The Degree Sigils of the Witches and the Tree of Life

by Amphion, High Priest, Sable Star Coven

Within covens of the modern tradition of witchcraft, there exists a three-tiered system of initiation. Each of these three levels--called degrees--denotes a greater level of knowledge, experience and attainment of the Great Work. Each of these three degrees is represented by a sigil (magickal character). A proper sigil should embody the concept it seeks to represent, yet the degree sigils of the Craft do not of themselves shed much light on the nature of the degrees themselves, at least, not within the context of the Craft as it is known to the average initiate. If we are familiar with the origins of the modern Craft (see the article, 'Origins of the Modern Craft Movement') we will have noted that there is a distinct influence of the Hermetic Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn inherent within it. It only makes sense, then, to examine the degree sigils in light of the Etz Chayyim, or Tree of Life, the central glyph of the Hermetic Kabbalah.

(The reader of this article, if he or she is not already familiar with the Tree, should consult a good textbook on the subject in order to fully benefit from this essay. Dion Fortune's 'The Mystical Qabala' is a fine example of such a book, although Ellen Cannon Reed's 'The Witches' Qabala' will suffice. Or, one may choose to peruse Colin Lowe's 'Notes on Kabbalah'.)

1st Degree

The sigil of the First Degree takes the form of an inverted equilateral triangle, similar to the symbol of elemental Water used in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The First Degree, also called the Path of the Goddess, is a difficult journey, requiring a great deal of inner growth on the part of the Neophyte. Let us place the sigil upon the Tree of Life:

Here, we see that the triangle of the First Degree touches upon three of the Holy Sephiroth, namely Yesod, Hod and Netzach. These three sephiroth also form what is called by Hermeticists the 'Astral Triangle'. These three Emanations of the Divine concern the Mind (Hod), the Emotions (Netzach) and the subtle, astral conjunction of the two (Yesod). It will be noted that the sephira at the bottom of the illustration, Malkuth, is not included in this sigil; Malkuth has its correspondence in the physical body, and is therefore always in use, regardless of magickal development.

To continue, let us examine the positioning of the sigil on the Tree. The raising of consciousness, as occurs in a proper initiation, occurs strictly on the Middle Pillar. The side Pillars of Mercy and Severity are simply phases of development; each sephira of the Middle Pillar is the harmonized aspect of two other sephiroth. Therefore, in the First Degree, consciousness is raised to Yesod, the psychic sphere. As previously mentioned, the path of the First Degree is also called the path of the Goddess. It is therefore fitting that once the Degree is taken, the neophyte has entered the lunar sphere, for Yesod is the sphere of the Moon (Heb. 'Levannah'). The path connecting Malkuth, our starting point, and Yesod, the sphere of the First Degree, is the Path of Tau. Ruled by Saturn, this path brings hardships and tribulations, tests and inertia. Any one who has achieved the First Degree can identify with this easily enough, for the path walked by those seeking the Goddess is a difficult and trying one.

Examining Hod and Netzach, the component parts of Yesod, we come into contact with the Mind and the Emotions. Every human being contains both an analytical and an emotional side; in every person however, one of these two forces is dominant. As Seekers, aspirants to the Priest/esshood, and mystics seeking their way in the Great Work, balance is of prime concern to properly trained witches. He who is analytical must also embrace his emotions and learn to feel as strongly as he thinks. He who is of a naturally emotional nature, however, must also learn to think and reason. A balance between these two forces is of prime concern to the mystic, for only after they are harmonized and brought into balance may the higher, more sublime forces be tackled. The Path uniting these two sephiroth is called the Path of Peh; 'Peh' being a Hebrew letter who's meaning is 'mouth'. The completion of this path will bring about the 'inner dialogue' written of by such men as Carl Jung and Aleister Crowley. The latter would have thought of this as the embryonic stirrings of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel; the communication is happening, but on an intuitive level generally. And Yesod does rule the most primal aspects of the human psyche! The Tarot trump associated with this Path is 'the Tower'. It does represent, to the mystic, this very exprience, for on this Path the ego must be sacrificed in order to pave the way for the Higher Self to shine through. The shattered tower on the card is the ego; the divine lightening the sublime potency of the Higher.

If we examine the other paths located at this level of the Tree, we begin a tale that will continue beyond the First Degree. The paths of Qoph (the moon card, Malkuth to Netzach), Shin (the Judgement card, Malkuth to Hod) and Tau, which we have dealt with, together spell the Hebrew word t c q, (QShTh, if you've not the proper font) which means 'Rainbow'. Not only does the rainbow mythologically represent ascend to the Higher, we can also see the English pun for 'bow'--a missle weapon. More on this in the Second Degree.

In the Golden Dawn system, there are several grades that are passed through in this stage. These are Neophyte, Zelator, Theoricus, Practicus, Philosophus and the Portal Grade. Once a witch is initiated to First Degree, if the work has been diligent and the teachers well trained, the new initiate should have achieved a degree of development equivalent to the Philosophus; work now focuses on the Portal Grade leading to the Second Degree.

As a final point, the Path of Peh is the first reciprocal path the Seeker will encounter when journeying back up the Tree of Life. It is one of the 'Dark Nights of the Soul'; a time of spiritual darkness and tribulation as the Goddess places the neophyte within her crucible. At this point, the neophyte must be willing to weather the storms that shall ensue, and persevere, for only through s dogged continuation of his or her magickal work can success be attained.

2nd Degree

The sigil of the Second Degree, illustrated above, is an inverted pentagram. Among our more prudish American brethren, this sigil is often depicted right-side up, to lessen potential confusion with the Satanic groups that also claim this ancient symbol as theirs alone. As we shall see though, this is erroneous and serves only to muddle the magickal symbolism of the sigil itself. Whereas the First Degree, or Path of the Goddess, led us to the feminine, lunar sphere, the path of the Second Degree leads us along the Path of the God. On the Tree of Life, the sigil is placed so:

The inverted pentagram, far from being an evil symbol, remains a sign of totality below Tiphareth. The four elements are all represented, as is the mysterious and intangible fifth--Spirit; called also Akasha and Quintessence. Why then does the pentagram point downwards? The Second Degree initiate, although advanced, has not yet attained the true mystical state. The pentagram points downward (the lowest point is that of Spirit) to indicate that although advancement has been achieved, Spirit is still enslaved to matter and the material; the Ego has not yet been wholly crushed, and the Abyss has not yet been crossed.

The first thing we note about the Second Degree is the Path of the God. As the Goddess' path led us up to Yesod (via the Path of Tau) and her lunar consciousness, the path of Samekh leads us to the Solar sphere of the God. In the psyche of mankind, Tiphareth at the top of the path is consciousness--waking consciousness contrasted with the emotional, primal being of the Goddess-mind. In the First Degree we saw the rainbow--or bow (as in 'arrows') streching over the lower Tree. The arrow fired up the Tree by the neophyte in his spiritual quest sunders the veil, and pierces Tiphareth through the path Of Samekh. And the astrological attribution of this path is Sagittarius--the Archer. The Tarot Trump of this Path is 'Temperence'. The more correct title of this card should be 'Tempering', for the initate is here placed in the fire of the God, and must have his impuritied seared and burned away if he is to continue in his development.

By looking at the above diagram, we note that several sephiroth not concerned with the First Degree have come into play now. Tiphareth, the sphere of the Sun (Heb. "Shemesh"); Gevurah, the sphere of Mars (Heb. "Madim") and Chesed, the sphere of Jupiter (Heb. "Tzedek") are all new comers. While we have previously covered Yesod, Hod and Netzach, all of which also continue to exert their influence here, we must now consider the next three sephiroth. Firstly, Tiphareth is the sphere of the Dying and Rising God archetype--Christ, Osiris, Tammuz. In the Golden Dawn ritual of passage into Tiphareth, the new Adept is symbolically crucified, and in so doing sacrifices his ego / lower self in favour of his Higher. This sephira is also the sphere of balance and harmony. Although at this phase of development that balance has not yet been achieved--nor can it be before the Abyss is crossed--it presages what is to come. If one has passed through the traditional Second Degree ritual, the attributions of Tiphareth become painfully obvious. Gevurah, the next 'new' sephira, is the sphere of severity. Here, the force of catabolism in all its forms blazes forth. Gevurah destroys, it crushes and tempers. No where else on the Tree does the ritual scourge fit so well. the Second Degree must deal with this power--the ability to hurt and destroy--and temper it always with compassion and a knowledge of what is right, in the long run. Chesed, the third of our new sephiroth, is the sphere of anabolism. It is truly the opposite of Gevurah. It builds, it creates, but the Second Degree must here also temper his actions. It is easy to do good, to coddle and forgive, but there are times when this cannot be done without detriment. It is said among the initiates of the RR et AC (the 'inner order of the G.'.D.'.) that those who have achieved this grade of initiation are freed from the wheel of rebirth, and no longer must incarnate.

If we examine the paths of this Degree on the Tree, we find more parallels with the Second Degree Between Hod and Tiphareth is the path of Ayin--the Devil Tarot Trump. This path, together with the Path of Nun (Death Trump) between Netzach and Tiphareth, teach painful lessons involving attachment to the material world and excruciating inner change respectively. These are great tasks for the Second Degree who is now in the crucible of the God, and he is far less forgiving than the Lady. Other new forces in play include personal sacrifice for the greater good (path of Mem, Hod to Gevurah), submission to the Will of the universe (path of Kaph, Netzach to Chesed), a seeking for the Higher and True Will (path of Yod, Tiphareth to Chesed), a balance and knowledge of the way things should be (Path of Lamed, Tiphareth to Gevurah) and finally, the balance between Mercy and Severity (Teth, Gevurah to Chesed). This final path is truly important, for without it, the balance so needed by the Seeker is lost. In the First Degree, balance between Mind and Emotion must be achieved, now the same equilibrium between Severity and Mercy must be attained. It is not for nothing that the initiates of the RR et AC said, "Unbalanced Mercy is weakness and the ebbing away of the Will, unbalanced Severity is tyranny and bareness of the Mind."

Third Degree

The first thing we will notice about the sigil of the Third Degree is the combination of the previous two sigils. Both, however, in this exalted Degree, are reversed from their previous positions; the pentagram points up, as does the equilateral triangle. The very fact that this triangle points upwards is supportive of thr Kabbalistic origin of the sigils; on the Tree of Life, several triangular formations exist. These are genrally called the 'Supernal', 'Magickal' and 'Astral' triads, although these names do vary from author to author. Of these three, only the supernal triad forms an upward pointing triangle, and this same triad is the only one that lies above the Abyss between astract and more concrete reality. The pentagram, now pointing upwards, indicates that Spirit has triumphed over matter and material attachments at last.

Finally, in the Third Degree, as evidenced by the sigil superimposed on the Tree, the lowest forms of consciousness have been left behind. Only the exalted consciousness of Tiphareth and the higher sephiroth exist, as well as the sublime state of the pseudo-sephira Da'ath (on the top point of the pentagram), which provides the point of crossing the Abyss. Once the Abyss is crossed, the actual becomes the ideal. Reunification of opposites is the order here. As the Book of the Law says, 'I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union'. Here, that union has been achieved within the microcosm of the soul.

The Paths of the Third Degree, again, shed light on the work of this Degree, which is truly a completion of the Second. The path of Cheth--the Chariot--leads from Gevurah to Binah. Here, the initate must learn to harmonize all opposites, but to a purpose. The Middle Way must be achieved, and the opposite forces that once raged within the soul are brought into a harmonious working, 'pulling' together, not in seperate directions. The path of Vau, the Hierophant, runs from Chesed to Chokmah. The lessons of this path include those of spiritual love and wisdom, of a caring and compassion for mankind, of the type that brought the sacrifice of Christ, the descent of Aradia and the fast of Mohatmas Ghandi. From the consciousness of Tiphareth to the Mother, Binah, is the Lovers, the path of Zayin. The traditional image of the Lovers card shows three figures, a man; a woman and an angelic being. Rising up the Tree, we can look at this several ways. Firstly, the man is the lower self, turning his face towards the Higher, which again turns to the Divine. In this case, it is a path of spiritual devotion. Without its intense devotion to the Great Work and the Gods, one has not the impetus to successfully navigate Da'ath and emerge, a Child of the Universe, on the other side. Also, this card presages the reunification with the twin soul. That very act, of the two halves of the soul reuniting in love, completes this path. Nothing greater exists to transcend the Abyss. From Tiphareth to Chokmah is the path of He, the Emperor (Crowley considered it the path of Tzaddi, reversing the Star and the Emperor). This path deals with the power of the Universe...the influx of pure force from Chokmah. It tempers again, and purifies, but also lends great potency to the soul of the Seeker after the Third Degree. It is a path that must be walked carefully. Finally, the Path of Gimel, the Camel. This is the longest path of the Tree, lancing upward from Tiphareth to Kether, through the office of Da'ath. The lessons glimpsed on the other paths must serve the Seeker well here, for he should now have achieved all balance possible below the Abyss. If he perseveres up this path, and crosses the Abyss, he will have partly achieved the Third Degree. Only the paths of Aleph, Beth and Daleth (the Fool, the Magician and the Empress) will remain to him.

These final three paths, attributed to the Tarot trumps The Fool (Aleph), the Magician (Beth) and the Empress (Daleth) are certainly among the most sublimely mystical. The first two connect with Kether itself, the original source of all being, the sublime mystical state called by the Buddhists Nirvana. These paths of are of an extremeyl abstract nature, and cannot truly bear elucidation here, but of the Path of Daleth a few things may be said. As the final reciprocal path of the Tree, and the only one found above the Abyss, it is the last great Dark Night of the Soul faced by the Seeker. Here, the opposites that must be harmonized are those of simple, fundamental polarity. All the work the Seeker has done, all experiences and all knowledge, have been slowly reassembled into one composite whole, yet still does the essential polarity of existence exist. This final task of the initiate is to harmonize these two opposing forces, to truly make the soul hemaphroditic, and to move forward as a god. Then, as a truly enlightened being, the initiate is no longer a part of the world, but is something greater; something we may perhaps term the Fourth Degree.

In the end then, after placing these sigils upon the Tree of Life, we find a fantastic tool for the exploration of the spiritual forces and tasks of an initate of each degree. It must never be forgotten that even our Craft has roots, and by examining these roots we are able to glean far more about the true mystical nature of our Path than we may have thought possible before. Let the Seeker always seek; 'let naught stop you or turn you aside, for behold...I am that which is attained at the end of desire'.

So, what may we learn from all this? Simply, that the traditional Degrees of the modern Craft movement are valid and powerful stages of development. This bears a second point, however. The Degrees cannot simply be granted due to book-learning, hours of meditation, or even hardcore magickal work. The Degrees must be viewed as acknowledgements of completion; they are ritualized expressions of an inner reality. When one has attained a certain Degree, he or she has done so internally. The formal ritual only crystallizes, or cements, what has already occured within. Let us work to restore the true significance of the sublime Degrees, not only to the glory of the Craft, but also to that of the Gods.

So mote it be.