Traditional Martinist Order

Discourse
KABBALAH (The Tree of the Sephiroth)
We present below a sample discourse from the teachings of the Traditional Martinist Order,
this one featuring a discussion of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

greet you before the luminaries of the Geburah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, Yesod,

I Traditional Martinist Order! and Malkuth. Together they form The Tree
of the Sephiroth, which is, in some man-
ner, the invisible skeleton of Creation. As
In the Sepher Yetzirah, it is said that indicated in the Sepher Bahir, the branches
the benevolent and merciful God created of this tree nourish themselves in the Ain-
the universe through thirty-two wonderful Soph, the hidden transcendence. Rather
paths of Wisdom. These thirty-two paths than discuss the Ain-Soph today, we will
correspond to the twenty-two Hebrew study this concept in the next discourse.
letters and to the ten Sephiroth. After As you will notice on the diagram, the
having studied the twenty-two letters in ten Sephiroth are arranged in three col-
the two previous discourses, the moment umns forming a symbolic structure called
has now come to approach the topic of Binyam.
the ten Sephiroth. The left column is Severity. It extends
The Kabbalists say that when the Pri- from the sephira Binah to the sephira
mordial Light descended from the Ain- Hod. Associated with the letter Mem, and
Soph, or in other words the Infinite, to with water, it symbolizes passivity and has
give the breath of life to all the worlds and a negative polarity.
all creatures, It arrayed itself in the shape of The right column is Mercy, some-
ten lights. These are the Sephiroth, which times called Clemency. It extends from the
the Zohar compares to the “ten forms that sephira Chokhmah to the sephira Netzach.
God produced to direct the unknown and Associated with the letter Shin and with
invisible worlds, and the visible worlds.” In fire, it symbolizes the force of expansion
the first chapter of the Sepher Yetzirah, it is and has a positive polarity.
said that they came out of the nothingness Finally, the central column is Equilib-
and that their appearance “is as a flash of rium. It extends from the sephira Kether
light whose extremities are without limit.” to the sephira Malkuth. Associated with
One can also read in this book that the the letter Aleph, and with air, it symbol-
Word of the Divine “comes and goes with- izes the equilibrium between the two po-
in them and [that] when the Word speaks, larities, as well as the union between the
such as a hurricane, they bow before the Divine World and the Material World.
Divine Throne and they celebrate.” The kabbalistic tradition relates these
The word sephiroth is the plural of three columns with the patriarchs Abra-
sephira, a feminine word that means nu- ham, Isaac, and Jacob. You will also note
meration. As you know, the ten Sephiroth that the columns descend from the infinite
Rosicrucian are arranged in a hierarchical manner and to the finite through the four levels, or four
Digest are linked one to another by channels. They materialized worlds, indicated by the dot-
No. 1
2014
are: Kether, Chokhmah, Binah, Chesed, ted lines in the diagram.
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 The first level is the Olam Atziluth, is Kether, a word that we can translate as
the World of Emanation. Formed by the Crown. It represents Divine Will, the be-
sephiroth Kether, Chokhmah, and Binah, ginning of existence, and the eternal pres-
it represents the Divine Will in a pure state. ent. The Sepher Yetzirah associates it with
The second level is the Olam Briah, the the “Breath of the living Elohim.”
World of Creation. Formed by the sephi- The second sephira is Chokhmah, a
roth Chesed, Geburah, and Tiphereth, it word meaning “Wisdom.” Some Kabbal-
is the world where Divine Will is trans- ists compare it with the Primordial To-
formed into creative energy. rah, the Secret Wisdom. It represents the
The third level is the Olam Yetzirah, masculine and active principle. The Sep-
the World of Formation. Formed by the her Yetzirah associates it with the “Breath
sephiroth Netzach, Hod, and Yesod, it is coming from the Breath.”
the world of movement and generation, The third sephira is Binah, a word
where all forms are elaborated. meaning “Intelligence.” It represents the
feminine and passive principle. The Sepher
Finally, the fourth level is Olam Assiah,
Yetzirah associates it with the “Waters com-
the World of Action. Formed by the sephi-
ing from the Breath.” We should note that
ra Malkuth, it is the world of phenomena,
the Kabbalists call it Ima meaning “Moth-
of matter and human beings.
er,” whereas they refer to Chokhmah by
It can be said that the four worlds sym- the name Abba, meaning “Father.”
bolize the expansion of the Divine through If the first three sephiroth are inti-
the visible and invisible planes of Creation. mately linked to the Divine World, the
It is the reason why they are associated with next seven sephiroth are more particularly
the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, the linked to the Terrestrial World. Some Kab-
Sacred Name of the Divine. As one can see balists associate them with the seven days
in the diagram, Atziluth corresponds to of Creation. Between these two worlds, we
Yod, the first letter of the Tetragrammaton; find Daath, a hidden sephira whose name
Briah to He, the second letter; Yetzirah to means “Knowledge.” It represents the
Vav, the third letter; and Assiah to He, the Knowledge that directly emanates from
fourth letter. the Divine. As such, it is inaccessible to in-
Kabbalists consider that the Tree of the carnate Humanity.
Sephiroth is an expression of the face of The fourth sephira is Chesed, meaning
the Divine and the means by which the In- “Mercy.” Sometimes called Gedolah, it is
visible acquires a certain visibility. They di- the first sephira of the World of Briah, the
vide it into two faces: Arik Anpin (the Long world of Creation. It represents sharing,
Face), and Zeir Anpin (the Small Face). goodness, and love. That is why the Zohar
The long face comprises the three superior relates Chesed to the patriarch Abraham,
sephiroth: Kether, Chokhmah, and Binah. who personifies these qualities. It is also as-
As has previously been said, the Long Face sociated with the Oral Torah, the Esoteric
represents the superior world, the world of Revelation. The Sepher Yetzirah considers
the Divine Will. The Small Face is made Chesed the “Fire coming from the Waters.”
up of the following six sephiroth: Chesed, The fifth sephira is Geburah, mean-
Geburah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, and ing “Rigor” or “Justice.” Sometimes called
Yesod. These are the sephiroth that are said Din, it is associated with the Written To-
to be of Construction, fully manifested in rah, the Exoteric Revelation. The Zohar
Malkuth, the tenth, or last sephira. relates Geburah with the patriarch Isaac,
Let us now examine one by one the because of his absolute obedience to God’s
Sephiroth of the Kabbalistic Tree. The first commands.
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 The sixth sephira is Tiphereth, mean- the merciful and benevolent God created
ing “Beauty.” Placed between Chesed and the universe through thirty-two wonderful
Geburah, in the middle of the central paths of Wisdom, which correspond to the
column, it symbolizes the equilibrium of twenty-two Hebrew letters and to the ten
oppositions. The Zohar relates Tiphereth Sephiroth. Here is what Athanasius Kirch-
with the patriarch Jacob, whose manner is er, an adept of Kabbalah, said concerning
a model of equilibrium between love and these paths:
rigor. Among the six sephiroth of Con- “The thirty-two paths of Wisdom are
struction, it is the only one to be directly the luminous paths by which the holy
linked to Kether. men and women, devoted to God, are
The seventh sephira is Netzach, mean- able to understand hidden things by a
ing “Victory,” in the sense of mastery. This great application of the Divine Laws
sephira is often associated with Joseph. The and a long meditation upon them.”
Bible says that it is after having resisted his
passions, symbolized by Potiphar’s wife, Note that each of these thirty-two
that he became the Pharaoh’s minister and paths has a name and a precise significa-
succeeded in reorganizing the economy of tion that is shown on Table 1. As you can
Egypt. Netzach is at the base of the col- see, each path corresponds to a Hebrew
umn of Mercy and receives its energy from letter or a sephira, with which is associated
Chesed, placed directly above it. a quality of Divine Wisdom. Thus, Kether,
The eighth sephira is Hod, meaning the first path, is Wisdom of Supreme Will;
“Glory” or “Splendor.” Across from Net- Aleph, the second, Wisdom of Celestial
zach, it is placed at the base of the column Unity; Chokhmah, the third, Superior
of Rigor and receives its energy from Ge- Wisdom; etc.
burah, situated just above it. It represents This first approach to the Tree of the
the accomplishment of Divine Will. Sephiroth may seem complex to you. That
The ninth sephira is Yesod, meaning being said, the most important thing is to
“Foundation” or “Transmission.” As the become familiar with the name and the
last sephira of the world of Yetzirah, World position of each of these sephiroth. After
of Formation, it represents the foundation that, it is recommended that you follow
of the created world. It also transmits the the advice given in the Sepher Yetzirah:
breath of life, which comes from the high- “Keep your mouth from speaking of it,
er sephiroth, toward Malkuth. and your heart from thinking of it.”
The tenth and last sephira is Malkuth, Brothers and Sisters, may you ever
meaning “Kingdom.” As the synthesis of dwell in the Eternal Light of Divine Wis-
all the sephiroth, it represents the material dom.
world, the accomplishment of the process
SUMMARY
of Creation. Kabbalists see in it the hid-
den presence of God in exile on the earthly
plane. They designate this presence by the yy The thirty-two paths, to which the Sep-
word Shekhinah, a word meaning, “Di- her Yetzirah refers, correspond to the
vine Presence.” That being said, the notion twenty-two Hebrew letters and to the
of Shekhinah cannot be reduced to Mal- ten Sephiroth.
kuth. In Kabbalah, there is a reference of yy Kether, a word that can be translated
the Shekhinah Below, and the Shekhinah as “Crown,” represents Divine Will, the
Rosicrucian Above, which resides in Binah. beginning of existence and the eternal
Digest
No. 1 As indicated at the beginning of this present. The Sepher Yetzirah associates it
2014 discourse, the Sepher Yetzirah states that with the “Breath of the Living Elohim.”
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yy Chokhmah, meaning “Wisdom,” rep- Please sit comfortably.
resents the masculine and active prin- Close your eyes and relax for a few mo-
ciple. The Sepher Yetzirah associates ments, as is comfortable for you.
it with the “Breath coming from the Now, we will evoke the ten Sephiroth
Breath.” of the Kabbalistic Tree, one by one. Join
yy Binah, meaning “Intelligence,” repre- mentally in each evocation, and then re-
sents the feminine and passive prin- main receptive to any impressions you
ciple. The Sepher Yetzirah associates may receive.
it with the “Waters coming from the O Kether, Crown, Breath of the living
Breath.” Elohim, reveal Yourself to my con-
yy Chesed, meaning “Mercy,” represents sciousness.
sharing, goodness, and love. The Sepher O Chokhmah, Wisdom, Breath from
Yetzirah describes Chesed as the “Fire the Breath, reveal Yourself to my
coming from the Waters.” consciousness.
yy Geburah, meaning “Rigor” or “Justice,”
is associated with the Written Torah, O Binah, Intelligence, Waters from the
the Exoteric Revelation. The Zohar as- Breath, reveal Yourself to my con-
sociates it with the Patriarch Isaac. sciousness.
yy Tiphereth, meaning “Beauty,” symbol- O Chesed, Mercy, Abraham’s inspira-
izes the equilibrium of oppositions. The tion, reveal Yourself to my con-
Zohar associates it with the patriarch sciousness.
Jacob. O Geburah, Rigor, Isaac’s inspiration,
yy Netzach, meaning “Victory” in the reveal Yourself to my conscious-
sense of mastery, is often associated ness.
with Joseph.
O Tiphereth, Beauty, Jacob’s inspira-
yy Hod, meaning “Glory” or “Splendor,”
tion, reveal Yourself to my con-
represents the accomplishment of the
sciousness.
Divine Will.
yy Yesod, meaning “Foundation” or O Netzach, Victory, Joseph’s inspira-
“Transmission,” represents the founda- tion, reveal Yourself to my con-
tions of the created world. sciousness.
yy Malkuth, meaning “Kingdom,” repre- O Hod, Glory, Agent of Divine Will,
sents the material world, the accom- reveal Yourself to my conscious-
plishment of the process of Creation. ness.
yy Each of the thirty-two paths has a name
O Yesod, Foundation, giver of the
that corresponds to an attribute of Di-
Breath of Life, reveal Yourself to
vine Wisdom.
my consciousness.
EXPERIMENT O Malkuth, Kingdom, where the
Shekhinah Below resides, reveal
Brothers and Sisters, we will now pro- Yourself to my consciousness.
ceed to an experiment whose goal is to har- Brothers and Sisters, as long as we
monize us with the ten Sephiroth of the journey between the two pillars, may we
Kabbalistic Tree, in order to be in com- be receptive to the spiritual influx ema-
munion with their corresponding planes nating from the Sephiroth, so that their
of consciousness, and to receive their spiri- united powers may illumine our body, our
tual influx. soul, and our spirit. Amen!

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 ‫י‬AïN
The Tree of ‫י‬AïN SOPH the Sephiroth
N S OPH AUR
‫י‬Aï
Water ‫מ‬ Air ‫א‬ Fire ‫ש‬

KETHER
‫כתר‬
1

(Emanation)
ATZILUTH
1A
‫ג‬ le
‫א‬ ‫י‬
l ph
i me
3G

Cheth ‫ח‬
BINAH CHOKHMAH
‫בינה‬ ‫תכמה‬
3 2 Beth ‫ב‬ 2

4 Daleth ‫ד‬
6 Vav ‫ו‬

DAATH

‫ט‬
10

h
Knowledge
Yo

et
‫דעת‬

9T
d
‫י‬

GEBURAH CHESED

(Creation)
‫גבורה‬ 5 HE ‫ה‬ ‫חסד‬

BRIAH
‫ה‬
5 4
7Z
ayi
‫ז‬ ‫כ‬
n
Kaf
20
TIPHERETH
‫תפארת‬
60 Samekh ‫ס‬

40 Mem ‫מ‬
6
30
‫ע‬ Lam
‫י‬Ayi ‫ל‬
n
Tzadi ‫צ‬

ed
70

HOD 50 Nun ‫נ‬ NETZACH

‫הוד‬ ‫נצח‬
90

8 80 P ‫ק‬ 7
‫פ‬ Kof
(Formation)

100
YETZIRAH

YESOD ‫ו‬
‫יסוד‬
9
40

‫ש‬
0T

n
hi
av

0S
200 Resh ‫ר‬
‫ת‬

30

(Action)
ASSIAH

MALKUTH
‫מלכות‬ ‫ה‬
Rosicrucian 10
Digest
No. 1
2014 Rigor Equilibrium Mercy
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Traditional Martinist Order Discourse 16
S.I. Degree
Table 1
The Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom
(Ten Sephiroth + Twenty-Two Hebrew letters)

NUMBER PATH NAME MEANING

1 Kether Chokhmah Ratson Elyon Supreme Will Wisdom

2 Aleph Chokhmah Yihoude Elyon Wisdom of Celestial Unity
3 Chokhmah Chokhmah Ilaah Superior Wisdom
4 Beth Chokhmah Qabalah Received Wisdom
5 Gimel Chokhmah Maqor Wisdom of the Source
6 Binah Chokhmah Hashmal Wisdom of Introduction
7 Daleth Chokhmah Teseniah Wisdom of Humility
8 Chesed Chokhmah Bahir Wisdom of Clarity
9 He Chokhmah Birour Infiltrating Wisdom
10 Vav Chokhmah Mishmaath Disciplined Wisdom
11 Geburah Chokhmah Garayin Wisdom of the Nucleus
12 Zayin Chokhmah Hazon Wisdom of Vision
13 Cheth Chokhmah Aur Luminous Wisdom
14 Teth Chokhmah Nevouat-Haley Intuitive Wisdom
15 Yod Chokhmah Shoqal Reflecting Wisdom
16 Kaf Chokhmah Makhnaah Submissive Wisdom
17 Tiphereth Chokhmah Shaiphae Plentiful Wisdom
18 Lamed Chokhmah Laimaid Wisdom of Study
19 Mem Chokhmah Kawanah Wisdom of Intention
20 Netzach Chokhmah Maashith Practical Wisdom
21 Nun Chokhmah Shiwoui Wisdom of Equilibrium
22 Samekh Chokhmah Hirhoraith Contemplative Wisdom
23 Ayin Chokhmah Sod Secret Wisdom
24 Hod Chokhmah Ayiouni Speculative Wisdom
25 Pe Chokhmah Nissayon Wisdom of Trial and Testing
26 Tzadi Chokhmah Datioth Devoted Wisdom
27 Kof Chokhmah Mishqal Wisdom of the Rhythm
28 Yesod Chokhmah Talmud Wisdom of Study
29 Resh Chokhmah Hithaorroth Wisdom of Awakening
30 Shin Chokhmah Hamah Warm Wisdom
31 Tav Chokhmah Qarah Cold Wisdom
32 Malkuth Chokhmah Makif Enveloping Wisdom

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