The Tree of Life : A Study in Magic - Global Grey

116 THE TREE OF LIFE
The sword is of cold steel, hard and sharp and piercing like the
all-pervading and penetrant air, ever in a state of perpetual flux
and motion. By this symbol is understood the Ruach, or the mind,
which, when without training, is volatile and in a state of constant
motion, without stability or easy concentration. Since it is a cutting
instrument, one used for analysis and dissection, banishing in cere-
monial magic is its prime function, and it should never be employed
at all in works having as their climax the invocation of the highest.
Round, inert, and constructed of wax, a fitting symbol of
the earth, plastic and awaiting cultivation by intelligence, the
Pentacle is a token of the body, the Temple of the Holy Ghost,
about to receive through the theurgic and telestic rites the influx
of the divine spirit. A Pentacle, according to Levi, is a synthetic
character resuming the whole magical dogma in one of its special
phases. It is thus the real expression of a complete thought and
act of will ; it is the signature of a mind.
The Triangle of Art wherein the evoked spirit is conjured into
visible appearance is, in itself, a perfect philosophic symbol of mani-
festation. Representing the first cosmic manifestations or the three
major Sephiros of the Supernal Worlds, the Triangle is the ideal
representation of generation, of the manifestation into tangible
coherent existence of that which formerly was thought, invisible,
and metaphysical. Just as the first triad represents the first com-
plete manifestation from the Circle of Ain Soph, so in Magic does the
Triangle stand for the calling forth into daylight of the powers of
the dark and the night. "There are three which give testimony
on earth," and those three are the points of the Triangle, bounded
by the three great names of God. From the Circle of consciousness,
which is the Magician's universe, a partitive and special idea is
called forth into manifestation within the Triangle.
The robe worn by the Theurgist represents his inner concealed
glory. As in Buddhism, the yellow robe worn by the Bhikkhu
symbolizes the golden splendour of his inner solar body, made
glorious through the awakening of the higher powers, so is the robe
to the Magician. The colour of this robe will differ with the type
of Operation, red for Martial work, blue for Jupiterian work, and
yellow or gold for Solar operations. The other symbols which are
utilized in Magic may now be worked out with ease by the reader.
Concerning the Wand, although many Magi including Abramelin
advise that it should be a fairly long instrument, Eliphas Levi