The Depth of the East - Tifereth, Beauty

Were I asked to discuss the social causes responsible for my soul's condition, I would speechlessly point to a mirror, a clothes hanger, and a pen.

Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

THE SAADIA TREE OF LIFE

The middle pillar of the Tree constitutes the axis of Time, with the Depth of the Future and the Depth of the Past representing the grand journey of life from birth to death, and the Depth of the East and the Depth of the West signifying the chapters or days that make that life up.  In the Depth of the West I discussed the chromosomes and unlocking both genetic potential and memory, how the process of initiation involves winding back time*, and as the highest level of initiation is prophecy**, ultimately winding all time back into the Depth of the Future.

THE NUCLEUS OR MASK

As discussed in the previous post on The Tree of Masks, the mask, related to Tifereth, is the body language and physical/facial expressions of the individual that demonstrate their personality or mood. On more subtle levels this is expressed in the form of a fine mist of chemical messengers or pheromones, a bio-electric field or an aura.  As explored in earlier posts the work on Cellular Consciousness and the Metabolism of Time links directly to Plato's Analogy of the Cave.  Having followed the path of the Sun to the Depth of the East one becomes initiated into the mysteries of their nucleus and merges with the Form of the Good***.  In practical terms you become the Egg of Light, one with your aura/nucleus, alongside being natural/relaxed in your body - in the langauge of the Tao, supple like a newborn child****. Since praise/criticism fundamentally distort our nucleus some form of Stoicism is an essential element in the path of the initiate and in following the path of the Sun.

Nuclear envelopathies, cellular problems with the nucleus, cause a range of genetic diseases - involving balance, physical posture, muscle spasm, fatigue, inability to cry, darkening of the skin***** - all of these seemingly related to the mask of body language and expression as explained above. Although full blown genetic diseases are rare individuals lie on various spectrums which only culminate in the disease state - i.e. you may be a thyroidal type without hyperthyroidism.  For example, someone on the anorexia spectrum may not manifest the  disease but will have issues with body image, seeing an ugly person in the mirror, etc.  Likewise distortions of the mask, brought about by exposure to extreme attention, cause problems in the physical posture although not necessarily crippling disease.  Someone who is spoiled or abused often has posture/expressions which do not match their underlying physiology and lead to problems later in life - in this way the mask is out of harmony with the body/underlying genetics.

All that we do, say, think or feel wears the same mask and the same costume. No matter how much we take off what we wear, we’ll never reach nakedness, which is a phenomenon of the soul and not of removing clothes. And so, dressed in a body and a soul, with our multiple costumes stuck to us like feathers on a bird, we live happily or unhappily – or without knowing how we live – this brief time given us by the gods that we might amuse them, like children who play at serious games.

Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

*Anti-time.

**This does not simply mean divination, fully explored with the temporal model we are discussing online it would rightly include all aspects of so-called magick.

***Good, in this sense, means Excellent. One then merges with their own excellence.

****

''Carrying body and soul and embracing the one,
Can you avoid separation?
Attending fully and becoming supple,
Can you be as a newborn babe?''

*****Cerebellar ataxia, dystonia, Triple A syndrome, muscular dystrophy...