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 The Hexagram
The hexagram is a potent symbol of the macrocosm (God, the Universe and Higher Energies) and of the relationship between the
macrocosm and the microcosm (Humankind, the Earth and Manifest Energies). In its regular form it is drawn as two intersecting
equilateral triangles, and it is most commonly seen as the Judaic Star of David.
The upward-pointing triangle (the symbol of the element Fire) represents the yearning of the manifest to reach or return to the
Divine, with the downward-pointing triangle (the symbol of the element Water) signifying the descent of the Divine into matter.
Where these two meet in the center of the hexagram, a point of balance and beauty is reached, corresponding to
Tifereth on the Tree of Life.
A powerful form of the hexagram is the Kabbalistic form, shown above, where the center
signifies Tifereth and the surrounding points correspond to the sefirot surrounding it on the Tree of Life, with
Binah representing the supernals (being the most manifest of the trinity), and
Yesod implicitly touching the earth of
Malkuth. Each point of the hexagram and the center itself are all illustrated
in their characteristic Kabbalistic colors in the hexagram above.
An area of mystical knowledge that is predicated on the relationship between the macrocosm and the microcosm is
astrology, and classical astrology and the hexagram, unsurprisingly, fit very well
together. The astrological associations are shown above, with the twelve signs of the zodiac
lying in order within the six points of the hexagram and the six vertices between them. The seven
planets of classical astrology correspond to the six points of the hexagram and its center.
The astro-kabbalistic form of the hexagram shown above is particularly powerful because of esoteric resonance. Each point shows
not only a Kabbalistic sefira and its relationship to the other sefirot, but also the astrological planet that has the same
sphere of influence. For example, the red point of the hexagram corresponds to the aggressive, judgmental sefira
Geburah ("Severity"), and also to the violent, willful planet,
Mars.
As an expression of the number six, and in its balancing aspect uniting Heaven and Earth, the hexagram is linked to the sefira
Tifereth on the Tree of Life. The six points of the hexagram can also be considered
as representing the six syllables of the oldest and most important mantra of Tibetan Buddhism, Om Mani Padme Hum,
with the center representing OM itself. This is further explored in our discussion of the synthesizing
HexagrOm.
Like the pentagram, the hexagram is used in various forms in Magical Ritual. Its standard form is not unicursal (i.e. one half of
it must be drawn and the pen removed from the paper before drawing the second half), and the order of drawing the two parts, as well
as the initial points and directions used, determine the type of hexagram being employed.
It is possible to draw a unicursal hexagram (right), and this form has further esoteric
associations. It is the Initiate's Hexagram, with the focus placed on the vertical Spirit-Matter dynamic.
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