The Great Mother: Exploring Binah and Divine Understanding

Qabalistic concepts can be recursive; as each layer is unraveled, a new level is introduced, further reflecting the structure that exists within and around us. We briefly looked at the first sphere: Kether (the Crown), whose holy name is Eheyeh ("I Am"). We then looked at the second sphere, Chokmah (Wisdom), whose holy name is The Tetragrammaton (YHVH). Chokmah is the Father. We now look into the third sphere, Binah (Understanding), whose holy name is YHVH Elohim. Binah is the archetypal Great Mother. 

You can interpret YHVH Elohim to mean "God exists as the gods". Now this may seem strange, but bear with me here if you have been indoctrinated into the patriarchal notion that God is a great man in the sky. Names in Hebrew describe functions. YHVH means “One who IS.” Elohim is a plural Hebrew word translated as "the gods" or "the heavenly host".

Binah is the feminine aspect of the Godhead. While Chokmah, the second sphere, represents the Father. Binah, the third sphere, represents the Mother and births the host of heaven. Through her, the multitude of forms and powers flow into the rest of the Tree.

The Simultaneous Dance of Wisdom and Understanding

We can easily fall into linear thinking when studying the Tree of Life. Thinking that because three is after two, those spheres emanated in that order. The numbers simply indicate position and function, not necessarily time or sequence. The second sphere, Chokmah (Wisdom), and the third sphere, Binah (Understanding), occurred simultaneously. They are the two forces/poles that split from the one crown of sphere one, Kether.

Visualize the first sphere as a pure, undefined force. This force expresses itself as positive and negative polarities (battery poles). Sphere one, the Crown, extends itself as spheres two and three, the Father and the Mother. Chokmah can be viewed as the fire separating from the water. Binah would be the water separated from that fire. The two are separate but connected, both emanations of the same source, and are crowned with the single crown, Eheyeh (I Am).

The Anatomy of the Tree of Life indicates that the expansion of energy called "I Am" overflows into spheres two and three. When the Father (Sphere two) goes looking for his mate, he finds HER waiting for him. She does not "work for" Him, nor does He "work for" Her. These are two coequal principles through which creation occurs. She is the Great Contemplative Mirror, the Fountainhead, the primordial sea from where all life springs forth. SHE is the womb of all Being. 

The Mother Archetype Across Traditions

In no way is the idea of the Great Mother confined to Qabalah. You can find her in thousands of cultures and spiritual paths throughout history. Linguistically, the word Mary shares its root with Mari, which means sea. Mary could thus be tied to the archetype of Binah, the sea of understanding from which we are all born. Isis is her face in Egypt, Astarte and Asherah in ancient Canaan. She surfaces as Brigid in Celtic traditions and is known as Shekinah, the indwelling mother, in Pauline traditions.

Christian Trinities of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit correspond to the Tree. The Father is sphere two (Chokmah), the Son is represented in sphere six (Tiphareth), while the Holy Spirit is sphere three (Binah). Before a more patriarchal church emerged around Hebraic beliefs, ancient Israelites worshiped Yahweh and his wife, Asherah. Worship of the goddess was later subsumed into that of the Holy Spirit in the Christian faith.

Everywhere we look in ancient civilizations and cultures worldwide, there she is. For countless generations, people the world over have instinctively known and experienced the sacred feminine. She is the Earth Mother, the Great Goddess, Gran Madre, or just Mama. Her role as the creator and nurturer points to her being the Mother of All. Binah on the Tree of Life is understanding, the force through which all things are created. She shows us compassion and understanding while teaching us how to navigate our earthly experience. She is, regardless of the culture, the God in female form that guides us to our Father. There is no masculine without feminine and vice versa. These are two forces that are always in balance as one in our universe.

Saturn and the Structure of Atonement

Every sphere on the Tree of Life has its correspondences, but Binah is the first sphere that correlates with a planet: Saturn. This isn’t coincidental. In geometry, three is the first number that can form a closed shape. A triangle. Before three, we have a point (one) and then a line (two). The triangle is the first true stable structure, and it rules Saturn.

Saturn has been associated astrologically with Kronos. But in Qabalah, Saturn channels the Great Mother’s energy. Saturn is the oldest planet (in traditional astrology), slowest moving, and farthest from the warmth of the Sun. Saturn rules restriction, careful pace, form, time, and cause and effect.

This restrictive quality is essential to Binah's function. The Great Mother is in charge of Atonement. This isn't about punishment, but about restoration. Atonement is the process of re-establishing our understanding of who we truly are as eternal souls, distinct from the transient and chaotic ego. Atonement is the awareness of our oneness with all creation.

The mother works through atonement by sifting and discerning. As the soul awakens, the Saturn energy of Binah sieves things out on a spiritual level. Binah says yes to what agrees with the truth of our soul and no to what doesn't. That is judgment. Not judgment as in some wrathful god coming to smite you. This is a loving and necessary judgment. She is the sphere of Understanding. She understands who we are; therefore, only she can understand what aligns with our soul and what doesn't.

We want her rigidity. If we are to make spiritual advancement, we do not want laissez-faire indulgence. We want an unbending judgment to identify what is true and what is not. We want only the soul to ascend and for all else: our insecurities, our illusory beliefs, our ego-created nightmares to fall away into the void. The void here is not a place of punishment, but rather a reversion to innate nothingness. It is the dissolving of that which never truly was. Binah's Saturnian structure allows for this intense spiritual sorting to take place within a rigid container.

Grace as a Restrictive, Healing Force

The power of Binah is also the source of divine grace. We often think of grace as a soft, unconditional outpouring of love. While it is unconditionally loving, the grace of the Great Mother is also powerfully focused, and this is its strength.

Think about how a mother loves her child. It is unconditional, but it is also very concentrated and protective. The love of a mother is limited to ONLY perceiving the truth of her child. No matter what errors they make or how they try to appear on the outside, the Mother sees through it all. Errors don't faze her. Her love penetrates to the very soul of her child. That is how the flow of divine grace from Binah is. It is limited to correcting, to uplifting, to exposing what is true.

This grace does not indulge more error; it eradicates it. The Great Mother is sometimes called the "untangler of knots." She possesses the power to undo the consequences of any error and resolve any confusion because her vision is perfectly clear. Armed with the restrictive power of Saturn, she discerns only the truth. Anything that is not true is simply cast away, returning to the nothingness from which it arose.

When we work with Binah—whether we call it the Goddess, Shekinah, the Holy Spirit, or the Universal Mother—we place ourselves in the path of this potent, purifying grace. We give our permission for the consequences of past errors to be undone. We allow everything that is not true about us to be dissolved, so we may return to our rightful place as radiant souls.

Your Inner Connection to Binah

The Tree of Life is not only a map of the cosmos. It is a map of YOU. Each sphere reflects an aspect of YOUR consciousness. Binah, the Great Mother, mirrors that aspect of you that is aligned with the limitless source of ALL understanding. It is your ability to filter through the chaos of life and KNOW what is true, and what is not.

This is the strength of your inner Saturn, your own ability to use form, discipline, and judgment. It is that silent, wise knowing that allows you to unwaveringly know your truth, to make decisions, and stand by what you know is right for your own soul.

We are all striving for this Atonement as we walk our paths. To be at one with who we truly are. We find this through Binah. This is where our "veils" are removed from the truth of who we are. It is a process of restoration, in the hands of One who is love and truth personified.

When you are drowning in confusion or pulled under by your past, remember the Great Mother. Remember that her Understanding is within you. Remember that understanding is built into the universe. YHVH Elohim means "God exists as the gods." There are many aspects of God, and one of them is the Mother's love. The mother that nurtures us, organizes us, and redeems us. It is only through Her grace, Her order, and Her understanding that we can return to our simple shining truth selves.

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