working the darkside of the tree

Ophiel

I hope this is the right Topic for this post.

Magician Donald Kraig's new book, "Tarot and Magic," is now on bookshelves. I picked up a copy and read it over the weekend. You can read about my seesaw impressions as I read this book in the books/media section.

The last chapter of the book deals with a particular tarot deck by Linda Falorio called the Shadow Tarot. This out-of-print major arcana only deck was developed by Falorio with the help of her partner, Fred Fowler. Kraig talks about how occultist Kenneth Grant describes a process of getting into the other side of the Tree by projecting through the missing sphere, the space assigned to Da'ath. The book is called "Nightside of Eden."

The Shadow Tarot was designed by Falorio, who was able to project to the other side and painted twenty-two paintings based on what she learned. Each card includes a particular sigil from Crowley's "Liber CCXXXI" and other symbols appropriate for that path.

You can read more about this at the Falorio/Fowler website:

http://www.anandazone.nu/

Kraig used these cards for meditation.
 

lupo138

The cards are referring to the Qliphoth - as some say that they are not below but behind the tree and the connection would be Daath. Anyway I had once a chat with a person whose opinion I hold in high esteem and he explained it would be rather dangerous to make experiments with that side.

As I trust him I keep away from practical experience with the Qliphoth, although I am really not frightful and rather curious too.
I would recommend that to all who have not at least some years of experience with "grayer" forces.

The Cards themselves contain some chaotic elements - but I would not regard them as "qliphotic" anyway.
 

Ophiel

The point of the Kraig discussion on this is that this path is not for everyone, meeting with your darker energy. Yes, you are right (based on what he said, not based on any personal experience of my own) that these cards are behind the Tree, not below it.

I think that any in-depth pscyhological probing we do into our lives is partly dealing with our darker side of things. And we can't make positive changes without realigning the dark. I have never seen the Shadow Tarot myself (there are a few pics in the Kraig book) but found it quite interesting. Kraig claims these cards were 'discovered' through very intense work by the author and her assistant. I'm not clear how deeply immersed they were into Crowley, who I find interesting, but I have no interest in studying his overall view of things.

Our group seems pretty much 'light bearers' and I didn't really think there would be a lot of interest in my post, but thought in case someone was interested, I'd put it out there.
 

lupo138

Ophiel said:
I think that any in-depth pscyhological probing we do into our lives is partly dealing with our darker side of things.

(...........)

Our group seems pretty much 'light bearers' and I didn't really think there would be a lot of interest in my post, but thought in case someone was interested, I'd put it out there.

I agree with your views about growing through accepting and living with one´s darker sides. My personal view is, despite that, that each Sephiroth does contain that darker side anyway - as ech Sephiroth has it´s viortues as well as ít´s vices. To me the Qliphoth are not necessarily "evil" but such an alien thing, that nearly every person would be harmed by the mere contact with them. But maybe I am a coward. If I was, I think it would be such a rare behaviour of mine, that I could live with that.


I have been quite interested in your post, thank you very much for sharing it with me.
(And I would be happy to be a bit more complex than just a lightbearer ;)
 

Ophiel

Thanks Lupo138. Any good kabalist worth his weight in gold would know that all things are balanced and that working the light side without also dealing with the dark, is itself dangerous due to the inherent misalignment of energy. We might like to pretend that our darker counterpart is not there, but that could cause 'it' to become more powerful than if we dealth with the energy head on.

I understand we are met at the portal of death by our doppleganger, or at least A doppleganger that is composed of all the negative elements of our personality, all the energy not properly dealt with in our life, and that until we work through it (after death), we do not move forward in our journey between lives. IT is very much like a Dr. Jeckell and Mr. Hyde thing, if you are familiar with that famous novel by Robert Lewis Stevenson.
 

lupo138

I know the novel. The difference is that Dr. Hyde is absolutely good - we are not.
 

jmd

I haven't been posting much lately as I have been quite busy (and will continue to be so for the next week or so) - but I thought I would add that I too appreciate your post. Unfortunately, the link you give gets me no further than that page, and so the very site remains very much hidden.

With regards to some of the comments made here, I consider that there is a significant difference between dealing with the hidden (and thus 'darkened' or occulted) depths of one's psyche on the one hand, and the quite different qualities of the spiritual reality of the Qlipothic realms - which, as you mentioned as a general statement of the group which certainly applies to myself, I prefer to not descend in.

To know (Da'at/Gnosis) the depths of oneself doesn't imply descending below the darkness of Malkut, but rather slowly ascending to greater light, thereby dispelling the darkenss of ignorance of, amongst other things, one's own inner facets.
 

Ophiel

Sorry about the broken links at this site! There is quite a bit here, if you know where to look, so I'll paste in a few direct links from the site:

http://www.shadowtarot.net/earthing_the_tunnels_of_set.asp

http://www.shadowtarot.net/

http://www.shadowtarot.net/problem_of_evil.asp

http://www.shadowtarot.net/thee_web.asp

http://www.shadowtarot.net/tree_of_night.asp

http://www.shadowtarot.net/ton_meditation.asp

From this link, you can read about individual cards from the Shadow Tarot:

http://www.shadowtarot.net/tunnels_of_set.asp

There might be more. I think there are links from some of these pages.

(I must confess I have not read the site yet.)
 

AmounrA

Hello,

I don't think there is a dark side, an evil power waiting for weak willed minions to serve it in a reign of pain and destruction, but I do belief there are darker aspects within the human makeup. If you like, we as a species, we did not become the planets 'boss' [tyrant?] by being harmless grazers. We did not do it by being equipped with sharp teeth and claws.

There is defiantly a killer in all of us somewhere [be it a killer of man or sheep]. I think that this side of ones character should be explored, with a darker deck if be, but one should be careful not to become obsessed. If my tribe was large but had land with no trees, and a smaller tribe up the road had trees but would not share.... would it be wrong to steal there trees? [Kill for those trees?]

My view from meditations on my darker nature makes me think it’s an aspect of being that was needed for self-preservation. However today, we don't need to be so anymore, and this aspect of our character is in danger now of limiting our species self-preservation. I believe in mental as well as physically evolution, and belief very much that our human outlook is in the process of a positive change…if our dark sides let it!
 

Laurel

I've seen few approaches to the Qlippoth that I like, and many that I do not. I view the "shells" as excess energy from the original manifestation gone into an entropic state and not separate sephiroth. In my opinion, they manifest as spiritual "dross" in an alchemical sense and psychic disorder in terms of optimal psychology within the human microcosm. I do believe that all the sephiroth have an extreme and find a great deal of usefullness in looking at "pairs" within the Tree of Life (Chesed and Geburah, Chokmah and Binah, and so on) when attempting to bring extremes into balance. I think each sephira also contains the key to overcoming the qlippothic energy that contrasts it.

I haven't had time to acquire DMK's new book and read that chapter, but when I do so, I might have more to contribute to this thread.

~LAS