Where exactly does the Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn come from?

[Johny111]

I have some doubts about the interpretation of the arrangement of the left and right pillars of the Tree of Life projected onto the human body, as interpreted by the Golden Dawn. According to them, the left pillar of the Tree corresponds to the right side of the human being, and the right pillar of the Tree has its counterpart in the human left side. Traditionally, the left pillar is Boaz, which symbolizes the passive feminine side, and the right pillar is Jachin, which symbolizes the active, or masculine, side. Traditionally, this is how the natures of the left and right sides of the human body are also understood. However, the Golden Dawn initiates teach us that the right side of a human is feminine and the left side is masculine. They view the human being as an inverted reflection of the Tree of Life pattern. Does this make sense to you?

This is just one of the doubts I have in principle regarding the Kabbalah taught by the Golden Dawn. In fact, where exactly does the Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn come from? Jean-Pascal Ruggiu, in his article Rosicrucian Alchemy and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, pointed out that most of the rituals of the Golden Dawn originated with the German Rosicrucians. However, he also points to certain influences on the Rosicrucian movement in Germany by the follower of Shabbatay Zvi - Jacob Frank and his Kabbalistic doctrine. So, if Ruggiu is right, then the Golden Dawn is a strange mixture of Rosicrucianism and apostate Jewish mysticism-Kabbalism. Isn't that why the Kabbalistic teachings of the Golden Dawn are actually of Shabbataic origin, drawing from the model of Lurianic Kabbalah?

 

[Feywer]

I think you may have answered your own question, kind of - It's a hodgepodge of various frameworks. A composite, if you will. There is a LOT it draws on/builds off of.

 

[Johny111]

I think you may have answered your own question, kind of - It's a hodgepodge of various frameworks. A composite, if you will. There is a LOT it draws on/builds off of.

And what do you think about the first part of my post, the one concerning the projection of the left and right sides of the Tree of Life onto the human body?

 

[Amur]

The nerve endings are inverted in the spine to brain. So left is right and right is left. Does that satisfy you?

 

[Yazata]

inverted in the spine to brain.

Right. Binah as female ruling over the Masculine Geburah on the right, and Chokmah as the male on the left ruling over the Feminine Chesed and Netzach.
Really like how the human body is, with left hemisphere ruling the right hand / "science" and the right hemisphere ruling the left "artistic".

Golden Dawn initiates teach us that the right side of a human is feminine and the left side is masculine

Only the two upper Sephiroth. The left side is pillar of Mercy = the left side of the body if you step into the Tree backwards

 

[Johny111]

The nerve endings are inverted in the spine to brain. So left is right and right is left. Does that satisfy you?

When you put it that way, there is nothing to object to. However, Binah is the right nerve ending, and actually corresponds to the left side of the human body. Chokmah is the left nerve ending, and actually corresponds to the right side. And when we go down further on the Tree diagram, we see that Geburah (right arm/shoulder) is masculine, and the left (Chesed) is feminine. Then, one level lower, the left hip (Netzah) is masculine, and the right (Hod) is feminine. That seems like consistent logic, but is this the true polarity of the human body?

 

[Amur]

I usually invert Chokmah and Binah to their right sides and then invert the lower Sefiras again so that I go down that way, seems to work for Middle Pillar. Was at first also baffled by the fact that Binah and Chokmah are on the wrong sides physically. But it's this inversion.

Post automatically merged: Jun 5, 2025

Right. Binah as female ruling over the Masculine Geburah on the right, and Chokmah as the male on the left ruling over the Feminine Chesed and Netzach.
Really like how the human body is, with left hemisphere ruling the right hand / "science" and the right hemisphere ruling the left "artistic".

Only the two upper Sephiroth. The left side is pillar of Mercy = the left side of the body if you step into the Tree backwards

Ahh yeah this made sense, perhaps I shouldn't invert them lol Thank you

 

[Ziran]

I have some doubts about the interpretation of the arrangement of the left and right pillars of the Tree of Life projected onto the human body, as interpreted by the Golden Dawn.

According to them, the left pillar of the Tree corresponds to the right side of the human being, and the right pillar of the Tree has its counterpart in the human left side. Traditionally, the left pillar is Boaz, which symbolizes the passive feminine side, and the right pillar is Jachin, which symbolizes the active, or masculine, side. Traditionally, this is how the natures of the left and right sides of the human body are also understood. However, the Golden Dawn initiates teach us that the right side of a human is feminine and the left side is masculine. They view the human being as an inverted reflection of the Tree of Life pattern. Does this make sense to you?

It can be explained in this way:

If Gevurah is left, then Masculine can be considered left, depending on the attributes assumed to be Masculine.
If Chesed is right, then Feminine can be considered right, depending on the attributes assumed to be Feminine.

The Kabalstic model describing reality asserts there is no empty space. Everything is connected with/in God's Will and Dominion ( Keser and Malchus ) in a nearly infinite nested chain. The nested chain can be imagined like a set of Russian dolls. Each of these russian dolls has an inner-dimension and an outer-dimension. The shape on the inside is simultaneously identical, and inverted, when compared to the outer-dimension. This is their correspondence. The inner-dimension corresponds to the outer dimension.

Now, imagine yourself as one of these Russian dolls, but, you're not inside another Russian doll. Instead, you're being covered by a very thin veil. It drapes over you, and clings to your outer form almost like oil. Then, on top of that veil, is pouring another veil, and on top of that one is another veil. This continues infinitely for as far as can be seen. Each veil conceals more and more of the details of your form. Layer after layer, each veiling is becoming more and and more general, less and less particular. This relationship, General <<>> Particular, is very important for understanding Kabalah.

From the individual perspective, as one of these "Russian dolls", they will not be able to apprehend the root source of their creation. It is far beyond them, separated by nearly infinite layers of increasing oblivion ( traversing from particular >>> general, from prat to klal ). They will only be able to perceive the veil which is immediately proximal to their awareness. And. Here's the important part, from their perspective, it will be the "underside" of the garment which is veiling it. The underside is the inverse of the form which corresponds to it. That is why the Tree of Life is described as inverse to the microcosm of the human form. It's because the human form is being draped by a "tree-of-life" which is nurturing its existence. And from the individual perspective, the form that is immediately proximal, would be the underside of the garment, the inverse of the form immediately beyond but still connected with/in it.

In fact, where exactly does the Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn come from?

In general, Kabalah is a rec'd tradition which is refined by individual experimentation. It becomes popular ( by occult standards ) when/if there are compelling success stories.