Memory palace for kabbalah

Qabalah, Kabbalah, Cabala, Gematria, Tree of Life Path-working, and light Philosophical / Religious discourse.

Topic author
noxlux

Memory palace for kabbalah

Post#1 » Sat Jun 13, 2009 4:08 pm

Hi!

So, I think it may be prudent to preface this megapost with a couple of remarks.

1. It’s purpose is for you to easily start to commit to memory the basic correspondences of the tree of life. I strongly recommend this. Having the attributes of the sephiroth commited to memory makes practices with them easier.

2. There is also a second purpose. By just reading this post you will start to familiarize yourself with very useful mnemonic techniques. You are free to use them in other areas of your life as well.

3. I also have a very selfish reason for posting this material. I am in desperate need of feedback, so comments are extremely welcomed.

I have always been fascinated by mnemonic feats:
· Aleister Crowley wrote 777, a cornerstone of western occultism, consisting of tables of correspondence, from memory within a week.
· Thomas of Aquina dictated his Summa Theologica from memory.
· Caesar was in the habit of using three secretaries, dictating first to one, then to the other two while the first one was busy writing.

How is this possible?

About a year ago I started to tentatively learn different mnemonic methods, and discovered that after some initial problems, which is what is to be expected when one takes up a new field, especially one which is not commonly practiced, that in principle all the above feats are easy using the lost art of the memory masters – combined with the secret contemporary methods of the current memory champions.

Read this post. Read it slowly, and in a matter of minutes you will have committed a tiny fraction of the tree of life to memory.

(In a few hours, using the same method, it is easy to commit to memory the basic correspondences to the tree of life, as well as several of the more advanced corrspondences.)

It is always a good idea to have a digram of the tree handy while you walk through the memory palace.

· You will understand how the layout of the house overlaps with the tree of life.
· It is also good to know what material you are commiting to memory; mainly I will be using the correspondences from 777.

It is also a very good idea to return to the tree once a day, for a couple of days, after committing its content to memory, just to check that you have still got it, and possibly repair anything which has disappeared – while these techniques are marvelous tools and greatly accellerate the memorizing process, as well as the amount you can keep in your memory, they usually require some effort to learn.

ok, nough talk, now lets do it!

Welcome to your magick memory palace

You walk a garden path to the front of a house. Though humble on the outside this will soon be transformed into an immense palace of knowledge.

A small staircase with three steps lead up to the porch. See the three steps in your mind. Feel the movement of your legs and listen to the scraping sound of your feet as you ascend the three steps.

Kether

Now, open the door. As you do so Keith Richard is standing in the doorway, playing a riff you recognice. From now on it will be easy for you to remember Keith in the doorway.

Keith of course makes it easy for you to remember Kether – the first of the sephiroth!

Chokmah

Ok. Time to move on. There is a small mat in front of you. To your left on the front wall is a window, and to the right a clothes rack. You will use those later for storing more things in your memory palace, the attributes of the paths of the tree of life.

But right now you direct your attention to the large mirror on the left wall (E). As you look into the mirror you notice that you see not yourself, but your mother, and she lets out a scream of chock as she recognizes that she is your reflection. You see a “chocked ma”. Now it will be easy for you to recall that the second sephirot is Chokmah.

Binah

On the opposite wall there is a shoes rack. However there are no shoes on it, instead someone has placed a stinking garbage bin on it. The bin which will make it easy for you to remember that the third sephirot is called Binah.


So, returning in your mind to the memory palace. You now know the names of the first three sephirot. Also in the middle of the room is a large lamp, on the western wall, near the south corner is a huge painting and on the eastern wall near the south corner is a small table. These will be useful later on.

Now, take a brief pause and walk through the first room again in your mind, just to check that you have committed the first three sephirot to your memory.

For now you pass through the door in the middle of the southern wall and enter into a new room. The first thing you notice about it is that the wallpapers depict a blue sky with tiny clouds on.

While there is plenty more furniture in the room, for now you will only have to consider three positions in the room.

chesed

On the middle of the eastern wall there is a window. This is position four. You notice that there are large slices of cheese on the glass, which makes it impossible to see anything through the window. You realize that this must mean the fourth sefiroth is: Chesed.

Geburah

Next you move your attention to open fireplace on the middle of the western wall. This is position five. In the middle of the fire you see a woman giving birth. Of course you are saavy enough to know that birth in german is Geburt, sounds almost like the contraction of the two english words gi' birth as well. Sefiroth number five is Geburah.

Tipareth

Finally for now you move to the fifth position, namely the doorway in the middle of the south wall. In the doorway sits a gentleman smoking a tipped cigarette, placing some tip on the table, which is picked up by a tip-toeing foreign waiter exclaiming: "Tip are th' shit!"

You will now easily recall that the fifth sefirot is Tiphareth.

Okay, so before reading the description of the third room, take a moment to repeat your walk. What was in the first doorway? Who did you see in the mirror?
What was on the shoe rack? ... And when you entered the second room, what was on the window of the eastern wall? What was going on in the fireplace? And what scene did you witness in the southern doorway?

The third room has a floor and walls made of polished stone in a green/blue hue, reminding you of water. They reflect everything in the room, and when you walk on the floor there is that typical sound of shoes against marble.
Netzach

Now, entering the third room you go first to the eastern wall, where you see a gigantic TV with an oldfashioned antenna on it. It is covered by a net, and captured in that net is your good friend Zach. If you would like even further memory triggers you may also notice that someone has put net stockings on its feet.

It will be quite easy for you from now on to remember: Net and Zach - the name of the seventh sephiroth is Netzach.

Hod

On the opposite wall, the western wall there is a big Moose head. Somone has put an old hod across its horns. A hod with bricks. - and that is indeed the name of the eight sefiroth: Hod.

Yesod

So, going on to the southern doorway, which is the ninth position. It is filled with a gigantic bottle of Yes dishwasher, and plenty of its green content is sprayed on the frames of the door. You notice the smell.

The name of the ninth sefiroth is Yesod.

You now move into the fourth and final room in this journey. It is the kitchen. In the middle of it is a table, and on the southern wall is a stove.
Malkuth
You move to the stove, and turn it on and off. On the stove is a big fish, you take a knife and start to cut it totally wrongly: your cut is a mal-cut.

The name of the tenth sefiroth is Malkuth.

Now. Test how well you have memorised the ten sefirot by writing them down. How many of them did you get after just reading through the descriptions once?

Ok, so now it is time for a second walk through your memory palace.

Ain soph aur

Before we do so we will start off with something I frankly forgot during our first walkthrough. Remember the three step staircase leading up to the porch?

On the first step there is a copy of a book by Ayn Rand. On the second step stands a girl named Sophie, she is looking intently at the book by Ayn. On the third step you see a golden aura, but there is no person to which it belongs.

This will help you remember the three levels above Kether: Ain, Ain Soph and Ain Soph Aur.

Ok, so now, that you have commited that to memory, it is time for the second walkthrough.

You again approach the three steps. As you walk upon the first you notice a large hula hoop resting on it. Its circular shape symbolizes a zero. In english the meaning of Ain is NOTHING.

As you walk onto the second step you see the band 2unlimited, again and again they repeat one of the key phrases from one of their songs: "no limit, no limit, no limit". And indeed this is the english correspondance to ain soph: No Limit.

On the third step there is luxurious lady, carrying a lightbulb in one hand and a latin bible in the other. This makes it easy to remember the word Lux, which indeed is the key ingredient necessary to remember the words: "Limitless LVX"

Remember to take a brief pause after reading each paragraph, to make sure that your imagination is given enough time to form a solid wicked image, imprinting it deeply into your memory!

Kether

Now it is time to enter the door. Keith is still standing there representing Kether. He is now wearing a crown on his head. The word to remember is Crown.

Chokmah

You enter the first room and look at the mirror again. You notice that your chocked ma has grown a beard which is white and as long as Solomons. The beard symbolizes wisdom. The word to remember is wisdom.

Binah

You turn around and look at the shoe rack. You notice that under the bin a tiny man is standing. He is under ... standing. The word to remember is understanding.

As you remember the next room has wall papers with a depiction of clouds on them.

Chesed

You walk through the door into the next room and take a look at the window with cheese on it. A french person has sneaked up to it, and while he takes a piece of cheese he looks at you and says: "Merci"
The word to remember is Mercy.

Geburah

You turn around and witness the scene in the fireplace. You now notice that the woman is gi'ving birth to a baby which carries two gigantic kettlebells in its hands! This bizarre scene makes you consider the strength of the baby.
The word to remember is Strength.

Tiphareth

You walk to the door and witness the tipping scene. The two men are now transformed into two beauty pageants.
The word to remember is Beauty.

You now enter the room with walls and floor made of sea green marble.
Netzach

You go to the eastern wall in the room where the big TV stands, covered in a net with your friend Zach. You now notice that your friend Zach holds a giant golden trophy in his hand, a trophy symbolizing victory.
The word to remember is Victory.

Hod

On the opposite wall there is the moose head with the hod on its horns. On the hod is a brilliant miniature copy of Taj Mahal, made out of splendourus jewels, with its towers covered by a bra of the brand Splendour.
The word to remember is Splendour.

Yesod

You now move on to the doorway with the giant bottle of Yes. You notice that it is not standing on the floor, instead there is a hole in the floor and the bottle rests directly on the house's foundation.
The word to remember is Foundation.

Malkuth

You pass through into the kitchen and look at the stove where somone having a petite mal is cutting fish the wrong way. You notice that on the stove there is an entire fairytale kingdom, with castle, king and country.
The word to remember is Kingdom.

ok, so it is time to add a series of correspondences to your memory palace. Let us add the planetary correspondences.

Kether

Again you approach the porch and go to the front door of your mnemonic house. As you open the door, whom do you see and hear? This time you notice a mobile hanging from the top of the doors frame. In fact it hangs down in front of Keiths face. He is also talking on a mobile.

kether is the sphere of the primum mobile.

Chokmah

Next you go into the hallway. You look at the mirror with your chocked bearded mother. You now notice that she is surrounded by an entire zoo of animals. A trumpeting elephant, lions around her feet, a rhinocerous with gigantic horns.

Chockma is the sphere of the zodiac.

Binah

You turn around and look at the schoe rack with the bin and the tiny man beneath it. You now notice that somone has thrown an entire planet into the bin - this particlar planet is surrounded by rings. As you know, the planet with rings is Saturn. On the top of the bin sits the god saturn - and he is committing a horrible act - he is devouring his children!

When you are learning to do mnemonics google image search is your friend! If you are not already familiar with it you may easily check out Goyas depiction of Saturn devouring his children.

Binah is the sphere of Saturn.

You now move through the door into the next room. What was it wiht the wallpaper here again? What do you see here?

Chesed

Yes, that is right, the window with cheese and a french guy saying "merci, merci". If you already are familiar with Jupiter you may note that he is sitting on a throne in the window, and that he too is eating the cheese. Else you can see a dude named Pieter, remembering the the french word for a god is Dieu, you realise that this Pieter is Dieu Pieter, which will make it easy for you to remember:

Chesed is the sphere of Jupiter.

On the other wall you see the fireplace with the strong baby carrying two kettlebells being born. His moma is eating a Mars bar. A flying saucer flies down from the chi,mey, a little greencolored man with antennaes appear; a martian! He starts working with delivering the baby by applying instruments to the womans tummy. And helping him deliver the baby is the god Mars, wearing shield, spear and helmet.

Geburah is the sphere of Mars.

Tiphareth

Next you move to the doorway with the beauty pageant tipping scene. You note that the meal being served is the sun! It hurts ones eyes to gaze directly at the sun as it lies there shining brilliantly at the plate. And it is a weird sight indeed to see how the eating gentleman puts his fork into it and slices and devours a piece of the sun.

Tipharet is the sphere of the sun.

Netzach

Moving into the next room, noticing the sound of your feet here as you enter it, and looking at the eastern wall you see the TV covered in a net with your friend Zach in it. You notice that Zach is a lucky guy: beside him, also under the net is the goddess of love; Venus.

Netzach is the sphere of Venus.

Hod

On the opposite wall (west) is the moose head. You notice that the Moose has a giant thermometer in its mouth. Why is this? Perhaps it has a cold and is running a fever. Anyway, since a thermometer contains mercury you will easily remember that:

Hod is the sphere of Mercury.

Yesod

After contemplating this scene you move on to the doorway to the kitchen. You now see a madman there, more specificly a lunatic. You now understand that it was probably he who sprayed the contents of the yes bottle on the doors frame.

Yesod is the sphere of Luna.

Malkuth

Into the kitchen, you place yourself in front of the stove with the poor dead fish and the miniature kingdom. You notice that a man is also standing there, inspecting the fish and other things on the stove with a magnifying glass. (Glancing through it you recognise your elementary school in the mini kingdom.). By his headwear you recognize him as Sherlock Holmes. He suddenly exclaims: "Elementary! Elementary!

Malkuth is the sphere of the elements.

:
:
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I would like to suggest that you take a look at the tree of life now, and notice how well you already remember it's basics - and if there are missing pieces you go back and recommit them to your memory palace. Even though the method of loci - which is what we use as we build the memory palace - is very efficient it will sometimes require SOME repetition to learn stuff. It is also highly valuable to start to notice what the differences are between how you approached the things which got stuck in your memory as opposed to what didn't.

:
Since colors are one of the most efficient occult tools I will offer one color scheme for the sephirot.

Again you move to the memory palace you are building, ascend the staircase to the porch and open the door.

Kether

Since Kether is white you grasp in your hands a bucket of white paint and throws it on Keith. Notice his reaction!

You will now remember that the color of Kether is white.


The color of Chokmah is grey.


Now, moving on to the mirror you take a spray paint bottle which magickally appears and spray the almost the entire mirror. Noting how parts of your reflection gradually disappears behind the grey color.

You will now remember that the color of Chokmah is grey.


Next: the color of Binah is Black.


Notice the shoe rack. What would be the most striking, easy to remember image signifying black for you? I will encourage you to post your suggestion below - typing it in will also make it easier for you to remember!

The next roomhas wallpaper depicting a light blue sky with tiny clouds on it.


Next: the color of Chesed is blue.

As you move into the second room, with the wallpaper depicting the sky you look through the window at the blue sky outside. There is also a tiny man in the corner of the window frame, singing: "I've got the blues!" Just to make sure, you take a magick wand and transform the color of the glass into magic blue: now everything, not just the sky, but also the trees and the grass and whatever is on the other side of the window appears as blue.



Next: The color of Geburah is red.


Moving to the fireplace you notice that the fire is unusually red. The logs are glowing red. In fact the fire is so red hot that everything surrounding it is turning red as well. Oh, and how was it possible for you to miss the redhead standing next to the fire place previously?


Next: the color of Tipharet is yellow.


Any suggestion as for a memorable image which will make it easy for us to remember that this position, the doorway, symbolizes yellow?

The third room has walls and floor made of polished stone, which reflects everything, a bit like water.


Next: the color of Netsach is green.



You notice that the expensive 42 inch flat screen telly is overgrown with grass! Green grass! When you turn it on you can only see the random pixel shifting color behind the grass.


Next: the color of Hod is orange.


You notice the remains of dozens of oranges on the floor as you watch in amazement how the stuffed moosehead is gobbling on one.


Next: the color of yesod is violet.


You notice that in the doorway to the kitchen stands your friend Violet. If you lack a friend named Violet, you really ought to get one - they are usually unusually good friends, but in the meantime you can see Violet Gray from the peanuts standing in the doorway. Holding, of course, a Violet.

And why the hell not. Take a couple of seconds to paint the entire doorframe in violet.


Finally: the color of Malkuth is Citrine, olive, russet and black.


On the stove you notice a lemon, a citrus fruit decorated with olives, fastened to it with toothpicks. Before you arrived I painted the lemon black :-) and you notice that the olive is a perfect brown russet!




So, if you have read this far, I would really appreciate if you took a moment to give some feedback as to how you would like me to proceed with this. Anything I can do to improve it?

Noxlux



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