The Kabbalah Unveiled · 1 of 16 · tr. S.L. MacGregor Mathers
Introduction, Section 1a
p.
43 SPRA DTzNIOVThA (SIPHRA DTZENIOUTHA); OR, THE BOOK OF CONCEALED MYSTERY.
CHAPTER I.
1.
Tradition .--"The Book of Concealed Mystery" is the book of the equilibrium of balance.
[The word "Dtzenioutha" is difficult to translate, but I think its meaning is best expressed by the words "Concealed Mystery." I have explained in the Introduction the qabalistical meaning of the words "equilibrium" and "balance," § 29.] 2.
Tradition .--For before there was equilibrium, countenance beheld not countenance.
[By the two countenances are mean, Macroprosopus and Microprosopus.
See Introduction, §§ 42, 47, 64, 65, 67.
73, and 77.] 3.
And the kings of ancient time were dead, and their crowns were found no more; and the earth was desolate.
[The "kings of ancient time" mean the same thing as the "Edomite Kings;" that is, they symbolize worlds of "unbalanced force," which, according to the Zohar.
preceded the formation of this universe.
I have explained this also in the Introduction, §§ 41 and 56.
This and the immediately following sections are supposed to trace the gradual development of the Deity from negative into positive existence; the text is here describing the time when the Deity was just commencing His manifestation from His primal negative form.
Therefore, according p.
44 to the qabalistical ideas, the universe is the garment as it were of the Deity; He not only contains all, but is Himself all.
and exists in all.] 4.
Until that head (which is incomprehensible) desired by all desires (proceeding from AIN SVP, Ain Soph , the infinite and limitless one), appeared and communicated the vestments of honour.
[This Head, which is here described as proceeding from the infinite and limitless One, the Ain Soph , is the first Sephira, the Crown Kether , otherwise called Arikh Anpin , or Macroprosopus, the Vast Countenance.
From this first Sephira the other nine emanations are produced.
I have explained all this in the Introduction, §§ 38-57, in treating of the Sephiroth.] 5.
This equilibrium hangeth in that region which is negatively existent in the Ancient One.
[By the expression "This equilibrium hangeth in that region which is negatively existent in the Ancient One," is meant that the other nine Sephiroth (which are equilibrated by their formation in trinities) are as yet not developed in the first Sephira.
but exist within it as the tree exists in the seed from which it springs.
By "the Ancient One", is intended the first Sephira, the Crown Kether, one of whose appellations is Autheqa , the Ancient One.
From this Sephira, as I have before remarked.
the idea of negative existence depends back towards the AIN.] 6.
Thus were those powers equiponderated which were not yet in perceptible existence.
[These powers are the other nine Sephiroth, which are, as it were powers of the first Sephira; as soon as they are equated they become positively existent through correlation of force.
The next two sections explain the manner of their equilibration while yet negative entities, or rather ideas ] 7.
In His form (in the form of the Ancient One) existeth the equilibrium: it is incomprehensible, it is unseen.
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
[auto] The text explicitly uses human imagery to describe the divine, referencing 'countenance,' 'Macroprosopus' (Great Face), and 'Microprosopus' (Small Face).
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.
The universe is described as the 'garment' of the Deity, suggesting a reflection of the divine in creation.
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
[auto] The text is titled 'Book of Concealed Mystery' and explicitly translates the key term Dtzenioutha as 'Concealed Mystery,' making divine concealment the central theme.
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 passage describes the 'gradual development of the Deity from negative into positive existence,' outlining a process of unfolding or emanation.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
[auto] The passage presents itself as 'Tradition' regarding a 'Concealed Mystery,' indicating esoteric teachings reserved for those who can understand the qabalistical meaning.
The void or emptiness outside the pleroma; the realm of matter, ignorance, and deficiency.
The description of the state before equilibrium where 'the earth was desolate' and worlds of 'unbalanced force' existed aligns with the concept of a void or deficient realm.
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.
The text defines Macroprosopus and Microprosopus, which are the Kabbalistic terms for the divine macrocosm and microcosm.
The ten attributes or emanations through which the Ein Sof (Infinite) reveals itself and creates the universe in Kabbalistic theology.
The mention of Macroprosopus and Microprosopus refers to specific Kabbalistic configurations of divine attributes or emanations associated with the Sephirot.