Hythlodaeus
I've mentioned Frater Achad's "Restored" Tree in a couple of other posts, but it's hard to find any thorough discussions of it anywhere on the web. I figured I would start a discussion about it here.
For those who aren't familiar with it, Achad's "Restored" Tree preserves the Golden Dawn Trump/Letter/Astrological correspondences, but re-arranges the paths on the Tree in ascending order. The three Mother letters occupy the three paths along the Middle Pillar, while each planetary trump connects with its corresponding planetary sephira, and each zodiacal trumps is united with the sephira of its ruling planet.
Chapter 4 of Achad's The Anatomy of the Body of God briefly explains the concept and contains an image of the "Restored" Tree. It can be found here:
http://hermetic.com/achad/anatomy/anatomy4.htm
I found the following quotation quite compelling: "The fact that this Reformation of the Paths produces a wealth of fresh Symbolism...is alone sufficient justification for changing the arrangement, even though it may upset the ideas of certain people who have based the Rituals of their Secret Orders upon the old plan."
I started out on the GD system and was initially repelled by other systems that threatened to make me discard all that I'd already learned and invested in. I now realize that I don't in fact need to choose and can draw on multiple systems to deepen my meaning of the cards. In any case, I've recently revisited Achad's system and find myself drawn in by its intuitive logic and the overarching theme of the "Traditions of Light and Darkness" (explained in detail in Ch. 3 of his "Egyptian Revival") that ties everything together. The more I study it, the more it makes "sense" to me and I find myself making connections within connections.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts and I am curious to hear about other people's experiences with Achad's "Restored" Tree!
For those who aren't familiar with it, Achad's "Restored" Tree preserves the Golden Dawn Trump/Letter/Astrological correspondences, but re-arranges the paths on the Tree in ascending order. The three Mother letters occupy the three paths along the Middle Pillar, while each planetary trump connects with its corresponding planetary sephira, and each zodiacal trumps is united with the sephira of its ruling planet.
Chapter 4 of Achad's The Anatomy of the Body of God briefly explains the concept and contains an image of the "Restored" Tree. It can be found here:
http://hermetic.com/achad/anatomy/anatomy4.htm
I found the following quotation quite compelling: "The fact that this Reformation of the Paths produces a wealth of fresh Symbolism...is alone sufficient justification for changing the arrangement, even though it may upset the ideas of certain people who have based the Rituals of their Secret Orders upon the old plan."
I started out on the GD system and was initially repelled by other systems that threatened to make me discard all that I'd already learned and invested in. I now realize that I don't in fact need to choose and can draw on multiple systems to deepen my meaning of the cards. In any case, I've recently revisited Achad's system and find myself drawn in by its intuitive logic and the overarching theme of the "Traditions of Light and Darkness" (explained in detail in Ch. 3 of his "Egyptian Revival") that ties everything together. The more I study it, the more it makes "sense" to me and I find myself making connections within connections.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts and I am curious to hear about other people's experiences with Achad's "Restored" Tree!