I’ve been trying over the past few days to tie in Saturn’s correspondence with Binah/Understanding on the Hermetic Tree of Life, but doing so turned out to not be an easy enterprise without getting overly detailed. So this is an attempt to be concise.
The Tree I’m speaking of is called the Kirchner Tree. Athanasius Kircher was a German Jesuit scholar who lived in the early 17th century, and his version of the Tree was first published in his Œdipus Ægyptiacus in 1652. The basic structure of Sephirot (Spheres) and links has since become the most common variant of the Tree used in Hermetic Qabalah and was the Tree used by the Golden Dawn, as opposed to the Lurianic Tree, which is an older, more traditional version.
The Hermetic Tree as most of us probably know consists of 10 Spheres (in Hebrew called Sefirot or Sephiroth), which are considered to be eternal and immaterial and are closely linked, at least in my view, with the Platonic Forms or Ideas.
Each of the Spheres operate at four discrete levels: (1) the God Name level (Atzilut), which relates to the element Fire ; (2) the archangel level (Briah), which relates to the Element of Water; (3) the Angelic order level corresponding to Air (Yetzirah), and finally (4) the Earth level (Assiah), which is the most dense level of the physical and manifest universe. All four levels exist simultaneously in all things, according to the kabbalists.
What interests us here as astrologers is the Assiatic level, for each of the Spheres correspond to a planet!
The highest Sphere, Keter (Crown), is actually more an interface to the great Infinite Nothing (Ain Sof) that lies behind at the root of everything, it corresponds with the One, with Unity. Things first start to take shape in the second Sphere, Chokmah (Wisdom), whose Assiatic correspondence is the Primum Mobile.
The third Sphere is called Binah (Understanding) and corresponds to Saturn in the Assiatic world, the fourth Sphere is called Chesed, which means loving kindness or mercy in Hebrew and corresponds to Jupiter. Then we have the fifth Sphere Geburah/Severity corresponding to Mars, and on it goes with Mars followed by Venus, then Mercury and finally the Moon.
So at this point we can’t help but notice that the Tree is unfolding according to the Chaldean order of planets!
It isn’t until the tenth and final Sphere of the Tree of Life that we arrive at the sublunar level in Malkut (Kingdom), which, depending on what model one is using the Tree for, can signify our human body, or using another model it can signify the manifest sublunar world (among other things).
There are three columns on the Tree, the one on the left contains the Greater and Lesser Malefics, the upper Sphere being Binah/Saturn and just below it we find Geburah/Mars. This column is called the column of Severity. The right hand pillar contains the greater and lesser Benefics, with Chesed/Jupiter being just above Netzach/Venus. The Middle Pillar at the center contains the Spheres which bring things into balance, with Tiferet/Sun being at the center of things and mediating everything, and Yesod/Foundation/Moon filtering all that comes from above into Malkut/Kingdom.
Waybread brought up Genesis chapter 1 in an earlier post, and it sent chills down my spine. This was because among magicians - at least ones who know their history - Genesis 1 is known as “The Path of Creation” and is the basis of all magic. It describes in detail the process involved in the making of a spell, indeed it outlines the ultimate spell where one first creates an area of focus, then cleaves to it, then swirlings start to take shape, then things get denser and denser until finally we get the wanted result.
Genesis was written by kabbalists, so it can be read on a number of levels. If one prefers a literal translation and wants to believe the world was created in seven days, of course, I'm not going to argue with such a person. But Genesis 1 contains so much more. Each Hebrew word in that first chapter of Genesis has numerological significance, indeed much has been made even of the very first word, “bereshit”, when analysed numerologically, oh we could go on for pages and pages about it!
However, what concerns us here as astrologers is the use of the word “God” 22 times in Bereshit Chapter 1. If one looks at the original Hebrew, the actual words used that were translated into the English word “God” was “YHVH Elohim”, which is the god aspect of Binah, which manifests physically as the planet Saturn. Twenty-two also happens to be the number of Paths on the Tree that connect the various Spheres. The God aspect of Mars is also Elohim: Elohim Gibor, which is usually translated into English as “God Almighty”.
So why does it make sense that Saturn and Mars are the physical manifestations of Elohim, what do Mars and Saturn have to do with creation?
Imagine the extremely cold and dry universe consisting of nothingness where the One or Unity turned back on itself and created an area within which creation could happen (called in Hebrew the tzimzum). The formation and structuring process started on an Idea level in Binah and this is an awesome and violent process where all kinds of stuff happens and once the process is set in motion, there is no stopping it. These are the forces at play behind Saturn, and at times they are made manifest on a mundane level or on a personal level.
No wonder we, as mere human beings, have “difficulty” dealing with it!
Same thing with Mars, though its action works on a lower level and of course it is extremely hot and dry, which it needs to be in order to accomplish its cutting and forging work. It takes any excess that blows over from the excesses of Jupiter and cuts it away, like white blood cells attacking cells that are no longer needed. Of course, on the sublunar level, we might not always appreciate it when Mars does this, especially if it is cutting away at something that we spent years building up! When this happens to me, I try to see it as all being for the greater good, painful though it might be.
So this is where traditional astrology comes in handy, at least for me. Mars and Saturn have to be somewhere in everybody’s chart, right? Happily, they are not always active all the time, 24/7. The time lords tell us when they are activated, and I for one would prefer to know when they are (activated) rather than stick my head in the sand and attempt to ignore their action, which in any case is futile, at least that’s my view of things.
And, as it happens, I’m in a H7 profection year, and my H7 is in Capricorn and is thus ruled by Saturn, which is probably why I’m thinking a lot about Saturn at present! So to use me as a benign example, the time lord I need to be looking out for this year is Saturn.
Why? Because it’s activated.
And sure enough, I already have had major H7 things come up involving my various business partnerships and collaborations.
I have found the best way to deal with things that come up under activations like these is to not attempt to ignore them!
As soon as a H7 Saturn issue comes up, I DEAL with it until the issue is put to rest. What’s the point of being able to predict what is going to happen if one just cowers in fear? The virtue of Geburah/Mars is courage, so it pays to tap on this aspect of Martian energy. The virtue of Binah/Saturn is silence. When one deals with Saturn at work in one’s life, it pays to stop talking and start listening. To watch how its energy is manifesting and to deal with it immediately as the energy begins to manifest on the outer.
So that’s my take on Saturn, from a kabbalist perspective.
Btw, I'm almost finished the Talisman that started this thread. I'll be posting it soon.
Kind regards
Rhys
