The Middle Pillar

by Israel Regardie

  It is obvious that disorders in the proper function of the higher or interior psychic principles will have their corresponding effect on the body, which, as the tenth Sephirah, is but the synthesis of the preceding nine. Any conflict between parts of the psychic make-up will accordingly present a physical disturbance corresponding in position and intensity to the exact nature of the lesion. By purely empirical methods the ancients developed a vast series of correspondences between the various parts of man’s body and his psychic constituents. It is this tradition which forms in reality the fundamental basis of what is true and valid in such arts as character-reading, palmistry, phrenology,18 and the such. For as within, so without. And what is present within the mind is bound in some way to react upon the obverse of the psycho-physical medallion.

  There is another method of classifying the components of the psyche by means of a rather different view of the Tree of Life. The method just completed considered each separate sphere. But at the same time we may look at the Tree from the point of view of its levels or layers. In this event, taking the first Sephirah alone, we have what technically is known as the archetypal world. It is that underlying essence of the unconscious which is the most primordial of all, its functions reaching back into the immeasurable past. It is a stratum whose characteristic is those symbols and archetypes which were first assimilated to the simple homogeneous structure, if it may be called, of the evolving consciousness. The Hindu system calls this condition or state Turya19 or ecstasy, absolute consciousness, and its experience in consciousness is of that rapturous type which the mystics of all ages have testified to as union with God. In this divine world, we contact those subtle images which the ancients called the gods. Or rather the ordinary every-day sphere of consciousness becomes invaded by a volitional up-welling of these archaic images and archetypes the first set of psychic forms, subtle, intangible, and dynamic, through which the libido flows on its outward journey from the it.

  The 2nd and 3rd Sephiroth constitute what is called the creative world, the state of Sushupti.20 It is that stratum of the primordial psychic sphere in which function the principles of the anima and animus, wisdom and understanding. Therefore its reaction upon the ego would be through a stimulation of the creative faculties, and an enhancement of its entire horizon and field of awareness. As the second state of consciousness, it has a correspondence with dreamless sleep. Yet even this description is inadequate, for dreamless though its characteristic may be, it is too vital to be defined in so passive a way. In certain philosophic literatures, it is held that Sushupti is a state in which even criminals commune with the higher nature, and enter into the spiritual plane. It is said to be the great spiritual reservoir by means of which the tremendous momentum towards evil living is checked. Though involuntary with such people, it is constantly salutary in effect.

  The next level to be considered is comprised of the 4th to the 9th Sephiroth inclusive; it is called the formative world or Swapna. This is the world of dreams; it is the level of the instinctual drives and the dynamic urge to expression. Its images, the pageantry of dreams and the fantastic adventure of the night, are those supplied by the experience of the day although the dramatization of the actual dream is the exclusive content and prerogative of this plane.

  Where there is an effort on the part of the higher genius or it to transmit noble impulses or inspiration from its own divine realm, the state of Swapna has to be passed through. This passage colors the tenor of the impulse, imparting to what may originally have been pure thought and transcendentalism an emotional tone or feeling which is expressed in terms of symbolism. Thus whatever ideas are impacted upon our consciousness from higher spheres are tinted with the dream symbolism of the formative world. A wide knowledge of the nature and significance of symbols, and an acquaintance with the operation of Swapna is necessary if the original message and its meaning are to be divined. Here we have, also, the emotional mechanism providing the drive and impulse to physical action, the endocrine glands. For the physical positions of the more important glands correspond to important centers21 and dynamisms of this particular level of the psychic structure.

  The 10th Sephirah corresponds to the active world, Jagrata,22 the top layer of consciousness, the ego, that surface consciousness which attends primarily to the business of every day life. It is an evolution emergent from the dark secret levels of the unconscious and, paradox that it is, has usurped the function and rule of the source from which it has sprung. On these four different levels of consciousness, which the Qabalists have called the four worlds, the several principles of man have their operation and unceasing activity.

  It is precisely with these different phases of man’s psychic nature that the technique of magic deals. Here is the motive of a former suggestion that analysis should be so co-ordinated with magic as to comprise the first stage of development. For in climbing the Tree which is the formal expression to denote the realization of the Sephiroth from the bottom upwards, the first approached is the 9th, that principle of man which is called the Nephesh. That is to say, the next level of consciousness beneath the ordinary waking state of the active world, is the level of dreams and lurid image and picture. It is the most superficial layer of the unconscious—using this term as the composite of the formative, creative, and archetypal levels of the Tree of Life. The formative world is that of the warring instincts and unconscious conflicts, the realm of the predatory lusts and passions. It is with this particular level that the analyst must deal in the majority of his patients in order to resolve those conflicts that have their existence in that plane. If there be conflict and incessant warfare here, how can the flow of spiritual energy descend from the higher Sephiroth, or, depending upon one’s point of view, ascend from the deeper levels of consciousness? If the direct result of an unresolved conflict is to tie a knot as it were in the psyche, naturally there is no free passage for the libido, which is thus thwarted and frustrated. How can access be obtained to the more primitive, diviner parts of the psyche, those archaic levels of the unconscious whose nature is entirely spiritual, where function those principles which aspire to the super-human shining heights, if the channel be dammed and the way barred by conflict? If the message or revelations from these lofty heights are changed in nature and perverted by the presence within the mind of a powerful and ugly complex, how can there be real magical and spiritual development?

  Since analytical psychology confines itself, by its own definition, to an examination and a clarification of the two upper and most superficial levels of consciousness, this process must be considered the preliminary aspect of magical routine.23 Where analysis preaches the gospel of re-education in the attitude towards life, and when we find psychological patients producing magical designs or mandalas of the type that Jung reproduces in The Secret of the Golden Flower, here we have an encroachment upon or a usurpation of the realm and function of magic, and a transcending of the limitations of the ordinary analytical technique.

  Just as the technique of analysis must comprise the first stage of development, so to my mind the second stage is occupied by various elementary techniques of magic. I say elementary advisedly, for it is only those elementary techniques which the average westerner may ever feel inclined to take upon himself, being debarred from more intense application to the magical art by such limitations, among other things, as time, the necessity for a business and domestic life, etc. The more advanced magical routines24 are for the exceptional person, and comprise the training of the human psyche to complete spiritual mastery. Splendid vision though this is, an ideal goal for the few, it is nevertheless outside the capacity of most of us who are obliged to live the ordinary life of the twentieth century man or woman.

  The preliminary techniques we may consider under several headings, viz:1. The Qabalistic Cross.

  2. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

  3. The formulation of the Middle Pillar and the Tree of Life in the Sphere of Sensation.25

  4. The me
thods of Circumambulation,26 and the Vibratory Formula of the Middle Pillar.

  5. Ceremonial Magic.

  For the moment, I shall content myself with presenting a bird’s-eye view of each so that a picture of the entire scheme may be envisaged. The first method describes a formulation upon the body of a geometrical figure the effect of which is designed to call into operation the deepest levels of the unconscious. If I say at the outset that every technique of magic is intended in different ways to open the conscious ego’s field of vision to the deeper, more spiritual aspects of the divine nature, there can be no possibility of misunderstanding. The procedure of the Qabalistic Cross is through the cultivation of a species of, what is called in psychology, the fantasy, of encouraging the imagination to build images through which the power of the it may flow unimpeded.27

  Though the most elementary, it is in reality one of the most important phases of magical work. Indispensable to the beginner, it is of just as much value to the more advanced student. It is an axiom of magic that it is the divine will alone which is capable of conferring illumination and enlightenment, and so acting that every action of the ego has its correct place in the scheme of things. Thus it is that the Qabalistic Cross is the ideal means of placing the ego under the direct surveillance of the Yechidah, the divine will in every human being. It is an excellent method for rendering the consciousness porous and susceptible to the dictates of the more responsible and humanitarian levels of the unconscious.

  The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, described as the second method, is the sequel to the former exercise. It is a technique designed to eliminate from the psychic sphere those interior elements which are undesirable. By an effort of the imagination, the student visualizes those qualities or conflicts or psychic lesions which are not required. By means of vibrating certain sonorous sounds called anciently divine names, whilst tracing certain lineal figures both in the air and within his imagination, he is enabled to project them from him. With the projection outwards, and assisted by the increased flow of libido, they may be disintegrated by him. Other forces, archetypes of the deeper levels, are formulated and invoked to assist in so difficult a task. The entire ritual, properly performed, is one calculated to lead the student slowly but gradually towards the heights envisaged by the system.

  The most important routine method of spiritual development in the entire magical system is, in my estimation, the third exercise in my classification. If the student remembers the Tree of Life he will see that the Middle Pillar is a series of five spheres arranged in a single upright column. The exercise proceeds by the visualization of these Sephiroth as circles or spheres of light in various significant parts of the physical body. More accurately, they are to be realized as centers already existent in the aura, which is for this purpose defined as an egg-shape of subtle electric matter, a magnetic field which surrounds and interpenetrates the material body of man. The object of this visualization is to awaken these Sephiroth in balanced activity as a means of providing the higher genius, as the it may be named, with a psychic mechanism by which it may freely function within consciousness at the intent of the ego.

  It will be recalled, as stated as an axiom, that certain of the psychological principles of man have their correspondence with various organs and limbs and parts of the physical body. The exercise called the Middle Pillar is a demonstration of this axiom, giving the attributions of these principles as a practical experiment to be attempted. The visualization of the Sephiroth and the measured vibration of divine names arouse the centers of this aura, or Sphere of Sensation, from their former latent condition. The effect is gradually to bring into operation the dormant and hitherto unsuspected parts of the psyche. The results of this practice evince, for one thing, an unparalleled increase of vitality and power. This induces and is succeeded by a calmer judgment, less perturbable by the affairs of the external life, though the capacity for dealing with it remains unimpaired. It produces a solution to spiritual perplexity, bringing to an end the curse of indecisiveness, assisting the mind to a more responsive and open attitude to the dictates or intuitions of the higher self.

  At first, only the Middle Pillar receives attention. But as practice renders the student expert, even dexterous in manipulating his visualizations, he will find it worth while to lengthen the duration of the practice, increasing the field of his attention. Balance and equilibrium brought within achievement by the formulation of the centers of the Middle Pillar, then the Sephiroth of the two side Pillars of Mercy and Severity are added to the picture.28 Progress is bound to be slow and gradual here, but given patience and perseverance a new sphere of power and spiritual perception will unfold itself.

  As a means of giving poise to neurotic patients, and of assisting the task of analysis, the practice of the Middle Pillar may be recommended to psychologists. For by these means the conscious mind is rendered calm and still, the desirable condition to permit the ascent of the archetypes and inspiration of other levels of consciousness. During the period of attention to the Middle Pillar, dreams far more readily cross the threshold of consciousness, and as time proceeds, they seem very definitely to pertain to less superficial aspects of the psyche, to the regions which normally are very difficult to contact—the creative and archetypal worlds of the animus, the almost exclusive concern in the past of poets, mystics, and magicians.

  The fourth routine exercise, the Vibratory Formula, is fundamentally an extension of the Middle Pillar visualization. Its technique proceeds in a way similar to the earlier exercise. But here we confront a rationale of a different order. The theory here is that by awakening a power or level of consciousness within man’s own sphere it is possible to contact the corresponding force in the external world or a similar level of perception and experience in the collective unconscious. Its intent is not only the development of the individual by rendering him conscious of his other principles, but to transform him into a willing vehicle and instrument of the universal mind, of that great and uniform substratum common to the whole of mankind. It is within the power of man, by these methods, to associate himself with the almost omnipotent vitality and spiritual value of those divine powers which as an aggregate comprise the universe. It is the first step towards what is colloquially termed adeptship,29 that path by which man is translated into a voluntary co-worker with nature in the task of evolution.

  The final exercise is magic proper—the art of ceremonial magic. By now it should be abundantly clear that not all magic is ceremonial ; that not necessarily does it proceed by way of ceremony or ritual. Nor does it always require the usual paraphernalia of robe, candle, incense, and lodge-room. There is much in magic which is not too dissimilar with the methods of meditation. That is to say, it follows an interior route, and is a means of dealing with the psyche by way of the actual psychological instruments of psyche without reference to any external object, symbol, or piece of equipment. It is the technique of an equilibriated introversion.

  Just as the exercises described above comprise the second stage of magic as analysis is the first, so ceremonial magic as a distinct method is the third. I will iterate that charlatans and misguided enthusiasts have done only too much to confirm general opinion in the belief that magic is sheer quackery, but the earnest student who has applied faithfully these fundamental principles, will, by his enriched nature, bear testimony to its value, both therapeutic and spiritual.

  Ceremonial magic has been misunderstood by overzealous beginners principally because there has been no general understanding of the principles here laid down as rudiments of the work. Except in the rare cases of those born with a definite flair, it is quite impossible to succeed in ceremonial magic until a great deal of development has been obtained. And by development, I imply the awakening or formulation within of the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. Development implies the arousing of the dormant power of the psyche. Above all else it means the ascent into consciousness of the light and love and wisdom of the higher genius, the Yechidah. Unt
il that light shines above and through the student, and the magical power is operative within, ceremony must remain what it is for most people: a thing of habit and custom—a set of observances perfunctorily to be performed, celebrations in which there is no trace of virtue, of value, of power.

  The divine power once awakened, and the light of the higher self pouring through the mind, then ceremony appears in an entirely different guise. It becomes a magical engine for the harnessing and directing of the power and consciousness of the psyche. Ceremony may be realized now as a means of mobilizing the hitherto unknown factors in man’s constitution, and employing them for various ends, which depend entirely on man himself and the extent of his knowledge and spiritual development. Here is no place to utter portentous warnings about the use and abuse of magical powers and spiritual knowledge. Within the psyche itself is a sentinel which never sleeps.

  It is a guardian of the moral law whose punishment is so dire and devastating that there is no appeal save by expiation of crime. From the dicta and judgments of this inner self there is no escape, except through the admission and the acceptance of the abuse, followed by a grim determination for ever to avoid a similar deed.

  Endnotes

  1 The “Soul of the World.”

  2 Once again, Regardie’s description is unnecessarily confusing, and we feel impelled to point out once more that his definition of the Pillars here (the Left Pillar as the side of Mercy and the Right Pillar as the side of Severity) only applies to the Tree of Life as it is reflected onto the human body in magical workings, not as it is seen in diagrams of the Tree. The Left-hand Pillar (Binah, Geburah, and Hod) is known as the Pillar of Severity and the Right-hand Pillar (Chokmah, Chesed, and Netzach) is known as the Pillar of Mercy.