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| Home > Article Library > Magick > New Aeon > Chapter 3 | Search |
| New Aeon Magick Chapter 3 by Garald Campo |
THE QABALAH
"Nothing is the secret of this law. Sixty one the Jews call it;
I call it eight, eighty, four hundred & eighteen."
LIBER AL I.46
***
The most crucial book to the study of the Qabalah is called: The
Zohar. While this manuscript was not penned until the late 13th
century by Moses de Leon, it is the most significant treatise
connecting Gnosticism with other ancient mystical systems.
It is hard to pin point the exact date of the creation or the
origin of the Qabalah; however, the earliest Qabalistic
manuscript in our custody is called the "SEPHER YETZIRAH",
otherwise known as the "BOOK OF FORMATION". This text is thought
to have been compiled from much older manuscripts around 120
A.D., by a man called Rabbi Akiba.
The Qabalah is unique to Hebraic thought. Traditionally, it is
thought that the teachings were brought out of Egypt by the
Israelis. During the Babylonian captivity the Israelis borrowed
from the Chaldeans the use of the "FLAME ALPHABET," and the use
of numerology we call "Gematria".
It is worth mentioning here that the legend of the Biblical hero
named "Moses" was raised as an Egyptian, and was taught the
mysteries of that race of people. Later he was versed in Hebrew
Mysticism by his own clan. Perhaps it was the combination of
both of those systems which enabled him to become such a powerful
figure in history.
According to popular thought, the Qabalah was first disclosed to
the Angels by God Himself. When man was taken out of Eden, God
allowed the Archangel Ratziel (the Archangel of Wisdom) to
divulge its secrets to the human race as a means for the human
race to find its way back to a Paradise lost.
Again, the Qabalah is unique to Hebraic thought, and as you will
notice, it uses a lot of the language and symbolism. However,
we will not limit its use by dwelling too much on the
dogmatic aspects of this ancient system.
The reason for ignoring dogma is quite simple; the Hebraic faith
has used this glyph for quite sometime, and the impressions from
the thousands who have meditated on the symbols are there for us
to access. During the centuries, especially the MEDIEVAL era,
the Qabalah was widely dispersed throughout Europe. Magicians,
and their apprentices of every school of thought have meditated
upon its symbols; adding to it the archetypes unique to their
system. For this reason the Qabalah is richer in metaphysical
Wisdom than ever.
The Qabalistic glyph we call the "Tree of Life" is frequently
mentioned in The Old Testament. This tree contains 10 fruits
called "the Sephiroth", these have been referred to as "the ten
faces of God"; and since humans were created in the image of God
the Tree of Life is metaphorical the body of man.
These ten "emanations" are symbols which illustrate the vigor and
power of the creative energy inherent in Kether, The Crown,
moving as swiftly as a lighting flash, changing with every step
through ten varying phases which come to completion at the tenth
sphere of Malkuth, the Kingdom. It attempts to describe the
creation of the Universe, and those who have studied science will
have to admit that as primitive as it may be, it serves as a
basic symbol illustrating the "big bang" theory. These spheres
are connected by 22 Paths. The Paths correspond to the Tarot's
Major Arcana.
In a way, the Sephiroth attempt to describe certain traits of The
Most High, or the Universe...or both. They are here listed in
order from the Beginning to the End:
1. KETHER, The Crown. The whole of Creation concentrated to a
minuscule dot.
2. CHOKMAH, Wisdom.
3. BINAH, Understanding.
4. CHESED, Mercy.
5. GEBURAH, Power.
6. TIPHARETH, Beauty.
7. NETZACH, Victory.
8. HOD, Splendor.
9. YESOD, Foundation.
10. MALKUTH, The Kingdom.
The manifestation of the "Infinite Light" is illustrated by the
union of Kether, Chokmah, and Binah. This merge composes the
"Supernal Triad", which is referred to as God in Genesis.
The remaining seven Sephiroth represent the Seven Days of
Creation also spoken about in the Old Testament.
It is quite evident that Moses used the Hebrew Qabalah in three
out of the four books he wrote. The reason for its absence in
the fourth book is unknown.
In Magick the Qabalah is used as a "filing system" where one can
synthesize any phenomena what-so-ever, no matter how abstract,
and break it down into terms which can be understood by the
logical mind.
Another use for this system is that it enables us to tap into the
"forces & currents" symbolized by the particular symbol we are
working with. The Magician looks up the correspondences to the
Sephiroth, and use the information to invoke that particular
current.
The use of Qabalistic correspondences is a science which has been
composed on the premise that there is an existing impulsive
relation between planets, metals, stones, animals, flora, colors,
and aroma. The implements, tools, incense and colors that the
Magician uses will thus be in some way connected with the
Sephiroth which best conveys his Will. This will be explained in
more detail later.
Since the Alchemist perceived illness to be caused by a planetary
imbalance, this system was also used widely in Alchemy in finding
cures for the ill. The cures were created according to the
planet which was responsible for the imbalance and using the
herbs and potions attributed to the Sephiroth(s) representing the
opposite planet on the Tree of Life; thus, finding balance.
While the Qabalah is not essential to Magick, it will help you to
understand associated phenomena. It is a system of
correspondences which enables us to encounter the Macrocosm by
close scrutiny of the Microcosm; "As above, so below".
***
GEMATRIA
"Divide, add, multiply, and understand."
LIBER AL I.25
***
Although Gematria is congruent to the Qabalah, I think it should
be treated as a separate issue in order to better explain the
practical aspects of this wonderful system.
The ancient Jew did not use numerical symbols. Instead they
attributed numerical values to their already existing "Sacred
Alphabet."
Unfortunately this system is perceived by the vulgar only as
another form of numerology, thereby disregarding the complexity,
beauty, and brilliance of such profound thought.
The theory here is that any words that enumerate to the same
value have something in common. Perfect examples of this are
found all throughout the Holy Scriptures in statements such as:
"God is Love", or "Love is Unity". The idea behind Gematria is
that words can be replaced with other words of the same numerical
value; thus revealing certain hidden mysteries. One is not
limited to the Hebrew language, this method of Qabalistic
analysis can be used on just about any Holy Book so long as one
becomes familiar with the numerical value of the language it was
written in.
The importance of the use of Gematria cannot be over stressed.
Especially when attempting to unravel the Mysteries of The Bible.
I question anybody who claims to understand the full meaning of
this Holy Book unless they have an understanding of Qabalah &
Gematria. Here is why:
1) The book was written in Hebrew, and some of the works show
the use of the Qabalah.
2) The English interpretation (or any other but Hebrew for that
matter) lacks the numerical symbolism of the words written
therein. They are lost in the translation, therefore, the inner
meaning of the Scriptures cannot be understood by anyone not
possessing knowledge of the system.
One would make great error in assuming that this form of analysis
does not apply to The New Testament because it was written in
Greek. There is also Greek Gematria, and there is evidence that
it was used in the New Testament also. Here's an example from
"Revelation"; it deals with the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.
" And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had
a bow; and a crown was given on to him: and he went forth
conquering, and to conquer."
This particular passage deals with 3 crucial clues: The color
white, the bow, and the crown. The color white is the color of
Light, representing purity, cleanliness. The bow is a symbol of
"Sagittarius the Archer", of one who's arrows are pointed
at spiritual targets, it represents the longing to attain
to spiritual heights. "Crown" is KETHER in Hebrew, the first,
white Sephiroth on the Tree of Life.
So, as you can see: the Scriptures take on a completely different
meaning when you understand the methods in which they were
written.
It is not necessary to become fluent in Hebrew, Latin, or Greek,
but it wouldn't hurt if one were at least familiar with the
Qabalistic correspondences of the letters of these ancient
languages.
You will notice that each one of the Sephiroth deals with a
Hebraic name and the paths with a Hebrew letter. To reap the
fruit from this Tree you will have to labor to master its
language. There are only a few correspondences to remember, I
have listed them for you elsewhere in this book to facilitate
reference.
I have only demonstrated here 1 form of analysis, there are many
others that for lack of space I have left out. You will soon
learn how to develop your own methods of analysis.
