In the mystical practice known today as Qabalah, it is common to imagine the divine as 10 different spheres often arranged into a specific pattern called the Tree of Life. While philosophy and practice differs from author to author, Gikatilla in his text Gates of Light suggests that the spheres are like gateways between man and God. If one can successfully enter through the gates one could find oneself face-to-face with the creator. While this might not be something to take literally there is no doubt a mystical assent to be achieved by working through the sphiroth backwards through their order, in the opposite order to the out-pouring of divine energy into creation.

This article is a few notes I have made about the 10th sphere. The spheres are numbered in the order of their creation 1 to 10. The tenth sphere is the last of them and therefore, the furthest from God. It has often been suggested to me that Malkuth is the world we live in and interact with normally. I have heard other ceremonial magician liken it to the toilet of the magical system, but it is my belief that it is not something to be dismissed.

According to Gikatilla, each of the names is contained within YHVH. He compares YHVH to the trunk of a tree where the other names are as roots, branches and bark. Also, like a storehouse where a person might know the room containing many jewels, but those jewels cannot quench his thirst.

Malkuth is the Kingdom – Lawfulness

If one was to imagine this approach to god like the entrance into the court of a king, which is a comparison that Glikatilla uses in gates of light, then one would be very happy with one of the names of the 10th Sphere. The 10th Sphere is called Malkuth by Gikatilla which is Hebrew for Kingdom. Before one can get anywhere near entering the court of king one must enter the kingdom in which that king reigns.

But what is a Kingdom? A kingdom is a political structure through which the authority of one person is recognized as supreme (i.e a king). Effectively a kingdom is an ordered system of government, which ensures that mankind can live in peace without fear of the chaos of the lawless wilderness. Why is this a relevant model for approaching god? Well, the nature of many spiritual pursuits is that one must recognise certain laws.

Another name for the 10th Sphere is Tsedeq which means Justice. This is used by Rabbi Azriel of Gerona as well as Gikatilla. It is said that the spirit of God remained with the Hebrew people because they did not sin as a people. This allowed god to remain with them. Because of the dwelling of justice with them no-one would be sick. Gikatilla also writes that when Israel was penitent they would be renewed like an eagle.

In the spiritual practice of Thelema there is no such thing as sin so for Thelemite the only sin is to act contrary to one’s nature or divine Will. So for a Thelemite to have the dwelling of God they would need to always act consistently with their Will.

Gikatilla also writes that the base of the throne of the almighty is both Tzedeq AND Mishpat which means Justice AND Mercy. This could be the basis for the pillars of Strength and Mercy.

Malkuth as something to be achieved

Firstly it is worth approaching, what I think is the first misunderstanding of many qabalists. Many people think that we already live in Malkuth. They believe it is the normal world we live in and represents our normal consciousness as we go about our daily lives. However, before one can enter a Kingdom one must pass through the gate into that kingdom and Gikatilla gives many means for handling the gate of Malkuth. Malkuth is something to be obtained before any other sphere and just like the others. I believe that Malkuth resembles an ordered governmental system and we live in a more chaotic reality and we must transition to Malkuth.

Just look at the chaos of our lives for example, not quite the organised system safeguarding from chaos through submission to a higher authority is it? It is worth noting that the sphere of Malkuth has its own divine name and gatekeepers. As such it can be modelled as a gate like any other sphere.

I’m not 100% certain where it came from but when he translated Sepher Yetzirah William Wynn Westcott (one of the founders of the original Isis-Urania Temple of the Golden Dawn group), he also included an appendix entitled 32 paths of wisdom. In his description of Malkuth he writes “The Tenth Path is the Resplendent Intelligence, because it is exalted above every head”. I think this is a suggestion that it comes above and before each man and does not symbolise the world we live in, but is a state of connection to “god” to which we should aspire.

While exalted simply means “lifted up”, it can also mean “of raised status / higher rank”. I believe that the state of Malkuth is where one is able to live in accordance with the laws of the universe recognizing how those laws benefit them. Like living in a kingdom where one submits to the rule of the of the king to escape the chaos outside the rule of the king.

In the same way the name of Malkuth that Rabbi Azriel of Gerona uses in his 1850 work Explanation of the 10 Sephiroth is Tsedeq (Justice). Again justice is not a natural thing but comes as a result of living in accordance with an ordered system such as a Kingdom.

Malkuth as passive / female

Because this sphere is lower than the others on the diagram known as the tree of life it is said by Dion Fortune in her Mystical Qabalah to be passive to the other spheres. So interesting that the name would suggest that one enters this sphere granting another to be one’s ruler in return for protection from chaos and lawlessness. One must then adhere to the rules of this new kingdom whether they are written or spiritual in nature.

One of the divine names associated with this sphere is the name Shekinah which means ‘dwelling’. It is one of the only names of God which is feminine. The word Malkuth is also feminine.

The main divine name for this sphere, Adonai is also associated with the words Be’er (well in which water is found) and Even (stone). The term well comes up in the verse from Proverbs 23:27 which reads “A harlot is a deep pit and  strange woman is a narrow well.” This could be interpreted to be a comment about the effect of sexual intercourse on the woman’s vagina and therefore, the well could be interpreted to be a vagina. The stone is also mentioned by Gikatilla as potentially the great stone which could be placed on top of such a well.

It is mentioned that the stone (Even), like the dwelling (shekhinah), is drawn to that which is above as that which is above is drawn to it.

El Chai

Gikatilla notes that when Mulkuth receives an influx of power from the divine name El Chai (the name of the sphere of Yesod above) then it becomes the Land of Life and it is through the name Adonai that this life is spread to all beings. This name however is more commonly associated with Yesod.

Adonai

The key to the first gate is the name Adonai. According to Gikatilla without the name Adonai no living being can enter the Court of the King.

Tied with the mystery of the 10th sphere (the first gate that one must enter), is the holy name Adonai spelt in Hebrew as ADNI (Hebrew is written unpointed it has no vowels – note that the A conventionally used to represent aleph which is a glotteral stop and not a vowel). This name means “my Lord”. We often hear the term “Lord” used by Christians and Jews so much that it begins to lose all meaning. Nowadays it could be confused for a title reserved for God and members of the upper house of the British Parliament, but what are it’s origins? Well a Lord would be someone who owned Land and who generally allowed people to live on his/her land as long as they made it worth it. A Lord could make up his own taxes, police his own land and was the main authority over the lives of everyone in the area, superseded only by the King who was also a Lord. If you are to use the name Adonai, then you will be assuming the role of a person for whom God is their Lord. You live on an earth made and owned by this god and therefore, submit to the rules of the universe that this Lord makes (some would say the rules of the universe are the ten commandments and some might say that it is the rules of physics).

Eliphas Levi notes that ADNI has no form and denounces one of his pupils that perceived ADNI in a particular form.

Malkuth attained through Submission

When writing about the 10th sphere Gikatilla mentions that Adonai is related to Tzedek which means justice. So to receive the mystery of Malkuth, one has to submit to law that is greater than oneself. For Thelemites, this could be the law mentioned in Do What Thou Wilt. Note that Adonai is also associated with the word ‘Koh’ which is mentioned in 5 of the 10 plagues and appears to be a bringer of justice through punishment.

Manner of Dress and Speech Befitting a King

Gikatilla also mentions that one should dress in a manner befitting the court of a king before one enters the court of the king of the universe (God). In the same way, one should monitor one’s speech to ensure it is speech befitting a king.

From the letters of ADNI build your Temple

Gikatilla in Gates of Light mentions that one can only approach YHVH or god through the name Adonai and one should build one’s temple from the letters ADNI. Note that the layout of the elements in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’s pentagram rituals are similar to that if the letters of ADNI were placed clockwise around the initiate. Aleph in the East which is associated with the element of air, Daleth in the South which is associated with Venus the planet which is associated with Nezach which is the sphirah explored when doing the fire grade, in the West you Nun, which means fish associated with Scorpio a water sign. Finally in the North Yod, which is associated with Virgo an earth sign. It is possible the ritual of the pentagram is creating the very temple through which the initiate can approach the YHVH.

This is even more clear when Gikatilla provides that the name represents the river from Eden dividing and watering the garden in 4 directions and that message is seen in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and A. E. Waite mentions the river in a footnote concerning the four directions in his translation of the Eliphas Levi’s Transcendental Magic.

Adonai is also referred to as Bet Ha-Meqdash (meaning the holy temple) and that holy temple shall be built with the letters of ADNI and that becomes the place where the shekhinah or dwelling of god remains.

This is also possibly the first initiatory temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, where all the outer initiations take place.

ADNI is 100 blessings / pieces of silver / the pools

Gikatilla also mentions, as a spiritual practice, saying 100 blessings per day. This is symbolic of the 100 pieces of silver that were made into the floor of the sanctuary of the Jewish temple. Symbolic of the process of tithing, where for every 100 pieces of silver tithed by the Israelites, 10 would go to the Levites who in turn would tithe 1 piece to the Cohen priests, so too is the power of 100 blessing uttered by the Nefesh (the more animal-like lower soul), shared 10% with the Ruach (or rational soul) which shares 1% with the Neshamah (transcendent soul). These parts of the soul can be compared to the divine names of God Adonai, YHVH and AHYH.

Baracha which means blessing is considered a cognomen of Adonai, by Gikatilla.

The power of Adonai is emanated in the 100 pieces of silver that make the sanctuary and the connection to the holy names YHVH and AHYH in that the name begins and ends with the first letters of these names. The remaining letters being DN which add to 54 in a Hebrew numerological system where letters are replaced with numbers. This is also said by Gikatilla to suggest that Adonai governs the 54 names of being through which all creatures will receive their energy.

Gikatilla also talks about the flow of emanation from AHYH to YHVH to ADNI in the process of creation and however the names act like pools of divine light which overflow into one another. The word for “Pools” is Breichot which has a similar root to blessing.

Adonai the opening of prayer

Gikatilla mentions that Adonai is spelled out in the opening line of prayers: “Adonai s’fatai tiftakh” which means “Adonai, Open my Lips”.

Adonai the Sea

According to Gikatilla Adonai is sometimes referred to as Yam or the sea bed which holds the sea. Perhaps this could be considered the receptacle of the 100 blessings as mentioned before.

Adonai as “All”

Sometimes Adonai is referred to as “Kol” which means all/everything because all is contained within it. Yesod is also referred to as Kol and therefore Kol is considered the source of Beracha (blessing) because Yesod is the source for Malkuth. But therefore I would rather associate Yesod with Kol than Malkuth personally, but Gikatilla puts it in both.

Adonai as “the first stone”

Gikatilla compares Adonai to the word “Even” meaning stone and “Even Rishonah” meaning first stone. He suggests Adonai is the foundation, but again that term I would more commonly associate with Yesod, personally.

Adonai as the dwelling of god

Adonai is often compared the dwelling or Shekhinah of god, his presence within manifest reality. It is however suggested by Gikatilla that this shekinah was more so on earth before the fall of primordial man, after which it would not touch the earth, but fly around in the air, but would later dwell in the tent the Hebrew set up for it and then in the temple built by King David. Gikatilla also writes that when the Hebrews found themselves exiled they always had the dwelling of the god, the Shekhinah, with them, even in Egypt.

Koh

In his chapter on the 10th gate, Gikatilla writes about the word KoH which means “thus”. He says that KoH is the power over the planets. Gikatilla calls KoH, the first gate so KoH is synonymous with Malkuth here. The name however is tied with AHYH which would more commonly be associated with Kether. A section from the plagues is quoted saying “Elohim said to Moses, I am that I am (AHYH ASheR AHYH)… Thus (KoH), tell the Children of Israel, that AHYH sent you.”

Gikatilla mentions that it is in sentences in the Torah which use the word thus, Koh that combine both EHYH and YHVH, so the flowing of power from AHYH, YHVH to ADNI is accompanied by the word KoH. Also it is with the word KoH, that each plague is launched. “Thus saith the Lord”.

Malkuth as the Bride

Often in the writings of Aleister Crowley, Malkuth is related to the final heh of YHVH. Therefore it is symbolic of the bride of the chemical marriage who is then lifted to the throne of Binah. Dion Fortune echos this in her Mystical Qabalah.

Assiah the pendant to the Tree of Life

In modern Qabalah the manifest world of Assiah is associated with Malkuth and in his writing on the World / Universe Card in the Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley calls the Assiah as merely a pendant on the Tree of Life. I don’t know what sources he has of this and I feel he is mistaken to so readily discard the Assiah as if it has less to teach us than the rest of the tree and is somewhat less integrated or significant.

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This article is incomplete, but and represents a work in progress.