Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogonyf

From C 2 came C 3, the third Understanding; the Hierarchy is the Thrones, Aralim , the Mighty Ones. From C 3 came C 4, the third Mercy; the Hierarchy is the Dominations, Chashmalim , the Brilliant Ones. From C 4 came C 5, the third Severity; the Hierarchy is the Powers, Seraphim , the Flaming Serpents. From C 5 came C 6, the third Beauty; the Hierarchy is the Virtues, Melachim , the Kings. From C 6 came C 7, the third Victory; the Hierarchy is the Principalities, Elohim , the Gods. From C 7 came C 8, the third Glory; the Hierarchy is the Archangels, Ben Elohim , the Sons of God. From C 8 came C 9, the third Foundation; the Hierarchy is the Angels, Cherubim , the Scat of the Sons. From C 9 came C 10, the third Kingdom; the Hierarchy is Humanity, the Ishim , the Souls of Just Men. From C 10 came D 1, the Fourth Crown, and the World of Assiah was established. From the Yetziratic World the light of the ten spheres is reflected into the World of Assiah , the lowest of the four. The ten globes of the original Atziluthic World here take upon themselves forms of physical matter and the sidereal system is the result. The World of Assiah , or the elemental world of substance, is the one into which humanity descended at the time of Adam's fall. The Garden of Eden is the three upper worlds, and for his sins man was forced into the sphere of substance and assumed coats of skin (bodies). All of the spiritual forces of the upper worlds, A, B, C, when they strike against the elements of the lower world, D, are distorted and perverted, resulting in the creation of hierarchies of demons to correspond with the good spirits in each of the higher worlds. In all the ancient Mysteries, matter was regarded as the source of all evil and spirit the source of all good, for matter inhibits and limits, often so clogging the inner perceptions that man is unable to recognize his own divine potentialities. Since matter thus prevents humanity from claiming its birthright, it is called the Adversary, the power of evil. The fourth world, D, is the world of solar systems, comprising not only the one of which the earth is a part but all the solar systems in the universe. Opinions differ as to the arrangement of the globes of this last world, D 1 to D 10 inclusive. The ruler of the fourth world is D 1, called by some the Fiery Heaven ; by others the Primum Mobile , or the First Motion . From this whirling fire emanates the material starry zodiac, D 2, in contradistinction to the invisible spiritual zodiac of the Yetziratic World. From the zodiac, D 2, are differentiated the spheres of the planets in concatenate order. The ten spheres of the World of Assiah are as follows: From C 10 came D 1, the Fourth Crown; Rashith Ha-Galagalum , the Primum Mobile , the fiery mist which is the beginning of the material universe. THE PLAN OF DIVINE ACTIVITY.