The Aquarian Qabalah by Naomi Ozaniec

[LRichard]

Ignore the silly spelling distinctions in the Wikipedia article. קבלה is the Hebrew spelling. Since C and K are commonly used for other Hebrew letters, I like to reserve Q to transliterate the initial letter ק . (There really is no standard way to transliterate Hebrew.) The word basically means Received. It's history is so murky that I am very reluctant to write much about it. It consisted of orally transmitted teachings until certain Jewish scholars in Europe started writing about it. Gershom Scholem may be the expert on these matters, but that is debatable among scholars.

Hermeticism and Neoplatonism certainly influenced Gnosticism in the early CE period and these three movements may have had an influence on Qabalah as it developed in Europe. Christian Qabalah refers to an adaptation of Qabalah by the Renaissance philosopher Pico della Mirandola. So-called Hermetic Qabalah probably refers to another adaptation of Qabalah by later European occultists. Vague terms, such as Hermetic, Gnostic, Qabalah, just can't be categorized with any degree of precision.

If you are concerned about the background needed for so-called Hermetic Qabalah, my suggestion would be to read Chicken Qabalah and then add to that information whatever you think you need for whatever direction you take.

ETA. Avoid The Kabbalah Centre like the plague. That's the cult which sucked in Madonna, among other notables, some of whom have since wised up.

[a_gnostic]

Originally Posted by LRichard

...If you are concerned about the background needed for so-called Hermetic Qabalah, my suggestion would be to read Chicken Qabalah and then add to that information whatever you think you need for whatever direction you take.

Thank you for the additional information! You seem to have a clear and knowledgable perspective on this. Accepting your advice, I located a copy of DuQuette's book and am reading it. (I had seen him in several YouTube videos and know he's actually quite serious about all this but also carries a wicked sense of humor.)

I've been reading Ozaniec's book (of course), Greer's Secrets of the Lost Symbols, and there's some surprising depth in Ronald Decker's Art and Arcana: Commentary on the Medieval Scapini Tarot (a great find for that deck.) A used copy of the Weiser tome containing all Parts I-IV of Book 4 arrived via AbeBooks several days ago, and I've begun working through the process of finding his good stuff amidst the insanity/stupidity/trail of groupie drool/whatever that is. (Evidently he "dictated" much of it to several starry-eyed members of his entourage.)

ETA. Avoid The Kabbalah Centre like the plague. That's the cult which sucked in Madonna, among other notables, some of whom have since wised up.

Didn't give it a second look after it turned up in a Google search. I'm also aware that there are long-standing competing "authorities" about the Golden Dawn on the 'net. I didn't know that tidbit about Madonna, being rather "pop-culturally disadvantaged": that's my partner's department, though I doubt he'd heard that, either. Thanks nonetheless for the advice.

[LRichard]

I really don't appreciate some of DuQuette's irreverent humor in the Chicken book. I suppose he is just trying to put people at ease about matters which are sometimes approached with excessive fear, trembling, and reverence, but he goes too far at times. However, some topics, such as his masterful treatment of the Hebrew alphabet in Chapter 4, are so good that they atone for some of his transgressions.

[a_gnostic]

Hell no! I'm a Chicken Qabalist! I don't worry about it! :->

[LRichard]

Originally Posted by a_gnostic

Hell no! I'm a Chicken Qabalist! I don't worry about it! :->

Cool!

[Aeon418]

Originally Posted by LRichard

Ignore the silly spelling distinctions in the Wikipedia article.

I frequently use those silly spelling distinctions. I find it useful to distinguish between the Western Hermetic tradition and the Hebraic tradition. While these two branches have many things in common, they have diverged from each other and become distinctive and unique in their own ways.

[LRichard]

Originally Posted by Aeon418

I frequently use those silly spelling distinctions. I find it useful to distinguish between the Western Hermetic tradition and the Hebraic tradition. While these two branches have many things in common, they have diverged from each other and become distinctive and unique in their own ways.

I'm not convinced that "those silly spelling distinctions" really work. They may just be a PITA. I'm not at all sure that it is the most effective way to communicate references to different traditions. If that is the purpose of different transliterations of קבלה , then it is lost on me.

[a_gnostic]

I'm with Aeon418 on this: I need distinct terms if for no other reason than to keep my own mind straight as to the origins of the myriad details that I'm trying to understand, remember, and apply in appropriate contexts. It doesn't hurt to be able to use those terms to communicate as clearly as possible with others, here on the forum if nowhere else.

So -- for myself, I've settled on the following variants (+/- variations on internal word spellings :-/) for mnemonic purposes:

• Qabbalah - maintains the transliteration of the Hebrew ק in קבלה to Q and denotes the Jewish tradition, specifically.
• Cabbalah - "C" is for "Christian", hence the Christian gnostic and the Messianic Jewish tradition, if there is such a thing as the latter.
• Kabbalah - "K" is the letter that Aleister Crowley added to "Magic" in order to differentiate his mysticism from "the other stuff". This denotes any modern mysticism that may have stolen or derived from Qaballah, Caballah, or was simply produced out of thin air.

Wikipedia notwithstanding, this convention seems to be in more widespread use. Regardless, it's something I can remember without confusing myself.

[LRichard]

Okay, start the word with Q, K, or C, but since this is the Kabbalah [sic] & Alphabets forum, may I make a few orthographic observations? The pointed word is קַבָּלָה . The equivalent spelling with consonants would be QBLH, KBLH, or CBLH. There is a dagesh (dot) inside the ב . In all probability this is a dagesh lene, since this is one of the "double" letters ("double" meaning that it has two pronunciations), and means only that the ב should be pronounced with a hard B rather than a soft V sound. Only the dagesh forte (also indicated by a dot) actually doubles the letter, and it is used only in special circumstances. The final H is optional in the transliteration, since it is silent. I like to use it because it reminds me of the final ה in the Hebrew. The vowel points under the letters have essentially an "ah" pronunciation, so the word really should be tranliterated as Qabalah, Kabalah, or Cabalah (final h is nice but optional). A misunderstanding about the two types of dagesh (and the meaning of "double" letter) probably accounts for the common doubling of the b. Of course, as in most things in the AT forums, everything is right and nothing is wrong , so double whatever, if you like it better that way.
שלום

[a_gnostic]

Now that makes sense: Qabalah/Cabalah/Kabalah it is.

I guess that makes me a Chicken Kabalist (though certainly not a Chi'kin Kabalist)!

If only Congress functioned as smoothly...