shin descending into YHVH) as the binding or redeeming concept and may be referred to the divine Presence in each of the Worlds in terms of communication, complexity, and meaning.

Information, in terms of coherence, organisation, or "a non-random pattern", is that which is resultant of the fact that, as R.A. Wilson demonstrates, "Life is an ordering, selecting, coherence-making process". The physicist Schrondinger put it simply that "Life feeds on negative entropy"

(b) The Hierarchy

Briefly, the evidence for hierarchy as a fundamental part of the scala natura is constantly about and within us, from the hierarchy of the cells within us to the hierarchy of any organisation or the hierarchy of star systems. During a talk given at the Arcane School Conference, Mark Braham phrased it thus;

"Hierarchization is the process through which successive levels of increasing complexity, flexibility, and co-ordination in form, function and behaviour are established, ranging from the relatively simple to the relatively complex."

The higher up the hierarchy an item or individual is, the more is their co-ordinating function on a scale of complexity (such as a Queen in a beehive, a Sun in a Solar System, or a Company Director). This is important to consider in defining which world is to be considered or worked with for the Practical Kabbalist. It may be that some contemplations or workings are best effected in Assiyah or with the elemental beings, and others more effective by working with the Archangels or the correspondences of Briah.

The concepts involved with the "Many Worlds" or "Copenhagen Interpretation" of Quantum Physics can be reconciled with the Kabbalistic system through the nature of the four worlds and the description Kabbalah gives through Genesis. However, the basic idea of multiverses is not new, and exists in many other cosmologies.

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