JackofWands
I'm going through and recommencing some serious study of the Sephiroth, and in doing so, I wanted to pose a question to AT Kabbalists who are much more knowledgeable than I.
The Sephiroth balance each other out quite nicely as a set of polarities. Kether and Malkuth are the sacred and the profane; Chokmah and Binah are the male and female; Chesed and Gevurah are, well, mercy and severity; Netzach and Hod are the collective and the individual. This idea of the Ten being, in a certain sense, a set of five Twos is reflected in the Sepher Yetzirah:
Granted, the polarities ear (up/down, east/west, etc.) are very different than the ones that manifest on the Tree of Life, but the idea is still there.
So then here's my question for you beautiful beings of light. Do Tiphereth and Yesod balance each other out in a similar way to the other eight Sephiroth? I have a decent grasp of each Sephirah (although not a perfect one, obviously, since I am but mortal, and undereducated at that), but I'm having difficulty seeing a respect in which these two complement each other.
It's entirely possible that this balancing-out schema is simply not present in the ToL--God knows I have a tendency to seek out dualistic structure when it's not actually present--and if that's the case, I'm more than happy to set my notes to the side and focus on aspects of the Tree that really are there, and that are worth studying. But if there actually is an established polarity between Tiphereth and Yesod, and I'm simply not seeing it, that would be something important for me to have in mind as I progress with my study.
So basically, for those who know more than I do: Is this a thing? (Not "Could this be a thing?" but "Is it part of accepted thought in the wider Kabbalistic world?")
The Sephiroth balance each other out quite nicely as a set of polarities. Kether and Malkuth are the sacred and the profane; Chokmah and Binah are the male and female; Chesed and Gevurah are, well, mercy and severity; Netzach and Hod are the collective and the individual. This idea of the Ten being, in a certain sense, a set of five Twos is reflected in the Sepher Yetzirah:
These Ten Numbers, beyond the Infinite one, have the boundless realms, boundless origin and end, an abyss of good and one of evil, boundless height and depth, East and West, North and South, and the one only God and king, faithful forever seated on his throne, shall rule over all, forever and ever.
Granted, the polarities ear (up/down, east/west, etc.) are very different than the ones that manifest on the Tree of Life, but the idea is still there.
So then here's my question for you beautiful beings of light. Do Tiphereth and Yesod balance each other out in a similar way to the other eight Sephiroth? I have a decent grasp of each Sephirah (although not a perfect one, obviously, since I am but mortal, and undereducated at that), but I'm having difficulty seeing a respect in which these two complement each other.
It's entirely possible that this balancing-out schema is simply not present in the ToL--God knows I have a tendency to seek out dualistic structure when it's not actually present--and if that's the case, I'm more than happy to set my notes to the side and focus on aspects of the Tree that really are there, and that are worth studying. But if there actually is an established polarity between Tiphereth and Yesod, and I'm simply not seeing it, that would be something important for me to have in mind as I progress with my study.
So basically, for those who know more than I do: Is this a thing? (Not "Could this be a thing?" but "Is it part of accepted thought in the wider Kabbalistic world?")