Malkuht
I have been meditating and researching the concept of Malkuht. If you look at the picture, you will see an interpretation of the tree of life. The lamp, at the bottom of the picture, represents Malkuht. Malkuht (Malkut) represents "the Bride" or "the Kingdom". that is "earth". It is composed of five letters.מ (Mem)- ל (Lamed)- כּ(Kaph) - ו (Vav or waw) - and ת (Tav). keep in mind that in Hebrew these are read right to left like so: מלכות. Each letter in Hebrew carries with it a esoteric meaning. The letters themselves are thought to be the a product of the divine fire of G_d.
The tree of life begins and ends with Malkuht (the tenth sephirah on the tree of life). The Sephir Yetzirah (Hebrew for 'the Book of Creation') implies in numerous passages that the Tree of Life is a symbol of Humanity and the Universe, the Microcosm and the Macrocosm. The Bible states that "God made man in his own image." By extension, according to this system, whatever is relevant to the structure of the soul and the body of a person is thereby relevant to the soul and body of G_d/Universe. This is the epitome of, and yields new insight into, the commonly heard epithet "As above, so Below" uttered by many modern day practitioners of Wicca and other forms of witchcraft (please not that I do NOT use this descriptor as a pejorative).
Think of a body, ANY body, THIS body is a microcosm of the universe. A model of sorts. A, to use a fancy term, a Synechdoche. This tree is a tool of philosophic, of psychological, of spiritual discovery, and of occult and alchemical experimentation. It is a sign on the road that signifies the approach to the unapproachable, a book of knowledge that leads to knowledge of, understanding of, and wisdom of the unknowable. It is a means of coming close to the indwelling/outdwelling G_d. And it all begins and ends in Malkuht.
The structure of the tree smacks of the Hegelian triads, thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. The sphere of the sephirot are the 'emanations of G_d' or the means by which a human soul, in it's progress from a noumenal existence to it's manifesting a physical vehicle in the phenomenal world. Malkuht, in this is the end point of these emanations.
I wish to go through the letters but will break up our discussion and exploration of them into two parts. The first letter that I will address is:
The tree of life begins and ends with Malkuht (the tenth sephirah on the tree of life). The Sephir Yetzirah (Hebrew for 'the Book of Creation') implies in numerous passages that the Tree of Life is a symbol of Humanity and the Universe, the Microcosm and the Macrocosm. The Bible states that "God made man in his own image." By extension, according to this system, whatever is relevant to the structure of the soul and the body of a person is thereby relevant to the soul and body of G_d/Universe. This is the epitome of, and yields new insight into, the commonly heard epithet "As above, so Below" uttered by many modern day practitioners of Wicca and other forms of witchcraft (please not that I do NOT use this descriptor as a pejorative).
Think of a body, ANY body, THIS body is a microcosm of the universe. A model of sorts. A, to use a fancy term, a Synechdoche. This tree is a tool of philosophic, of psychological, of spiritual discovery, and of occult and alchemical experimentation. It is a sign on the road that signifies the approach to the unapproachable, a book of knowledge that leads to knowledge of, understanding of, and wisdom of the unknowable. It is a means of coming close to the indwelling/outdwelling G_d. And it all begins and ends in Malkuht.
The structure of the tree smacks of the Hegelian triads, thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. The sphere of the sephirot are the 'emanations of G_d' or the means by which a human soul, in it's progress from a noumenal existence to it's manifesting a physical vehicle in the phenomenal world. Malkuht, in this is the end point of these emanations.
I wish to go through the letters but will break up our discussion and exploration of them into two parts. The first letter that I will address is:
מ (Mem)
Mem represents the Substance of Mother-earth. It is מָ֫יִם, water, 'Mayim'. According to Anaximander, water was believed to be the original substance that all things were made from. And the Hebrews would have agreed, "The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over
the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the
surface of the waters."Genesis 1:2 - In Jeremiah 2:13, for example, God refers to Himself as a “spring of living water”. It is the primordial, that from which all things came, and it is the medium over which the power of the divine flows. A conduit, a cleanser, a sustainer. It is a keeper of secrets, and it hides beasts, it is also a wilderness. The latter, in description, becomes even more interesting when one thinks of it not merely as water but 'void'. This is actually hinted at in the Sephir Yetizirah.
מִדְבָּר the wilderness, 'Midbar', through which we wander. The ‘wilderness’ is a place of tempering. It is a wild place, a place of
threat, of chaos and of alienation. The Wilderness is a place or state of
withdrawal from the world to face the reality of God, oneself and
one’s neighbor. It is the transition that moves us from Slavery toward Liberation. It also signifies “that which is beyond.” It strikes me as the starting point, or a sign post, from which we move toward a divine understanding. It is a place where things are revealed. Revelation
is the most prominent theme within the wilderness motif in the Old
Testament. Take for instance the Meidanite exile and the burning bush experience of Moses; The Medianite exile put Moses squarely into a place where he may learn of God, to come to love God. He is stripped of who he was and is recreated as the Prophet. He later returns to Egypt where he frees his people and leads them into the wilderness. This culminates on Mount Sinai, which occupies the
central place in the wilderness revelation. It is here that Moses is tempered into the tool of G_d, signified by his physical change. Almost all Prophets wandered in the wilderness to be “tested” and in the New Testament, the
wilderness and related locations are the settings for revelatory
events in the ministry of Jesus. Later Christian Mystics, the Desert Fathers and Mothers, sought
clarity in their knowledge of G_d through withdrawing to the
wilderness. It is the place where we are humbled, where we are cast afloat without distraction, where we are stripped of our egos and secrets are revealed and we can hear that still quiet voice.
