Michael And Me

כ'ג באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 24

I dreamt.

Very simply, giants were on the prowl, looking for Michael. But the giants couldn't find him, because Michael came down, safe and sound with me.

I woke up.

וּבָעֵת הַהִיא יַעֲמֹד מִיכָאֵל הַשַּׂר הַגָּדוֹל, הָעֹמֵד עַל-בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ, וְהָיְתָה עֵת צָרָה, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-נִהְיְתָה מִהְיוֹת גּוֹי עַד הָעֵת הַהִיא; וּבָעֵת הַהִיא יִמָּלֵט עַמְּךָ, כָּל-הַנִּמְצָא כָּתוּב בַּסֵּפֶר.

Foundation Of The Fire

י'ט באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 20

Another tragic apopsi connection of my writings to immediate news events. This time it is of Monday evening's entry, The Witch's Room (which describes my altar as built upon a foundation of books) with this morning's 3-building fire downtown in my hometown, where the "foundation" of the fire was a bookstore. When the fire event was described to me, the actual words the person used were - "the foundation of the fire was in the bookstore."

Bookstore Blaze Engulfs Businesses
March 26, 2008

DANVILLE — The sky above downtown Danville was filled with smoke this morning as firefighters battled a blaze at Danville Bookworld at 109 N. Vermilion St. The fire also destroyed Briars and Brambles at 105 N. Vermilion St.

Firefighters got the call about 10:17 a.m., and the building was fully engulfed when they arrived.

At first, there were concerns that someone was inside the building, but those concerns were dismissed after a search. Medix was called to the scene, although there have been no injuries reported.

The word on the street is that the fire was caused by an accident related to electrical work that was being done in the bookstore.

Read full story at link above.

Beit Zayin - BenZion

י'ט באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 20

Baruch dayyan emet. ברוך דיין אמת

Another tragic link of my writing to immediate news events. This time, it is of my early afternoon entry Eishet Chayil Of The House Of Zayin to a tragic motor vehicle accident which happened that very same night, reported the next day in Vos Iz Neias and today in Jewish And Breaking News:

Jewish Philanthropist Rabbi Benzion Dunner Dies In Crash

A prominent member of Britain's Jewish community was killed in a two-car smash on the Spur Road at the weekend.

Wealthy philanthropist Rabbi Benzion Dunner died instantly when his 175,000 Pound Bentley Arnage was in collision with a Toyota Celica on the south-bound carriageway, around one-and-a-half miles from the Ashley Heath roundabout.

News of the 45-year-old's tragic death was immediately posted on Jewish websites and, in accordance with the religion, his funeral was held within 24 hours.

Rabbi Dunner, from Golders Green in London, is believed to have been on his way to an event at Bournemouth's kosher hotel, the Normandie, when the accident happened at 9.45pm on Saturday. Members of his family were in the car with him but are not believed to be seriously hurt.

Why? Why? Why?

In A Good Heart, Find Good Peace

י'ו באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 17

In my natal chart, Neptune is found in Libra which itself is in the third House of Communication where the future is brought together and molded.

In Torah Temimah it was shown that Neptune corresponds to tov (טוב) meaning good.

Libra corresponds to the Hebrew letter lamed (ל). Lamed is mystically associated with the heart of Chavah, in which rests a protected place for peace to unfold. What kind of peace? Good peace, like the good heart (Neptune in Libra) which brings it together, molds and gives birth to it.

True Witnesses

י'ו באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 17

Experience (Heart, Soul)

I became a living experiencing acting intelligence (חוה Chavah, 19),

Space (Teli, Universe)

brought down through the ninth astrological sign of the zodiac (Sagittarius), into being

Time (Cycle, Year)

with ten, during the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar (Tevet).

A proof of this,
true witnesses in the Universe, Year, Soul
and a rule of twelve (בי), and seven and three:
set in the Teli, the Cycle, and the Heart.

Sefer Yetzirah 6:1

Perfectly And Abundantly Made

י'ו באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 17

Ten Sefirot of Nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven
Understand with Wisdom, be Wise with Understanding ...

עשר ספירות בלימה, עשר ולא תשע, עשר ולא אחת-עשרה
הבן בחכמה וחכם בבינה

Sefer Yetzirah 1:4

The moon (ב) is in Virgo (י) in the second House of Acquisition of the zodiac in my sidereal natal chart. What does this בי mean? It literally means "with ten". With ten what, exactly? There is "nothing" to tell me what "ten" בי is referring to. Wait, I understand now! I remember the words "ten sefirot of nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven" that I am made with.

The word for "ten" in the above excerpt from Sefer Yetzirah is עשר. The shoresh עשר means "enriching", "being abundant", and "complete unit".

The word for "nine" in the above excerpt is תשע. The shoresh תשע means "decrease" and "less than a complete unit".

The word for "eleven" in the above excerpt is אחת-עשרה. Here is where the vessels may become shattered. אחת is the feminine form of "one" unit (as אחד is the masculine form of "one" unit). One complete unit holds the feminine and masculine forces it contains in equal balance. In the Hebrew word for eleven (אחת-עשרה), the feminine unit force (אחת) emerges unilaterally increased (עשרה), which would ultimately result in an uncontainable and destructive imbalance among the polarities, and thereby shatter the vessels.

Thus, "with ten" Understanding and Wisdom are bestowed abundantly and in perfect balance so as not to shatter the vessels.

With "nine", Understanding and Wisdom lack fullness and wither.

With "eleven", there is too much Understanding and not enough Wisdom. Understanding is a powerful force of restrictive differentiation. Without an equal balancing Wisdom force of expansive integration to meet Understanding's movements, the vessels implode and shatter.

Taken together, I wisely have come to understand that I have been perfectly and abundantly made "with ten" in complete harmony.

There are seven Hebrew words in the portion of the excerpt "ten and not nine, ten and not eleven" (עשר ולא תשע, עשר ולא אחת-עשרה).

There are ten Hebrew words in the excerpt "ten sefirot of Nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven" (עשר ספירות בלימה, עשר ולא תשע, עשר ולא אחת-עשרה).

Thus, I manifestly acquired בי at birth.

Aiming High

י'ה באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 16

With all the high-sounding posts about messianic consciousness and Divine Awareness, some people may think I'm crazy and would like to knock me off my witchy "high horse". Actually, I'm not crazy, I'm just clearly a sidereal Sagittarius who aims high! I am the witchy high horse I sit on. LOL.




Fundamentals of Sagittarius:

Element: Fire (ש), eternal Source

Quality: Mutable (yechidah), soul of self-sacrifice able to reveal messianic Torah

Ruling Planet: Jupiter (ת), shabbat consciousness

Symbol: Archer & Bow (ס), hishtavut/equinimity and Divine Blessing

Keywords: Adventurous, Enthusiastic, Freedom-Loving, Spontaneous

Cheshbon HaNefesh & The Secrets Of Time

י'ה באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 16

At the cusp of the tenth zodiac house, the House of National Soul, rests the zenith of the natal chart known as Midheaven (Medium Coeli, MC). Midheaven, situated above the place of birth, is the superconscious point connecting the incarnating life-force to it's mission goals for the particular lifetime into which it is evolving. In my sidereal natal chart, Midheaven is set in Taurus (Shor).

The mazal of Taurus (corresponding to the power of the letter vav) contains the pristine and rectified spiritual origin of the nefesh soul and brings out into purposeful revelation:

radiance and light
the powers of contemplation, introspection and calculation
natural healing
mastering the secrets of time
the power to connect and interrelate all elements within creation

Thus, the "national" origin of my nefesh is represented by the Hebrew letter vav and my introspective Torah is a radiant, light-filled, healing, masterful, connectively creative vav-Torah.

Eishet Chayil Of The House Of Zayin

י'ה באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 16

There are two astrologically significant points in the seventh House of Zayin in my sidereal natal chart. They are, like Betzalel and Ohaliov, artistic talent in partnership with the Divine:

Venus - kaf (כ), the power to actualize potential and manifest rectified Will.

Chiron - כירן, artistic molder, from the shoresh כור meaning to purify, repair and correct; the ability to rectify Will; from which is derived the word כיר, meaning to be molded, to mold - in other words "chiron" brings down the ability to mold (purify and form) and be molded into (actualize) one's messianic spark, represented by nun-sofit.

The House of Zayin in my natal chart is in Aquarius (Dlee, צ), which brings out the ability to draw Divinity into manifest revelation.

The configuration of the seventh house offers insight into the Divine "I" as a helpmate to the personal "self" as described in the first house of the zodiac.

Categories Of Ignorance

י'ה באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 16

Kabbalah teaches there are four categories of ignorance. They are passive ignorance, active ignorance, essential ignorance, and enlightened ignorance.

Passive ignorance is easy to understand and easy to come by. It's what fills a person's head after a lifetime spent in front of a television set. It is the inevitable and automatic outcome of doing nothing with one's mind.

The passively ignorant do not care to understand anything.

Active ignorance is commonly mistaken for knowledge, so that although we imagine that we go to school in order to fill our heads with wisdom, we are really there to exchange one type of ignorance for another. Active ignorance is particularly deceptive because it parades in academic (or religious) trappings. Moreover, it often reflects immense scholarly effort and occasionally, true creative brilliance. It is, nonetheless, false, and its effects are as pernicious as those of passive ignorance.

The actively ignorant think they comprehensively understand but they really don't. Their understanding lacks wholeness. The ultimate goal typical of both the secular and religious worlds is active ignorance.

Essential ignorance is achieved when a person becomes truthfully and sincerely cognizant that he lacks understanding. In contrast to passive ignorance, essential ignorance represents a relatively advanced state of self-comprehension. In Chassidic parlance it is described by the term bittul (self-negation).

The essentially ignorant are seekers of real truth who question the dogma chaining understanding to incompleteness. Essential ignorance contains the soul's "Moses principle" which drives individuals to throw off the shackles of common understanding and move toward extraordinary understanding and truth.

Enlightened ignorance surpasses knowledge and wisdom, it is not knowledge or wisdom, which is to say that it is a form of ignorance. However, unlike essential ignorance, which precedes knowledge, enlightened ignorance supersedes knowledge. It is the great "I don't know" as opposed to the simple "I don't know" of essential ignorance. Enlightened ignorance is as far as one's mind can take one in the quest for truth. Intellect, even of the highest quality, is, by nature, limited. The Divinity that is the foundation of existence, on the other hand, transcends limitation, definition, or description. Enlightened ignorance is the informed realization of this fact.

Enlightened ignorance sits in the crossroads at the interface joining Knowledge with paradoxically unknowable yet knowable Divine Awareness.