virtue

2.3 Kether Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Chesed, Mercy, leading to a virtue of Obedience?  How does it lead to the vice of Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Chesed?

This month we will look at the virtue first, to give greater context to the vices.

Virtue:  Obedience

I cannot describe this virtue better than Ellen Cannon Reed in The Witches’ Qabala:

“Obedience” at Chesed is having your own will so aligned with that of the God/dess that it is impossible for you to do other than they wish, because your wish is the same as theirs.  This is not forced agreement, forced obedience.  When Chesed is reached in spiritual growth, the Will will be that of the Lord and Lady, because it is right.”

Chesed is the last sphere of manifestation before we cross the Abyss into the wholly unmanifested trio of sephiroth (conversely it is the first sphere of manifestation when travelling down the Tree).  When travelling down into manifestation, we are just separating from the Great Mother and Great Father, we are the beginnings of our own Self.  We are so aligned still with their essences that we would appear to be following the Will of the Gods rather than our own.  But the reality is that the our Will would be so pure, so in alignment with the universe, that nothing else would even be conceivable.

When we are travelling up the Tree, we strip away the illusions and delusions of the manifest world and day-to-day living.  The father up we go, the clearer is the flow of energy from beyond Kether into us.  We become ‘obedient’ to the Will of the Universe.  Drawn to the Flow of what can, may, will be.

The magical image is a might crowned and throned king, not because Chesed is inherently masculine, but because that image is intensely evocative of a figure of authority, strong, certain, in control and in charge.  But this is Chesed, this is love, this is mercy.

How do these reconcile for you?  The majesty and magnificence with love and mercy?  Does the magical image work for you?  Would a different figure evoke the feelings better?

Do you balance power and love?  Or can power come from love?  Love from power?  Where does mercy come into this?  How?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

Vice:  Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony

We rise up to the virtue of Chesed, we rise up to the clarity of our Selves within Chesed that aligns us with the Will of the Universe.  The reality of rising up the Tree is that it is not one continuous flow.  We have moments of high connection and then we drop back down.  We find clarity and lose it.  We dip into enlightenment and then slip out again, informed, changed by it, but only by degrees.

This connection into the Power of Universal Love can make us greedy for more.  And more.  And even more.  And when we drop out of the connection to Universal Love, we can be left with an emptiness that we can become desperate to fill, in any way possible.  That desperate grab for something to fill the emptiness leads to gluttony.  Gluttony can be expressed through food, drink, drugs, hobbies, exercise.  Anything that we love or enjoy can be done to excess.

When we have seen the ‘rightness’ of the Universe, been exposed to the full connection that is there, waiting for all of us, it can be very easy to see our (new and improved) view, as the view, the right one.  We put ourselves in the right, for we have seen the Right of things, and can fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as better, leading to bigotry.

And it become very easy to tell everyone else how wonderful Chesed is, what you have learned from it, how people should live in order to touch it, and then forget to live it ourselves.  As with many vices, we don’t come to them through an intention to fail, to live a vice. We come to them through an overzealousness, an abundance of intention, a failure to continue to live within the virtues and become overwhelmed by them.  And here we can become hypocrites, telling others how to reach this beautiful state, and then leaving it ourselves.  Chesed loves to connect us with others, but true Chesed loves people unconditionally, for who they are.  The challenge of Chesed, of its vices, is to allow others to be who they are, where they are.

Where have you experienced hypocrisy in your life?  Have you witnessed it in others?  In yourself?  What of gluttony?  Have you ever wanted to drink down something (metaphorically speaking) until you are utterly satiated?  Can that sensation ever last?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

 

 

2.3 Chokmah Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Chesed, Mercy, leading to a virtue of Obedience?  How does it lead to the vice of Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Chesed?

This month we will look at the virtue first, to give greater context to the vices.

Virtue:  Obedience

I cannot describe this virtue better than Ellen Cannon Reed in The Witches’ Qabala:

“Obedience” at Chesed is having your own will so aligned with that of the God/dess that it is impossible for you to do other than they wish, because your wish is the same as theirs.  This is not forced agreement, forced obedience.  When Chesed is reached in spiritual growth, the Will will be that of the Lord and Lady, because it is right.”

Chesed is the last sphere of manifestation before we cross the Abyss into the wholly unmanifested trio of sephiroth (conversely it is the first sphere of manifestation when travelling down the Tree).  When travelling down into manifestation, we are just separating from the Great Mother and Great Father, we are the beginnings of our own Self.  We are so aligned still with their essences that we would appear to be following the Will of the Gods rather than our own.  But the reality is that the our Will would be so pure, so in alignment with the universe, that nothing else would even be conceivable.

When we are travelling up the Tree, we strip away the illusions and delusions of the manifest world and day-to-day living.  The father up we go, the clearer is the flow of energy from beyond Kether into us.  We become ‘obedient’ to the Will of the Universe.  Drawn to the Flow of what can, may, will be.

The magical image is a might crowned and throned king, not because Chesed is inherently masculine, but because that image is intensely evocative of a figure of authority, strong, certain, in control and in charge.  But this is Chesed, this is love, this is mercy.

How do these reconcile for you?  The majesty and magnificence with love and mercy?  Does the magical image work for you?  Would a different figure evoke the feelings better?

Do you balance power and love?  Or can power come from love?  Love from power?  Where does mercy come into this?  How?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

Vice:  Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony

We rise up to the virtue of Chesed, we rise up to the clarity of our Selves within Chesed that aligns us with the Will of the Universe.  The reality of rising up the Tree is that it is not one continuous flow.  We have moments of high connection and then we drop back down.  We find clarity and lose it.  We dip into enlightenment and then slip out again, informed, changed by it, but only by degrees.

This connection into the Power of Universal Love can make us greedy for more.  And more.  And even more.  And when we drop out of the connection to Universal Love, we can be left with an emptiness that we can become desperate to fill, in any way possible.  That desperate grab for something to fill the emptiness leads to gluttony.  Gluttony can be expressed through food, drink, drugs, hobbies, exercise.  Anything that we love or enjoy can be done to excess.

When we have seen the ‘rightness’ of the Universe, been exposed to the full connection that is there, waiting for all of us, it can be very easy to see our (new and improved) view, as the view, the right one.  We put ourselves in the right, for we have seen the Right of things, and can fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as better, leading to bigotry.

And it become very easy to tell everyone else how wonderful Chesed is, what you have learned from it, how people should live in order to touch it, and then forget to live it ourselves.  As with many vices, we don’t come to them through an intention to fail, to live a vice. We come to them through an overzealousness, an abundance of intention, a failure to continue to live within the virtues and become overwhelmed by them.  And here we can become hypocrites, telling others how to reach this beautiful state, and then leaving it ourselves.  Chesed loves to connect us with others, but true Chesed loves people unconditionally, for who they are.  The challenge of Chesed, of its vices, is to allow others to be who they are, where they are.

Where have you experienced hypocrisy in your life?  Have you witnessed it in others?  In yourself?  What of gluttony?  Have you ever wanted to drink down something (metaphorically speaking) until you are utterly satiated?  Can that sensation ever last?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

 

 

2.3 Binah Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Chesed, Mercy, leading to a virtue of Obedience?  How does it lead to the vice of Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Chesed?

This month we will look at the virtue first, to give greater context to the vices.

Virtue:  Obedience

I cannot describe this virtue better than Ellen Cannon Reed in The Witches’ Qabala:

“Obedience” at Chesed is having your own will so aligned with that of the God/dess that it is impossible for you to do other than they wish, because your wish is the same as theirs.  This is not forced agreement, forced obedience.  When Chesed is reached in spiritual growth, the Will will be that of the Lord and Lady, because it is right.”

Chesed is the last sphere of manifestation before we cross the Abyss into the wholly unmanifested trio of sephiroth (conversely it is the first sphere of manifestation when travelling down the Tree).  When travelling down into manifestation, we are just separating from the Great Mother and Great Father, we are the beginnings of our own Self.  We are so aligned still with their essences that we would appear to be following the Will of the Gods rather than our own.  But the reality is that the our Will would be so pure, so in alignment with the universe, that nothing else would even be conceivable.

When we are travelling up the Tree, we strip away the illusions and delusions of the manifest world and day-to-day living.  The father up we go, the clearer is the flow of energy from beyond Kether into us.  We become ‘obedient’ to the Will of the Universe.  Drawn to the Flow of what can, may, will be.

The magical image is a might crowned and throned king, not because Chesed is inherently masculine, but because that image is intensely evocative of a figure of authority, strong, certain, in control and in charge.  But this is Chesed, this is love, this is mercy.

How do these reconcile for you?  The majesty and magnificence with love and mercy?  Does the magical image work for you?  Would a different figure evoke the feelings better?

Do you balance power and love?  Or can power come from love?  Love from power?  Where does mercy come into this?  How?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

Vice:  Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony

We rise up to the virtue of Chesed, we rise up to the clarity of our Selves within Chesed that aligns us with the Will of the Universe.  The reality of rising up the Tree is that it is not one continuous flow.  We have moments of high connection and then we drop back down.  We find clarity and lose it.  We dip into enlightenment and then slip out again, informed, changed by it, but only by degrees.

This connection into the Power of Universal Love can make us greedy for more.  And more.  And even more.  And when we drop out of the connection to Universal Love, we can be left with an emptiness that we can become desperate to fill, in any way possible.  That desperate grab for something to fill the emptiness leads to gluttony.  Gluttony can be expressed through food, drink, drugs, hobbies, exercise.  Anything that we love or enjoy can be done to excess.

When we have seen the ‘rightness’ of the Universe, been exposed to the full connection that is there, waiting for all of us, it can be very easy to see our (new and improved) view, as the view, the right one.  We put ourselves in the right, for we have seen the Right of things, and can fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as better, leading to bigotry.

And it become very easy to tell everyone else how wonderful Chesed is, what you have learned from it, how people should live in order to touch it, and then forget to live it ourselves.  As with many vices, we don’t come to them through an intention to fail, to live a vice. We come to them through an overzealousness, an abundance of intention, a failure to continue to live within the virtues and become overwhelmed by them.  And here we can become hypocrites, telling others how to reach this beautiful state, and then leaving it ourselves.  Chesed loves to connect us with others, but true Chesed loves people unconditionally, for who they are.  The challenge of Chesed, of its vices, is to allow others to be who they are, where they are.

Where have you experienced hypocrisy in your life?  Have you witnessed it in others?  In yourself?  What of gluttony?  Have you ever wanted to drink down something (metaphorically speaking) until you are utterly satiated?  Can that sensation ever last?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

 

 

2.3 Chesed Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Chesed, Mercy, leading to a virtue of Obedience?  How does it lead to the vice of Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Chesed?

This month we will look at the virtue first, to give greater context to the vices.

Virtue:  Obedience

I cannot describe this virtue better than Ellen Cannon Reed in The Witches’ Qabala:

“Obedience” at Chesed is having your own will so aligned with that of the God/dess that it is impossible for you to do other than they wish, because your wish is the same as theirs.  This is not forced agreement, forced obedience.  When Chesed is reached in spiritual growth, the Will will be that of the Lord and Lady, because it is right.”

Chesed is the last sphere of manifestation before we cross the Abyss into the wholly unmanifested trio of sephiroth (conversely it is the first sphere of manifestation when travelling down the Tree).  When travelling down into manifestation, we are just separating from the Great Mother and Great Father, we are the beginnings of our own Self.  We are so aligned still with their essences that we would appear to be following the Will of the Gods rather than our own.  But the reality is that the our Will would be so pure, so in alignment with the universe, that nothing else would even be conceivable.

When we are travelling up the Tree, we strip away the illusions and delusions of the manifest world and day-to-day living.  The father up we go, the clearer is the flow of energy from beyond Kether into us.  We become ‘obedient’ to the Will of the Universe.  Drawn to the Flow of what can, may, will be.

The magical image is a might crowned and throned king, not because Chesed is inherently masculine, but because that image is intensely evocative of a figure of authority, strong, certain, in control and in charge.  But this is Chesed, this is love, this is mercy.

How do these reconcile for you?  The majesty and magnificence with love and mercy?  Does the magical image work for you?  Would a different figure evoke the feelings better?

Do you balance power and love?  Or can power come from love?  Love from power?  Where does mercy come into this?  How?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

Vice:  Bigotry, Hypocrisy, Gluttony

We rise up to the virtue of Chesed, we rise up to the clarity of our Selves within Chesed that aligns us with the Will of the Universe.  The reality of rising up the Tree is that it is not one continuous flow.  We have moments of high connection and then we drop back down.  We find clarity and lose it.  We dip into enlightenment and then slip out again, informed, changed by it, but only by degrees.

This connection into the Power of Universal Love can make us greedy for more.  And more.  And even more.  And when we drop out of the connection to Universal Love, we can be left with an emptiness that we can become desperate to fill, in any way possible.  That desperate grab for something to fill the emptiness leads to gluttony.  Gluttony can be expressed through food, drink, drugs, hobbies, exercise.  Anything that we love or enjoy can be done to excess.

When we have seen the ‘rightness’ of the Universe, been exposed to the full connection that is there, waiting for all of us, it can be very easy to see our (new and improved) view, as the view, the right one.  We put ourselves in the right, for we have seen the Right of things, and can fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as better, leading to bigotry.

And it become very easy to tell everyone else how wonderful Chesed is, what you have learned from it, how people should live in order to touch it, and then forget to live it ourselves.  As with many vices, we don’t come to them through an intention to fail, to live a vice. We come to them through an overzealousness, an abundance of intention, a failure to continue to live within the virtues and become overwhelmed by them.  And here we can become hypocrites, telling others how to reach this beautiful state, and then leaving it ourselves.  Chesed loves to connect us with others, but true Chesed loves people unconditionally, for who they are.  The challenge of Chesed, of its vices, is to allow others to be who they are, where they are.

Where have you experienced hypocrisy in your life?  Have you witnessed it in others?  In yourself?  What of gluttony?  Have you ever wanted to drink down something (metaphorically speaking) until you are utterly satiated?  Can that sensation ever last?

How does this align with your ideas of Chesed?  of jupiter?  of a mighty crowned and throned king?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Chesed: General Notes or in your journal.

 

 

2.3 Geburah Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Geburah, Might, lead to a virtue of Energy and Courage?  How does it lead to the vice of Cruelty and Wanton Destruction?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Geburah?

Vice:  Cruelty and Wanton Destruction

Geburah gifts us with the Vision of Power.  We experience our own strength, the strength and power of the universe, can feel the flow and push and intensity of it.  There is a reason that “drunk on power” is a familiar phrase.  It can be very easy to become on the thrill of the power and through it forget the point of it.

There is purpose behind Geburah.  It does not exist in a vacuum, it does not exist to torment or to punish.  It is a natural process of the world and the Tree; it is a natural process to our lives.  Yet it can be easy, oh so easy, when the power rushes up inside of us, when we allow ourselves to really feel and connect to our own power and worth, without illusion, delusion or denial, we can be swept up in it.  Thrilled by the *lack* of worry, the *lack* of defeat, disappointment, fear, we strike out in the worst ways.

We become cruel.  We inflict unnecessary harm and pain onto others, for the thrill of the power, for the thrill of not being the victim.  We rush past the need to protect and become so addicted to the sense of power that we become that which needs to be protected from.

We can shed wanton destruction upon the world because we can.  When you can smash the bottle in front of you, because the act of destruction feels so good and there appears to be no consequences to run from.  Why not destroy everything?

There is power in destruction!  New life grows in the wake of it.  The roads are cleared or new roads are created.  Destruction is a necessary part of creation!

It is so easy to fall into those words and to fall into destruction without purpose, destruction without gain, destruction that holds no other purpose than to destroy.

And that is where it fails.  That is where the advantages of Geburah fail and become lost into an overabundance of its nature.  It loses its internal balance and we become lost in too much of Geburah.

What are your thoughts on cruelty?  Have you ever felt the pull of wanton destruction?  If so, what was it like?  What inspired it?  What purpose does cruelty serve, if any?

How does this align with your ideas of Geburah?  of mars?  of a mighty warrior in a chariot?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Geburah-General Notes or in your journal.

Virtue:  Energy and Courage

The Might of Geburah isn’t without purpose.  Without purpose it becomes cruelty and wanton destruction, with purpose that power can propel us forward, can give us the courage we need to keep going, despite all odds, despite all obstacles.

It can be the courage we need to get over the wall or through the wall or to demolish the wall itself.  It is also the energy to do so.

Desire and wish isn’t enough.  We need the burning fire of energy to drive through us, to propel us forward.

The Vision of Power of Geburah can inspire the courage.  It shows us that we can make a difference, that we can affect the world, create impact and change, if we but have courage.  It shows us the importance of courage and also that we deserve to have it.  That we have what is needed to be courageous because we are also Powerful, Mighty.

The titles of Geburah include Fear and Justice.  Fear is a part of Geburah.  When it overwhelms us it can lead to the vices of cruelty and wanton destruction out of a desire to keep the fear at bay.

But when embraced?  When accepted for the necessity and natural part of us that it is?  Fear is a guide, a teacher, and the diving board that feeds us energy and plunges us into courage.

What fears would you overcome?  What energy can you draw from the fear?  Where and when have you met your own courage?  Can you imagine what it would be like to be flooded with it?

How does this align with your ideas of Geburah?  of mars?  of a mighty warrior in a chariot?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Geburah-General Notes or in your journal.

2.3 Tifareth Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Tifareth, the Beauty and Harmony, lead to a virtue of Devotion to the Great Work?  How does it lead to the vice of False Pride?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Tifareth?

Vice:  False Pride

Pride is not a sin.  Not immediately and inherently.  But too often pride falls into false pride and the problems begin.

When we accomplish something, something beautiful, something to good purpose, we honour the work that we have done by experiencing the pride of it.

And then we let it go.

If we hold onto that pride, to try and keep that feeling with us 24/7, it will cease to have healthy moving and we move into false pride.

When a group we are a part of accomplishes something, when it acts to good purpose, we feel pride for being part of that group.  That group could be our country, our coven, our dance troupe, our club, our sports team, our tradition, our spirituality.  The group can be shared belief, shared action, shared anything that groups us with others.  We take pride in our group.

Ideally, when there is reason to take pride.  The group itself is not the point of pride – that is a false pride, placing the pride in a thing.  Pride is in actions, in accomplishments, in results.  A group or tradition or country that continues to make right action, to create positive results in the world, is worthy of our pride – the pride grows and accumulates because reasons.

Yet in the end, it is not the group (or individual) that we have pride in, but in their actions and accomplishments and results.  In the demonstration of their worthiness.

THEIR worthiness.

There is no pride in a name.  The pride is in the Self, in the Individual, in the continued positive results of action.  When the pride becomes attached to the name, to the history, and not the current reality, we can fall into false pride.

Pride that is no longer worthy.  Pride that has no longer been earned.  Pride that was never earned in the first place.

What are your thoughts on pride?  What does false pride mean to you?  What do you take pride in?  It is in the actions or in the group, the thing?

How does this align with your ideas of Tifareth?  of the sun?  of a king, a child, a sacrificed god?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Tifareth-General Notes or in your journal.

Virtue:  Devotion to the Great Work

We have already spoken a bit of, mentioned the Great Work.  The Great Work is the deep purpose each of us has inside of ourselves. It is the deep purpose of our existence, why our spark of Spirit is within this Body, why Kether has emanated the special vibration that is our Self down into the physical being of Malkuth.

The Great Work will take us from our daily loves and elevate us back towards Kether, back into reunion with the Source (Kether).  It is both the deep spiritual purpose of our lives individually and the deep shared spiritual Work of seeking the deepest alignment possible with Kether.  We all do this.  All of us who work a spiritual path.  All of us who seek to heal and improve ourselves (with or without the overt spiritual component).  All of us do this work and this Work.

In Tifareth we can see straight up to Kether.  There is nothing blocking the emanations of the source, there is only distance that dims the light.  This is why Tifareth is The Lesser Countenance.  It is a reflection of Kether, just as the full moon is the reflection of the Sun.  Tifareth allows us to, through its reflection of Kether, experience the rays from the source without being consumed.  We do not have the full experience of the source, but we do have a real, deep partial experience of Kether through this reflection.

We experience part of the reality of Kether and are changed by that experience.

That feeling, that connection, that experience stirs in us the devotion to the Great Work, because it is Great, it is worthy, the truest purpose of our Spirit is to do this Work and evolve.

What draws you forward?  Where does your greatest purpose lie?  Have you felt devotion before?  If not, can you imagine what that would feel like?

How does this align with your ideas of Tifareth?  of the sun?  of a king, a child, a sacrificed god?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Tifareth-General Notes or in your journal.

2.3 Netzach Vice & Virtue

Discussion/Contemplation Exercise

As you have already experienced, to really get to know the Sephiroth we want to explore not just the associations of the Sephiroth, but how their essence influences, impacts and/or can be used by us.  The vices and virtues are integral to this.  How does the nature of Netzach, the Victory, lead to a virtue of Unselfishness?  How does it lead to the vice of Unchastity and Lust for Power?  What can the vice and virtue tell you about Netzach?

Vice:  Unchastity, Lust for Power

We are all familiar with the idea of unconditional love.  It is often described in very pure terms.  It is unblemished, untarnished.  The vice, here, of netzach, is the tarnishing of that love.  It isn’t about sex, Netzach is not about physical or sexual passion, it is about emotion and connection, about the poet’s version of love.  And thus, unchastity, is a blemishing of that love.

When we fail to be congruent with ourselves, we are unchaste, we have removed the purity from ourselves.  When we deny our own emotions, we become unchaste, because we deny the fullness of who we are.

Denying pieces of ourselves breaks us into pieces, those pieces become shadows, the hidden aspects of our beings that are still a part of ourselves.  But because we reject them, those pieces move into the shadows and operate from there.  The more we deny them, the stronger they became, and the more that they can control our lives.  When we deny the reality of who we are, we create those shadows.

What this means is that we need to face and accept all of who we are, warts and all.  No one is perfect.  No one.  Accept that and accept yourself.  All of yourself, comfortable and uncomfortable and you will be victorious.

The desire to connect and feel that full connection, that feeling of unselfishness, can also topple over into the lust for power.  When we don’t feel secure in ourselves, when we cannot accept fully who we are, we end up seeking power, external power, in order to find a sense of security.  Or to fill that need for love.  Does the lust for power also come from a failure to love ourselves?  Questions to ponder.

How does this align with your ideas of Netzach?  of venus?  of a beautiful naked woman?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular vice?

Make notes on your Netzach-General Notes or in your journal.

Virtue:  Unselfishness

When we experience the vision of beauty triumphant, unselfishness is a natural and necessary consequence of that experience.  Through venus we connect with the heart, and by allowing ourselves to truly be with our own emotions and experiences, we become attuned and aligned not just to ourselves but to the universe itself.

We can begin to recognize that everyone and everything is connected.  Netzach can be seen as the sphere at which the oneness that has been coming into manifestation down the tree, separates into its component parts.  This is where the separation happens, and thus also where the rejoining happens (when we travel up).  We are separate, yet aware that we are all from the same source.

Given that, are we selfish with our other pieces of ourselves?  Or do we give generously, unselfishly, because we know ourselves to be but part of the same connective whole?

How does this align with your ideas of Netzach?  of venus?  of a beautiful naked woman?  Can you get a sense for why the power of this sphere would manifest into this particular virtue?

Make notes on your Netzach-General Notes or in your journal.