The Middle Pillar

by Israel Regardie

  The Chinese yoga instruction, The Secret of the Golden Flower,3 has a sentence or two which is very apposite to this technique of the mystical circumambulations:Therefore when the Light circulates, the powers of the whole body arrange themselves before its throne, just as when a holy king has taken possession of the capital and has laid down the fundamental rules of order, all the states approach with tribute.... Therefore you only have to make the Light circulate; that is the deepest and most wonderful secret. The Light is easy to move, but difficult to fix. If it is allowed to go long enough in a circle, then it crystallises itself; that is the natural spirit- body. This crystallized spirit is formed beyond the nine Heavens. It is the condition of which it is said in the Book of the Seal of the Heart: silently in the morning thou fliest upward.

  To summarize the practice, the Middle Pillar consists of several phrases. There is the preliminary establishment of a rhythmical intake and exhalation of breath. The formulation of the five centers on the Middle Pillar, each one separately. And finally, the several formulae for the distribution of the power thus generated.

  As one becomes more and more familiar with this process with the passage of time, the practice being continued daily, little artistic flourishes as it were may be introduced to enhance its efficiency and assist the process of interior development. Some caution, naturally, is needed. Common sense is essential. The student does not wish to generate or open himself to more power than easily he can accommodate. This would prove, if not dangerous, then quite useless. For one thing, it would impede his own development and progress.

  The additions referred to are the colors of each center to be visualized whilst vibrating the name. This notably changes and stimulates the reaction of the Sephirah. Care is needed, and that is why it is recommended that for months the student should not apply himself to this color scheme, contenting himself exclusively with the visualization of the light-centers as white in color. Kether is of pure white brilliance, and the rays that it emits and radiates upon the personality are of the same hue. Lavender-blue is the color that is traditionally associated with Daath. Tiphareth is gold, whilst Yesod is purple or puce.

  It is when we approach the consideration of the Malkuth color that we experience some difficulty. Tradition gives us several scales of color all of which are of equal efficacy. The sphere of Malkuth is divided by two diagonals into four sections; citrine at the top, black at the bottom, with russet and olive occupying the two side sections. 4 More simply, it is sometimes useful to visualize this Sephirah solely as a jet black sphere, or yet again as of a dark green color. The student must suit himself here, finding out by practice which visualization produces the best results.

  When he has pursued such a practice for many months, let him extend the scope of his efforts to the formulation not only of the Middle Pillar, but the Sephiroth of the two side columns as well. By doing this, he formulates within the Sphere of Sensation the three pillars of the complete Tree of Life.5 The technique and the procedure to be followed is precisely that delineated with regard to the Sephiroth of the Middle Pillar. The only gap in the student’s knowledge are the divine names of the Sephiroth of the two side pillars, and these I give below together with the appropriate colors.

  When there is much time at the student’s disposal, and when he has won sufficient confidence in his ability, an additional aid is to employ the archangelic names in addition to the divine names with the several centers. For example, when visualizing Tiphareth as a glowing golden sphere, he will slowly vibrate three or four times the Name Yhvh Aloah ve-Daath.6 Then he will pause while concentrating on the sphere. He will connive to realize in full consciousness the implications of this sphere—its attributions with regard to astrological planets, its spiritual qualities, and its relation to his own divine consciousness. This meditation performed, let him commence to vibrate in the same way and the same number of times the archangelic name of Raphael, again extending the meditation to realize that the latter name means divine healing. It implies that light which descends with “healing in its wings.”7 And so on for the remaining centers.

  Below are the names attributed to each Sephirah of the Tree of Life, their archangels, the appropriate region of the body in which they are to be visualized, and the color of the visualization: 89101112131415161718192021222324

  It will be noticed that the attributions of Daath are deficient in an archangelic name. This is because the sphere is, in reality, no part of the traditional Tree of Life. The latter consists of ten spheres only, and it was with these ten spheres that the ancients occupied themselves and provided the necessary correspondences. The philosophy appertaining to Daath is almost entirely a modern one. But there is another mediaeval system which, attached to this Qabalistic system, provides us with an invocation of the element spirit. A great deal of research on this was done by Dr. John Dee and his skryer Edward Kelly, both of whom called it the Angelic or Enochian system. My experience confirms that the archangelic names contained in one of these very potent magical invocations are very sympathetic to the nature of Daath, which is described as a link between the ego and the higher self. These names may very logically be attributed to Daath and be used with it. They are Elexarpeh, Comananu, and Tabitom.25 The method of vibrating these archangelic names is to split each one into syllables, each one receiving the maximum amount of vibration. Let care be taken so that the vibration detonates solely in Daath.

  The Middle Pillar as already described, together with the formulae of circulation, constitutes the first half of this particular formula. The other half is denominated The Vibratory Formula of the Middle Pillar. To perform it properly presupposes a great deal of familiarity with the results to be obtained from the Middle Pillar and the complete Tree of Life exercise. It, however, proceeds a stage further. The former exercise devoted itself solely to awakening the centers considered as psycho-physical symbols or co-relatives of various principles operating within the psyche.

  The Vibratory Formula, so called, envisages another goal. Its object, once the interior Sephiroth have been established and some awareness obtained of the principles they represent, is to ally or connect up those psychological principles to their replicas in the collective unconscious.26 The traditional magical theory is that since man is a reproduction in miniature of the universe, his own interior constitution must be modeled on the pattern of the larger universe of the collective unconscious. Just as the individual unconscious is not, as we have seen, a simple unit but comprises several constituents, so also the collective unconscious. Moreover, the tradition holds that by awakening any principle within, or by becoming conscious of any factor operative within the psyche, it is possible by an extension of the sphere of its operation to tap the corresponding aspect of that center or psyche in the collective sphere. The deeper levels of the collective unconscious bear to the individual unconscious the same relationship as do the deepest levels of the latter to the conscious thinking ego. That is, they comprise the root and hidden sources of life, integrity and illumination. It is the equilibriated realization of these sources of life which make the difference between the enlightened man and the ignorant one. And these roots are the sources of life upon which the whole of existence in all its aspects depends.

  Since magic has as its avowed intention the discovery of the higher self, and then to associate that higher self with the rest of the spiritual nature in a mood of co-operation, one way of accomplishing this co-operation is to connect deliberately the levels of the individual unconscious with the different planes of the collective unconscious. The result of the acceptance of the existence of the personal unconscious acts as a solvent of the habitual resistances to its free operation. Therefore, co-operation with that part of nature, the higher self, is the implication of that acceptance. Likewise the acceptance of the collective unconscious in the manner described, with the realization that the whole of life is an indissoluble unity, accordingly raises that conscious co-operation to a higher and much more deliberate level.
It removes evolution from the purely personal alignment with nature, to a realization of the divine object of individual existence. With it comes the intuition in full consciousness how best that object may be fulfilled in relation to all other men and to life as a whole.

  If I describe its technique, some understanding perhaps of its purposes may be divined. It presupposes, as said, some familiarity with the Middle Pillar. It demands, moreover, that the Middle Pillar should be in active formulation as an interior column of brilliance at the particular moment when the Vibratory Formula is to be employed. The student, then, begins to visualize in the atmosphere before him the name of that particular Sephirah which represents the level of consciousness he proposes to deal with.27

  I must here interpolate that traditionally the letters of the Hebrew alphabet were employed for the purposes of this visualization. But I see no reason why the ordinary person should be obliged to burden himself with the necessity of studying Hebrew for this purpose. In the case of the serious student who wishes to make a profound study of the Qabalah from a purely magical point of view, and wishes to engage in the full ceremonial and ritual aspects of this tradition, I should be the first to insist that Hebrew be made a part of his curriculum. It would enter into every department of magic, in its wider implication, that he would touch. For the average student, however, English or Roman letters may be just as well employed. And I recommend that in the visualization only the consonants corresponding to the appropriate Hebrew characters of a name be employed, not the vowels. That is why in the rubric of the Pentagram Ritual, and in the table of correspondences above, I have spelt the divine names in consonantal form only.28 The pronunciation of them is provided elsewhere.

  The name visualized in Roman letters in the air, let the student imagine that he has drawn these letters into the lungs by means of a deep inspiration of air. The names should be visualized in flames; in flames corresponding in color to the Sephirah being employed. That is to say, if it be the fifth Sephirah, the name should be visualized in scarlet and vivid red flame. But if the seventh Sephirah is being considered, the name ought to be formulated as in an emerald green of surpassing brilliance and clarity.

  The name having been inhaled into the lungs by means of an inspiration, it should be silently and powerfully vibrated, the entire attention being concentrated upon this to the exclusion of all else. While in the lungs, the white light of the Kether ought to be felt descending upon the name, consecrating it to the service of the higher self. Then the name should be visualized, whilst the breath is retained, as descending from the lungs via the Middle Pillar to the feet.29 Here it should be again vibrated very powerfully. When the entire Tree of Life within is pulsating sympathetically to this vibration, the name rises rapidly once more to the lungs where once more it is subjected to a silent vibration.

  The exhalation of the breath accompanies an audible vibration of the name. It also accompanies a gesture to be made which consists of two movements. The first is the placing of the left foot about six to twelve inches forward. The second is the raising of both hands to the side of the head, on a level with the eyes, and then flinging them forward as though to project a force emanating from within. As the arms are flung forward, the exhalation and powerful vibration aloud of the name takes place. This gesture is called the Projecting Sign.

  The visualized name should be perceived as going forward in space until it strikes as it were against the confines of the universe. Here it gathers power, from the infinity of the void, as it were, whence it commences to surge backwards in the mind’s eye upon the student.

  Some seconds after the projection and audible vibration of the name the student should bring his left foot sharply back, and after dropping both hands to the side, raise the forefinger of the left hand to his lips. This is called the Protecting Sign, or sign of silence. It is the traditional gesture of the Egyptian god Harpocrates—one of the symbols employed to represent the holy child that grew from the union of the two opposites. It thus represents the growth, silent and unseen, of the Golden Flower. Whilst employing the sign of silence, the student should contrive to imagine that the name which has been projected by the first sign to the outer limits of space, surges back upon him, penetrating him through and through. His whole being should be flooded with a divine light, and a sense of ecstasy should overwhelm the mind and vision.

  Standing quietly in this sign, the practitioner should meditate upon the spiritual value involved in the nature of the name he has used. There should dawn upon his mind by direct perception an understanding and a wide sympathy with that spiritual power to which he has opened himself and which now flows unimpeded through him. It is often accompanied at first by a complete blank-out of every faculty of the mind, so that for at least some seconds one is lost utterly to oneself. It seems that in that brief moment we are swung forcibly across the gulf of the abyss into another and diviner region by the vibratory momentum of the power of the name. It is a distinct recognition of, and participation in, that type of experience which has variously been called mystical and religious. It is a rare and holy event for the individual ceases, it may be for but a single instant of time, to be a man. He is caught up in a diviner sphere, and is enwrapped by the transcendental folds of the descending tongues of the spirit. For but a moment or two only—for the very nature of consciousness, with its feeble instrument the brain, is such as to be unable to endure for very long this white heat of ecstacy. And then once more the ego, dazed and stunned by so awe-inspiring and terrific an experience, recovers its equilibrium, resumes its normal function, and asserts itself once more. But the nature of that consciousness is never the same afterwards. It has changed in that an impression of higher things is left, a sense of exaltation and of expansion. It dimly understands that godhead has descended into its sphere, and that it has been raised into divinity.

  It must be understood that this technique is applicable to any of the names belonging to the ten Sephiroth. And moreover, it must also be clearly understood that the vibration should be repeated several times as described, and that the three formulae of circumambulation or circulation must be employed with this Vibratory formula as they were with the Middle Pillar.

  One authority on magic describes the effect thus:It is a sign that the student is performing this correctly when a single vibration entirely exhausts his physical strength. It should cause him to grow hot all over or to perspire violently, and it should so weaken him that he will find it difficult to remain standing. It is a sign of success, though only by the student himself is it perceived, when he hears the Name of the God vehemently roared forth, as if by the concourse of ten thousand thunders ; and it should appear to him as if that Great Voice proceeded from the Universe and not from him. In the above practice all consciousness of anything but the God-Name should be absolutely blotted out; and the longer it takes his normal perception to return, the better.30

  My own personal experience of this formula while confirmatory, is not quite so drastic as the above description would make out. Two or three little hints may be given to the student which may be helpful. The first of these, is with regard to breath-capacity. Shallow breathing renders the Vibratory Formula null and void, or at any rate of little value. It seems to confirm the yoga theory of a certain relationship existing between the breath and consciousness. The western system as such does not countenance or employ the yoga theory whereby the rate of breath is slowed down in order to restrain the motion of the mind. But from the physical point of view, which is valid in its own sphere, those lungs which are capable of filling to their fullest capacity, and are capable of retaining the breath for over thirty seconds, are more likely to be useful for this formula than weak and puny lungs.

  Another important point is that the experiment should be performed in as nearly an empty room as possible. Or, where this is not practicable, all heavy furniture should be cleared as far from where the student stands as is compatible with the size and arrangement of the room. The reason for this
is simple. The sharp pang of ecstasy, the dizziness induced by full inhalation and prolonged retention, and the enormous power which this Vibratory Formula generates are so tremendous that until the student accustoms himself to it by frequent repetition, he may find himself incapacitated for a second or two. The perspiration by the way induced by this practice is a peculiar one, being very similar in consistency and odor to that generated by Pranayama31 of the Yoga system.

  The incapacity experienced is such that he may, while lost to himself, stumble forward and fall. If, during the practice, the fall is to be encouraged, then it is as well that it should be on to a carpet or something soft. It would spoil the effect of the practice were the student to break up the induced state of consciousness by casting his eye about anxiously and with fear in order to avoid doing himself a physical injury by hitting some piece of furniture.

  When the practice however has been repeated some dozen times or so, the entire psychic and physical system becomes accustomed to the severe strain imposed upon it without manifesting any sign of weakness. The student will find himself enabled to make the Sign of Silence without falling or stumbling, even though the surge of power within him may feel unbearable, and the ravishment of ecstasy too intolerable to stand. But “Wisdom says be strong. Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture.”32

  Repetition and becoming accustomed to the mental and spiritual phenomena induced by the formula makes the ecstasy more bearable and enables one to become strong in that spiritual joy, and capable of resisting the physical symptoms of weakness.