Semikhah B'Yad Ramah

With the moon 100% full, י'ד בחשון תשס"ח

just noting connections ...

between the poem-entry Ram Cheshvan of ב' בחשון תשס"ח where it is written:

resurrecting raining drops like semikhah
from the heart of timeless times to come, into time

and the tarot-entry From The Onset Of Time of י'ב בחשון תשס"ח where it is written:

מ'אז implies something advancing "from the onset of time"

The second tarot-entry bringing it down is 10 days following first poem-entry mentioning semikhah "coming into time". The 10 days of bestowal correspond to yad ramah.

Sabbat Hitkalelut

י"ג באייר תשס"ז

Beltane is one of the Greater Sabbats (also known as Fire Festivals) of witchcraft observed beginning April 30th and continuing through May 1st, marking the midpoint between the spring equinox and summer solstice in the Celtic witch's wheel of the year.

My Beltane Solitary Sabbat focuses this year on the concept of hitkalelut התכללות, integration.

Beltane Candle Dressing Oil

1 tbsp jajoba (carrier)
1 gtt lilac (protection)
1 gtt lavender (protection, purification, peace, happiness)
1 gtt vanilla musk (mental powers, love, grounding)
1 gtt jasmine/sweet pea (love, prosperity, prophetic dreams, friendship)
1 gtt cinnamon bark (success, healing, protection, love, raise vibrations)
1 gtt sandalwood (protection, healing, fruition of intention)
1 gtt frankincense (protection, raises vibrations)
1 gtt myrrh (protection, healing, raises vibrations)
1 gtt benzoin (purification, prosperity)

Candles (all inscribed with התכללות)

yellow votive (clarity, joy)
10 inch white formal (focus, culmination)
brown citrus bergamot votive (grounding, stability, success)
4.5 inch white ritual taper (focus, culmination)
bonfire* braided 3-wick havdalah candle (integration)

Incenses

sandalwood/sage/peppermint (protection, wisdom, fruition of intention)
daffodil (love, fertility, mazal tov)
saffron/ginger (love, healing, happiness, wind raising, nevuah, success)

Altar Gemstones

clear quartz crystal (transduces/amplifies/focuses/activates energy & intention)
10 blue sapphires in a circle on a gold bracelet (entire sefirotic array)
green chrysoprase (transformation, healing, abundance)

Food/Wine

custard or yogurt sprinkled with flaxseed
kosher red wine

Music

Ancient Futures, Daughters of Gaia

Ribbon Colors (3 sets of 3, ט)

green (growth, prosperity)
red (love, energy, strength)
orange (attract positive gain)

brown (earthy stability, grounding, success)
blue (tranquility, peace)
pink (love, friendship, harmony)

yellow (clarity, joy)
purple (spirituality and nevuah)
white (focused clarity)

Beltane Ribbon Ritual (described here)

[This is a] ritual binding of life and the beauties of life to the Earth plane/the self.

[You'll need] some lengths of ribbon to braid during the Magick making portion of your ritual. The idea here is that you (your body) symbolically becomes the shamanistic tree -- that you see yourself as the shaman on the tree (in your body), able to bring forth a variety of things from the Otherworld into manifestation here on Earth.

Each ribbon will represent one aspect of your life that you'd like to bind closer to you (while realizing the constraints that doing so might imply). Choose the ribbon colors accordingly.

For example, if you want to bring financial security into your life and bind it to you, have a green ribbon on your altar. (Or perhaps you find silver or gold might work better for you here.) If you'd like your life to be constantly surrounded by love, add a pink (or red) ribbon to the array on your altar. If you'd like peace of mind/emotional stability to be a constant in your life, add a light blue ribbon to the mix, etc.

I'd recommend each ribbon be as long as you are tall. Symbolically then, each ribbon represents your physical self. Be sure your altar set-up includes a symbol/tool associated with each of the four elements.

Now light your candles and incense and create your sacred space in your usual manner. Invoke Whom you feel is appropriate. Ask [the Divine] to join you in your dance of life. Include movement in your invocation if you like.

You'll now need to bless each ribbon by the four elements. Take your time in doing this. Pass each one through the incense smoke (Air), over a candle flame (Fire), sprinkle each with water (Water), and pass each through a bowl of sea salt (Earth). Or, think of the smoking censer as representing Air and Fire. Put some sea salt in your water vessel, stir, and think of it as representing Water and Earth.

Then just pass each ribbon through the smoke and sprinkle it with the water mixture, thereby blessing each by all four elements.

However you decide to do it, take some time to think about just exactly what it is each ribbon represents to you. What it is you'd like to bind to you/bring to the fullness of life within your life? What benefits will accrue to you in so doing? What is the down side in each case, and how will you handle it?

Now gather all ribbons together and tie a knot at the top to hold them together. Meditate on bringing all these things forth in your life and on how they will interact with each other to turn your life into a beautiful braid of happiness and well-being. Remember to envision yourself enmeshed in this braiding as it progresses. When you near the end, tie it off in similar fashion to your beginning knot.

End the Magick by blessing the finished braid with your body. After all, your body symbolically lies at the heart of the braid. Breathe on it (Air). Gather it to your heart (Fire). Spit on it or lick it (Water). Coil it up and stand with it under your foot for a few moments (Earth). Now call the blessing of the Goddess into it.

Wear your braid now, or carry it on your person for the rest of the day and/or night. [Afterwards, ] keep the braid in some secret and safe place away from the prying eyes and possible ill wishes of others. Or, if you're not worried about that, keep it on your altar for the coming seasons of growth and harvest.

*A community bonfire is characteristic of both Beltane and Lag B'Omer; while Beltane is set according to the civil calendar at April 30-May 1 in the northern hemisphere, Lag B'Omer varies as to its civil date independent of one's location on earth.*

The ritual proper began during the planetary hour of the sun, under a waxing gibbous moon 98% full. The yellow votive was additionally inscribed with a 4-shin on top. The brown citrus bergamot votive was additionally inscribed with a 3-shin 4 times around the side circumference of the candle. All candles were additionally dressed over the oil with the incense blend called Delight.

The first set of 3 ribbons were braided during the planetary hour of Venus (kaf), the second and third sets of 3 ribbons during the planetary hour of Pluto (da'at elyon and da'at tachton), and the 3 braids were then braided together during the planetary hour of the moon (dalet). The two Hebrew letters which fall out with the ribbon braiding planetary hours are כד, like in kadkode (כדכד). Kad has a gematria of 24; given the sets of 3, 3 X 24 = 72, like the Name of 72.

Similar to havdalah, the braided "bonfire" candle was extinguished in a chalice of kosher wine.

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Power Of The Fool

י"ח בשבט תשס"ז

As noted in a previous entry regarding my first tarot reading, 3 cards in my spread of 10 cards were from the major arcana. There are 22 cards totally in the major arcana. Each card of the major arcana corresponds to one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew aleph-beit.

There are two ways [1] by which the 22 cards are assigned a Hebrew letter, depending on whether the fool card is placed first or last in the arcana lineup. Thus, there are two sets of 3 letters (shorashim) that can be derived based upon the fact that 3 cards from the major arcana fell out into my tarot reading.

If the fool card is placed first in the lineup of 22, the Hebrew letters in my reading are hey, pey and samekh (הפס the rail or the streak). For example, a string of misfortune is a streak. The bad streak of misfortune will be transformed through the next root when a fool takes the place of the universe card (tav) and the universe card is raised to the place of shin.

When the fool comes to the place of the universe in the arcana lineup, the Hebrew letters in my reading are עדן, delight, paradise, Eden.

As I wrote many years ago, before I knew anything at all about tarot, creating paradise on earth is a job only a fool can do. And this and that is an example of hitkalelut in action.

Footnote:

[1] Complete Book Of Witchcraft, Raymond Buckland (p. 158)

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Chanukah & The Secret Of The Unhewn Dolmen

This Friday evening the eighth (ח) Chanukah light was kindled. At sundown, in both the Celtic and Jewish timekeeping, Friday evening became the day of Shabbat.

Honoring this shabbat, many over the world kindled eight lights for Chanukah, completing the 36 lights of the entire period. Also honoring this shabbat is the Celtic day of the Unhewn Dolmen, a day set apart from any month in Celtic timekeeping, marking the sacred "space in time" which is a tara'a-gate (ח) into the mysteries of God-consciousness. In the kavanah of hitkalelut, I kindled a black candle, the 37th light, ritually prepared for this glorious event which includes both sacred Holy Days, the eighth day of Chanukah and the Unhewn Dolmen, joined together in the mystery of Shabbat.

I am a wind on deep waters and a shining tear of the sea,
Who but I knows the secret of the Unhewn Dolmen?
lines from an ancient Celtic poem, The Song of Amergin

שבת שלום
ברוך שם כבוד מלכותה לעולם ועד, אמן
Shabbat Shalom.
Blessed is the Glorious Name, Her Kingdom stands forever and ever. Amen.
So mote it be.

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The 37th Chanukah Light

Later this week, December 21, 2006 (Rosh Chodesh Tevet 5767) marks the winter solstice, known among witches as the lesser sabbat, Yule. Spiritually, Yule corresponds to the "dark night of the soul", which in Jewish kabbalah corresponds to an experience of the chalal hapanui as a trial in the course of prophetic development.

This year, the winter solstice marking the darkest astrological night of the year is also the night of the 7th Chanukah candle. Falling on Thursday, the Hebrew and Celtic archetypes corresponding to the winter solstice of 5767 are Aaron and Lugh, respectively.

Aaron is the kohen gadol who kindles the lights of the menorah in the Temple and causes those lights to ascend.

In the Celtic myth, The Coming Of Lugh, Lugh is given the sword-scepter of Light by the one who rules the endless sea. As one is a silent aleph (א), so too are the letters "gh" at the end of Lugh silent. Pronounced "Loo", similarly to the Divine Name [1] Hoo (הוא), the silence of the Gaelic-Celtic "gh" of Lugh corresponds to the aleph of Hoo. Consequently, the phonetic transliteration of Lugh into Hebrew letters is Lua (לוא).

Lua (לוא) has a gematria of 37, making it the im hakolel of lamed-vav (לו) , where lamed-vav represents the 36 total lights lit over the 8 days of Chanukah (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8), the lamedvav tzaddkim and the concept of hitkalelut.

In Jewish kabbalah, it is taught that the mashiach will arise from one of the 36 lamedvav tzaddikim in existence. Consequently, the gematria of 37, and thus the name Lua, corresponds to the elevation of a lamedvavnik to the "next level"; that is, to become the catalyst of messianic consciousness using the power of "reverse vision", changing "not" (the translation of Lua) into "not not".

The specifically Welsh-Celtic name of Lugh is Lleu Llaw Gyffes, Lleu Strong Hand, where the name is etymologically derived from a proto-Celtic compound conveying the meaning "flowing vigor" and "flight, flying, soaring". This latter meaning of Lleu Llaw Gyffes links back to the function of Aaron, who kindles the lights of the Temple menorah and causes them to ascend.

Blessed Be, Amen.

Footnote:

[1] Sha'are Orah, R. Yosef Gikatilla

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Daat Torah & Reverse Vision

More on daat Torah and making the Torah personal for parashat Re'eh:

Analyzing with reverse vision, my anglicized english 4-letter [1] name Lori transliterated into hebrew letters לורי

לורי using atbach substitution (the reflective - aur chozer - transformation) is:

ל -> ע
ו -> ד
ר -> ש
י -> צ

In other words, Lori can be transformed via two permutations [2] (transliteration and atbach transformation) into עד ש"ץ, where עד means witness and embodies the complete shema, and where ש"ץ refers to שליחה ציבורה, a shliachah tziburah (emissary of the congregation, mystical cantor).

From wiki, on chazzanah, a shliachah tziburah:

In the Talmud the term is used to denote the "overseer": (1) of a city; (2) of a court of justice; (3) of the Temple; (4) of the synagogue. It also comes from the word Hazzon, denoting a "visionary." The early hazzanim (the plural of hazzan) were most likely prophets.

In summary, for parashat Re'eh, using reverse vision, I see that "prophetic Torah (service) visionary" is hidden in my anglicized (english) name, Lori.

dalet, hitkalelut & doing The Work

Footnotes:

[1] 4 is associated with the letters dalet ד and ע ayin (as discussed above, עד) and the soul power, shiflut

[2] reflecting the two vavim of the 4-headed shin of binah into two by two - letters/words

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Yeshibah (Sitting) - As Above, So Below

In my previous post, I wrote:

One flaming spark came through the roof and landed in my mother's bed with her sitting up in it.

What symbolism can be revealed in the phrase “sitting up”? I asked myself. Rambam discusses the word sitting (yeshibah) in The Guide Of The Perplexed (Moreh Nevuchim, vol. I, chap.11). Shlomo Pines translates this discussion as follows (with some additional footnotes added by me*):

Sitting (yeshibah). The first meaning given to this term in our language was that of being seated. Thus: Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat [1]. But in view of the fact that a sitting individual is in a state of the most perfect stability and steadiness [2], this term is used figuratively to denote all steady, stable, and changeless states [3]. Thus, when promising Jerusalem permanence and stability while she is in possession of the highest ranks, scripture says: She will rise and sit in her place [4]. And it also says: He maketh the barren woman to sit in her house [5]; which means that He makes her firm and steady [6]. In the latter sense it is said of G-d, may He be exalted: Thou, O L-rd, sitteth for all eternity [7, 8]; O Thou who sittest in the heaven [9]; He that sitteth in the heaven [10]. That is, the stable One [11] who undergoes no manner of change, neither a change in His essence – as He has no modes [12] besides His essence with respect to which He might change – nor a change in His relation to what is other than Himself – since, as shall be explained later, there does not exist a relation with respect to which He could change.

The passage goes on, but this portion will suffice at the moment. It is significant to note the phrase in red as it pertains to sitting -> in my dream, my mother [13] is sitting, existing as a relation with respect to which He could change.

tzav letzav, kav lakav, ze’er sham, ze’er sham ... Kabbalah & Telepathy

see marzipan here and here

Footnotes:

[1] I Shmuel 1:9

[2]* hishtavut, equanimity, shiviti

[3]* atzmut

[4] Zecharyah 14:10

[5] Tehilim 113:9 – *in her house in her bed, hitkalelut (dream/torah)

[6] steadfast*, Tehilim 25:10

[7] Eicah 5:19

[8]* Netzach, victory, Reconstructing Rachel

[9] Tehilim 123:1

[10] Tehilim 2:4

[11]* Echad

[12] khal, Modes were attributed to G-d by some of the latter Mutazilites, notably by Abu Hisham (d. 933) and his followers.

[13]* partzuf imma

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