Divine Hierarchies - A Comparative Study Group

[Smaragd]

Caput VI.
"Which is the first Order of the Heavenly Beings? which the middle? and which the last?"

I like how Dionysius is really down-to-earth and inspects things from such well rooted perspective, placing us (hopefully) in a surprisingly similar position as he was almost two thousand years ago. When I think of these ancient times the individuals and cultures are easilly generalized for example in to imbalancedly religious emphasis, which is positively broken by Dionysius attitude. How he puts things out here avoids many snares of religious sentiments, but still in a balanced way keeps a portion of that sentiment together with philosophy with him to open the doors of mystery in to the prophecies and the entities of the Hierarchy themselves. He lays down our conditioned foundation where we can not know, portray or describe (by the limited rational mind) the Hierarchies and their divisions as they are for it is only the one who grants the orders their powers and illumination, besides the orders themselves who receive parts of the illumination, that know th Hierarchies or parts of them as they are. But we human beings can still inspect them through the reflection of the prophets and what we know by what portions of these powers have come through to us. I claim that by meditating on the Hieroglyphic Key and its different points, and their correspondences, we may begin to understand the whole and get a bit more clear climpses on these beings of the Hierarchies as they reflect each others, but they remain alive and escape limited definitions.

The main purpose of the chapter seems to be that of defining the hierarchies which are divided in to three larger groups that are in turn divided in to three. The higher ones being closer to the divine source of illumination. I’m not sure how accurately the names are given in this chapter regarding the position in the hierarchy of the smaller groups, because I seem to recall the last group presented elsewhere in completely opposite way around where Angels were the last group. Even the last chapter might have hinted something towards such an order.

According to Dionysius’ (partly?) Hebrew sources (thus positioning the text at hand on the crossroads of Judeo-Christian tradition) there are:

Holy Thrones
Cherubim
Seraphim

Authorities
Lordships
Powers

Angels
Archangels
Principalities


Now, what can we take from this group of 9 (3+3+3)? It is one short of 10, the consummation of the whole where the binary digits symbolize the sexual opposites completing each others – the Masculine Bolt of Lightning flashing in the womb of the Divine Feminine. Without the 10 we are looking at everything else than this consummation where things click and spark. The Hierarchies do click and spark thourougly in the consummation event of the 10, but on their own, they could be perhaps seen as rather cold structures of different dimensions, entities embodying laws of nature and having a sort of guarding and ruling role to these laws. This could be easily linked to the Gnostic idea of Archons, but as they are to my knowledge keenly attached to the sevenfold divisions I wouldn't make that connection so fast. Instead we could possibly think of the sort of impotence and even partly the dead world of the materialist to the nine (strictly in their "wait" for the spark to hit) as some Thelemites seemed to understand the meaning of 333 as we saw in a discussion linked to the Finnish side today. In such a wait they could be possibly seen as the entities that must be faced and overcome in order to turn all of their powers in the human being to a right position for the lightning to hit through them.

I wonder how the division by 9 relates to the division by 7? In Kabbala, the Tree of Life is often divided in to 3+7, where the three is on a plane of its own (let’s say the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to make a comparison to Christian symbolism), which the seven is then a division of. There the 3 is that which completes the ”missing union” where as here with the 9 it is 1. With Seven we have a metaphysically higher stage with its own drama of sorts where the high beings can be still seen ”operating” in a way. This sevenfold division could be therefor seen emphasising immanent approaches where we seek to imitate the high in the low in order to find the divine from the mundane. The division by nine on the other hand doesn’t seem to detect anything in the missing piece, it being absolute, the union cancelling each others out of existence and this whole order of the Nine working as the counter part for that absolute (or Logos as its representative), the bride and the bridegroom, creating a more immanent emphasis to the process. I guess these can be also thought the other way around, but my main aim with this is trying to point how from the human perspective these different divisions of 7 and 9 by themselves present certain dimensions of reality, reflected from our own abilities, and how we can possibly see to their meanings through the different numbers creating different kind of dynamics.

[Smaragd]

CAPUT VII.
”Concerning the Seraphim and Cherubim and Thrones, and concerning their first Hierarchy.”

Section I.

The first three Hierarchies are gone through and they are described in the following manner:

Thrones is seen the highest rank for it (Thrones as in upon which God sits) being closest to God and receiving the divine emanations first.

”The appellation of the most exalted and pre-eminent Thrones denotes their manifest exaltation above every grovelling inferiority, and their supermundane tendency towards higher things; and their unswerving separation from all remoteness; and their invariable and firmly-fixed settlement around the veritable Highest, with the whole force of their powers; and their receptivity of the supremely Divine approach, in the absence of all passion and earthly tendency, and their bearing God; and the ardent expansion of themselves for the Divine receptions.”

Cherubim is seen second in rank and described as ”a fulness of knowledge or a stream of wisdom”.

”But the appellation of the Cherubim denotes their knowledge and their vision of God, and their readiness to receive the highest gift of light, and their power of contemplating the super-Divine comeliness in its first revealed power, and their being filled anew with the impartation which maketh wise, and their ungrudging communication to those next to them, by the stream of the given wisdom.”

Seraphim, according to the Hebrew meaning of the word points to kindling or burning.

”The appellation of Seraphim plainly teaches their ever moving around things Divine, and constancy, and warmth, and keenness, and the seething of that persistent, indomitable, and inflexible perpetual motion, and the vigorous assimilation and elevation of the subordinate, as giving new life and rekindling them to the same heat; and purifying through fire and burnt-offering, and the light-like and light-shedding characteristic which can never be concealed or consumed, and remains always the same, which destroys and dispels every kind of obscure darkness.”

There are many Hebrew and Kabbalistic sources that have quite different order of the Hierarchies and often quite differing names. I will not go in to too vast a comparison, instead I will try to look for justifications for this Christian interpretation, and focus more on the meanings of the respective ranks by lightly comparative notions.

הַשְּׂרָפִים
haShRPhIM

ha is a definite article, and in more poetic manner, following the Proto-Sinaitic script (which was still more clearly hieroglyphic depicting typical objects and things surrounding the life of shepherds) it is a man waving for attention, and later in its current form a window. Only relevant here to point that we are talking about an entity we should behold with reverence in order to catch a glimpse of it.

Shin is sometimes seen depicting teeth or flames, signifying, eating, destruction or destructive power.

Resh depicts the back of the head, used to signify a leader, something visible, the first and the beginning.

Pei depicts the mouth and it is used to signify speaking, blowing and spreading.

Jod depicts an arm, and it is used to signify work, power and throwing.

Mem depicts waves of water. It is used to depict chaos, ocean or anything great and abstract whole.

For these Proto-Sinaitic and later Hebrew letter’s pictographic meanings there are some variance in studies, and I followed largerly what is said in the following website, while cross-referencing to other sources (for example William Albright seems to agree on the "teeth" of Shin, while the Proto-Sinaitic orthography varies quite often using the same symbol for other letters sometimes leaving the meaning of Shin quite obscure): http://heprea.com/

The word starts from the most relevant letter and its meaning, which has been already connected to the deity, that is the burning and purifying fire. A constancy of being actualizing as phenomena at the gates of noumenon.

Resh on the other hand denotes the fire being the first one to manifest, the Light of the Wisdom of the Cherubim reserving it only for those who climb up to the heaveans and claim it. Thus Seraphim is the gate keeper before the next triad after Thrones-Cherubim-Seraphimbegins to receive the divine emanation. Looking through Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon, I found fittingly the following meaning attached to the Hebrew word Seraphim and its possible etymological roots: ”Di Marti and others compare also Egyptian guardian-griffins, called Šerref”.

Moving from noumena to phenomena takes us to Pei as ”mouth”, further ”spreading” and ”speaking” the emanation to the world, now perhaps through the wind element.

As every other of these letters could be interpreted to depict the function of the element called out by the element symbolized with the previous letter, we could make an assumption where Jod signifies the winds work by which the lower orders are created as powers under the Hierarchy of Seraphim. This work of the wind being that of reasoning order of the Hierarchies, which are given the fire of life present in the first letter of the name. We also need to remember that we have now entered in to the plural form of the word (שָׂרָף), and the Jod and Mem in their meanings of spread and affect, are already moving further from the gate so to speak. We can think of these letters of plurality as the words and glimpses of the guarding entity at the gate as we perceive them from the perspective of those who approach the gate, or from the middle triad of the ninefold hierarchy, (see the classifications on the previous post) which is outside of this section of the book.

Mem are the water element upon which the orders in this air are pressed upon. And thus ends the immediate category of beings which could be said working as the members of the body of Seraphim. These three areas, perhaps signified by the three pairs of wings in the biblical account of angels, could be seen rather the immediate area of existence on which the constacy of the fire reaches properly, while the fourth element (Earth) could be seen such a slow one that it does not belong to the immediate governance of the constancy of being the orthodox reading of Dionysius pointed in Seraphim. Even water is not given a function under the name Seraphim, if my rather freeform interpretation is to be trusted, but seen only as the receiving end of the constancy of the entity.

Again, this interpretation is quite my own and should be taken with a handful of salt. The relevance of elements in such a highly positioned part of the hierarchy as Seraphim is questionable to say the least. But as the Hebrew word is used in the Tanakh quite often to signify serpent or a dragon, there is an inkling of an argument there to connect this being to the area which we call in our Sanskrit terminology as Prana (Dragon as a symbol in its all-encompassive nature [especially including matter and the elements at large the elements] being similar to the Sun), over which we see the elemental cross in our usual depiction of the Hieroglyphic Key (cf. Secret Doctrine reading group just now touching this area with more depth).


We can recognize a scale of movement taking place from the hierarchies where Thrones is an immobile symbol (perhaps close to the idea of the Laya point and the hidden Sun, and again perhaps close to the idea of the Scribes or Lipikas who give movement its weight and purpose through the karma they have ”written” in to the memory of Akasha), Seraphim is already denoting with its constancy the very principle of movement (in relation to the unmanifest Akasha, comparing to Theosophical terminology, we are talking about the active vortex of Ether), while in the middle we see Cherubim as the vessel in "the chariot of Jehovah”. Note how chariots, ’Ophanim’ or "wheels" in the Biblical account consists of a semi immobile vehicle/car/shell and its mobile wheels, and how Ophanim are sometimes set around the four sides of the cubic throne and in the same class with Cherubim and Seraphim (sometimes even seen synonymous to Thrones, which I’d like to avoid in this interpretation). Thus Cherubim could be seen as if a soul/vehicle between the immobile and the mobile. In short, my hypothesis is that Thrones gives the first cause to movement, Cherubim is the animating principle and Seraphim is the virtue of movement itself.

Overall, virtue could be an excellent word to describe the nine hierarchies, meaning they are the very virtue behind the described functions.

[Smaragd]

Caput VII.
Section II.

The basic idea here is that these three hierarchies closest to the Godhead reside in a position and being which we could call pure virtue. At the very fountain of manifestation they are filled with understanding how things are, and how the currents of emanation is and how it flows over its differentiating currents. From this pure state no falsehood may even approach them. All the possible stain or imbalances we can see in the so virtues, such views are not reaching the perfection of these beings, for they have conquered their virtues fully. We can have a passing glimpse to these sphere by practicing truthfulness with care and depth for years and years ever on in order to see through the harsh and subtle lies we tell to ourselves. After some time we start to notice more and more of the self-deceiving patterns of others too, and those labyrinths they create seem completely pointless and not reaching the clarity we have paved for ourselves.

The angels of the first hierarchies with their quality of contemplation being the fulness of the Godhead rather than any imaginative symbol or image, hence they are above all of the astrals of which black is the highest (cf. Unseen Fire III, Integration Through Death & Dream) and by proxies infact giving birth to astral spheres (thus not either separate of them although practically [not in karma] free from their deceptive nature), they seems as if beings above memory. Hence there is no recall of even archetypal images, only the fulness of knowing.

as being really near to Him (Jesus as Logos), in first participation of the knowledge of His deifying illuminations; nay more, that the imitation of God is given to them in the highest possible degree, and they participate, so far as is allowable to them, in His deifying and philanthropic virtues, in the power of a first manifestation

This cursive part brings me back to the example of practicing truthfulness. When there is that gained clarity to things contrasted with the labyrinths of confusion of others (not that we'd be completely free from them either), it can be quite hard to offer that clarity without the apocalypse alarm to go off. It seems to be similar with the spiritual beings who help us: they are mostly waiting in the rest of their own spiritual sphere of atma-buddhi for us to come to the challenges. If all goes against expectations and we are actually doing the right thing this time, then they might awake and help us further until we regress again in the following challenges and they distance in to the wait until it is again allowed for them to participate.

[Smaragd]

Caput VII.
Section III.

I must admit that there’s not much I can squeeze out from the first paragraph except its last couple sentences. The one’s before that seem to just go on about receiving the mysteries from the ranks above them and the highest from the Godhead himself. If I understood correctly the Godhead is subsequently named Jesus (Godhead as a Logoic agent, and Christ = Logos). It is made a point that Jesus, out of love to man, teached some directly. This seems a bit like apostolic primacy/intimacy taken as a metaphor to the structure of heavenly hierarchies, but I think it also speaks of how human students of the mysteries can receive direct guidance from the Master. Which takes us to the last sentences of the first paragraph:

Now I am astonished that even the first of the Beings in Heaven, and so far above all, should reverently strive after the supremely Divine illuminations, as intermediate Beings. For they do not ask directly, "Wherefore are Thy garments red?" but they first raise the question among themselves, shewing that they desire to learn, and crave the deifying knowledge, and not anticipating the illumination given after a Divine procedure.

This is actually quite sharp and direct account on how the preparation and receiving the divine inspiration works. The quote about the red garments is from Isaiah 63, and as the question is here pointed to be presented to oneself rather than the teacher, it signifies the judgement set upon oneself to the extent that all one’s raiments are coloured by the wine. ”I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” (Isaiah 63:3)

The poetic winefat imagery should make the interpretation loftier than those of masochistic ascetists of Christianity or the inquisitors. The concrete judgement of our falsehoods should not be thrown out with the bath water when cleaning all masochism and inquisiton-like mentality out, but the focus should be in the unbribed judgement of what is true and false in us, rather than in suffering in itself. Only within the Love for Truth can the subsequent illumination be received.

The sharpness of the path of divine inspiration in this account can be recognized in how we are to first prepare by creating unbribed judgement of our own, and the subsequent voicing of questions of puzzling mysteries to ourselves. Then the inspiration often starts to just flow as inner knowledge. But we usually still have to work it through some misdirecting or dusty parts of our minds, which in itself is part of the judgement process where our clothes should be more and more reddened with the Martian colour of sacrifice. Being able to direct these questions to ourselves is part of the awaking of our own individuality and the Logoic being within ourselves. In this way we can have a direct connection to the Master, although the inspiration could be still seen flowing through the Hierarchies as the structures of the mind.

The second paragraph makes a point on of how the divine illumination is not a divine illumination if it does not purify and enlighten us. I don’t take feelings or astral impressions alone as good source of knowledge or signs, but when you have reached clarity on some occult subject and work on these inspirations in a way that others also can make something out of it and it is not mere subjective fancy, then there often comes a rather pure and clear feeling and more importantly: outlook on pretty much everything.


Straying away from the matters of this chapter, I was generally thinking if the hierarchies are part of the so called Platonic idea world and how do the hierarchies relate to the material spectrum of manifestation. Logos and Magna Mater portraying spirit and matter, we could think of the hierarchies as geometric shapes in the idea world hidden in the vastness of Logos. In this sense the Seraphim in their flaming and purifying being could be seen corresponding to the material world of the flames or devourers spoken of in Secret Doctrine, and the element of Fire in general (elements seen as the spectrum of material differentiation/manifestation). I’ll make a hypothesis that the hierarchies extent over the four dimensions where the four elements were forged, and work there as the informing ideas above their material correspondents. These systems of 9 and 4+3 might not go beautifully hand in hand, but I’ve soaked myself so thorougly in Secret Doctrine and its teachings on material substance as of late, that my mind demands such maps to get some hold of the subject of this book.

[Smaragd]

CAPUT VII.
Section IV.

”and knowing many Divine things pre-eminently, and participating in supremely Divine science and knowledge, as is lawful.”

This is an interesting description of the first triad, as it seems to suggest their primacy being also that which we as human beings and occultists might have a hint of, that is the inner knowledge of things in their essence. Could we say that such gnosis, no matter on what subject or area in the lower hierarchies it matters, originates from these higher ones as their attribute revolves around the closeness of the godhead.

A disclaimer is in place here regarding the nature of gnosis. It is quite often I have observed occultists, not to mention the profane, make notions of these pre-eminent sights as true without hesitation. The complexities we present as human beings and as collectives of complex individuals is immense and that which is arguably visible to one’s own eyes, through one’s own interpretation, might not be even near the actuality of a situation. For example claiming to be able to read people very well, and including in the ability to read the ability to interpret, is often a sign of arrogance and hubris. Surely these claims often base on a real sensitivity towards energies, but that is still very far away of the actual discordance from where these energies come from and thus actual understanding of individuals. In the alleged words of Tapio Rautavaara (emphasis mine):
”During my life I have learned various thing, but in the end it sums up to very little. One thing which I have well impressed on my mind is how one should never measure the worth, ability, quality of life or a degree of happiness of a human being by the outside state of being, social status, work assignment or power.” (Freely translated by me).

Thus if we are interested reaching gnosis, we must be humble towards our knowledge of things. Careful what we project onto others. If we have some pre-eminent knowledge about some sorts of things, we must remember to humble ourselves in order to not mix gnosis with as banal things as prejudice, preconception or a cliché. Meaning of each moment is only reached by approaching it carefully. To take upon the language of the book in hand, we must be careful not to mix understanding of the lower hierarchies with that of the most blessed.

The most blessed is described by verses of hymns "Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place" & "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of His glory". In Secret Doctrine Sabbath is described in its most pure meanings to be one with pralaya, the resting period, when all of creation is concealed and in sleep within the laya point. To seek similitude of Sabbath from the latter hymn, it could be seen as the place mentioned surrounding Him – the masculine, and thus we have a beautiful image of divine coitus. A wild interpretation might even suggest Thrones being, if not the Immalucate Mother herself, then atleast the masculine subservants of hers working in the manifestation of the highest ideals of Her being.

To conclude the first triad I will make some notions on correspondeces found from Angel Magic, which has Dionysius as one of its sources. There we come up frequently with the idea that the first triad seen in the following order:

1. Seraphim
2. Cherubim
3. Thrones

These orders are said to posses the following spheres in the world:
1. The Primum Mobile or first mover
2. The Sphere of the Zodiac (Caelum Stellarum)
3. The Sphere of Saturn

The first three of the nine senses:
1. Memory
2. Cogitation
3. Imagination

And three of the nine orders of Cacodemons:
1. Pseudothei
2. Spiritus mendarii
3. Vasa Iniquitatis

Thrones
Starting from the bottom, Thrones possessing the Sphere of Saturn brings me right back to the idea of the laya point, as the eternal rock of Saturn on which the the magician’s feet is set upon. Here I would conjoin the ideas of Saturn the planet in its symbolical position as the furthest limit of the old world, and laya point as the point from which all atoms and individuals cast out their manifestations, i.e. the last limit before we leave this world of manifestation behind.

Trying to catch a glimpse of this order by its negation I found the name Vasa Iniquitatis from Vulgata (Genesis 49:5-7): ”Simeon et Levi fratres vasa iniquitatis bellantia”. ESV translation: “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.” In the Key of Azazel this class of demons is named ’cutters’ or ’those who cut’ (freely translated). I’m interpreting this class of demons to be the blind force which cuts in imitation of the flow of emanation halting completely before our eyes as we look upon the laya point, which we could represent imaginatively as the sacrificial altar of the world.

Imagination in its turn is the ”sense” which sees the first forms of emanation flowing from this invisible gate of all creation.

I would think Thrones could be seen the order ruling over Shekinah, and thus a feminine order. Cups and Thrones both having similar attributes of carrying, holding and supporting.

Cherubim
Cherubim possessing the Sphere of the Zodiac takes a leap towards the fixed stars which constitute the background to the orbiting celestials of our solar system. Such a leap could be taken as a leap to the other side, noumena of before manifestation, in to the purity of the Platonic idea world. If Thrones is the order operating the are of the Mother, then we could take Cherubim as the order operating the rule of the Son. We could see the fixed stars as the symbol of the idea world where points of stars compose basic geometry and thus having archetypal qualities prepared for the manifestations following these archetypal depths. This Logoic interpretation could be seen backed by the Section I description of the order: ”Cherubim denotes their knowledge and their vision of God, and their readiness to receive the highest gift of light”. Cherubim having a vision of God could be compared to the Jesus’ words ”I and the Father are One”, as in Logos as the spiritual operator – The Image of God, if you will – necessary because the absolute in its perfect equilibrium can not create anything. Logos in its own near perfectness then could be seen possessing within itself the archetypal ”visions of God”.

The corresponding class of demons according to Angel Magic (Dr. Rudd’s collection of writings on magic) are named Spiritus mendarii. Mendarii points to lying and the SoA system names it ’deceivers’ (again free translation). These demons could be seen imitating the idea world as the source of light, knowledge and their archetypal guidance, but repeating such a function blindly for an empty cause, they deceive and lead us astray.

Cogitation as a ”sense” seems to corroborate well with all this about Cherubim.

Seraphim
The sphere Seraphim possesses is called Primum Mobile, the first mover (as Dr. Rudd’s manuscript calls it). Apparently in the geocentric understanding this was the whole of the heavens, fixed stars and all, moving around Earth as the day went by. Although the heliocentric reality is now apparent and we know it is our own planet which circles around making the heavens move, this idea still holds symbolical and occult significance as something which precedes even the idea world, and makes the archetypes appear. Perhaps we can think of what makes Logos appear from the absolute. In cosmic correspondence we look at Atma or Will. Compare this to the Section I description of Seraphim:

”The appellation of Seraphim plainly teaches their ever moving around things Divine, and constancy, and warmth, and keenness, and the seething of that persistent, indomitable, and inflexible perpetual motion, and the vigorous assimilation and elevation of the subordinate, as giving new life and rekindling them to the same heat; and purifying through fire and burnt-offering, and the light-like and light-shedding characteristic which can never be concealed or consumed, and remains always the same, which destroys and dispels every kind of obscure darkness.”

The corresponding class of demons are the Pseudothei, who we could imagine imitating the eternal becoming, yet in its formal repetition is all but such constant purifying becoming. Again, a Biblical moment comes to mind where John says: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire". He is ofcourse Jesus, who represents the Logoic becoming which the order of Seraphim could be seen inhabiting.

The corresponding ”sense” given here is memory, and I think we are now speaking of memory as karma. Thus we could perhaps place, with slight hesitancy, equals sign between Seraphim and the Lipikas, or Scribes of whom, according to Theosophists, even the highest adept knows very little of.

***

The text of Dionysius is of such nature that it gains alot from these kinds of comparative studies. For this reason, and to avoid nonsense slipping through, I will try to read whole chapters during periods of a week or two and make such notions as in this post. This at least during the next couple chapters where we go through the rest of the hierarchies in like manner.