Weeks ago, I stumbled on a Planetary Magick article, which surprisingly excluded the Greater Hexagram (GRH), the most standard technique for such work.
Doing my best to get involved in the Substack community, I asked about that omission, to which the author replied that, while finding my content useful, they consider the GRH advanced, and thus skipped it (a la Modern Magick style).
Finding that bizarre, I decided to check more of the author’s work, eventually landing on a note sharing that currently they were all about “banishing Venus, in favor of emphasizing Mars and Saturn to increase discipline.”
While I consider myself no more than a beginner and respect everyone’s work, I believe discussing some basics can remove confusion for others on the path, regarding Planetary Magick. Again, I appreciate everyone’s contribution and don’t poke at anyone’s work, which is why I don’t mention any names.
The dynamic between Saturn and Mars deserves a different post. In this one, we’ll focus on something more general, the Sephirotic reflections in the Tree. And what do you know, the Greater Hexagram can actually teach us plenty about Planetary Magick.
Pairs and Couples
“Infinite unity, beyond opposites and duality.“
Occultists adore being entertained by such notions.
And sure, they are perfectly valid. Yet, the Tree Diagram is largely based on reflections, couples, and pairs of opposites, and mirroring. The most apparent are:
- The Sephirotic Couples,
- The Function (Side) Pillars,
- The Practical/Mystical aspects,
- Pure Spirit and Pure Matter,
- Etc.
Reflections
Next come the reflections, the most well-known of which are the three triads or triangles. A bit more subtle is the classical Planets’ Sephiroth mapping onto the hexagram superimposed on the Tree.
- Binah | Saturn (3) reflects in Yesod | Moon (9)
- Jupiter | Chesed (4) reflects in Hod | Mercury (8)
- Geburah | Mars (5) reflects in Netzach | Venus (7)
As found in Dion Fortune‘s Mystical Qabalah, ‘reflect’ can be used interchangeably with ‘emanate’ and ‘ mirror.’
- 3 emanates or mirrors in 9
- 4 emanates or mirrors in 8
- 5 emanates or mirrors in 7
The reflections are also apparent in the Elemental grades:
- 1=10 Earth Zealator
- 2=9 Air Yesod
- 3=8 Water Hod
- 4=7 Fire Netzach
Examples
The reason this is important is that it is virtually impossible to work actively with one of these without passively engaging its reflection. It’s how the Tree works. So here are a few concrete examples to take with a grain of salt.
- Your personal shortcomings and limitations, Binah, have a lot to do with your Nephesh, animal soul (Freudian Id, Jungian shadow, child self), which resides in Yesod.
- Lofty abstractions, ideation, and big picture thinking, Chesed, the Creative Engine, need to be organized into tangible concepts, blueprints, and goals, Hod: One is the ‘creative imagination,’ the other is ‘intellectual imagination.’
- Achieving and accomplishing, which often implies conflicts and conquering, Geburah, is tightly linked to your sex life, Netzach, and vice versa. Without pissing off the monk-mode crowd, it is why people like Napoleon Hill say that well-accomplished people are also well-sexed, and vice versa.
Besides dynamics in the Tree, all this is common sense, or isn’t it? What’s even cooler is that while studying correspondences is essential, practicing regularly teaches you all those in two ways. And the first is through actual effects. So here are a few more examples you can completely ignore.
Effects
If you are anything like me, you probably have a problem with having ‘too much of a good thing.’ In such a way, when approaching the G/SRH for the first time, you may find that:
- Working with Saturn and Moon can bring synchronicities of listening to your teenage years soundtrack while encountering an old friend or rival.
- Doing a lot of Chesed might bring a keen want to explore Hod.
- Not necessarily banishing after Geburah can make your physique more visible to people you actually find attractive in the gym.
- Working with Venus to better engage your sense and taste of aesthetics as a creative business owner might increase willingness to conquer mundane admin stuff like optimizing the funnels for actually selling your work.
Go figure…
Hexagrams
The second way to increase understanding of Sephirotic reflections is through the tracings of the Hexagrams, when practicing your GRH. Turns out, these
teach you plenty, if you pay attention, practicing in full presence. So, let’s start with the traditional forms.
Whether it’s the GD Elemental forms (LRH+SRH) or variations of the Earth Hexagram (GRH), we have the same dynamic of mirroring triangles with clockwise invoking and counterclockwise banishing.
Triangles
Now…Remember what we covered about reflections?
Spend a few minutes on the active Fire and passive Water triangles of standard hexagrams. And, check this out.
Looking at the Tree… The first triangle of the Hexagram starts from the point attributed to the Planet/Sephirah. The second one is from its opposite or complementary point… again looking at the Tree:
- (1) Binah – (2) Yesod for Saturn | Binah
- (1) Chesed – (2) Hod for Jupiter | Chesed
- (1) Geburah – (2) Netzach for Mars | Geburah
And, also:
- (1) Yesod – (2) Binah for Moon | Yesod
- (1) Hod – (2) Chesed for Mercury | Hod
- (1) Netzach – (2) Geburah for Venus | Netzach
All comprise two reflecting components (triangles), embodying the macrocosmic nature of the Planets.
Okay, but what about the “invoke-toward banish from” method used in Pentagramsbased on their Elemental nature, i.e., density and mutual qualities? Well, surprise surprise, the dynamic remains thanks to the Unicursal Hexagram.
Unicursal Mode
As covered in my manuals, the GRH can be unicursal, which, in most cases, embodies the Sephirotic reflections even more explicitly… if you practice attentively.
Once more, looking at the Tree… Invoking toward and banishing from the point:
- Chesed invocations move from Hod to Chesed
- Hod invocations start from Chesed to Hod.
- Geburah invocations commence from Netzach to Geburah
- Netzach invocations start at Geburah to Netzach.
It all happens through the actual Paths (Tarot cards), and of course, Tiphereth, the transformative switch.
- 20 — Hermit Virgo Yud ;
- 26 — Devil Capricorn Ayin;
- 22 — Adjustment Libra Lamed;
- 24 — Death Scorpio Nun;
Now, you can argue that the unicursal hexagram doesn’t cover the Binah-Yesod reflection as clearly as the others. But if you think about it, neither does the Tree, as the point of the Hexagram, attributed to Binah, is actually Da’ath.
You can also argue that these invocations are kinda similar to the banishings of the complementary reflecting forces, and vice versa. However, this is only in terms of the movement, as colors, names, and sigils differ. In my humble opinion, such an argument is similar to the one regarding Water-Air in the Pentagram formula.
Furthermore, I believe that by emphasizing/starting with the actual Paths of reflection, the unicursal hexagram might help some people grasp these dynamics better.
Plus, the unicursal GRH has a dedicated Solar Hexagram starting at Tiphereth, the center of the Tree, and going through all planetary Sephiroth, alluding to the sigil of Sol itself. A circle and a dot.
Okay, Okay! But isn’t this s*it too ‘advanced’?
The Greater Hexagram
Though seemingly simpler due to its Earth Hexagrams, the GRH is really an elaborate version of the traditional SRH of the Golden Dawn. It works with the dual nature of Planets and Signs, although it can be argued that the SRH can work the four worlds of each Sephirah, which is beyond the scope of this post.
The GRH came into being when Aleister Crowley and Cecil Jones transformed the GD curriculum into the system A∴A∴.
Unlike the SRH, which was kept for the GD’s inner order, Rosae Rubeae Et Aureae Crucis (above 5=6, Adeptus Minor), the GRH was included at the beginning of the Elemental Grades. Yet, historical evidence is really not my specialty, so do your homework independently.
Conclusion
As I’ve been preaching for a while, learning Qabalistic principles is key, yet it is not limited to reading. Actual rituals and first-hand experiences can teach what no book can.
Some practice daily, shift probabilities, and cause objectively valid changes. Others know all the mysteries and have all the books, but cannot accomplish basic things like getting into a healthy body weight or dropping a bad habit or two.
Theory explains the system. Practice reveals the truth.
— POTB