Jachin & Boaz

[Bruce Michael]

Dear Friends,

"He cast two bronze pillars... he made pomegranates in two rows encircling each network to decorate the capitals on top of the pillars. The pillar to the south he named Jakin [Jachin] and the one to the north Boaz. The capitals on top were in the shape of lilies." -

-1 Kings 7:15,18,21,22.

Boaz was the great-grandfather of King David - his name meaning "strength, or it is in strength". Jachin was the high priest who assisted the dedication of Solomon's Temple - his name meaning " to establish" and united "stability".

The head Mason, Hiram Abif, made the brass pillars. In Qabalah, Jachin and Boaz are the names of the pillars of Mercy (J) and Severity(B). They appear in the Tarot deck on the High Priestess card.

Here is Dr. Steiner's Jakin & Boaz Occult seal:

Art Inspired by Rudolf Steiner: The Two Pillars

"The Two Pillars. In these pillars is indicated the mystery of the part played in human evolution by red oxygenated blood and blue, or carbonated blood."

Here they are again:

Art Inspired by Rudolf Steiner: Basement Hall of Theosophical Society



The two pillars represent the Tree of Life (oxygen- Hauschka calls biogen) and the Tree of Knowledge (carbon).

"In the fourth seal we see the Pillars, one of them planted on the sea, the other on dry land. These Pillars indicate the secret of the part played in human evolution by the red blood, rich in oxygen, and the blue of bluish red, rich in carbonic acid. The evolution of the I of man during the Earth epoch finds physical expression in the interaction between the red blood, without which there could be no Life, and the blue, without which there could be no Knowledge. Blue blood is the physical expression of those forces which give us Knowledge- forces which, however, taken by themselves and in their human form, are very nearly akin to Death. Red blood is the physical expression of Life- which however in its human form and by itself, could never give us conscious Knowledge. Together and in their mutual interaction they represent the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life or the two pillars on the foundation of which the life and cognition of the I can grow and develop to that degree of maturity where at long last man will be fully united with the universal forces of the Earth."
Occult Seals and columns- Rudolf Steiner

You can read more about the fourth seal (and the others)
here:
Lecture: Lecture IV: Occult Signs and Symbols
The above is the lecture Occult Signs & Symbols.

From Occult Seals and Columns by Rudolf Steiner:

"The Initiate foresees a future condition of mankind in which the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life .... will be intertwined and united within man himself. At the present stage the aspirant to spiritual development should inscribe the message of the two pillars in his heart. Separated though they still are, they summon us to transcend the present state of mankind and to direct our footsteps to the place where through our widened consciousness the two will be interwoven - a secret that is indicated in the J-B. The verses inscribed on either pillar will bring home to us their meaning. Those
on the first pillar relate to Knowledge, those on the second to Life itself. Thus at the former stage the formative, creative powers are revealed to man; at the latter he himself reveals them, magically.
Progression from the mere faculty of cognition to that of magical activity in life is the significance of the transition from the power latent in the first inscription to that which is latent in the second."

-Br.Bruce

[Bruce Michael]

Dear Friends,

The pillar of Carbon rises out from a fixed place, through to thefinding of knowledge. The rock of the skull actually gives solid ground to the base of this pillar. The pillar is upright and extending on through to hope and via hope we extend on into the knowledge and connecting with the ultimate reality of that which we are searching for union with.

This is the Boaz pillar, a picture of which I have posted previously:

In this you could find the principle of severity. Severity does not mean hardship but to `severe', to cut away that which is surplus. This is also one of the qualities of the Carbon.

The Boaz pillar represents the Kabbalistic quality of Severity- as the Jachin pillar represents Mercy.

There has been a theory put forth which speaks of the Luciferic imponderables causing upset and disharmony within both the being and body of Man. That there can be questions and doubts which of themselves are poisoned in such a way that there is no way through from them to finding answers or truths of any worth and resulting from this condition, the individual experiences constriction psychologically or physically.

You can find more about this here:
Lecture I: The Balance in the World and Man, Lucifer and Ahriman

"In such an ether-body there is then not the human, but the Luciferic form, the form of the Sphinx. The Sphinx is the being who brings doubts, who torments the soul with questions."

"The legend of Oedipus describes how the human being faces the Sphinx, how the Sphinx torments him with questions. The picture of the human being and the Sphinx, or of the human being and the
Luciferic powers in the Cosmos,..."
The Balance in the World and Man, Lucifer and Ahriman- Rudolf Steiner

-Br.Bruce

[Bruce Michael]

Hallo,

Here is Tolkien's cover illustration for the TwoTowers:

He had made three illustrations in all, for this cover. There was some confusion as to which towers these two were to represent- see article above.

Here is Dr. Steiner's Jakin & Boaz Occult seal:
Art Inspired by Rudolf Steiner: The Two Pillars

And finally, A.E. Waite's design for the High Priestess card:


A Comparison:
Tolkien's cover depicts the two towers as black and white- like they are shown in Waite's High Priestess.
The five pointed star hovers above the black tower, in Steiner's seal this is to the right of the dark Boaz tower.
There is a white hand under Tolkien's tower, in the Fourth Seal there are two disembodied hands.
Above Tolkien's white tower there is a crescent moon, below there is the crescent and dark disc. The High Priestess also has a crescent moon under the white Jachin pillar.
Tolkien's illustration depicts a ring, or sun disc between the Towers. Waite's has a solar disc in the headgear of the Priestess.
Steiner also has the sun emblem between the pillars.

Steiner's Fourth Seal shows a book in the clouds. Waite's Priestess holds a book of the law- Tora.
The occult seal depicts Jachin resting in the water. The High Priestess' robes appear to be turning into water- a moon condition.

"The immediate source is probably the Cipher Document of the Golden Dawn that assigns this card to the Moon."
The J & B pillars play a part in the Golden Dawn and Freemason rituals.

Tomberg states that the Justice card shows the J & B pillars- there is a balance between the two. Also the horses on the Chariot card are meant to be red and blue - the venous and arterial blood - also emblems of the two pillars. The references to Jachin & Boaz in "Meditations on the Tarot" are pages: 100, 168, 174 & 178- Element edition.

-Br.Bruce

[Bruce Michael]

A.E.Waite's design

[Bruce Michael]

A.E.Waite's design