Merkabah

The vision of Ezekiel 1:1 according to the depiction in the "Icones Biblicae" by Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593-1650).

William Blake: The Whirlwind: Ezekiel's Vision of the Cherubim and Eyed Wheels (ca. 1803 - 1805)

Merkabah (Hebrew: מרכבה "chariot") is the Throne Chariot of God or better the Throne Chariot of the LORD in the vision of Ezekiel. Merkabah mysticism shaped the first epoch of Jewish mysticism from about the 1st century BC onwards and was developed even before the Kabbalah and was dedicated to the exploration of the heavenly throne world, which roughly corresponds to the Pleroma of the Gnostics. Here the spiritual archetypes of all creation can be seen.

The initiation path

The initiation path, on which some tests had to be passed and some thresholds overcome, led the mystic through the seven planetary spheres and the seven heavenly palaces or temples to the Throne of God, which is why one also speaks of Hekhalot mysticism (Hebrew: היכלות Hekhalot, from היכל Hechal "hall, temple, palace"). In the Saturn sphere the Thrones (Hebrew גלגלים Galgalim "wheels") rule, which are probably to be equated with the Ophanim (Hebrew: אוֹפַנִּים "wheels") written by Ezekiel. Above them rises the zodiac with the Cherubim.

In answering questions to a lecture given in Leipzig on 12 January 1908, Rudolf Steiner relates the ten Sefirot to the wheels of the Throne Chariot of God described in the vision of Ezekiel.

„The wheels of the chariot, Merkabah, indicate the turns by which man moves on ahead, and rounds are meant by them. The ten sephirot indicate periods of time, stages of development, through which man has passed. The physical body went through four stages of development: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth. Three stages of the etheric body: Sun, Moon, Earth. Two stages of the astral body: Moon, Earth. The I is on the first stage: together there are ten.“ (Lit.: Contributions 32, p. 31)

Literature

• Gershom Scholem: Die jüdische Mystik in ihren Hauptströmungen, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-518-27930-0
• Drunvalo Melchizedek: Mer Ka Ba Meditation (Hörbuch), Suche bei Google
• Andreas Beutel: Mer-Ka-Ba - Lichtkörper, Herzensraum und heilige Geometrie, Suche bei Google
• Jeanne Ruland: Merkaba: Die Aktivierung des Lichtkörpers für die neue Zeit, google

• Rudolf Steiner: Okkulte Zeichen und Symbole der astralen und der geistigen Welt, Vortrag in Leipzig, 12. Januar 1908 (nicht in der GA veröffentlicht) pdf

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.