But if you aren't that would be swell as well.

In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost. It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood was, so that thinking of it recreates the fear. It is scarcely less bitter than death: but, in order to tell of the good that I found there, I must tell of the other things I saw there.

I cannot rightly say how I entered it. I was so full of sleep, at that point where I abandoned the true way. But when I reached the foot of a hill, where the valley, that had pierced my heart with fear, came to an end, I looked up and saw its shoulders brightened with the rays of that sun that leads men rightly on every road. Then the fear, that had settled in the lake of my heart, through the night that I had spent so miserably, became a little calmer.

And as a man, who, with panting breath, has escaped from the deep sea to the shore, turns back towards the perilous waters and stares, so my mind, still fugitive, turned back to see that pass again, that no living person ever left.

After I had rested my tired body a while, I made my way again over empty ground, always bearing upwards to the right. And, behold, almost at the start of the slope, a light swift leopard with spotted coat. It would not turn from before my face, and so obstructed my path, that I often turned, in order to return.

The time was at the beginning of the morning, and the sun was mounting up with all those stars, that were with him when Divine Love first moved all delightful things, so that the hour of day, and the sweet season, gave me fair hopes of that creature with the bright pelt. But not so fair that I could avoid fear at the sight of a lion, that appeared, and seemed to come at me, with raised head and rabid hunger, so that it seemed the air itself was afraid; and a she-wolf that looked full of craving in its leanness, and, before now, has made many men live in sadness.

She brought me such heaviness of fear, from the aspect of her face, that I lost all hope of ascending. And as one who is eager for gain, weeps, and is afflicted in his thoughts, if the moment arrives when he loses, so that creature, without rest, made me like him: and coming at me, little by little, drove me back to where the sun is silent.

I saw, and behold, there was a stormy wind coming from the north, a great cloud with flashing fire and a brilliance surrounding it; and from its midst, like the color of the Hashmal from the midst of the fire, and in its midst there was the likeness of four Chayot
-Ezekiel 1:4

Despite the best guesses of theologians and linguists we don't actually know what zeek was talking about, the word Hashmal has been lost from the language.

Was it lost or was it hidden? now that's an interesting question!

We don't really hear much about it in mainstream religion until Maimonides describes a Hierarchy of angels in which the Hashmallim are the fourth layer, this is an interesting list actually because above that are the Erelim whose name links to Ariel whose name has unknown origins, above them come the Ophanim which are named after the wheels on the fantastic vision zeek has of a freaky-rocketship thing, theologically they're seen as the seat of god - 'thrones are depicted as great wheels containing many eyes, and reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape' and of course God's throne bearers take the top layer, they're pretty weird creatures really 'Each of Ezekiel's cherubim have four faces, that of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle' but theologically very interesting.

So there's the throne bearers [pilots], the throne [rocketship], the wheels [engine things]. the mysterious Hashmallim of which the only other reference to it is as the inside of fire....

Seems to make sense? so what comes next? 'Literally "burning ones", the word seraph is normally a synonym for serpents when used in the Hebrew Bible' interesting hu?

Then we get angels [messenger of God], Elohim [Godly beings], the sons of the Elohim, the great, mighty and blessed and finally the Ishim or manlike beings.

So basically god is flying a rocket ship and the flames have a certain energy which spawns these burnt beings - it's tempting to think of them as people being burnt but that they're creatures of the fire seems more reasonable with close inspection,

> Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8) used the term to describe fiery six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying "holy, holy, holy". This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness (a formula that came to be known as the Trisagion)

So what is Hashmal in this context as the fire from the 'wheels' [metaphor for means of movement but maybe a better metaphor is a rocket engine, zeek just didn't know about them] and as a theological construct - i mean, what did Maimonides think he was talking about?

>If one of the multitude refuses to believe [that angels are incorporeal] and prefers to believe that angels have bodies and even that they eat, since it is written (Genesis 18:8) 'they ate', or that those who exist in the World to Come will also have bodies—we won't hold it against him or consider him a heretic, and we will not distance ourselves from him. May there not be many who profess this folly, and let us hope that he will go no farther than this in his folly and believe that the Creator is corporeal.

he did not believe this was a literal thing rather a 'spiritual thing' which today we might possibly call a metaphorical thing, a way of describing maths which could be understood but not formalized.

and where did he get this idea of Hashmal? did he randomly spot a cool word zeek had used and base a whole ranking of angels on it for no reason? of course not! he's simply transcribing tradition and making a cohesive theory out of the little parts.

So this concept of Hashmal and it's associations reaches into all sorts of lost and esoteric corners of theology, likely into a form of conceptualizing things which is now totally lost to us. The spirits associated with each rank have their own characters, abilities and behaviour pattens - from what i can tell this seems to be actually fairly coherent and consistent, it's not a random list of cool sounding things it's something that has been carefully worked out to convey some interesting series of truths.

I don't know but i think hashmal is knowledge of the fire spirits, of the creator fires, of the fires of propulsion.

I would be very interested in learning more about Hashmal and associations with it.

You really need to be there.

At least for now. The purpose of this sub still thrives. Thank you all for your patience and contributions.

It is notorious, universally so, that the blackest falsehoods are ever decked out in the most brilliant and gorgeous regalia. Clearly, therefore, it is the brave man's duty to regard all sacred things, all legal things, all constitutional things, all holy things, with more than usual suspicion. "I deny, and I affirm," is the countersign of material freedom. "I believe, and I obey," is the shibboleth of serfage. Belief is a flunky, a feminine -- Doubt is a creator, a master. He who denies fundamentals is in triple armor clad. Indeed, he is invulnerable. On the other hand, it has been said that every belief, every philosophy, has some truth in it, but so we might add has every insanity.

We distilled thunder and darkness our entire lives and stored them away in the tinctures of Alchemists starting from the age when we could see that our lives all existed upon a spec of dust floating in space.

As children our minds were left to wander freely under the shade of the dendritic arbors of the 5th dimension. Growing and creating there we remained in a constant state of wonder and terror by the power within our hands but we learned very little as we could not grasp the colors that struck our eyes and feelings upon our fingertips. Our tongues were slow but our numbers were so vast that time became irrelevant. There were no words for what we witnessed so we could only be momentarily exhilarated by the blood of Gods that slipped right through our fingertips.

Eventually we divided as we grew older and discovered the power of language, a method for the personification of time etched in invisible landscapes, a whispering of imminent light, and the trees became kin to us as we listened to the wind whispering through their leaves. It seemed as though they were lightning, the voice of the creation, frozen in time. They provided us sanctuary and reminded us of what we were before we had fallen from the branches of the one universal tree.

One day, I sat beneath a great Oak tree in a meadow meditating and I became trapped in time moving at the speed of light and as I sat frozen like a statue the Ivy that flourished with the Oak grew up and into my hair and I became drunk with prophecy and dreaming.

When I awoke, I understood.

But thousands of years had passed and the wisdom that was once common knowledge had evaporated in the sun and became hidden from the eyes of the world.

So I veiled myself in discord to survive the night. I became a chameleon mutableair Gemini hiding the truth within, knowing that we had lost sight of the great Tree of Life. The place we all descended from spanning the entire universe that was born of a seed of pure light. The merchants spit in my face, they mocked me in my strange appearance. The Dividers despised the Ones because we defied them with every molecule of our being as they built kingdoms out of duress. Their spiritual masochism and the bodies that lie in their wake infuriated the gentle swaying of the trees but I could only look away, waiting for visions to guide me.

So I lived among them as a thief, stealing bread to survive. I had no choice. I soon discovered I was skilled in this dark art... Not that I was devious or even fast... but I used my presence to control perception. If I walked like I owned the world, like I was untouchable and harmless, no one suspected a thing. My eyes became sharp and I began to recognize the subtlest twitch in the eyes that surrounded me and their minds laid bare for me to see upon their radiant flesh. In this strange way, my future became malleable in this foreign land. Charisma and charm grew like feathers on my skin and I could spit acid that would never wash off. The world became just another labyrinth in time devised by the tree to test my will, to test my strength, to progress my spirit, with the hardships of confusion I and We had created as my greatest adversary and my greatest teacher. Through strife we would force our eyes open.

Eventually along my path through the labyrinth I, entirely by accident, discovered an opening, a clearing, and there in the middle was a shallow pool constructed of soft cobblestone. In the pool was a tree made of light and growing from it's branches was something I had never seen before. It was intelligent, coherent light, blurring philosophy, technology, and beauty into a weapon of creation that hung gently between the leaves. Light had condensed into matter to mold the perfect machine to harness itself. Not being able to resist myself, I hid it away within the warmth of my wings.

It was a virus.

It had optics, galvos, and a cullimator.

It could command Lightning.

It could project light and warmth.

It could make the walls of the labyrinth speak and contort or burn a doorway through them.

No longer was I trapped by walls.

It was like diving into a pool within a dark cave and discovering the endless treasures of a king hidden away.

But I became fearful of what the gate keepers might do when they saw what I had stolen.

I decided I had no choice but to leave everything I had known behind.

So I began to devise a plan to escape... and illuminotech, the industry of illumination, was born of the imagination as a fractal dream creator.

I awaited visions from above to further instruct me...

It has been two long years...

I have seen much death, and suffering in that time.

But alas, these visions I have waited so so long for in a darkness that is unspeakable, have finally arrived...

And these visions, so bright, so brilliant, are of Ƴ̴̣͖̬̪͈̲̻̱̠̠ͭ̇̾̄͗̿ͧͥ̐̈́͗̓̂̃͂ͭͧͧ͡Ơ̵̧̡̱͔̠̤͙̫̦̱̮̱̞͓̖͚͔̪̬̫̾ͧ́̄U̙̜̰̯͇̠̰͓̅͗̽ͭ̏͑ͦ̓͗̀̐̕͡.

.

Eye had a Dream.

In the dream, I believed that I was awake, in my black cube exactly where I had laid down to sleep... and in the dream, I echoed this thought as my sol was tired and laid down again to sleep, so I closed my eyes and began to dream within a dream...

Within moments my minds eye became adjusted to the darkness within and I was surprised to find everything in this black cube illuminated with incredible clarity and detail... and usually, when we sleep our bodies are paralyzed to prevent us from harming ourselves as the story within plays out, but in this dream inside a dream, these chains were broken. I was able to move around with ease and could feel my body and surroundings and could even open my eyes at will to measure the dream vs reality and then close them and dive right back into the dream.

It felt as though I had unlocked some ancient secret of our minds... and during all of this, I was completely convinced I was awake, inside the dream. So it was a terribly exciting discovery that I believed I had made about myself and potentially everyone.

In order to test the accuracy of what I was seeing within vs reality, I attempted to complete a few tasks. First, I simply walked over to the imaginary dream kitchen table, grabbed a chair and sat in it... I was pleased to find that I didn't fall crashing into the floor but instead felt a soft seat cushion beneath me. I did a few more tests like this before I realized the ultimate test would be to play piano while dreaming... This proved to be slightly more difficult. I sleep walked over to my piano bench which was out of place and drug it to the piano and positioned it where it normally would be. As I began to play it seemed the dream piano was slightly shifted to the right of the actual piano. This shift in position caused everything I played to be an octave or two higher. None the less I was still able to feel out the notes and transpose ideas from the real world and play. This I thought to myself was close enough but did demonstrate there were slight deviations from the assumed "tangible world" and the world without eyes. I felt this was all a great success and then woke up.

The most interesting part about this dream is not all of these tests or their implications, it was the infinite clarity that I saw as I closed my eyes, the detail that surrounded me. It was enough to make me, in the dream within the dream itself, actually stop and be astonished and wonder how its possible for my mind to create such things... and what another surprise when I woke up and discovered what I thought was reality, ended up just being another layer to the dream itself.

It was not until later that I realized that as I had closed my eyes, the light that was illuminating my surroundings was in fact the light of the

B̏̉̌ͫ̆̃̽ͪ̽͊ͭ̏ͣ̌͆̐̑̉ͭ̕͝͏̶̸̦̫͚̤͔͇̥̩̥͙̳̭̭͎̝̣L̶͍͙̮̦̥̲͙̹͙̱̙̹̣̉̾̈̇̀ͭ͒̽͂ͫ͌͡A̴̴̡̰̯̠̦̫̯̖͓̰̩̪̥̮͍̯̽ͧ̔̇̏̃ͤ̀́͛̿͂ͤ̐͆͆́͞C̡̼͎͕̞̘̦͚̼̱̩̞̭͔̩͍̤̹ͣ̑̈́͋̿͞K̵̛̹̪͇͆̽ͥ̌̀͊̄͐͗͊ͯͫ̅ͬ̋̉̊̑͋́ ̌ͪͬ̎͑̏͂͗͑̄̉̏̏̑ͣ͐̾̚͜͏͈͎̘͓̟͙̣̥͎͍͉͠S̸̈ͮͬ̉͛͏̧̺̞̘͉̠͇͙̘͈̜͎̳ͅŨ̴͓̬̩̜̙̫̣̬̪̲̪̱̼̠̌̿͌ͨͣ͂͛̚͡N̸̢̬̦̬̱̬͙͉̯̙̦͎͌̎̑̎ͥ͊̄̒̊ͦ̃̂̽̑

A light that permeates and illuminates all things. The light from which we are all radiating from.

And now, I'm fairly certain this, itself, apparent physicality, is just another layer to the dream... and here I shall remain, until my task, whatever that may be, is complete.

And then you and I, and We...

We will all WAKE UP and perhaps take our bows, or simply continue further and further into these nested dreams illuminating the apparent darkness of our minds.

All is One

All of time and space is but a singularity. It is in this will that the light is omnipresent and all waves no matter their function will twist to everywhere eventually. A dream is a thing that dreams itself to the minds of the wayward. It shows them the way back, or should it grow attached, keep them in itself domain for longer, possibly forever. Eternal silence is nothing but the result of a resonance cascade that shakes the singularity named "every".

And tell me, people of Orphalese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you guard with fastened doors?

Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power?

Have you rememberances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind?

Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain?

Tell me, have you these in your houses?

Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master?

Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires.

Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron.

It lulls you to sleep only to stand by your bet and jeer at the dignity of the flesh.

It makes mock of your senses, and lays them in the thistledown like fragile vessels.

Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the souls, and then walks grinning in the funeral.

But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped or tamed.

Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast.

It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye.

You shall not fold your wings that you may pass through doors, nor bend your heads that they strike not against a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest the walls should crack and fall down.

You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living.

And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing.

For which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and silences of the night.

• The Prophet

Yahweh : יהוה : Κύριος : The Fool : Aether/Truth-Spirit : U ("OO")
"I am that I am"
  HEBREW GEMATRIA
  י Yod = 10
  ה He  = 5
  ו Vav = 6
  ה He  = 5
    (10+5+6+5) = 26 (2+6) = 8

  GREEK GEMATRIA
  Κ Kappa   = 20
  ύ Upsilon = 400
  ρ Rho     = 100
  ι Iota    = 10
  ο Omicron = 70
  ς Sigma   = 200
    (20+400+100+10+70+200) = 800 (8+0+0) = 8

Michael : מיכאל  : Μιχαήλ : Judgement > The Æon (Wands) : Fire : A ("AH")
"Who is like El"
  HEBREW GEMATRIA
  מ Mem   = 40
  י Yod   = 10
  כ Kaph  = 20
  א Aleph = 1
  ל Lamed = 30
    (40+10+20+1+30) = 101 (1+0+1) = 2

  GREEK GEMATRIA
  Μ Mu     = 40
  ι Iota   = 10
  χ Chi    = 600
  α Alpha  = 1
  ή Eta    = 8
  λ Lambda = 30
    (40+10+600+1+8+30) = 689 (6+8+9) = 23 (2+3) = 5

Raphael : רפאל : Ραφαήλ : The Lovers (Swords) : Air : I ("EE")
"It is El who heals"
  HEBREW GEMATRIA
  ר Resh  = 200
  פ Peh   = 80
  א Aleph = 1
  ל Lamed = 30
    (200+80+1+30) = 311 (3+1+1) = 5

  GREEK GEMATRIA
  Ρ Rho    = 100
  α Alpha  = 1
  φ Phi    = 500
  α Alpha  = 1
  ή Eta    = 8
  λ Lambda = 30
    (100+1+500+1+8+30) = 640 (6+4+0) = 10 (1+0) = 1

Gabriel : גבריאל : Γαβριήλ : Temperance > Art (Cups) : Water : O ("OH")
"El clears passage"
  HEBREW GEMATRIA
  ג Gimel = 3
  ב Beth  = 2
  ר Resh  = 200
  י Yod   = 10
  א Aleph = 1
  ל Lamed = 30
    (3+2+200+10+1+30) = 246 = (2+4+6) = 12 = (1+2) = 3

  GREEK GEMATRIA
  Γ Gamma  = 3
  α Alpha  = 1
  β Beta   = 2
  ρ Rho    = 100
  ι Iota   = 10
  ή Eta    = 8
  λ Lambda = 30
    (3+1+2+100+10+8+30) = 154 (1+5+4) = 10 (1+0) = 1

Uriel : אוריאל : φωςήλ : The Devil (Pentacles) : Earth : E ("EH" or "AY")
"El is my light"
  HEBREW GEMATRIA
  א Aleph = 1
  ו Vav   = 6
  ר Resh  = 200
  י Yod   = 10
  א Aleph = 1
  ל Lamed = 30
    (1+6+200+10+1+30) = 248 = (2+4+8) = 14 = (1+5) = 6

  GREEK GEMATRIA
  φ Phi    = 500
  ω Omega  = 800
  ς Sigma  = 200
  ή Eta    = 8
  λ Lambda = 30
    (500+800+200+8+30) = 1538 (1+5+3+8) = 17 (1+7) = 8


HEBREW GEMATRIA
---------------
Yahweh  : 8
Michael : 2
Raphael : 5
Gabriel : 3
Uriel   : 6

GREEK GEMATRIA
--------------
Yahweh  : 8
Michael : 5
Raphael : 1
Gabriel : 1
Uriel   : 8







                               
                                    Yahweh : יהוה : Κύριος : The Fool : Aether
                                                I am that I am
                                                  
                                               `.-//++++++///--`
                                         `:+yhhhso+//-dNs-//+osydhyo:.
                                     ./sdhs/-`       :d-m`        ./oydy+.
                                  .+hds:`           `m: oy            `-+hdo-
                                /hdo-`              ss  `d:               .+hd+`
                             `/dh:`                :m`   -m`                `-smo.
                            /my-`                 `d:     ss                   .om+`
                          .hd:`                   oy      `m-                    .ym:
                         +mo`                    -m.       /d`                    `/ms`
                       `sm:                      h/         yo                      .dd.
                      `ym.                      +h`         .m-                      `ym.
                      ym.                      .m-           /h`                      `ym.
                     +N:```````````````````````ys`````````````h+```````````````````````.my
Raphael             .NNh+/////////////////////yd+/////////////+mo/////////////////////ohdN/    Gabriel
רפאל                ym.+so-`                 .m-               +h                  `/ss/.ym`   גבריאל
Ραφαήλ             .N+  `-oy+-               so                `h/              `-os+.   .N/   Γαβριήλ
The Lovers         /N`     `:ss/.           :d`                 -m.           -+so-`      dy   Temperance > Art
Air                om         ./ss:`       `d:                   oy        ./ss:`         sd   Water
It is El who heals sy            -+so-`    ss                    `d/    `:ss/.            +N   El clears passage
                   sy              `:os+. -m`                     :d``-os+-`              +N
                   om                 ./ssd+                       hyss:`                 sh
                   /N.                   shso-`                 `:ssm/                    ds
                   `N+                  -m.`-os+-`           `-os+. :d`                  -M:
                    sN`                 h+    `:ss/.       .+yo-`    yo                  hd`
                    .Ns                +h`       ./ss:` ./ss:`       .m-                :N/
                     /N:              .m.           -shyh+.           /h`              .ms
                      sm-             h+          `-oy+:oy/.           h+             `dh`
                       sm:           /d`        .+ys:`   `/ss:`        .m.           .dd`
                        om/         `m:      `:sy/`         .+yo-`      oy          -dy`
                         :my.       ys    `-oy+.               -oy+.`   `d/       `omo
                          .yd+`    :d` `.+yo-                    `:sy/`  -m.     :hd-
                            -dh:` `m:`/ys:`                         `/ys:`oy  `-ym/
                              :hd+sdsy/`                               .oysN:/hd/`
Uriel                          -smNo`                                   `+NNy:                 Michael
אוריאל                            `:ydy+.`                            ./sdh/`                  מיכאל
φωςήλ                                 `-+hdyo/.`                  .:oyddo:`                    Μιχαήλ
The Devil                                   .:oyhdhysoo/////oosshhdyo/-`                       Judgement > The Æon
Earth                                           ``--://///---``                                Fire
El is my light                                                                                 Who is like El