A Daily Walk Through the Tree of Life
Here is an exercise that may prove useful in keeping the Tree of Life close at hand on a daily basis. I like to overlay knowledge that I have and create and experiment with how those bits and pieces can be combined in a way that can be used as effective magickal practice and growth. In preparation for my tradition’s (The Assembly for the Sacred Wheel) Climbing the Tree weekend I wanted to find a way to connect daily with a mini-walk experience. For seven days prior I devised a practice using the Planetary Days/Hours- the planetary correspondences of each of the spheres and an overlay of some information gathered from a Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki workshop (The Body of Light) using emersion and coloring of the astral body in a specific color to more fully connect with its energies. Now, given that all of these topics will not easily fit into a single document; in fact, decades of study would just barely reveal only a small portion of the most superficial of knowledge contained within any of these pursuits, I’ll share the general correspondences and would encourage that you do some study on your own to pull the bits and pieces together before you start.
The Tree of Life is an all encompassing blueprint of mundane, spiritual and mystical form and the energies required to make manifest the cosmic principles which are the “stuff” of all our experiences through many lifetimes and points of the evolutionary process. When ascending on the Tree ; or the act of reaching towards the Higher Self, the un-manifest and pure state of being, the starting place is appropriately the sphere of Malkuth. As we move along the “paths” of the tree the energies received from the previous sphere and the energies to be accessed in the sphere ahead coalesce, blend, merge and serve as the guiding current in this upwards process. Each of the 10 spheres is given a set of correspondences to use as reference points and each resides in 4 worlds of experience concurrently and is expressed through designation of a different spectrum of color for each world. For purposes of simplicity the colors I have referenced are contained within the Briatic (Archangelic) world and are the most easily identified with in terms of making energetic connection and moving you upwards from a place of concrete reality into a Higher more refined realm. This is also the place of creative outpour, so by connecting with the vibrations of these specific colors the creative potential within each is set into motion.
The Ten Spheres, their planetary attributions and colors are:
Malkuth = Earth = A quartered sphere of black- yellow ochre-olive green and russet
Yesod = the Moon = purple
Hod = Mercury = Orange
Netzach = Venus = Green
Tiphareth = the Sun = Golden Yellow
Geburah = Mars = Red
Chesed = Jupiter = Blue
Binah = Saturn = Black
Chockmah = The Zodiac / Uranus = Gray
Kether = Neptune = Brilliant White Light
A good resource for information: http://servantsofthelight.org/QBL/Index.html
The Planetary Days are attributed as follows. I’ve included statements that are reflective of that day’s energies and they may be used as a point of focused overlay as you move through each of the spheres:
Monday = the Moon-
A day of emotions and accessing the deep intuitive states- “what do I feel about this sphere? What emotions are stirred and what is the deeper wisdom contained?”
Tuesday = Mars
A day of action, persistence and endeavors
“How can I apply the energies of this sphere to my daily experience? “
Wednesday= Mercury
A day of mental process, analysis and information
” What do I think about the energies of this sphere?”
Thursday = Jupiter
A day of expansion and taking in the bigger picture
” How can I expand upon what I feel, think and have experienced in each of the spheres?”
Friday = Venus
A day of moving from and being guided from a place of compassion and deep relationship
” How may I bring the energy of this sphere to encompass my interactions with others in a loving, compassionate way?
Saturday = Saturn
A day of organizing, synthesizing and putting all the important keynotes of the sphere’s energies into a useable structure
“How can I draw together the components pf this sphere and put them into a pattern that will have effective structure?”
Sunday = the Sun
A day of strengthening, affirming and claiming those truths you have crafted into organized form
” How can I enhance and strengthen these lessons learned- drawing from the organized energies of each sphere?
The Planetary Hours are:
1st Hour/Sunrise always begins with the planet that is ruler of what the day is:
If it is Sunday the cycle would begin with the Sun or Tiphareth, than each subsequent planetary hour would move through the same order of planets, repeating and starting all over again with the sun at the 8th hour and so on…..
2nd Hour Venus
3rd Hour Mercury
4th Hour Moon
5th Hour Venus
6th Hour Saturn
7th Hour Mars
Using this same pattern of planets for each hour of the day and night until sunrise of the next morning. You then begin the cycle with the ruling planet of that day’s energy (ie.) Monday = The Moon or 1st planetary hour – Venus the 2nd – Saturn the third- and so on through each of the planets, then repeating the cycle again when you have gone through all 7. The easiest way to get this information (although you can calculate by hand) is to use an online resource that has already done the calculations.
Planetary Day/Hour online calculators:
http://lunarium.co.uk/planetary.php (be sure to change the city for accurate info)
http://chronosxp.sourceforge.net/en/
Free planetary Hours software for Windows
So, how would you put this complex system of overlay together?
Putting It All Together:
The starting place is always within the sphere of Malkuth, although depending on the day’s energies you will move to a place on the tree that is not necessarily in order of ascent. This actually brings the experience to another level of understanding as you are passing through (although at a seeming transparent level) each of the preceding spheres and at some point in the day will make connection with all but the first two (Chokmah and Kether). Since we live in manifest reality in physical form and are surrounded by the physical plane at all times, our base point is always at Malkuth – the sphere of Earth- and that energy is always the grounding and anchoring force as we move upwards, so no specific day is needed for that sphere.
Likewise we do not actively move into the spheres of Chokmah (assigned the zodiac and/or the planet Uranus) or Kether (the Absolute) as these first two spheres represent the Unmanifest All (Kether) desirous of creation pouring its energies into the Cosmos(the Zodiac) of Chokmah and charging it with the electrical fires (Uranus) needed to catalyze that movement forward in a generative process.
This interaction serves as the necessary precursor towards emanation into manifestation and are ever existent within the finer realms of being (just as Malkuth is ever present in our physical plane of existence). They are the fundamental elements used by the sphere of Binah (Saturn and the final sphere using the planetary days/hours) as the waters of the Great Mother organizes this force of energy into a place of form and finally gives birth (emanates) this transfigured energy down and through the ever increasing levels of density until it reaches its densest manifest form in Malkuth. Thus, the Higher Self is always awaiting union with the Lower (or more manifest) just as the Physical being yearns and strives towards knowledge and reunion with its Higher State.
An interesting aspect to add if you have an inclination towards sacred geometry and sigils is to start each day with a small picture of the Tree that is simple in terms of no additional labeling, etc. As you start each day’s mini walk, beginning in the sphere of Malkuth, draw a line connecting the first sphere for that particular day (remember that will change over the 7 days since each day begins with a different ruling planet and thus a different sphere). Continue to draw a connecting line from each sphere as you move to the next until you have gone through all seven for the day. Use a colored pencil or highlighter to retrace the pattern. Some very interesting sigil type geometry is revealed which could serve as mental triggers at a later time.
Getting Started:
If Monday is my Start Day:….. The moon rules Monday and is placed within the sphere of Yesod. Both, by no coincidence , relate to the emotions, the intuitive self and feelings – both perceived and hidden- real and illusory. The color is purple, so I envision myself bathed in purple/violet energy. This color also deals with the spiritual truths and intuitions that connect us with our higher Selves. I find the appropriate planetary hour of the Moon at some point during the course of the day to begin. If you are an early riser and wish to start at sunrise (the beginning of that planetary day’s energy), great. If not, find a time that is comfortable to begin. If you are able to do these sequentially- hour after hour- moving through the trees spheres, that’s great. If not, just make sure that you do move through the seven hours (or seven spheres) during the course of the day.
End Note: This exercise takes some planning and tweaking or fine –tuning for you to get the most from the experience. If going through seven spheres in one day seems overwhelming- perhaps start with just a single sphere of focus aligned with the planetary energy of whatever day you start. You may wish to simply use the color attributions and begin with those to draw on the energies before connecting them to a specific image or thought process around the spheres of the Tree. After all, the colors assigned the spheres do directly relate to the vibratory energy surrounding that sphere, so indirectly, you are also tapping into its energy.
The Magickal Pen 
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