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New Worlds October/November/December 2011 (Holiday Gift Guide) Issue

Download the PDF File version of the latest issue of Llewellyn's New Worlds Catalog

Home > Encyclopedia > Term: cabala

Term: cabala

DEFINITIONS

Qabalah:

"Qabalah" is a Hebrew word that means "tradition.� It is derived from the root word "Qibel," meaning, "to receive." This refers to the ancient custom of handing down the esoteric knowledge by oral transmission. What the word Qabalah encompasses is an entire body of ancient Hebrew mystical principles that are the cornerstone and focus of the Western Esoteric Tradition. Virtually all Western spiritual systems can trace their roots to the Qabalistic Tree of Life. The exact origins of the Qabalah are unclear, but it certainly contains some vestiges of Egyptian, Greek, and Chaldean influence.

By its nature, mysticism is knowledge that cannot be communicated directly, but may be expressed only through symbolism and metaphor. Like other esoteric systems, Qabalah also draws upon the mystic's awareness of the transcendence of the Divine or the Eternal. Another element of Qabalah is that of theosophy, which seeks to reveal the hidden mysteries of the Divine as well as the relationship between the Divine Life on one hand, and the life of humans on the other. The goal of the Qabalist is to discover and invent keys to the understanding of arcane symbols that reflect the eternal mysteries.

source: The Truth about the Golden Dawn, Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero

Cabala: Cabala...is a system of mysticism with its origins in Judaism, stemming in part from the "chariot" visions of first-century mystics, in part from Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, in part from the theological speculations of medieval Spanish Jews, and in part from later thinkers. For many centuries, cabala was the accepted form of mysticism and theology within Judaism, but for the most part it has now fallen out of favor in religious contexts. Nevertheless, many rabbis and Jewish scholars still take an interest in it. As a philosophy and as a way of looking at God and the universe, it survives in yet wider quarters. Especially in the form developed by Christian enthusiasts in the Italian Renaissance and by 19th-century Christian and pagan occultists, cabalism retains vast importance as the key to mystical thinking outside of the mainstream and to the practice of ceremonial magic.
source: The Truth About Cabala, David Godwin

Kabbalah: A mystical system which forms the mystical underpinnings for the three major Western religions as well as for modern Ceremonial Magick. The word is transliterated Hebrew, and is spelled in English in various ways, including Qabala, Cabala, etc.
source: Modern Magick, by Donald Michael Kraig

Kabbalah:

Also spelled Qabalah, Cabala, Cabbala, and even Quabala, the Kabbalah is a complete system of knowledge about all the dimensions of the universe and of the human psyche organized into "the Tree of Life" diagram showing the inner construction and the connections between levels and forms of consciousness, energy, and matter. It provides a resource for understanding and applying the principles of Magick, for understanding the dynamics of the psyche, and for interpreting human history and action. The present-day Tarot specifically relates to the Tree of Life.

Suggested Reading:

Christopher: Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self-Transformation— A Complete Course

Dennis: Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism

Godwin: Godwin’s Cabalistic Encyclopedia—A Complete Guide to Cabalistic Magick

Gonzalez-Wippler: Kabbalah for the Modern World

Gonzalez-Wippler: Keys to the Kingdom—Jesus and the Mystic Kabbalah

Malachi: Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ—A Gnostic Christian Kabbalah

Regardie & Cicero: A Garden of Pomegranates—Skrying on the Tree of Life

Regardie & Cicero: The Middle Pillar—the Balance Between Mind & Magic

Stavish: Kabbalah for Health and Wellness

Trobe: Magic of Qabalah—Visions of the Tree of Life

Also See: Cabala, Qabalah, Qabala, Kabbalah

ARTICLES

Reincarnation

The belief that souls of the dead are reborn in other bodies, human or animal; also called transmigration. Far and away the most common teaching on the afterlife in Western occult traditions� The rise of Christianity, with its insistence on eternal ...

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Celtic Magic

The Druids and fil�dh were known for their divination and mysticism. These took manyforms, such as the learning and verse forms for composing blessings and curses,and the memorization of old hymns, chants and incantations. The basic song wascalled a ...

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Existentialism and Magick

"There is more to the affinity between magic and existentialism than the celebration of a common hero (Satan). The very picture of self-discovery which is painted for us in books on Hermetic Philosophy and the Cabalah can also be found in the ...

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Who Were the Druids?

To mention the word Druid is to evoke images of ancient wizards and wonder-workers from old Irish sagas, Welsh legends, Caesar�s Gallic Wars and Scottish folktales. If you have read about the Druids, you�ve probably retained one of their many images ...

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Zohar

(Hebrew, "Splendor") The most important of all Cabalistic books, the Zohar is more a collection than a single treatise, comprising a series of separate tractates that fills five volumes in the standard printed editions. It presents itself as the ...

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Neo-Druidism Since the 1700s

The last vestiges of the Fil�dhecht schools were stamped out in the 1600s as Elizabethan English conquered and destroyed most of Ireland�s remaining Gaelic culture. The "plantations" of Ulster, and the extension of the Pale beyond Leinster into ...

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When I first came up with the idea of writing the book Spells for Tough Times, I did so because I knew people out there needed help. They may need help with their finances, they may need help with their families, they may need help with their health; whatever the topic, there are people in this world in need, and it seems we often tend to forget... read this article

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