Alchemy and Kabbalah


Book Description

A classic text on alchemy by the leading scholar of Jewish mysticism, Gershom Scholem, is presented here for the first time in English translation. Scholem looks critically at the century-old connections between alchemy, the Jewish Kabbalah; its Christianized varieties, such as the gold- and rosicrucian mysticisms, and the myth-based psychology of C. G. Jung, and uncovers forgotten alchemical roots of embedded in the Kabbalah.




Alchemy and Kabbalah in the Tarot


Book Description

The most ancient sciences in the world are Alchemy and Kabbalah, which constitute the practical, spiritual knowledge hidden in the depths of every great religion and mystical tradition. Modern scientists are only recently discovering what these ancient teachings have always known: that we are a part of a multidimensional universe, and that our consciousness, our awareness, can expand to perceive matter and energy that are invisible to the flesh. Just as physics and chemistry illuminate our understanding of the physical world, Alchemy and Kabbalah constitute a scientific method to awaken the consciousness and fully develop the human being, opening the doors to vast worlds that are hidden from the physical senses. This awakening or alchemical birth requires a precise scientific method, for everything that exists depends upon causes and conditions. Hidden in centuries of mystical texts and obscure drawings are the specific instructions that lead towards the opening of their inner senses and the entrance into a higher life. The Philosopher's Stone, the secret of transmuting lead into gold, and many other sacred mysteries long restricted to initiates who had proven their trustworthiness were publicly revealed for the first time by the author Samael Aun Weor. These mystical sciences are hidden in the twenty-two primary Tarot cards, whose origins and precise meanings have never before now been publicly revealed. Now, see for yourself how these ancient traditions are all truly one science. Discover the keys to unlock the mysteries hidden in scriptures, mystical texts, and enigmatic images, and most importantly the mysteries hidden within us.




Kabbalah and Alchemy


Book Description

This remarkable and groundbreaking study explores the author's view that there is a close correspondence between the basic tenets of alchemy and those of Jewish esoteric tradition, generally known as Kabbalah. The author, Arturo Schwarz, points out that both alchemy and Kabbalah are frequently distorted in popular as well as scholarly literature. The real concern of alchemy is not to transmute lead into gold, but rather, through the investigation of the self, to evolve from the state of ignorance (symbolized by lead) to that of awareness (symbolized by gold). As Schwarz points out, "this drive toward self-awareness is also basic in the teachings of the major kabbalists." Schwarz goes on to explain that in both systems "one of the major instruments of understanding our inner self is love, both physical and spiritual." Through a careful analysis of the use of sexual imagery in both systems, Schwarz builds his fascinating and eye-opening thesis that alchemy and kabbalistic tradition share profound similarities.




Alchemy of the Word


Book Description

Explores the literary, philosophical, and cultural implications of Cabala during the Renaissance.




The Jewish Alchemists


Book Description

In this monumental work, Raphael Patai opens up an entirely new field of cultural history by tracing Jewish alchemy from antiquity to the nineteenth century. Until now there has been little attention given to the significant role that Jews played in the field of alchemy. Here, drawing on an enormous range of previously unexplored sources, Patai reveals that Jews were major players in what was for centuries one of humanity's most compelling intellectual obsessions. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.




Kabbalah


Book Description

"With origins extending back in time beyond the Dead Sea Scrolls, the body of writings and beliefs known as the Kabbalah has come to be increasingly recognized not only as one of the most intriguing aspects of Judaism but also as an important part of a broader mystical tradition. Here is one of the most enlightening studies ever to plumb its complex depths and range over its rich history, written by the late Gershom Scholem, the world's leading authority on the Kabbalah. Illuminated in this fascinating work are the centuries of efforts by Kabbalists to discover the secrets of God and the universe through the symbols of the physical world and the mysteries of languageā€”a mammoth search set against a background of Jewish life in Spain, Poland, Germany and the rest of Europe. brought to life are such remarkable personalities as Shabbetai Zevi, the 17th-century pseudo-Messiah who raised the Jewish world to near ecstasy before plunging it into disillusion; and the charismatic Jacob Frank, who threatened to disastrously divide the Jewish religion. We learn the connection between the Kabbalah and such haunting legends as the Dybbuk, the Goel, and Lilith, as well as its relationship to the practice of white magic, palm reading and Satanism. Long cloaked in obscurity, the Kabbalah is revealed by this book to contain suggestive power which still entrances both the intellect and the imagination."-Publisher.




Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self-transformation


Book Description

Advancing to higher levels of ritual magic with purpose and power requires an exaltation of consciousness-a spiritual transformation that can serve as an antitode to the seeming banality of modern life. Based on Kabbalistic techniques, the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and an Hermetic tradition spanning nearly two thousand years, this innovative new work introduces the history of the Golden Dawn and its mythology, the Tree of Life, Deities, demons, rules for practicing magic, and components of effective ritual. A comprehensive course of self-initiation using Israel Regardie's seminal Golden Dawn as a key reference point, Kabbalah, Magic and the Great Work of Self-Transformation guides you through the levels of the Golden Dawn system of ritual magic. Each grade in this system corresponds with a sphere in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and includes daily rituals, required reading, written assignments, projects, and additional exercises. Knowledgeable and true to tradition, author Lyam Thomas Christopher presents a well-grounded and modern step-by-step program toward spiritual attainment, providing a lucid gateway toward a more awakened state. Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Magick/Shamanism Book




John Dee's Conversations with Angels


Book Description

John Dee's angel conversations have been an enigmatic facet of Elizabethan England's most famous natural philosopher's life and work. Professor Harkness contextualizes Dee's angel conversations within the natural philosophical, religious and social contexts of his time philosophy, and the apocalypse, and argues that they represent a continuing development of John Dee's earlier concerns and interests. These conversations include discussions of the natural world, the practice of natural philosophy, and the apocalypse.




Stairway to Heaven


Book Description

The idea of heavenly ascent, while popularized in Jewish mysticism, is neither a unique nor recent one. Expertly tracing its origins back to the ancient Middle East, Levenda unearths ascent literature in Africa, India, and China, discerns a common connection in the heavens themselves, and determines that this connection has been sorely neglected in contemporary scholarship. Because scholars treat the "heavens" as metaphorical, it is necessary to recreate the physical context of the culture under discussion in order to better understand it. For the benefit of the reader, Levenda offers two useful concepts for his investigative journey: a "map," whereby he means the cosmological system to better understand the mystical technologies of each culture investigated, and a "vehicle," the method by which the individual equipped with special knowledge is able to navigate the culture's particular cosmology. With these two tools, Levenda travels from the worlds of ancient Egypt and Babylon to the Hebrew Bible, to Jewish and Christian kabbalists, to Daoists in ancient China, to Hindu Tantra and Haitian Vodoun, and, finally, to nineteenth and twentieth century European occult societies.




Deep Principles of Kabbalistic Alchemy


Book Description

"Deep Principles of Kabbalistic Alchemy" elaborates upon an array of symbols designed to guide the reader toward the ground of all phenomena, referred to as En (no) Sof (end) in kabbalah. The material is presented in clear yet esoteric terms, free from the common tendencies of psychologization, new-age dilution, and religious mythology. It is a rare opportunity for a deep consideration of profound mysteries that cannot be summarily addressed with conventional language and theoretical speculation, ultimately offering a living invitation into a rare and powerful style of mystical practice.