Malchut of Malchut. Finding the soul in our soles. Grounded and connected to the Divine. Self-possessed and aware that we possess nothing, not even ourselves. Fully responsible and able to respond without reaction. May we be ready for the revelation that is ours.
Looking at Yesod as generative energy, this is where that energy manifests itself in the world, Malchut. So this is a day of creativity and flow.
Looking at the shadow side of Yesod, that is a desire to connect that has an addictive quality to it, this is a day when sexual expression might be, as the Buddhists put it, unskillful.
Considering the Superglue bonding aspect of Yesod as it is mediated by the Sovereignty of Malchut, it's a day to examine one's relationships and see how deep connection actually enables greater individual strength and expression on both sides.
As we head into the final week of the counting of the Omer, the meditations become more intense. This final meditation on Yesod ends of course in Malchut. And then very next day will pick up in the week of Malchut, so that all this work must be realized in the here and now, on the earthly plane in our day to day living. Inner activism fails when it does not actively change one's experience of the world. Inner activism fails if it does not simultaneously work to heal the world. So from this day on, the question every day includes, what am I doing to bring my spiritual truth into the world? Without this action, there is no revelation on Shavuot.
Surrendering to Relationship. This is not the surrender of co-dependency, the giving up of Self with a capital S. No, this is the surrender of the illusion of isolation — that one's actions don't affect another you are in relationship with. The humility of this surrender goes beyond a relationship with a loved one. This is a surrender to letting relationship be the teacher.
This day calls for an affirmation, a practice I think is often misused, since simply repeating an affirmation does not make it true or "manifest" anything. What it certainly does do though is activate the unconscious -- both the power to take actions to make it real, and the negative aspect of Shadow that would do anything in its power to prevent this outcome. So what is the affirmation for today?
I open myself to let every relationship, no matter how important or seemingly trivial deepen my connection with my spiritual essence and the essence of others.
In other words, having the humility to learn from all. This is echoed in the Mishnah that is traditionally read during the period of counting the Omer, the Pirke Avot:
Ben Zoma said, "Who is wise? One who learns from all."
So let's look at the Tarot and see what information its images might offer today. Let's consider the 8 and the 9 of cups. In in the 8 of Cups, the Hod card, we see a wall of cups, with a space between the cups on the upper level. And we see a figure turned away and headed up the mountain under the light of the moon. It suggests to me an abandoning of old emotional defenses that are not only no longer needed or positive, but also not even effective. A willingness to be vulnerable on the journey into the darkness. This is a kind of surrender. And it suggests what must be done if we are to experience the connection that Yesod promises.
However in the 9 of cups we see a man who is clearly quite self-satisfied. He has wealth, and in fact, he is surrounded by a wall of cups that completely isolates him. This is what happens when you don't surrender and walk away from the very seductive defenses of the Cups -- and it is seductive, since it is a table filled, crowded with Cups. Given the sensual nature of Yesod, this is suggestive a being lost in the world of the senses in a way that prevents and defends from relationship. Sensual pleasure without spiritual connection. The man in this card is a warning of what happens if you don't take the high road and leave these cups behind as seen in the 8 of Cups. This man in the 9 of Cups believes he has nothing to learn from anyone: after all, isn't he successful and surrounded by material wealth? Indeed. He is surrounded. And alone.
I like to think of this day as the SuperGlue day in the Omer Count. Netzack of Yesod is very much about endurance in connection. Finding the endurance to stay in relationship through the tough times. Making a renewed and conscious commitment on a daily basis to remain open and vulnerable, fearlessly intimate. This is not something that is demonstrated once. But over and over again over time. Tenacity in the face of all the issues that relationship throws at us.
And certainly, given the gluey nature of this day, one of the fears and counter-commitments that can come up is fear of getting stuck. And that's always a good fear to face. And question whether the fear is about one's own inner stuckness. About how we (I) project my stuckness onto a partner and blame the relationship for my not having the courage to grow. When relationship is a spiritual path, the commitment to connection, and the commitment to personal growth may clash, but they are in fact the same struggle.
Discipline in connection is one way of looking at the energy of today's sefirotic combination. And because Yesod is the sefira not only of bonding, but also of sexual connection, we can consider today as the day we look at the way we express sexual energy in our connections with others. Obviously, people do not have sexual relations with everyone they connect with. Though there are some for whom this is an issue, and for a sex addict, today is a good day to consider the boundaries of sexual expression. When we look at the Tarot card, the 9 of Pentacles, we can see that the woman in this very fruitful garden is holding a hooded hawk or falcon. This is an acknowlegment that sexual energy must be held in control. It is an animal instinct that must be channeled appropriately. But at the root of sexual energy is in fact the desire to connect at a deep level — and sometimes humans confuse the deepest level with the physical level. Certainly when the spiritual and physical come together, the experience is profound. But the physical on its own is not enough. And like the falcon that is not hooded, it can be predatory. Thus, today is a day to meditate on how to channel this deep physical need for connection with discipline and thus soar even higher.
Unbounded love bound tight to the beloved. Connection that is driven by the gush, the onrush of lovingkindness. Both Chesed and Yesod flow out, toward another. Chesed is undifferentiated, but Yesod finds something to connect to. And if you've been doing the work, that something or someone is a healthy choice. So the power of Chesed is fierce, strong and flowing in the right direction.
Of course, on the negative side, this is connection wtihout boundaries, an invasive caring that disempowers.
In some ways, Chesed of Yesod captures the two sides of a parental kind of love. Which have you known?
For today's sefirotic combination, Endurance in Humility, it's good to look at the suit of Pentacles. The 7 card captures the endurance required of a gardener — not only over the course of one season, but over the course of many seasons for a garden to grow and flourish. This is not only endurance, but patience and love.
The 8 card, Humility is often described as an image of an apprentice — someone who works for a master of a trade and learns from that master with true humility. That true humility does not discount that talent and ability that brings the apprentice to the master in the first place. It is an acknowledgment of the need for direction and guidance coupled with respect for the master who gives that guidance as a spiritual path. For both the master and the apprentice are in a spiritual relationship that enables both to grow. In a sense, they are equals — one has simply gone further down a path and can help the other on the way.
I have seen this at work in Japan, where master potters take on apprentices. Like the apprentice in the 8 of Pentacles, these "deshi" make the same object again and again, learning the perfection of the form. Because they work for the master, if the form is not acceptable, it is destroyed. If it meets the standard, the master signs it. When the apprentice is ready, he or she starts out on his own, and at that point will begin the artistic variations that will make the work truly theirs. But first the form is learned from the inside.
Imagine how it might feel to have someone else sign something that was the work and sweat of your hands. And consider how that form is not only the result of your work, but the training you are given by a teacher. That the form would not exist without that training. This is humility that is also gratitude.
So what is endurance in humility. Well, I can only speak for myself here, as a Westerner who has a great deal of trouble with the system I just outlined above. Because while I understand it, and can respect it. And while I have even attempted it in my studies as an amateur potter and ikebana student in Japan, I am a rebellious American, a New York Jew and thus somewhat, uh, argumentative shall we say? I may take on the role of apprentice, and pledge to myself and a master the discipline of humility. But my endurance in this discipline is weak. Which is perhaps why I've never been a very good gardener either.
What is your relationship to apprenticeship and humility?
Awe and Humility. Awe and Surrender.
Just as one of the facets of Netzach is Victory, one facet of Hod is Surrender. Another is Humility. On this day of Gevurah of Hod, I would like to consider the quality of Awe in Gevurah as opposed to Discipline or Structure.
The ability to feel awe is in direct relationship to one's ability to feel humility. When one has an encounter with the truly awesome, humility and surrender are natural responses. So is terror. Let's remember that awe full and awful share some things. And certainly an experience of the Divine in the guise of Gevurah can be both those things since another of its facets is Law, Judgement.
When we are in a place of true humility we do not judge. But this is humility and surrender in the face of the Divine. What about humility and surrender to a human teacher — a guru for example.
The is where another facet of Gevurah of Hod must come forward, that is using discriminating intellgence before surrendering to a teacher. While we must surrender the ego on the path, we don't do so indiscriminately. So for this day's Omer count, I turn to the Buddha's words when speaking on the subject of using disciplined thinking and discriminating intelligence born of real experience in evaluating human teachers:
Ma anussavena.
Do not believe something just because it has been passed along and
retold for many generations. [Simpler: Do not be led by what you are
told.]
Ma paramparaya.
Do not believe something
merely because it has become a traditional practice. [Do not be led by
whatever has been handed down from past
generations.]
Ma itikiraya.
Do not believe something simply because it is well-known
everywhere. [Do not be led by hearsay or common opinion.]
Ma Pitakasampadanena.
Do not believe something just because it is cited in a text. [Do not be led by what the scriptures say]
Ma takkahetu.
Do not believe something solely on the grounds of logical reasoning. [Do not be led by mere logic.]
Ma nayahetu.
Do not believe something merely because it accords with your philosophy. [Do not be led by mere deduction or inference.]
Ma akaraparivitakkena.
Do not believe something because it appeals to "common sense". [Do not be led by considering only outward appearance.]
Ma ditthinijjhanakkhantiya.
Do not believe something just because you
like the idea. [Do not be led by preconceived notions (and the theory reflected as an
approval)]
Ma bhabbarupataya.
Do not believe something because the speaker seems trustworthy. [Do not be led by what seems acceptable; do not be led by what
some seeming believable one says.]
Ma samano no garu ti.
Do not believe something thinking, "This is what our teacher says". [Do not be led by what your teacher tells you is so.]
Kalamas, when you yourselves directly know, "This is [these things are]
unwholesome, this is blameworthy, this is condemned or censured by the wise, these
things when accepted and practised lead to poverty and harm and suffering," then you
should give them up.
Kalamas, when you yourselves directly know, "These things are wholesome,
blameless, praised by the wise; when adopted and carried out they lead to well-being,
prosperity and happiness," then you should accept and practise them."
Gautama Buddha, Kesaputti Sutta, 5th sutta (sutra) in the Book of Threes (Mahavagga) in the Gradual Sayings (Tika Nipata).
The Pali text runs like this: "Etha tumhe Kalama. Ma anussavena, ma paramparaya, ma itikiraya, ma pitasampadanena, ma takkahetu, ma nayahetu, ma akaraparivitakkena, nid ditthinijjhanakkhantiya, ma bhabbarupataya, ma samanro no garu ti." [Bht 284]
Loving kindness in Gratitude. Often Hod is thought of as humility. And indeed it is that. But today I want to consider the gratitude of Hod, for only when we have enough humility can we truly feel gratitude. And, as the psalmist says, "My cup is full and overflowing."
Chesed is an overflowing of lovingkindness. And so today would be a good day to write a gratitude list: those things we're grateful for in our lives, those people, events, things, that we are grateful to the Divine for filling our life with. For indeed, our cup is overflowing. Even today, as many of us experience economic challenges, health issues, legal troubles, exile from communities of origin...despite all these things, Divine love fills us in every moment whether we're aware of it or not. And making conscious that awareness starts with gratitude.
While today's card combination could easiliy be the 4 of Wands with the Eight of Pentacles (and if you are so inclined, consider spending some time in meditation them today) I have chosen something less traditional: The Ace of Cups. Because it is the overflowing cup we are all offered at every moment.
My our hearts overflow with acceptance and gratitude for what is in this very moment, in every moment.
The ten of Swords is one of those dramatic cards — people see the image in a reading and get upset/become afraid. Students of Tarot like to say that it's nothing to be afraid of, that the card is about the death of something we need to let go of — a defense, an outworn belief, or the thing that really doesn't want to die, the ego. Nothing to be afraid of. Yes, but have you ever noticed a defense going without some furious resistance? There's a reason this thing that needs to die has ten swords sticking out of its back! It's strong, and hard to kill. Sort of like a psychological or spiritual Freddy Krueger, it's not gonna die. Like Rasputin, it will have to be shot again and again before it's really dead, if it ever really is.
So what does this have to do with Malchut of Netzach, the Sovereignty of Endurance? The situation that comes to mind for me with this sefirotic combination is one mentioned earlier: a Vipassana sitting of addithan, a sitting of resolute determination.
Vipassana means to see things clearly, and when you sit with your legs crossed without moving for hours at a time you see some things very clearly. You see your body/feel your body in pain and suffering — and you see your mind's reaction to this suffering. If you're really focused, you can see the shadow in the 7 of Swords trying to undermine your resolve; you can see you mind replaying old hurts and defenses, a stance of defensiveness in the world as seen in the 7 of Wands.
These are the habit patterns of the mind that are pierced with the discriminating insight of the 10 of Swords. And when these habit patterns are seen and recognized for what they are, they die a little. Sometimes we have to learn to recognize them again and again before they totally die. Sometimes we only need to see these housebuilders only once. But once we have seen them, and are no longer enslaved to them, we are truly the sovereign of our soul, we are transformed, free.
This is the level of endurance that is called for in Malchut of Netzach. And the reward is hte ability to see the false idols and golden calves in our own lives. To recognize them for what they are, and in so doing, take their power away; consciously integrating that power into our lives.
May we all have the power to endure seeing our demons, may we have the strength and insight to endure and tranform our suffering, our bread of affliction, into the journey to freedom, consciousness and spiritual responsibility.
Keyn yehi ratzon.
