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    <TD> <img src="/common/graphics/trees.gif" width="506" height="615" align="left" hspace="6"><i>This 
      is one of three articles on this site about the enneagram. The others are:<a href="/properties/">Tone 
      Constellations of the Enneagram</a> and <a href="/properties/threeandseven/">An 
      Outline of My Thoughts on the Enneagram: the law of seven and the law of 
      three</a></i> 
      <P>In addition to the properties of the enneagram discussed in consideration 
        of the <a href="index.html">inner hexagram</a>, a second property of the 
        relationship of enneagram to the laws of three and seven is considered 
        here. In it a relationship can be found in the form of a direct correspondence 
        with the Kabbalistic 'Tree of Life'. This relationship is found not in 
        the form of the enneagram, but in seeing how the enneagram can be 'unwound' 
        upon the Kabbalistic Tree if the diatonic nature of its construction is 
        understood, and the right correspondences are made. Again, reference to 
        Russel Smith's work and to Chapter 13 of Blake's <i>Intelligent Enneagram</i> 
        is useful supplemental background. There is a huge literature on the Kabbalah; 
        I recommend in particular <i>The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah</i> 
        by Leo Schaya. (See <a href="http://www.awakenings.com/properties/biblio.html">select bibliography</a>.) 
      <P>The 'Tree of Life' is the key symbol of the tradition of Kabbalah. It 
        can be visualized as 10 points or circles arranged in a left hand vertical 
        column of three, a center column of four, and a right column of three. 
        There are many paths of relationship between the 'sefiroth' represented 
        by the circles, and they form various triads. Each sefiroth is named, 
        and there is a rich tradition describing the qualities of the different 
        sefiroth -- which are conceived of as aspects of divinity -- and the relations 
        between them. In addition to the 10 sefiroth, there is another 'phantom' 
        circle on the tree, daath. This represents the void, the cosmic abyss 
        between the highest trinity and the sevenfold creation beneath it. 
      <P>Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, in his work 'The Tree of Life,' attempts to bring 
        the law of the octave into relationship with the Tree by suggesting a 
        correspondence of the notes with the sefiroth as follows: Kether - do, 
        Hochma - re, Binah - mi, Daath - 'interval', Chesed - fa, Gevura - sol, 
        Tifereth - "The Thing Itself", Netzah - la, Hod - si, Yesod - 'interval', 
        Malkut - do. 
      <P>This is very suggestive, but he has introduced a new term "The Thing 
        Itself" which is an unsatisfactory abstraction, apparently inserted in 
        the scheme to make it 'balance.' And there is a certain justification 
        for it, insofar as Tifereth (beauty) can be understood in the tradition 
        as a 'synthesis' of the other sefiroth. 
      <P>However, the law of the octave is not significant only in itself, but 
        primarily when three octaves are brought into relationship, the <I>'do'</I> 
        of the succeeding second and third octaves providing the impulses to carry 
        the initial impulse across the 'gaps' or 'intervals'<I> </I>at <I>mi-fa 
        </I>and<I> si-do.</I> The classic example of this is Ouspensky's <i>In Search 
        of the Miraculous</i> is on page 377, where he superimposes the &quot;food 
        diagram&quot; introduced earlier onto the enneagram, show how three octaves 
        interact in the energetic weaving of food, breath, and impressions. 
      <P>What should instead be understood by the 'extra' term in the tenfold 
        Cabalistic scheme (or rather, elevenfold, as 'Daath' is not considered 
        strictly a sefiroth, but it is included in the scheme above) is that not 
        only are all the 'notes' represented, and not only are the two 'intervals' 
        represented (<I>mi-fa</I> and <I>si-do</I>), but also the 'second ('premature') 
        shock' or as I prefer, impulse, at <I>sol-la</I> is represented, by Tifereth. 
        This is point 6 on the enneagram, which is 'misplaced' insofar as there 
        is no 'gap' local to the given octave. It is rather the point at which 
        the impulse must be applied in a succeeding octave so that the proper 
        resonance or reinforcement between related octaves can be provided. It's 
        what brings two octaves in an ascending or descending relationship to 
        each other into alignment. Gurdjieff is quoted discussing this on page 
        290 of<i> In Search of the Miraculous</i>, when he asks: &quot;Why is 
        one of the 'intervals' which is designated by the number 3 found in its 
        right place between the notes mi and fa, and the other, which is designated 
        by the number 6, found between sol and la, when its right place is between 
        si and do?&quot; 
      <P>This scheme yields the alternative sequence: Kether - do, Hochma - re, 
        Binah - mi, Daath - 'interval', Chesed - fa, Gevura - sol, Tifereth - 
        'premature shock', Netzah - la, Hod - si, Yesod - 'actual interval', Malkut 
        - do. The correspondences to the notes of the octave and their interrelationship 
        in two successive trees, or octaves, is illustrated here. 
      <P> In the enneagram, the interval <I>si-do</I> is 'unrepresented', although 
        in a sense, 'crossing' it represents the 'goal' of the enneagram; in the 
        Tree, the interval <I>mi-fa</I> is 'suggested' or 'half represented,' that is, represented 
        by the mysterious Daath. 
      <P>What makes this correspondence so precise is the manner in which the 
        Trees for the four worlds - <I>Aziluth</I>, The World of Emanation, <I>Briah</I>, 
        The World of Creation, <I>Yetzirah</I>, The World of Formation, and <I>Assiah</I>, 
        The World of Fact - are said in the Kabbalah to start at the Tifereth 
        of the next higher world - Kether in Briah is Tifereth in Aziluth, Tifereth 
        in Briah is Malkut in Aziluth and Kether in Yetzirah; Malkut in Briah 
        is Tifereth in Yetzirah and Kether in Assiah, and so on. Applying the 
        correspondences, for example, the 'do' (kether) of Briah sounds at the 
        point of the 'premature shock' (point six of the enneagram). Thus the 
        scheme of creation cascades precisely as do the octaves of the enneagram, 
        each impelling the other forward. In the Gurdjieff scheme, the first shock 
        is called the 'mechanical shock' -- it is provided by nature; the second 
        shock is the 'conscious shock' -- this must be applied consciously. In 
        the divine world, the situation is reversed: Daath represents the influx 
        of divine consciousness, the divine 'non-doing' of creation; Tifereth, 
        the magical mechanism of creation. 
      <P>By observing these correspondences, one may find new relationships can 
        be contemplated between the classic meanings of the sefiroth, and the 
        entire Kabbalistic scheme, and aspects of the enneagram as currently understood. 
        What is suggested by the fact that 'impulse points' are arrayed along 
        the middle column, rich in Kabbalistic symbolism? What is suggested by 
        alternating tones aligning in the left and right pillars? 
      <P>What is apparent, however, if Kabbalistic 'Creation' is seen proceeding 
        thus, it is in a sense the precise opposite of the sequence of the 'Ray 
        of Creation' in Gurdjieff's teaching. Here, Creation proceeds from the 
        'All,' the 'Absolute' as a descending octave <I>do-si-la-sol-fa-mi-re-do</I>. 
        The interval do-si is passed by 'The Will of the Absolute' and the interval 
        <I>fa-mi</I> by 'organic life on earth'. 
      <P>This difference is perhaps a starting point for a contemplation of the 
        possible differences, possibly even in ultimate theological outlook, between 
        what is implied by Gurdjieff's teaching and the teachings of the Kabbalah. 
        One could suggest many shades of meaning to account for this reversal 
        of direction. A fruitful starting point might be to look at the work of 
        Fabre d'Olivet, who indicates how the 'strings' <B>F</B> and <B>B</B> 
        are two complementary methods of generating the diatonic scale by progression 
        of ascending fifths (or descending fourths). Or perhaps Kabbalah describes 
        the divine perspective, the enneagram, the human. 
      <P>All such schemes are only partial slices through the fabric of reality, 
        with different instruments. If we contemplate the all (and the nothing) 
        from the perspectives of these two systems, with some feeling for each, 
        they can both mutually illuminate each other, and more importantly, provide 
        a deepening perspective on the reality beyond the limits of the formal 
        schemes. 
      <p><A HREF="javascript:mymail();">David Eyes</A><BR>
        Thanksgiving Week, 1997<BR>
        Copyright &copy; 1997 by David Eyes </p>
      <p>Revised, January, 1998, July, 2001, July 2002</p>
   
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