1. Primary Role

The status, function and purpose of Geburah is one of the thorniest in Qabalistic Theory and, while there is much that I find comprehensible and sympathetic on all sides of this curious argument (from Geburah being the Sephirah of ‘Cosmic Evil’ at one extreme, to the Sephirah of the child-god Horus at the other) a closer look reveals a common source for the ideas in its function on the Tree of Life. ‘Geburah’ is usually translated ‘Judgement’; but this has overtones of legalism that, while appropriate in some circumstances, is limiting in others. I prefer ‘Discernment’; it is also restricting, as it still implies a human (or at least conscious) agent, but this is OK for the purposes we study the Tree for. If we occasionally anthropomorphise Gravity or Tectonic stress, etc., we will have to forgive ourselves.

The Active Pillar counterpart of Geburah is Chesed; the generous, productive, expansive nature of that Sephirah (while necessary) does not, by itself, lead to a state of equilibrium (Tiphareth). Chesed is capable of producing anything that conforms to the (distinctly liberal) parameters laid down by the Supernal Triad. A discriminating process is required to focus its creativity into an appropriate form. Geburah’s role is therefore primarily defensive. The weapon it uses is portrayed by Zayin, revealed in the Tarot as Intuition; Geburah uses the Understanding of Binah to create the Equilibrium of Tiphareth. The common figures associated with Geburah tend to be male gods, such as Mars and Horus, but its position on the Receptive Pillar hints that more appropriate figures would be female warriors such as the Amazons and, especially, Boudicca. In the history of Britain at that time, Rome is taking the expansive role of Chesed, and Boudicca is trying to limit it. ‘Zayin’ does not just mean ‘weapon’; it also means ‘armour’. Combining these ideas reinforces its defensive role.

There is a continuous process of generation by Chesed, which means that no state (in the World of Formation) can last; so Equilibrium is not a static state to be achieved and retained, but a dynamic process that Geburah (as Discernment) must continually renew. What, of all the ‘new stuff’ can or should be absorbed, retained, used? What is destructive and must be rejected? Here is the reason why Geburah gets an association with ‘evil’; we do not all agree on what is the desirable equilibrium state. Some of us have wiring so bad that no-one would agree with them. But the need for human companionship and co-operation is so great that almost all of us will go some way to finding an agreeable compromise, and many of us will put up with extreme degradation (or allow it to happen to others), rather than face the wrath of the group.

2. The ‘Active Geburah’

People sometimes speak of an ‘Active Geburah’. I see what they are getting at, but Geburah cannot be active, it must be Receptive. However, whether it’s a fight in a pub or a World War, Geburah certainly gives the appearance of being Active! But ‘appearance’ is the key word. We must now turn to Yesod, the Sephirah whose role it is to supply our image of the world. One of its titles is ‘the Treasure-house of Images’. Anything can be pictured here, but not everything it pictures has a strong relationship to reality. When the functioning image in Yesod is (by accident, misadventure, misunderstanding or design) a distant relative of the real, Geburah can be used to defend an illusion. Here are some examples (oversimplified, of course, but accurate enough to reveal the role of Geburah).

In the time of the Greek city-states, there were continual conflicts breaking out; leadership amongst the cities was shared by Athens (with a strong navy) and Sparta (with a virtually invincible army). Across the Mediterranean was another civilisation, dismissed by the Greeks as ‘Barbarossi’ (the red-bearded ones – barbarians). By calculatedly misinterpreting a few local conflicts with Greek colonies there, Athens contrived to portray them, in a self-fulfilling prophecy, as a threat – and convince the rest of Greece that only a unified state (under the leadership of Athens, of course) could provide sufficient defence. The end result of this dangerous course was a unified Greece with Athens as its capital city. In terms of the Tree, a fictional image (Yesod) of ‘threat’ led to actions (Malkuth) of ‘defence’ (Geburah) that created a new state of equilibrium (Tiphareth).

In the time of the German Third Reich, a deliberately-created fiction about the nature of the German people created the illusory right to invade and suppress other nations in the cause of ‘Lebensraum’ (living-space). The process was similar; a fictional Yesod justifies ‘defensive’ actions that would have been otherwise inexcusable.

The Vietnam War provides a collection of further examples. When the French gave up and left, the USA detected a power vacuum that they felt was against their interests. Vietnam was known as ‘the rice-bowl’ of south-east Asia – which was why the Japanese had been keen to take it. Additionally, the USA needed a suitable port in the area, and South Vietnam provided just what they needed. Thirdly, they believed there were huge oil reserves off the coast that they wanted under their control. By creating a fictional communist threat (‘fictional’ because China and Vietnam were traditional enemies, and whatever government was in charge of the country, there would have been no love lost between them) and the ‘Domino Theory’ (that the whole area would end up communist), the USA created a self-fulfilling prophecy that justified their intervention. As in the other instances, a mild (or non-existent) threat was used as the excuse for unnecessary ‘defence’.

When an illusion on one side is matched by one on the other, the perfect recipe for disaster is created. A good example is that of George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden; each needed the other for their ‘dance of death’. Another example is that of the ‘English Defence league’ and ‘Muslims Against Crusades’ – two UK extremist groups that notify each other of their intent to stage a protest, so they can be sure of attracting a lot of publicity. They need each other in order to justify their existence; if there is no attacker, what is there to defend?

3. The Responsibility of Geburah

Responsibility is a painful and often thankless role. What is Geburah supposed to be doing in the world? If we don’t like it, does it explain why it gets an ‘evil’ reputation?

As an example, a real situation is that people die. I bet we all know someone who has died that we wish was still alive, whether it’s a relative, a friend, or a favourite musician or film star. If you had a few wishes, would you grant humans eternal life? What would they eat? Where would they live? You would have to use your next wish stopping us from breeding. I think your popularity rating would start to plummet. Of course, we could invent interplanetary (or interstellar) travel and terraforming to provide new land – but that’s only a temporary solution. Sooner or later, all the available space will be filled. People will have to die. You’re in charge, who are you going to choose?

Now the ghastly job of being Geburah becomes clearer. Here is Chesed pouring all its bountiful goodness out into the world; more people, more animals, all crawling over each other, trying to survive. Now it’s your job to control this mess. If we simplify our dilemma, by pretending that all the other species will sort themselves out, we can focus on humans. Who are you going to kill? Well, let’s start with murderers. We shall make it an immutable law of the universe that anyone who kills shall immediately die. No need for courts and trials, they just drop dead in their tracks. Hmmm. All of a sudden, no more murderers! Oh dear. The attempt to limit growth has had the opposite effect. We’ll have to get more imaginative – the world is full of human detritus; let’s get rid of that. New fundamental law of the Universe; Anyone who drops litter, drops dead. Great, no more litter. Keep going – any man who wears a string vest in public. Any woman who dyes her hair pink. Any bald men who have a comb-over… and, at last, you have created the world in your own image. You will be happy. Only you. And only for a while.

Well, you could change some of the scenarios, but I am sure you will see that the result is the same. All of us, all of the time, are attempting to recreate the world in our own image – thank God we are not omnipotent! Now there’s a thought; what about God? If there is a God, why doesn’t he/she/it interfere? I believe, for the same reasons; if I were an omnipotent being, would I be happy with a species that always did exactly what I wanted it to, because it had no choice? I think I would go mad with boredom. On the other hand, many people believe they have manipulated God (or ‘the gods’ into doing what they wanted; are they all imagining it? Perhaps there are ways of stacking the odds! But, in any case, as Tim says, in ‘Jurassic Park’, "Well, we're back in the car again" – you are creating the world in your own image. God lets everything in the universe behave according to its nature, whether it’s Mohatma Gandhi, Genghis Khan, or a fault line off the coast of Japan.

You may not like the state of equilibrium the world is in; but sitting around whinging about it won’t change it. Start local – live up to your own highest standards, and treat others as you would have them treat you. Hmmm; that’s been said already, hasn’t it – in about a thousand cultures over the last five thousand years. We are slow learners.

4: Summary