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THE ALEPH-BETH: ATTRIBUTIONS (YETZIRATIC, TAROT AND SEPHIROTIC)
HEBREW SYMBOL. YETZIRATIC TAROT PATH ON TREE OF LIFE
LETTER MEANING ATTRIBUTION CORRESPONDENCE DELIMITED BY
Aleph Ox Air Fool/Swords/Princes Kether-Chokmah
Beth House Mercury Magician Kether-Binah
Gimel Camel Luna High Priestess Kether-Tiphareth
Daleth Door Venus Empress Chokmah-Binah
He Window Aries Emperor Chokmah-Tiphareth
Vau Nail Taurus Hierophant Chokmah-Chesed
Zayin Sword Gemini Lovers Binah-Tiphareth
Cheth Fence Cancer Chariot Binah-Geburah
Teth Snake Leo Strength Chesed-Geburah
Yod Hand Virgo Hermit Chesed-Tiphareth
Kaph Fist Jupiter Wheel of Fortune Chesed-Netzach
Lamed Oxgoad Libra Justice Geburah-Tiphareth
Mem Water Water Hanged Man/Cups/Queens Geburah-Hod
Nun Fish Scorpio Death Tiphareth-Netzach
Samech Prop Sagittarius Temperance Tiphareth-Yesod
Ayin Eye Capricornus Devil Tiphareth-Hod
Peh Mouth Mars Tower Netzach-Hod
Tzaddi Fishhook Aquarius Star Netzach-Yesod
Qoph Ear Pisces Moon Netzach-Malkuth
Resh Head Sol Sun Hod-Yesod
Shin Tooth Fire Judgement/Wands/Kings Hod-Malkuth
" (bis) Spirit All 22 trumps --
Tau Cross Saturn Universe Yesod-Malkuth
" (bis) Earth Empresses/Coins --
BRIEF DEFINITIONS OF THE LETTERS - From Crowley
ALEPH the ox suggests a yoke, mildness and patience,
sexual innocence, and plowing.
BETH shows a roof, floor and wall; the dwelling-place of man
in the world of illusion.
GIMEL the camel is the means of crossing the abyss
from Tiphareth to Kether.
DALETH the door is provocative (Venus), it is the Gate of Supernals
(between Chokmah and has a profound relation with Aleph
(see Liber AL Legis).
MEM shows a wave, and is the only letter whose word
equals its Yetziratic attribution.
NUN a fish, living in water (death) indicates the powers of Scorpio
- generation thru decomposition.
SAMECH the prop boosts Yesod toward Tiphareth,
linking Microprosopus with his foundation.
AYIN refers to the meatus; this explains the linking of Capricorn
to the Devil.
PEH the mouth is represented by the shape
of the letter itself.
TZADDI a fish-hook; the definition is also
a matter of the letter's shape.
QOPH the shape is fairly suggestive of the back of the head,
showing the ear.
RESH the head is the solar seat of consciousness,
the brain as an extension of Yod (qv).
SHIN 3 fangs of tooth or fire are shown; devouring is implied,
also judgement of spirit.
TAU the phallic meaning is Saturnian, and the cross shows 4 elements
solidifying in Earth.
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By Guest Blogger Christopher Bradford (H Frater AIT)
Hi, I'm Christopher Bradford. In different orders and temples across the whole Golden Dawn community, there are brothers and sisters that know me as "AIT." Here in the blogosphere, readers know me mostly through my on-line magical journal, Heavens Within Earth.
I originally intended to write a short post politely refuting claims made by "Ken Figuly" in recent aggressive posts on Robert Zink's blogs, but I have to admit to difficulty making sense of his posts' content. The more time I wasted reading "Figuly's" posts, the less polite I felt this response could be.
I'll still keep it short. In his post first post on the Golden Dawn blog, Kenny Figuly writes:"Where was the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn when their Imperator General [Robert Zink], a member of their family, needed them most? (Could it be that some of the leaders were looking at this as a chance to advance their own position and thus cause desertion within the membership to the point of convincing people that somehow true honor came through breaking ones oath?)Shame on the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn for taking sides in this matter and shame on John D. Griffin for perpetuating the rift."In his second post, Figuly next writes:"He [Robert Zink] admitted that he was not as attentive as he should have been at, "creating a welcoming atmosphere for the neophyte on his or her journey through the system of The Golden Dawn." He realizes now, more than ever, "the Neophyte should be received and cultivated so that the development potential is extraordinary."Kenny Figuly's first message tries to blame everyone in the Golden Dawn community but Robert Zink himself for Zink's gross misdemeanors that led to more or less the entire Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn booting Zink out and/or voting with their feet.
The second post appears a half-hearted attempt at apology by Mr. Zink, who I will not refer to as Frater, for no Frater of mine would treat people in the fashion that Zink has: Robbing people blind, allegedly sexually assaulting them (yes, giving someone your personal "fluid condenser" is a sexual assault), using your Order as part of your New Age marketing sales scheme...that's a far sight worse than not "creating a welcoming atmosphere" as Mr. Figuly claims. The gall of "Ken Figuly", to write this nonsense in support of Zink is truly astonishing.
Mr. Figuly's defense and support of Zink-a man with a proven track record of grossly abusing his Initiates - is bewildering to say the least. How can. Figuly even do so in good conscience? As far as I am concerned, Figuly looks like just another one of Robert Zink's sock puppets. Having read his posts, I can't help but feel doubtful that Mr. Figuly is even a real person separate from Robert Zink.
The rest of Figuly's posts are just more marketing non-speak, with even nonsense about making the "light graceless and infertile". What does that even mean? How does one man make the "Light" anything other than what it is?
And how does conversation make it infertile, when committing various crimes against one's own students does not?
Foolishness.
And let's not forget Robert Zink's expulsion letter, signed by almost the entire EOGD Second Order Adepti, cited as a primary reason for dumping Zink as a leader:"ROBERT ZINK HAS CREATED AND USES SEVERAL BLOGS AND FORUMS THAT HE HAS CONNECTED WITH OUR ORDER'S NAME TO MAKE PERSONAL ATTACKS ON OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN COMMUNITY ESPECIALLY, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAVID GRIFFIN. LET IT BE UNDERSTOOD, THAT ALTHOUGH DAVID GRIFFIN'S ORDER AND OURS OPERATE UNDER VERY DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN TRADITION, WE DO NOT CONDONE THESE ATTACKS BY ROBERT ZINK AND THEY DO NOT REFLECT THE ATTITUDES OF THE ADEPTI OF OUR SECOND ORDER. "AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENNED, IT IS OUTRAGEOUS THAT ZINK IS STILL UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS. UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, ROBERT ZINK USING KEN FIGULY TO STILL continue to attack GH Fra LES (David Griffin) and all of the former members who left the EOGD - for speaking out against Zink's crimes - is plain silly.
In my book, Mr. Griffin and they should all receive a medals for it, all things considered!
- AIT
There is NO excuse for violating the Prime Directive.
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WARNING: PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!
YOU WILL BE ASKED TO USE MUCH MORE OF YOUR WILL IN THIS SPELL THAN A WHITE OR GRAY MAGICK SPELL. IN THOSE SPELLS THE SPELLCASTER PUTS FORTH MOST OF THE ENERGY. IN BLACK MAGICK YOU WILL BE SUPPLYING THE ENERGY. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT AND THAT HALF-WAY THROUGH, YOU DON'T SECOND-GUESS YOURSELF AND LEAVE A BLACK MAGICK SPELL ADRIFT. I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW YOU CHOOSE TO USE THIS SPELL. I CANNOT HELP YOU IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG. I CANNOT CHANGE THE RESULTS ONCE THE SPELL HAS TAKEN HOLD. IF YOUR REASONS ARE GENUINE FOR THIS KIND OF MAGICK, THEN THINGS WILL PROBABLY WORK OUT JUST FINE. AS WITH ANY NON-WHITE MAGICK, THERE IS ALWAYS A RISK. PLEASE ONLY CONSIDER BLACK MAGICK AS AN ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT. BLACK MAGICK SPELLS TAKE ANYWHERE FROM 1-120 DAYS TO MANIFEST RESULTS.
THIS INTENSE BLACK MAGICK SPELL IS FOR DESIRE. THIS SPELL WILL INFLUENCE THE WAY SOMEONE FEELS ABOUT YOU. FOR THIS I WILL NEED THEIR NAME, BIRTHDATE AND A PHOTO (IF POSSIBLE). I WILL ALSO NEED A DETAILED EXPLANATION OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP.
THE SPELL TAKES 2 DAYS FOR ME TO PREPARE ONCE I HAVE THIS INFORMATION. ONCE IT IS COMPLETE I WILL SEND YOU THE SPELL WITH DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOU TO COMPLETE.
THIS SPELL IS NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH. IT IS A STRONG AND POWERFUL BLACK MAGICK VOODOO SPELL THAT PRODUCES RESULTS WITHIN 3 DAYS TO 3 MONTHS.
PLEASE DO NOT BE ALARMED ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE SPELL IF NOTHING HAPPENS RIGHT AWAY. IT TAKES TIME FOR THE PERSONS ENERGIES TO BE INFLUENCED. THIS WILL NOT MEAN HOWEVER THAT THE PERSON IS "SPELL-STUPID" MEANING THAT THEIR FEELINGS ARE NOT GENUINE. THEIR FEELINGS (DESIRE) WILL BE ABSOLUTELY GENUINE. IF IT WAS NOT, THE SPELL WOULD SIMPLY NOT WORK.
THERE IS RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SPELL BUT THOSE RISKS ARE NEGLIBLE AS LONG AS YOUR HEART IS PURE AND YOUR DESIRES NON-MANIPULATIVE.
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Donald Michael Kraig recently wrote on the Llewellyn Publishing blog:
"I currently know of two Golden Dawn-like groups where the leaders were members of another group, became initiated into the 5=6 degree, almost immediately quit or were kicked out of the group, and then started their own versions of the Golden Dawn! One actually tried more than once before coming up with a scheme to call his group the Golden Dawn even though his new rituals actually reverse Golden Dawn concepts. (Why call it the "Golden Dawn" if you don't want to follow the teachings of that group?) The other frequently declares that he is trying to structure peace between Golden Dawn groups while he regularly leads the battles by writing attacks on other groups and individuals."The above is vintage Golden Dawn Flame War verbiage...
... With Donald Michael Kraig hiding behind a mask of feigned objectivity - and not revealing which Golden Dawn order he belongs to while misusing his author's ethos and the Llewellyn blog as a "bully" pulpit.
Particularly noteworthy is how Kraig mischaracterizes legitimate, scholarly debate in the Golden Dawn community as "attacks," while he himself attacks half of the Golden Dawn community in the very same paragraph.
This is the sort of bullying, duplicitous misrepresentation that typifies Witch War as well as the decades old, Golden Dawn internet flame war, which sadly - judging from the above rant - appears to be alive and well today on the Llewellyn Worldwide blog - with Don Kraig acting as "de facto" spokesperson of a Golden Dawn order that has been kindling flames in our Golden Dawn community for nearly two decades now.
Enough is enough already.
I would remind Mr. Kraig that the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, United States District Judge, already warned his Golden Dawn order in the court's order dated October 24, 2008 that:"The Court fully expects "[the other party*] "will not engage in back door violations of paragraph 4 of the Settlement Agreement, and it will not tolerate any such violations. [This paragraph of the Settlement Agreement viewable here details the non-disparagement clause binding both parties.]"*Case 3:05-cv-00432, "The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc. v, Griffin," in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
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As Aleister Crowley defined Magick - "The Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will."
Low or Natural Magick evolved out of the lowlands where farmers grew crops. Many Solitary Witches and Wiccans practice Low Magick as well as many ancient Pagan (i.e., from L. paganus meaning "a countryman or country dweller") cultures did. Low Magick utilizes natural objects such as crystals, herbs, rocks, fire, air, earth, water, animal parts (i.e., not from sacrificial means but from the use of feathers, pelts, skins, horns, entrails, or bones found by a practitioner in the forest, fields, or grasslands), the weather, seasonal changes, or anything found within our environment and nature. It can be looked at as taking care of your physical earthly wants, needs, and desires such as love and relationships, money, health, personal protection and is generally short term.
Sympathetic Magick (a.k.a. Primitive or Imitative Magick) is a centuries old form of Low Magick based upon imitation and/or correspondence, practical experiences, and observations within the natural world of the past, present, and future. Imitation and correspondence are two key elements of this type of magick and represent a cause-and-effect relationship:
Imitation - refers to "like attracts or produces like" based upon the Law of Similarity where a spiritualist, for example, is able to produce any effect that she or he desires just by imitating the material object; i.e., the concept of an effect resembling its cause.
Correspondence - refers to objects having been in possession or contact with each other continue to react upon one another no matter the distance; this concept is based upon the Law of Contagion (Contact). A priestess, for instance, knows that whatever actions she performs upon or directs energy toward any material object will equally affect the individual who was once in contact with or possessed this object. This explains why practitioners of Applied Occult Metaphysics often use the personal effects of whom they are performing spellwork for; some of these personal items might include articles of clothing, hair, nail clippings, bodily fluids, photographs, or even jewelry. These items assist in empowering the spell and its potential outcome.
Also note, Sympathetic Magick is the foundation for most divinatory systems and practices where healing is concerned.
High Magick seeks to enhance your spiritual growth and development transcendentally and bring you closer to the deities; and has been claimed to have evolved from scholars and higher societies of people. This form of magick is highly used by practitioners of Kemeticism (Ancient Egyptian religion), Qabalism (Kabbalism), Enochian Magick, Tenebrae Artes (Dark Arts, Black Magick, or Infernal Sorcery), Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and Thelema (founded and further developed by Aleister Crowley) just to name a few. High Magick, in general, invokes great spiritual energy and power and usually does not concern itself with Nature. It uses complex rituals and symbolic invocations of deities, dramatic ceremonial wardrobe, and complex concoctions such as those used within Alchemy. Ceremonial or Ritual Magick is a good example of high magick and concerns itself with the conscious application of willpower to achieve one's individual or a group's spiritual objectives.
Both forms of magick can be quite useful, effective, and almost "equal" in their strength and purpose in order to achieve the intended results of the practitioner (e.g., a priest, priestess, shaman, magickian / magician, or alternative spiritualist).
Dr. Sahure is a senior researcher with the Antiquus Research Group and the author of many noteworthy essays and articles about a variety of topics and subjects, including herbalism, ancient history and mythology, ancient Egyptian religion (Kemeticism), metaphysical sciences, ancient religions and theology, astrology, tarot, and divination systems.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr"
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"This is part 3 of the three part history of the Qabbalah. I hope that you enjoyed it."
5. Classical Qabbalism. From the 11th through the 17th centuries C.E. This period saw a four phase migration that witnessed periods of intellectual blossoming in Provence, Moorish and Christian Spain, Safed in Palestine, and finally, returning to Europe at the advent of the Renaissance. During this period there were also some calamities that afflicted various Jewish cultural centers, such as the Albigensian Crusade (1209 - 1229), the sack of Baghdad by Ikhanate Mongol forces in 1258, and the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.
Despite the calamities that forced the Jewish peoples to relocate from one place to another, the study and spread of Qabbalah became much more wide-ranging than at any other time. It was also a period that saw an extensive development and evolution of ideas, when the Qabbalah started to become a solidified discipline, acquiring many of the features that occultists today would recognize. During this period, the study of Qabbalah supplanted previous forms of Jewish theology, and for a time, completely dominated Jewish religious thought. However, even as the Qabbalah became more accessible to Jewish lay scholars (and even Christian academics), it was still the provenance of a select few, even though that exclusivity began to evaporate by the beginning of the 16th century.
Provence: It was in this location that the classical Qabbalah had its true birth. Various writings, speculations and insights assembled from sources in the East (Baghdad) and from Germany (Worms) were used to write the first true Qabbalistic work, called the Sefer ha-Bahir, which was ostensibly an occult form of the Midrash, consisting of various commentaries on verses from the Torah, particularly those of a decided mystical or mythical nature. Many of the various speculations begun in the geonic period are given a greater development in the book of Bahir, particularly, the concept of the Shekinah as a distinct entity. Provence was where rabbinic culture achieved a high state of development, and many pagan philosophical works were translated, most notably by Judah ibn Tibben, and many of these translated works were from neoplatonic sources. It is here that gnostic speculation was fully wedded with neoplatonic philosophy within a Jewish religious framework. Qabbalistic practices focused on an emphasis of seeking communion with the Deity through meditation on the sephiroth and their occult analogues. Also, the concept of the Ain-Soph was developed as a way to explain the manifestation of the finite material world through the agency of an infinite and unmanifest Godhead. From Provence, the Qabblah spread to Spain via Catalonia.
Gerona, Toledo and Castile - Spanish Qabbalah: It was in Spain that the Qabbalah acquired its more modern qualities, and it was here that the Qabbalah split into three distinct schools, and where some of the scholars sought to bridge that split. Gerona was the first location to flower, establishing the basic structure and tenets that became the Classical Qabbalah. It was in Gerona that ecstatic tendencies were renewed and propagated. From this foundational school, two other opposing perspectives began to dominate the practice and teachings of Classical Qabbalah. On the one side presided what could be called the rational school of Qabbalah (Isaac ibn Latif), where its adherents sought to describe it through a more philosophical and mystical interpretation, removing the more occult elements and seeking to use a system of devotion and contemplation to realize the various tenets. They taught that the adherent should contemplate on the sacred names and letters to produce mystical states resulting in prophecy. The other side (Isaac ha-Kohen) was characterized by a school declaring the opposite perspective, that of gnostic theosophy, occult speculation and the deliberate practice of theurgy. It is from this more occult school that the speculations of a Tree of Evil (demonic emanations) began to be developed, which included the developing of a more systematic hierarchy of angelic and demonic spirits, as well as equating the Logos (as found in Greek philosophy) with a new angel called Metatron.
Zohar: this was the first successful attempt at producing a Qabbalistic Midrash. Moses de Leon wrote this monumental work in around 1281 as an attempt to mediate these three different schools into a single unified one, producing a work that merged rational philosophy with gnostic and occult insights and tenets. This work consisted of a vast multi volume set of homiletics on the Torah, the books of Song of Songs, Ruth and Lamentations. These were not comprehensive commentaries, but instead focused on strategic passages. The Zohar had the effect of producing a kind of uniquely Jewish theology, (even though it was wedded to tenets that were particularly uncanonical), and this helped to bring it into the mainstream of Jewish thought.
Safed: When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, many of them found their way to Safed in Palestine, and also Italy. It was in Safed that Qabbalah acquired its messianic and apocalyptic qualities, and these were wedded to the core of its beliefs and tenets. It was also here that the Qabbalah found its greatest teacher and intellectual exponent (Isaac Luria) and began its powerful and compelling spread throughout the Jewish diaspora.
Isaac Luria Ashkenazi - the "Ari" Lion - (1534 - 1572): It was Luria who brought all of the various strains of Spanish Qabbalah together to synthesize it into a powerful modern religious system. Many of the idiosyncracies and philosophical problems in the Qabbalah were brilliantly and completely resolved by the writings and teachings of Luria. It was Luria who developed the concept of the sephiroth as divine personas, arranged them into three pillars (creating a cosmogonic dialectic) and saw them as the dynamically changing and evolving manifestation of the will and mind of the Deity. He also developed the notion of the four qabbalistic worlds, and resolved the issue of how the infinite unmanifest Godhead was able to create a finite material world through the mysterious artifice of contraction, concealment and veilings - the generation of a vacuum of empty space before creation.
Luria also developed the speculation that became the qliphoth, discussed the shattering of the six lower sephiroth above Malkuth (allowing for the incursion of evil), and the attribution of a mythic and psychological drama associated with the redemption of spiritual "sparks" of the individual human entity, now divided into four specific parts of the soul. His teachings had a powerful messianic quality, where he predicted that the messiah was immanent, and that event would also begin the ending of the world as the messiah recollected all of the spirits of humanity and delivered them up to the Deity. After his death, Luria's teachings, for a time, eclipsed all other teachings and became part of the Jewish mainstream. The messianic tensions found in his teachings, along with his various vague apocalyptic pronouncements, ultimately produced the heresies of the aborted Shabbatai Zevi messianic crusade (b. 1670 - d. 1730).
6. Period of Transference. From the 15th through 18th centuries. There are many indicators that Christians and occultists had been distilling the Jewish Qabbalah beginning from the time that it had emerged into Europe during the middle ages. An examination of Agrippa's work, the "Occult Philosophy," demonstrates that by 1531, the entire corpus of the Qabbalah (particularly the practical and occult practices) had already been thoroughly translated and dispersed by academics throughout most of Europe. This would lead one to conclude that various contents of the Zohar and the writings of Luria had been leaked or deliberately shared with sympathetic Christian scholars and occultists. It is also likely that various Jewish magical practices and techniques had also been appropriated by individuals in Christian circles. How and exactly when this occurred is unknown, but it was likely the impetus for the development of the Solomonic system of ceremonial magick. However, it was not until the year 1671 that Christian Knorr Von Rosenroth translated and published four books of the voluminous Zohar in Latin, making it available to nearly anyone who had at least a rudimentary education. Additionally, Rosenroth also published other translated Qabbalistic writings, and these included works by Luria. It's also likely that the spread of the Qabbalah within the Christian community also facilitated the spread of Qabbalah within the European Jewish community.
Decline of Jewish Qabbalah: After the failed messianism of Shabbatai Zevi, the Jewish Qabbalah began to slowly decline in the 18th century. It would seem that the harsh lesson of Shabbatai Zevi, and the obvious heterodoxic nature of the Qabbalah, caused it to become increasingly rejected by various orthodox groups, with the exception of the Hasidic Jews, where it continued to be practiced through the 19th century and even later.
7. The Modern Occult Qabbalah. From 19th to 20th centuries. In the mid 19th century, the scholarship of Eliphaz Levi, Papus and MacGregor Mathers determined the current structure of the Qabbalistic Tree of Life, and attributed the Tarot Trumps to the 22 Letters associated with the Pathways. MacGregor Mathers reintroduced the discipline of the practical Qabbalah, and translated the works of Von Rosenroth into English. Mathers was also responsible for either publishing or translating the Lesser and Greater Key of Solomon, the Grimmoire of Armadel, the Enochian magical system of Dr. John Dee, and the Sacred Book of Abramelin the Mage. The teachings of the Magickal Fraternity that he established (Golden Dawn) has influenced many subsequent students of the Qabbalah, including Aleister Crowley, W. E. Butler, Israel Regardie, Dion Fortune, William Grey, Gareth Knight and Kenneth Grant.
Mather's ground breaking work was taken up and developed by other occultists, who thereby brought it into the mainstream of occult beliefs and practices in the 20th and 21st centuries. Most notable for their contributions was Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune and Israel Regardie, who distilled and advanced the basic Qabbalistic knowledge of the Golden Dawn so that it became more of a meta-system than a repository of Jewish gnostic and theosophic speculation. Like Mathers, these individuals intrinsically wedded the Qabbalah to the practice of Western Magic. Aleister Crowley was the first to publish the Golden Dawn Qabbalistic writings on gematria, tables of correspondence as well as his own writings and interpretations, and expounded on the Tarot as an adjunct to the Qabbalah, producing his own Tarot deck (Book of Thoth).
Dion Fortune blended many extensive theosophical speculations into the Qabbalah, and Paul Foster Case blended the Tarot with the Qabbalah, so that the Tarot was defined and given its meaning solely through Qabbalistic symbolism. W. E. Butler and Gareth Knight, who were both students of Dion Fortune, produced a correspondence course on the Qabbalah, and Knight later wrote a ground breaking text book (Practical Qabalistic Symbolism), one that most modern occultists have read and studied. William Grey wrote a concise work (Ladder of Lights) and established himself as one of the truly gifted occultists of the 20th century. He went on to write many more books about ceremonial magick and the Qabbalah. Israel Regardie developed and refined the Golden Dawn teachings of the Qabbalah, first put forward by Mathers and his associate, Westcott. Kenneth Grant sought to develop and integrate the qliphoth with the sephiroth, referring to it as the backside of the Tree of Life, and thus show the integral relativity of both the lefthand and right-hand occult paths.
RECAP OF THE OVERALL EVOLUTION OF THE QABBALAH
The first stage of the evolution of the Qabbalah concerned itself with various attempts to depict and conceptualize the powers and majesty of the Deity. It was not an idle process, since it was meant to allow for greater access and individual conscious assumption of the mysterious Hebrew Godhead. These intentions were hidden within mysticism, but early Judaism contended with the doctrine of an invisible and unknowable Deity amidst a plethora of highly represented pagan deities, both gods and goddesses. The concept of Elohim (gods) as one of the representations of this Deity clearly shows the probable amalgamation of many deities into the one, ultimately called Yahweh. The Hebrew nation did not become truly monotheistic until later in their history (possibly 6th or even 5th century B.C.E), and so there was always a tendency for polytheism inherent in Judaism. When the orthodox doctrine of monotheism (there is only one God) finally became enforced, the tendency to polytheism found other avenues, particularly in the areas of mysticism and the illicit practice of ritual and ceremonial magick. Access to the powers and glories of a monotheistic Deity was expressly forbidden by the cannon of the law and established traditions, but the Merkabah and Heikhalot systems of mysticism and magick certainly allowed speculation and practices that were essentially heretical in nature.
The impact of Greek philosophy and Gnosticism on Jewish thought has been little noted in Jewish mystical circles, particularly in regards to the origins of the Qabbalah. While it is certainly true that Jewish writers such as Philo were later discredited and ignored by the scholars of the Talmudic period, non Jewish systems of theosophy and theurgy continued to invade the fringes of Jewish thought. The core doctrines and beliefs of the Qabbalah were developed long after similar speculation had already been written down and established in philosophical and gnostic circles. Still, the Qabbalah was a very tight synthesis of traditional Jewish thought and Greek philosophy; but it remained on the fringes of scholastic writings and the established traditions and liturgies of the rabbinic culture until the late Renaissance. It was almost as if one had to be both a Jew and a Qabbalist, since they were not synonymous. The middle ages saw great Qabbalistic works written, such as the Zohar, but there were other works created, like the Sword of Solomon, the Sepher ha-Ratziel, and the Book of Abramelin, which represented the magickal practices of the Qabbalah. These magickal works, or grimoires, and their associated theosophical and occult speculation represented a problem with the emergence of the Qabbalah as a system of Jewish theology. It was due largely to these and other excesses that Judaism narrowed its accepted practices, which lead to the eventual abandonment of the Qabbalah as a Jewish religious tradition. The Jewish Qabbalah was just too prone to uncanonical practices and heresy, and seemed to advocate highly unacceptable religious speculation.
During the late middle ages, the doctrines and beliefs of the Qabbalah began to filter into the scholarly world of Christian Europe, and by the 19th century, it had been completely taken over and made into an occult doctrine. The greatest contributions to the works of the Qabbalah were made in the middle to late 19th century, and these were made by individuals who were not practitioners of Judaism. Certainly, the evolution and derivation of the Qabbalah from its Hebrew source did not allow it to be easily reintegrated into Jewish religious doctrine, and so there are now at least two versions of the Qabbalah, since the resurgence of its study in the present age was promoted first by adherents of the Hasadim, and then by others, which caused some orthodox and reformed Jews to return to and expand on the earlier writings of Isaac Luria, and many others.
Modern occultists are divided as to whether the Qabbalah should be used for meditation and contemplation only, or with the inclusion of ritual and ceremonial magick. Certainly Mathers and Crowley proposed the full incorporation of the Qabbalah when they wrote their books, formulated their rituals and ceremonies, and taught these practices to their students; but others have moved away from the practice of magick as being too controversial and prone to heretical practices and derivations. Still, for practicing ritual magicians, the Qabbalah is of critical importance. I would therefore recommend that it should be studied and mastered by all occult students, used in meditation, contemplation and employed to construct magickal rituals and ceremonies. I am recommending such an extensive use so that the various symbolic archetypes and spiritual hierarchy might become internally available to the seeker to experience and fully realize in a very direct and immediate fashion. In this manner, the Qabbalah becomes a real and living process that illuminates the spiritual and allegorical domains, and reveals the various qualities of the Deity and the fate of humankind. Therefore as a practice, it will lead to the highest possible states of spiritual illumination.
I hope this brief historical analysis has assisted you in realizing that the Qabbalah is an ever evolving discipline that has undergone a considerable amount of change and revision over the centuries. However, formulations of a kind of gnostic inspired theosophy as well as the continued use of the Qabbalah in various methods and techniques of ritual and ceremonial magick have been a constant factor in the evolution of this discipline. Anyone who seeks to divorce the heterodoxic nature of the Qabbalah, or to refute its use and application in forms of theurgy are promoting an egregious falsehood that belies its history, essential nature and practical use.
Frater Barrabbas
The Poisoner's Apothecary is a section of Forest Grove Botanica filled with things I can't sell in my Etsy shop - specimens, tinctures, and smoking blends of legal psychoactive herbs and well-known poisons. New offerings include a Smoking Blend Sampler of my three magical herbal smoking blends (Hedgecrosser's Smoke, Love Smoke, & Visions of the Seer), as well as Calamus and Galangal root tinctures. Calamus or sweetflag is a Native American shaman's root ingested for flying, but it is also found elsewhere around the world and even turns up in an oil recipe in the Old Testament.
Galangal root originates from Asia and is closely related to ginger meaning my Galangal tincture tastes quite pleasant. Galagal was a favourite of Aleister Crowley who recommended its use for communing with familiar spirits. It also happens to be a mild hallucinogen. The last in my tincture trio is Mandragora. It was carefully measured so you can't overdose even if you drink the whole bottle (which I still don't recommend). Even though most witches think of Mandrake in association with salves, it is actually better suited for extraction in water or alcohol with very careful dosage.
I've made another batch of Aves Salve with magical and psychoactive herbs simmered in rich duck fat. This is my perfected recipe with a long shelf life, a lovely scent of balm of gilead, and a smooth texture. It is also a flying ointment containing Atropa Belladonna and real Mandrake root. I have it available in the regular 2oz jars and, also for the first time, in half ounce sample size jars for the witch on a budget or for those who just want to test it out.
Here is was Dver over at A Forest Door had to say about my Aves Salve:
"I bought some Aves Salve from you about a month ago. I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with it. I honestly didn't know what to expect, never having used anything like it. I have used it three times now - each time has only been more powerful than the last, and I look forward to doing more with it in the future. It feels like putting on a mask or holy costume for possession or shapeshifting work, but all encapsulated in a simple dab of salve."
"As much spirit-work as I do, I still actually maintain a dose of skepticism about any new tool or practice until I see some proof of its efficacy, and am not overly-eager (as some are) to claim a sense of spirit or energy in everything I touch. But this really blows me away. So I wanted to say thank you, and to let you know I really appreciate the work you do."
I am also working on a new traditional flying ointment based on a recipe for a shapeshifting-flying ointment from Giovan Battista Della Porta's "De Miraculis Rerum Naturalium" ("Natural Magic") from 1558. It includes Henbane, Mandrake, Datura, and Belladonna. I added balm of gilead for preservation and because it's quite traditional to flying ointments and is included in other recipes Porta gives in his work. I grew the Henbane and Datura this summer, the Belladonna was from a friend who grew it, and I had to outsource the Mandrake root. Once I'm able to test this batch to see if my dosages were correct, I hope to make another version using the more traditional hog's lard as the base instead of olive oil.
I hope to have more offerings for my witchy head shop soon including absinthe and sabbat wine infusion kits with psychoactive herbs as well as more poisonous specimens.
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Easter Sunday, 4/12/2009
Happy Easter Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn of all Orders and Temples!
May the light of the Rose+Cross shine brightly today upon all of us. I am sorry it took me so long to follow up since my return from the Ahathoor Temple No. 7 in Paris last Monday. This week has been a wirlwind since my return and I wanted to have everything ready to share with you on Easter Sunday. Well, here it is.
In reality, I did not go to Paris merely for the Equinox Ritual at the Ahathoor Grand Temple of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Actually the Ahathoor Mother Temple was host to the 100 Year Centennial Jubileum Celebration of S.L. MacGregor Mathers' founding the Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega in 1909.
This year's International Conclave was for the Second Order and above, so we convoked the International College of the Adepti of the Alpha et Omega as well. The festivities lasted several days as we initiated in all grades of the Second Order and there were marvelous lectures from four separate A.O. Imperators!
The good news for you is that this time we filmed everything - so now you can also be a part of this exiting event - even if you were unable to be there with us in Paris! I opened the conference by greeting our Brothers and Sisters of the Golden Dawn around the world. Here is the video of the opening festivities (note that the speeches always follow bits of ritual):
Here you will enjoy more ritual, and information about the Hermetic and Rosicrucian Roots of the Golden Dawn.
Many of you read the recent weblog I wrote upon my return from Paris. Unsurprisingly, I was once again attacked on an anonymous blog, this time criticized by a post alleging that the Ahathoor Temple in Paris today is not the temple that S.L. MacGregor Mathers founded in 1892.
Well, the truth is usually far more interesting than anonymous, strife stirring rumor, and the modern history of the Ahathoor temple certtainly fits this criteria! In fact, Jean-Pascal Ruggiu, G.H. Frater Lux Aurorae, gave a fascinating lecture about how his research into the history of the Ahathoor Temple led him to Marquis Tereschenko, who eventually reconsecrated Ahathoor Temple in 1992.
I don't want to ruin this fascinating story for you, as here is G.H. Frater Lux Aurorae to tell you the whole story himself:
Next, we were all treated to a wonderful lecture on the Gold und Rosenkreutz order and the Rosicrucian roots of the Golden Dawn in Germany by V.H. Frater D.L.M., the Imperator of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn(R) for German speaking countries:
Few people realize that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's Imperator for Scandinavia, V.H. Frater Sincerus Renatus, actually was born in Poland. Ever true to these roots, V.H. Frater Sincerus Renatus, has a particular love for the Qabalah of the Shabbathaian movement in messianic Judaism, particualrly as it filtered down with the followers of Jaqob Frank. The story of the Qabalistic Roots of the Golden Dawn is a particularly fascinating one, involving many of the leading figures from this movement who found their way into the Order of the Asiatic Brethren, then later into the Jewish Lodge at Frankfurt, the famous, Zur Goldenen Morgonroethe Lodge. VH Frater Sincerus Renatus' lecture on the Qabalistic roots of the Golden Dawn is bound to become a classic, and adds many pieces to the jigsaw puzzle of the Continental European origins of the Golden Dawn.
Finally, the International Conclave of the Adepti and the 100 Year Jubileum concluded with my keynote address on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes, the Hermetic Tradition, and the Golden Dawn. Since there has been so much controversy surrounding the Emerald Teblet of Hermes since the recent translation by Nineveh Shadrach of the Magic Society of the White Flame, I thus attempted to shed new light on the Emerald Tablet, as revealed by Apollonius of Tyana's Book of Causes, in which the earliest extant version of the Emerald Tablet was originally published, together valuable commentaries essential to its proper understanding.
It is my sincere hope that some of the factionalism between Golden Dawn orders and temples will now die down, so that at our next International Golden Dawn Conclave ALL brothers and sisters of the Golden Dawn may attend, regardless of what order or temple you belong to. This was the dream of our cherished, late Praemonstrator, Marquis Nicholas Tereschenko, and perhaps we will yet see his dream realized in our lifetime.
Until then, we are this year at least able to share these precious videos with you!
Sub Umbra Alarum Tuarum, Yeheshua
David Griffin
G.H. Frater Lux Ex Septentrionis
Imperator Ordinis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Rosicrucian Order of Alpha et Omega
"Ex Deo Nascimur.
In Yeheshua Morimur.
Per Sanctum Spiritum Reviviscimus"
