The Secret Doctrine by H.
P.
Blavatsky -- Vol.
1 [[Vol.
1, Page]] 238 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
STANZA VII.
-- Continued.
(5) T HE SPARK HANGS FROM THE FLAME BY THE FINEST THREAD OF F OHAT.
I T JOURNEYS THROUGH THE S EVEN W ORLDS OF M AYA ( a ).
I T STOPS IN THE FIRST ( Kingdom ), AND IS A METAL AND A STONE; IT PASSES INTO THE SECOND ( Kingdom ), AND BEHOLD -- A PLANT; THE PLANT WHIRLS THROUGH SEVEN FORMS AND BECOMES A SACRED ANIMAL; ( the first shadow of the physical man ) ( b ) .
F ROM THE COMBINED ATTRIBUTES OF THESE, MANU ( man ), THE THINKER, IS FORMED.
W HO FORMS HIM?
T HE SEVEN LIVES; AND THE ONE LIFE ( c ) .
W HO COMPLETES HIM?
T HE FIVEFOLD L HA.
AND WHO PERFECTS THE LAST BODY?
F ISH, SIN, AND SOMA ( the moon ) ( d ) .
( a ) The phrase "through the seven Worlds of Maya" refers here to the seven globes of the planetary chain and the seven rounds, or the 49 stations of active existence that are before the "Spark" or Monad, at the beginning of every "Great Life-Cycle" or Manvantara.
The "thread of Fohat" is the thread of life before referred to.
This relates to the greatest problem of philosophy -- the physical and substantial nature of life, the independent nature of which is denied by modern science because that science is unable to comprehend it.
The reincarnationists and believers in Karma alone dimly perceive that the whole secret of Life is in the unbroken series of its manifestations: whether in, or apart from, the physical body.
Because if -- "Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass, Stains the white radiance of Eternity" -- yet it is itself part and parcel of that Eternity; for life alone can understand life.
What is that "Spark" which "hangs from the flame?" It is J IVA, the MONAD in conjunction with MANAS, or rather its aroma -- that which remains from each personality, when worthy, and hangs from Atma-Buddhi, the Flame, by the thread of life.
In whatever way interpreted, and into whatever number of principles the human being is divided, it may easily be shown that this doctrine is supported by all the ancient [[Vol.
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religions, from the Vedic to the Egyptian, from the Zoroastrian to the Jewish.
In the case of the last-mentioned, the Kabalistic works offer abundant proof of this statement.
The entire system of the Kabalistic numerals is based on the divine septenary hanging from the Triad (thus forming the Decade ) and its permutations 7, 5, 4, and 3, which, finally, all merge into the ONE itself: an endless and boundless Circle.
"The Deity (the ever Invisible Presence)," says the Zohar, "manifests itself through the ten Sephiroth which are its radiating witnesses.
The Deity is like the Sea from which outflows a stream called WISDOM, the waters of which fall into a lake named Intelligence.
From the basin, like seven channels, issue the Seven Sephiroth.
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For ten equal seven: the Decade contains four Unities and three Binaries." The ten Sephiroth correspond to the limbs of MAN.
"When I framed Adam Kadmon," the Elohim are made to say, "the Spirit of the Eternal shot out of his Body like a sheet of lightning that radiated at once on the billows of the Seven millions of skies, and my ten splendours were his limbs." But neither the Head nor the shoulders of Adam-Kadmon can be seen; therefore we read in the Sephra Dzenioutha (the "Book of the Concealed Mystery"): -- "In the beginning of Time, after the Elohim (the "Sons of Light and Life," or the "Builders") had shaped out of the eternal Essence the Heavens and the Earth, they formed the worlds six by six, the seventh being Malkuth , which is our Earth (see Mantuan Codex ) on its plane, and the lowest on all the other planes of conscious existence.
The Chaldean Book of Numbers contains a detailed explanation of all this.
"The first triad of the body of Adam Kadmon (the three upper planes of the seven*) cannot be seen before the soul stands in the presence of the Ancient of Days." The Sephiroth of this upper triad are: -- "1, Kether (the Crown) represented by the brow of Macroprosopos; 2, Chochmah (Wisdom, a male Principle) by his right shoulder; and 3, Binah (Intelligence, a female Principle) by the left shoulder." Then come the seven limbs (or Sephiroth) on the planes of manifestation, the totality of these four planes being represented by Microprosopus (the [[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * The formation of the "living Soul" or man, would render the idea more clearly.
"A Living Soul" is a synonym of man in the Bible.
These are our seven "Principles." [[Vol.
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lesser Face) or Tetragrammaton, the "four-lettered" Mystery.
"The seven manifested and the three concealed limbs are the Body of the Deity." Thus our Earth, Malkuth , is both the Seventh and the Fourth world, the former when counting from the first globe above, the latter if reckoned by the planes.
It is generated by the sixth globe or Sephiroth called Yezod , "foundation," or as said in the Book of Numbers "by Yezod, He (Adam Kadmon) fecundates the primitive Heva" (Eve or our Earth).
Rendered in mystic language this is the explanation why Malkuth, called "the inferior Mother," Matrona, Queen, and the Kingdom of the Foundation, is shown as the Bride of Tetragrammaton or Microprosopus (the 2nd Logos) the Heavenly Man.
When free from all impurity she will become united with the Spiritual Logos , i.e.
, in the 7th Race of the 7th Round -- after the regeneration, on the day of " S ABBATH." For the " seventh day" has again an occult significance undreamt of by our theologians.
"When Matronitha, the Mother, is separated and brought face to face with the King, in the excellence of the Sabbath, all things become one body," says verse 746, in chapter xxii.
The doctrine of the periodic restoration or recurrence of all things to their original state after vast cycles.
The cyclical structure of 'Great Life-Cycle' or Manvantara and the eventual 'regeneration' on the day of Sabbath imply periodic restoration of all things to their original state.
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 passage establishes multiple correspondences: the ten Sephiroth correspond to the limbs of MAN, the seven globes to the seven rounds, the kingdoms of nature to the planes of the planetary chain.
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The passage narrates the formation of man from the combined attributes of the kingdoms and the shaping of Heavens and Earth from the eternal Essence by the Elohim, constituting a doctrine of cosmic origin.
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
The Deity 'manifests itself through the ten Sephiroth which are its radiating witnesses' and the Flame from which the Spark hangs suggests the divine pervading all levels of creation rather than remaining solely transcendent.
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The 'Flame' (Atma-Buddhi) from which the Spark hangs, and the 'Sons of Light and Life' (Elohim), invoke the luminous quality of the divine as a source of emanation.
The reunification of complementary divine principles (male-female, spirit-matter) as a symbol of wholeness and salvation.
The union of Matronitha (the inferior Mother, Malkuth) with Tetragrammaton/Microprosopus (the 2nd Logos, the Heavenly Man) is explicitly described as a sacred marriage bringing all things into one body.
Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.
The 'Spark' (Jiva/Monad) hanging from the Flame (Atma-Buddhi) by the thread of Fohat is a fragment of divine life journeying through matter, awaiting its completion and return.
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.
The passage explicitly describes the divine septenary hanging from the Triad forming the Decade, the Spark hanging from the Flame by the thread of Fohat, and the full cascade from the One Life through seven worlds down to material manifestation.
A historical or mythical chain of transmission for secret wisdom from master to disciple across time and cultures — the credential of the teaching, not merely its content. Distinct from oral_tradition (the spoken-not-written modality of transmission, which a lineage may or may not use) and hidden_sayings (the concealment-for-readiness of a teaching's meaning, independent of who transmitted it or in what unbroken chain).
The passage claims the doctrine is 'supported by all the ancient religions, from the Vedic to the Egyptian, from the Zoroastrian to the Jewish,' implying a trans-cultural chain of transmission for the same secret wisdom.
The Hermetic doctrine that a masculine-feminine generative principle operates on every plane of being, not only the biological — present at all times as a structural feature of creation itself. Distinct from divine_marriage (a specific reunification event or symbol) and aeons (paired divine beings arranged in syzygies, not a universal structural claim).
The masculine-feminine generative principle is explicitly stated at the divine level: Chochmah as male and Binah as female, with the union of Matronitha (Mother) and the King (Tetragrammaton) completing the cycle.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The text is titled 'The Secret Doctrine,' references 'the Book of the Concealed Mystery' (Sephra Dzenioutha), and the entire passage operates as esoteric teaching with outer Kabbalistic meaning concealing inner cosmological truth.
The doctrine that the divine or a spiritual principle takes on a specific, bounded material or bodily form — descending from an unconditioned state into individual, corporeal existence — as a discrete act rather than a diffuse pervading presence. The Christian Word made flesh, the Hindu avatara, the Egyptian pharaoh as living Horus, the Vajrayana tulku. Distinct from divine_immanence (the general claim that the divine pervades all of creation diffusely, not a specific embodiment-event) and separation_from_source (the felt exile FROM origin, the opposite motion) in describing a specific, individuated descent INTO a particular body or form.
The Spark's descent into successive material forms (metal, stone, plant, animal, man) describes a spiritual principle taking on bounded material form as a discrete staged act.
The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.
The description of the One as 'an endless and boundless Circle' and the reference to 'seven millions of skies' suggest an ontologically infinite cosmos.
A non-physical dimension of reality, interpenetrating the physical world, populated by forces, beings, and forms ordinarily imperceptible to physical senses and instruments, that can affect embodied life without being seen — Dion Fortune's 'mind-side of nature,' the astral plane of Western esotericism broadly construed. Distinct from astral_light (a specific transmitting medium or fluid operating within this realm, not the realm itself), pleroma (the divine fullness at the summit of a cosmic hierarchy, not a parallel plane coextensive with ordinary life), and animism (particular indwelling spirits bound to specific natural objects, not the general unseen dimension itself).
The 'seven worlds of Maya' and 'planes of conscious existence' describe non-physical dimensions interpenetrating the physical, with the upper triad being invisible until the soul stands before the Ancient of Days.
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
The Spark's staged descent through seven worlds—metal/stone, plant, sacred animal, then Manu (man)—is a textbook description of spirit unfolding into matter through successive planes, the core of the involution doctrine.
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
The passage explicitly names 'the 2nd Logos' (Microprosopus/Tetragrammaton) as the Heavenly Man and 'the Spiritual Logos' as the ultimate unifier, positioning the Logos as a mediating principle between the supreme source and matter.
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 ten Sephiroth correspond to the limbs of MAN' and 'my ten splendours were his limbs' explicitly make the human being a small-scale image of the entire cosmic structure.
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The 'Spark' is explicitly identified as 'JIVA, the MONAD in conjunction with MANAS' hanging from Atma-Buddhi, making the monad the central subject of the entire Stanza.
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
'When Matronitha, the Mother, is separated and brought face to face with the King... all things become one body' describes the merging of individual and divine into undifferentiated unity.
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The entire passage is structured around sacred numbers: the septenary, the Triad, the Decade, the 49 stations, the permutations 7-5-4-3 merging into the ONE, and the explicit equation 'ten equal seven: the Decade contains four Unities and three Binaries.'
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The final union of Matronitha with the King on the day of Sabbath, 'when all things become one body,' implies the soul's ultimate return to its divine origin.
The diagrammatic arrangement of the ten Sephirot as a structured 'Tree of Life' mapping divine and cosmic forces.
The passage maps the ten Sephiroth onto the body of Adam Kadmon (three upper planes as head/shoulders, seven lower as limbs), creating a structured diagram of divine and cosmic forces.
The ten attributes or emanations through which the Ein Sof (Infinite) reveals itself and creates the universe in Kabbalistic theology.
The ten Sephiroth are the structural backbone of the commentary, with Kether, Chochmah, Binah, Yezod, and Malkuth all named and their relationships to Adam Kadmon's body and the planes of existence detailed.
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The implied return journey from Malkuth (the lowest plane) back up through the Sephiroth to the Triad and the One constitutes a staged ascent through heavenly realms toward the divine source.
The doctrine that the one Godhead or first principle subsists as three co-equal aspects or persons rather than a bare unity — the Christian Father/Son/Holy Ghost invoked in the recurring liturgical formula 'In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' but structurally the same pattern as the Egyptian Amen/Ptah/Osiris, the Hindu Brahma/Vishnu/Siva, and the Kabbalistic Chochmah/Binah/Kether triads that esoteric writers explicitly map onto it as instances of one universal law. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about internal plurality) and divine_simplicity (God as having no parts or divisions at all) in asserting a definite three-aspected differentiation within a single divine essence.
The 'divine septenary hanging from the Triad' with Kether, Chochmah, and Binah as the three upper planes explicitly maps a three-aspected divine structure, which esoteric writers identify as the universal triad pattern.
Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).
The human being is divided into multiple principles (the Seven Lives, the Fivefold Lha, the Monad/Manas/Atma-Buddhi triad), with a clear spirit-soul-body structure implied by the hierarchy of principles.
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The passage states that all numbers 'finally, all merge into the ONE itself: an endless and boundless Circle' and that 'all things become one body' in the final union, asserting ultimate oneness of all existence.