I think I’ve mentioned before that we’re in a golden age of books on occult and Paganism. An example of this golden age is Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magick on the Pagan Path, by Jack Chanek.
In Qabalah for Wiccans, Chanek explains how the Hermetic Qabalah played an important role in developing many of the beliefs and rituals found in modern Neopaganism. By understanding this connection, the reader can better appreciate the importance of the Qabalah, even if they don’t wish to make it part of their practice.
At the start of the book, Chanek addresses the skeleton in the closet. The roots of the Hermetic Qabalah exist in the antisemitism of the Christian Cabala. The Christian Cabala was created as part of the concerted efforts by Christians to eradicate the Jewish population and to appropriate their traditions, such as the Jewish Kabbalah. This was an outgrowth of the Christian doctrine of supersessionism, which claims that Christianity fulfills and replaces Judaism. A belief that’s still taught in many Christian churches today.
This dark history of the Qabalah raises important questions. With its antisemitic roots, should the Hermetic Qabalah be used by contemporary Pagans? Or is it okay to work with the Hermetic Qabalah as long as we acknowledge its antisemitic past? Each person must decide their own answer.
Rather than focusing on teaching each Sepiroth one at a time, Chanek organizes the book around the structure of the Tree of Life. By doing so, Chanek explains not only individual Sepiroth but how they relate. Another difference is that rather than beginning at the top of the Tree, Chanek begins at the “lowest,” the material realm, and works his way up.
After covering the Tree of Life, Chanek includes several chapters on correspondences, colors, and other ties-ins with Wiccan beliefs and rituals. Of these chapters, the one that I found most interesting was about the gods and the Qabalah. I expected Chanek to follow the stereotypical Wiccan Duotheistic viewpoint. Instead, his views are much more complex and nuanced.
Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magic on the Pagan Path is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.
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