BOOK 231: "Working" the Gates
© 2004
>> I would like to ask a rather basic question about how best to use Book 231. I understand that it is for advanced quabbalists and pathworking, but how exactly would an advanced quabbalist use Book 231? Can you give me any ideas in the application of Book 231 or pathworking? Is the idea to meditate on the symbolism of the paths and then to wander into that altered state of consciousness? <<
Near the bottom of the "Introduction" page of BOOK 231 there's a few paragraphs titled, "Working a Gate". This gives you a basic outline of the process, but not any detail.
The first step in working any Gate is to raise your conscious awareness to the highest" (or first in the sequence noted) Sephirah of that particular Gate. There are many ways of achieving this but the one I'd recommend for you is the "Eight Temples Meditation Project" (8T). I recommend it because it is *experiential* and not *just* intellectual. :) And, of course, I recommend it to you because I wrote it. ;-) It integrates *very* well with BOOK 231 *and* TMO.
So, first you must raise your awareness to the "highest" Sephirah of the Gate. Then, you must establish a connection with the next Sephirah in the Gate's sequence. One way to do this is to project the image of the corresponding Tarot arcana (except with the "Hidden Paths" . . . ) and cause it to become a path which connects the two Sephirot. Then, you (i.e., your conscious awareness) traverses the projected image / pathway into the "lower" Sephirah.
Once you have arrived, you create a similar pathway to the next Sephirah in the Gate's sequence, and so on until you reach the place where you started (or the terminus of the Gate in the case of the single paths).
Then you reverse your foot steps until you again return to your starting point. Then you return to normal waking consciousness. :)
Working the Gates is about the focused and intentional movement of your conscious awareness. This integrates the levels of self-awareness involved in that particular Gate.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
07 July 2004