Cicero - Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition_Part 01

The Neophyte Grade 63
pillar on the Tree of Life. Binah is the Supernal Mother Aima, the Great Negative
or Female (Water) Force. (By negative we mean receptive in a purely scientific wa}j
like the positive and negative parts of an atom, not as a value judgment.) Positive
and Negative are inseparable properties; one cannot properly function without
the other. Receptivity is a feminine attribute, and just as in the case of Chokmah
(masculinity), we are again referring to sexual functions in the most basic and
unmanifested of concepts. Chokmah, the Sephirah of duality, by necessity overflows
into a third sphere in order for another natural polarity to occur.
Binah, the number three, is a sphere which builds Form (another feminine
function). Binah receives the overflow of the dynamic current of energy from
Chokmah and organizes it for the first time under the concept of Form. Force and
Form are respective male and female properties which occur over and over again
on the Tree of Life, but this is where they begin. It must be remembered that at this
level on the Tree, the concept of Form exists only as a polarity and as the merest
essence of the capacity to build Form, stemming from the excess negative (receptive)
energy that has spilled over from Chokmah. Binah as Ama is the Disciplining
Mother, restricting and structuring the free-flowing energy from Chokmah into
what will ultimately be borne into organized Form. The first letter of Binah is
Beth, which means "house." Beth is also the archetypal symbol of all containers.
Together, Chokmah and Binah are the two polarizing facets of manifestation,
the Supernal Father and the Supernal Mother, whose union results in the
birth of the universe. Together, Chokmah and Binah are the "Elohim," the Creator
gods referred to in Genesis. They are the two primal building blocks of Life, the
archetypal proton and electron, that comprise the whole of creation.
The Sepher Yetzirah states this about Binah: "The Third Path is the Sanctifying
Intelligence: it is the foundation of Primordial Wisdom, which is called the
Creator of Faith, and its roots are AMN; and it is the parent of Faith, from which
doth Faith emanate." Here the Yetziratic text implies that Binah is still in a hallowed
or blessed state because it remains above the Abyss in an unmanifested condition.
Sanctification expresses the idea of that which is holy and set apart. It is
given the title, "Primordial Wisdom," because it is the primary source of organization
at this stage of divine emanation where a distinct polarity has been defined on
the Tree of Life. Binah is here referred to as the "Creator of Faith." Faith rests upon
understanding, whose parent is Binah. Faith is also defined as belief and veneration,
butin the light of mystical consciousness, faith can be defined as the conscious
result of superconscious experience. The average personality is not aware of this
faith, but is nonetheless effected and modified byit, possibly with great feeling and
emotional intensity. The statement that the roots of Binah are in AMN (Amenmeaning
"firm," "faithful," and "so be it") refers to Kether. This clearly indicates
that, although Binah issues from Chokmah, the source of ultimate Faith or Truth is
from the Crown of Kether..
Although WiSdom is the quality of Chokmah, Understanding is assigned
to Binah. WlSdom alludes to complete and infinite knowledge, while Understanding
imparts the notion of an ability to grasp the ideas that are intrinsic to Wisdom.