Crysti Couture

Today we delve into a most delectable subject, one that I can write passionately about for aeons. The subject of Western Qabalah is a difficult one to tackle and even more difficult to explain in a concise manner.

First things first is the issue of spelling the name. Qabalah can be spelled: Kaballah, Kabbalah, Kabalah, Kabala, Qaballah, Qabbalah, Qabalah, Qabala, Caballah, Cabbalah, Caballah Cabala etc.

I have gotten used to spelling Qabalah as “Kabbalah” with a “K” although this is something I am certainly trying to break out of habit from.

There IS a  difference between these two traditions, although both are obviously extremely similar.

{Kabbalah} is a very old system of mystical Jewish teachings separate from what we know as Judaism. The basis of Kabbalah is to understand the purpose of the human being, our role in the Universe and spiritual realization. This ‘traditional’ Kabbalah uses the following texts as it’s foundation:

• The Torah
• The Sepher Yetzirah
• The Zohar
• other rabbinical texts…

Kabbalah attempts to explain and understand God in a metaphysical nature. Also, traditional Kabbalah has been forbidden for women to learn and a man must be at least 40 years old to begin to study these mysteries of God.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have {Qabalah} which is what modern Thelemites use in their practice and pathworking. Although this practice certainly evolved from Jewish Kabbalah, we can also call this Hermetic Qabalah. There are no age or gender restrictions in order to study.

Qabalah attempts to help us understand the ‘self’ in the Universe, the metaphysical world and the correspondences in real life that help us attune to ourselves and the Universe as a whole. I like to think of Qabalah as a spiritual aggregator that  puts absolutely everything in a category and that virtual file cabinet is the Tree of Life.

Aleister Crowley and S.L. MacGregor Mathers spent  much of their study compiling a book of correspondences to real-life and the astral world known as the ‘Liber 777‘. This book is quite authoritative and useful in determining which paths and sephirot are attributed to which elements.

Another book that can help someone along the path of magickal Qabalah is ‘A Garden of Pomegranates‘ by Israel Regardie.

{The Tree of Life} is the map that is used in all forms of Qabbalah and is an ideal way to categorize life itself. Through the applied use of the Tree of Life we can:

• Identify the attributes within us that make us god.
• Understand the external world and how it affects us.
• Recognize where we are stuck in life and what we can do to get unstuck.

Qabalah, the Tree of Life and it’s corresponding practices are absolutely essential to Thelema.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this [very] short overview and hope that you research and study on about Thelema and Qabalah, as it will truly put things into perspective on an intellectual level. Spirituality through intellect.

Related articles

• The Knowledge of the Universe, Part 2: Thelemic Organizations (crystiology.com)
• The Knowledge of the Universe: Part 1 (crystiology.com)
• Kabbalah for the Student (cybeeonline.wordpress.com)