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The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) · 291 of 530

Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogony-d

It was called the First Crown and from it issued the other circles of the Atziluthic World : A 2, A 3, A 4, A 5, A 6, A 7, A 8, A 9, and A 10. In the three lower worlds these circles are intelligences, planers, and elements, but in this first divine world they are called the Rings of the Sacred Names . The first ten great circles (or globes) of light which were manifested out of AIN SOPH and the ten names of God assigned to them by the Qabbalists are as follows: From AIN SOPH came A 1, the First Crown, and the name of the first power of God was Eheieh , which means I Am [ That I Am ]. From A 1 came A 2, the first Wisdom, and the name of the second power of God was Jehovah , which means Essence of Being . From A 2 came A 3, the first Understanding, and the name of the third power of God was Jehovah Elohim , which means God of Gods . From A 3 came A 4, the first Mercy, and the name of the fourth power of God was El , which means God the Creator . From A 4 came A 5, the first Severity, and the name of the fifth power of God was Elohim Gibor , which means God the Potent . From A 5 came A 6, the first Beauty, and the name of the sixth power of God was Eloah Vadaath , which means God the Strong . From A 6 came A 7, the first Victory, and the name of the seventh power of God was Jehovah Tzaboath , which means God of Hosts . From A 7 came A 8, the first Glory, and the name of the eighth power of God was Elohim Tzaboath , which means Lord God of Hosts . From A 8 came A 9, the first Foundation, and the name of the ninth power of God was Shaddai , El Chai , which means Omnipotent . From A 9 came A 10, the first Kingdom, and the name of the tenth power of God was Adonai Melekh , which means God . From A 10 came B 1, the Second Crown, and the World of Briah was established. The ten emanations from A 1 to A 10 inclusive are called the foundations of all creations. The Qabbalists designate them the ten roots of the Tree of Life. They are arranged in the form of a great human figure called Adam Qadmon--the man made from the fire mist (red dirt), the prototypic Universal Man. In the Atziluthic World, the powers of God are most purely manifested. These ten pure and perfect radiations do not descend into the lower worlds and take upon themselves forms, but are reflected upon the substances of the inferior spheres. From the first, or Atziluthic , World they are reflected into the second, or Briatic , World. As the reflection always lacks some of the brilliancy of the original image, so in the Briatic World the ten radiations lose part of their infinite power. A reflection is always like the thing reflected, but smaller and fainter. In the second world, B 1 to B 10, the order of the spheres is the Name as in the Atziluthic World, but the ten circles of light are less brilliant and more tangible, and are here referred to as ten great Spirits--divine creatures who assist in the establishment of order and intelligence in the universe. As already noted, B 1 is born out of A 10 and is included within all the spheres superior to itself.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

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

The text describes divine powers as 'Wisdom,' 'Understanding,' 'Mercy,' and 'Glory' and refers to the Atziluthic World as a 'great human figure called Adam Qadmon.'

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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.

The passage explicitly states that 'In the second world, B 1 to B 10, the order of the spheres is the Name as in the Atziluthic World,' reflecting the higher structure.

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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.

The passage details a descending chain of ten emanations (A1-A10) flowing from AIN SOPH to establish the Briatic World.

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Sacred Namestheology

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

The passage explicitly lists and assigns specific names of God (Eheieh, Jehovah, El, etc.) to each emanation as a core structural element.

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Sefirot Treecosmology

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

The ten emanations are designated as the 'ten roots of the Tree of Life' arranged in a structured form.

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Related passages · 9 parallels
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 419
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Shared concept: Emanation Hierarchy — 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. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 52 (part 8)
"The universe," says every Philosophy and Cosmogony, "hath a Ruler (Rulers collectively) set over it, which is called the W ORD (Logos); the fabricating Spirit is its Queen: which two are the First Power after the O NE." These are the Spiri…”
Shared concept: Sefirot Tree — The diagrammatic arrangement of the ten Sephirot as a structured 'Tree of Life' mapping divine and cosmic forces. (derived)
egyptian|The Egyptian Heaven and Hell|Chapter 6 (part 5)
The Rubric had, in fact, so far back as B.C. 2600, become a traditional magical formula of a most powerful character, and it must have been composed at the time when the abode of the blessed was supposed to resemble the "great field" in wh…”
Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 299
Section 12 12. The souls of men, seeing their images in the mirror of Dionysus as it were, have entered into that realm in a leap downward from the Supreme: yet even they are not cut off from their origin, from the divine Intellect; it is n…”
Shared concept: Emanation Hierarchy — 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. (derived)
platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1ad
That which yields has a small base; but that which rests on quadrangular bases is firmly posed and belongs to the class which offers the greatest resistance; so too does that which is the most compact and therefore most repellent. The natu…”
Shared concept: Correspondence — 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. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1b
It <i.e., Soul> fills it <i.e., the Body of the Cosmos> from within, and from without encircles it, making the All to live. Without, this vast and perfect Life [encircles] Cosmos; within, it fills [it with] all lives; above, in Heaven, con…”
Shared concept: Correspondence — 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. (derived)
platonism|Plato: Phaedrus|Section 1r
But he whose initiation is recent, and who has been the spectator of many glories in the other world, is amazed when he sees any one having a godlike face or form, which is the expression of divine beauty; and at first a shudder runs throug…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 9, Section 1c
For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIV
Concerning another kind of divination, also, you say as follows: “ Others who are conscious what they are doing in other respects, are divinely inspired according to the phantastic part, some indeed receiving darkness for a cooperator, othe…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)