The Book of Concealed Mystery (Siphra Dtzenioutha) · 2 of 9 · tr. S.L. MacGregor Mathers
1b
If the reader turn to the introduction, to the Table showing the Sephiroth arranged in three pillars, he will see that Malkuth is, as it were, the antithesis of Kether; and hence it is said that "Malkuth is Kether after another manner." And this recalls the precept of Hermes in the Smaragdine Tablet "That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below."] 7.
HShMIM, Ha-Shamaim , "the heavens" (the fifth word of this text, and) VATh, Vaath, "and the substance p.
97 of" (the sixth word; they are referred unto the paths of beauty and victory) like as it is written, 1 Chron.
xxix.
11: "And the beauty and the victory." These paths are joined together in one.
["The beauty and the victory" are Tiphereth and Netzach, the sixth and seventh Sephiroth.] 8.
HARTz, Haaretz , "the earth" (the seventh word of this beginning denoteth the queen joined together with the glory and the foundation), like as it is written, Ps.
Viii.
2: "How magnificent (this is the path of glory) is Thy name in all the world" (whereby is symbolized the foundation); the earth which is the kingdom.
Also) Isa.
vi.
3: "The whole earth is full of His glory" (where these three paths again concur).
9.
"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters," "to make a distinction between the Holy Place and between the Holy of Holies." (That is, between Microprosopus and Macroprosopus.) 10.
The Most Ancient One is expanded into Microprosopus (or the Crown into the Beauty), and adhereth (unto it, so that it may receive increase.
If) it be not perfectly expanded (so that Microprosopus as it were existeth by himself, but instead is retained in his mother's womb) the mouth speaking great things moveth in that place (that Microprosopus, so that he may be fully born), and he is crowned with the lesser crowns under the five divisions of the waters.
(That is, Microprosopus receiveth the influx of the five benignities, which are called "crowns," because they descend from the crown, or Macroprosopus; but "lesser crowns," because they take their rise from benignity in the Microprosopic Path ; and they are called the five divisions of the waters, because the water belongeth unto the benignity, and in this verse, (Gen.
i.
6, 7, the word MIM, Meim, waters, filleth the fifth place).
p.
98 11.
Like as it is written, Num.
xix.
17: "And shall pour upon him living waters in a vessel." (But the life looketh towards the mother; and it) is (understood to be that path which is called) ALHIM ChIIM , Elohim Chiiim , "the Elohim of life;" and the king of the universe (that is, the understanding.
Whereunto belong also the following sayings:--) Ps.
cxvi.
v.
9: "I will walk before the Lord in the lands of life." Also 1 Sam.
29: "And the soul of my Lord shall be bound in the quiver of life." Also Gen.
ii.
9: "And the tree of life in the midst of the garden." (All these, I say, refer unto the understanding, from which the six members receive the influx.
Themes
◇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.
[auto] The text directly quotes the Hermetic axiom 'That which is below is like that which is above'.
All passages →◇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 arrangement of Sephiroth in pillars implies a structured flow from the highest principle (Kether) to the lowest (Malkuth).
All passages →◇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 esoterically to reveal inner truths beyond literal meaning.
All passages →◇Letters Of Creationcosmology
The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.
[auto] Specific Hebrew words are analyzed for their cosmic significance and connection to divine paths, treating language as ontological.
All passages →◇Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
[auto] The passage derives mystical meaning from the specific numerical position of words (fifth, sixth, seventh) within the text.
All passages →◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
[auto] The quote 'That which is below is like that which is above' dissolves the distinction between higher and lower realms.
All passages →◇Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
[auto] Describing Malkuth as both the antithesis and the same as Kether uses contradiction to convey a deeper mystical truth.
All passages →◇Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
[auto] Hebrew words like HShMIM and HARTz are treated as carrying ontological power and representing divine attributes.
All passages →◇Sefirot Treecosmology
The diagrammatic arrangement of the ten Sephirot as a structured 'Tree of Life' mapping divine and cosmic forces.
[auto] The text references the arrangement of the Sephiroth in three pillars, describing the structural mapping of the Tree of Life.
All passages →◇Sephirotcosmology
The ten attributes or emanations through which the Ein Sof (Infinite) reveals itself and creates the universe in Kabbalistic theology.
[auto] The passage explicitly names and discusses multiple Sephiroth including Malkuth, Kether, Tiphereth, and Netzach as central to its cosmology.
All passages →◇Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
[auto] The statement that Malkuth is Kether 'after another manner' suggests an underlying divine unity despite apparent opposition.
All passages →Related passages · 12 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1m
“καὶ τῆς εἰρημένης ἑνώσεως ἴδια καὶ αὖθις τῆς διακρίσεως εἶνάι τινας ἰδικὰς καὶ ἱνώσεις καὶ διακρίσεις.
This, as it stands, must be translated: “They say that certain qualities belong to the said Undifference, and that to Differentiation, o…”
Both passages discuss the concepts of unity and differentiation within a divine context. Pseudo-Dionysius explores the unity and distinctness of the Trinity, while the Kabbalistic text discusses the relationship between different Sephiroth and divine aspects, highlighting both their unity and distinct functions.
◆egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 24 (part 3)
“Separate thou from him, each from each, when thou enterest the Mesqen.
He letteth me sail to the temple of the divine beings who have found their faces(?).
(4) The name of the boat is 'Assembler of Souls'; the name of the oars is 'Making…”
Both passages explore themes of transformation and transcendence in the afterlife, with Passage A focusing on the journey through the underworld and Passage B discussing the mystical union of divine realms. Both texts use symbolic language to describe spiritual ascent and connection with the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 215
“Section 1 1. Some Existents [Absolute Unity and Intellectual-Principle] remain at rest while their Hypostases, or Expressed-Idea, come into being; but, in our view, the Soul generates by its motion, to which is due the sensitive faculty- th…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between higher and lower realms or principles, emphasizing a hierarchical structure and the interconnectedness of all things. Plotinus speaks of the One and its emanations, while the Kabbalistic text discusses the Sephiroth and their relationships, both reflecting a mystical understanding of the universe's structure.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 229
“Section 8 8. But what are we to understand by this Zeus with the garden into which, we are told, Poros or Wealth entered? And what is the garden? We have seen that the Aphrodite of the Myth is the Soul and that Poros, Wealth, is the Reason-…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between higher and lower divine principles, with Passage A describing the Intellectual Principle (Zeus) and the Soul (Aphrodite), and Passage B discussing the Sephiroth and the relationship between Kether and Malkuth, as well as the expansion of the Most Ancient One into Microprosopus (Beauty). Both explore the hierarchical and interconnected nature of divine realities.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 278 (part 1)
“Section 1 1.
"The Intellectual-Principle" [= the Divine Mind]- we read [in the Timaeus]- "looks upon the Ideas indwelling in that Being which is the Essentially Living [= according to Plotinus, the Intellectual Realm], "and then"- the text…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between higher and lower realms of existence, with Passage A focusing on the Sephiroth in Kabbalah and Passage B on the Intellectual-Principle in Neoplatonism. Both explore the idea of a divine realm influencing a lower realm, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 280 (part 1)
“Section 3 3.
(A)...
How, then, does Unity give rise to Multiplicity?
By its omnipresence: there is nowhere where it is not; it occupies, therefore, all that is; at once, it is manifold- or, rather, it is all things.
If it were simply an…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between higher and lower realms of existence, with Passage A focusing on the Sephiroth in Kabbalah and Passage B on the Intellectual-Principle in Neoplatonism. Both describe a process of emanation or reflection where the higher realm is mirrored in the lower, demonstrating a genuine conceptual parallel.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 423 (part 1)
“Section 7 7.
We must be more explicit: The Intellectual-Principle stands as the image of The One, firstly because there is a certain necessity that the first should have its offspring, carrying onward much of its quality, in other words th…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher divine principle and a lower one, emphasizing the idea of emanation and the reflection of the higher in the lower. The Book of Concealed Mystery speaks of Kether and Malkuth, while Plotinus discusses The One and the Intellectual-Principle, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 424
“Section 8 8. This is the explanation of Plato's Triplicity, in the passage where he names as the Primals the Beings gathered about the King of All, and establishes a Secondary containing the Secondaries, and a Third containing the Tertiarie…”
Both passages discuss a hierarchical structure of reality, with Passage A describing Plato's Triplicity and the order of generation from the Good, Intellectual-Principle, and Soul, while Passage B outlines the Sephiroth in Kabbalah and their relationships. Both texts explore the concept of divine emanation and the structure of the divine realm.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 431
“Section 2 2. To resume: there is from the first principle to ultimate an outgoing in which unfailingly each principle retains its own seat while its offshoot takes another rank, a lower, though on the other hand every being is in identity w…”
Both passages discuss a hierarchical structure of reality, with Passage A describing Plato's Triplicity and the order of generation from the Good, Intellectual-Principle, and Soul, while Passage B outlines the Sephiroth in Kabbalah and their relationships. Both texts explore the concept of divine emanation and the structure of the cosmos.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 665
“Section 26 26. Any conscious being, if the good come to him, will know the good and affirm his possession of it. But what if one be deceived? In that case there must be some resemblance to account for the error: the good will be the origina…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher, formless principle and its manifestations or derivatives. Plotinus describes the First as transcending Intellectual-Principle, while the Kabbalistic text discusses the relationship between Kether (the Crown) and Malkuth (the Kingdom), emphasizing the unity and distinction between the higher and lower realms.
2 more
◆western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Tree of the Sephirothd
“(2) Abba , the Great Father , is the term generally applied to Chochmah--Universal Wisdom--the first emanation of Kether, but, according to Ibn Gebirol, Chochmah represents the Son, the Logos or the Word born from the union of Kether and Bi…”
Both passages discuss the Sephirothic Tree and its components within the Kabbalistic tradition, including the concepts of Microprosopus and Macroprosopus, and the arrangement of the Sephiroth. They share a deep conceptual framework and structural understanding of the Kabbalistic tree of life.
◆western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Tree of the Sephirothf
“This is located where the horizontal line connecting Chochmah and Binah crosses the vertical line joining Kether and Tiphereth.
While Daath is not mentioned by the first Qabbalists, it is a highly important element and its addition to the…”
Both passages discuss the structure and symbolism of the Sephirothic Tree in Kabbalah, including the roles of Kether, Microprosopus, and Malchuth, as well as the three pillars and their significance. They share a conceptual framework and structural elements, indicating a genuine parallel.