Best Books on Hermetic Qabalah

[feranaja]

Taking a cue from Talking Fox's post on rune books, I thought it might be good to start a Recommended Reading list for those of us intersted in Qabalah. I know some of you - Doc Holliday and NuHad to name 2 - are very knowledgable about Hebrew Kabbalah, which I am not - so we may need a separate thread to distinguish the two?

For me, the best book on Qabalah from a WMT pespective is still Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah*. I've been re-reading and meditating on this book for 20 years and I still benefit, receive new insights... Gareth Knights (Qabalistic Symbolism*) version is a bit more indepth but basically draws on the same material. Anyone have recommendations? I'd love to hear what you all recommend, from beginners to advanced study. I've probably focused a lot n Dion's book since she has been a personal guide and focus for my overall occult studies. I think there are both limitations and advantages to working within one system all the time...

feranaja

[Nuhad418]

For me it depends on my need at the time.

I find Fortune good but the emphasis on the cosmic Christ not my cup of tea. The the newest printing of it does have a limited index. The same goes for Knight.

Regardie's The Middle Pillar* and The Tree of Life* are useful but I find the Cicero's additions to the modern publications occasionally annoying.

Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to Cabalistic Magic* is a good reference source but my understanding is that it has errors in its gematria. Regardless, it has a good introductory chapter.

Wang's Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy* is good for his work with Tarot and the Tree.

Scholem and Mose Idel are musts for classical Jewish Kabbalah

Sanford Drob's Symbols of the Kabbalah* and Kabbalistic Metaphors* are good in that they relate Kabbalah to various types of psychology

Grant's Nightside of Eden* gives a good summary of his work with the Tunnels of Set.

That's about all off the top of my head...more later when I can look at my book cases :-)

[feranaja]

I'm anxious to start reading the Grant you suggested. What exactly do you find annoying about the Ciceros?

Oh - and as you know, I love Wang's stuff, so I'd second that suggestion.

[Naomi]

Franz Bardon's The Key to the True Kabbala

You can get it for free somewhere online...

[Nuhad418]

I'm anxious to start reading the Grant you suggested. What exactly do you find annoying about the Ciceros?

Oh - and as you know, I love Wang's stuff, so I'd second that suggestion.

LOL...no one should ever be anxious to read Grant. Its a sure trip to the loony bin! No not really but he is very self referential, like Crowley now that I think of it, so if you don't have ALL his books its difficult to get the whole picture but it is interesting all the same.

What I dislike about the Cicero's is that they took Regardie's books, added the bits (bad pseudo Jungian psychology, pop psychology, rituals demonstrating the best example of spiritual strip-mining) and then send it to Llewellyn (not that I have a problem with that in an dof itself). They ride Regardie's name. However, I do like their Golden Dawn work, I was going to say their own work but then I have yet to compare Regardie's Golden Dawn with The Self Initiation.

[fr.novumorganum]

Qabalah: A Magickal Primer* by John Bonner

[Nalyd Khezr Bey]

Qabalah: A Magickal Primer by John Bonner

I'll second that one. Throw in DuQuette's Chicken Qabalah* for good measure.

[aniler]

Actually i would recommend an entire book thread where books are proposed by subject then when people need something they know where to look for it

[MythMath]

A master list of recommended reading divided by topic... :yes:

[Fio Praeter Humanus]

I agree with Mystical Qabalah, it is the standard in the field.
One I think is an excellent introduction is Regardie's Garden of Pomegranates.
I also really enjoy Pat Z's, Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn but is not beginner material.

Regardie's The Middle Pillar (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567181406?tag=abrahadabraco-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1567181406&adid=0FND7GVESBBXFEVKRRY5&)* and The Tree of Life (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567181325?tag=abrahadabraco-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1567181325&adid=1VM9K6710RXJ7JTEWA6D&)* are useful but I find the Cicero's additions to the modern publications occasionally annoying.
I actually enjoy what the Cicero's added to The Middle Pillar although the bulk of it is Regardie's material from 12 steps and Art of True Healing. The expanded table of contents they added to The Tree of Life I have found very helpful. But in my example I do believe they struck out by adding the pathworkings to A Garden of Pomegranates. It might be found useful for group work but otherwise do not even bother reading it.

[Oblio]

It's probably a bit different to what we'd usually see as western hermetic Kabbalah, but I recommend Sefer Yetzirah, by Aryeh Kaplan..

[Nuhad418]

It's probably a bit different to what we'd usually see as western hermetic Kabbalah, but I recommend Sefer Yetzirah, by Aryeh Kaplan..

Good point Caelum...I would also add his translation of the Bahir too...oh and Gikatilla's "Gates of Light" has English translations too, though not by Kaplan.

[Oblio]

It's been a while since reading SY, but I remember being attached to the meditative aspects of the tree of life, and the states of consciousness associated with the spheres. In particular, the dynamic balance of Chokma and Binah.

[Hairetikos]

For you old hands who have assimilated all the aforementioned books, I'll suggest The Sword and The Serpent by Denning and Phillips. It's part of a trilogy, but stands fine on its own.

[Nuhad418]

For you old hands who have assimilated all the aforementioned books, I'll suggest The Sword and The Serpent by Denning and Phillips. It's part of a trilogy, but stands fine on its own.

I have the hard cover version of that series and it was five books! lol I believe they are reprented too no? (oh yeah, and if you look on the bookcase on the headboard in the movie Jacob's Ladder you can see one of the D&P books...I know I'm lame) Its funny, studying Kabbalah from a Westrern Esoteric perspective insists that you study all types of interpretations of Kabbalistic thought; classical Jewish, Christian and Hermetic and Western Esoteric sources all need to be studied (not to mention sources that are not Kabbalistic but refere to Kabbalah such as the writings of Jung). It's not until we try to list sources like this that I realise how much we have (or have to) studied over the years. Sheesh, gives me a freaking headache.

[Elesrea]

I’m a complete beginner and haven’t yet learned which authors to avoid.
Is Will Parfitt considered to know 'which end is up'?
Thanks. :)

[Frater Yechidah]

Never read any of his work, but it seems quite "New Agey" to me from a quick glance (aimed at the self-help market rather than the spiritual/esotericist one).

My vote is Dion Fortune's "The Mystical Qabalah" and Regardie's "Garden Of Pomegranates", both of which were mentioned above. They are generally seen as the "staple" of modern Qabalah.

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[m1thr0s]

For a fairly slam-dunk sort of overview, I still think Manly P Hall's stuff is a great intro...hard to say what the "best" is exactly...so many different aspects. But it's good to understand going in that Hermetic (or Western Spiritual) Qabbalah and traditional Hebrew Kabbalah are not the same thing. They are joined at the hip so to speak but they are not the same critter...

I also think that studying Pythagorean Mysticism is a very important element often overlooked by many of the books we find on the subject. In part this has to do with where contemporary Qabbalah seems to be headed, but also has to do with the Greek roots of Qabbalah generally...gematria, numerology, sacred geometry and others...

m1thr0s

[Neshamah]

For complete beginners, I would suggest Regardie's A Garden of Pomegranates, and Gareth Knight's A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism (I know they've both been mentioned - I'm just adding my own two cents). Or, the beginner could try out my Qabalah class being held here (blantant plug) :D .

Love, Light, and Peace,

Neshamah

[KCh]

The term 'Hermetic' is somewhat vague when it comes to Qabalah.

However, I would suggest the 'Sepher Yetzirah' translation by Westcott, 'Kabbalah Unveiled' by Mathers, 'Qabalah' by Papus, and of course for the best modern version of the Qabalah go to '777 and other Qabalistic writings of Aleister Crowley'.

If you can read latin, Kabbalah Denudata is virtually the horses mouth from a non-Jewish perspective.

As a beginner, I remember reading through 'Modern Magick' by Kraig and 'Mystical Kabbalah' by Fortune.

[extinctionspasm]

All I would suggest have already been mentioned save one:

The Book of Tokens

by Paul Foster Case

[Rough Ashlar]

I'm pleased to see that many of you enjoy Fortune as much as I do. For those of you who enjoyed Mystical Qabalah, you might like the works of her student W.E. Butler as well. The Magician: His Training and Work is a great practical book, while his theory is summed up quite well in Lords of Light.

[Ci Celli Ddu]

I find it more useful to supply a link:

The Book Of Tokens (http://www.harvestfields.ca/ebook/001/17/00.htm)

;)

[Frater SI]

Sefer Yetzirah - Good old school stuff A good basis for what we have now

Climbing the tree of life - This Book helped me grasp allot of concepts I didn't get with mystical Qabalah etc .. His Meditations and Examples are very very good

Chicken Qabalah - Damn Funny and one of the first books I read an excellent primer

Wangs Kabbalistic Tarot - Neshamah Recommended this book its probably the best Kabbalistic Tarot book period

"...and when the hidden Sephira, Daath, is considered, a perfect circle is formed around Tiphereth..." From The Qabalistic Tarot by Robert Wang

As for Kenneth Grant its like reading Nuclear Physics Manuals with all his 8 syllable words .. Its pretty hilarious to read Night Side of eden late at night with a sense of humour

[extinctionspasm]

I find it more useful to supply a link:

The Book Of Tokens (http://www.harvestfields.ca/ebook/001/17/00.htm)

;)

I find it useful when supplying links to ensure that I know what I am referencing:

The link here provided is only to the appendix of the book. And although it is useful to those who own the actual book (as most recent additions do not contain this appendix), it is of little use to those who are not in possession of the main body of the work.

This main body consists of twenty two meditations on the tarot trumps, as they correspond to the pathways of the tree of life.

Rather more fitting it would be to say that the meditations are on the twenty two paths as they correspond to the tarot trumps.

Either way, the recent addition is titled:

The Book of Tokens: Tarot Meditations (http://store.bota.org/1001.html)

and here it is again for those of you who just cant avoid giving your cash to Amazon:

The Book of Tokens: Tarot Meditations (http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tokens-Tarot-Meditations-Paul-Case/dp/0938002007)

This should keep happy not only those who find useful the supply of links but that also of accurate information.

;)

Don't miss out on this book. It is truly excellent!!!!

[Ci Celli Ddu]

The link here provided is only to the appendix of the book. And although it is useful to those who own the actual book (as most recent additions do not contain this appendix), it is of little use to those who are not in possession of the main body of the work.
Quite to the contrary, it supplies useful information as to what one can expect of the book. That was the point. ;)

[extinctionspasm]

Actually it appears to one who has actually read the book, such as myself, quite misleading in an attempt to be a guide to what one can expect from the book.

Where this appendix is a theoretical "essay" or more precisely a dissertation, the actual body of the work is made up of poetic first person statements as to the nature of the paths. These allegorical musings are beautiful, moving, and convey a wealth of meaning beyond this appendix, and in fact beyond most standard theoretical dissertations.

This is in fact the reason why Paul Foster Case actually removed the appendix from later editions of the book, because he felt that the appendix was somewhat convoluted, and distracted from the simple and effortless intention of the twenty two meditations.

He himself who authored the work cited the appendix as being superfluous and distracting. So by the authors own views we can see that the appendix is in no way a trustworthy guide to what one can expect of the book.

So while this is useful information, it does not at all in my opinion provide any realistic expectations as to the nature of the actual work itself.

Don't you think it would have been wise practice to state that the link was only to the appendix and not present it misleadingly as if it were to the main body of the work as your presentation leads us easily to believe? This fact in itself actually goes against your stated claim of setting up useful information as to what one can expect from the book, as it presents the end notes as if they were the body. This is misleading and confusing, and for myself it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that you in fact have not read, and are definitely not in possession of a copy of the work.

I however will give you a little more credit than that though.

I wonder Ci Celli Ddu since you appear to know the work in question if you could share a passage with us from the Meditation on Malkuth?

As this really will provide a great guide as to what to expect from the book!!!

[Ci Celli Ddu]

Considering that you are new here, I thought it constructive to offer a pointer, namely that it is helpful to supply links. I'm afraid you have evidently misunderstood what was intended to be a friendly and simple tip. I do not recall having stated at any point that I have either read the book, own the book, or even that the book is of any special interest to me personally. If any of these things were the case I would have made that quite clear.

[extinctionspasm]

Yes but it is implicit in your combination of statement about the usefulness of links, and a link which itself is highlighted and underlined as links are, and comprises the actual title of the book in question, that the link you are providing is to the actual book itself.

As you have obviously been here a while, I would have thought that you would have some sense of responsibility to represent your posts and the information contained within them accurately.

As it is it appears more like you are trying to outdo my own post, rather than provide accurate information. When pulled up about this it appears that you have become defensive and tried to justify your words with rationalizations which are inconsistent with your original communication.

I mean no disrespect, this is just how it appears.

As I have now supplied links which actually are accurate and consistent with providing access to the original intended text which goes under the aforementioned title, I feel that I have gone to satisfactory lengths to rectify the misinformation your post provided.

Your friendly tip however is duly noted, and I will in future endeavor to provide one whenever it seems necessary, which my (as you stated) new experience leads me to believe will be necessary more often than not. For the tip I thank you.

But to imply that the appendix supplies useful information as to the content of the main text of the book is as I already pointed out quite misleading. And the things that you did not make clear as you say, are as misleading by their omission of the negative, as obviously would have been the inclusion of the positive.

So my friendly tip to you is that whether you are dealing with people who are new or old to this forum, that you present your information accurately. Otherwise your reasons for presenting the information appear suspicious at best. And you may encourage people to miss out on some valuable and worthwhile material.

[Ci Celli Ddu]

Yes but it is implicit in your combination of statement about the usefulness of links, and a link which itself is highlighted and underlined as links are, and comprises the actual title of the book in question, that the link you are providing is to the actual book itself

That indeed is what it apperared to be. But you have already elucidated further on the book, so it would seem to me that you are now in fact nit-picking.

As you have obviously been here a while, I would have thought that you would have some sense of responsibility to represent your posts and the information contained within them accurately.

As it is it appears more like you are trying to outdo my own post, rather than provide accurate information. When pulled up about this it appears that you have become defensive and tried to justify your words with rationalizations which are inconsistent with your original communication.


Now you are being simply tedious. If anyone is trying to outdo anyone else here then it is evidently you, though this goes someway in explaining your reaction to what, as I have stated time and time again, was a simple tip (by the way, the "wink" icon is there to relay friendly intent). I suggest you read from my original post again, and observe who in fact is blowing things way out of proportion.

But to imply that the appendix supplies useful information as to the content of the main text of the book is as I already pointed out quite misleading

I disagree. You yourself have already admitted that it is in fact useful. You have already pointed out the difference between the appendix and the book, and that in fact is all that you needed to do here.

So my friendly tip to you is that whether you are dealing with people who are new or old to this forum, that you present your information accurately. Otherwise your reasons for presenting the information appear suspicious at best. And you may encourage people to miss out on some valuable and worthwhile material.

I suggest you relax, calm down and have a cup of tea. This forum is a friendly place of exchange, between real people, not a gladatorial arena for frustrated egos.

Who brought up the book in the first place?
You did.
So how -in replying to you- am I then attempting to misguide you as to the contents of a book that you are familiar with already?
I think you will find there is little substance to your analysis of my motives here.

You have elucidated further on the book, and well done, but your attempt to turn this into some form of cleverness contest does not do you any credit at all.

I will let it pass in this instance, and put it down to teething problems. As this conversation is no longer relevant to the subject of this thread, I will not pursue it any further.

[extinctionspasm]

Ok lets get to the point of all this.

The Book of Tokens - Tarot Meditations by Paul Foster Case, is the equal best book on the qabalah in the opinion of everyone I have ever met who have utilised the meditations.

The link Ci Celli Ddu provided is not to the book of tokens. It is to an outdated appendix of an early edition of the book. This appendix was purposely removed by the author from subsequent editions of the book.

While this appendix may be useful to those who have the book, as a guide to the content of the book for those who are thinking about purchasing it, it is terrible and completely unreflective as to the nature of the work.

The appendix is written in a bland, clinical, textbook style of prose.

The actual book of tokens - tarot meditations consists of twenty two beautiful and moving pieces of poetry, written in the first person, that correspond to the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and therefore to the twenty two tarot trumps and interconnecting paths of the tree of life also.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry on The Book of Tokens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hiyya54/WIP/The_Book_of_Tokens) - which gives a few exerts that will provide you with a small taste of the actual nature of the book.

These meditation when read aloud in meditative exercises are brilliant at expanding ones familiarity with the qabalah and causing it to become not just a literal but also a practical system of knowledge.

My reason for stating this is not because I feel that Ci Celi Ddu was trying to misguide me as to the books true nature, and am therefore trying to remind myself publicly (hehehehe)?

My reason for clarifying and expanding on all of this is that I believe this to be an excellent and unmissable work for students of both tarot, and especially qabalah.


*********section removed (flaming)*********
extinctionspasm: keep this kind of ad hominem commentary out of your posts or you'll be cited for it. stick to your actual arguments or don't post at all. people trying to decide who is right won't be positively impressed with this sort of tactics.
m1thr0s

Wikipedia entry on The Book of Tokens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hiyya54/WIP/The_Book_of_Tokens)

The Book of Tokens @ Amazon

The Book of Tokens @ Builders of the Adytum (http://store.bota.org/1001.html)

;)

[Ci Celli Ddu]

There are a few pdf books on this subject to be found here (http://satanicsingles.com/library.jsp), though I'll leave it to others to decide if they can be described as "Best Books" or not. Among them are The Qabalah of 50 gates by a certain Steven Ashe; The Path of Kabbalah by a Michael Laitman; The Mystical Qabbalah by Dion Fortune; Sepher Sephiroth by Aleister Crowley and Allan Bennet; The Kabbalah Unveiled by S.L. MacGregor Mathers; Introduction to the Cabala (author's name not supplied), and An Introduction to the Study of the Kabalah by William Wynn Westcott.

[Oblio]

That's a cool library CCD, thanks for sharing that. I've now got about ten separate library lists in my bookmarks that I wish I had the time to sift through :laugh:

[Neshamah]

While I am a big fan of Case's books on the Tarot I cannot say that any of them stand out as being the "best" book on Qabalah / Kabbalah / and / or Tarot out there. Case was limited in that he used the Western Hermetic approach to the Kabbalah exclusively, and this caused him to have "blinders" on concerning the whole subject of the original "sourceworks" (Sepher ha-Bahir, Sepher Ratziel ha-Melekh, Sepher Yetzirah, and the Zohar, to name a few).

So, while I encourage anyone to read Case's books for his unique insights, don't use them exclusively and to the neglect of works from other traditions. There are many good Tarot / Qabalah / Kabbalah books out there --- keep an open mind !!!

Love and Light for a Peace Profound,

Neshamah

[extinctionspasm]

There was no flaming in my post. It was a straightforward assessment of the situation that utilised colloquialisms to express a point. My communication was not veiled or masquerading in nicety. In fact it simply utilised a similar communicative style to Ci Celli Ddu's earlies communications, albeit in a more direct, upfront and straightforward manner.

I find the removal of it a gross misuse of administrative power. People who are trying to decide who is right (if that is what people try to do - for myself my interest lies in what is right, and who is of little concern), would find Ci Celli Ddu's thinly veiled insults as useless as my own straightforward reply.

I understand that Ci Celli Ddu feels insulted by my remarks. I too felt Ci Celli Ddu's inflammatory remarks needless and while I did not feel insulted, the intention of insult is again thinly if at all veiled.

I fear though that my remarks were removed not so much because of the content itself, but maybe because it was accurate.

My other problem with the removal is that an important section that was definitely not in any way inflammatory was removed. Why? This is completely unethical and unnecessary.

I request that the omitted text be reinserted into the post. Let people decide for themselves if it was any more inflammatory than Ci Celli Ddu's own remarks.

Either that or remove these sections from Ci Celli Ddu's post:

That indeed is what it apperared to be. But you have already elucidated further on the book, so it would seem to me that you are now in fact nit-picking.



Now you are being simply tedious. If anyone is trying to outdo anyone else here then it is evidently you, though this goes someway in explaining your reaction to what, as I have stated time and time again, was a simple tip (by the way, the "wink" icon is there to relay friendly intent). I suggest you read from my original post again, and observe who in fact is blowing things way out of proportion.



I disagree. You yourself have already admitted that it is in fact useful. You have already pointed out the difference between the appendix and the book, and that in fact is all that you needed to do here.



I suggest you relax, calm down and have a cup of tea. This forum is a friendly place of exchange, between real people, not a gladatorial arena for frustrated egos.

Who brought up the book in the first place?
You did.
So how -in replying to you- am I then attempting to misguide you as to the contents of a book that you are familiar with already?
I think you will find there is little substance to your analysis of my motives here.

You have elucidated further on the book, and well done, but your attempt to turn this into some form of cleverness contest does not do you any credit at all.

I will let it pass in this instance, and put it down to teething problems. As this conversation is no longer relevant to the subject of this thread, I will not pursue it any further.

In fact if my own small section of text could be considered inflammatory, then this whole post could be!!!!

Again I request that the omitted text be reinserted for the purposes of clarity, truth, and fairness.

The fact that it was removed is just silly!!!

[m1thr0s]

In fact if my own small section of text could be considered inflammatory, then this whole post could be!!!!

Again I request that the omitted text be reinserted for the purposes of clarity, truth, and fairness.

The fact that it was removed is just silly!!!
argument rejected. request denied.
you're on thin ice around here extinctionspasm.
return to topic or find somewhere else to post.

m1thr0s

[Ci Celli Ddu]

I'm finding A Depth Of Beginning (pdf) (http://satanicsingles.com/library/notes_on_Kaballah.pdf) by Colin Low quite instructive.