Numbering of the paths

Cheiromancer

I was looking at this depiction of the correspondences of the tree of life (Thanks LRichard!) and I realized I had misunderstood how the paths were numbered.

I had thought the numbering started at 11, and were numbered consecutively according to the number of the sephirot. So since Kether (1) connects to 2, 3 and 6, the path to 2 comes before the path to 3, and the path to 6 comes last. Then you go on to Chokmah (2). It connects with spheres 3, 6 and 4, and I thought that the order of the paths would be 3, 4 and 6. But it isn't; it is 3, 6 and 4.

So what is the pattern? If you were going to number of the paths of a blank tree, how would you remember the order?

edit: And speaking of order, what's up with the planetary assignments? The double letters are Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav. The Chaldean order is Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. The planets these letters are assigned to are (in order) Mercury, Luna, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Saturn. Only Venus, Mars and Saturn have the letter their order would suggest. Why the discrepancy?

I can kind of understand why Resh = Sol. If aleph = 0, then Resh = 19, and the Sun is the 19th trump. But that doesn't explain the rest of them.
 

Richard

There are variations in the planetary attributions of the doubles in different versions of the SY. The most common seems to be the classical (Ptolemaic) ordering, starting with Beth~Saturn. In Aryeh Kaplan's commentary on the SY there is a large table of different correlations of the doubles regarding traits, planets, days of week, and body parts, varying between different SY versions. I don't believe the GD's planetary correlations are mentioned anywhere in Kaplan. Anyhow, here is a short table. Columns A, C, and D are found in different versions of the SY. Column B is the GD's.
 

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Richard

.........I can kind of understand why Resh = Sol. If aleph = 0, then Resh = 19, and the Sun is the 19th trump. But that doesn't explain the rest of them.
That's a coincidence. (Actually, the coincidence is that the Sun is the 20th trump (if the Fool is 1st) and Resh is the 20th letter. :) As you no doubt know, the numerical value of Resh is neither 19 nor 20, but in fact 200.)

I personally think that in the case of the doubles, the GD considered the associated tarot cards to be 'primary' and deliberately chose planetary correlations which best seemed to fit the cards. In view of my previous post, I believe they were justified in doing this.
 

Cheiromancer

Thanks LRichard; your posts are, as always, illuminating.

Would it be accurate to conjecture that in numbering of the paths the Golden Dawn also used some discretion? Compare paths 11, 12 and 13 on the one hand to 24, 25 and 26 on the other.

I find it curious that they started from the top of the Tree. I would have thought that for initiatory and meditative purposes you'd start from Malkuth and advance by stages to Kether.
 

Zephyros

I find it curious that they started from the top of the Tree. I would have thought that for initiatory and meditative purposes you'd start from Malkuth and advance by stages to Kether.

Not necessarily. The tree as it is, is a spiritual map of creation. The initiatory part was learning to understand it. The objective and subjective were differentiated.
 

Richard

.......Would it be accurate to conjecture that in numbering of the paths the Golden Dawn also used some discretion? Compare paths 11, 12 and 13 on the one hand to 24, 25 and 26 on the other.
I see what you mean. I need to think about it.

I find it curious that they started from the top of the Tree. I would have thought that for initiatory and meditative purposes you'd start from Malkuth and advance by stages to Kether.
They started at the top because the emanations of the Sephiroth started at the top with Kether. (Where possible the paths follow the order of the path of the lightening bolt of creation.)

True, the return path ascends the tree in reverse order. You probably know all this, but I'll indicate the gist of the return path for those who are not familiar with it. It is graded by the Sephiroth taken in reverse order. The paths which can be accessed depends on the grade attained, but generally follows the paths taken in reverse numerical order. For example, for the 1st degree, you are at Malkuth, and the only path open at this grade is path 32 from Malkuth to Yesod. Once reaching Yesod, paths 31 and 30 leading to Hod are open. After attaining Hod, path 29 from Malkuth to Netzach is open. The order of access to the paths follows a serpentine pattern up the tree, but overall it does take the paths in reverse numerical order.
 

kwaw

edit: And speaking of order, what's up with the planetary assignments? The double letters are Beth, Gimel, Daleth, Kaf, Peh, Resh, Tav. The Chaldean order is Luna, Mercury, Venus, Sol, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. The planets these letters are assigned to are (in order) Mercury, Luna, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Saturn. Only Venus, Mars and Saturn have the letter their order would suggest.

The oldest manuscripts of the three extent versions (short, long, saadya) of the SY do follow the Chaldean order (in reverse order to that you have, from Saturn/Beit to Moon/Tau). See posts #11 & #13 here for notes on the earliest known SY attributions of the double letters to the planets:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?p=3038570&highlight=Hayman#post3038570

Compare paths 11, 12 and 13 on the one hand to 24, 25 and 26 on the other.

Yes, from the established pattern 24, 25 and 26 seem mixed up (one would expect 24 in the middle vertical, 25 on the right and 26 on the left).
 

Cheiromancer

I had no idea there was so much disagreement about the planetary correspondences! It turns out that I have kept the GD correspondences in my system, but basically do my own thing for the signs of the zodiac. Oh well. :)

And the path of initiation. If you followed the 28 step "Moon's Journey" for my version of the tree, you cross these paths in this order (using the GD numbering):

32, 30, 27, 24, 26, 23, 19, 21, 28, 25, 17, 18, 19, 16, 15, 13, 11, 14, 12, 13, 20, 19, 22, 25, 29, 22, 27, 31

This touches everything in order; the sephirot, the planets, the signs (starting at Cancer), with (I think) the bare minimum of retracing steps. Every path is crossed. After the decision to assign the elements, planets and signs to the horizontals, verticals and diagonals, this is the biggest factor in my system of correspondences.



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My alternative system of correspondences (Tarot, Tree of Life, Astrology, Hebrew Alef-Bet): jpg and pdf.
 

Yygdrasilian

Doctor Who?

While the planetary attributions of the Tree’s numeral points tend to follow a sequential pattern from slowest to fastest, as seen from Earth, their rearrangement into the sequential pattern of the days of the week, and into the double letters in the alphabet, each abide by distinct topologies in accord with the recursive architecture induced by the Book of Formation (Sepher Yetzirah).
♄ 3
♃ 4
♂ 5
⊙ 6
♀ 7
☿ 8
☽ 9
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLwC_K8CtKc/UniPpy6r7QI/AAAAAAAAAHk/4YhEzMrYVkk/s1600/567.jpg

By evenly placing these 7 ‘planets’ around a circle, from slowest to fastest, and then connecting them with the star heptagram, they rearrange into the days of the week - a fact somewhat obscured in the English speaking world by their Greco-Roman ‘gods’ having been replaced with corresponding deities from the Norse pantheon:

⊙ Sol/Helios = Sunna / Sunday
☽ Luna = Mani / Moonday
♂ Mars = Tiw / Tuesday
☿ Mercury = Wodan / Wednesday
♃ Jupiter = Thor / Thursday
♀ Venus = Freya / Friday
♄ Saturn-day

The 7-fold symmetry underlying this topological transformation may be seen in the figurate shape formed by the numeral 22 as a centered heptagon & by the sum of the ‘double letters’ digit roots configured as nested heptagons radiating from a single vertex: 18 = 1+2+3+(1+0)+(1+6)+(1+9)+(2+1) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C4v940ktyCg/UmYvH6lvixI/AAAAAAAAAHU/Sa2P9bNP44k/s1600/32+ways.jpg

The star heptagram complementing this heptagonal symmetry is punningly concealed within the 7th trump of the Tarot deck as “Merkabah”, the Hebrew word for ‘Chariot’, appears in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible precisely 44 times. 44 = maximal number of regions by which 7 circles may divide a plane, just as 22 = the maximal number of regions into which 5 circles may divide a plane, or 32 = the maximal number of regions into which 6 circles may divide a plane, the kernel at the heart of such an interlinking of rings makes a star.

With respect to the sequence of 7 glyphs ‘doubled’ within the 22 letter alphabet (22:7 ≈ π), their transformation from the Tree’s given order of slowest to fastest planets into the Golden Dawn attributions of planet to ‘double letter’ are best reckoned within the context of a centered hexagon: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U99f2u3z2UA/Un1zOlkWBRI/AAAAAAAAAH0/JbXW0j6W9D8/s1600/Time+Machine.jpg

1 ☿
2 ☽
3 ♀
10 ♃
16 ♂
19 ⊙
21 ♄

Given the Hebrew Calendar’s basis in the Metonic cycle, ‘The Sun’ possesses a natural affinity with the number XIX as a cycle of 19 solar years, being roughly equal to 235 lunar months, serves as a useful measure for keeping the lunar & solar years in synch. As the solar year is 11.25 days longer than the 354 day lunar year, an extra month had to be added every 2-3 years to keep the Hebrew months in tune with the seasons. This intercalary month was/is added according to a proscribed formula. Perhaps significantly, this means of keeping the Sun & Moon in synch also follows the 12:7 scheme of months:weeks, and of simple:double letters.

19 (13 months)
1
2
3 (13 months)
4
5
6 (13 months)
7
8 (13 months)
9
10
11 (13 months)
12
13
14 (13 months)
15
16
17 (13 months)
18
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar#Leap_years
That the sum of the simple letters (4+5+6+7+8+9+11+13+14+15+17+18 = 127) forms the 7th centered hexagon serves to further illustrate this recursive pattern.

Though it may be purely ‘coincidental’, such a centered hexagonal perspective on the planetary transformation from relative speed to alphabetical order also traces out the hyperbolic ‘Whitehead Link’ [example 2.18 below] - whose spatial complement (ie- its’ surrounding ‘nothingness’) is very closely related to that of the Borromean Rings [example 2.19 below] in that both preserve the metrics of ideal octahedra in hyperbolic space. Whether the ancient Hebrew calendar keepers knew of this is debatable. However, it may be observed that such an arrangement does establish an ‘ideal’ set of matrices for traveling across ‘time’.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ny...t&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=Whitehead Link&f=false

Along similar lines, the life spans of the antediluvian patriarchs described in the fifth chapter of "Genesis" play with name and number to conceal cyclical measures of time relevant to the balance of light & darkness between the Sun & Moon.

Genesis said:
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enos." -Beginnings 5:3-6

"When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died." -Beginnings 5:12-14

"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." -Beginnings 5:21-24

The age of Adam ['Earth'] at the birth of his grand-son, Enos ['Mortality']=235
235 = the number of lunar months in 1 metonic cycle of XIX years. The age in years of Enoch ['Mouth'] when god took him = 365 = the number of days per year.
(19x 365) / 235 = 29.51 ≈ average number of days per lunar month

70 = The age of Qanen ['Spear'] when his son Mahalalel ['Praise to God'] was born.
840 =The length of this Spear's life from the birth of its Praise to God .
7 = The generations from Qanen to Noah.
7x 70 = 490 ≈ number of lunar years to 475 solar years = 25 metonic cycles.
7x 840 = 5880 ≈ number of lunar months to 475 solar years.
(490 x 354) / 5880 = 29.5 ≈ average number of days per lunar month
(840/70)x 29.5 = 354 = days in lunar year

The life span of Adam ['Earth'] = 10x 93
93 = 3rd triacontakaidigonal (32-sided polygonal) number
(360/32) +354 = 365.25 = tropical year of Earth

The age of the Spear at death = 910 = 10th icosikaidigonal number: 10th in the sequence of 22-sided polygons nested within one another, radiating from a single vertex.
http://virtuescience.com/polygonal-numbers.html#22-gonal

There are other planetary cycles embedded within this tabulation of Earth's lineage from Adam to Noah ['Wanderer']. 10 generations concealing the wisdom of the 'fathers'. Coupled with the matrices of the Book of Formation's 32 wondrous paths, these antediluvian patriarchs calculate more than just the measure of mortal being. They outline the dwelling place of "the Name" as well. But that is another story...
 

vvvoid

I had thought the numbering started at 11, and were numbered consecutively according to the number of the sephirot. So since Kether (1) connects to 2, 3 and 6, the path to 2 comes before the path to 3, and the path to 6 comes last. Then you go on to Chokmah (2). It connects with spheres 3, 6 and 4, and I thought that the order of the paths would be 3, 4 and 6. But it isn't; it is 3, 6 and 4. So what is the pattern?

You can find image of the Tree of Life before the fall. There was no Malkut, but was Daat - its a key to your question.

Would it be accurate to conjecture that in numbering of the paths the Golden Dawn also used some discretion? Compare paths 11, 12 and 13 on the one hand to 24, 25 and 26 on the other.

GD and Crowley made some clarifications but also some disinformations, just like Eliphas Levi and others done. But as above, so below - that's another key :)

As Death disparts into the elements,
The Art new forms from them creates,
The Devil's will brings all their actions down,
Does the beauty understands wisdom of the crown?