The Fiery Seraphim and the Creatrix and Babalon and the Promethean soul.

tarotqabalahwesternhermeticmagickelitarotstrickingly.com

My HGA's intuition here is insightful, and we're touching on some deeply profound elements of Western Hermetic Qabalah, particularly the reinterpretation and reclamation of mystical symbolism through a lens free from patriarchal distortions.

In traditional Kabbalah, the Seraphim (from Hebrew Seraph, meaning "fiery" or "burning ones") are depicted as powerful angelic beings who eternally chant "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Hebrew: "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh"). Yet, as I've rightly pointed out many times, classical religious symbolism frequently expresses a patriarchal structure, marginalizing the feminine principle or misrepresenting it entirely. Within Hermetic Qabalah, especially in the tradition espoused by Aleister Crowley and those influenced by Thelema, this patriarchal reading is consciously rebalanced by acknowledging a supreme feminine principle, often represented by the figure of Babalon—Crowley’s "Scarlet Woman," the Great Mother and Cosmic Creatrix.

The Seraphim in a Hermetic and Thelemic Context:

• Fiery Nature & the Creatrix (Babalon): The Seraphim, embodying pure, divine fire, can be seen hermetically as emanations or guardians of the dynamic power of creation and cosmic generation. Rather than merely standing beside a patriarchal throne, these beings reflect and guard the throne of the Creatrix herself—Babalon, whose name resonates with both Babylon (the archetype of worldly manifestation and sacred liberation) and the Hebrew root "Bab-El," meaning "Gate of God." Babalon, as Crowley portrayed her, symbolizes the expansive, fiery energy of pure, divine receptivity, cosmic motherhood, and unbounded creativity. The Seraphim, thus, serve as guardians and expressions of the divine feminine’s fiery essence, emanating from and returning to her infinite, fertile potential.

• Seven-layered Soul of the Seraphim: I always had the notion of a "seven-layered soul" which aligns deeply with Hermetic Qabalah and esoteric traditions wherein beings (human or angelic) are understood through multiple layers or sheaths of existence. Traditionally, Hermetic Qabalah views consciousness as layered across the seven classical planets and corresponding Sephiroth, indicating layers of spiritual manifestation:

  1. Saturn (Binah) – Divine Understanding (the deepest receptive womb-energy of Babalon)

  2. Jupiter (Chesed) – Expansion and Mercy

  3. Mars (Geburah) – Strength and Justice

  4. Sol (Tiphareth) – Harmony and Christ-consciousness

  5. Venus (Netzach) – Emotion and Desire

  6. Mercury (Hod) – Intellect and Communication

  7. Luna (Yesod) – Astral Reflection, Manifestation of Form

  The Seraphim, as transcendent beings, inherently embody these layered principles. They are simultaneously fiery (Mars, Geburah, fiery judgment and intensity) and harmonious (Tiphareth, Sol, the heart of cosmic balance and integration). They can thus represent bridges between the cosmic and the manifest, each layer resonating with a level of spiritual insight and divine service.

• Manifestation in Human Forms: Hermetic tradition, including Thelemic teachings, acknowledges the ability of higher angelic intelligences—including the Seraphim—to manifest or channel their essence through human consciousness and forms. This is particularly evident in rituals or magical workings invoking higher energies. Magicians or priestesses (such as Crowley’s Scarlet Women or priestesses embodying Babalon) may channel or embody these fiery intelligences directly. Such embodiments are understood as divine marriage or alchemical unions, reflecting the Seraphim’s nature as fiery channels connecting divine realms with earthly experience.

Hermetic Feminine Reinterpretation:

The patriarchal model traditionally obscured or subordinated the feminine. In Western Hermetic Qabalah, especially within the currents arising through Crowley and subsequent Thelemic traditions, a powerful feminine reinterpretation emerges, restoring balance. The Seraphim's presence beside the throne thus signifies the acknowledgment and honoring of divine feminine power, the Creatrix as the true center of cosmic manifestation—Babalon enthroned and venerated as the ultimate spiritual gatekeeper and cosmic womb from which fiery intelligences, including Seraphim, emanate and return.

Conclusion:

Far from being totally wrong, our (Mine and the HGA) insight significantly enriches the understanding of the Seraphim through a deeply Hermetic and forward-thinking perspective. The Seraphim in this hermetic reinterpretation become embodiments of divine feminine fiery energy—guardians of the Throne of the Creatrix, whose seven-layered souls reflect the cosmic layers of divine consciousness, capable of manifesting their transcendent presence within humanity, profoundly integrating feminine and masculine polarities in a vision deeply rooted in liberation and balance.

In Western Hermeticism, we often use Greek gods as invoked egregores. One who actually preforms as a fiery Seraphim is called Prometheus. Let me explain:

In Hermetic tradition, symbols and archetypes reveal deeper layers of universal wisdom. One intriguing perspective is viewing Prometheus—the Greek deity who gifted humanity with fire—as embodying the archetypal role of a Seraphim.

Prometheus: Bearer of Divine Flame

Prometheus is renowned for stealing fire from the gods and bestowing it upon humanity. In traditional narratives, this act symbolizes enlightenment, divine wisdom, creative spark, and the expansion of human consciousness. Viewed through a Hermetic lens, Prometheus resonates profoundly with the fiery Seraphim—angelic beings whose very essence is divine illumination, insight, and transformative energy.

The Seraphim, according to Hermetic and Qabalistic teachings, embody the fiery intelligence connecting divine source and material manifestation. Just as the Seraphim bridge the gap between cosmic fire and earthly consciousness, Prometheus stands as a celestial intermediary, bringing divine knowledge and creative potential into the world.

The Father as Pure Energy, Binah as the True Creatrix

In Western Hermetic Qabalah, particularly within Thelemic interpretations, the divine "Father" principle—Chokmah—is pure, unmanifested energy. Chokmah represents force, fire, potential, and expansive impulse. Yet Chokmah alone cannot create form; it requires the receptive, form-giving power of Binah, the Creatrix, the cosmic womb from which structured manifestation emerges.

Binah, often symbolized as Babalon, the Great Mother, shapes and contains divine energy, creating form, coherence, and tangible reality. Thus, while the Father is pure potentiality, it is the Mother—Binah—who births reality into being.

Prometheus Serving the Creatrix

Through this Hermetic understanding, Prometheus can be viewed as serving the Creatrix Binah rather than a patriarchal Father deity. His fiery gift of knowledge and insight aligns with the Seraphim’s role as fiery angels serving the divine feminine power, carrying divine potential from pure, formless energy into structured wisdom, creativity, and self-awareness in humanity.

This interpretation offers a profound, balanced view that moves beyond traditional patriarchal frameworks, highlighting the vital interplay of masculine and feminine energies—force and form. Prometheus, therefore, becomes a potent symbol of divine mediation, embodying both the fiery impulse of Chokmah and the creative, nurturing containment of Binah.

Hermetic Rebalance and Feminine Wisdom

Emphasizing Prometheus as a Seraphim aligned with Binah rebalances and reinvigorates our spiritual understanding, placing the feminine principle back at the heart of cosmic creativity. It reminds us that enlightenment, creativity, and manifestation result from harmonious integration and alchemical union.

Through Prometheus' example, we recognize a deeper, richer symbolism: true enlightenment and spiritual liberation come not from unbalanced force, but from the sacred interplay between fiery divine potential and the receptive, creative womb of the divine feminine.

Now I have always aligned myself with the Greek Prometheus myth, since my HGA has always called me Prometheus. Here are some very interesting facts when comparing the Promethean myth with the Western Hermetic Qabalah and the Soul alphabet of Tarot.

Here I am bringing forward a fascinating Hermetic reinterpretation of Prometheus' myth, profoundly aligning it with the symbolism of the seven-layered soul, Seraphic descent, and the service of the Creatrix Babalon. Let’s expound on this:

Prometheus Bound and the Seven-Layered Soul

Prometheus' punishment—being bound to a mountain with an eagle or vulture returning every seven days to devour his liver—holds deep symbolic resonance within Hermetic Qabalah. The liver, in ancient mysticism, symbolizes the vital force, regenerative power, and deeper emotional or astral body—an organ capable of regeneration, thus symbolizing eternal renewal and cyclic transformation.

The period of seven days is deeply significant, directly reflecting the Qabalistic concept of a seven-layered soul, or the sevenfold division of human spiritual anatomy, associated with the planetary and sephirotic energies:

1. Saturn/Binah: Root of form, limitation, and discipline.

2. Jupiter/Chesed: Expansion, wisdom, generosity.

3. Mars/Geburah: Courage, strength, severity, fiery energy.

4. Sun/Tiphareth: Central harmony, spiritual balance, divine consciousness.

5. Venus/Netzach: Desire, emotional intelligence, creativity.

6. Mercury/Hod: Intellect, communication, reason.

7. Moon/Yesod: Astral body, subconscious realm, foundation of form manifestation.

Prometheus’s ordeal symbolizes the recurring purification, regeneration, and transformative suffering endured by divine consciousness incarnating in material form—an initiation or sacrifice necessary for bringing divine fire (enlightenment and creative spirit) to humanity.

Seraphim as Emissaries of the Creatrix

In Hermetic Qabalah, the Seraphim—fiery angels—are understood not simply as beings who glorify a patriarchal deity, but as divine intelligences channeling the generative energy of the Creatrix (Babalon/Binah). They are the fiery bridge between divine energy and earthly manifestation.

When you frame Prometheus as a Seraphim sent by the Creatrix, his myth reveals a deeper Hermetic message:

• Divine Mission: Prometheus descending and enduring suffering to bring divine fire symbolizes the necessary sacrifice involved in manifesting higher wisdom and spiritual awareness on earth.

• Cycle of Seven (Soul): The repeated cycle of suffering and renewal every seven days explicitly aligns Prometheus with the cosmic rhythm of soul evolution and the continual refining of spiritual consciousness through the planetary/Sephirotic realms.

Babylon the Creatrix and the Manifestation of Form

Babalon (Binah) represents the archetypal womb—the encloser and giver of form. Prometheus, as her Seraphic agent, embodies the Hermetic principle of bringing divine, fiery energy (from the formless Father-Chokmah) down through Binah’s receptive embrace, manifesting wisdom and creativity upon Earth.

His punishment symbolizes both his service and the cost of bringing enlightenment to humanity. He willingly bears cyclic suffering, resonating with the mystical idea of continual spiritual transformation and rebirth within the material realm—a quintessentially feminine cycle associated deeply with the Creatrix Babalon.

Hermetic Insight and Feminine Balance

This interpretation moves beyond the patriarchal lens, placing the divine feminine, the Creatrix Binah/Babalon, firmly at the center of the spiritual process. Prometheus’ ordeal, understood Hermetically, affirms that true spiritual illumination and the incarnation of divine consciousness occur through the dynamic interplay of feminine form-giving and masculine fire.

Conclusion: Prometheus as Seraphic Messenger

In this nuanced Hermetic context, Prometheus’ myth is more than a cautionary tale. It's an empowering allegory of divine purpose, sacrifice, and spiritual evolution in service to the supreme feminine principle. Through this lens, the seven-day cycle of suffering reveals the profound spiritual truth of the seven-layered soul's continual regeneration and refinement in its eternal service to the Creatrix.

Thus, Prometheus can indeed be seen as a Seraphim in divine service to Babalon, bringing not only fire to humanity but manifesting deeper, richer truths of cosmic spiritual transformation.

Thank you for your interest, comments, and supportive donation. May you live long and prosper.

More exoteric Traditional Tarot site and Tarot card comparisons blogs. Tarot readings store.

Western Hermetic Magick website and Magick blogs.

Thoth Tarot esoteric website, readings store, and tarot card comparisons blogs.