Hermetic QabalahFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hermetic Qabalah (From the Hebrew ַקָּבָלה "reception" or "accounting") is a Western esoteric, occult andmystical tradition. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn,Thelemic orders, mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and the Fellowship of the Rosy

Cross, and is a precursor to the Neopagan, Wiccan and New Age movements.[1] The Hermetic Qabalah is thebasis for Qliphothic Qabala as studied by left hand path orders, such as the Typhonian Order.

Occult Hermetic Qabalah arose alongside and united with the Christian Cabalistic involvement in the EuropeanRenaissance, becoming variously Esoteric Christian, non-Christian, or anti-Christian across its different schoolsin the modern era. It draws on a great many influences, most notably: Jewish Kabbalah, Western astrology,Alchemy, pagan religions, especially Egyptian and Greco-Roman (the latter being from which the term"Hermetic" is derived), neoplatonism, gnosticism, the Enochian system of angelic magic of John Dee andEdward Kelley, hermeticism, rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, tantra and the symbolism of the tarot. HermeticQabalah differs from the Jewish form in being a more admittedly syncretic system, however it shares manyconcepts with Jewish Kabbalah.

Contents

1 Teachings1.1 Conception of Divinity1.2 The Sephiroth in Hermetic Qabalah1.3 Tarot and the Tree of Life1.4 Relation to Western Magic, Alchemy and Astrology

2 History2.1 Hermetic views of Qabalah origins2.2 Renaissance occultism2.3 Enlightenment era esoteric societies2.4 Nineteenth century magical revival2.5 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn2.6 After the Golden Dawn

3 See also4 References5 External links

Teachings

Conception of Divinity

A primary concern of Hermetic Qabalah is the nature of divinity, its conception of which is quite markedlydifferent from that presented in monotheistic religions; in particular there is not the strict separation between

divinity and humankind which is seen in monotheisms.[2] Hermetic Qabalah holds to the neoplatonic conceptionthat the manifest universe, of which material creation is a part, arose as a series of emanations from the

godhead.[3]

The Sephirothic treeshowing the lightning flashand the paths

The Qabalistic Tree of Lifein the Servants of the Lightorganisation's Hermetictheory

These emanations arise out of three preliminary states that are considered to precede manifestation. The first is astate of complete nullity, known as Ain (אין "nothing"); the second state, considered a "concentration" of Ain, isAin Suph (אין סוף "without limit, infinite"); the third state, caused by a "movement" of Ain Suph, is Ain Suph Aur

and it is from this initial brilliance that the first emanation of creation originates.[4] ,("limitless light" אין סוף אור)

The Sephiroth in Hermetic Qabalah

Main article: Tree of life (Kabbalah)

The emanations of creation arising from Ain Suph Aur are ten in number, andare called Sephiroth (ְסִפירֹות, singular Sephirah ְסִפיָרה, "enumeration"). Theseare conceptualised somewhat differently in Hermetic Qabalah to the way they

are in Jewish Kabbalah.[5] See Tree of life (Kabbalah) for the Hermeticconceptualisation, and Sephirot for the Jewish conceptualisation.

From Ain Suph Aur crystallises Kether, the first sephirah of the HermeticQabalistic tree of life. From Kether emanate the rest of the sephirot in turn,viz. Kether (1), Chokhmah (2), Binah (3), Daath, Chesed (4), Geburah (5),Tiphareth (6), Netzach (7), Hod (8), Yesod (9), Malkuth (10). Daath is not

assigned a number as it is considered part of Binah or a hidden sephirah.[6]

Each sephirah is considered to be an emanation of the divine energy (oftendescribed as 'the divine light') which ever flows from the unmanifest, through

Kether into manifestation.[7] This flow of light is indicated by the lightning flashshown on diagrams of the sephirotic tree which passes through each sephirahin turn according to their enumerations.

Each sephirah is a nexus of divine energy and each has a number ofattributions. These attributions enable the Qabalist to form a comprehension ofeach particular sephirah's characteristics. This manner of applying manyattributions to each sephirah is an exemplar of the diverse nature of HermeticQabalah. For example the sephirah Hod has the attributions of; Glory, perfectintelligence, the eights of the tarot deck, the planet Mercury, the Egyptian godThoth, the archangel Michael, the Roman god Mercury and the alchemical

element Mercury.[8][9] The general principle involved is that the Qabalist willmeditate on all these attributions and by this means acquire an understandingof the character of the sephirah including all its correspondences.

Tarot and the Tree of Life

Main article: Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot

Hermetic Qabalists see the cards of the tarot as keys to the Tree of Life. The22 cards including the twenty-one Trumps plus the Fool or Zero card areoften called the "Major Arcana" or "Greater Mysteries" and are seen ascorresponding to the twenty-two Hebrew letters and the twenty-two paths ofthe Tree; the ace to ten in each suit correspond to the ten Sephiroth in the fourQabalistic worlds; and the sixteen court cards relate to the classical elements

in the four worlds.[10][11][12] While the sephiroth describe the nature of divinty, the paths between them describe

ways of knowing God.[13]

Syncretism of Cabala,Alchemy, Astrology andother esoteric Hermeticdisciplines in a 1616German depiction

Relation to Western Magic, Alchemy and Astrology

History

Hermetic views of Qabalah origins

See also: Gnosticism

Traditionalist Judaic views of Kabbalah's origins view it as an inherentdevelopment from within the Jewish religion, perhaps expressed through syncreticterminology from Medieval Jewish Neoplatonism. Contemporary academics ofJewish mysticism have reassessed Gershom Scholem's theory that the newdoctrine of Medieval Kabbalah assimilated an earlier Jewish version of

Gnosticism;[14] Moshe Idel instead has posited a historical continuity of

development from early Jewish mysticism.[15] In contrast, Hermeticists havetaken different views of Qabalah's origins. Some authors see the origins ofQabalah not in Semitic/Jewish mysticism, or ancient Egyptian Gnosticism, but in awestern tradition originating in classical Greece with Indo-European cultural

roots, later adopted by Jewish mystics.[16]

According to this view, "Hermetic Qabalah" would be the original Qabalah, even though the word itself is JudaicHebrew, over the Christian Cabalah or the Jewish Kabbalah: Alongside the historical process of Christianconversion from paganism, Jewish mystical circles would have been able to incorporate gematria and the Treeof life to their own concepts and fully monotheistic framework, without being suspect. Christians, in contrast,would have been persecuted for the same process, as it would have been similar to their pre-Christianpolytheistic panentheism. With the Renaissance, this wisdom would have been relearned by Christianity fromJudaism.

Renaissance occultism

See also: Christian Kabbalah and Hermeticism

Jewish Kabbalah was absorbed into the Hermetic tradition at least as early as the 15th century when GiovanniPico della Mirandola promoted a syncretic world view combining Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism,

Hermeticism and Kabbalah.[17] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535), a German magician, occult writer,theologian, astrologer, and alchemist, wrote the influential Three Books of Occult Philosophy, incorporatingKabbalah in its theory and practice of Western magic. It contributed strongly to the Renaissance view of ritualmagic's relationship with Christianity. Pico's Hermetic syncretism was further developed by Athanasius Kircher,a Jesuit priest, hermeticist and polymath, who wrote extensively on the subject in 1652, bringing further elements

such as Orphism and Egyptian mythology to the mix.[18]

Enlightenment era esoteric societies

Once Hermeticism was no longer endorsed by the Christian Church it was driven underground and a number ofHermetic brotherhoods were formed. With the Enlightenment Age of Reason and its skepticism of mainstreamreligion, the tradition of exoteric-theological Christian Cabala declined, while esoteric-occult Hermetic Qabalahflourished in the Western mystery tradition. Non-Jewish Cabala, unlike in Judaic Kabbalah's mainstreamcensure of its magical side, became a central component of Western occult, magic and divination.

The "Kircher Tree":Athanasius Kircher's 1652depiction of the Tree of Life,based on a 1625 version byPhilippe d'Aquin. This is stillthe most commonarrangement of the Sephirothand paths on the tree inHermetic Qabalah

Rosicrucianism and esoteric branches of Freemasonry taught religious philosophies, Qabalah, and divine magicin progressive steps of initiation. Their esoteric teachings, and secret society structure of an outer body governedby a restricted inner level of adepts, laid the format for modern esoteric organisations.

Nineteenth century magical revival

Post-Enlightenment Romanticism encouraged societal interest in occultism, of which Hermetic Qabalistic writingwas a feature. Francis Barrett's The Magus (1801) handbook of ceremonial magic gained little notice until itinfluenced the French magical enthusiast Eliphas Levi (1810-1875). Hisfanciful literary embellishments of magical invocations presented Qabalism assynonymous with both so-called White and so-called Black magic. Levi'sinnovations included attributing the Hebrew letters to the Tarot cards, thusformulating a link between Western magic and Jewish esotericism which hasremained fundamental ever since in Western magic. Levi had a deep impacton the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Through theoccultists inspired by him (including Aleister Crowley, who considered himselfLevi's reincarnation) Levi is remembered as one of the key founders of the20th century revival of magic.

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Hermetic Qabalah was developed extensively by the Hermetic Order of the

Golden Dawn,[19] Within the Golden Dawn, the fusing of Qabalistic principlessuch as the ten Sephiroth with Greek and Egyptian deities was made morecohesive and was extended to encompass other systems such as the Enochiansystem of angelic magic of John Dee and certain Eastern (particularly Hinduand Buddhist) concepts, all within the structure of a Masonic or Rosicrucianstyle esoteric order.

Aleister Crowley, who passed through the Golden Dawn before going on toform his own magical orders, is the most widely known exponent of Hermetic

Magic[20] or Magick as he preferred to spell it. Crowley's book Liber 777 isa good illustration of the wider Hermetic approach. It is a set of tables of correspondences relating various partsof ceremonial magic and Eastern and Western religion to the thirty-two numbers representing the ten spheres(Sephiroth) plus the twenty-two paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The panentheistic nature of HermeticQabalists is plainly evident here, as one may simply check the table to see that Chesed (חסד "Mercy")corresponds to Jupiter, Isis, the colour blue (on the Queen Scale), Poseidon, Brahma, and amethyst.

After the Golden Dawn

Many of the Golden Dawn's rituals were published by Crowley, altered in various ways to align them with hisown New Aeon magickal approach. Israel Regardie eventually compiled the more traditional forms of these

rituals and published them in book form.[21]

Dion Fortune, an initiate of Alpha et Omega (an offshoot of the Golden Dawn), who went on to found theFraternity of the Inner Light wrote the seminal book The Mystical Qabalah, widely considered one of the best

general introductions to modern Hermetic Qabalah.[22][23]

Paul Foster Case (1884–1954) was an American occultist and author of influential books on occult tarot andQabalah. He founded the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A) mystery school, rooted in the Hermetic Order ofthe Golden Dawn and the Masonic blue lodge system, later extended by Ann Davies. B.O.T.A. teaches esotericpsychology, occult tarot, Hermetic Qabalah, astrology, and meditation.

Pat Zalewski is a student of Jack Taylor, who was in turn a student of Robert Felkin's Golden Dawn school, astaught in New Zealand after Felkin emigrated there. Zalewski has published numerous on Hermetic Qabalah andthe Golden Dawn tradition.

Samael Aun Weor has written many significant works that discuss Kabbalah within many religions, such as theEgyptian, Pagan, and Central American religions, which is summarized in his work The Initiatic Path in theArcana of Tarot and Kabbalah.

See also

Hermetism and other religionsRenaissance magicWestern esotericismTheosophyOccultAlchemyDivinatory, esoteric and occult tarotMagical organizationsEnglish QabalahEsoteric ChristianityChristian Kabbalah

Practices:

TheurgyThaumaturgyGoetiaInvocation

References

1. ^ Bogdan, H; "Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation", University Of New York Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7914-7069-5, p 49.

2. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 44.3. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 37-42.4. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 29-36.5. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3.6. ^ Regardie, Israel; "The Golden Dawn", Llewellyn, 2000, ISBN 978-0-87542-663-1, p 51.7. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 1.8. ^ Regardie, Israel; "The Golden Dawn", Llewellyn, 2000, ISBN 978-0-87542-663-1, p 20-219. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 238-251

10. ^ Waite, A.E.; "The Holy Kabbalah", University Books, 1971, p 554-55711. ^ Regardie, Israel; "The Golden Dawn", Llewellyn, 2000, ISBN 978-0-87542-663-1, p 540-59312. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 107.13. ^ Fortune, Dion; "The Mystical Qabalah", Aquarian Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-85030-335-3, p 102

14. ^ Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction, Joseph Dan, Oxford. Chapter on early Jewish mysticism discussescontemporary views that Gnosticism did not form a distinct religion.

15. ^ Kabbalah: New Perspectives, Moshe Idel, Yale 199016. ^ The Greek Qabalah: Alphabetic Mysticism and Numerology in the Ancient World, Kieren Barry, Samuel

Weiser 199917. ^ Farmer, S.A; "Syncretism in the West: Pico's 900 Theses (1486)", Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies,

1999, ISBN 978-0-86698-209-218. ^ Schmidt, Edward W. "The Last Renaissance Man: Athanasius Kircher", SJ. Company: The World of Jesuits

and Their Friends. 19(2), Winter 2001–2002.19. ^ York, The Magicians of the Golden Dawn, (1972) p. ix.20. ^ Symonds, J & Grant, K; The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, Hill & Wang, 1969, ISBN 978-0-8090-3591-5.21. ^ Cicero, Chic & Cicero, Sandra; `Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition, Llewellyn, 1998, ISBN 978-

1-56718-136-4, p xix.22. ^ Fielding, Charles and Collins, Carr; The Story of Dion Fortune, Thoth Books, 1998, ISBN 978-1-870450-33-

1, p. 15123. ^ Richardson, Alan, The Magical Life of Dion Fortune, Aquarian Press, 1991, p. 137, ISBN 978-1-85538-051-

6

External links

Survey of Occultism in the Renaissance (http://www.gangleri.nl/articles/51/the-occult-renaissance/)Hermetic Kabbalah (http://www.digital-brilliance.com/) websiteThe Mystical Qabalah (http://gnosticfellowship.com/reading/qabalah/mystical.pdf) pdf from The Societyof the Inner Light

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