(01-27-2018, 10:14 AM)Nau7ik Wrote: Thank you all for your helpful and illuminating responses! I see the difference between the different systems behind the different spellings of ’Qabalah’. I’ve always been interested in the Western occult esoteric tradition of qabalah, which is why I spell it that way, I suppose. But now I know that they are not interchangeable and that there are differences.
Aion’s explanation of ipsissimus totally makes sense. There’s the grade belonging to the Thelemic school and then the Golden Dawn grade, which I am sure Dion Fortune was referring to. She had also mentioned that true Ascended Masters are not incarnate in the physical. They may be considered masters within the incarnation but she said she doesn’t recognize a true ascended master unless he is without a physical body. (Also consider the Buddhist grades of enlightenment. There is a level with complete and perfect enlightenment “with remainder” I.e. the arahants still incarnate in physical bodies.)
The next books on Qabalah I plan to read are Israel Regardie’s books. I read the Tree of Life when I was like 17, but don’t remember much of it. A Garden of Pomegranates looks like it’s be good.
Quote:So you have a blueprint (astrology, tarot, tree of life) and then you take that system and the series of imagery that it evokes internally, and mediate and reflect and build upon it. Slowly the picture unfolds - or maybe it's a sheet of music? Anyway, in this way you train your subconscious to reach for this information, to intuit from your deeper and infinite self, and it will definitely reward you, with sincere effort. I don't think it matters which system you use - I love the Law of One and the imagery of the tarot sings to me infinitely - but I do think it is important to stick with one and focus upon it, and not try to balance understanding between all three schools or even two.
@Jade, yes! I totally agree. I don’t think I’m going to use Crowley’s tarot cards for meditation. Too much negativity. But the Tree of Life incorporates the tarot and astrology. Each card is assigned a hebrew letter, and a zodiac, element, or planet is assigned to each card, and these can further illuminate the card. But all of this is already included within the Tree of Life. I feel the magnetic pull that Ra talked about in regard to the three systems with the Tree of Life. I had been interested in it before I found the Law of One.
Just so you know Israel Regardie was never actually in the Golden Dawn but was in the off-shoot the Stella Matutina which was quite Christianized, so even though he published "The Golden Dawn", the materials are actually from Stella Matutina which came later after the original Golden Dawn split. Another thing to mention in regards to Regardie is that he was initially brought in to magic by Crowley and so there are Thelemic concepts laced throughout his works and much of his correspondance in his books also reflects his influence by Crowley. (For example there is no "Holy Guardian Angel" in Golden Dawn traditionally.) His works are no longer recommended by the Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn, although that does not mean they are without value, just that they do not actually reflect the traditional and there are numerous additions. (Such as the Middle Pillar, that was a Stella Matutina ritual and not Golden Dawn.) So they are worth reading but keeping in mind where the info comes from.
If you are interested specifically in the Qabalah of the Golden Dawn this is a decent resource.
http://www.goldendawntrust.com/kabbalah-...olden-dawn