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The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha) · 1 of 9 · tr. S.L. MacGregor Mathers

1a

CHAPTER V. 1. (It is written) Isa. i. 4: "Woe unto the sinful nation, unto the people heavy with iniquity, unto the seed of evildoers, &c." (Here the author of the "Siphra Dtzenioutha" reasoneth concerning the small word HVI, "woe," which also is a form of the name. And this word is alone separated from the following portions of the sentence.) 2. Seven are the paths (if the Tetragrammaton, be written in this way partially complete), IVD, HH, V, H, (where the father and mother are written in full, Microprosopus and his bride are written uncovered. If here the last and first letters be combined, and the penultimate and second, and therefore the paths at either extremity, so that they may form the letters) HI and VV (mother and son), then are produced (the three middle letters) HH, D (which are the symbols of the queen, heavy with judgments. But if mother and daughter be combined) HVI and HH, (then) is produced forth VV (or Microprosopus)as well as DV (or the androgyn, who also is a condition of judgments), for occultly Adam is denoted, or the male and female, who are that DV concerning whom it is written (in the place cited above) "corrupt children." 3. (When it is said) BRAShITh, BRA, Berashith bera , "In the beginning created," (the supernal paths are under p. 96 stood. For) BRAShITh, Berashith , is the speech (one of the ten rules of Genesis), but BRA, Bera , is the speech halved. (But there are here understood) Father and Son, the hidden and the manifest. (And also) 4 The superior Eden is hidden and concealed. (That is, no mention is made of the crown.) The inferior Eden cometh forth so that it may be transferred (towards the inferiors) and manifested (through the voice of its original, which denoteth wisdom.) ["No mention made of the crown"-- i.e. , Kether, the first Sephira, Macroprosopus.] 5. For the name (Tetragrammaton) IHVH, Yod , He , Vau , He , includeth the name IH, Yah , (which is of the father, and the name) ALHIM, Elohim (which here followeth in the text, and pertaineth unto the mother). 6. ATh, Ath (the fourth word of this text, which in another manner signifieth the name) ADNI, Adonaï , "Lord" (namely, the path of the kingdom; also the name) AHIH, Eheieh (that is, the path of the crown, and this symbolizeth in itself the two extreme paths; here denoteth) the right and the left (that is, benignity and severity), which are united in one (equilibrium). [ Ath , ATh, means "the," "the very substance of." Qabalistically it signifies "the beginning and the end," and is like the term "Alpha and Omega" used in the Apocalypse. For as Alpha and Omega are respectively the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so are Aleph and Tau of the Hebrew. The "two extreme paths" are the crown, Kether, and the kingdom, Malkuth, the first and tenth Sephiroth. the highest and the lowest, Macroprosopus, and the queen.
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Themes
Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

Engages in analytical meditation on the symbolic meaning of scriptural text and letters.

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Aeonscosmology

Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.

[auto] Divine archetypal beings such as Microprosopus, father, mother, and son are described in syzygies.

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Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

[auto] The divine is described using human familial terms like father, mother, son, daughter, and Microprosopus (Small Face).

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Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

Emphasizes that the Crown is hidden and no mention is made of it in the inferior realm.

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

Links the Superior Eden (hidden) with the Inferior Eden (manifested) through voice and wisdom.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

Describes the Right and Left paths as benignity and severity which are united in equilibrium.

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Cosmic Sympathycosmology

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

Suggests hidden affinities between letters and divine states that resonate through the cosmos.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] The title 'Concealed Mystery' and the phrase 'occultly Adam is denoted' emphasize divine concealment.

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Divine Marriagesoteriology

The reunification of complementary divine principles (male-female, spirit-matter) as a symbol of wholeness and salvation.

[auto] References to 'father and mother', 'Microprosopus and his bride', and the union of male and female principles.

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Ein Softheology

The infinite, unknowable aspect of the divine prior to and beyond all emanation; the hidden root from which the Sephirot unfold.

Refers to the hidden root from which the Sephiroth unfold without naming it directly.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

[auto] The text outlines paths and relationships between divine figures like father, mother, and son.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The passage relies on esoteric reasoning about letters to access hidden divine knowledge.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

[auto] The text is titled 'Concealed Mystery' and interprets scripture 'occultly' to reveal inner truth.

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Letter Meditationpraxis

Contemplative practice focused on Hebrew letters as cosmic symbols or gates of divine power.

[auto] The passage describes the contemplative reasoning concerning specific words and letters to reveal occult meaning.

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Letters Of Creationcosmology

The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.

[auto] The passage explicitly details how Hebrew letters (HVI, IVD, HH) form divine names and realities.

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Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

Identifies 'Berashith' as speech or the word through which creation is manifested.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

Denotes Adam as male and female reflecting the divine androgynous condition.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

[auto] The text explicitly states 'Seven are the paths' in relation to the divine name.

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Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

[auto] The text describes the 'androgyn' as a condition where male and female are united.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

Reveals concealed meanings within ordinary words like 'Woe' to teach divine truths.

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Permutation Of Letterspraxis

Combining, transposing, or cycling through letters or names as a meditative or theurgical technique.

[auto] The author describes combining last/first and penultimate/second letters to produce new divine symbols.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

[auto] The text focuses on the Tetragrammaton and other letter combinations as powerful divine names.

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Sefirot Treecosmology

The diagrammatic arrangement of the ten Sephirot as a structured 'Tree of Life' mapping divine and cosmic forces.

Implies the structured arrangement of divine attributes from Crown to Kingdom with Right and Left paths.

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Sephirotcosmology

The ten attributes or emanations through which the Ein Sof (Infinite) reveals itself and creates the universe in Kabbalistic theology.

[auto] Explicitly names Kether (Crown) and Malkuth (Kingdom) as Sephiroth within the divine structure.

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Theurgypraxis

Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.

Implies that manipulating letters and names engages divine power and conditions of judgment.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

States that the extreme paths of benignity and severity are united in one equilibrium.

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