Scientists have just recently begun to theorize that the universe is composed of ten different dimensions (superstring theory). Mystics have agreed upon this for thousands of years - only the language of Qabala differs quite a bit from that of science. Qabalists speak of ten levels of existence, each level represented by a 'Sephira', or 'sphere of influence'. I like to think of these levels as the Ten Kingdoms, each Kingdom with its own associated correspondences: corresponding colors, vibrations, even densities. And interconnecting the Ten Kingdoms is a complicated system of 'paths', each path with its own correspondences.

It is believed that to walk all the paths and know all the Kingdoms takes many, many lifetimes - as the universe of structure and experience is riddled with complexities and diversions. And until a being has gained an understanding of the most important aspects of one Kingdom, access to the next Kingdom is effectively blocked (physical death providing the rather notable exception!). Because of this, I have decided to use the imagery of Ten Gates as metaphor, which helps to build a simple illustration of the big picture. Qabalists have developed a visual interpretation of the big picture (literally!) with a very important mandala called the 'Tree Of Life'...