S. L. Macgregor Mathers - The Kabbalah Unveiled

they read downwards as well as across, AHIH, IHVH.

64. Now, if we examine the matter qabalistically we shall find the reason of these analogies. For Eheieh, AHIH, is the Vast Countenance, the Ancient One, Macroprosopus, Kether, the first Sephira, the Crown of the Qabalistical Sephirotic greatest Trinity (which consists of the Crown, King, and Queen; or Macroprosopus, Microprosopus and the Bride), and the Father in the Christian acceptation of the Trinity .

65. But IHVH, the Tetragrammaton, as we shall presently see, contains all the Sephiroth with the exception of Kether, and specially signifies the Lesser Countenance, Microprosopus, the King of the qabalistical Sephirotic greatest Trinity, and the Son in His human incarnation, in the Christian acceptation of the Trinity .

Therefore, as the Son reveals the Father, so does IHVH, Jehovah , reveal AHIH, Eheieh .

66. And ADNI is the Queen "by whom alone Tetragrammaton can be grasped," whose exaltation into Binah is found in the Christian assumption of the Virgin.

67. The Tetragrammaton IHVH is referred to the Sephiroth, thus: the uppermost point of the letter Yod, I, is said to refer to Kether , the letter I itself to Chokmah , the father of Microprosopus; the letter H, or "the supernal He ," to Binah, the supernal Mother; the letter V to the next six Sephiroth, which are called the six members of Microprosopus (and six is the numerical value of V, the Hebrew Vau ); lastly, the letter H, the "inferior He ," to Malkuth, the tenth Sephira, the bride of Microprosopus.

68. Now, there are four secret names referred to the four worlds of Atziloth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Asiah; and again, the Tetragrammaton is said to go forth written in a certain manner in each of these four worlds. The secret name of Atziloth is Aub , OB; that of Briah is Seg , SG; that of Yetzirah is Mah , MH; and that of Asiah is Ben , 1BN. The subjoined Table will show the mode of writing the name in each of the four worlds.

69. These names operate together with the Sephiroth through the "231 gates," as the various combinations of the alphabet are called; but it would take too much space to go fully into the subject here.

70. Closely associated with the subject of the letters of the Tetragrammaton is that of the four kerubim, to which I have already referred in describing the first Sephira.

Now it must not be forgotten that these forms in Ezekiel's vision support the throne of the Deity, whereon the Heavenly Man is seated--the Adam Qadmon, the sephirotic image; and that between the throne and the living creatures is the firmament. Here then we have the four worlds--Atziloth, the deific form; Briah, the throne; Yetzirah, the firmament; Asiah, the kerubim. Therefore the kerubim represent the powers of the letters of the Tetragrammaton on the material plain; and the four represent the operation of the four letters in each of the four worlds. Thus, then, the kerubim are the living forms of the letters, symbolized in the Zodiac by Taurus, Leo, Aquarius, and Scorpio, as I have before remarked.

71. And "the mystery of the earthly and mortal man is after the mystery of the supernal and immortal One;" and thus was he created the image of God upon earth. In the form of the body is the Tetragrammaton found. The head is I, 1the arms and shoulders are like H, the body is V, and the legs are represented by the H final. Therefore, as the outward form of man corresponds to the Tetragrammaton, so does the animating soul correspond to the ten supernal Sephiroth; and as these find their ultimate expression in the trinity of the crown, the king, and the queen, so is there a principal triple division of the soul. Thus, then, the first is the Neschamah , NShMH, which is the highest degree of being, corresponding to the crown (Kether), and representing the highest triad of the Sephiroth, called the intellectual world. The second is Ruach , RVCH, the seat of good and evil, corresponding to Tiphereth, the moral world. And the third is Nephesch , NPSh, the animal life and desires, corresponding to Yesod, and the material and sensuous world. All souls are pre-existent in the world of emanations, and are in their original state androgynous, but when they descend upon earth they become separated into male and female, and inhabit different bodies; if therefore in this mortal life the male half encounters the female half, a strong attachment springs up between them, and hence it is said that in marriage the separated halves are again conjoined; and the hidden forms of the soul are akin to the kerubim.

72. But this foregoing triple division of the soul is only applicable to the triple form of the intellectual, moral, and material. Let us not lose sight of the great qabalistical idea, that the trinity is always completed by and finds its realization in the quaternary ; that is IHV completed and realized in IHVH--the trinity of

completed by the quaternary of--

And to these four the soul answers in the following four forms:--Chiah to Atziloth; Neschamah to Briah; Ruach to Yetzirah; and Nephesch to Asiah. See subjoined plate illustrating the analogy between the soul, the letters of the Tetragrammaton, and the four worlds.

73. But Chiah is in the soul the archetypal form analogous to Macroprosopus. Wherefore Neschamah, Ruach, and Nephesch represent as it were by themselves the Tetragrammaton, without Chiah, which is nevertheless symbolized "in the uppermost point of the I, yod ," of the soul; as Macroprosopus is said to be symbolized by the uppermost point of the I, yod , of IHVH. For " yod of the Ancient One is hidden and concealed."

74. I select the following résumé of the qabalistical teachings regarding the nature of the soul from Eliphaz Levi's "Clef des Mystères," as also the accompanying plate. This gives the chief heads of the ideas of Rabbi Moses Korduero and of Rabbi Yitzchaq Loria.

"The soul is a veiled light. This light is triple:

"Neschamah = the pure spirit;

"Ruach = the soul or spirit;

"Nephesch = the plastic mediator.

"The veil of the soul is the shell of the image.

"The image is double because it reflects alike the good and the evil angel of the soul.

"Nephesch is immortal by renewal of itself through the destruction of forms;

"Ruach is progressive through the evolution of ideas;

"Neschamah is progressive without forgetfulness and without destruction.

There are three habitations of souls:--

"The Abyss of Life;

"The superior Eden;

"The inferior Eden."

"The image Tzelem is a sphinx which propounds the enigma of life.

"The fatal image ( i.e. , that which succumbs to the outer ) endows Nephesch with his attributes, but Ruach can substitute the image conquered by the inspirations of Neschamah.