Conference hydra::dejavu

    

	
	Kabbala means to receive from master to disciple; also, "The Tradition".
The Kabbala is also known as "The Secret Doctrine of Israel" or the esoteric
doctrine, as opposed to their exoteric doctrine (mainly those teachings contain-
ed in the pentateuch or The Talmud).
	The two chief books of the Kabbala are the "Sepher Yetzirah" (book of
formation) atributed to Abraham the Patriarch ?B.C. and the "Zohar" (book of 
splendor) atributed to Rabbi Simeon Ben Jochai 70-160 A.D.
	The Sepher Yetzirah is a treatise on the creation, drawing a paralell 
between the origin of the world, the sun, the planets, the elements, seasons
and man, and the twenty two letters of the hebrew alphabet. The Zohar is a co-
llection of many separete treatises on the Deity, Angels, Souls, and Cosmogony.
	The core of Kabbalist philosophy resides on the application and deep
understanding of the Gematria, a system for reducing names to values (and vice-
versa) thus decoding the information believed to be implicit in them,(this of 
course, mainly applied to the Hebrew alphabet), and the concept of the Sephiroth
or emanations of God represented by the tree of life. Gematria offers a key to
unfolding the hidden messages encrypted in the Scriptures and other mystical 
writtings.
	
	The exact origin of the Kabbalah is unknown; but according to the tra-
dition " God teached the Kabbalah to the angels, who teached Adam and the chil-
dren of Adam so that they might find the way back once more to their source".
However, from a historical (still speculative) point of view, it looks like that
the captivity of the Jews in Babylon led to the formation of this philosophy by
the effect of Chaldean lore and dogma acting on Jewish tradition. In other words
"The Kabbalistic philosophy is then the Hermetic philosophy in its Babylonian
form, mystically expressed in one language by means of letters belonging to an
already archaic and dead one, in which some of the secrets of the past were 
still preserved for the private use of an initiated priesthood."
	Concepts from the Kabbala can be found in religio-mystico-phylosophical
orders such as The Golden Dawn, The Rosicrusians, H.P. Blavatsky Theosophical
Society, and Freemasonry. Particulary, the principles and concepts enbodied in
the Kabbalistic tree of life.


Summarized below are some of the Kabbalistic dogmas:
	
	- That the supreme incomprehensible One was no the direct Creator of the
	  World.
	- That all we perceive or know of is formed on the Sephirotic (emanata-
	  tive) type.
	- That human souls were pre-existent in an upper world before the origin
	  of this present world.
	- That human souls before incarnation dwell now in an upper Hall, where
	  the desicion is made as to what body each soul shall enter.
	- That every soul after earths lives must at lenght be so purified as to
	  be absorvebed into the Infinite.
	- That two lives are taught by many Rabbis, to be necessary for all to
	  pass; and that if failure result in the second life, a third life is
	  passed linked with a stronger soul who draws the sinner upward into
	  purity.
	- That when all the pre-existent souls have arrived at perfection, the
	  fallen angels are also raised, and all lives are merged into the Deity
	  by the Kiss of Love from the Mouth of Tetragrammaton (YHVH- the sacred
	  name of the One)- and the manifested Universe shall be no more.











			- "The Eagle bestows awareness through its emanations" -
								Don Juan.


- JSR -

    Re tieing it in to other traditions:
    
    Qabballah is used in some forms of ceremonial magic, by using some
    of the sephira as focal areas for certain magical forces.  Also,
    between the various sephira on the Tree of Life, there are liners,
    or pathways, that some have associated with the Major Arcana of
    the Tarot.
    
    A minority of Tarot readers use a Tree of Life pattern for their
    card layouts.  It's intertwined with enough traditions that there's
    now been an attempt to create a Pagan equivalent to the JudeoChristian
    version.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Ok, I have to byte, what is the pagan equivilent and who is creating
    it?
    

    There is a book out titled _The_Witches_Caballa_,
    The_Goddess_and_the_Tree, the author's name escapes me at the moment.
    The author applies the Tree of Life to the Goddess in the first book.
    Since the book I have says "volume 1", I assume that more volumes are
    planned.  I am eagerly awaiting them to come out. 
    
    This book also has a number of good rituals in it - I highly recommend
    it.
    
    Wicca and other Paganism has always borrowed from whomever was
    available - the Kaballah has been incorporated into it in various
    small ways for a long time.
    
    Elizabeth                  

    Re .5:
    
    You beat me to it, Elizabeth.  _The Witches' Caballa_, which I haven't
    read yet, is published by LLewellyn.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

	To the Qabalist, the Qabalah (also called the Tree of Life) is
	*the* universal language of creation.  The mystic tradition of
	the Qabalah is wound tightly with the origins of Hebrew tradition.
	The Sepher Yetzira, the Zohar, and Apocalypse are Qabalistic 
	works... and have much more meanings within them than words.
	There is a figurative meaning (like poetry) and an exact meaning
	(like a mathematical formula).

	We model the universe based on theories of mathematics.  Pythagoras
	said "nature geometrizes", and Jung went further and suggested that
	numbers pre-dated consciousness... numbers were discovered and not
	invented because they were always there.  According to Jung, numbers
	were probably the most primitive element of order within the human
	mind and are used by the subconscious as an ordering factor.

	A number is a symbol used to convey an idea.  Knowledge is present
	in the mind in abstract form, and numbers are a convenient abstraction.
	In the abstract mind there is no time and space... knowledge is
	absolute.

	An interesting study of the abstract is number theory.  In number
	theory we learn that numbers have certain characteristics and that
	no two numbers have exactly the same characteristics.  Numbers also
	form a language that man uses to communicate thoughts and ideas
	using numerical symbolism.

	From "Mystic Symbolism in Bible Numerals" Leo Stalnaker writes,

		"The importance of numerical symbolism to the ancients
		perhaps arose from the fact that the letters of the Hebrew
		language were originally numerals, and the entire Bible
		being composed of different groups or combinations of 
		Hebrew letters, it came to be the common belief that the
		true meaning or proper interpretation of difficult passages
		of Scripture could best be ascertained or reached only by
		resorting to the numerical values of the letters."

	The Qabalist searches for the true meaning of the passages by looking
	not only at the numerical relationships, but at the actual _essence_
	of the letters.  The Hebrew letters are supposed to represent the
	archetypal _ideas_ present in the universe.

	The Qabalist will take the time to decompose a passage into it's
	individual letters and look at the relationships between the intrinsic
	meaning of a letter (ex. Beth is the _essence_ of all containers)
	as well as the numerical correspondence between the letters and
	words.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As an example, let's take a look at the first passage in Genesis.

		"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth..."

	The transliteration of the Hebrew characters inter Roman letters
	would read:

		"Berashith Bera Elohim Ath Ha Shamaim Va Ath Ha Aretz"

	Berashith
		"In the beginning."  This word is made up of the letters
		Beth, Resh, Aleph, Shin, Yod, and Teth.  According to the
		gematria (letter code), this initial word would be interpreted
		as follows.  The 'spirit' of God brought into continuous
		expression the dual principle of life and death, the pulsation
		of existence, by containing and realizing it in an infinite
		array of cosmic manifestations.

	Bera
		"created."  This word is composed of the three letters Beth,
		Resh, and Aleph.  The intrinsic meaning is creation, but
		in a perpetual sense.

	Elohim
		"God."  This word is comprised of Aleph, Lamed, He, Yod,
		and Mem.  It symbolizes a process by which cosmic energy
		can be brought into realization.  (This word is rather 
		unique.  It contains a feminine root with a masculine
		plural suffix.  This makes Elohim a female potency united
		with a male principle... just something to ponder...)

	Ath
		"the."  Comprised of Aleph and Teth (numbers 1 and 9) the
		act of creation has been given.  The meaning is that the
		first nine archetypes of existence have come into being.

	Ha Shamaim Va Ath Ha Aretz
 		"heaven and the earth."  The cosmic energy is in gestation
		and creation is under way.  The act of manifestation is
		dual.  In the process of creating the physical universe,
		the cosmic principle brings itself into manifestation. 
		This cosmic principle is "heaven", and the phenomenal universe
		is "earth."

	From this we derive the real meaning from the book of Genesis.

		"The Spirit of God brought into continuous expression the
		dual principal of life and death by "containing" it in an
		infinite array of cosmic manifestations.  This creation
		is a perpetual process by means through which the Cosmic
		Principle is eternally brought into realization.  Through
		this initial manifestation the first nine archetypes of
		existence came into being.  The creation was dual, for in
		the process of creating the external universe, the Cosmic
		Principle brought Itself into manifestation."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

	This is a bit beyond "everyday" use of the Qabalah, but it also
	provides a structure into which we can "map" many mystical systems.
	The Tarot was one example, but Astrology is another.  We can also
	use the Qabalah to describe states of consciousness and psychological
	development.  (It's also good for training the memory... ;^))

	I'm afraid my response has "gotten away" from me.  If anyone would
	like sources of information regarding the Qabalah and it's history
	or usage, just send me VAXmail and I'll give you whatever information
	that I can.

						-- Mike

    I don't know if anyone is interested, but over here in England there
    is a Afro/Jazz band called Kabbala.  The main group members are
    from Ghana, Africa and are very much into Kabbalism, although myself
    as a future wife of one of the West Indian members am not too sure
    of their beliefs.  I know that they are part of a tribe with some
    very strange beliefs, and traditions and this affects their input
    into the music very strongly.
    
    If anyone is interested in their music, then they are based in Regent
    Square, Kings Cross, London.
    
    Believe me, they are excellent musicians!!
    

    RE: The Kabbala and Ceremonial Magick.
     I refer you to topic 129 (in dejavu) for discussion on this.
    
     I also refer you to check out the Llewellyn Press.  They publish
     books on various occult/new age - - etc. - - subjects.
    
     One particularly intense book - - I mean REALLY intense - - 
    
     is "The New Magus" by Donald Tyson.  Very Eye opening material.
    
    
    In this book he refers frequently to Kabbala...
    
    many blessings.
    jp
    
    

    I recently found something I consider a real gem in sorting out
    a lot of the historical and conceptual confusion regarding the main
    themes of Qabalistic mystical philosophy.  It is
    
    	The_Qabalistic_Tarot, by Robert Wang (who also contributed
    	the Golden_Dawn_Tarot, under Regardie's supervision).
    	This is basically a mystical textbook, published by Samuel Weiser, 
    	Inc., first in 1983.
    
    	The reason I like it is that it is very clear about separating
    	the various historical themes, such as making the distinction
    	between the Hebrew Qabalah (in its various meanings and
    	incarnations), and the mystical systems derived from it at various
    	points in history.  
    
    	The historical background is simply presented, and to me,
    	very well supported and believable.  The theme of most of the
    	book, after the history of Qabalah and modern Tarot is provided,
    	is to describe the way in which Hermetic Qabalism of the late
    	19th century integrated a number of different mystical
    	philosophies, and how they are all related to the Tarot in this
    	system.   I've read a number of fairly good works on the relation
    	between various symbols from the Tree of Life, the Qabalah, and the
    	Tarot, but this one was to me the most readable, believable,
    	comprehensive, and practical I've come across so far.
    	
    	I'd be interested in hearing anyone else's opinions on this
    	work, or similar ones, if anyone's interested ...
    
    		kind regards,
    
    		todd

        re .9
    
    
                   Todd,
                       Thanks for the reference and review. Although I
    don't, yet, have a copy I will make an effort to order one. Until then
    any information that you'd care to enter would be great. I've read 
    several books on tarot, on qabala, on tarot and qabala, but can't 
    seem to grasp the concept and all that it implies- maybe I'm just
    too dim. For instance each sephira (sp?) has associated with it 
    many physical things; and each pip card is associated with a sephira.
    fine so far- I got it. When I deal a tarot spread, though, I have 
    trouble making the application of sephira(and its aspects) to the card,
    relative to the spread. Y' know wut I mean?
    
    
                                   Later,
                                    Mark
    
    

	Note 441.10 
    	DNEAST::BERLINGER_MA 
    
    	Hi Mark, 
    
>    several books on tarot, on qabala, on tarot and qabala, but can't 
>    seem to grasp the concept and all that it implies- 
    
    	I'm not an authority on this, and from what I've seen from many of
    	the experienced people in this conference, I may be one of the
    	*least* knowledgeable in some ways, but I'd love to talk about it.
    	
    	I think part of the problem of it being difficult to grasp is that 
    	this all falls in to the literary category of mysticism, which makes 
    	it dependent upon sources which at some point are oral tradition, and 
    	usually a number of parallel oral traditions that interact with
    	each other and influence each other.  To drop just a few of the
    	strains that have elements in common and potentially relate to the 
    	modern study tarot (for example) in some ways :  Alchemy, Hermeticism, 
    	Jewish Qabalah, Christian Qabalah, Hermetic Qabalah, Paganism, 
    	Neo-Paganism, Platonism, Neo-Platonism.  The thing that 
    	fascinates me about it is that in spite of the questionable nature of 
    	the various sources, there is still enough in parallel that there is 
    	reason (to me) to believe in underlying universal principles,
    	especially for the tree of life glyph and the 22 paths of the
    	tarot.   I'll discuss the technical stuff with you in a separate
    	note.
    
    	Nearly all Renaissance and later 'occult' writings may
    	have misrepresented their basis and source (claiming writers and
    	cults of great antiquity) as a seemingly [standard practice] to gain 
    	respectability for their writings.   The Renaissance (and 19th
    	century) Europeans certainly appear to have been in love with antiquity,
    	and the more ancient the source claimed, the more it was valued.  
    
    	Wang doesn't go into the literary debates about it except for 
    	pointing to the more scholarly sources, but he points out some of the 
    	likely misrespresentations, and they include virtually all of what
    	formed the basis for the current popular knowledge of 
    	Tarot and related studies.  He also points out, and I agree,
    	that this actually supports the inherent *value* of the various studies,
    	independent of their source, rather than discrediting them because
    	they misrepresent the source for various reasons.   
    
    		todd

    
    re: .11 (Todd)
    
    ...and the tree of life glyph is even more universal than just the
    traditions you mentioned.  It is certainly an archetype found all
    over the world in cultures that had no way of contacting each other.
    
    But you probably knew that....
    
    guy

    re: .10,
    
    >	For instance each sephira (sp?) has associated with it 
>    many physical things; and each pip card is associated with a sephira.
>    fine so far- I got it. When I deal a tarot spread, though, I have 
>    trouble making the application of sephira(and its aspects) to the card,
>    relative to the spread. Y' know wut I mean?
    
    	Yep.  I do know.  And what I present here probably won't be of much
    help to you at first.  It's not a simple system, but I have found it very 
    rewarding so far.  My study of it has been a great help in understanding
    people and things that happen around me.  It is a much more
    insightful and rich system than most of exoteric psychology, even
    though it is based purely on subjective information and introspection,
    and of course has a lot of bad press associated with the misuse
    of various aspects.
    
    	_Wang_ is as close to a usable decryption key and
        reference guide for the whole thing as I've found so far.  
    	It doesn't cover the actual reading of cards, as that is 
    	covered in many other works and of course a matter of personal
    	study.   It also doesn't cover a specific course of study, which
    	is also provided in other works, and of course many people prefer
    	a personal mentor.
    
    	Regardie's Tree_of_Life and The_Golden_Dawn for example are also good 
    	for independent study, but aren't easy to use as reference guides, as I
    	believe is _Wang_.
    
    	I seem to remember that Steve Kallis, Jr. is very experienced in this 
    	sort of tarot study, but I'll add my input, and that from _Wang_.
    	I hope it doesn't duplicate stuff in the tarot note
    	too badly, I can't remember everything in there.  The following 
    	correspondences and analysis are my interpretations of Wang's writings, 
    	and they agree with what I've discovered and what I've read elsewhere 
    	...
    
    	(Qabalah and Tarot - technical overview and interpretations)
    
    	Wang (and other writers, such as Regardie) insist that what is now
    	studied as the (hermetic) Qabalah is in fact a scientifically very 
    	precise and practical system of self-realization, completely 
    	verifiable (as far as internal consistency and psychological 
    	value) in spite of the confusion surrounding its history and
    	details.  Also in spite of the apparent complexity of the 
    	correspondences, and the bad press associating the study with
    	psychic dabbling or even more negative things.  Regardie,
    	in fact, (himself a therapist) argued for many years that the system 
    	would be invaluable as an adjunct to modern psychotherapy.
    
    	The modern qabalah is first a philosophy of emmanation, describing how
    	(metaphorically), things come into being, from their (divine)
    	source above Kether, to their physical reality in Malkuth.  The
    	beauty of the symbol of the tree is that it is a very versatile
    	metaphor, describing psychological motivational forces and
    	physical ones with equal facility.  In terms of the science of General 
    	Semantics, the qabalah is an *adequate* and *useful* map of many 
    	territories.  
    
    	As far as correspondences :
    
    	As you know, each of the 10 numbered sephiroth relates to the 4 minor 
    	arcana pip cards of the same number.  The court cards relate to the 
    	entire tree, but particularly Kings to Chokmah, Queens to Binah,
    	Knights to Tiphareth, and Princesses to Malkuth.   
    
    	There are also important elemental correlations.  
    
    	Earth quality is associated with pentacles,
    	Water quality with cups, Air quality with swords, and Fire quality
    	with wands.  Each of these qualities is also associated with one
    	of the letters in the Tetragammaton, the Qabalic holiest name for
    	God : YHVH (or IHVH).  Y = Fire, H-1 = Water, V = Air, H-2 = Earth.
    
    	The meaning of these is the cycle of creation and action : 
    		(1) some fundamental impulse occurs to act (Fire) wands
    		(2) the impulse acts through some passive medium (Water)
    			cups
    		(3) this generates some result (Air) Swords
    		(4) there is a returning pulse of final outcome (Earth)
    			pentacles
    
    		The first two are like Yang and Yin, the duality observed in 
    		all forces in nature.  The third is like Tao, the balance
    		and transcendence of dualities in nature.  The qabalists
    		refer to "the middle pillar" as the path between the
    		extremes.  The fourth is important in practical
    		considerations mainly, because it represents the
    		observation that all actions generate reprecussions that
    		return in cycles, like sinusoidal standing waves.
    
    		Another good reference for the above interpretation of
    		the Tetragrammaton is Donald Tyson's The_New_Magus,
    		a modern study of magical symbols and correspondences.
    
    	I won't go into detail the astrological correlations, as they get very
    	complex, and may not mean much to you if you are already struggling
    	with the elemental concepts, to which the astrological ones are
    	also related.   (It's all related, that's the mathematical beauty
    	of the hermetic qabalah, and the genius of those who developed it).
    
    	Here's a quick synopsis :
    
    House 1 ---> Aries
    	2,3,4 of wands
    House 2 ---> Taurus
    	5,6,7 of pentacles
    House 3 ---> Gemini	
    	8,9,10 of swords
    House 4 ---> Cancer
    	2,3,4 of cups
    House 5 ---> Leo
    	5,6,7 of wands	
    House 6 ---> Virgo
    	8,9,10 of pentacles
    House 7 ---> Libra
    	2,3,4 of swords
    House 8 ---> Scorpio
    	5,6,7 of cups
    House 9 ---> Sagittarius
    	8,9,10 of wands
    House 10 ---> Capricorn
    	2,3,4 of pentacles
    House 11 ---> Aquarius
    	5,6,7 of swords
    House 12 ---> Pisces
    	8,9,10 of cups
    
    	Each of the 22 *paths* between the sephira correspond to one
    	of the major arcana cards.  
    
    	The tarot, according to Wang, is a teaching device intended to
    	assist in the subjective journey of consciousness from one
    	'objective' center of energy to another.   The paths are thus
    	less important than the sephira in qabalic study, but they
    	are of prime importance to the tarot, which is all about
    	the journey, not the destinations or way-stations.   The idea
    	is that by seeing the glyph of the tree and the tarot as a map,
    	you can faciliate and accelerate the normally unconscious and
    	natural process of gaining experience into all aspects of 
    	subjective reality.
    
    	Also, since the paths represent transitions, like the I Ching
    	(Chinese Book of Changes) they are correlated to the *forces* which 
    	bring about events, and this is the basis of the idea that tarot can 
    	be used for divination (and of course the unfortunate association with 
    	fortune telling).   
    
    	Wang emphasizes the importance of the way tarot and (hermetic) qabalah 
    	are integrated and are best studied together.  He also mentions 
    	about how well the Egyptian or Egyptian-based symbolism of
    	the Hermetics integrates well with this study.
    
    	Real understanding of the traditional correspondences requires some 
    	language challenges, applying the Hebrew alphabet and Divine
    	Names from the Jewish Qabalah to the sephira and tarot.   The
    	Egyptian/Greek influence of the Hermetics is another facet,
    	but I've probably already provided more than enough to show
    	the depth of this type of study.
    
    	I hope I haven't provided so much as to induce otherwise interested
    	people to bore themselves to sleep by reading it.  :-)
    
    		todd

>    ...and the tree of life glyph is even more universal than just the
>    traditions you mentioned.  It is certainly an archetype found all
>    over the world in cultures that had no way of contacting each other.
    
    	Guy,
    		Yes, the reason for my interest in the study is exactly that.
    
    	Where else have *you* found it to appear ?
    
    		todd

      re.13
    
    
                 Todd,
                     Bored? Hardly. Thanks for entering note .13. If it is
    ok with you I'd like to print it and mull it over this evening (lunch
    break is almost done). I went to my local book store last night hopeing 
    to find the Robert Wang book. No luck. I'll have to order it.
    
                  I don't know if it is related or not, but in Africa there
    is a tree which the local name for it is "the tree of life". The common
    name is the Baobab (sp?) tree. It is the tree of life because it offers
    the four things needed for life- food, water, shelter, and somethin to 
    believe in. One of the things I found fascinating about the Baobab was
    that each limb has its own trunk. [ or is that the Banyan tree?] I'd
    better sign off now that I've confused myself. 
    
    
                          Later,
                           Mark
    
    

	More trees:  In Norse mythology, there is also a World Tree
	(Yggdrasil) uniting the various levels of existence.  And
	in return for being nailed to that tree, Othin (Odinn, Wotan)
	received the Runic alphabet, and the knowledge of how to use
	the Runes to perform divination and magic.  Oddly enough, one
	of the variants of the Runic alphabet has 22 letters...

	Two of the better books that I've seen on the Hebrew Kaballah
	are Aryeh Kaplan's  translation/comentaries of the Bahir and 
	the Sefer Yetzirah (from Samual Weiser pub's).  Both books 
	are kind of heavy going, but they shed a lot of light on the
	underlying notions of the Kaballah.  Some of the Golden Dawnies
	tend to play a little fast and loose with the Tree, particularly
	when they're trying to graft other systems onto it.

	~art

    re: .16, ~art
    
>	Some of the Golden Dawnies
>	tend to play a little fast and loose with the Tree, particularly
>	when they're trying to graft other systems onto it.
    
    	I agree.  That was why I liked approach in the Wang book, it was the 
    	first one I've seen that keeps the distinction between the Hebrew
    	Qabalah and the later variations, such as the Hermetic Qabalah
    	of the Golden Dawn.  
    
    	If someone is really into the Hebrew version,
    	Gershon Scholem and Loren Franck also wrote some fairly
        authoritative analyses.  I found Scholem even harder going
    	than Kaplan, and it would gravely disappoint anyone interested
    	in enhancing their knowledge of later mysticism in general, since those
    	influences are specifically and purposely stripped out, to 
    	emphasize the relation or lack thereof of Zohar and Sephir Yetzirah
    	in Jewish tradition of various periods.
    
    	Apparently , 'Qabalah' originally was used simply to refer to
    	The Law (the Torah/Pentateuch [Jewish Bible] and oral traditions
    	of interpretation.
    
    		thanx,
    
    		todd

    Referring to the 19th century European embellishments on the
    Qaballah, (Presumably such as the Golden Dawnies), Gershom Scholem
    says :
    
    	"... the activities of French and English occultists contributed
    	nothing and only served to create considerable confusion between
    	the teachings of the Kabbalah and their own toally unrelated
    	inventions, such as the alleged kabbalistic origins of
    	Tarot-cards."
    
    	Interestingly, that quote comes from the beginning of
    	Wang's Qabalistic Tarot, and serves as part of his support
    	for the value of the Hermetic Qabalah, independent of its
    	origins in the Hebrew Qabalah.   My feeling is that this being
    	the case, we should call it something else, but the term
    	is already so widespread that it would probably just confuse
    	the issue even more.
    
    		todd

    
    re: .14 (Todd)
    
    Well I thought of it mostly because I just happened to read a paper
    last night that was written by my brother's English teacher on the
    subject of C.G.Jung and a couple of his ideas.  The paper brought
    in two examples of widespread archetypes: the unicorn, and the tree.
    The author went into some interesting details about the unicorn, but
    next to nothing about the tree.
    
    I think a good source would be Jung's _Alchemical Studies_.  There
    is a section there with various works of art done by his patients
    based on dreams or significant experiences and then his commentary
    on each one follows.  
    
    So there is the obvious fact that many people are probably having
    trees showing up as symbols in their dreams - and since the tree
    really does seem to embody a certain principle rather well, it 
    most likely pops up all over the world.
    
    Not having read all of _Alchemical Studies_ I'm not sure what cultures
    (in addition to the stuff you mentioned) have profuse amounts of
    tree symbology in their traditions.
    
    I'll have a look tonight.
    
    guy

    re: .19, Guy,
    
    	Oh, ok.  I thought you meant that specifically the tree structure of 
    	10 nodes and 22 paths appeared in other places in parallel without 
    	known contact.  *That* would be remarkable.
    
    	todd

    
    yes, that would be somethin'......:-)
    
    guy

    Well, I know it's not really to do with
    the base note but...

    I completely agree that you should study
    Tarot from all possible angles. Including
    intellectual/rational ones (eg. there're 22 of
    these so probably they relate to 22 of
    those etc) as well as less 'rational'
    approaches (eg. path-working with a card).

    But don't forget to allow your intuition
    in when using them. After all, how
    can Tarot work *rationally*? And in any case
    most decks these days are stuffed full of
    symbols which are meant to talk to you directly -
    not through the conversation of your
    intellect.

    My current hypothesis about Tarot is that
    it is a method for externalising knowledge
    which is not normally conciously available.
    You project this knowledge outward and then
    you can 'read' it in the cards. You can
    make it concious to yourself. In just
    the same way as reading entrails or tea-leaves
    might be presumed to work.
    
    Of course this has not a lot to do with
    xaballa which may or may not be a map of
    conciousness and possible transformations.

    re: .22,
    	Those are excellent points, John.  I've been wrestling with
    	that aspect for a while, so I'd like to add my bits, too.  
    	I've come up with a two perspectives
    	that I can share.  I suspect that the true mechanism of mystical 
    	qabalah is some combination of both, plus something else I don't 
    	know about yet...
    
    	1.  The use of the intellectual aspects of mysticism is purely
    		to occupy or distract the conscious ego so as to allow the 
    		intuitive or higher functions to do their thing. 
    		Comparable to popular theories of how Zen Koan work
    		to short-circuit the rational and pull resources from the
    		non-rational.   
    
    	2.  The use of the intellectual aspects of mysticism is part of
    		a process of consciously correlating symbols together
    		in order to help the subconscious to use certain
    		symbols together in our intuitive insights, so we
    		will understand them better. 
    		Certain symbols are believed to be linked to 
    		archetypes within the unconscious, and theoretically
    		chaining symbols together in a conscious learning process
    		helps us gain insights into the unconscious processes
    		by interpreting how the symbols appear in moments of
    		intuitive insight.  Sort of like building a map of
    		the unconscious (based on the hypothesized universal
    		archetypes), so that when we get an insight we understand
    		it better.   I got this approach from W.E. Butler's books
    		on Magical training, which I had strong positive
    		reactions to when I read them.
    
    		I find value in this second approach, but I certainly
    		understand why some people find the intellectual study
    		of mysticism and tarot untenable.
    
    		todd

re: .22 & .23

	Regarding the rational/non-rational approaches.

	One of the points that comes from the study of
	the Sefer Yetzirah is that it takes *both* kinds
	of consciousness -- the rational (associated with
	the sefirah, Binal) and the non-rational (associated
	with Chokmah) to experience mystical realities fully. 

	At first, the non-rational states tend to come in 
	flashes and are difficult to maintain for any length 
	time.  Through a kind of alternation between rational
	and non-rational states, one gradually develops the
	skill of entering/maintaining these alternate states
	voluntarily.

    Todd,
    
    I realized last night that I loaned the book....oops...:-)
    
    guy

    
    I have a deck called "The Creative Whack Pack" by Roger von Oech...
    
    Cindy

    Re: .23, Toddy

    Yes, you're classification is a good one.
    (Always bearing in mind your 'something else I don't 
    	know about yet...' :-))

    But, especially for people like me, there is
    a big trap where the concious ego plays with the
    subject intellectually. And nothing further develops.
    And, intellectually speaking, I don't see how
    one can get out of that trap!
    
    In fact that's how my interest in Tarot really started - as
    an antidote to my job (software) and a foil to my endless
    intellectualising. But that's another story.

John D.

Cindy .26,

I have that deck too.  I've used it as the coach of my daughter's 
Odyssey of the Mind team to spark their creativity for their spontaneous
problem.

Ro

Note 441.24               
WBC::BAKER 
    
>	At first, the non-rational states tend to come in 
>	flashes and are difficult to maintain for any length 
>	time.  Through a kind of alternation between rational
>	and non-rational states, one gradually develops the
>	skill of entering/maintaining these alternate states
>	voluntarily.
    
    Yes... I tried to explain this to someone the other day but ...
    
    mary

Note 441.29 
HKFINN::STANLEY 

>    Yes... I tried to explain this to someone the other day but ...
    
	but ... ?

	... but a house fell on you ?   ;-}

    :-)

    On the USENET, in ALT.MAGICK, Colin Low has been entering some
    fascinating posts on the Kabbalah; a multi-part series introducing the 
    Tree of Life and the background of Kabbalistic thought.
    
    The following cross-post is not a rigorous historical account,
    but is a concise summary of some of the influences of Kabbalistic
    mysticism so might be of interest here...
    
    			kind regards,
    
    				todd
    
    
Article: 413
Path: pa.dec.com!decwrl!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!otter.hpl.hp.com!otter!cal
From: [email protected] (Colin Low)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: Pointers to info on Qaballah
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 4 Sep 91 20:33:00 GMT
References: <[email protected]>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol, UK.
Lines: 126
 
Scott J Brickner writes:
 
>I'm interested in reading some stuff about "Qaballah" (or however you
>spell it).
>Could someone please post a brief description of what it is and where I
>can find out more about it?
 
 
As no-one has responded I'll have a go. This is off the top of my head, so
the spelling of some proper names is subject to the laws of chance.
 
First of all the name: the two most common spellings are Kabbalah and
Qabalah. All the Jewish authors in my bookcase use the first spelling. The
word means "tradition". 
 
The core of the tradition is the attempt to penetrate the inner meaning
of the Bible, which is taken to be the literal (but heavily veiled) word
of God. Because the Word is veiled, special techniques were developed
to elucidate the true meaning....
 
The earliest documents (~400 - 700 A.D.) associated with Kabbalah 
describe the attempts of the "Merkabah" mystics to penetrate the seven 
halls (Hekaloth) of creation and reach the Merkabah (throne-chariot) of God. 
These mystics used the usual
methods of shamanism (fasting, repetitious chanting, prayer, posture)
to induce trance states in which they literally fought their way
past all the seals and guards to reach an ecstatic state in which they
"saw God". The parallels between Merkabah mystics and computer crackers
are interesting. An early and highly influential document (Sepher Yetzirah)
appears to have originated at about this time.
 
By the early middle ages further, more theosophical developments had taken
place, chiefly a description of "processes" within God, and a highly
esoteric view of creation as a process in which God manifests in a series
of emanations. This doctrine of the "sephiroth" can be found in a rudimentary
form in the "Yetzirah", but by the time of the publication of the book
"Bahir" (12th. century? - can't remember) it had reached a form not
too different from the form it takes today. One of the scariest characters
from this period was Abraham Abulafia, who believed that God cannot be
described or conceptualised using everyday symbols, and used the Hebrew
alphabet in intense meditations lasting many hours to reach ecstatic states.
Because abstract letter combinations were used as keys or entry points
to altered states of consciousness, failure to carry through the manipulations
correctly could have drastic effects on the Kabbalist. In "Major Trends
in Jewish Mysticism" Scholem includes a long extract of one such experiment
made by one of Abulafia's students - it has a deep ring of truth about it.
 
Probably the most influential Kabbalistic document, the "Sepher ha Zohar", was
published by one Moses de Leon, a Spanish Jew, in the latter half of the
thirteenth century. The "Zohar" is a series of separate documents covering
a wide range of subjects, from a verse-by-verse esoteric commentary on the
Pentateuch, to highly theosophical descriptions of processes within
God. The "Zohar" has been widely read and highly influential within
mainstream Judaism.
 
A later development in Kabbalah was the Safed school of mystics headed by
Moses Cordovero and Isaac Luria. Luria was a highly charismatic leader 
who exercised almost total control over the life of the school, and has passed
into history as something of a saint. Emphasis was placed on living in the world
and bringing the consciousness of God through *into* the world in a practical
way. Practices were largely devotional.
 
Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Judaism as a whole
was heavily influenced by Kabbalah, but by the beginning of this
century a Jewish writer was able to dismiss it as an historical curiousity.
Jewish friends of mine have known nothing about it other than to leave
it well alone! Jewish Kabbalah has vast literature which is almost entirely 
untranslated into English.
 
A development which took place almost synchronously with Jewish Kabbalah
was its adoption by many Christian mystics, magicians and philosphers.
Renaissance philosophers such as Pico della Mirandola were familiar with
Kabbalah and mixed it with gnosticism, pythagoreanism, neo-platonism
and hermeticism to form a snowball which has continued to pick up traditions
as it rolled down the centuries. It is probably accurate to say that 
from the Renaissance on, virtually all European occult philosophers 
and magicians of note had a working knowledge of Kabbalah.
 
It is not clear how Kabbalah was involved in the propagation of ritual
magical techniques, or whether it was involved, or whether the ritual
techniques were preserved in parallel within Judaism, but it is an
undeniable fact that the most influential documents appear to have
a Jewish origin. The most important medieval magical text
is the "Key of Solomon", and it contains all the elements of classic
ritual magic - names of power, the magic circle, ritual implements,
consecration, evocation of spirits etc. No-one knows how old it is, but
there is a reasonable suspicion that its contents preserve techniques
which might well date back to Solomon.
 
The combination of non-Jewish Kabbalah and ritual magic has been kept
alive outside Judaism until the present day, although it has been
heavily adulterated at times by hermeticism, gnosticism, neo-platonism,
pythagoreanism, rosicrucianism, christianity, tantra and so on. The most
important "modern" influences are the French magician Eliphas Levi, and
the English "Order of the Golden Dawn". At least two members of the
G.D (S.L. Mathers and A.E. Waite) were knowledgable Kabbalists, and
three G. D. members have popularised Kabbalah - Aleister Crowley,
Israel Regardie, and Dion Fortune. Dion Fortune's "Inner Light" has
also produced a number of authors: Gareth Knight, William Butler, and
William Gray.
 
An unfortunate side effect of the G.D is that while Kabbalah was an 
important part of its "Knowledge Lectures", surviving G.D. rituals
are a syncretist hodge-podge of symbolism in which Kabbalah plays
a minor or nominal role, and this has led to Kabbalah being seen
by many modern occultists as more of a theoretical and intellectual
discipline, rather than a potent and self-contained mystical and magical
system in its own right.
 
Some of the originators of modern witchcraft drew heavily on medieval
ritual and Kabbalah for inspiration, and it is not unusual to find
witches teaching some form of Kabbalah, although it is generally
even less well integrated into practical technique than in the case of
the G.D.
 
 
Well, that's the potted history of Kabbalah, and it may not answer
the thorny question "what is Kabbalah", but it is a start.
 
As a general reference I quite like Charles Ponce's book "Kabbalah".
I believe it has been reprinted recently. I hesitate to recommend
my own Notes on Kabbalah, which are available from me via e-mail, 
but I clearly wouldn't have written them had I not thought them useful.
 
Cheers,
Colin
    

    (I'm using the shorthand QBLH to refer to Kabbalah throughout this.)
    
    Some books I've read recently on the subject are:
    
    "Path of the Kabbalah" by David Scheinkin.  Very good introduction to
    the Jewish Mystical QBLH.  He was a friend and student of Aryeh Kaplan,
    who has a welath of material out on the subject.  Extremely readable
    book with some good meditative exercises.
    
    "The Kabbalah" by Adolphe Franck (1848).  Old academic book on the
    subject.  It was the first one I read so provided me with a lot of
    academic background on the subject, but there is a lot that is not here
    as well.
    
    "The Garden of Pomegranates" by Israel Regardie.  By one of the
    luminaries of the Golden Dawn.  Takes a very syncretic/eclectic
    approach but is pretty good so far.  Ties in Tarot, and various myth
    cycles.
    
    "Sefer Yetzirah"  translated and commentary by Aryeh Kaplan.  Just
    started this one.  It's a translation of one of the source books of
    QBLH - "The Book of Foundation".  A mother lode of information.  I've
    heard it criticized for being long on information and short on insight.
    I'm still early into it.  The focus here is Jewish mysticism.
    
    Yet to come:  "Kabbalah" by Charles Ponce, and "Growing the Tree
    Within" by William Gray.
    
    - Dave