For about two years I wrote about Adam Kadmon, and at Pentecost 2015 I gave a seminar in the Berner Oberland with the title: ‘Pure thinking and the arisen body’. In this seminar the essence of Adam Kadmon became clear, as his being is understood in anthroposophy. The contents of this seminar are now contained in a book that is coming out soon (in German). The understanding of Adam Kadmon has been significantly deepened and also has developed a Christian meaning.
The blogtext of two years ago appears to be an introduction to this theme. Therefore I publish it once more and point to the new book that is coming.
In the blogtexts that I wrote from May 2014 onwards, I first tried to give my view on the question: ‘What is the human being?’ There is a picture of a primordial man, perfect already, who stands at the beginning of the evolution of mankind. We find this view throughout the different religions. In the Kabbala that originated in Judaism we find an esoteric tradition by which an explanation is given about the relation between the eternal immortal universe, God, and the mortal and finite one that is God’s creation. This creation of God is called Adam Kadmon, But we should not think of him as Adam in Genesis, who was expelled from Eden as is said in Genesis 3, 24: ‘So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.’
Not this Adam is meant. Adam Kadmon is the primordial Adam, the Adam before ‘primordial sin’. The human being who lives on earth has lost the three faculties through which Adam Kadmon stood at the side of God: Wisdom, Bliss and Immortality. Adam Kadmon emerged from the infinite Godhead. He is indistinguishable from God, but on the other hand he is beside God, as the creation of the world. We can see a resemblance with the first lines of the Gospel of St John, where it is said that the Word, who created all there is, was with God, the Word was God. We have to see Adam Kadmon as the creation of the universe who is the primordial man, the ‘macroanthropos’.
The qualities of Adam Kadmon are the ten Sephirot, the basic character of the living universe, but also the possible virtues of the human being:
Keter is the crown, the mastering of all virtues
Hokhmah is Wisdom
Binah is Intelligence
These three form the head of Adam Kadmon
Tiferet is Beauty, pureness
Hesed is Mercy
Geburah (Din) is Justice
These three are the breast and arms of Adam Kadmon
Jesod is the Foundation, the basis
Netzah is Perseverance
Hod is Glory
These three are the belly and legs of Adam Kadmon
With his feet he stands on Malkhut, that is the realm, the kingdom.
Here we have a wonderful image of what we, as human beings, could eventually become. We would continue to develop into human beings who are wise, intelligent, beautiful, merciful, just, strong, persevering (steadfast) and glorious – and we would also be able to master all this genius by the crown we wear. We would learn to live together in a kingdom of kings.
Adam Kadmon by Hildegard von BingenAdam Kadmon – 2 by Mieke Mosmuller
