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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"
Many years ago, after Star Trek (the original series) had gone off the air and the fan mania began to really spike to a desperate level, Leonard Nimoy wrote a book that sought to explain to that fan base that he was just an actor, and he was not Spok. Mr. Nimoy discussed how some fans had approached him with absurd requests that only the character Spok could have done, such as mind-melding or other attributes associated with the TV show character. This caused Leonard Nimoy some consternation, since he was, after all, just an actor and not an alien named Spok. So he wrote this book to explain what was patently obvious to himself and many others; that he was first and foremost a plain old working stiff like everyone else. There was nothing sensational about him, nothing special - in fact, he didn't even consider himself a talented actor.
This was a rather modest pronouncement, since out of the entire cast of Star Trek, Mr. Nimoy has shown not only a competent acting ability, but also abilities in the disciplines of script writing, movie directing and producing. Even so, you have to admire him for telling his public that he wasn't Spok. (Contrast that to Clayton Moore, who all but told his public that he was the real "Lone Ranger.") The character Spok was just something that Mr.Nimoy had invented, a kind of acting persona useful for a TV show that only lasted a few seasons. Little did he know at the time that the character Spok would become so well known and loved by his fans that it would take on a life of its own in their minds and imagination. What he had to do was create some boundaries for himself so that others would realize that Spok was a fictional character.
So why am I relating this story and what does it have to do with the surprising title of this article? The reason is subtle but also obvious. My pen name, Frater Barrabbas, is a fictional persona that I use to promote the books that I have written, my system of magick and the magickal order that I represent to the public. While I may illuminate ideas, insights and opinions that do indeed belong to me, my author's persona, Frater Barrabbas, doesn't really exist. In truth, I am just an ordinary person who has had some rather unusual life experiences, but then again, so have many other folks. My intention is to share ideas and perspectives about ritual magick, and to aid and assist my readers in mastering their own process and doing the magick for themselves. What I am not trying to do is to create a cult of personality around myself.
However, I have recently been getting, from time to time, more unusual emails making fairly outrageous requests of me. A few have presented me with terrible life issues that are afflicting them, and have asked me to intervene so that through magick I might miraculously change their fortunes. These requests, if they are true, deeply touch me with sadness, but there is little that I can actually do to help them. Most people send me kind words or encouraging compliments, others tell me that they disagree with what I have written - all of this is well received and appropriate. Yet it seems that I am starting to get more outrageous emails as my popularity and notoriety expands, so I felt compelled to write this revealing apologia.
I have found that when I write articles and state my opinions to the public, and even banter with other occultists, it's always within the persona of Frater Barrabbas. Seldom do I actually reveal my true self hiding behind the scenes, since that real person doesn't want publicity or any notoriety to intrude into a very private life and career. While it might be true that such a revelation might not jeopardize my mundane existence, I have found that it is more expedient to use a pen name. Using an author's persona also forces me to apply a great deal of professional discipline when dealing with the public. This means that I must overcome my true feelings about a matter and respond in a tactful and dispassionate manner, even if that means stepping away from a hotly contested issue for a time and writing about it later when my passion has abated. I have learned the hard way that to write scathing or threatening emails, articles with a lot of cuss words or flaming replies to those who disagree with me is highly unprofessional, and it's also really stupid! If I act like an obnoxious idiot, then that will really distract and interfere with the real purpose for my writing, which is communicating my ideas.
To understand why I use a pen name, you would have to go back to where I lived in the past couple of decades. Some years ago I lived in a part of the country where sectarian prejudices could indeed make life difficult for me if it were known that I was a hard core occultist. I have always felt that it was prudent to mask myself with a pseudonym in order to safely present my beliefs and practices to the public. Even though I have moved away from that part of the country, the habit of using a pen name has continued. My author's mask is not particularly opaque or very effective, since anyone who really wants to know who I am could find out on the internet without too much difficulty. I am continuing to use this pen name to establish some boundaries within my life, and not out of misplaced fear, and I am hoping that my readers understand this point.
Does that mean that I am a fraud or somehow duplicitous? Actually, no! What I say in my books is true, as far as I know, and much of it is based on my own real experiences. My biographical pieces do indeed reveal my actual history, but mainly through a tightly focused occult lens. My mundane life and its various happenings haven't been fully revealed in any of my articles or writings. There is still quite a bit about me that is kept private and locked away in my heart and soul. That part of me is the real me, and it powerfully affects who I am and how I act towards others; but it's not the part of me that I reveal when I am writing as Frater Barrabbas.
For instance, I certainly wouldn't talk very much about my love life unless it had a bearing on the topic at hand, and then it would be made into more of an interesting story, colored by my occult proclivities and esoteric understandings. I am writing to present my ideas, thoughts and reflections, and at times I might take a few liberties with the actual facts to get those ideas communicated. I don't lie or make up stuff; I just don't tell the whole story, or I might even embellish a fact or two. I also omit things that I consider to be too personal and too revealing about the real me. I am sure that you can find those omissions, especially when I briefly mention something and then go on without explaining it much. The details of my mundane life are really no one's business but my own, so I do have boundaries that I seek to maintain.
Additionally, my persona, called Frater Barrabbas, has a certain personality that doesn't really represent me in a clear light. Frater Barrabbas is all about the glamor of occultism and ritual magick, and not much else. That really isn't who I am, since I have a life style, a career and an important relationship that I am often engaged with. If you read too deeply into the Frater Barrabbas persona you would think that all I do is work or study magick nearly 100% of the time. A misconstrued impression is that Frater Barrabbas is an unrelenting, self absorbed, occult fanatic. He has shown a tendency to be arrogant, impatient, judgmental, overly intellectual, too confident of his "truthiness" and even sometimes a bit of a prick (according to my girl friend). That isn't the real me, since I am often scratching my head about something that I am trying to figure out, or failing to adequately judge people or situations. I have a somewhat weaker personality with less intense opinions than how my persona is presented. I have doubts, fears and worries - pretty much like most everyone else. I am not insane (certainly) or delusional, and sometimes I revel in not thinking about anything serious or philosophical at all. Sometimes I just enjoy having some mindless fun. That's the real me behind the occult author facade, but of course, there's a lot more, too.
So if I say as a reminder to everyone that I am not Frater Barrabbas, then you might understand that I am just stepping away briefly from my author's mask to speak to you as a real person. It won't happen often, but at least you have been advised about this little fact. I am hoping that by writing this article that I might be able to stop some folks from sending me outrageous requests that I could never accomplish. I don't know the winning lottery number (if I did, I would use it myself), I can't levitate or cause others to fly, and I am not a miracle worker. As I have previously stated, my purpose for writing is to help people learn to use their own magickal powers. Even so, magick is really a human phenomenon. It can bend probabilities, but it rarely causes miracles. Since I am writing through an author's persona to help teach others what I know, it doesn't mean that I am all knowing or all powerful. Far from it! I am just a human being with certain particular virtues and flaws. If you send me an outrageous email request or come up and ask me to perform miracles for you, then I will have to back off and politely say to you, "I am sorry, but I am not that Frater Barrabbas!"
Frater Barrabbas
Suggested ebooks:
Aleister Crowley - The Star And The Garter
Andrew Lang - The Witch And Other Stories
Leo Ruickbie - The Winter Sabbat
