CHAPTER IV The Directions of Space
Certain Western writers with more or less initiatory pretensions have sought to read an exclusively astronomical significance into the cross, by saying that it is a " symbol of the cruciform junction that the ecliptic forms with the equator ", and also " an image of the equinoxes, since the sun successively covers these two points in its annual course " [1]. In fact, if this is so, the reason is, as mentioned above, that astronomical phenomena themselves can from a higher viewpoint be regarded as symbols, and as such one may find in them, as in everything else, a figuration of Universal Man. But if these phenomena are symbols, it is clear that they are not the thing symbolized, and that the fact of confusing the two constitutes a reversal of the normal relationships between different orders of reality [2]. When the figure of the cross is perceived in astronomical or other phenomena, it has exactly the same symbolic value as that which we ourselves can trace [3]; this merely proves that true symbolism, far from having been artificially invented by man, is to be found in nature herself, or rather, that the whole of nature amounts to no more than a symbol of the transcendent realities.
Even if we thus restore the correct interpretation of these
things, the two sentences just quoted both contain an error. In actual fact, on the one hand, the ecliptic and the equator do not form a cross, for their two planes do not cut at right angles; on the other hand, the two equinoctial points are clearly joined by a straight line, so that here the cross is still less to be seen. What must in reality be considered is, on the one hand, the plane of the equator and the axis joining the poles and perpendicular to that plane, and on the other hand the two lines respectively joining the pair of solsticial points and the pair of equinoctial points; we thus get what might be called, in the first case, the vertical cross, and in the second, the horizontal cross. The combination of the two crosses, which have the same centre, forms the three-dimensional cross, the branches of which are oriented in the six directions of space [1]; these latter correspond to the six cardinal points, which, with the centre itself, form the septenary.
We have already remarked elsewhere on the importance which the oriental doctrines attach to the seven regions of space, and also on their correspondence with certain cyclic periods [2]. It seems worth while to reproduce here a text previously quoted, which shows that the same thing is also to be found in the western traditions: "Clement of Alexandria says that from God, 'Heart of the Universe', issue all the directions of space, each indefinite in extent, one upwards, one downwards, one to the right, one to the left, one forwards and one backwards; turning His gaze in these six directions, none of which extends further than the others, He accomplishes the world; He is the beginning and the end (the alpha and omega); in Him the six phases of time are accomplished, and from Him they receive their indefinite extensions; herein resides the secret of the number seven ". [3]
This symbolism is also that of the Hebrew Qabbalah, which
speaks of the " Holy Palace" or "Inward Palace" as being situated at the centre of the six directions of space. The three letters of the divine Name Jehovah [1], by their sextuple permutation in these six directions, indicate the immanence of God in the bosom of the world, that is, the manifestation of the Logos at the centre of all things in the primordial point, of which all extent is merely the expansion or development: " Out of the void (Thohu) He formed something, and out of that which is not, He made that which is. He carved great columns from the impalpable ether [2]. He reflected, and His Speech (Memra) produced every object and all things by His Name, The One [3]. This primordial point at which the Divine Word is uttered does not develop solely in space, but also in time; it is the "centre of the world" in every sense, that is, it is at once at the centre of space and at the centre of time. This, of course, if taken literally, concerns our world alone, being the only one whose conditions of existence are directly expressible in human language ; but, as it is really a question of the centre of all the worlds, we may pass to the supra-sensible order by making an analogical transposition in which space and time no longer bear any but a purely symbolical meaning.
We have seen that Clement of Alexandria deals with six phases of time, corresponding respectively to the six divisions of space : these, as has been shown, are the six cyclic periods, subdivisions of a more general period, and sometimes represented as six millenia. In fact, both the Zohar and the Talmud divide the duration of the world into millenary periods: "The world will endure for six thousand years to which the six first utterances of Genesis allude [4]; and these six
millenia are analogous to the six 'days' of Creation." [1] The seventh millenium, like the seventh "day", is the Sabbath, that is, the phase of return to the Principle, which naturally corresponds to the centre, regarded as a seventh region of space. We have here a sort of symbolical chronology, which must clearly not be taken literally, any more than those found in other traditions: Josephus [2] remarks that six thousand years form ten "great years", a "great year" being six centuries (this is the Naros of the Chaldaeans) ; but elsewhere what is denoted by this expression is a far longer period, ten or twelve thousand years in the case of the Greeks and Persians. This, however, does not matter here, since we are in no way trying to calculate the real duration of our world, which would call for a profound study of the Hindu theory of Manvantaras; it will therefore be enough to take these divisions with their symbolic value. Accordingly, we will merely say that we are concerned with six phases of indeterminate duration, plus a seventh which corresponds to the accomplishment of all things and their re-establishment in the primal state [3].
To return to the cosmological doctrine of the Qabbalah as set forth in the Sepher Ietsivah: "What is in question," says M. Vulliaud, " is a development proceeding from Thought down to the modification of Sound (Voice), from the impenetrable to the comprehensible. It will be seen that we have before us a symbolic account of the mystery which has universal genesis for its object and which is bound up with the mystery of unity. In other passages, it is that of the 'point' which develops by lines in all directions [4], and which becomes comprehensible only through the 'Inward Palace'. It is that of the ungraspable ether (Avir), in which is produced the concentration whence Light (Aor) emanates." [5] The point is in fact the symbol of unity; it is the principle
of spatial extent which exists only by its radiation (the previous " void" being nothing but pure virtuality), but it becomes comprehensible only when one situates oneself in space, of which it is then the centre, as will be explained more fully later. The emanation of light, which. gives space its reality by " making something out of the void and that which is out of that which was not ", is an expansion which follows concentration. Here we find the two phases of aspiration and expiration which so often occur in the Hindu doctrine, and the second of which corresponds to the production of the manifested world; and one may note the analogy that also exists, in this respect, with the beating of the heart and the circulation of the blood in the living being. But let us proceed: "The Light (Aor) burst forth from the mystery of the ether (Avir). The hidden point was manifested, that is to say the letter iod ". [1] This letter hieroglyphically represents the Principle, and all the other letters of the Hebrew alphabet are said to be formed from it, a formation which, according to the Sepher Ietsirah, symbolizes that of the manifested world itself [2]. It is also said that the incomprehensible primordial point which is the unmanifested One, forms from itself three points wihch represent the Beginning, the Middle and the End [3], and that these three points put together constitute the letter iod, which is thus the One manifested (or more exactly, affirmed qua principle of universal manifestation), or, to speak in theological terms, God making Himself "Centre of the World" by His Word. "When this iod has been produced," says the Sepher Ietsirah, "that which remained of the mystery of the hidden Avir (ether) was Aor (light) "; and in fact, if iod is removed from the word Avir, what is left is Aor.
On this subject M. Vulliaud quotes the commentary of Moses de Léon: "After recalling that the Holy One, blessed be He, the Unknowable, can be apprehended only through His attributes (middoth) by which He has created the worlds [1], let us begin with the exegesis of the first word of the Thorah : Bereshith [2]. Ancient writers have informed us regarding this mystery that it is hidden in the Supreme Degree, the pure and impalpable Ether. This degree is the sum total of all the later mirrors (" later" because they are exterior to that Degree itself) [3]. They proceed from it by the mystery of the point which is itself a hidden degree emanating from the mystery of the pure mysterious Ether [4]. The first Degree, absolutely concealed (unmanifested), cannot be apprehended [5]. Similarly, the mystery of the supreme point, though profoundly hidden [6], can be apprehended in the mystery of the inward Palace. The mystery of the supreme Crown (Kether, the first of the ten Sephiroth) corresponds to that of the pure and impalpable Ether (Avir). It is the cause of all causes and the origin of all origins. It is in this mystery, the invisible origin of all things, that the hidden 'point', whence all proceeds, takes birth. On that account, it is said in the
Sepher Ietsiyah: 'Before One, what canst thou count?' Which means: before that point, what canst thou count or comprehend ? [1] Before that point, there was nothing except Ain, that is, the mystery of the pure and impalpable Ether, so named (by a simple negation) by reason of its incomprehensibility [2]. The comprehensible beginning of existence lies in the mystery of the supreme 'point' [3]. And since this point is the 'beginning' of all things, it is called 'Thought' (Mahasheba) [4]. The mystery of creative Thought corresponds to the hidden 'point'. In the inward Palace the mystery attached to the hidden 'point' can be understood, for the pure and impalpable Ether remains for ever mysterious. The 'point' is Ether rendered palpable (by the 'concentration' which is the starting-point of all differentiation) in the mystery of the inward Palace or Holy of Holies [5]. Everything, without exception, was at first conceived in Thought [6]. And if anyone should say: 'Lo! there is something new in the world,' impose silence on him, for that thing was previously conceived in Thought [7]. From the hidden 'point' emanates the inward Holy Palace (by the lines issuing from that point along the six directions of space). This is the Holy of Holies, the fiftieth year (allusion to the Jubilee, which represents the return to the primordial state) [8],
which is likewise called the Voice that emanates from Thought [1].
All being and all causes thus emanate by the power of the 'point' from on High. Behold that which relates to the mysteries of the three supreme Sephiroth." [2] This passage, despite its length, has purposely been quoted in full, because, apart from its own interest, it has a far more direct connection with the subject of the present study than might at first sight be supposed.
The symbolism of the directions of space will be applied in all that follows, whether from the "macrocosmic" viewpoint, as in what has gone before or from the "microcosmic". In geometrical terms, the three-dimensional cross forms a "system of co-ordinates" to which the whole of space can be referred; here space will symbolize the sum total of all possibilities, either of a particular being or of universal Existence. This system is formed by three axes, one vertical and two horizontal, which are three perpendicular diameters of an indefinite sphere, and which, even independently of any astronomical considerations, may be regarded as oriented towards the six cardinal points. In the text of Clement of Alexandria that has been quoted, upwards and downwards correspond respectively to the Zenith and the Nadir, right and left to South and North, forward and backward to East and West; confirmation of these correspondences may be found in almost all traditions. It may also be said that the vertical axis is the polar axis, that is, the fixed line which joins the two poles and about which all things accomplish their rotation: it is therefore the main axis, whereas the two horizontal axes are only secondary and relative. Of the two latter, the North-South axis may be called the solsticial axis, and the other the equinoctial axis, and this brings us back to the astronomical standpoint, by virtue of the correspondence between the cardinal points and the phases of the
annual cycle. A complete exposition of this correspondence would take us too far afield and is not of consequence here, though a place may perhaps be found for it in another study [1].