Greek Kabala
Part 12

What is the fundamental difference between the male and female journeys? Women feel while men think. That is why it is so much harder for men. Transformation comes from feeling not thinking. Women feel through their bodies as a natural consequence of who they are. That is why sexuality is their path to spirituality. In order to feel, men need to be wounded. That is why so much is demanded from them. Men have to learn that their wound is sacramental and the key to transformation. Is it any wonder that self-gratification and "feel good" are more popular?

Step 5 – Mars

The fifth masculine step is the letter o (omicron) connecting Power to Glory and attributed to Mars. It is the fifth chakra to be activated and is of particular significance to the man who seeks to be wounded – the warrior. Yes, men must positively accept their wound and make it the source of their power. That is why older and wiser societies than ours, recognised glory as the legitimate expression of the power generated by the masculine woundedness. Today, we understand the warrior so little, that we pride ourselves about how we despise the Victory and Greatness that are the Foundation of his Power and Glory.

In our society men suffer in silent pain. They are despised if they cry out and also if they do not cry out. Let us see what the Apocalypse has for us 3:1-6, as the Letter to Sardis:

1 To Sardis
2 speaks he with 7 spirits and 7 stars
3 you are alive and dead
4 be watchful and strengthen
5 remember
6 he that overcomes I shall not blot out his name
7 hear what the spirit says.

Men are "alive" or "dead" depending on how they react to their pain. To be alive is to feel the wound and be transformed by it, to be watchful and strengthened. These are hard sayings but these are hard times. It has never been as hard as today, to be a man. But remember, if we overcome our pain, our name shall not be blotted out. Another ruthless statement from Christ. He demands the absolute commitment that only the 12 disciplines can give us. Have you tried them lately? Men, embrace your pain. It is the Power that gives you Glory. Thus speaks He who holds the 7 spirits and the 7 stars. The stars are the chakras and the spirits are the intelligence of the chakras.

Step 6 – Jupiter

The sixth masculine step is the letter u (ipsilon), the sixth chakra, attributed to Jupiter and connecting Glory to Wisdom. It is obvious isn’t it, that wisdom is the result of the pain that glorifies? Wisdom is of course, the abstraction of Sofia. Men try to think wisely instead of feeling Sofia directly. The barrier to feeling wisdom is an unconscious realisation that sexuality is involved. How then is wisdom to be felt? Let us look at the Apocalypse, 3:7-13 as the Letter to Philadelphia:

1   To Sardis
2   speaks he with 7 spirits and 7 stars
3   you are alive and dead
4   be watchful and strengthen
5   remember
6   he that overcomes I shall not blot out his name
7   hear what the spirit says.

Now at last, we are making progress. That is the whole point of knowing Wisdom in the heart. Pain does that. We have kept His word, that is, we have experienced the pain and humiliation, so He will write upon us a new name. That is, He will acknowledge openly our inner transformation, for He has always loved us. We have never been alone or abandoned, for he is holy, true and has the key that opens and shuts. His love for us comes from the heart and that is related to passion and desire. He is the son of Mary, the personification of Sofia and hence she is very close to the surface. We need so much to feel her once again.

Step 7 – Saturn

This is the seventh masculine step, attributed to W ,w (omega), the seventh chakra and Saturn. It connects Wisdom with First Principle. It is the last and culminating step in the inner journey. The experience is appropriately described in the Apocalypse as the Letter to the Laodiceans, 3:14-22;

1    To Philadelphia
2    speaks he who is holy, true, has the key and opens/shuts
3    you have kept my word
4    know that I have loved you
5    behold
6    to he that overcomes I will write upon him my new name
7    hear what the spirit says.

Significantly, this Letter is addressed to the people, not the city of Laodicea. This difference implies a change of consciousness and that is what we would expect. Again we have the problem of the inappropriate translation of the word "beginning". Once more the Greek word is arch (arche) and according tour interpretation, means First Principle. Thus we hear that the First Principle of the creation of God wants us to be completely focussed as either hot or cold. No fuzzy "feel good" here. He tells us to anoint our eyes to see. Thus we too must become anointed ones, Christs. If we become as He is, He shall open the door and we shall sit on His throne. That is why men have made this journey. To become fully masculine, express that aspect of the First Principle and sit on the throne.

It is the duty of all men to travel the maze, experience the pain and be transformed by it. Note once more the maze-like quality of the seven masculine steps in the diagram below.

 

Have you seen something else? There are five paths that lead directly into First Principle from Goodness, Power, Glory, Understanding and Wisdom. There are three feminine paths, from Goodness, Glory and Understanding; one masculine path from Wisdom; and one combined path from Power. All three journeys end at the same place, but the female journey takes pride of place. Thus our understanding emphasises the feminine as especially important. It follows logically that women must take an active role in the Church as clergy. In the cases where this already happens, the mistake has been made for women to fulfill men’s roles. They are women priests instead of being priestesses.

We shall not assist Sofia until women fulfill their archetypal duty of love, mercy and healed sexuality. Male clergy have trouble doing this even if they have found their feminine side.

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It is time for a rest because the worst has yet to come. The journey of the deep masculine, the Gnostic ascent of the soul. It can only be accomplished by men who have felt their pain, whose wounds are sacraments and who have completed the outer masculine journey.