Kabbalistic Introduction to Understanding and Three…

Kabbalistic Introduction to Understanding and Three…

 

As a reader, when a querent draws a “three”, I always ask how the three resonates with their understanding. Most querents, even my Hindu querents, reflect on the Holy Trinity and the spiritual aspects thereof.   

Understanding is found at the top (third) sphere in the Pillar of Mercy on the Kabalistic Tree of Life. This sphere is named Binah. According to the Kaballah there are three pillars one can travel in the Tree of Life, namely the Pillar of Severity, the Pillar of Balance, and the Pillar of Mercy. In order to grasp any means of understanding, one needs to travel up the Pillar of Severity.

The Pillar of Severity is made of three spheres. The
first sphere Hod is ruled by Mercury (planet of communication) and thereby refers to analysis – ensuring that we take the time to really contemplate what is most befitting for our circumstances and organize ourselves
accordingly. An analogy would be: If you have 1 and 3, and I gave you 2, you should be able to realize that 2 is greater than 1 and lesser than 3. Therefore you know that 2 belongs in the middle. So here would be the perfect place for you to arrange your priorities, perspective, and gain a greater sense of self – purely by analyzing your relationship to your circumstance.

Traveling up the pillar our next sphere would then be Geburah, which is ruled by Mars (Planet of War) and as one would rightly imagine - the sphere of severity.  Having analyzed our situation and having a more ontological sense of reality, we progress into Geburah. Here we find ourselves needing to ‘cut-away’ that which is no longer bearing fruit. A perfect analogy would be a rose bush being pruned, in order to grow the perfect roses. Only once we’ve hacked off all forms of the nonsensical can we begin our travels to the Sphere of Understanding, Binah, also seen as the Womb of God.

 The Pillar of Severity has never been the easiest path of the Kaballah, but it certainly ensures healthy growth.

So if we relate the Tree of Life to the querent’s understanding of 3, one can see how The Father can relate to having given us that which we are, our gifts, our talents and our true ‘inner self’, and how Hod is a sphere where we can reconnect with these gifts.

The Son was crucified in order for us to have eternal life and for the Father to have a true connection with each of His creations. We can clearly see how Geburah, relates to the crucifixion!

The Holy Spirit connects to Understanding, as it is that inner peace which we have with us constantly guiding us through our day – ever present.

Having this understanding allows us to delve further into how the Tarot, Kaballah and Trinity come into play when a three is drawn in a reading. As there are many decks, with many “set rules” pertaining to a said deck. This Kabalistic understanding helps profusely when reading.

In Numerology it is important to understand that all numbers can be reduced to a single digit. 21 can be reduced to 3 as 2 + 1 = 3. In the Major Arcana III is the Empress – nurturing, fertility, and abundance. We can thus see how XXI, being the World, relates to the Empress when reduced. (Bear in mind that XXI can also be reduced according to the Roman numerals X = 10 = 1 + 0 = 1, hence XXI = 3)

If we take a look at synthesis, we can see that it too is divided into three sections, the first relating to the initial concept, the Thesis, the second part relates to the Antithesis and thereby the third is seen as the Synthesis. This as a whole is then a Ternary. As all numbers can be reduced to 9, it stands to reason that three Ternaries are needed to create a Septenary.

This would then mean that the first Ternary becomes the Thesis, the second would then be the Antithesis and the third is now seen as the Antithesis. This formula is then used when drawing a Pip card, which would then relate to the element of the card. If one were to draw a 3 of Cups, we can automatically see that this card would represent the synthesis of a new emotional situation; we can further conclude that much understanding has been learned during the “relationship”.

Taking a look at the astrological sense of 3, we can see how the year is divided into decantes of 30°, each housing 3 astrological signs. Therefore we can see how the planets play a role on each card and thereby adding a personal significance to each card by doing so. Using three’s as an example:

3 of Wands is ruled by the Sun in the house of Aries

3 of Cups is ruled by Mercury in the house of Cancer

3 of Swords is ruled by Saturn in the house of Libra

3 of Earth is ruled by Mars in the house of Capricorn.