Paroketh is not strictly part of the Tree of Life. Rather, it is a state or entity that one may encounter while journeying on the Tree.
Paroketh resides on the Tree of Life, between the level of Hod and Netzakh and that of Tifaret. It is known as the veil of illusion, concealing from the illusion of our everyday senses a greater illusion beyond. But the veil of Paroketh is itself illusory, because there is no real division between the physical and the spiritual worlds.
So is there no obstacle to our progress at this point on the Tree of Life? Yes, there is, but the obstacle is of our own making. It is difficult for us as ordinary human beings to directly attain Tifaret. Instead, we adopt a process of gradual familiarisation, repeated travel on the paths approaching Tifaret, while recognising that this is a journey of the imagination only. Then suddenly, one day, a certain flash of enlightenment will come to us; we will realise that we are actually in Tifaret, and the veil of illusion will finally drop away, and drop away forever. The meditation will take us on one of these journeys of imagination, of familiarisation.
These meditations on the Sefiroth are intended
to be taken in a logical sequence.
If you have not already done so,
please begin with Malkut.
Paroketh: approaching Tifaret. Prepare yourself in the usual way.
We start our journey in the cavern of Yesod. You will remember this cavern that we visited in a previous meditation, a beautiful cavern lined with luminous purple amethyst crystals. Absorb the amethyst energies for a few moments, then contemplate the three openings that appear before you, openings into brightly lit tunnels.
Ahead and to your left is a tunnel of brilliant orange; directly in front of you, one of clear, bright blue; while ahead and to your right is a tunnel of beautiful, shimmering violet.
You enter the violet tunnel, and find yourself floating serenely through space, among a myriad stars, planets and galaxies. Although you seem to be drifting so gently as not to be moving, you gradually become aware that you are approaching another opening. You pass gently through it, and find yourself in an emerald green chamber. To your left is a red portal; ahead of you one of deep, rich indigo; and between the two one of dark turquoise.
On this occasion, you choose the indigo tunnel. As you walk through the tunnel, the indigo light turns into the haze of a hot summer's day. There is noise and bustle all around you; you are in a fairground. There are stalls and booths on every side, inviting you to buy this or that, or try your skill, or see the latest curiosities of the age. But the thing that attracts you is a Wheel of Fortune.
There are many people clustered around the showman with his great wheel. The game is simple: you choose a number on the wheel, hand over your money, and the wheel is spun. If your number comes up, you win. If it doesn't, well, better luck next time. And there always seems to be a next time, for those engrossed in the game.
You watch for a while and you realise that the prizes are not just being given out at random; each and every player goes away with exactly what he wants, or at least with exactly what he thinks he wants. The Wheel is not simply a tool of the showman's trade, making a fortune only for the showman; it is a source of infinite wealth and material benefit for all.
But the illusion here is that material prosperity can, in and of itself, assist your spiritual growth. Yes, it is usually more easy to fulfil the needs of the spirit when the needs of the body have been attended to, but such things can be a distraction too. You move away, without, on this occasion at least, playing the Wheel for yourself.
You find yourself in another part of the fairground where the light is a clear, golden yellow. While a crowd looks on, a strong man wrestles with a lion. He succeeds in subduing it, the crowd applauds enthusiastically, then disperses, satisfied with what they have seen. Yet this too is an illusion; as you continue to watch, the rest of the onlookers now gone away, the lion gets up and gently nuzzles the strong man, who strokes it caringly. Yes, there is an illusion here, but it is not what you think, for this rapport between intelligent beast and man requires just as much strength, although of a different kind, as the relationship of wrestler to wild animal.
You find yourself beside a deep, blue pool. You see your reflection, but it looks odd: by some trick of the light you seem to see yourself suspended, upside down, over the pool. All your possessions are falling away from you, into the pool; but this, too, is an illusion. Nothing is ours forever; things of the Earth are only given into our custody for a time, while we are in incarnation. You must let go of these things; but you must let go of them willingly, or else your desire for them will drag you into the pool after them. But here too is another illusion; you cannot give up all material things, the very survival of your body whilst you are on this Earth depends upon certain material criteria. You feel yourself drawn into the water; it covers you, but you are not afraid; you give yourself up to the current and are carried away, drifting and floating...
And very soon, you find yourself on dry land again, in a great cave; a few bright amber flames are scattered about, scarcely dispelling the deep indigo shadows all around. Here is everything you will ever need; food, drink, fine clothes and jewellery, treasures of all description; and yet you cannot reach them, for you are chained to a rock.
Illusion is at work again; for you can quite easily lift the chains off yourself, you really are free. And yet as you do so, you realise that the gold and jewels, the sumptuous food and drink, are no longer so desirable. They are still worthy and useful things, which are yours to do with as you need or wish, but they no longer hold for you the awful temptation of the unattainable, and they therefore no longer have any hold over you.
You let them go; but in letting go of all physical things, you must let go too of your body, and your spirit is now a free entity, soaring like an eagle high in a deep turquoise sky. And this, too, is an illusion, for having shed your physical nature you cannot enter the body of any creature, unless you take on physical nature anew.
You drift alone again, amongst the stars and planets in a deep violet sky, then find yourself returned to your corporeal state, back in the amethyst cave of Yesod. You pause for a while to renew your energies. This time, you emerge from the cave via the bright blue entrance, immediately in front of you, and find yourself at the side of a small lake.
Here a beautiful woman stands, one foot in water, the other on land. She is carefully pouring water from one vessel to another; an act of balance.
But here is the final illusion; for if she ever achieves exact balance, equal amounts of water in both vessels, then her task is over and she can do no more. The Universe reaches stasis and therefore every created thing in it will come to an end. To perpetuate life, to perpetuate the Universe as we know it, to enable the ongoing unfoldment of God's plan for us, she must continually pour the waters of dynamic energy flow from one vessel to the other then back again. The energies must flow from the masculine to the feminine and then return, from the feminine back to the masculine.
Having discerned this, you can leave her to her ongoing task of love and patience and move on. Ahead of you is a rainbow: an archer shoots a golden arrow clear above it, as you watch, the rainbow comes down to you, and you are bathed in rainbow light.
And now, you are in a beautiful rose garden, suffused in shimmering pink and golden light and all the colours of the rainbow.
Rest here for a while, taking in the energies that will renew and invigorate you. But remember that these energies are not for you alone; you may take your fill of them, but then it is your task to return to the mundane world and shed out the energies anew for the benefit of other people.
Enjoy the energies for a little while longer; then, return to objective reality, in the place and the time where you started your meditation. Put your consciousness in the centre of your head, just behind your eyes; and when you are ready, open your eyes.
Take a few hours, or a few days, to absorb the significance of this meditation. Then proceed with Tifaret.