High and Deep Grounds of the Threefold Life of Man

On the Threefold Life, Chapter 1.

...the lighting of the fire, it stands in only two forms and has only a single mother, which is harsh: herbe. In Böhme’s system, this is the first of the seven "source-spirits"—a contractive, astringent force that pulls inward., and it draws to itself. Even though in itself it is nothing but a will of the eternal Father in eternal nature, which He has placed in Himself to reveal Himself and to show His wonders.

24. Now this same will is eternal and stems from nothing but itself. If it were not, then everything would be a nothing—neither darkness nor light. And so, if something exists, it is the eternal will, which is harsh and desiring: begehrende. For Böhme, desire is a physical-spiritual force that "thickens" the void into substance.—namely, for the wonders of creation. Since there is now a desire, the desire breeds within itself, and what is drawn into the desire makes the will full, so that the desire becomes full. For the will is as thin as a Nothing, but what is drawn into the will makes it thick and is its darkness; thus the eternal desire stands in the darkness.

25. Now, as the will in its desiring draws to itself, this drawing is a sting of stirring: Stachel der Rügung. The internal friction or restlessness that arises when the "will" begins to move within itself.; for the will is as thin as a Nothing and as still as a Nothing. Since the will is an eternal desiring, it also draws into itself eternally. And though it has nothing to draw, it draws itself and original: "schwängert sich" (impregnates itself). Böhme frequently uses birth and biological metaphors to describe the self-generation of the cosmos. impregnates itself, so that out of the Nothing, a darkness is formed. This drawing creates the sting of the first essences: Essentien. The fundamental spiritual qualities or energies of the divine nature., so that there may be a stirring and a foundation: Uhrkundt. An archaic term Böhme uses to mean the original source, testimony, or manifestation. of mobility.

26. But the will cannot endure this drawing and impregnation, for it wants to be free, yet it cannot, for it is desiring. And because it cannot become free, it proceeds with