Kabbalah

[SilentDreams]

I'm not sure if this should be here or in the paths section so I just opted for this and hopefully the admins can move it if nessecary(sp)

Anyways...

I am a madonna fan as you can tell. I hardly starting finding out about "Kabbalah" to be like her. I mean I can be nutz about celebrities but changing my beliefs just to be more like them is where I draw the line. Although she did wake me up to this and so I decided to start finding out about it. I went to www.kabbalah.com it seems really good. i haven't read much but this place looks like it has a good amount of information.

So does anyone follow Kabbalah?

[Morr]

Honey,
you know I simply love and adore Madonna. I've been a huge fan for 18 years now (almost 19..). But honestly, I think she kinda went a bit TOO far with everything. Like with the Kabbalah water drinking and all of that.

Even so, she does seem to follow it quite well.

I dont follow or practice it, but I have read about it in several books and websites. I have a Tree Of Life pendant (it has diff crystals for each Sefira, but one fell.. meh). I also have the Book of Pinchas (which is part of the Sefer HaZohar). and NO - to all you people out there who like to assume I didnt get into Kabbalah because I love Madonna.

It is very VERY complicated, especially to those who do not speak or read Hebrew. You need to be REALLY serious about it. I wouldnt be able to start explaining it all to you because its way too much, you probably wouldnt understand, and I know all the stuff in Hebrew so I wouldnt know how to translate the words and expressions properly.

Also, keep in mind that Kabbalah works with Y-H-V-H, Shekhina and the Archangels. Make sure you are ready to work with these dieties & beings and that you are ready to embrace them as part of your belief.

[Shatril]

I am not a lover of Madonna, but I am studying Kabbalah as part of my study of ceremonial magick. So far it is quite interesting, and yes it does use YHVH, and the angels, however, for many of us this IS what we grew up with. The belief in this isn't difficult, as we are/were in that space already. It is my belief that all the God/desses are of one spirit, as are we all, so what you call it is purely a matter of form at this point. Just my thoughts. I hope that you enjoy your study of Kabbalah, as I am so far enjoying mine.

I'm of the opinion that any kind of study is good. It will give you an opportunity to understand. Then if you choose to reject this teaching, then it is based on knowledge rather than hearsay.
Shatril

[Hippywitch]

I have also studied the Kabbalah a little (it's a very BIG subject) but one word of warning, be ware of the Kabbalah Centre. The philosophies are worth investigating but does anyone here think paying £15 for a bottle of water from a contaminated source in Canada helps improve your spirituality?
I have admired Madonna for a long time too but I can't help but think she's got herself involved with a bit of a cult here. And by cult I mean the inordinate amount of money members are meant to donate to the centre ... strikes me as a tad dodgy!

[Shatril]

I have also studied the Kabbalah a little (it's a very BIG subject) but one word of warning, be ware of the Kabbalah Centre. The philosophies are worth investigating but does anyone here think paying £15 for a bottle of water from a contaminated source in Canada helps improve your spirituality?
I have admired Madonna for a long time too but I can't help but think she's got herself involved with a bit of a cult here. And by cult I mean the inordinate amount of money members are meant to donate to the centre ... strikes me as a tad dodgy!

Anytime a religion starts asking me for money is when I turn and walk away. That is just nonsense. If they really had my best interest at heart they would leave it up to me whether I wanted to donate or not. However, it is my belief that organized religion is just too full of greed, averice and megalomaniacs. Which is a really good reason to stay away from organized religion. I'm not saying that everyone involved in organized religion is bad, it is just that too many of the ones that are bad are in charge. NOT for me.

[moonmorgan]

Hey everyone, Have you read Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magick? I haven't but in his Modern S*x Magick Book (not sure if I could type it) he talks a lot about it and mentions things that others haven't. I think he said he goes over it in his Modern Magick book. Perhaps someone who has read it can verify it but I would surely go to him. I have only skirted very lightly around Kabbalah. I don't know Hebrew but my father's side of the family is Jewish and I know a bit. I am interested in everything Jewish although I am Pagan.

[Fane Ayuma]

i cant give an unbiased view of this, because in my view kabbalah is a heap of sh*t.First of all its been disregarded by jewish rabbi's(spelling??).There is a jewish mysticism called Kabbalah, but its nothing like the cult craze thats around now.

There is no mention of Kabbalah water in the old texts.Also this water which comes from the old jewish holylands and has been meditated on by the elders, actually comes from a water plant in Canada.

The red string which they sell for $18, which they say is atfer been passed around rachael's tomb, never leaves the country there selling it from.If you actually go to rachael's tomb, rabbi's pass the string around it and give it ti you, saying that selling such a holy object would be blasphemus.

BAsically i think they are there to make money off of unfortunate individuals who cant see what is going on around them.

It is a money-making cult.

[Paracelsus]

The caveats above are all to be taken seriously - the modern fad of Kabbalah has precious little to do with the serious study of Kabbalah which has it's origins in Jewish Mysticism (and has influenced both Christian Mysticism & the western magickal tradition - old Crow was heavily influenced by it, as it was taught in theHOGD).
If you want to take it seriously (and it is a serious, difficult, and very heavy duty mystical tradition - not something to take on board if you are scared of difficult, intense intellectual work, and challenging spiritual work), then the following books are recommended -
For the history of the Jewish tradition you will be hard put to beat Gerschom Scholem's classic "Kabbalah". For books with a more spiritual bent, then I would recommend anything by Zev BenShimon Halevi - his take is a combination of serious Jewish Kabbalah, and the Western Mystery tradition. For a more Magickal study then I would suggest starting with Dion Fortune's "Mystical Kabbalah" (which I've never got on with myself, personally), and quite a lot of Crowley.
Madonna's "Kabbalah", is, as many others have suggested here, nothing but a cult that wants your cash.

[Darakash]

Just to add to the suggestions, an interesting read and a Pagan view on the Kabbalah is Ellen Cannon Reed's book: The Witches Qabala (I am pretty sure that how she spelled it in her title; and her Tarot Deck, The Witches Tarot is based mostly on the Tree of Life...and is also very interesting.
DK

[semi]

I've been into it for about 25 years. The works of Crowley and Isreal Regardie have been the most helpful to me.

[Shatril]

I'm in the process of reading The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Forturne. It seems interesting so far, but have a long way to go. I also bought the book The Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo DuQuette, but haven't started that. Both these books are on the Ceremonial Magick Class in COT recommended reading list.

Shatril

[Xander67]

I am taking the course at Kabalah.com, I like the way the site is laid out too!

[luna rising]

I could not agree more with the folks' opinions on modern or commercial kabbala - it's poo. Read some Isreal Regardie - "The Tree of Life" or "Garden of Pomegranates" - those are good starters. Donald Michael Craig's Modern Magick is a great outline of ceremonial magick, and he touches quite briefly on Kabbala. I would not recommend Crowley to a beginner, but that is just my opinion.

[Shatril]

Might be interesting to start a Kabbalah discussion group. Those learned souls among us can educate those of us who are struggling. You know with some recommended reading stuff and the like. Maybe even discussion of books that we choose to read together.

[Lady Khaibit]

Yeah, I've been a Qabala follower for about 13 years now.... btw before Madonna made it popular ( I do love her though ) . For me it was the band Tool that put Qabala into perpective for me. More over the last 8 or 9 years I've been using Qabala into many of my workings and meditations, so much that I've moved beyond the use of dieties... not to say that I don't still use my pantheons for certain workings. Here's another good resource for you.... there's some downloadable texts and books in the Qabala section that are good reads.

Lady K

Frater Md's Ceremonial Magick Resource (http://www.fratermd.com/)

[Lady Khaibit]

I would not recommend Crowley to a beginner, but that is just my opinion.


Yeah, Crowley is a bit cryptive for a begininer, most of his work seems to be written in riddle. I made that mistake a long time ago. I tried starting out with Crowley first, and let me tell you it was confusing as hades. I didn't pick up another Crowley book until about 8 years ago! Very long winded......


Lady K