Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogonyd

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.