Hekhalot: The Seven Palaces

What the app does

Guides the ascent palace by palace. At each gate the app presents the guardian, the seal to be shown and the name to be spoken, then carries the practitioner forward on the hymn. It ends before the Throne, followed by a deliberate, grounded return.

Ways in: Ascent, The Name, repeated, The seal and the gaze, Paced breath, Binaural entrainment. Every session is carried on binaural sound tuned toward theta, the slow rhythm of the edge of sleep that these rites were built to reach. More on the state.

Why the rite works

The “descenders to the chariot” treated the ascent as exact and dangerous. A wrong name at a gate turned the traveller back. That exactness is what the recreation preserves. The long, repetitive hymns of the Hekhalot, sung in fixed cadence, are among the clearest cases in the whole record of language used as entrainment.

Questions

Do I need anything besides my phone?

Headphones. The app carries the rite on binaural sound, which only works when each ear hears its own tone.

What is it based on?

Hekhalot Rabbati; Hekhalot Zutarti; Maʿaseh Merkavah; 3 Enoch. The names, words and order are taken from the source and guided step by step. The full list of sources is in the Library.

Is there an EEG version?

Not yet. EEG neurofeedback editions are coming as a $19.99 add-on per app, built in order of request. They will need a Neurosity Crown headset, sold separately.

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