Origin Of Middle Pillar Ritual? Options

[size=7]Hello there, I am new to this board, I am actualy an observant/orthodox jew who has an interest in various off shoots from traditional "kabbalistic" jewish sources. I am simply here to learn/listen/possibly share, not preach or judge anyone. just for the record. now that ive bored you, i am posting here simply because i was wondering if anyone knew of the original source or inventor for the middle pillar ritual? i know it was Israel Regardie who introduced it to the world at large, but was it an invention of his own, or maybe of Crowlies (spelling) organization whom Regardie started his magickal learning with? As for an original traditional jewish source there is to a point a simmilar idea found in the zohar at least in one part about the agrangement of the sefiros but not much in the sense of useing them as basicly western chakras that i have come across. so sorry for the rambiling and please inform me of any information that you might know about its history. Thank you and be well,

-Doni

I'm a messianic jew, and i'm sure you'll fit right in here, no-one's going to flame you for being a jew... (maybe some idiot will, but not the cool people round here)

on the question, i really think that the ritual existed in a un-uniform form for a while before regardie took it and made it so it was complete and uniform. I may be wrong though...

Regardie was a student of Crowley. And Crowley was a member of the original Golden Dawn. The Original Golden Dawn was an offshoot of the Rosicrucian's who I think were a mystical offshoot from the Masons.....

Where the Middle Pillar came from out of this I'm not sure, although, the Golden Dawn were the first I hear of using it. Unless the Rosicrucians used it first, which they may have for I have little knowledge of them.

I can't recall where I learned this from, but I know that the Middle Pillar ritual was developed in the Stella Matutina, which was an offshoot of the original Golden Dawn. (Israel Regardie was never a member of the original Golden Dawn.) Whether he created the ritual like he created the Opening by Watchtower , or someone else in the OSM did, I do not know. Perhaps someone else can clarify.

-F.F.

Just for the Record Regardie was never a student of Crowley. He worked as his secretary only. Regardie took the job hoping that Crowley would teach him but that never happened.

The rough version of the MP existed for sometime but there is debate if it did in fact come from the orginal Golden Dawn or out of the depths of the Stella Matutina. There seems to be some confusion there. Regardie did come into contact with it for the first time while he was a member of the Stella Matutina and refined the technique a bit and then later made it a popular ritual through his writtings. He was a big believer in the effectiveness of the ritual.

hello everyone, thank you for your warm welcomes and very interesting responses. So as far as we can tell theres no documented practice or use of the ritual prior to probly around 1890s or so to go by thoses groups. I was interested in the history to back track to an original jewish source, in otherwords a place where there is an actual link between sefiros parts of the body in a simmilar sense of chackras or energy point, in all of the works i have read i can only find one authentic source, there is an interesting passage in the tikunay zohar a semi seperate book of the zohar published on its own, interestingly its actualy in the very begining of morning prayers in many siddurim or prayer books so alot of people recite it every day, i will give my best translation of the arameic, ill translate the whole part so bare with me.

(translated as litteraly as possible even if it is in the wrong order of words in english)

"opened Eyliyahu and said, "Master of the universe such as that he is one and cannot be thought, you are the highest of all the high, hidden of all the hidden. there isnt a thought that can seize you at all. you are who who has brought forth ten fixings (or repairs) and we call them sefiros. To use them hidden worlds that have not been revealed and worlds that have been revealed (not 100% on that sentance). And with them they cover the children of man (mankind basicly). and you (g-d) such as that you bind (or knot) them , you make them one (or unify them). And becasue such as that you are in them all those whom divide one of them from its friend (or neighbor) these are ten (meaning is more that one who divdes each one from its next you would get ten in the end ) Think of them as they are divided in you. And these are the ten sefiros, they move according to their order( or schedual) one lenthened , one shortened and one inbetween (or medium) . And you are he who would use them. And there isnt who would use them to you not from above, not from below and not from any side. Cloth and establish them cause from them bloosom the spirits (or souls) of man kind , and many bodies established with/for them such as that are called body above the cloths that cover them ( ? ). And called in this repair/fixing CHESED THE RIGHT ARM, GEVURAH THE LEFT ARM, TIFERES THE BODY( OR TRUNK), NETZACH AND HOD THE TWO LEGS ( netzach right and hod left if you go by how it is always right and then left in jewish texts.) and YESOD THE ENDING OR COMPLETION OF THE BODY, THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT (the bris milah , the circumzision) ( I.E. THE GENITALS) , MALCHUS THE MOUTH THE ORAL TEACHINGS (TORAH SH'BEAL PEH) THAT WE CALL YOU. CHOCHMA THE BRAINS IS IT THOUGHTS OF THE "INNERINGS", BINA THE HEART AND IN IT THE HEART COMPREHENDS.

thats basicly it as best i can translate, i capitalized all the info on the actual locations of the sefiros so you dont have to read it all if you dont want, and i hope that was interesting and of some use for all of you, what is very weird is 2 things, one its the ONLY example of the sefiros being atributed to body parts that i am aware of, except for the ARI who later give sa system liek that but he changes the order around, the order presented here is very logical and simmilar in some ways to "Adam Kadmon" or first man drawings that i have seen in neo pagan works which also atrribute the sefiros to body parts besides a middle pillar.

be well and feel free to comment or ask me anything.

-Doni

PS, i didnt check spelling much as you can see