The approach to Tifaret relies even more heavily than most of the meditations on proper preparation. You may wish to repeat the meditation on Paroketh several times to familiarize yourself with the route. Those who are aware of the attributions of the Major Arcana of the Tarot to the paths on the Tree of Life will have no difficulty with most of the symbolism; others may need to contemplate the imagery for a period of time.
However, there is a symbol that may be new to you, and that is the archer who fires his golden arrow over the rainbow. The archer is, of course, Sagittarius, the Zodiac sign associated with the Temperance card of the Tarot pack and the path of samekh on the Tree of Life which runs between Yesod and Tifaret. But the archer's bow, and the rainbow in the sky, both represent Keshet.
The Hebrew word Keshet (קשת) means a bow. The three letters qoph, shin, tav that make it up are also the letters corresponding to the three lowest paths on the Tree of Life, leading up from Malkut1. Qoph and shin together can be seen as a drawn bowstring, with the bow itself residing between Hod and Netzakh, ready to fire the arrow of tav up along the path of samekh to Tifaret and beyond. The arrow represents the soul of the aspiring mystic, given impetus in its journey to the higher realms by the forces of Keshet.
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.
Tifaret: Prepare yourself in the usual way.
Once again, we start our journey in the cavern of Yesod, the 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.
On this occasion, 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 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.
The path that you are on is the path of samekh. Samekh means a prop; and the path of samekh props up the Tree of Life like a pillar, or a backbone. It provides strength and stability. But stability is of no avail unless there is movement and activity of the forces surrounding it; of what use is a building, unless people may move about inside it? Of what use a radio mast, without the flow of electrical energies inside it?
This path is also the path of the archer. Another factor in the equation of this path of balance, is the balance of the archer; he stands nearby, perfectly poised, tension of muscles in exact balance with the pull of the bowstring. But to remain in this state of perfect balance is fruitless; to achieve anything, the arrow must be let fly, the balance must be broken.
And the archer lets go the bow, and the arrow does fly; and you fly with it, faster and faster, higher and higher, up into a clear blue sky, and high over the rainbow that is there. And, as you fly, the light of the rainbow comes up to meet you, and you are bathed in rainbow colours.
And now, you come gently back to the ground and you find yourself in a beautiful rose garden, suffused in shimmering pink and golden light and all the colours of the rainbow.
Enjoy the warm glow and the beauty of the garden around you, as you listen to the following poem.
|
TOGETHER IN TIFERET
by Carolyn Odom Burleson We stand together in Tiferet The heart of the Holy Tree Collecting the rays of each world As the days of creation are coming to be The attributes of the Great Parents above Both manifest in the Son The pillar of fear and the pillar of love Are reconciled by the one Severity - Judgment - Mercy - Compassion Are balanced out on the scale For Tiferet stays in the center and weighs Both the force and the form of the tale We stand together in Tiferet With Hod, Nezakh and Malkut Existing below, just as so above A reflection of eternal truth The subjects all of the kingdom below Must obey the will of the Crown And it is the charge of Tiferet This will unto man to make known Reaching up to the Daat of knowledge it learns The great will of the Giver of Law And to those who obey, it enlightens the way To redeem themselves from the fall Both subject and ruler, both Kingdom and Crown In the heart is the dwelling place Where Tiferet lies; it reveals to our eyes Both the upper and lower face On the Middle Pillar we unite Above the foundation of earth Where the guardian stands with dual sword in hand Where must be proven our worth We stand together in Tiferet The Holy Shekinah of Love The synthesizer of all four worlds - It rules the below, and obeys the above We pray together in Tiferet - In our hearts where GOD manifests Where the Holy Spirit of Grace reaches down To deliver us back to our nest |
Rest here in Tifaret 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 Gevurah.
Please note that the spellings for the names of the sefiroth used in the poem are taken from the original, and may differ from those used elsewhere in these pages. Either form of spelling is correct.