Climbing the Tree of Life    Shut your eyes….feel yourself growing very, very relaxed. Take a deep breath….slowly let it out…and another deep breath…and as you sit there taking one more deep breath and letting it out….let out all the cares, concerns, anxieties, ….and let your body go very, very relaxed…….  Feel all the tensions in your muscles just fading away…..you want to go deeper and deeper into this state of relaxation…..

Malkuth   We are going to go to the bottom of the Tree of Life…so feel yourself falling….just floating down…deeper, deeper. You want to make this trip…..you can hardly feel your body now….. you are almost there…let go. Relax…..You find that you have flung yourself into a deep, dark hole…..and you realize that you are lying directly under the Tree of Life.

….You have no fear….as you look up, you see that a spirit guide is reaching out a hand to you….see this guide in your mind's eye…it may be a guide who has helped you on your way in the past….or it may be a new guide….it may be the Magician in the Garden. ..It may be your Holy Guardian Angel. Your guide calls you by name...he or she takes you by the hand.

And now…your guide is leading you to a path….that is illuminated with a white light. You and your guide walk up the path. You are now climbing uphill…..see the path….and when you reach the top of the hill….you can raise your arm up….and touch a place…that is the lowest branch on the Tree of Life. This is the place where you get on the Tree.

You are in a place called Malkuth--the Kingdom. The colors that you see before you are citrine, olive, russet and black…..Looking through these colors, you see a young woman, crowned, sitting on a throne. This is the magickal image of Malkuth…..You and your guide move toward this image and you find that you are moving in the actual physical world, the world we call the earth…..All of the elements are here. You see a small fire burning….you feel the warmth from this fire….a gentle breeze, a cool air, waves across your face.

Stoop down. Feel the ground…and know that you are standing on moist, fertile dark brown earth. Your hand touches against something wet….a small stream of flowing water…splash a little water over your face…lie down on the earth, and get the feel of this place…..

	It is a place of great stability. All of the tens of the tarot are at this place… the l0 of Wands…cups...swords…pentacles. Feel your grounding, either by meditating on one of these l0's or on one of the elements: fire, air, earth or water. If you chose to meditate on an element, think of the many uses of this/element…  The guardian nudges you lightly on the shoulder, giving you the signal that it is time to move on.   Your body feels light….very light…you float upward. You can hardly feel your body…..as you ascend. There is a large space above you, representing the Tarot card The Universe, or the World Dancer. ….you have ascended upward right into this card….and the dancing figure in the center of the wreathe. See and feel yourself in the card….dancing. Stay in the card….you are dancing the eternal dance of life….

Yesod

Finally, the image of the card has dissolved around you as you stop dancing….you and your guide continue climbing through the air….up higher…and you are now on a higher sephiroth on the Tree of Life. ….This place is called Yesod…The Foundation….all that you see is violet in color. Everything in your sight takes on a violet tinge….look through the violet haze…and you see a beautiful man…wearing no clothing…needing none. This is the magickal image of Yesod…there is a feeling of great inward strength in this violet sphere.…you are no longer in the world as you know it. You have left behind the world of fire, air,earth and water….because you know….that these 4 visible states….always have their root in a fifth, invisible state.   The violet light is getting brighter….what you are actually seeing is the astral light…the ether…it is hard to realize how you are experiencing this ether…but the way to this understanding….is through the subconscious.

Take a moment now to give your subconscious free run….see if it can tell you anything about the astral plane and the world of incomplete materialization…..let your mind wander for a minute or two…It is now time to move on. Your guide is with you, nudging you the way.

	You float upward much easily this time because your body is only partly materialized….floating upward with your eyes above you---you see something of great beauty……The path from Yesod to Tiphareth contains the tarot card Temperance….see this card in your mind's eye. An angel is standing near a stone well, pouring water from one cup into another….you see the two golden wings of the angel against the cloudy background of the sky… and you feel great calm……you feel a linking of all aspects of your personality to your Higher Self….This direct link between lower and higher self…between consciousness and supra-consciousness….allows you feel a wonder, wonderful peace. You have walked through the darkness and know that the light is within your reach…..as you past the Angel of Temperance, you are now in Tiphareth, the central sephiroth in the Tree of Life. ….Everything is colored in hues of gold, rose, pink and amber. You see before you the magickal image of a beautiful young child….

What would it be like to feel at harmony with all things in the universe?… As you stand now in Tiphareth, the place of beauty and total harmony, you can look up above you, right up the middle pillar of the Tree….Far, far above lies the sphere of Kether. The oneness of all the universe…..the merging of you with your God…..

Tiphareth

A complete understanding of Kether is beyond your reach right now….you are not now able to travel to this place….your guide is not able to take you there…. But as you lift your eyes upward, answer this question in your mind: AM I READY TO DEVOTE MYSELF TO THE GREAT WORK?

The SHADOW OF THE SHAPE OF YOUR GOD.   And when you have seen the shadow of the shape of your God, take a deep breath…..and when you are ready, slowly, ever so slowly……….come back into the present space.

(composed by DB93)