Its a two dimensional diagram of a three dimensional structure. Sacred geometry.

Sacred geometry, I believe, has something to do with the many ways in which a conscious observer interprets reality in three dimensions and manifests spacetime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G2QHKLwoeA

I am a little bit familiar with the structure but I don't know much about it yet. I'm taking my time learning about that stuff. I understand that this structure is the two dimensional sacred geometry design for the tree of life. This one that Abra has posted has two of them connected. I'm not sure what that means, but I suppose you can connect an infinite number of them.

WINNER!

I actually did start writing this up. And I really should go back to it. The thing that got me side-tracked was that I moved on from using the Qabalah to using a newer model that's based on a Labyrinth Garden. Although, I still use many aspects of the Qabalah as well.

I only wish that I would have known about this stuff when I was a kid. That's when it would have truly made a significant differnece in my life.

I've had several people recommend that I look into the Golden Dawn and I never really have. I'm not completely in the dark about them though. Christopher Penczak refers to them quite often in his book, "The Temple of High Witchcraft", which I have read and studied in some detail, and continue to do so.

I've also read a lot of information concerning the Qabalah which is a lot of what the Golden Dawn draws on, among other sources. In fact, I've become quite extensively involved with the Qabalah to the point of designing my own Qabalah. That may sound strange to some people, but this is what all the magi do, including the Golden Dawn.

Of course my design isn't all that different and is indeed based upon the same foundational principles of all versions of it. It's basically just a reality map and for this reason should be modified by the "traveler" who is using it. My version is 'reflected' in the waters of Briah and Yesod. It's a personal map which I don't expect other people to identify with, but I'll post it here just to give an idea of what it looks like:



Ideally I would like to make an artistic painting of it someday that won't look anything at all like this schematic graphic.

As you can see, I've also including the Tarot in this map, and those connections also are unique to me and of my own personal design.

From this reality map I moved forward and created something I call, The Labyrinth Way which is a combination of Tarot, the Zodiac, and the Planet Gods/Goddesses all arranged along a Laybrinth Path that leads to an Inner Circle which contains other elements of the Qabalah and Faery Teachings.

I really should publish all of this work to share with other people. It's quite a positive and constructive system that would be highly beneficial for many people whether they believe in magick or are simple looking for a positive and constructive system of introspection.

Three I believe:

The Second Degree is the Inner Court of the Servants of the Light. It is open to those who have completed the First Degree course and want to use what they have learnt in order to go even deeper. The Second Degree course is based on a very ancient form of high-level Inner Plane work. The symbol of the Second Degree is the Wheat-sheaf, symbol of harvest on all levels.

The Third Degree is also called The House of the Amethyst. It is the Adytum of the Servants of the Light. Membership is by invitation only.

Thank you! The mystery school I have entered is centered around how the symbolism of the tarot relates to magick.

"The First Degree correspondence course uses Qabalistic, Arthurian and Tarot symbolism to open the doors of inner perception. It is designed to give the student a comprehensive and thorough training in the Mysteries. The symbol of the First Degree is the Bee, symbol of selfless service to the whole."

I have been curious about that myself so I recently applied for and was accepted into a mystery school called Servants of the Light. I can't give an evaluation about it yet, but it is along the lines of meditation and visualization, symbols, tarot etc.

I am also a tarot card reader. I designed my own deck.

Well, there are many sources.

The most productive source I can share would be the lectures given by Deepak Chopra. I own a whole lot of his videos, so it's hard for me to point to any particular one as being the best for the topic of karma. But I think he addresses this concept in many of his lectures.

I could also suggest books on witchcraft, but in those books it's far less obvious that they are actually speaking about 'karma' because they may not use that term directly. They just address similar concepts as their lessons unfold. So the insight from those lessons came from reading large sections of material.

I also learned about this concept in my studies of the Qabalah. But again, this insight came from a much larger picture and I can't just point to a simple exerpt that would boil it down to the simple description I've already given.

In short, I didn't really gain this insight from any single source. I've seen various explanations from many different types of philosophies. But even the Bible uses the common phrase, "We reap what we sow". Of course, that was known to many sages even before biblical times. When you stop and think about it, it's just common sense.

There is also a good college lecture on video by The Teaching Company. It's on the history of Buddhism. That course is 24-lecures long and the topic of Karma is explained there as well.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to claim to "know". I'm just sharing my understanding as I have learned it from Buddhist teachers.

It just makes common sense to me, so I thought I would share that with you.

Does it represent absolute truth? Your guess is as good as mine.

All I mean to convey is that it makes sense to me.

What really helped me understand this idea was when it was pointed out to me by a Buddhist sage that the word Karma simply means Action.

That simple insight right there unravels a lot of the mystery of karma, at least for me.

Truly.

As far as Karma goes, just realize that Karms simply means Actions.

You are constantly creating new karma with every action you chose to take. So in a very real sense your karma is in your hands.

Don't be thinking of karma as something that going to haunt you from your past. Think of karma as something you create right NOW that affects your future.

Of course your past actions may indeed have caused problems in your life. And you'll have to deal with the results of that "Karma" (of those previous actions). But just the same, you are still fully empowered to begin creating NEW KARMA (new actions) that will become the "past" of your new future.

So just realize that Karma=actions. And you are constantly creating new karma with every action you take. Keep this up long enough, and eventaully and bad karma (bad actions) that you may have taken in the past, will be so far behind you that they will no longer affect your NOW, or your future.

So always view Karma as something that you are continually creating NOW. Not as some mysterious baggage that's going to dictate your future or follow you around looking for a chance to pay you back.

The only way that is likely to happen is if you have done things in the past that may eventually catch up with you, like having robbed a bank or whatever. That kind of Karma (action) may very well catch up with you. But don't feel like every stupid thing you ever did will eventually come back to haunt you. That's NOT what karma is.

What appears to be magic are creative intentions at work which seem to be very magical. All so-called magic and ritual is merely a means by which a person creates belief in that which they have petitioned (themselves, God or the creative universe) for. The ritual itself is powerless; as are all symbols and charms.

A symbol has no meaning or power except for what the conscious and unconscious mind has given it. They are hypnotic shortcuts to the subconscious that serve to jump start the visual pictures required to manifest desires and intentions.

Where the appearance of magic comes in is that all of life is connected in a holographic type of reality where every action has an effect on everything else.

Amen and everything is natural. There is no such thing as supernatural.

Nope, God is natural.

Thoughts are powerful things if they can manifest a belief. Belief is a powerful force in the implicate order. Attitude is everything. Thinking and attitude can improve your health.

That is magic, and that stuff has been proven to be fact.

I disagree Lady.

Karma is the result of intention.

If you do bad things with the intent to do bad things Karma has something coming for you.

On the flip side of that if your intentions are good regardless to the outcome, karma will reward.

I suppose that would depend on your intentions...