How dare anyone test you! Why do you have to put up with all of this? Why is this not explained in plain English so you can understand it and apply the teaching? Why all these metaphors, symbols and parables?

Christ said, "Therefore speak I in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." (Matthew 13:13); and again, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables." (Mark 4:11) Once more, "Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand." (Luke 8:10)

Have you got the message?

Sphere 7 - Nikh (Nike) Victory

Nike is used six times in the New Testament and means Victory in its usual sense of a triumph over an adversary after a struggle or battle. But what is the struggle? Who is the adversary? After all, we have just come from Goodness. The clue is given by the path of e (epsilon) that leads into Victory and the path of h (eta) that leads out of it. These are the second and third masculine paths. Before we can progress from the second to the third, there is a struggle that must be won. The second path is attributed to Mercury whose archetypal meaning is the high intellect. The third path is attributed to Venus whose archetypal meaning is desire, emotion and yet again, the sex drive. What then is the struggle? It is the battle between the intellect and desire. What does Victory mean? Not that one defeats the other. That would be the opposites in direct opposition and mutual destruction. Victory is the symbiotic relationship between intellect and desire, so that they work together. That is easy enough to say, but very difficult in practice, hence the title of this sphere is Victory.

The first letter N (ni) is attributed to Scorpio and the combined journey. Appropriately, it is the path of the genitals and the physical location of the struggle. The second letter i (iota) has already been described. Here, simply note that it is the next step on the masculine journey after the struggle has been won. The third letter k (kappa) is attributed to Leo on the combined journey and links Goodness with Victory. Do you see the intricate interconnections within the Tree? We are only touching the surface at the moment. There is a great deal more to discuss. The fourth letter h (eta) is attributed to Venus, the third masculine step and the third chakra. The experience is described in the Apocalypse 2:12-17, as the Letter to Pergamos.

The formula for understanding Victory is Scorpio, Sun, Leo and Venus.

Sphere 8 - Megalwsunh (Megalosine) Greatness

Megalosine appears four times in the New Testament. Curiously, it is not used in its literal meaning of "greatness", but rather in the sense of "majesty". Thus it means something like great authority, sovereignty, dignity and imposing character; all meanings quite appropriate to the subject we are studying. Here is the clue: there are 10 letters in Megalosine. The whole of the Tree of Life is encapsulated in this word. Appropriately, 5 letters are vowels and 5 are consonants, thus giving a balanced perspective. The true Greatness of the Tree lies in the breadth and depth of knowledge of the process salvation that it gives to us.

The first letter M (mi) is attributed to Libra on the combined journey. It connects Goodness and Power. The second letter e (epsilon) is attributed to Mercury, the second chakra and the second step in the masculine journey. It connects Foundation with Victory. The experience is described in the Apocalypse 2:8-11, as the Letter to Smyrna. The third letter g (gamma) is attributed to Taurus on the combined journey. It connects Kingdom and Victory. The fourth a (alfa) has already been described, but note that it is attributed to the Moon and she reflects the "greatness" of the Sun. The fifth letter l (lambda) is attributed to Virgo on the combined journey and connects Victory with Glory; quite appropriate to Greatness. The sixth letter w (omega) is attributed to the seventh masculine step, the seventh chakra and Saturn. It connects Wisdom with First Principle. The description of the experience is in the Apocalypse 3:14-22, as the Letter to Laodicea. The seventh letter s (sigma) has already been described. It connects Power to Crown, again appropriate to Greatness.

The eighth letter u (ipsilon) has also been described. It connects Glory to Wisdom and are they not attributes of Greatness? The ninth letter n (ni) has already been described. It connects Goodness with Glory, again very appropriate for Greatness. The tenth letter h (eta) connects Victory and Greatness. It is the third masculine step, the third chakra and is attributed to Venus. The experience is described in the Apocalypse 2:12-17, as the Letter to Pergamos.

The formula for Greatness is Libra, Mercury, Taurus, Moon, Virgo, Saturn, Aquarius, Jupiter, Scorpio and Venus.

Sphere 9 - Qemelion (Themelion) Foundation

Themelion is used 23 times in the New Testament as Foundation and is related to the Greek word that means "to establish". Clearly, a foundation is laid for the purpose of establishing a firm basis for what shall be built upon it. On the Tree, this is the correct place for Foundation and not the sphere of Kingdom, because a foundation is itself dug into the ground. Kingdom is the ground in which the Foundation is established. But what does it all mean? The clue is contained in Matthew 16:18 where Christ says, " And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;…". It is well known that Christ is using a Greek pun: "Peter" in Greek, is PetroV and that word is related to petra , which means "rock". Cube shaped rocks were used for foundations of all kinds of buildings at the time of Christ, but especially for temples.

The first letter Q (theta) is attributed to Earth and the first feminine step. It connects Greatness with Goodness. It is the start of the circuit we have noted before. To say that the feminine principle is deep in the Foundation is more than just a play on words. The second letter e (epsilon) has already been described. Note however that it connects Foundation to Victory and is part of the struggle we have already observed. The third letter m (mi) has already been described. The fourth letter e (epsilon) is very familiar by now. The fifth letter l (lambda) has also been described. The sixth letter i (iota), seventh letter o (omicron) and eighth letter n (ni), are all well known. The point is to understand how they establish the Foundation. Once more note Scorpio and the genitals.

The formula for understanding Foundation is Earth, Mercury, Libra, Mercury, Virgo, Sun, Mars and Scorpio.

Sphere 10 - Basileia (Basileia) Kingdom

Basileia is found 161 times in the New Testament and is used in 6 different senses. The gnostic teacher Basilides is reported, in a papyrus fragment of unknown provenance, to hold that a soul’s salvation is its rational state and kingdom. Is it an accident that the name Basilides means "he who is of the kingdom"? It is at least clear that Kingdom in the Greek Tree of Life has a deep metaphysical meaning and is not to be attributed to the physical world we live in. This makes complete sense of Christ’s repeated teachings about the Kingdom being at hand, when no one can actually see it. (Luke 17:20,21). We should also note that Basilides uses the word "rational" in a different sense to that in which we use it. Today we treat left brain thinking as being rational. The closest analogy to Basilides’ meaning is right brain thinking. This is consistent with the teaching of Pythagoras.

The first letter B (beta) is attributed to Aries and is the first step of the combined journey. It connects Kingdom and Greatness. The second letter a (alfa) has already been described but note that it is the first step of the masculine journey. It connects Kingdom and Foundation. The third letter s (sigma) has been described. It leads to First Principle, the final destination of the journey begun at Kingdom. The fourth letter i (iota), the fifth letter l (lambda), the sixth letter e (epsilon), the seventh letter i (iota) and the eighth letter a (alfa) have all been described.

The formula for understanding Kingdom is Aries, Moon, Aquarius, Sun, Virgo, Mercury, Sun and Moon.

 

*******

We have come to the end of our first consideration of the Greek Tree of Life. A number of points now arise:

• There are four letters that have not come up for consideration: z (zeta), p (pi), t (tav) and y (psi). They have not been named but they are still part of the Tree. We cannot ignore them and we shall meet them when we conduct the 3 journeys.
• If you have got to this point, it means that you have successfully passed the first test. You have demonstrated patience, concentration, perseverance and discipline. You will need all these qualities as we proceed.
• There are further tests and courage is one of them, because you will have to face your worst adversary – yourself. These tests will be found in the 3 journeys and that which lies beyond them.
• The journeys and the tests are part of the process of salvation. This is a new view of theology. If you do not like it, give up now.

If you do not want to give up, read on.