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Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi) · 51 of 123 · tr. A.E. Waite

10. The Key Of Occultism-c

His feet represent the equilibrium of BRIAH, or the world of forms; his legs are the two Pillars of the Masonic Temple, JAKIN and BOAZ; his body, veiled by clouds, from which issues a hand holding a book, is the sphere of YETZIRAH, or initiatory ordeals; his solar head, crowned with the radiant septenary, is the world of ATZILUTH, or perfect revelation; and we can only express our astonishment that Hebrew Kabalists have not recognized and explained this symbolism, which so closely and inseparably connects the Highest Mysteries of Christianity with the secret but invariable doctrine of all the masters in Israel. The beast with seven heads, in the symbolism of St. John, is the material and antagonistic negation of the luminous septenary; the Babylonian harlot corresponds after the same manner to the Woman clothed with the Sun; the four horsemen are analogous to the four allegorical living creatures; the seven angels with their seven trumpets, seven cups and seven swords characterize the absolute of the struggle of good against evil by speech, by religious association and by force. Thus are the seven seals of the occult book opened successively, and universal initiation is accomplished. The commentators who have sought anything else in this book of the transcendent Kabalah have lost their time and their trouble only to render themselves ridiculous. To discover Napoleon in the angel Apollyon, Luther in the star which falls from heaven, Voltaire or Rousseau in the grasshoppers armed like warriors, is merely high fantasy. It is the same with all the violence done to the names of celebrated persons so as to make them numerically equivalent to that fatal number 666, which we have already explained sufficiently. When we think that men like Bossuet and Newton amused themselves with such chimeras, we can understand that humanity is not so acute in its genius as might be supposed from the bearing of its vices.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

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

The divine or cosmic principle is described using human body parts (feet, legs, body, head).

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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 connects Christian symbolism (Apocalypse) with Kabbalistic doctrine and maps body parts to cosmic worlds, embodying the 'as above, so below' principle.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The passage describes an 'absolute of the struggle of good against evil' and contrasts luminous septenary with material negation.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The text mentions a 'solar head' and the 'luminous septenary' as symbols of revelation.

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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 explicitly lists the Kabbalistic worlds (Briah, Yetzirah, Atziluth) as a descending or ascending structure of divine revelation.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

The beast is described as the 'antagonistic negation' of the luminous septenary, implying evil as a lack or distortion of light.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The text refers to a 'secret but invariable doctrine' and an 'occult book' reserved for masters.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

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 human figure's body parts (feet, legs, body, head) are directly mapped to cosmic levels (Briah, Yetzirah, Atziluth), presenting the human as a mirror of the cosmos.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The text heavily emphasizes the number seven (septenary, heads, seals) and critiques the numerical equivalence of names to 666.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 85 (part 1)
“Section 10 10. But if Matter is devoid of quality how can it be evil? It is described as being devoid of quality in the sense only that it does not essentially possess any of the qualities which it admits and which enter into it as into a…”
Shared concept: Evil As Privation — Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 5, Section 1i
“364 The ultimate Godhead is reached only by the Negative Path, and known only by Unknowing. The Affirmative Path of philosophical knowledge leads only to the differentiated manifestations of the Godhead: e.g. the Trinity, in Its creative…”
Shared concept: Evil As Privation — Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter V
“But why am I prolix about these particulars? For I have abundantly shown, in what has been before said, the transcendency of divine above human divination. It is better, therefore, in compliance with your request, “ to point out to you the…”
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)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 419
“Section 3 3. The Soul once seen to be thus precious, thus divine, you may hold the faith that by its possession you are already nearing God: in the strength of this power make upwards towards Him: at no great distance you must attain: there…”
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 2 (part 1)
“The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky -- Vol. 1 [[Vol. 1, Page xvii]] INTRODUCTORY. ------- "Gently to hear, kindly to judge." -- S HAKESPEARE. S INCE the appearance of Theosophical literature in England, it has become customary to c…”
Shared concept: Hidden Sayings — Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 46 (part 11)
“They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz -- roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for the present** -- may be separated into three distinct Hosts, which, counted from the highest planes, are,…”
Shared concept: Microcosm Macrocosm — 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. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 1, Section 1f
“And in all the other Divine enlightenments which the occult Tradition of our inspired teachers hath, by mystic Interpretation, accordant with the Scriptures, bestowed upon us, we also have been initiated: apprehending these things in the pr…”
Shared concept: Divine Light — The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation. (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)