Introduction
The original Tree of Life was developed as far as we can determine, in Moslem Spain by Jewish and Moslem scholars probably in the city of Cordova during the 13th or 14th century CE. It is heavily influenced by neoplatonic philosophy and Judeo/Christian monotheism but also draws on many older mystical traditions. All versions to date are primarily based on the astronomical knowledge of the 14th century and reflect the neoplatonic notion of concentric crystal spheres for the orbits of the planets. The latest modern versions date from the late 19th century when this system was adopted by the Golden Dawn in England. It is now the dawn of the 21st century CE, and the arrangement remains largely as it appeared some 700 years ago. In that time we have learned much about the physical nature of the planets, the stars, and the nature of the universe. We have also discovered additional invisible (to the naked eye) planets and much more about the natures of comets and the physics of stellar evolution. Our material understanding of chemistry, quantum mechanics and relativity give us a very different view of the universe than that held in the 14th century. This advance in material understanding has implications for metaphysical understanding which have not been applied to any great extent. Thus, while we live in the 21st century physically, our religion, magick, and philosophy remain largely a product of our 14th century worldview. This has led to many difficulties, including the development of 'scientific materialism' and the alienation common to 21st century humanity. We now see disturbing trends of spiritual confusion which more often than not lead either to the rejection of spirituality altogether, or to the other extremes of fanaticism and faddism. Many causes have been advanced for these difficulties and trends. A clear attempt to update the system for contemporary use appears to be in order. In the words of the Christ 'You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free.' It is possible that these symptoms stem from a failure to update our spiritual thinking to match our material thinking. This presentation is an attempt to contribute to the Great Work of healing that dissonance between the spiritual and the material. An effort to restore an integration and understanding across the visible and invisible worlds. The place to start is with an accurate model and an exploration of its implications.

Before we begin, the existing versions of this model deserve mention. There exists the largely Hebrew based Tree of Life with correspondences based largely on the Torah. There is also a Greek version based on the New Testament and Plato's Republic - a Christian and a Hermetic version, an Arab version based on the Quran, and two English versions - one based on The King James Bible and Shakespeare for a Christian and a Literary view and one based on Liber Al - Aleister Crowley's revelation of the New Aeon, The Trees of Eternity - decidedly magickal. There are also some interesting gnostic and enochian models, but they tend not to exhibit the same detailed structure as the others - much more mystical in their style. There are also some Norse/Teutonic, Egyptian, and Sumerian views which are equivalent but not, to my knowledge, given similar structural articulation or directly linked to a comprehensive view of celestial phenomena. Undoubtedly there are other equivalent models of which I am unaware. Regardless of one's choice of language, culture, or religious preference; all these models describe, from their own viewpoints, the visible or material or manifest world and the invisible or metaphysical or spiritual world. They do so with varying degrees of accuracy and completeness and they are usually language based. That is the letters of their alphabets are also considered to have a magical significance and usually attributed some numerical value as well as a celestial correspondence. Two things that they do have in common are the universal reference to the same celestial backdrop of sky, stars, and planets; and to the practical usefulness and mystical significance of numbers.

Astronomical and astrological knowledge can be tested against manifest phenomena. If one has a theory in either area, it can be tested. Sometimes only by observation or prediction and sometimes only by ingenious experiments. The power of a model, as shown by these disciplines, is its ability to make useful inferences and predictions. If these hold in practice, then the implications become an important part of theory and application. Assuming that the doctrine of correspondence holds, that is 'as above, so below' and 'the visible reflects the invisible', it should be possible to at least lay out the physical levels of a model and then, by exploring the implications from the astrological and astronomical perspectives, to extend accumulated knowledge and reformulate a model which includes the current view of the physical universe and by implication, clarifies and updates the spiritual. This is exactly the approach taken here.

It is likely that not all of my personal biases have been overcome, but whose have. As objectively as I can, I present the Fusion model of the Tree of Life.

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