Otherworldly Trinity?

[zombieharlot]

I just recently decided to look into left-handed path religions (today actually), so I know pretty close to nothing. So, this may sound like a basic or stupid question. I was raised as a Christian and have always been taught that Lucifer and Satan were the same entity. And only today have I heard the term Samael. I was wondering if, as far as left-handed path religions are concerned, these three names all belong to the same entity or not. Any information will be helpful.

[DocHolliday]

Damn that OF hack *sigh* I had a thread there which addressed the nature of Sammael. Unfortunately, I never saved it as an actual file, so the best I can do (since I'm too damn lazy to make a new article) is copy and paste from another ditty I wrote about Cain:

"This universal id, as much a creation and expression of En Sof as God, was known as Satan (Heb: hasatan, the adversary). His express purpose was to create a dynamism in man, to allow free moral agency. Satan, in terms of the Hebrew Bible is God's agent in testing and prosecuting mankind. In extra-Biblical texts, he is often identified as man's id. Kabbalistically, Satan is the title of the being known as Sammael.

Sammael, as a daemonic being, is considered the ruler of the Kelifa of Kether - the dark side of the Crown, as it were. Since he is identified with the title of Satan, we can say he is the figurehead of the supernatural id, the archetype of psyche-centricism. As the ruler of Kether, he is the inversion of Metatron (the angel which serves as the agent of theophany and the fugurehead of the supernal super-ego). It is interesting to note that sometimes, Sammael and Metatron are considered the same being with two sides, much like the oldest portayals of Horus and Set in Egyptian lore.

Ignoring, for the time being, the transfiguration of Enoch into the Metatron (as this is another mythical recursion - the Crown was created before Enoch was born, much less translated), we have, as previously established, a composite being within the Sefirah of Malkhuth: Metatron/Sammael. All descriptions of Metatron indicate that he is a being of fire - one of the Serafim, and the first of them all.

Serafim are beings of flame. The word seraf itself means "burning," "flaming," or "smouldering." However, they are more than that. At one point in their wanderings through the desert, the Hebrews are plagued with flaming serpents (hanehashim haserafim). In order to cure the Hebrews of the malady caused by these creatures, Moses is instructed to fashion a serpent (here called seraf) out of brass - the resultant brass serpent is referred to as "nehash neshosheth." Isaiah envisions the serafim with wings (Is 6) and makes reference to flying flaimg ones (seraf me'opep).

The purpose of identifying Sammael as a Seraf and the Serafim in general as serpents (nahashim) is to shed light on the tale of Eden. Ironically, the assosciation of the serpent of Eden with Satan (Sammael) is one area of theological agreement between Judaism in Christianity. We also see how Sammael plays his role as the supernal id by inciting Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil."

[zombieharlot]

Damn that OF hack *sigh* I had a thread there which addressed the nature of Sammael. Unfortunately, I never saved it as an actual file, so the best I can do (since I'm too damn lazy to make a new article) is copy and paste from another ditty I wrote about Cain:

"This universal id, as much a creation and expression of En Sof as God, was known as Satan (Heb: hasatan, the adversary). His express purpose was to create a dynamism in man, to allow free moral agency. Satan, in terms of the Hebrew Bible is God's agent in testing and prosecuting mankind. In extra-Biblical texts, he is often identified as man's id. Kabbalistically, Satan is the title of the being known as Sammael.

Sammael, as a daemonic being, is considered the ruler of the Kelifa of Kether - the dark side of the Crown, as it were. Since he is identified with the title of Satan, we can say he is the figurehead of the supernatural id, the archetype of psyche-centricism. As the ruler of Kether, he is the inversion of Metatron (the angel which serves as the agent of theophany and the fugurehead of the supernal super-ego). It is interesting to note that sometimes, Sammael and Metatron are considered the same being with two sides, much like the oldest portayals of Horus and Set in Egyptian lore.

Ignoring, for the time being, the transfiguration of Enoch into the Metatron (as this is another mythical recursion - the Crown was created before Enoch was born, much less translated), we have, as previously established, a composite being within the Sefirah of Malkhuth: Metatron/Sammael. All descriptions of Metatron indicate that he is a being of fire - one of the Serafim, and the first of them all.

Serafim are beings of flame. The word seraf itself means "burning," "flaming," or "smouldering." However, they are more than that. At one point in their wanderings through the desert, the Hebrews are plagued with flaming serpents (hanehashim haserafim). In order to cure the Hebrews of the malady caused by these creatures, Moses is instructed to fashion a serpent (here called seraf) out of brass - the resultant brass serpent is referred to as "nehash neshosheth." Isaiah envisions the serafim with wings (Is 6) and makes reference to flying flaimg ones (seraf me'opep).

The purpose of identifying Sammael as a Seraf and the Serafim in general as serpents (nahashim) is to shed light on the tale of Eden. Ironically, the assosciation of the serpent of Eden with Satan (Sammael) is one area of theological agreement between Judaism in Christianity. We also see how Sammael plays his role as the supernal id by inciting Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil."

I actually saw this already. The problem is that I don't know a lot of the names and terms, so it's still hard for me to understand. I suppose I'll have to break out wikipedia later this weekend to help me understand.

[Kain]

I managed to find the thread in question in my archives Doc...I found it very interesting so I kept it, I hope you don't mind me posting it:The most important thing to keep in mind is that theodicity, according to Jewish theology, is the sole providence of God's sovreignty. He is the author of good and evil - there is no "fallen angel" responsible for evil. Furthermore, "satan" is really a title, "the satan" (Heb: hasatan). It is not a name of an entity, but an appelation given to multiple entities in the Hebrew bible, as it means "adversary" or "accuser." This is most clear in the book of Job, but is also indicated in other areas of the Hebrew Bible. Unfortunately, most English translations, being the product of Christianity, obfuscate this. The satan is an agent of God who functions in a legal capacity in the celestial court.

In fairness, Enochian literature (1 Enoch, etc) does indicate that some angels "fell" when they chose to mate with human women. The only angel of note among these is Azazel, who is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. However, there is some debate among rabbis as to whether the Azazel mentioned in the Bible is a place or the same "fallen angel" mentioned in Enochian literature. The second angel mentioned is Semazya, who some do equate with Sammael (more on Sammael alter). Outside of Enochian literature, there is no concept of "fallen angels" in Jewish tradition.

Sammael is a figure that is presented in various ways throughout the corpus of Jewish tradition. While Gnostics translate his name as "(the) blind god" and use it as a reference to Ialdaboath, I personally am not sure how accurate an understanding that is. The name Sammael, I feel, is better understood as "poison of God." He fills the role of "angel of death" within Judaism, and is often depicted as holding a sword over the mouths of those about to die, the tip of which drips poison onto their tongues to loosen their souls from their bodies. In this capacity, Sammael was the "Angel of the Lord" sent into Egypt to slay all the firstborn. Some Kabbalists (especially the AR"I and his disciples) equated Sammael with "hasatan" on a permanent basis and took to calling him "Samekh Mem" in an attempt to refrain from speaking his name. This is not a universal concept, although it is very widespread, considering the impact of the AR"I on the understanding of Kabbalistic tradition. In the Sefer Hazohar, Sammael is called the rider of the serpent, and is the force behind the seduction of Eve and the father of Cain. At the moment of writing this, I cannot recall whether or not this is based off an earlier, Talmudic idea. Sammael is also regarded as the prince of daemons (shedim) and the ruler of the "other side" (Sitra Ahra).

The Sitra Ahra, which is the realm of the Kelipoth, cannot be considered an "infernal realm" as Western society would understand. Rather, it's the result of an imbalance between Gevura and Hessed, and the direct result of the breaking of the vessels (shevirath kelim) which occured during creation. Thus, from a Judaic perspective, the ruler of this realm (Sammael) should not be viewed as the same as the Christian devil or Lucifer.

[m1thr0s]

Damn that OF hack *sigh* I had a thread there which addressed the nature of Sammael.I hear that Doc...couldn't have come at a worst time for me either since there were a few topics I had started there I was hoping to transplant here...with modifications/upgrades of course...oh well...

This is just a side note and I am probably just too lazy or busy to sort it out for myself: Can you elucidate why you almost always use the term "en soph" in place of what I was always informed to be a three-fold ain / ain soph /ain soph aur principle? I realize that the spelling may not be the best possible, but I have definitely seen numerous references depicting this as a 3-fold principle. Is *en soph* just a common reduction of the three or is there a lot more to it than that? Is the 3-fold notion strictly a hermetic alchemical derivation or is it also that way in the original Hebrew?

m1thr0s

[DocHolliday]

As a general rule, "Ayin" is not spoken of in Qabbalistic tradition, while En Soph and En Soph Or are. The basic principle is as follows:

En Soph is the all-encompassing, ever-existant root of being. Following an act of withdrawal (simsum), a place (called Elohim) is created. Into this place, En Soph Or is projected, and seeds the 10 ineffable Sephiroth (known as the aser Sephiroth belimah in the Sefer Yesirah). The Sefer Hazohar refers to En Soph simply as the "Mysterious Unknown." (I don't have access to the Aramaic text in an easy to reference manner, so forgive me for using only a translation)

If there is a three-fold relationship, it is between the seeder (En Soph), the womb of judgement (Elohim/Hamaqom), and Adam Qadmon (the Sephiroth arranged in the Lurianic Tree of Life).

[m1thr0s]

That's very curious indeed Doc, since I have seen numerous references to this 3-fold aspect - all citing their origins as Hebrew Qabbalah - one of these was even a PBS documentary on the mysteries of the Universe or something that took a side tour into the esoteric physics of Hebrew Qabbalah etc...

Very confusing for those of us who have not spent a lifetime studying traditional Hebrew Qabbalah when so many things seem to be incorrectly assigned to it...

For now I will assume this was a Hermetic Qabbalistic derivation of some kind...thanks for your input.

m1thr0s

[Amur]

"This universal id, as much a creation and expression of En Sof as God, was known as Satan (Heb: hasatan, the adversary). His express purpose was to create a dynamism in man, to allow free moral agency. Satan, in terms of the Hebrew Bible is God's agent in testing and prosecuting mankind. In extra-Biblical texts, he is often identified as man's id. Kabbalistically, Satan is the title of the being known as Sammael.

Sammael, as a daemonic being, is considered the ruler of the Kelifa of Kether - the dark side of the Crown, as it were. Since he is identified with the title of Satan, we can say he is the figurehead of the supernatural id, the archetype of psyche-centricism. As the ruler of Kether, he is the inversion of Metatron (the angel which serves as the agent of theophany and the fugurehead of the supernal super-ego). It is interesting to note that sometimes, Sammael and Metatron are considered the same being with two sides, much like the oldest portayals of Horus and Set in Egyptian lore.


Damn. Metatron/Sammael must be a schizophrenic with 2 personalities :D Guess this is why shamans are so highly praised by the planet heh.

The same principle is echoed in the Hinduism philosophy Samkhya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya) with Purusha(Consciousness) and Prakrti(Matter). Both are born in the big bang, whereas they start their journey from opposite polarities. Having a bit hard time putting it to words again but this would also equate to the 'eternal battle' between the two forces. Bhagavad-Gita speaks of the delusive divine power(maya): "The material Nature or matter is My lower Nature. My other higher Nature is the Spirit by which this entire universe is sustained, O Arjuna. (7.05)" The Consciousness is our Self. Matter is also ourselves but in an inverted form.

In a way I see satanism as a mean to surrender to the matter force, creating a new means to balance it with the spirit. It might also be noted that a 'kundalini' arousal, means surrendering to the nature in it's full-blown force, which in turn anchors the Consciousness directly into the body, all karma and problems are dissolved as a consequence of this unifying. It is also possible to Descend as a God into the body, whereas the Material surrenders to the Consciousness. I believe the impact to be as tremendous as the 'kundalini' arousal.

When using DNA as a metaphor, each strand is the others polarity, which in turn creates the core-structure of the Being itself.