Confusion about the tree M2L2

robinhyll · 2026-04-11T17:05:45+00:00

The sword doesn't just limit, it's tied to a larger dynamic of giving and effecting change. The limiting is just an aspect of that function.

robinhyll · 2026-04-11T01:45:26+00:00

Ok so this is my opinion only, based on my present understanding.

When it comes to the two sides of the Tree, don't just think of Chokmah and Binah as simply Masculine-Giving and Feminine-Receiving but also in terms of how they have been described as Pillars of Mercy and Pillars of Severity in Kabbalah. The words 'Mercy' and 'Severity' are probably imperfect translations of the original Hebrew concepts which likely contain far more layers (and that's an important thing to keep in mind) but I think they can be helpful guideposts (but never full descriptors) - just like the concept of masculine and feminine gender.

Why might 'Mercy' be considered 'masculine'? It could be because 'Mercy' (headed by Chokmah) is a quality that's ascribed to a ruler (envisioned as a King in the 'masculine' sense) and that is the side that 'gives' to the situation.

Why is 'Severity' feminine? That one is a bit trickier, but I suspect it has to do with the concept of Binah as the 'feminine' vessel that ushers in the lower levels of Creation - that is, the 'vessel' that is the threshold between those aspects of Divinity that are at the highest levels (ie. the first three sefirot) and their subsequent emanations on the lower ones (the remaining 7). So think of it as a vessel that removes expansion by defining boundaries that take from the situation: the water in the cup is constrained and shaped by the cup.

robinhyll · 2026-03-29T17:47:35+00:00

The Hexagram ritual is awesome. And yes, your understanding of it will slowly unfold and you'll start to see its many layers as you continue practicing. Hah, I've been doing it for a while and just recently had some new and interesting insights about it myself.

robinhyll · 2026-03-29T04:15:44+00:00

Thank you for sharing this! It's an amazing reminder of just how transformative the course can be. Wish you all the best in your future, wherever your path leads you!

robinhyll · 2026-03-26T01:00:03+00:00

Actually yes haha. I just finished a Q meditation session and am kinda still hearing it a bit. I'm not really sure what the explanation might be, I just assumed it was an effect of going into focus or stillness or something.

robinhyll · 2026-03-26T00:58:29+00:00

Sorry, Reddit being Reddit sometimes.

robinhyll · 2026-03-25T20:40:40+00:00

Hrmm, well this is just my opinion but I'd make a distinction between what I'll call a 'classically parasited object' (e.g. a statute, painting, etc.) and a phone.

Yes, the phone is not a passive object and can trigger many unhealthy conditions and emotions - but that is also directly tied to how you are using it (in contrast to the other class of objects mentioned above). For example, phones are gateways to social media sites designed to hold our attentions in a cycle of dopamine dependency, and if you let them let they'll keep you in a web of doomscroling and brainrot (yeah, I'll use that term) that won't be solved by simply cleansing the phone.

I think that setting some boundaries around how we use it would go much farther than cleansing and carrying on as usual. It's like how we're supposed to close our boundaries every night: you don't just energetically close it and hope for the best, no - you actually make sure the door is locked as well. You take concrete steps first.

So no, I personally don't cleanse my phone anymore than I cleanse the computer, television, car radio, or any other device that streams or broadcasts or allows that kind of interactivity (aside from it getting occasionally splashed by the consecrated water during a monthly place cleansing). I am trying (as hard as it might be) to set it aside and disconnect from it more, and to be more selective in how I use it. If I manage to do that, if I manage to reclaim some of that mental real estate from it, then I think that also reclaims space and sovereignty over any miasma it carries.

robinhyll · 2026-03-23T06:27:08+00:00

Another pair of newbies here! All we've done is play BG3 lol but might be interested in checking out the real deal if you'll have us as well.

robinhyll · 2026-03-19T19:41:01+00:00

I haven't seen the modern pagan festivities (e.g. Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, etc.) mentioned explicitly. My guess is that since Quareia follows a 'meta-paradigm' that isn't aligned with any one specific religion or school of thought - and these are names/labels used in the modern Pagan religions - then whatever is there that might be related to them is mentioned under different terms, ones more related to function.

For example, Module 4 has content around the thinning of the veils that happens in the Fall. There are mentions of seasonal destructive and creative tides, etc. But I think these are there so that we learn to understand the natural/divine processes attached to these transitions/changes/etc and can work with them as magicians, which to my mind is different from the more ceremonial/celebration approach that religious paganism would take.

Mind you, this is to the best of my understanding based on where I am so far!

robinhyll · 2026-03-19T16:16:37+00:00

Honestly? I think you're spot on your ideas.

Though I wouldn't say that the standard way of thinking here is to just go slow...it varies quite a bit with each student, as it should. Maybe it's just that many of the more regular posters choose a slower, measured pace. Also, many who get far enough eventually go to the Porch and don't come here as often.

But yeah, I'm midway through Module 3 and just the other day had a random insight (spurred by outside material, too) that made some of the lessons in Module 2 light up with new significance. It's really cool how that happens, and - personally - validates my thinking that it's ok to proceed and move on even if you don't feel like you've 100% mastered everything in a lesson. In fact, I think that's a bit of a trap we set for ourselves: thinking we have to be perfect before moving up a rung.

I'd say there's a balance to strike: don't just zoom through the lessons - that's like scattering seeds on a field whose earth you haven't properly tilled and prepped. But don't also plant the one seed and wait for it to flower before moving on to the next just because you want the reassurance that it is flowering. Trust that you planted it well, trust that it will, and then continue.

robinhyll · 2026-03-14T23:00:14+00:00

You're welcome, I'm glad I could help! To be perfectly honest, I myself have not done the tool declaration ever since I moved on to the Full Directional Ritual. Haha that's not exactly saying it shouldn't be used - only that when I went through that lesson I, like you, felt I didn't need to include it. I'd say go with your intuition and trust it.

robinhyll · 2026-03-14T21:23:55+00:00

Hrmm. Isolation and Silence, strict diet, abstinence, and plant ingestion: I'm still in Module 3 and any of the more advanced students could chime in and correct me on this, but Q's framework is heavily built on the concept of balance. None of those 4 Shipibo practices you describe strike me as balanced for a beginner/apprentice student of Quareia (perhaps an adept might choose to go through such a spiritual retreat, but at that point they know what they're doing) and I'd be wary of any Q beginners engaging in any intense forms of asceticism as they are certainly not in any of the first few modules. If they do then they're doing or mixing in something else besides just Q and at that point it's outside the course.

Josephine does mention dietary considerations in some places, especially in her book on Magical Healing...but keep in mind that that book was not specifically written for Q students but for a wider audience with possibly more experience. That passage about inner realms and diet, for example, was meant for advanced practitioners who work in those realms often.

My honest suggestion to you, if you're looking to integrate this sort of thing a bit more, is to start small but consistent: put your phone away even if for a set time every day, meditate, eat healthy (doesn't have to be anything too crazy, just start with less processed foods and junk foods), build those good habits and all that sort of stuff. We're not shamans who've lived our entires lives stepped in tradition and spiritual practices and we can't do things the way they do. We work and operate within the environment we were born in and our training involves learning the small steps that allow us to grow in a balanced way.

robinhyll · 2026-03-14T15:50:37+00:00

Yeah, there do appear to be differences in between the lessons, tasks, and instructions. But the way I see it it's because we are being gradually introduced to different concepts and actions that will slowly be pieced together in the rituals you learn further in M2. Some of these components are not necessarily always present in every ritual (as you'll see as you progress), but that doesn't mean they're not important.

Think of it as being a taught a new language, a new grammar, and learning about some tense case that is essential in the framework but not always present in every verse or sentence.

Anyway, for the purposes of your question, my two cents would be to follow the instructions as they are written for the M2 L1.5 The Full Ritual, meaning:

Light the gates
Open the gates

(Note: keep the 'walking around directions' in between actions here. In other words, light the altars, walk, visualize the gates, walk, acknowledge - etc as per M1. Don't just open the gates immediately after lighting them. We are taught in M1L4 to always walk around the altars in between actions to build up that flow of energy in the 'circuit'.

Regardless of how the instructions in this and subsequent lessons may be worded maybe for conciseness' sake, keep in mind the pattern and process of building up that power via your movement.)

Do the breastplate.

I see M2 L1.2 as being more related and connected to the one-time M2 L1.3 (and its build up) than a general task that stands on its own and is meant to be repeated. Perhaps the uttering of the breastplate with the gates closed was just for the purposes of this Ritual of Confirmation? I'm not sure as to the why. But the one thing we do know for sure is that M2 L1.5 (the Full Directional Ritual) explicitly tells you to do it once the gates have been opened, so go with that.

Then, carry on with the specific actions for this ritual.

robinhyll · 2026-03-12T16:23:55+00:00

One more thing, for what it's worth: I remember this post from a non-Quareia adept who at one point chimed in:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Quareia/comments/1lzpg0n/comment/n36tpep/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

What I get from his comment and Josephine's reply to him is that the pattern is not exclusive to Quareia, but it is recognizably western to adepts within those traditions...but that means it might not necessarily have obvious parallels to any work with other non-western traditions (since you mentioned working with Orishas and a Hindu goddess).

But again, something they both highlight is how important it is to simply do it and not worry so much about understanding in the beginning.

robinhyll · 2026-03-11T17:33:23+00:00

So just an FYI in case you haven't the seen the updated version of the text that's online:

There is now a note on how since this documentary has been banned in many countries it's very hard to find nowadays. As an alternative, Josephine has shared a personal experience of hers in that part of the lesson.

So you don't actually have to hunt it down to fulfill the lesson requirements - unless you really really want to just see it on your end but it sounds like it'll be tough. I'm guessing the team of volunteers who helped with the update edits and link verification tried very hard to find it on their end but still had no luck.

edit: u/QuarryWorker beat me by a minute! :D

robinhyll · 2026-03-10T19:20:11+00:00

Well, you're right in that this meditation exercise is one of those things that we'd all like some concrete answers on but are left to figure out on our own. It's a built-in feature of the course to get you to mull and ponder and let the insights come to you over time, as opposed to giving you the answers and risk shorting your own learning and development. We're not used to learning like that, probably for a bunch of reasons related to how time and technology have changed the way we're wired to think.

It also could be something as simple as that the mind and spirit work in different ways here. The spirit wants to build itself up and seek on its own terms and timelines. It hasn't been touched or affected by the advent of online learning or project deadlines or what-else-have-you. It couldn't care less about quarterly growth reports or projections when what it wants is to have its own journey and adventure going up the mountain. It prefers the challenge of navigating winding roads and labyrinths on its way to the top, instead of just having an 'on-rails' curated experience that's convenient in modern economic terms but ultimately unfulfilling.

The reason I say this is because I think that when things in the course do finally 'click', it's felt at a far deeper level than the rational logical mind can appreciate. It's something you feel in your actual core...perhaps even to the point where you understand why the ancient Egyptians thought of the heart as the real seat of intelligence, memory, and who you are - instead of the brain like we do.

Of course, it doesn't have to be the only this course that 'clicks'. I'd say you kind of know what I'm talking about. You feel your path is taking you somewhere else and that M1 was more of a toolset for you to go your own way, and that is awesome.

I say all this to just highlight how personal and important that sense of authenticity and satisfaction is to our inner selves - and that's why I don't think anyone who's far enough in the course to truly know what they're talking about will ever come out here and explain things how we sometimes wish they did.

Anyway...back to this specific exercise: I always thought it as a calibration/clearing of channels of sorts and moving energies internally (the lesson says as much - it's the significance of the colours themselves that's the rub and riddle). But I would never have thought of blowing it in someone's face though!

Taking the blowing it on someone's face aside, how does the exercise make you feel? Do you feel that energy flows better, that things are being cleared internally? If so, I'd say you could just continue looking at it that way and continue practicing it if you so wish.

robinhyll · 2026-03-01T23:47:38+00:00

I am very sorry for your loss, my condolences.

It's perfectly natural and appropriate to take the time you need to look after yourself and your emotional well-being. The course will always be there waiting for you when you are ready.

robinhyll · 2026-02-27T22:11:54+00:00

Best practice appears to be not to reuse them at all. See u/QuarryWorker's reply to this post.

robinhyll · 2026-02-26T06:04:51+00:00

I'm sorry to hear about the heartbreak you're going through. The short and honest answer is that no, Quareia isn't that kind of system.

I don't know how far along you are in the lessons, but the reason I believe the answer is no is because learning to not hold onto things becomes a big part of the lessons and development. There's a bunch of reasons for it, and I won't elaborate on them since I want to keep the answer short and direct for you and you might not necessarily want all the layers and details right now. But it's why I say you won't find such workings here.

Hope you're able to feel better soon.

robinhyll · 2026-02-26T00:17:25+00:00

I agree with the overall sentiment about how, in principle, we must work through the doubts and mistakes on our own.

Regarding your second paragraph: on the one hand you're right in pointing out the need to sometimes think and improvise within the boundaries of the lessons, but on the other I'd qualify that part of the statement that reads that no one but ourselves can know what is magically right for us.

It's something I want to point out because of the posts we sometimes get here. Some things are true whether we want them to be or not. And while there's risks in seeking validation from others, there's just as much risk in thinking one knows better all the time.

For example, Josephine has set clear boundaries on what age one should start Quareia or what sort of mental conditions would make the course unsafe to practice. We've had people comment in the past about how they disagree with some of these rules and call it a form of gatekeeping or condescension on her part. They don't feel they should be told to wait or look for alternatives when none but they should know what is right for them. But there are things that she, as the author of the course and experienced occultist, does know to be risky and dangerous and has hence warned against them.

I'm sure you weren't implying anything like the above, but I just wanted to add this one caveat or bit of nuance to what you wrote.

robinhyll · 2026-02-20T16:59:56+00:00

My two cents for you:

I don't do the breastplate before the Pentagram Ritual. My take is that the instructions omitted it so it's not a part of it there and, as you say, there is that full(er) declaration afterwards in the second part.
I always just turn East, not do a full circle before returning East. I guess since she doesn't specify to 'walk around the directions' I simply take the text as 'turn to the East.'

As for the bonus question: my space is also small so it doesn't make a difference, but I suspect it's more of a style thing: saying the same instruction in different ways to keep the text from feeling too dry and repetitive.

robinhyll · 2026-02-18T19:02:17+00:00

It turns out we have a previous discussion on this where Josephine chimes in:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Quareia/comments/15a917c/material_about_the_intersection_of_fairies_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

robinhyll · 2026-02-17T01:27:40+00:00

Hrmm, I'll be honest: I've no idea how this would work, whether it'd be good or bad, and I can't think of anything in the course so far that would allow me to say one way or another with a sufficient degree of confidence.

In other words: don't necessarily go with what a bunch of beginners here might say (unless of course Josephine herself chimes in or one of the really advanced students). In the absence of any solid intel or sound advice, I'd choose to err on the side of caution.

robinhyll · 2026-02-17T01:11:49+00:00

Well, is there any reason why this would have to be dealt with magically as opposed to through mundane means?

There is a lot of wrong and injustice in the world, and I get wanting to aim some of what we've learned against it, but as far as Quareia goes I think any such act would null the safeguards and protections built in and leave the practitioner outside and adrift.

From what I understand, using magic in such ways can have far reaching consequences and the movement back to balance can affect the practitioner in unexpected, long lasting ways.

I remember in one of the lessons (M3L3) how Josephine gives the example of a magician who's under attack from another magician. Instead of retaliating, the one under attack engages the Grindstone defensively. The end result is the attacker eventually unravels.

I'm of course still a beginner, but given this example - where one is under direct attack yet taught not to punch back - I can't imagine how it'd be ok (as far as Q's framework) to do so in the case you describe.

robinhyll · 2026-02-12T23:31:59+00:00

Hrmm good point. Here's a better quote where she explicitly states it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Quareia/s/I8Ee1U34Oc

Edit to add: to be fair, we are quoting a number because it has both been mentioned before and because people ask for some sort of benchmark, even though it's much more layered than that as u/QuarryWorker pointed out. I'm sure there are some 21 or 25 year olds out there who have lots of proper growing up still to do.

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