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Showing posts with label Dream Incubation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dream Incubation. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Celestial Alphabets & Dream Questions

When I was a little boy I overheard a conversation between a burly Jewish biker, and my paternal grandfather who was trying to convince the biker of the "error of his ways." The gentleman in question used to go on, what appeared to be, long journeys at night on his bike, traversing for no apparent reason the extensive flat-lands of the Free State province of South Africa. When my grandfather advised him to rather stay at home, say his bedtime prayers and retire to bed, the biker said that he was communicating every night with the Almighty. In fact, he maintained that he knew the "secret language" by which creation is being manifested, and that he could read its "unfoldment" in the night sky whilst crossing the open spaces of the Free State.

As my grandfather shook his head in disbelief, and waved the "heathen" away most indignantly, I ran after the biker and asked him if he could teach me how to read the "secret messages" in the sky. He gently informed me the stars are part of the very big saga of the beginning and end of everything happening at once in an enormous, most holy "talisman." He told me that the universe changes all the time in accordance with this ongoing "telling of life in the sky," and that, when I was a little older, he would teach me the very "holy alphabet of creation." Then I too may read the "Word of God" at night in the stars. Being at the time unacquainted with the term "talisman," I wanted to know what it was. In very simple language, he defined it a deliberately constructed "spiritual channel" through which Divine Power can be transmitted for our benefit.

To say that I was deeply impressed by this individual would be an understatement. I was imagining a diversity of huge invisible pipes reaching down from the stars, through which the "Holy Power" of the Divine One is flowing down into our world, in order to affect our lives for the better. Alas, that was the only conversation my biker friend and I would ever have, since he died a short while afterwards in an automobile accident.....during the hours of daylight, when he was not being "distracted" by divine messages in the night sky!

Around twelve years later, when I chanced upon the conception of Guillaume Postel that the will of the Eternal One appears in the vault of the heavens in the form of special Hebrew glyphs, I surmised my biker friend gained his notion of reading the "Word of God in the night sky" either from Postel, or from his admirer Jacques Gaffarel, a 17th century French Kabbalist and librarian to the famous Richelieu, who adopted Postel’s cosmic writing notions, and created the following illustration of the "celestial alphabet" in the ever changing "talisman of the heavens."
The endings of each letter comprise little circles. Each of these represents a star, sets of which are joined by lines to form the "magical language" of the "celestial alphabet." These constructs are based on the Hebrew alphabet, and Gaffarel derived his version of this alphabet from the "occult" writings of Cornelius Agrippa, as shown in the following table indicating the formats of the "Celestial Alphabet" from Agrippa to our own time:
The “Celestial Alphabet” is probably the most well known of all the angelic scripts. As indicated, it appears in a miscellany of calligraphical configurations ranging from simple lines to the following emboldened and outlined format:
An entire magical system was built around a magical alphabet comprised of glyphs emboldened in this manner. Such "fattened" glyphs are at times employed in Hebrew amulets, as indicated in the following Kamea created for the purpose of finding an answer to a vexing question, or a beneficial response to a special request:
In standard Hebrew script the magical inscription reads:
These three names, which we are informed should be drawn in the format of the magical seals listed above, are in fact acronyms of the following angelic names:
Transliteration:
Vad’el A’ma’el D’avi’el Micha’il [Miva’el] Av’mi’el Vav’da’el Mamav’el A’av’el Tat’va’i’el Mat’ri’el B’mati’el
The magical inscription, the associated angelic names, as well as five concluding Divine Names should be written on deerskin parchment, or a sheet of clean, good quality paper. The mentioned five concluding Names are:
Transliteration:
’gaf n’gaf sh’gaf t’gaf r’gaf
Afterwards the writing is dissolved in a glass of water, which is then ingested by the one seeking the spiritual response. This is followed by spontaneous prayer which does not include any form of adjuration. We are told that without a doubt, the query will be answered in dream during sleep, and that this is a tried and tested technique.

It should be noted that the first three of the odd sounding concluding Divine Names, i.e. , are also employed in a somewhat more complex "Dream Question" procedure. In this regard, one is instructed to carefully wash the body from the hips downwards. Afterwards the "Hashkiveinu" prayer is said. It reads:
Transliteration:
Hash’kiveinu YHVH Eloheinu l’shalom v’ha-amideinu malkeinu l’chayim ufros aleinu sukat sh’lomecha, v’tak’neinu b’eitza tova milfanecha v’hoshi’einu l’ma’an sh’mecha v’hagen ba’adeinu v’haser me’aleinu oyev dever v’cherev v’ra’av v’yagon v’chaser satan milfanenu u’mei’achareinu uv’tzel knafecha tastireinu ki El shomreinu u’matzileinu atah ki El melech chanun v’rachum atah ush’mor tzeiteinu uvo’einu l’chayim ul’shalom mei’atah v’ad olam uf’rosh aleinu sukat shlomecha baruch atah YHVH shomer amo yisra’el la’ad
Translation:
Help us YHVH to lie down in peace, and raise us up, our King, to life. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace; guide us with Your good counsel, and save us for the sake of Your Name, and shield us from foe, pestilence, and from starvation, sword and anguish. Remove the evil forces that surround us, and shelter us in the shadow of Your wings, El who watches over us and delivers us, and El our gracious and merciful King. Guard our coming and our going, to life and to peace from now unto eternity. Blessed are You YHVH, Guardian of Your people Israel forever.
Next, after donning clean clothes and prior to falling asleep, one has to address the listed Divine Names with strongly focussed intention (Kavvanah) and in great purity, extend the query to which one is seeking an answer in sleep and dream, saying:
Transliteration:
b’vakashah mikem shemot ha-kadoshim v’ha-tehorim shetar’uni b’chalom ba’lailah ha-zeh shehenachti et shmoteichem m’rashoti tshuvat she’elati shehi [.....state the question.....] v’lo ira v’lo afached v’lo yishachach mimeni klum b’shem Argi Nargi Sargi ’gaf N’gaf S’gaf
Translation:
Please I request from you pure and Holy Names, to receive in dream this night, in which I put your names under my head, an answer to my question which is [.....state the question.....] I will have no fear and I will not be scared, and I will not forget anything, in the name Argi Nargi Sargi ’gaf N’gaf S’gaf
Afterwards write the Divine Names on a kosher scroll, and place it under your pillow, then go to sleep.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Seeking Answers from Divine Sources - Part 1

A query regarding "She'elah b'Hakitz," i.e. seeking answers to life questions from "Divine Sources" in a "magical manner" whilst fully awake, was posted a while back to the "Concepts of Kabbalah" egroup. The actual techniques employed are akin to "She'elat Chalom" ("Dream Questioning"), of which a number of procedures are extant in primary "Practical Kabbalah" literature. Several of these require careful preparation of body, mind and soul, the utterance of Divine Names with kavvanah (focussed attention and intention), and involve the direct, personal "revelation" of answers to the querant in, as it were, a "prognosticatory" manner, in some instances without the need of any "spirit intermediaries." This being said, there are also a number of techniques not requiring any special preparation as such, and whilst some of these practices involve the use of Divine Names only, there are others which do require the support of "malachim" (angelic beings), albeit the latter being usually adjured in conjunction with Divine Names.

Tracing "She'elah b'Hakitz" methods in the literature of "Practical Kabbalah," it is clear that there are numerous procedures dealing with "dream questioning," yet relatively few detailing related techniques worked whilst fully awake. As a case in point, I found around fifty odd practices on "She'elat Chalom" in "Shorshei ha-Shemot" by Moses Zacutto, yet only twelve dealing with "She'elah b'Hakitz." Interesting details regarding both "She'elat Chalom" and "She'elah b'Hakitz" can be found in an extensive essay by Moshe Idel titled "Iyyunim b'Shitat Ba'al Sefer ha-Meshiv," and another fair resource on this topic is "Studies in Jewish Dream Interpretation" by Monford Harris.

As said, certain "She'elah b'Hakitz" practices require careful preparation of the one seeking answers to queries by means of this kind of procedure. In an untitled manuscript (Ms. Sassoon 290) we are told that the querant, prior to working "She'elah b'Hakitz," should be purified and immersed (in the Mikvah [the Jewish ritual bath]), dressed in white clothing, and should have undergone special preparation for a three day period during which several Divine Names are enunciated, etc. In fact, we are told that these Divine Names include a special "Shem ha-Meforash," (not the well-known "Ineffable Name") which a certain Rabbi Simeon (the Great [?]) brought back to this earthly domain after one of his sojourns in the celestial realms. This unique Name is said to have been used in the primordial "act of Creation," that it can be employed to create a Golem (artificial humanoid), as well as to receive spiritual insight and guidance on waking from a sleep which was induced by means of certain Divine Names.

Be that as it may, from amongst the "She'elah b'Hakitz" practices listed in "Shorshei ha-Shemot," I have selected two procedures which do not require unduly great physical and spiritual preparation to work successfully. I have tried out the first of the two techniques, which I have subsequently continued to employ with great effect. What is more, it is relatively easy to execute, so here it is.

The main Divine Name to be used in this technique is (vocalised Yahv'-yoraynee). This Divine Name is interesting in that it comprises the fundamental three letters of the Ineffable Name (), and the term Yoreini () meaning "to show me" or "to teach me." To work this technique successfully one has to commence with a single recitation of Isaiah 25:1 which reads:


 


Transliteration:
YHVH Elohai atah aromimcha odeh shimcha ki asita pele eitzot meirachok emunah omein
Translation:
YHVH Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy Name, for Thou hast done wonderful things; even councels of old, in faithfulness and truth.
This is followed by the following adjuration which must be said three times:




Transliteration:
Y'hi ratzon milfanecha Elohei Yisra'el sh'ta'aneini v'bi'ur nachon al she'elati shehi (question) b'koach shem ha-yotze mipasuk zeh
Translation:
May it be your will God of Israel that you should answer me with the correct explanation on my question (here fill in the question) through the power of the Name which emanates from this verse.
Afterwards you have to utter the earlier mentioned Divine Name (Yahv'-yoraynee) three times, and the answer will forthwith pop into your mind.
The second technique which I wish to share is somewhat more complex, and since it will take a little time to prepare it in the same detailed manner in which I have attempted here with the first technique, I will have to present it in a second missive.