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| The Fifth Path | |||
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Severity / Justice / Inner strength - Isaac / Competition / Rigor
Gevurah's planet is Mars.
Gevurah is entering into the bigger world, and dealing with sometimes harsh consequences. This is where retribution or karma is enacted. This is 'base camp' for the climb to Keter, and this is where we are tested to see if we are really prepared.
Gevurah is the warrior, the athlete, the adventurer, martial artist.
Gevurah is the "Left Hand of God."
GEVURAH, or "Severity - Justice," is the next sphere up from TIPHARET; It is where the balance learned in TIPHARET is needed to deal with the the tests ahead. GEVURAH is strong, unforgiving, and discriminating. GEVURAH is balanced, and on the same level as, CHESED, or Mercy.
Gevurah, forming a triad with Tipharet and Chesed, balances three forces: The Heart (Tipharet), Judgement (Gevurah), and Generosity (Chesed).
The Zohar associates Chesed with Abraham, because his love for God was so great that he was prepared to sacrifice his own son at the Holy command. Isaac is associated with Gevurah, perhaps partly because of his anger for what had almost been done to him.
Potentials of Gevurah: Right use of Will and Power, self defense, confrontation, forcing of issues, bravado, courage, determination, devotion to duty, obedience to higher authority (chain of command), virility, and self-control.
Gevurah is the female force, that contains and channels the energy of Chesed, the male force, an energy emission. Men DO, Women BE. Woman is the "akeret habayit" - the essence of the home - the Temple of the Family, while Man simply lives in the house.
The greater our ability to live an internal life which does not depend on others for the affirmation of "personal victories," the closer we come to being humble. Dependence feeds pride. Humility does not imply lack of self-esteem; on the contrary, tolerance and the ability to empathize are the very consequences of an individual's self respect. It is actually a posture reflecting an internal reality, where the awareness of one's own weaknesses generates great esteem for human nature. Hence the rabbinical adage: "Humility removes the fear of enemies, disputes, and pain."
Balance, always a core concept in Qabala, manifests itself in the soul triad as a synthesis of our more developed thinking, feeling and sensing functions. An imbalance with too much Gevurah brings cruelty, perversion, sadism, workaholism, vengefulness - "Evil."
Chesed - Gevurah
- Quick to judge and criticize,
or
- Restraint and reflection
before judgement
- A giver or a taker in relationships
- Ethical honesty; knowing when an action is selfish
Chesed/Gevurah is a check-and-balance system; it has a kind of parallax, and depth perception, discussed in Key 7.
Gevurah is the source of Divine judgement and law.
Gevurah is restraint, and is balanced by Chesed, the giving nature. Gevurah, or 'might,' is the energy of constriction or withdrawal, also called Tzimtzum, which contains or circumscribes the rush of life force, Chesed, the boundless outpouring of divine desire to give. The divine attribute of Gevurah condenses the Chesed flow of light and life force, concealing it within materiality, so that creatures can live and matter exist screened from the intensity of the very forces providing the source of their existence.
The Soul Triad is comprised of the Primary colors.
The fragrances ascribed to Sepher Gevurah are Tobacco and Leather. It is associated with Mars, the warrior god.
Commandment: Honor your Father and Mother.
