Welcome to the New Moon in Sagittarius which waned at 10:05 EST. The Moon representing our emotional natures, the female archetype, inner self including dreams, desires, subconscious drives, in the sign of Sagittarius; masculine mutable fire, Sagittarius is the “I see” of the zodiac, the communicators with the uncanny understanding of all seemingly obscure information. Sagittarius is the path of information; the candle in the dark, and its placement in your chart shows how and where you make sense of things. The Moon in Sagittarius is happy in austere settings and enjoys basics, digging to the roots of issues.
The only planet transiting this New Moon is the conjunction with the Sun. The conjunction is a transit of intensity and unification. The Sun representing our outer selves, the male archetype, and conscious personalities. The Sun in Sagittarius is frank, and honest giving us a dose of internal strength, and independence.
Today in the Hebrew is the Rosh Chodesh or New Moon for the month of Kislev. The Torah portion for today tells the story of how Yaacov, aka Jacob, stole his brother Esau’s inheritance by posing as Esau and visiting his father’s deathbed and taking for himself the blessing of the firstborn son; deception. Which reminds me that sometimes, nothing is what it seems. In the days of technology and texting, we can easily misconstrue something that is said in text, because we don’t hear the voice of the person sending it, so we’re not sure how it was necessarily meant, and we all know words are powerful, and getting an incorrect sense of what’s being said in the text can hurt someone’s feelings if they misunderstand the intent behind it.
On a deeper level, the mantra for this past week’s Kabbalistic Pathworking was, “The Word of God will sustain me.” Growing up in the church system, that took on a specific meaning for me that took me back to some bad feelings I had over the Christian church system. As I read further into Gareth Knight’s description of the path, he stated that “the word,” more referred to the spirit, which eliminated the “churchy” meaning for me and put the mantra back in its’ proper perspective.. I’ve come to appreciate that many of the so called “churchy” connotations found in many of the kabbalistic and mystical writings, are so, because the church adopted much of the philosophy from the ancients. The teachings of Yahshua/Jesus are not “new” as compared to the Kabbalah, Zohar, Talmud, Tenach, Pentateuch, or even Buddhism. They only seem new as compared to how the English translators formed the Old Testament, because the God of the Old Testament came off as vengeful and jealous. The rules seemed harsh, and overbearing, especially the old eye for an eye teachings. I remember from Lewis Black’s standup, where he made the statement that a Christian should only have a Jewish person explain the Old Testament because from a Christian perspective, the older writings are taken out of context because the “intent” of the writings would naturally be misunderstood outside the Jewish faith, and that the teachings of the Old Testament were never meant to be taken literally. For example, before we had a working judiciary system in place, cutting off the hand of a thief, or stoning the adulterer seem harsh but was that meant as an actual prescribed punishment or was it written because those acts were considered to be serious offenses against the community, and described as such by the punishment. We hear about a crime on the news, and we form an opinion based on how we feel about it, but in keeping with things not always being what they seem, without knowing the entire story, which we might not even get in the courtroom, our opinion about what transpired could be far from the truth. Things are often not what they seem.
The first teaching I remember in Kabbalah was to forget everything we think we know, and go back to the beginning of what we do know and start there. I realized the only thing I did know was that I was here, this moment. The reality we think we know is an illusion, and as such, able to be manipulated by the will. Children who grow up together, will often remember things completely different because of their perspective at the time of the incident. Witnesses to an accident will often have completely different descriptions of people, places, and things involved because of their perspective at the time. Things are often not what they seem. So what can we really know for certain? I Am…but what I am changes moment by moment.
The Sefer Yetsirah teaches that each month is ruled by two Hebrew letters; one rules the planet that dominates the sign, and the other the astrological sign of the month. Kislev’s planet is Jupiter and is ruled by the letter Gimel, and Kislev/Sagittarius is ruled by the letter Samekh.
https://livekabbalah.org/kislev-sagittarius-keshet/
The letter Samekh is a closed circle, much like the wedding band. In Kabbalah, the circle represents infinity with no beginning or end. The sages say the Samekh represents the infinite power of Ein Sof/Infinite light.
Samekh is the 15th letter of the Alef beit with a numerical value of 60.
“In the Priestly Blessing* recited every morning there are fifteen words and sixty letters.” https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137087/jewish/Samech.htm
*“May the L-rd bless you and watch over you. May the L-rd cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May the L-rd raise His countenance toward you and grant you peace.”
The letter Samekh represents the 25th path on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life connecting the sephiroth of Tiphareth and Yesod, and the card “Art” in the Thoth Tarot. The Art card in the Thoth Tarot is one of the most visually alchemical cards in the deck.
“After all, as Crowley points out, “This card represents the Consummation of the Royal Marriage which took place in Atu VI”127 and Art is the “coagula” to the Lovers “solve” Also, in this card, the white tincture of the Empress is united with the red tincture of the Emperor.”
Excerpt From Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, Lon Milo DuQuette
In reading Gareth Knight’s Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism, the merging of the self with the HGA, which is considered the great work, or reuniting with the spirit of God, is symbolized by portions of many different rituals, and practices. In the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, the six pointed star signifies the upper triad, which is immortal, connects with the lower triad which is mortal. In the Middle Pillar, the sephira of Kether, which is universal, is connected with the sephiroth below the abyss which are individual.
Tiphareth is represented by the sun in your chart and shows where you exhibit your highest good, emiting the greatest amount of light. Yesod is represented by the Moon and exposes your inner reflexes and how you instinctively react to various situations, and since we’re talking about things not always being as they seem, we strive to learn how to not react in a negative way, especially in instances where we’ve misunderstood what’s taken place. Yesod also represents what you tend to draw to your life, and this is where change is required if we are to change the future. Together, they are your yin and yang, the conundrum which is you.
— Sphere of Yesod —
We commence our journey in the Sphere of Yesod, the Foundation.
The Hebrew Divine Name is Shaddai el Chai, the Almighty Living God.
The number is 9.
— Sphere of Tiphareth —
The Sphere of Destination is Tiphareth, Beauty.
The Hebrew Divine name is Jehovah Aloah Va Daath.
The number is 6.
— 25th Path —
The 25th Path is known as the Intelligence of Probation, because it is the primary temptation, by which the Creator trieth all righteous persons.
The color is blue.
The magical weapon is the arrow.
Living beings are the dog and the horse.
The symbolic being is the Centaur.
The musical note is “G#.” translates to sol on the standard scale and 741 hz on the solfeggio scale.
Areas the 25th Path will help you:
Balancing your emotions and centering yourself.
Energizing your self.
Maintaining a positive attitude.
Joyousness.
Developing inner faith.
Trusting your inner guidance.
Belief in yourself.
Recognizing and overcoming temptation.
Overcoming spiritual egotism.
Coming “home” to your “Self”.
Learning to carry your “home” within yourself.
Detachment and objectivity.
Being able to give unconditionally.
Developing your teaching ability.
Alchemical transformation. Channeling higher levels of energy.
Realizing and releasing the innocence of your inner child-self.
Understanding the statement that “I become the way, and light the way.”
Developing the “strength” of gentleness.
Transmuting your own sexual force to achieve higher consciousness.
Developing self-responsibility. “You are on your own, and must make your own choices.”
Letting go of your resistance to higher forces.
Reclaiming your Self.
Healing yourself and others.
Dream interpretation.
Assumption of “God” forms – i.e. letting a higher force focus through you.
Astral projection.
Attracting higher “protection” while traveling. (Traveling physically or on the astral, or even journeying toward a goal intellectually or spiritually.)
Learning to “invoke” your Guardian Angel.
Beginning to develop the higher forms of psychism.
In his book “Scrying the Tree of Life,” Chic Cicero writes:
The “Intelligence of Probation or Temptation” indicates that this is a path where students must use discrimination and constantly test the veracity of their spiritual beliefs through a process of trial and error, careful measurement, and frequent tests and tribulations. By administering “temptations,” the Creator strengthens the soul of the student so that it becomes a fit and resilient vessel for the divine life-force, and so it develops the ability to discern truth from falsehood and remain in a state of perfect balance. On the Twenty-fifth Path, the student who perseveres comes into contact with the Higher Self and experiences the presence of the divine. When a person truly experiences the energies of this mystical path, by-passing the various temptations that can obstruct growth, the result is an exalted state of consciousness wherein nothing looks exactly as it did before.
Path Symbol:A golden arrow – more accurately the bow that symbolizes the covenant rainbow.
Meditations:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RwnfL5lW6yMQZ7Ed3amaem0tBIBir6N
Path of Samekh
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1C7FDpFpJgCjz17vs8jtNXbxUbUzMMRFy
Meditation Closing:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0ay-QXTp36kNWZhdGJESVdaYlk
Marika's Moon Rituals 