8 circuits & Qabalah

[Gawain]

Is anyone here very familiar with the Leary-Wilson 8-circuit theory? In studying Qabalah, I'm trying to fit my previous knowledge to the Tree, but the circuits don't seem to correspond directly with the Sephiroth. Has anyone worked out a way of doing this? Thank you...

[Jim Eshelman]

I don't think they fit the Tree.

I did some work with them in terms of chakras when the book first came out, but it's been a long time and I've forgotten how that went. Obviously it wasn't impressive enough for me to commit it to memory.

[Modest]

The book "New Hermetics" makes paralels between the tree of life and 8 circuit model. There are various ways to get the book.

[Gawain]

Thanks, Jim. Would I be correct in saying you don't think the model adds anything to the Western mystery tradition, or is particularly useful for a student of it?

Modest - yes, I've seen the book, and he does a direct circuit-to-Sephira correspondence. However he seems to discard most traditional Qabalistic symbolism in that book, and I'm not sure some of the correspondences are quite right. Some of them are tantalizingly similar though. But Yesod and the second circuit, or Geburah and the sixth, for example, don't really seem to fit.

I have a current pet theory, though, if anybody's in the least bit interested....

[Jim Eshelman]

Thanks, Jim. Would I be correct in saying you don't think the model adds anything to the Western mystery tradition, or is particularly useful for a student of it?

I think the model is legitimate valuable. I tend to keep it in its own terms, though - I never found it to be a sufficiently close fit for other models without using a shoe-horn, lots of lube, and squeezing really hard.

[Sphynx]

The correlation is not direct as there are 8 circuits and 10 spheres. But ...

1st circuit: Malkuth
"Every human receives an "imprint" of the physical consciousness at birth and shortly thereafter. The physical imprint is something we have in common with even simple organisms: Survival. Physical imprints cause us to move forward toward that which is perceived as "nourishing," and cause us to move away from (backward) that which is perceived as "threatening." In modern, human consciousness this has indirectly and directly led to the concept of obtaining money, for money is the key to contemporary nourishment. You may correctly deduce that a person who receives a weak physical imprint will not be primarily motivated toward food or money, and may be malnourished and in constant financial difficulty as an adult. There are two primary systems which attempt to reprogram the physical imprint. One is Psychology, the other is found in the Martial Arts."

2nd circuit: Yesod
"Every human receives an "imprint" of the emotional consciousness upon reaching the "toddler" stage (when first standing upright and beginning to walk) and shortly thereafter. The emotional imprint is something we have in common with most group organisms: Territorial dominance or passiveness. Emotional imprints cause us to assume a dominant or passive attitude in relation to others."

3rd circuit: Hod
"Every human receives an "imprint" of the intellectual consciousness (sphere eight on the Tree of Life) upon reaching the "monkey" stage (when moving around with curiosity and beginning to talk and to grasp objects), and shortly thereafter. The sphere eight intellectual imprint is something we have in common with most human beings: The ability to manipulate words and/or human artifacts (tools). Sphere eight imprints cause us to assume a "bright" or "dull" ability to verbally express and/or to manually operate tools. Since this imprint leads toward manipulation of the environment, we ironically find that it is itself subject to manipulation by agents of the environment, particularly in the guise of theologians, ideologists, and mass-media advertisers."

4th circuit: Netzach
"Every human receives an "imprint" of the social consciousness (specifically at sphere seven) upon reaching puberty. The ability to maintain social and sexual behavior within (or without) contemporary social law, custom, and moral behavior. Sphere seven imprints cause us to assume a "respectable" or "outlaw" stance in relation to social customs."

5th circuit: Tiphereth-Geburah-Chesed
"Some humans receive an "imprint" of the causal consciousness upon activating a proper "trigger." Suitable triggers may include meditation, sensory deprivation, free fall, zero gravity, religious rapture, faith healing, pranayama (breathing exercises), initiatory shock, tantra, cannabis intoxication, fasting, psychological stress, and acupuncture.
Causal plane imprints may be generated from any one of the three subplanes of the Causal plane [Tiphereth-Geburah-Chesed] on the Seven Planes Chart, but the third (lowest) subplane, corresponding to sphere six of the Tree of Life [Tiphereth], is most common. Specifically, the causal imprint has the ability to instantly override the imprints of all lower spheres. This gives us a key to salvation from the otherwise-impossible-to-change patterns imprinted on the various aspects of our personalities. The causal imprint is something we have in common with about twenty percent of humanity: It is the blurring of the separation between body and mind; the release of this separation leads to a feeling of ecstasy.
This level of consciousness, being attributed to sphere six, "Harmony and Beauty," encourages the individual to seek pleasure (hedonism), and the fine arts (music, art, sculpture, etc.) are a direct expression of this imprint. The pleasure, or more exactly the ecstasy, abolishes the struggle for survival (which is dominated by the first four levels of imprinting), and replaces it with a "floating" or "high" sensation." "

6th circuit: Binah
"Some humans receive an "imprint" of the intuitional consciousness upon activating a proper trigger, which usually includes an ongoing, developing, lengthy experience with meditation (Causal consciousness). Psychedelic substances like LSD-25 are specific for activating or facilitating this imprint. The Intuitional consciousness, or Buddhic plane, is called by metaphysicians the "Akashic Records," which is the storage place for historical information or previous existences. Specifically, the intuitional imprint confers the ability to do specific work along specific evolutionary lines with 'memory' or an intuitive understanding of the universal factors involved. The buddhic imprint is something we have in common with about five percent of humanity.
Those who are operating from the intuitional realm display tolerance of events and other people, compassion, and (interestingly) amorality. The charge of "amorality" has been hurled against every individual who ever saw the truth (the Akashic Records) and then spoke out, or acted, in accordance with that truth. "

7th circuit: Chokmah
"Some humans receive an "imprint" of the spiritual consciousness upon activating a proper trigger, which may include many years of advanced Raja Yoga, the use of sacred power plants, and/or the practice of Magick. The Spiritual, or Atmic, plane is called by metaphysicians and parapsychologists the "Metaprogramming Circuit" or "Magical Consciousness." Specifically, the spiritual imprint confers the ability to "construct a new reality tunnel." Accessing this level of consciousness is the only means to reprogram the imprints of the personality, which otherwise will remain unchanged throughout a lifetime (and perhaps beyond!). The atmic imprint is something we have in common with about three percent of humanity.
For the person who succeeds in gaining access to this level, and is able to operate (even a little) herein, there lies the danger of degeneration into megalomania. The metaprogramming circuit is too real, and too powerful a concept, to project it directly outward to normal humanity without wrapping it extensively in a genuine sense of humor."

8th circuit: Kether
"Some humans receive an "imprint" of the monadic consciousness upon activating a proper trigger, which may include clinical death (dying on an operating table and then being revived) or 100% out of the body projections (see Astral Projection). The Monadic plane is called by metaphysicians and parapsychologists the "Quantum Circuit." Specifically, the monadic imprint confers the ability to "access all the information of the Universe." Accessing this level of consciousness often results in reports of extra-terrestrial contact, communication with a "galactic overmind," or conversations with angels. Monadic consciousness exists without a biological container. The monadic imprint is something we have in common with only one to two percent of humanity.
On the Tree of Life, the Monadic plane is the uppermost sphere (number One). It has little to do with the events taking place in the three-dimensional world, and is said to cause an obliteration of the perception of time and space. You may have heard mystics, or marbleheads, discoursing on being "beyond time and/or space;" this is the realm to which they referred."

- All of the above extracted from "Spiritual Acupuncture."

So, yes, there has been some work done comparing these two maps of consciousness.

[Gawain]

Thanks for posting that, Sphynx. But what is Spiritual Acupuncture? A book? I can't find it on Amazon.

I see a lot of the shoehorning there that Jim mentioned. E.g. "2nd circuit: Yesod" is just a description of the 2nd circuit; it doesn't have much to do with Yesod as traditionally described. I mean, they're both connected with emotions, but what about sex, dreams etc.?

Jim, as for keeping it on its own terms, isn't it the task of the student of Qabalah to relate all other systems to this mental filing system?

One thing that keeps buggin' me is that R.A. Wilson ascribed the circuits to the planets in the order of the days of the week, starting with the moon. What is the occult significance of that order?

[Sphynx]

But what is Spiritual Acupuncture? A book? I can't find it on Amazon.

Yes it's a book. No, you won't find it on Amazon or anywhere else as it is out-of-print and was only issued in limited edition back in 1988. It correlated The Tree of Life, The Seven Planes Chart (see Alice Bailey), The 8 Circuits, and a whole lot more. The book says:

"Let there be no confusion when confronted with these myriad systems, for all these methods are merely descriptions of the same spectrum. Each seemingly separate system can be equated or correlated to any other system. However, some of these systems hold up better under heavy use. The outline of Seven Planes of Consciousness is particularly easy to understand due to its linear, ladder-like portrayal of the levels of awareness. The Tree of Life of the Qabalists, Rosicrucians, and modern mystery schools stands supreme as a matrix for identifying ten levels of human awareness with twenty-two "ways of doing things." "

..."2nd circuit: Yesod" is just a description of the 2nd circuit; it doesn't have much to do with Yesod as traditionally described. I mean, they're both connected with emotions, but what about sex, dreams etc.?

"Emotions" - The emotional/feeling plane. That's right!

What about sex? On the physical plane, see any anatomy/physiology book. On the emotional plane, here it is at Yesod. It also comes into play (with varying definitions) at all the other planes - on their own levels!

What about dreams? Dreams also occur at many levels. The correlations posted were simply that: Correlations. The book dealt with many issues and was not intended to fully explain everything.

One thing that keeps buggin' me is that R.A. Wilson ascribed the circuits to the planets in the order of the days of the week, starting with the moon. What is the occult significance of that order?

That's a completely different correlation. I fail to see how the 1st circuit (survival) is attributed to Moon-day (Yesod on the Tree). I am always suspicious of correlations that follow something like the same order as the days of the week, or the progression of the months, or the order of the colors in the rainbow, merely because scientists, and emperors, and churches have fiddled and adjusted these things to fit their needs, but not necessarily because it's the way nature does it. You are wise to be "bugged" in this case.

[Poet]

I have been thinking about this one a bit lately.
It occurred to me after reading about the Veil of Paroketh and the Veil of the Abyss, and some of the experiences connected to passing through those veils to higher levels of conscious.

So instead of a sephira-based correspondence, why not one of the 4 worlds? Much like passing through the Grades opens the initiate up to higher states of consciousness by steps, with not every grade necessarily leading to the next circuit up.
Though, trying to see the 2 systems like this, I'd be tempted to have Kether as the 8th circuit on its own with Binah and Chokmah together as the 7th "Meta-Programming" circuit, that way it can include the path of Mercury- the Master of the Elements.


It also occurred today to me that instead of seeing the 4 "higher" circuits as evolved-circuits waiting in potentia, it might be possible to see them as the 4 "lower" circuits in reverse, the difference being how they are experienced, as the victim/creation of them in the lower and as the controller/master of the same circuits in the higher.
Something feels right about this thought.

[Poet]

Atziluth - Circuit 1 as programmed. Circuit 8 as programmer.

Briah - Circuits 2 and 7 as above seem a nice fit.

Yetzirah - 3 and 6 look positively spooky here.

Assiah - 4 and 5.


Or miles off, nil points?

[horustheantichrist]

5th circuit: Tiphereth-Geburah-Chesed

If this is the case, then is the state of consciousness that is obtained from marijuana the same or similar to K&CHGA since marijuana is the drug associated with the 5th Circuit by RAW and Leary?

[Jim Eshelman]

5th circuit: Tiphereth-Geburah-Chesed

If this is the case, then is the state of consciousness that is obtained from marijuana the same or similar to K&CHGA since marijuana is the drug associated with the 5th Circuit by RAW and Leary?

No, it isn't the same.

[horustheantichrist]

Thank you Jim

[horustheantichrist]

Is there any drug that triggers this experience?

[Jim Eshelman]

Is there any drug that triggers this experience?

There are drugs that can give a taste of some part of it (for a person rightly prepared and rightly oriented - set & setting rules, in other words), but not likely one that brings the actual experience unless the person is already essentially there.

[Lavir]

7th circuit: Chokmah
"Some humans receive an "imprint" of the spiritual consciousness upon activating a proper trigger, which may include many years of advanced Raja Yoga, the use of sacred power plants, and/or the practice of Magick. The Spiritual, or Atmic, plane is called by metaphysicians and parapsychologists the "Metaprogramming Circuit" or "Magical Consciousness." Specifically, the spiritual imprint confers the ability to "construct a new reality tunnel." Accessing this level of consciousness is the only means to reprogram the imprints of the personality, which otherwise will remain unchanged throughout a lifetime (and perhaps beyond!). The atmic imprint is something we have in common with about three percent of humanity.
For the person who succeeds in gaining access to this level, and is able to operate (even a little) herein, there lies the danger of degeneration into megalomania. The metaprogramming circuit is too real, and too powerful a concept, to project it directly outward to normal humanity without wrapping it extensively in a genuine sense of humor."

8th circuit: Kether
"Some humans receive an "imprint" of the monadic consciousness upon activating a proper trigger, which may include clinical death (dying on an operating table and then being revived) or 100% out of the body projections (see Astral Projection). The Monadic plane is called by metaphysicians and parapsychologists the "Quantum Circuit." Specifically, the monadic imprint confers the ability to "access all the information of the Universe." Accessing this level of consciousness often results in reports of extra-terrestrial contact, communication with a "galactic overmind," or conversations with angels. Monadic consciousness exists without a biological container. The monadic imprint is something we have in common with only one to two percent of humanity.
On the Tree of Life, the Monadic plane is the uppermost sphere (number One). It has little to do with the events taking place in the three-dimensional world, and is said to cause an obliteration of the perception of time and space. You may have heard mystics, or marbleheads, discoursing on being "beyond time and/or space;" this is the realm to which they referred."

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Sincerely these two are, IMO, completely out of order, at last practically speaking. It seems to me, in fact, that certain individuals nowadays value what they call "Astral Projection" as to become always the end of and everything. The see it completely out of proportion. Instead of a mean they look at it as an end, and this is completely false.

It happened in the recent past also with Mead (and anyway all the Theosophists), for example, where he said, in the specific, that the actual "last" step of the rising of Kundalini was Astral Projection, a thing obviously Avalon - as the most evident example it comes to my mind - was not very happy to hear, and on the contrary bashed this point of view utterly. It would be like saying, in fact, that the end of having the K&C of the HGA is being able to enter an altered state of consciousness. It is quickly becoming the predominant attitude nowadays in a certain field and with certain groups of people (that usually care only for a part of the whole).

I understand the "some" written there, but still, having the capability of doing an Astral Projection has almost nothing to do with the 8th (much differently, for example, on the 7th and Raja Yoga - that should be, along Magick, Mysticism in general, etc. the last). In my experience 99% of people that can have an AP usually just ends up in Assiah based worlds, or, at very best, Yetzirathic ones. I never heard almost nobody ever entering a Briatic world if they weren't doing something specific outside AP alone (and even then, relying on the word of the user, that says little in the end). Naturally this doesn't meant that it's impossible (on the contrary, probably it's a powerful mean, used correctly), only that it's not automatic as many people seem to think, and, on the contrary, it is usually more (maybe much more) difficult to do so because people (for the power of the experience) lose themselves on things that have absolutely no meaning whatsoever apart the "wow" factor.

For example: they get all astonished and whatnot for the "beauty" of the scenario they see, but the 99% of the people able to do AP I've talked with, don't mind at all what the scenario is, nor how did they got there, nor how to reproduce the same, nor if they did "enter" in it at will or if they can control the experience. It is just that this typical mean has this little trap of being so alluring as to make people think they are doing the most greatest things while in reality they are doing almost nothing of concrete in the majority of cases.

I have a little of experience both in Raja Yoga/Magick and APs and I will never say a thing as the one said above (and in fact it usually comes from people using drugs, because they think "leaving the body" the end of all, maybe coming from shamanism a little fraintended). While Raja Yoga/Magick are still mental disciplines (at their core) both the background (meaning that the "setting" in there usually has a large focus on controlling the experience in any case) and the structure of the practices (meaning in this case that they are usually always meant for a concrete goal in mind, instead of being left to the case) make them much more effective (also if BoL work is still a part of Magick, but there it is used a little differently and it is much more controlled) to reach higher planes, usually.

Love is the law, love under will.

[horustheantichrist]

Thank you.

[oldfriend56]

Is anyone here very familiar with the Leary-Wilson 8-circuit theory? In studying Qabalah, I'm trying to fit my previous knowledge to the Tree, but the circuits don't seem to correspond directly with the Sephiroth. Has anyone worked out a way of doing this? Thank you...

Sorry I am coming into this a little late. What a great question - actually it was Leary's and RAW that got me into Crowley and Magick, oddly enough. Many moons ago, I did a lot of work with the 8 circuit model, and actually it helped me navigate many a journey. At one point I was even involved with creating a multi media presentation of the model, so I spent about 6 months in a very creative, even maniacal state working with this system - it was quite a ride.

However, I agree with many here, it's probably not going to fit neat into QBLH proper - nor should it. Leary's model is based on a very specific interpretation and has a very 'sci fi' component to it that provides an interpretation of all esoteric systems and matching them with technological and scientific progress and put into a more 'materialistic' framework. 'Higher Intelligence' is found 'coiled' internally in our bodies, brains, and nervous systems and any esoteric system is a 'intelligence test' for any adept to unlock it and communicate with higher intelligence in a way that pushes evolution forward along the eight circuits, which not only relate to modes of 'intelligence' (not the same necessarily as a state of consciousness) that are accessed in individuals which recapitulate throughout society.

The system utterly rips apart any magical or traditional aspects or interpretations of the tree of life. For example, Leary adds TWO tarot cards which he says 'must' be missing to make the 'table' complete, i.e. 'two' more paths on the tree - not likely that's going to be fitting in anywhere.

Like Jim said, it's it's own stand alone system - and it's probably not useful for ceremonial magicians - although Antero Ali might disagree with that.

But I love it, and as a stand alone system, it's very elegant, holistic, and simple to understand and play with.