New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
What is a Jewish myth? For quite a number of people, that is a nonsensical question. Many have argued that there is no such thing as Jewish myths; being monotheistic, Judaism is a mythless system of belief. You see this thinking, for example, in the title of Frank Moore Cross's book on ancient Israelite beliefs, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Saga. As far as Cross (and many others) are concerned, only polytheists have myths. Cross had to hunt around for another word to describe the "master stories" of the Hebrew Bible, and he chose "saga." Elliot Ginsburg writes, "Judaic scholars through the 1970s tended to define myth narrowly and negatively, linking it with so-called 'pagan' religions. They ...
When you discuss Kabbalah with someone one of three things usually happens: they ask if you are Jewish, mention Madonna, or their eyes glaze over. It is also common for all three to occur. This is in large part due to the fact that for over a century, self-described kabbalists have been their own worst enemy when it comes to making the existence of kabbalah known outside of a small circle of esotericism, as well as demonstrating the day-to-day practicality of "the Tradition" to a broader audience. Using the Sepher Yetzirah, one of the oldest and most important kabbalistic manuscripts, Kabbalah for Health and Wellness shows how just a few symbolic associations and ideas (coupled with ...
An essay-review of Lyam Thomas Christopher's Kabbalah, Magic and The Great Work of Self Transformation by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke Advancing to higher levels of ritual magic with purpose and power requires an exaltation of consciousness—a spiritual transformation that becomes an antidote to the seeming banality of modern life. Based on Kabbalistic techniques, the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and a Hermetic tradition spanning nearly two thousand years, this innovative new work introduces the history of the Golden Dawn and its mythology, the Tree of Life, Deities, demons, rules for practicing magic, and components of effective ritual. It is essentially ...
The most important symbolic alphabet in Western magical tradition, the Hebrew alphabet entered occultism by way of the Cabala, a system of Jewish mystical thought and practice adopted by many non-Jewish magicians during and after the Renaissance. The Hebrew letters have a more extensive set of symbolic correspondences than any other alphabet used in Western magic. Much of the basic symbolism of the Hebrew alphabet can be found in the Sepher Yetzirah, a pre-Cabalistic book of Jewish mysticism which was taken up by Cabalists. From this source comes the relationship between the letters and the Cube of Space, a basic diagram of Cabalistic theory. The link between the Hebrew letters and the ...
