I am looking for a COMPREHENSIVE site/book concerning Qabalistic rituals history etc.

the internet is just full of contradictory info, so wondering if there are any official guide or whatsoever.

thanks!

*The Kabbalah* by Adolphe Franck (translated from the French)

*Kabbalah* by Charles Ponce'

From a rather different perspective, the one by Dion Fortune, whatever the name is. I think it is "The Mystical Qabalah" or something, and these:

*A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism* by Gareth Knight

*The Talking Tree* by William Gray

The last three are filtered through the Golden Dawn tradition.

There is an excellent source on the Yahoo! -- Kabbalahconcepts@yahoogroups.com, but you'll have to go to Yahoo! and join the group.

I can suggest others, but these are good.

You might want to look at acquiring *The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic* by Israel Regardie or his earlier *Golden Dawn*. Anything by Regardie is good.

Thank you bill!!

OR, you could just make it all up like they did.

?

should I laugh?

Call Madona?

Ha ha

Now there's a valuable suggestion!

Most authoritative are the primary sources: the Zohar and the Sefer Yetzirah, in the original Aramaic and Hebrew! Failing that, in English translation. They're dense and hard to understand without a lot of context, but still inspirational. (An episode of the TV series Robin of Sherwood features a Jewish family with a copy of the SY; at one point the gentile uninitiated Sheriff of Nottingham looks inside and his mind is blasted -- this sadly hasn't worked with my translation.) I don't know nearly enough to judge secondary sources, though there's a short section on the Kabalah in Robert Place's excellent The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination.

As a novice in magic, I haven't yet got my head working slanting things into magical effects, though two thoughts occur: the mathematical/numerological side (gematria and temurah) of Kabalah is a place where religious magick and mathematical/mnemonic mentalism overlap -- though good luck turning legit esoterica into comprehensible public performance -- and almost the first time I saw the Kabalistic Tree of Life diagram I wondered if it had ever been scribed (on purpose or accidentally) as a hopscotch pattern (and what its use might call up...).

Hi everyone, by the way.

The Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo Duquette

From the Publisher
“A Dilettante’s Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist”, The Chicken Qabalah purports to be the teachings of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford, who in reality is an alter ego of Lon Milo Duquette’s. Fed up with “authorities” in this burgeoning occult field who waste readers’ time with such pointless (if impressive) tasks as ‘counting the Nostril Hairs of God’, Lon’s very funny and very practical Chicken Qabalah empowers the would-be Qabalist to remember and distinguish between what is important in Qabalah—i.e., the idea of Unity—and what is not—i.e., almost everything else. Along the way, readers will giggle themselves silly through this truly funny book, and discover at its end that they have learned more Qabalah by accident than they ever would by studied intent. If one had to select just one of the treasures this book offers to encapsulate its message, it might be this: “…[W]e are not Qabalists to prove the Bible is holy—we are Qabalists because everything is holy. Look hard enough at anything and you will eventually see everything! Right now—right where you are, God is talking to you from the pages of the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas—from the funny papers, billboards, street signs, ticket stubs, and automobile license plates.” Lon Milo Duquette, always an edifying delight to read, is the author of The Magick of Thelema, The Tarot of Ceremonial Magick, Angels, Demons and Gods of the New Millennium, and the autobiographical My Life With the Spirits.
here is the link
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det......v=glance

you might also try the book called 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley thou you will proabably need the first book chicken Qabala to get a understanding of what crowley is doing with this book.
here is another link

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det......v=glance
hope this helps some
frances

Franmonet, thanks for the reference to the Chicken Qabalah. I had not heard of it, but it sounds terrific. I'll have to get it.

Regarding the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, yes, these are primary sources and authoritative, but without a strong Jewish background (which I don't have), they are at best difficult. Franmonet's comment on "counting the hairs on God's nose" is perhaps applicable here. Seriously, Merlin C, they are important sources and should be studied if one is able.

You might also wish to look into the works of Gershom Scholem:

On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead : Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah
On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism
Kabbalah

He was reputed to be perhaps the foremost scholar of Jewish Mysticism, particularly Kabbalah, anywhere.

Thanks everybody! that's plenty for the time being!

What happened? I posted a response to seraph127, and it vanished! All I said was that I agreed that Gershom Scholem was an authoritative source. Can it be that the thought police think "authoritative" is a bad word? I'm kind of ****ed! I'm beginning to believe certain rumors.

I wouldn't sweat one post Bill, afterall, servers and databases are subject to random glitches here and there, especially over the Internet. Fecal matter happens.
If you notice a political trend, however ...


oh, and as to "Madonna".. lol !!! pleeeeeease ! you're killing me ! my sides hurt !

Two useful, accessible primers:

Kabbalah for the Layman (Vol. 1 & 2) by Dr. Philip Berg
http://www.hamakorjudaica.com/cgi-bin/sg......;UREQA=1

Kabbalah 101 -- Five CD Set
http://www.hamakorjudaica.com/cgi-bin/sg......;UREQA=1

Best,
Neil

Ok, update guys, import of such books to lebanon is banned! any website where I can buy the ebook versions?! this is frustrating!!!! and thanks neil!

Are you serious? They won't let you purchase them? WOW! Go to http://www.kabbalah.com I purchased the complete set of the Zohar from them.....they also have internet classes, etc. This actually is the place Madonna goes to, but they are for real and extremely knowlegable.

Everything NON christian/islamic is banned....talk about freedom of press/speech!