Daath is not located on The Tree Of Life. As a result it is given the title 'The Sephira that is not a Sephira'. It is usually not ascribed a number. There are no planes equivalent to it. Even though it is located in the middle of The Abyss, above Tipareth and below Kether, it has in fact no position in terms of the other sephiroth.
In terms of a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional existence, it can be said that Daath represents at one and the same time no dimensions and all dimensions.
Daath means 'knowledge' - the knowledge without the understanding (that of Binah).
Daath, The Gate Of The Abyss, occupies the empty space in the centre of the hexagon of Sephiroth which comprise the upper half of the Tree Of Life. It has been the subject of endless confusion in the magical circles of the last two hundred years, for it fits into the scheme of the tree awkwardly at best. It is neither a Sephira; an aspect of a Sephira; nor a combination of Sephiroth - though it functions as each of these in some contexts.
Perhaps the best way to perceive Daath is as an ‘interface’; in fact the primary interface of the Tree Of Life as it serves as a meeting point for most of the Tree’s principal powers. It links the Supernals with the Sephiroth below the Abyss - which is central to its meaning. More directly, it also links Kether with Tipareth.
Daath serves as a representative of Kether beneath the Abyss - to such an extent that when speaking of Kether, a Cabalist, refers to Kether’s reflection in Daath; which can become an obstacle in higher levels of work. ‘When Daath is, Kether is not; when Kether is, Daath is not’.
Daath also functions as a higher aspect of Tipareth as it is suggested by the presence of Daath’s title in the Name Of God governing the 6th Sephira.
Daath also links Chokmah with Binah, which is the role which is the source of Daath’s title - in the Hebrew language this is ‘knowledge’, as a term for sexual contact and the union of Chokmah and Binah - Abba the father and Aima the Mother - the sexual encounter from which, in mystic terms, the universe is born.
Daath thus defines the Middle Pillar - which might well be named the ‘Pillar Of Knowledge’, and its role as interface is shared to some extent with all the Sephiroth of that pillar.
But an interface is a boundary as well as a meeting ground; like a gate which may be opened or closed - an important symbol of Daath - it both permits and prevents passage. This is an important facet of the nature of Daath, for the conscious self questing up the Tree Of Life in search of the experience of truth Daath is an impenetrable barrier. For the polarities which meet within it, Daath is the limit at which each gives way to its opposite. Daath thus relates to the Abyss as much as to the Middle Pillar; it is the intersection between these two; the point at which unity and separation merge - and divide.
THE MYTHOLOGY OF CREATION AND FALL
The nature of Daath is made more complicated by its role in the mythology of creation and the subsequent fall. Before the fall, Daath was the point at which the symbolic River Naher - the descending current of energy from the Supernals - was divided into the four rivers of Eden. After the fall, Daath became the highest reach of the dragon - the point at which the waters of life were corrupted by the Dragon’s venom into waters of death.
At Daath too, the four Kerubim and the Flaming Sword keep watch at the gate of the higher Eden, at once a guard against the unbalanced powers below and a revelation of the way in which those powers can be overcome. From this perceptive, Daath’s role as a point of contact has been lessened - at least from a human perspective. Still, The Gate Of The Abyss can be opened, and that opening is the supreme practical work of the Cabalistic magician.
The symbolism of Daath occupies an uneasy niche in the Tree’s traditional imagery; being neither Sephira nor Path, it nonetheless has certain symbolism which corresponds to a Sephira, while at the same time lacking some major symbolic expression which define the other Sephiroth. It has no Name Of God; no Archangel; no Host Of Angels; no Path Text - such symbolism as it does not always fit easily into the structure of the tree as a whole.
The title for Daath is ‘knowledge’; the sexual sense of this terminology is by no means the only one; or the only one of importance. Daath is knowledge in the sense of sexual union- the creative joining of polarities. It is also knowledge in the more usual sense of consciously held awareness of a thing; for it is the basis of perception. The Ruach, or conscious self - which tends to be regarded (and to regard itself) as the perceiving part of the self - is actually a structure or ‘vessel’ for what has been called ‘awareness’. A few moments of attention, though, will quickly show the difference between this structure and what it contains ...
If you begin to observe yourself as you think and feel, you’ll notice that the thought or feeling you perceive is different from the part of you that is perceiving it.
The thoughts and feelings belong to the Ruach; so do the reflections of imagination, will and memory in the Lower Self; so do the higher aspects of these faculties that open as the veil opens.
What, though, is the awareness itself?
It is in the answer to this fairly simple question that the complexities lie. In the traditional lore - the Chokmah and Binah of the microcosm (the Chiah and the Neshamah) - are said to reflect an aspect of themselves downward into the Abyss, to form the part of the self which perceives the structures and sensations of the Ruach, Nephesh and Guph. This part of the self, which is Daath, is described as being like a flame set within the lantern of the lower bodies, and in this metaphor it emits rays of light which illuminate the things it perceives. This flame of awareness receives the powers of perception from Binah, and the power of what to perceive from Chokmah. It receives also the first seed of individuality from Binah too; a sense of distinction between subject and object; the perceiver and that which is perceived.
This seed is the kernel around which the other aspects of Daath form. It does not give rise to the full experience of individuality until Tipareth is reached; in Chesed & Geburah it produces only a sense of differentiation within unity. Once the initial distinction is formulated, however, the rest then follow. This distinction forms the beginning of the process of manifestation, and may be symbolised by the sexual act which is the one meaning of the word ‘knowledge’; it also makes possible the perception that is the other meaning of the word ‘knowledge’.
It is also the heart and the essence of The Abyss - the distinction between the knowing and the known is the first and last division of unity; the first made and the last released. Before it is made, the lower levels of the universe and the self come into being, because there is no polarity upon which Creation can be based. Until it has been surpassed, until awareness fuses with that which is perceived in the very act of perception, the way of Redemption cannot be completed and the unity of the Supernals cannot be regained. Once it has been surpassed, the awareness of Daath returns to its source in the union of Chiah and Neshamah and the cycle of creation is complete.
This may seem like the end of the individual self - it is not; though it may take some thought to see why. The return of awareness to its source doesn’t nullify the creative act which brought the self into being. The Ruach, Nephesh, Guph and Yechidah still exist - what has changed is the relationship between them. The new relationship can be represented like the old one, as a centre in the midst of the space between, a centre which once more can be known as Daath. This centre, however, is a point of direct contact between the Neshamah in its purest form, and the Ruach of completeness.
To the Neshamah, which exists in eternity, the effect of this change will equate to nothing. However, to the Ruach - which doesn’t exist in an eternal state - the effect will be to change everything; the conscious self remains in existence, but the awareness which descends into it remains consciously aware of its unity with everything it experiences; consciously aware also of the presence and the power of that unity in its own life and actions; and of its own transcendence of time and space through its origin in the eternal aspect of the self.
The resultant being, aware of every level of experience from the unity of Kether to the material experience of Malkuth, is the microcosm as a complete reflection of the macrocosm - the image of Adam Cadmon.
Astrological Correspondence
The Astrological Correspondence assigned to Daath is the star Sirius which is the brightest star in the earth’s skies.The outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto might appear like better candidates, but their symbolism was not designed with magical principles in mind (unlike the seven inner planets known to the ancient world), and attempts to relate them to the Tree Of Life have produced little more than confusion.
The Star Sirius, on the other hand, has been of high magical importance since ancient times, and the images and ideas built up around it are of great value. In modern magical writings, it is often titled ‘the sun behind the sun’; it is equated with the star in the east and thus with the descent of forces to Tipareth from the Supernals.
In certain classes of practical work, its position in the sky is traditionally of some importance. As the brightest of stars, it holds a symbolic position between Binah’s astrological correspondence, Saturn, and Chokmah’s, the Zodiac, and thus also represents the contact between these powers.
Daath’s correspondence in the Tarot os a vexing question - as it comes between the 3rd and 4th Sephiroth on the Lightning Flash. It has been given the number 3.5 in some contexts, which is not simply Cabalistic humour, for as half of the magical number 7, it appears in a range of Biblical and esoteric symbolism ... at the same time, however, there is no 3.5 of any Tarot suits. The most sensible of compromises is to assign the twenty two trumps on a whole to Daath, for Daath’s role as an interface is in some ways a summary of the principle behind all of the paths.
Elemental Correspondence
Daath’s elemental correspondence is less obscure; as a point on the middle pillar, which under certain circumstances functions as a Sephiroth, it shares the middle pillar’s elemental attribution of Air. The ambivalent quality which appears in much of the symbolism of this element fits in well with the character of the gate of the Abyss.
The additional symbolism assigned to Daath are also fairly straightforward but suggest an important practical principle. Human awareness can be compared with a room full of clutter, and much of the work faced by a magician is a matter of putting into some kind of order the confusion, so those things which are needed can be readily found. This is only the first stage, however, and there will come a point at which the magician must turn his/her attention away from the mind-clutter in order to listen for the presence of something else. In undertaking the latter, awareness needs to be emptied, not merely organised, and among the things which need to be discarded are the symbols and principles of organisation themselves.
This is the point made by the second of the additional symbols ... the closest approach to Daath which can be made in symbolic terms is the absence of symbols altogether. This is a paradox. But it is also a practical guide. In pathworking on the tree, the most common sign that the level of Daath has been reached is the sensation of images of the path fading into blankness. This can also occur after the pathworking until the colours of Daath appear to show the way outward is open.
Cosmic Gateway
It is with the correspondences of Daath in the microcosm and the physical body, however, that the most critical issues of magical practice emerge. As the link between the conscious self and the transcendent spirit, Daath is the medium through which all contact with the Higher Genius must take place, until the time comes when the Abyss is crossed once and for all.
Like a gate, Daath, may be opened or closed, and it may also be opened to a greater or lesser degree. Completely closed, it is reflected in complete blindness to anything outside the material aspects of life; as it opens, so open the higher levels of the self. Fully open, on the other hand, it permits the return of awareness to its transcendental source.
Traditional lore has it that the full opening of Daath involves the highest levels of spiritual attainment. A partial opening of the gate, on the other hand, can take place on a more modest level of development ... any glimpse of the Tipareth level can awaken the energies of the thirteenth path and thus begin the process; and as such glimpses are repeated (perhaps over many lives) the process continues.
The initial stages of the opening of the Daath centre, in fact, are part and parcel of the work of the opening of the veil, and the two become distinct only when the veil opens and the Higher and Lower Selves merge in the full attainment of the Tipareth level of consciousness.
The gradual opening of the Daath centre is of the highest importance to the magician. Firstly, the interface between Ruach and Neshamah is also said to be the interface between the parts of the self which perish with the death of the physical body and those parts which do not. As that interface becomes more active, more of the structure of the conscious self is preserved through the stages of death and rebirth, and lessons learned in one life can be carried over to others with less difficulty. Secondly, the interface between Ruach and Neshamah is a source of power as well as knowledge ... representing the full creative energy of the Supernals in the macrocosm and microcosm alike. Poisoned, in the legend of Ancient myth, by the venom of the dragon, it still flows, and the opening of Daath may also be symbolised as the loosening of the dragon’s hold on the lower Eden. The wider the gate opens, the purer the descending stream.
The wholly material-minded souls tend to remain passive, moved about only by biological drives and or the acts and words of their leaders; the great magicians & mystics, on the other hand, have been men and women of astonishing personal power and vigour.
The physical reflection of the Daath centre in the human body is in the neck and lower face, and contains the entire vocal apparatus. This is one reason why particular ways of speaking or chanting words have always been potent tools in the magician’s kit.
Negative Powers
The Negative Powers correspond to the three Sephiroth of the Supernal Triad:-
The Satariel of Binah,
The Augiel of Chokmah,
The Thaumiel of Kether.
In the fall, however, the triad remained untainted, and their equivalents within the Negative Powers cannot reach beyond the highest points of the Dragon’s ascent. This ‘infernal triad’ has its place in Daath, then, and provides the final and most dangerous traps faced by the magician on the way of redemption.
These powers are different from the ones discussed previously, in something of the way those above the veil differ from those below it. They correspond to the three choices which can be made by those who awaken the full powers of the Ruach, who are successful in opening the veil and pass through it. These three choices have a certain resemblance to ideas and philosophies concerning the ultimate reality beyond human perceptions. In their reflected form below the veil, in fact, they give rise to specific ways of thinking about the universe. In their purest form, on the other hand, they are not opinions but deliberate choices concerning the Supernal realm made by human beings operating at the highest levels of power which consciousness awareness can bear. Made with the full strength of the higher self, these decisions have potent consequences.
Satariel
The Satariel or Concealers have the traditional image of a giant horned demon’s head hidden beneath a heavy veil. In reflected form they represent the view that ultimate reality is nothingness; or that nothing actually exists; the standpoint of nihilism. In their pure form, they represent the decision to embrace the unity of the Supernals by rejecting all which lies below the Abyss.
Augiel
The Augiel or Hinderers are depicted as distorted giants entangled in the coils of serpents. In reflected form they represent the idea that all that exists is precisely the flurry of experiences which the Cabbala labels the World Of Assiah, and that nothing beyond the realm of experience has any reality at all; the standpoint of relativism. In their pure form they stand for the decision to reject the unity of the Supernals in favour of the diversity of the realms below the Abyss.
Thaumiel
The Thaumiel of Twins have the traditional depiction of twin heads borne on the wings of bats. They have no bodies, it is said, because they always seek to unite themselves with other beings and forces. In their reflected form they symbolise the belief that the only thing which exists is oneself; the standpoint of solipsism. In their pure form they represent the decision to see the conscious self as equal to, or containing the Supernal Unity itself.
The pure forms of the Negative Powers can be equally translated into theological language. The Satariel in this language represent the once popular Gnostic attitude which sees all of creation as evil and rejects it in order to return to god. The Augiel represent the corresponding attitude which sees the created world as the only reality and god as illusion. The Thaumiel symbolise the always popular stanza that identifies the self as god.
Equally, all three can be seen from a philosophical standpoint, as three possible ways to relate the experiences of change and impermanence to a transcendent, timeless realm of meaning; by denying that experience is real; by denying that the transcendent realm is real; or by taking the self that experiences as the transcendent realm. These three horns of the Dragon, however, rise from a single head. The common factor uniting them looks back to Daath’s relationship with Tipareth, for all three of these powers rise from the vice of Tipareth, which is pride. The Satariel reflects the pride which refuses to accept anything less than the highest as fit for the self; the Augiel, from that pride that refuses to accept that anything can exist outside of its reach; the Thaumiel, for that supreme arrogance which makes the self equal to the unity of all things. Just as these mistakes are linked to Tipareth, so is the knowledge that overcomes them, when the conscious self in Tipareth recognises itself and all other selves are reflections - nothing more, but nothing less - the unity of Kether.
In the work of opening the way across the Abyss, the four paths to the Supernals which do not pass through Daath have a secondary place, but an important one. They do not, as the Path Of Gimel does, help open the Daath centre; their role has little to do with the bringing down of powers from the Supernals or the transformation of the way of rebirth which the Gate of the Abyss has in its keeping. They do, however, permit communication between the Ruach and the Neshamah, and such communication is a valuable gift in its own right.
Each path represents a different channel for this kind of contact with the Higher Genius, and each of these channels has a relationship with certain practical skills in the Cabala Magician’s toolkit.