Chakras and the Tree of Life

venicebard

RChMI said:
... To traverse each centre/chakra and hold each in attainment individually and as a whole, was to become an ideal of spiritual perfection in material form. Hence the phrase in Revelation "I am the Alpha and the Omega."
You’re partly right. The declaration actually refers to the Logos (spelt AUM or AOM, but corresponding to the three mother letters alef-shin-mem respectively), wherein alpha and omega are the means of traversing the distance between I (pron. “ee”), the intoning of one’s smile (to represent the body), and M (pron. “mm”), the intoning of contentment itself (to represent ‘God the Father’, the knower, or part of the Triune Self that comprehends things eternal, with whom the doer has had a ‘rift’). The 'AO' of the Logos thus represents the entire vowel spectrum, proceeding from ‘front’ to ‘back’ vowels... but eta is a late-comer to this vowel party, being originally H, not E.

Now the Logos for man represents the process of the Great Work: focus rising from body (I, the Nigredo) to the doer (A, the Albedo) in the body, who then becomes reunited first with the thinker (U or O, the Rubedo), then with the knower (M, ‘gold’), having lifted awareness from the fleeting present in which doer acts through the thinker’s realm of finite durations to the realm of the eternal. (Without ‘I’ as starting-point, the Logos AUM will tend to dissociate self from body, as has occurred for Tibetan Buddhism as a whole.) The opus thus described takes seven steps, whose corresponding seats are prostate-kidneys-adrenals-heart-lungs-pituitary(rear)-pineal. I’m sure these must relate to the chakras in some way, there being seven of both, considering that Yoga has as its goal perfection of the body just as does true Christianity (Jesus “perfected the body,” according to medieval tradition) and alchemy.

The problem is that the planetary organs are not the same seven, near as I can ascertain. The lungs are the atmosphere of the sun (heart), the adrenals the atmosphere of the moon (kidneys). Still, these ‘atmospheres’ include the active planetary powers in their ‘layers’: Saturn and Jupiter are part of the activity of the sun’s atmosphere (airy layer), Mars part of that of the moon’s. This leaves Venus and Mercury, which are of the passive side of the watery layer and thus sub-aspects of luna herself, in a sense. All this is very untidy. Still, I am attempting to provide accurate mapping here, for those truly interested in the Science of Man. I admit to little understanding of the chakras and the science I’m sure stands behind them, but of Hermetic science’s mechanism where planetary spirits are concerned—which is alchemy, not astrology—I have some expertise.
jmd said:
...traditionally, as one related the image of the Tree of Life to the Image of the likeness of Adam Kadmon, Malkut is the base upon which rests his feet. Similarly (mutatis mutandum), it is Keter that appears at the location as the pinnacle of his head.
Actually Keter is a ray of light equal to A.K.’s height in length emanating from the crown of Its head upward (or from twice Its height down to Its crown, if you wish). And I would argue there is more to Malkut than just the ground under A.K.'s feet: in fact, it is the individual self or knower inhabiting the A.K. body that is the Shekinah and Malkut ultimately, though in us it points downward in a sense (since we cannot seem to find the direction 'within').
... The problem I personally see, however, is that we have here a two-fold removal of the problem, with connections that are themselves questionable between the Tree of Life and the Chakram, and these latter and the Mithraic grades, and then again between the Mithraic grades and the Tree of Life.
Too true.
...
... The cost may be, however (and in my view), that the peculiar unveiling of one system (for example, those of the Tree of Life) may be marred by shadings from another (whether Chakral or Mithraic considerations).
In principle I agree with this last... but with the proviso that if there are correlations that went into either the Tree of Pips or the letter-Trumps originally, they would (do) enhance, rather than mar. Oh, and the proviso that if there actually is a deeper science of man-and-cosmos—the priscia sapientia Isaac Newton pursued through his alchemy—and either Tree or Trumps (or both) belong to it, then correlations germane to that would (do) enhance, rather than mar, again. But in spirit I absolutely agree with you.
 

Wizardiaoan

Hi,

I was bringing back this thread to give my chakra-tree of life-alchemy correlations, which are slightly unique. I found them during my heart chakra opening in 2008 (right before my abyss experience), just to give a backdrop.

Rubedo:
1. SAHASRARA KETHER-MERCURY
2. AJNA CHOCKMAH-MOON
3. VISHUDDHA BINAH-VENUS
Albedo:
4. ANAHATA CHESED-JUPITER
5. MANIPURA GEBURAH-MARS
6. SWADHISTHANA TIPHARETH-SUN
Nigredo:
7. MULADHARA NETZACH, HOD, YESOD, MALKUTH-SATURN

This is my major model. I do not align the tree to the chakras by model alignment, but by sequential number. Sahasrara is obviously the unity principle, as Ajna is the duality with its two petals. There is also an important heaven and earth symbolism in both models that is evident in their 3-4 make-up (which Jung and others note as important symbolism). Kether through Binah, and Sahasrara through Vishuddha, in both systems denotes the heavenly and celestial. Chesed through Malkuth, and Anahata through Muladhara, are the earthly (microcosmic) spheres. In the Tree this junction is right where the abyss is, and in the chakra schema this is where the head and neck connect to the body (in between Anahata and Vishuddha).

Further, in the Tetractys, the bottom 4 dots represent "infinity", as does the number 4, as "the rest," etc., and other numbers may also partake of this. Notably, Malkuth as 10 is said to contain the 4 elements within it, which kind of further manifests the tree. Thus in my model I make Muladhara a big power zone of the last four spheres of the tree, just as the tenth sphere Malkuth is split into four elements.

Note a major strength of this model is that it provides a sequential initiatory ladder up the tree and chakras simulataneously.

As far as Mithraism, I would disband their planetary attributions in favor of these:

1. CORAX (Raven) - Saturn (as Nigredo)
2. NYMPHUS (Male-bride) - Sun
3. MILES (Soldier) - Mars (obviously Manipura)
4. LEO (Lion) - Jupiter
5. PERSES (Persian) - Venus (as Sage in Binah)
6. HELIODROMUS (Courier of the Sun) - Moon (as Chokmah = Magus)
7. PATER (Father) - Mercury

Finally, one other important attribution set, which unlocks a lot of symbolism, is alchemy. I think Dennis Hauck magickally found the correct operations' stages. Here then is my entire outline of the initiatory process. I insert how I think the Serial Tarot aligns up with this.

PHASE 1. NIGREDO
CAPVT CORVI
1. MULADHARA (CALCINATIO)
I. MALKUTH
1º THE FOOL
2º THE MAGUS
3º THE HIGH PRIESTESS
4º THE EMPRESS
II. YESOD
5º THE KING
6º HIEROPHANT
7º THE LOVERS
III. HOD
8º THE CHARIOT
9º THE SNAKE
SUB-STAGE: VIRIDITAS
VIRIDIS LEO
CAVDA PAVONIS
IV. NETZACH
10º PHOSPHORESCENT
PHASE 2. ALBEDO
2. SWADHISTHANA (DISSOLVTIO)
V. TIPHARETH
11º THE ABRAHADABRA
12º THE BALANCE
13º THE MAN
14º THE FISH
15º THE ARCHER
16º THE DEVIL
3. MANIPURA (SEPARATIO)
VI. GEBURAH
17º THE FORTRESS
18º THE SUN
19º THE MOON
4. ANAHATA (CONIVNCTIO)
VII. CHESED
20º THE STAR

PART II. COAGVLA (OPVS MAIOR)
STAGE 3. RVBEDO
5. VISHUDDHA (FERMENTATIO)
VIII. BINAH
21º THE AEON
22º THE UNIVERSAL
6. AJNA (DISTILLATIO)
IX. CHOCKMAH
23º THE W
24º THE X
25º THE Y
26º THE Z
27º THE Sh
28º THE Th
7. SAHASRARA (COAGVLATIO)
X. KETHER
29º THE It