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Kabbalah and Psychology
Part 15
Elemental Soul Powers
Now that we have summarized how the four elements correspond to
the signs of
the zodiac, we will be able to more clearly understand how the
first three--- air, water
and fire---manifest in the crown of the soul.
Each of the three elements (air, water and fire) is associated
with one of the
unconscious powers of the soul. Air is associated with faith;
water with pleasure; and
fire with will. As in the Tree of Life, we can correspond these
to the three lines of right,
left and center.
Air
Fire Water
Air: Faith In the center, above water and fire, is the element
of air, which
corresponds to faith. The word for air in Hebrew is ruach ,
literally meaning wind, or
spirit. In the context of the human psyche, one of the five
names of the soul is also
called ruach , spirit. In fact, there are two levels of spirit,
Divine spirit ( ruach hakodesh )
and the spirit of Life ( ruach chayim ). According to Kabbalah,
these two elements of spirit
emanate from one another (life spirit from Divine spirit), while
the water element
emanates from spirit in general, and fire emanates from water.
In the psyche, faith is the
essence of ruach . The strength of a persons faith emanates from
stability and
equilibrium, which derives from the center.
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Water: Pleasure Water corresponds to the right line, as its
essence is found in its
power to descend, a quality upheld by one of the fundamental
laws of classical physics,
which states that water can never ascend higher than its point
of origin. 17
Water corresponds to the source of pleasure in the soul, as we
learn from the phrase in
Tanya that all types of pleasure sprout from water. 18
In general, water is a life-giving force at every level of the
soul. This is indicated
by the phrase, , living waters. In this way, water corresponds
to the simple
pleasure of life itself.When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of
Eden before the primordial sin, they
were in a state of infinite pleasure. Indeed, all the vegetation
that God created for the
pleasure of man in the Garden of Eden sprouted from the waters
of the River of Eden.
Of all the compound pleasures, the greatest is the pleasure of a
new insight, or a
eureka experience of the mind. Th is is referred to as a humid
mind. The proper
functioning of the mind requires a certain level of humidity in
order to experience the
pleasure of a new insight; if the mind is dry a person cannot
have new insights. 19
Fire: Will In contrast to water, fire ascends to its source;
therefore it corresponds to
the left line and to the power of will in the soul. Although we
might think of fire as
representing light, in fact, the original, primordial darkness
relates to the spiritual
17 See Tanya, ch. 4. The right side, or chessed, bestows,
influences and descends.
18 Tanya, ch. 1.
19 See Shaar HaYichud of Rabbi Dovber of Lubavitch.
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element of fire. 20 Spiritual fire is unlimited dark energy that
preceded the creation of
light, while physical fire is the manifestation of spiritual
fire in our world. Having
descended from its elevated spiritual source, the fire that we
perceive aspires to return
to its origin (it leaps from the wick) and in so doing, reaches
a higher point than its
origin. One example of this phenomenon is the sacrifices in the
Temple, which are
referred to explicitly as fire. Indeed, the Zohar teaches us
that the burning sacrifice
ascends to the mystery of infinity. 21
Earth: Consciousness Earth corresponds to the final sefirah ,
Malchut (kingdom),
which is the receiving principle; meaning that earth is the
element that receives all theothers. Relative to the
super-conscious powers of the soul, earth represents the
conscious powers of wisdom, understanding and knowledge, or
Chochma, Bina and
Da at Chabad for short.
20 See, for example, Nachmanides commentary on the Torah,
Genesis 1:1. -
21 Zohar II 239a; Zohar III, 26b.
