Christian Kabbalah

Переводчик с фр. / translator from fr.

Ленен Л. Божественная каббала. — СПб.: Издательство «Академия исследования культуры», 2019. — 288 с. — (Серия Code Grimoire). ISBN 978-5-94396-218-9

«Божественная каббала» — это неизвестная до недавнего времени работа французского оккультного автора Лазара Ленена. По сути, она является продолжением и дополнением его книги «Каббалистическая наука», которая была высоко оценена как оккультными авторами прошлого, так и настоящего времени. В книге описаны семьдесят два ангела Великого Имени Бога, Шемхамфораш, вместе с методами их призывания для получения ответов на вопросы, личными ангельскими печатями и молитвами.
В книге представлен критический текст этой работы, выполненный на основании двух английских и одной французской рукописей, копии оригинальных страниц самого красивого из этих манускриптов, различные сравнительные и критические таблицы, комментарии. На русском языке издается впервые.

Contained within the twenty-two picture cards of the Visconti-Sforza Tarot is a sacred open secret. 2 The Major Arcana is a visual representation of an ancient mnemonic system the formation of which is the central operation of the seminal Kabbalistic text the Sefer Yetzirah.
The paper was presented at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies on Saturday, February 6th, 2016.

Yohanan ben Isaac Alemanno (1435-1505?) was an Italian kabbalist, philosopher and physician. In his less known autograph, Paris, BnF héb. 849, he incorporated contemporary Christian magic sources with kabbalah, providing a practical method to ascend to the upper worlds for gaining prophecy. This article brings together Alemanno’s autograph and contemporary magical works, in order to demonstrate a radical change in Alemanno’s approach towards demonic magic, and the way he interpreted it using a cosmology he developed. Then, Alemanno’s cosmology will be used for reconsidering a concept of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494): The Triplex Merkabah.

The article presents for the first time an examination of the short philosophical treatise bearing the title De divinis attributis of the Italian philosopher and military writer Cesare Evoli (1532-1598). After a brief reconstruction of his life and works, the main focus of the attention is directed to a synthesis of the contents of this work, which purports to interpret the traditional “tree” of the sefirot according to the major tenets of Aristotelian philosophy. Thus the sefirot of the Kabbalistic tradition are interpreted as divine attributes and connected with the ten spheres of contemporary cosmology. The relevant differences between the first three editions of the work (1571; 1573; 1580) and the fourth and last one (1580) are accounted for in a systematic comparison, showing a progressive elimination of authentic Jewish elements from the picture, leaving a disembodied pattern which has lost almost any contact with genuine Kabbalistic tradition as a heavy tribute paid to the prevailing Aristotelianism of the second half of the XVIth century and, at the same time, to the beginnings of the ruthless fight against Judaizing tendencies fostered by the Counter-Reformation and the institution of the Index. Moreover a sketch of the dissemination of sefirotic cosmology among Christian intellectuals in late Renaissance Rome and Florence allows to appreciate the work of Cesare Evoli in a wider context.

Философските изследвания за връзката на Владимир Соловьов с мистичното еврейско учение Кабала не са толкова много и това се дължи главно поради трудността на Кабала, а в България напълно липсваха, затова тук представяме първото подобно изследване у нас, писано през 2009 г.

Соловьов се интересува от Кабала, още когато 22-годишен чете мистична и езотерична литература в Британския музей в Лондон, а след 20 години пише предговора към първото голямо съчинение за Кабала в Русия, както и статия, която става най-популярната статия за Кабала в Русия. Соловьов е един от първите изследователи на Кабала в Русия, която по негово време не е особено популярна като езотерична учение сред руския народ. Соловьов се е вълнувал особено от учението на християнската Кабала, за което сме писали на друго място.

This is a numerical or numerological analysis of the GLGL Wheel mandala that I conducted in 2013. It shows the major numerological patterns that exist within the Wheel. These patterns are based on the numerical values of the Hebrew letters that compose the GLGL Wheel.

Pic de la Mirandole, celui dont tout le monde parle, mais que l’on n’a jamais lu…
Et pour cause, puisque nous publions ici la première édition intégrale bilingue critique de ses « 900 thèses dialectiques, morales, physiques, mathématiques, métaphysiques, théologiques, magiques et cabalistiques, incluant tant ses thèses que celles qu’ont approuvées les sages Chaldéens, Arabes, Hébreux, Grecs, Égyptiens et Latins », qui lui ont valu la célébrité.
L’imbroglio de leur publication et de leur condamnation finale par l’Inquisition est brillamment démêlé dans l’essai de Louis Valcke : La Condamnation de Pic de la Mirandole. Spécialiste international de Pic de la Mirandole et professeur à l’université de Sherbrooke, Louis Valcke (1930-2012) est décédé pendant la préparation de cet ouvrage, qui devait être le couronnement de sa carrière.
Ce livre fournit au lecteur curieux les clés indispensables pour pénétrer dans les arcanes de la philosophie scolastique au tournant de l’humanisme et de la cabale chrétienne.
L’édition critique, la traduction et les notes des 900 conclusions ont été réalisées par Delphine Viellard, agrégée de lettres classiques, docteur en histoire du christianisme ancien. La bibliographie et les index sont dus à Nicolas Roudet, directeur de la bibliothèque de la Maison Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l’Homme (Strasbourg).

Der aus dem ungarischen Ofen (Buda) stammende und in Franken, später in der Pfalz tätig gewesene Konvertit und Hebraist, Christoph (ursprünglich Jakob) Mandel gab mindestens sechs Schriften in den Druck, davon sind vier erhalten geblieben: Das Jesus Christus sey das ewig götlich Wort (1536), Rechnung der LXX Wochen Danielis (1552), Beweisung aus der Juden Gesatz (1557) und Ein fein tröstlichs Gebet in der Verfolgung (1558). In diesen Werken zeigt sich ein christlicher Kabbalist, der zeitlich und sachlich Johannes Reuchlin nahesteht, der aber nicht die herkömmlichen Themen der Kabbala, vielmehr die klassischen Loci der christlichen Dogmatik behandelt. Auch die zuerst von Gustav Hammann rekonstruierte Biographie Mandels (1970) wird mit neuen archivalischen Daten ergänzt.

Переводчик с фр. / translator from fr.

Гримуары XVIII века: Операция семи духов планет. Гримуар Армадель. — СПб.: Издательство «Академия исследования культуры», 2020 (Серия Code Grimoire). ISBN 978-5-94396-219-6

В этой книге читателю предлагаются переводы двух гримуаров XVIII века: «Операция семи духов планет» и «Гримуар или Каббала Армадель». Оба текста представляют собой краткие руководства по вызыванию различных духов (ангелов, демонов, олимпийских духов). Основой для данных писаний лежат более ранние печатные гримуары и христианские мистические представления, характерные для европейского общества XVI–XVIII вв. В Гримуаре Армадель описание каждого духа сопровождается философско-богословскими и экзегетическими пассажами, а также описанием участия духовных существ в космогенезисе и жизни отдельного человека.
В книге содержится более 100 чёрно-белых и 36 цветных изображений.

Abstractum:

Synkretyzm religijny w tekstach chrześcijańskich, hermetycznych oraz papirusach magicznych greckich, na przykładzie problemu genezy zła

Celem pracy jest omówienie problematyki związanej z synkretyzmem religijnym w wybranych dziełach literatury chrześcijańskiej, hermetycznej i greckich papirusach magicznych. Analizie poddane zostały zwłaszcza teksty związane z hermeneutyką demonologii i angelarium, pseudoepigrafy o charakterze eschatologicznym, a także greckie traktaty magiczne. Podstawowe pytanie, jakie stawiam, odnosi się do elementu doktrynalnego religii: w jaki sposób synkretyzm może pomóc określić naturę zła oraz bytów złośliwych? Całość została osadzona w ramach religioznawczych, którego jednymi z głównych zadań są: egzegeza, ukazanie podobieństw pomiędzy doktrynami religijnymi oraz krytyczna analiza porównawcza omawianych tekstów.

słowa kluczowe: synkretyzm, demonologia, angelologia, gnoza, religia, Bóg, bóstwa, magia, anioły, demony, chrześcijaństwo, kultura, antyk, mitologia, mity, polityka, filozofia, religioznawstwo, religiologia, hermeneutyka, geneza, historia, hermetyzm, hermetycyzm, alchemia, czary, ewokacje, inkantacje, Biblia, PGM, lingwistyka, łacina, koiné .



Religious Syncretism in Christian and Hermetic texts and in the Papyri Graecae Magicae by the example of the Problem of the Origin of Evil

The purpose of the work is to discuss the problem of the relationship with religious syncretism in selected works of Christian and Hermetic literature and Greek magical papyri. The main subjects analyzed were texts related to hermeneutics of demonology and angelarium, pseudepigrapha and eschatological features as well as the Greek magic treatises. The basic question to guide the strategies taken is: how can syncretism help us to understand evil and malicious entities? The whole was embedded within the cross-section of religion, that some of the main tasks are: exegesis, showing similarities between religious doctrines and critical comparative analysis of the discussed texts.

keywords: sincretism, demonology, angelology, gnosis, religion, God, deities, magic, angels, demons, christianity, culture, antic, mythology, myths, politics, philosophy, religious studies, religiology, hermeneutics, genesis, history, hermetism, hermeticism, alchemy, spells, evocations, incantations, Bible, PGM, lynguistics, lingua latina, koiné.
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ad.1: artykuł jest fragmentem szerszego tekstu i stanowi część pracy dyplomowej autora.
red. Emilia Żybert-Pruchnicka

De longs siècles durant, la Cabale a été considérée comme étant exclusivement juive. La mystique du judaïsme s’identifiant généralement à celle-ci, tant les cabalistes que ceux qui les ont étudiés considéraient négativement les tendances chrétiennes de la Cabale, et ne laissaient généralement pas de place dans leurs ouvrages historiques et autres anthologies à une telle tendance. Mais la tendance est au changement depuis quelques dizaines d’années : comme dans de nombreux autres domaines des sciences des religions, tant les théories que les outils d’appréhension de la réalité ont évolué, ouvrant la voie à une étude approfondie de la Cabale chrétienne en (et pour) elle-même. Les nouveaux spécialistes de celle-ci se trouvent armés de moyens et d’informations considérables dont ne disposaient pas leurs prédécesseurs, ce qui leur permet de pousser l’analyse et la comparaison beaucoup plus loin.

Leon Modena was a prominent seventeenth Venetian rabbi who had an ambiguous attitude towards Kabbalah.  On the one hand he studies and taught it.  On the other, he wrote some of the earliest and most incisive criticism of it, primarily with an eye to limit its use among Jews by Christian missionaries.

Isaac Myer brought together an assortment of ancient documents to give us an analysis of the more Spiritual doctrines of Kabbalah. In addition, Myer lays a foundation to bridge the gap between Judaism and Christianity by investigating texts that focus on the underlying spiritual  teaching hidden by rituals, traditions and doctrines of the modern world.  If you enjoy a higher spiritual consciousness of reality - you will love this book!

Language: Polish. With an English summary. The book is a much needed update on recent developments in research on western esotericism. It presents history of academic research in this field, proposes new and more accurate Polish terminology, tracks the occult sciences and esoteric beliefs from middleages to present, and helps understand 19th and 20th century occultism as part and parcel of Western culture.

A systematic look at colour on the four worlds of the Qabalistic Tree of life, it's historic evolution and meditational use, especially in terms of energy circulations between Da'ath and Yesod in the Body.  Presentation to Servants of the Light,  Convocation of the Lodges: Gathering of the Lights 18-20 November 2011.  Slides, notes and visual meditations downloadable from the Tree In Colour website, created by the author can be found on an updated website called The Luminous Tree https://echtrai.org

The focus of that site is stories from and about the Tree of Life including a systematic look at colour in the Four Worlds of the Qabalistic Tree, its history and meditational use. The Golden Dawn Colour Scales and Colour in Medieval Jewish Kabbalah area among the topics addressed.  Launched 4 Nov 2021.

The Ritman Library and The Center for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents present the Infinite Fire Webinar Series. In this first webinar Dr. P. J. Forshaw shares his knowledge on Heinrich Khunrath or dr. Henricus Khunrath as he was called, who was a physician and Hermetic alchemist.

In the webinar a focus is put on Khunrath's Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae - The Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom (originally published in 1595), which has traditionally been considered to be a strange mix of Christianity and Magic. Peter elaborates on the alchemical symbolism of 4 circular and 5 rectangular engravings integrated in the Amphitheatrum. A famous plate is the Tabula Smaragdina or The Emerald Tablet, to be considered one of the main inspirational works for alchemists, Hermetic philosophers and Rosicrucians.

Click here to watch the webinar: https://youtu.be/slS3CDlfp2o

Full Article: https://www.academia.edu/39244534/Sefer_%E1%B8%A4alomei_Qets_Pela_ot_Meoraot_Tzvi_1814_and_the_Image_of_Sabbatianism_in_the_18th_and_19th_Centuries_Jewish_Thought_Journal_of_the_Goldstein-Goren_International_Center_for_Jewish_Thought_1_2019_pp._125-167_Hebrew_


ההרצאה היא פתח לפרוייקט רחב במסגרת האקדמיה הלאומית למדעים
ISF
שעניינו - מהדורה מוערת ומבוארת של ספר מאורעות צבי
וניצוח של עיצוב השבתאות במאה התשע עשרה


הקונגרס העולמי למדעי היהדות
מושב
250

Sabbatianism, Science and the Bounds of Religion
Tuesday, 08 August, 2017 09:00-11:00, Room: 2717

Maoz Kahana (he)
Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz’s Conception of the Sceintific Revolution and the Rediscovery of the Lost Manuscript of `Sefer Meirav’

Pawel Maciejko (en)
The Coat of Arms of Wolf Eibeschütz

Jonatan Meir (he)
Sefer Me’ora’ot Tzvi and the Image of Sabbatianism

גרשם שלום -- תולדות התנועה השבתאית // 
History of the Sabbatian Movement was the first attempt by one of the giants of scholarship on Jewish mysticism, Gershom Scholem (1897-1982), to present a comprehensive picture of Sabbatianism as a single narrative. The book is based on the series of lectures given at the Hebrew University during 1939-1940, which are of special importance in that they laid the foundation for all of Scholem’s research in the years to come, including his extensive monograph Sabbatai Sevi: the mystical Messiah, 1626-1676, first published in 1957. What follows is a sketch of the massive History of the Sabbatian Movement, over which Gershom Scholem toiled his whole life but never completed. The lectures are presented here for the first time based on the original manuscripts, alongside the text of an additional series of lectures that Scholem gave as part of the “Month of Study” organized by Berl Katznelson in 1941. These long-hidden texts reveal new facets of the Sabbatian movement and its history, as well as of Gershom Scholem as a historian, and serve as prologue to any further study of this most stormy and complicated episode in Jewish history. The new edition includes a comprehensive introduction by the editors on all of Gershom Scholem’s studies on Sabbatianism. //---//

Table of Contents:
“The Open Book” - Jonatan Meir and Shinichi Yamamoto /
Introduction /
Chapter One: The Faces of the Generation /
Chapter Two: The Messianic Movement from its Beginnings to its Height /
Chapter Three: The Twists and Turns of the Sabbatian Movement /
Chapter Four: The Historical Development of Sabbatianism /
Appendix A: Messianism from the Spanish Expulsion to the Eve of Emancipation (Month of Study, 1941) /
Appendix B: The Sabbatian Movement: Its Roots, Its Development, and its Aftermath (Introduction, 1942-45 /
Appendix C: Bibliography of Works by Gershom Scholem on Sabbatianism /
Index /
Notes on the Cover Image (from the collection of Paweł Maciejko)

//--// Order The BOOK
http://www.schocken-jts.org.il/english/bookstore/prodView.asp?idproduct=408

Cantillation (the art of chanting sacred texts) is a phenomenon known to many nations; it also presents in the rites of different Jewish communities. However, it was only in the culture of the Jews of Europe that cantillation was perceived as a musical phenomenon. The task of the research is to analyze the first step of the process of the appearance of views of ta,ame ha-Miqra’ as being elements of musical culture. The article deals with two treatises of the sixteenth century that influenced the formation of the view on the Masoretic signs as analogues to the neumas. The awareness of the cantillation of sacred books as a musical phenomenon came about as a result of the special attention given to the Masoretic signs at the time of the emergence of the Christian Kabbalah. These signs were an important component of the cultural transfer between Jewish (Ashkenazi and Sephardi) and Christian (Catholic and Protestant) cultures. Subsequently, a new generation of researchers shifted their attention from the mystical characteristics of the signs to the tunes they convey.

Musical notations of the signs that transmitted the cantillation formulas for the Holy Scriptures reading were first published in the early 16th century by Johann Reuchlin.  Later on, the researchers have repeatedly placed these notations in their works. In various publications, these signs regarding as kabbalistic symbols, punctuation marks, or a kind of adiasys-temic notation. An analysis of the publications themselves, as well as the context of their appearance, allows us to trace the dynamics of these changes.
See also the Conference presentation

How many are the names of God?  Christian theology answers with a paradox: God is nameless, and so he can be called by every name. The proper name of God is thus a list, an open-ended list of names for the Unnamable. The Church embraces this paradoxical position in its rhetorical practice, but many Christians find it difficult to accept. In a life full of uncertainty, people crave clear, definitive answers. No wonder that many of the anonymous men and women in All the Names of the Lord – chivalrous knights and traveling merchants, bookmakers, converts, pilgrims, and pregnant wives – pin their hopes for better lives on the simpler belief that God has 72 names, and that the list of these names grants protection from every evil.
By examining together these two apparently conflicting Christian traditions of naming God, the author explores how lists of divine names help believers invest their worlds with meaning and order. The book heuristically juxtaposes two texts that could not be more dissimilar. The first is the classic theological treatise The Divine Names by Pseudo-Dionysius. The second is an obscure magical amulet, The 72 Names of the Lord, whose history, binding Kabbalah and Christianity, Jews and Slavs, Palestine, Provence, and the Balkans, is examined here for the first time. Two alternative rhetorical patterns emerge from this unusual pairing of theology and magic, two alternative visions of Christian order.  The final claim of the book, however, is not about division but unity.  It invites the reader to discover at the heart of the Christian way of life the convergence of two opposite impulses – one based in existential need, the other driven by metaphysical desire – and to reflect on the ways their uneasy alliance sustains Christianity as a viable religious system.

ТОЛЬКО ОЗНАКОМИТЕЛЬНЫЙ ФРАГМЕНТ, электронная версия не распространяется.

Ленен. Божественная каббала. — СПб.: Издательство «Академия исследования культуры», 2019. — 288 с. — (Серия Code Grimoire). ISBN 978-5-94396-218-9

«Божественная каббала» — это неизвестная до недавнего времени работа французского оккультного автора Лазара Ленена. По сути, она является продолжением и дополнением его книги «Каббалистическая наука», которая была высоко оценена как оккультными авторами прошлого, так и настоящего времени. В книге описаны семьдесят два ангела Великого Имени Бога, Шемхамфораш, вместе с методами их призывания для получения ответов на вопросы, личными ангельскими печатями и молитвами.
В книге представлен критический текст этой работы, выполненный на основании двух английских и одной французской рукописей, копии оригинальных страниц самого красивого из этих манускриптов, различные сравнительные и критические таблицы, комментарии. На русском языке издается впервые.

Amidst the rich panoply of Jewish Kabbalah, Abraham Abulafia (1240-1291) resonates the most with modern, philosophically minded seekers of direct mystical experience. Abulafia was unique amongst Jewish mystics in providing precise instructions for personal spiritual practice. Despite a severe rabbinical ban, the subterranean influence of Abulafia’s complex of ideas and meditation techniques is evident upon many central figures in the history of Religion and Philosophy, including Chaim Vital, Pico della Mirandola and Spinoza.

"The Heart of Jewish Meditation: Abraham Abulafia’s Path of the Divine Names" translates three of Abulafia’s meditation texts to provide reliable access to this fascinating historical figure for modern acolytes of the heretical eternities.

In 1629, a strange treatise was published in Paris: the Curiositez inouyes ("unheard-of curiosities"), a survey of the astrology of the ancient Hebrews and the talismanic art of the Persians. Its author, the Orientalist Jacques Gaffarel (1601-1681), was a rising figure of French scholarship and a friend of Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) and Gabriel Naudé (1600-1653). The originality of his treatise, one of the last defences of astrology authored by a French scholar in the seventeenth century, lay in its antiquarian approach to knowledge based mainly on a corpus of rabbinic sources. In this article, I address one of the essential aspects of the Curiositez inouyes: the re-establishment of astrology based on the doctrines of the ancient Hebrews. I show how Gaffarel used, not without ambiguity, the rhetoric and resources of historical scholarship to introduce a new legitimisation of astrology through the Jewish Kabbalah. Through this analysis I wish to explore how the attitude toward Antiquity shaped the conception of astrology in early modern France.

Na obra Castelo Interior ou Moradas, Teresa de Jesus, mística do Renascimento espanhol, encarou a tarefa de descrever suas experiências extáticas. Semelhante a outros místicos, não o poderia fazer sem interpretar e mediatizar uma experiência que é supralinguística. Por isso recorreu ao simbolismo. Comparou a alma a sete castelos ou globos concêntricos de cristal ou diamante. Esses castelos simbolizam as etapas da ascensão da alma. O Castelo Interior é “a árvore da vida que está plantada nas mesmas águas vivas que é Deus”. (1M 2,1). É inequívoca sua relação com a cabala, mais especificamente com a literatura judaica, conhecida como Hechalot (Palácios).

Demonstrates how the Sefer Yetzirah's GLGL-Wheel is derived mathematically from clues encoded in the ancient text. The Wheel is composed of 231 'gates' and 462 'paths'. Within the Wheel exists a spiral pathway consisting of 441 paths that are referred to as the Teli Serpent spiral. The remaining 21 paths constitute a central mandala called the LB Heart mandala.

Lux in Tenebris is a collection of eighteen original interdisciplinary essays that address aspects of the verbal and visual symbolism in the works of significant figures in the history of Western Esotericism, covering such themes as alchemy, magic, kabbalah, angels, occult philosophy, Platonism, Rosicrucianism, and Theosophy. Part I: Middle Ages & Early Modernity ranges from Gikatilla, Ficino, Camillo, Agrippa, Weigel, Böhme, Yvon, and Swedenborg, to celestial divination in Russia. Part II: Modernity & Postmodernity moves from occultist thinkers Schwaller de Lubicz and Evola to esotericism in literature, art, and cinema, in the works of Colquhoun, Degouve de Nuncques, Bruskin, Doitschinoff, and Pérez-Reverte, with an essay on esoteric theories of colour.

Contributing authors are: Michael J.B. Allen, Susanna Åkerman, Lina Bolzoni, Aaron Cheak, Robert Collis, Francesca M. Crasta, Per Faxneld, Laura Follesa, Victoria Ferentinou, Joshua Gentzke, Joscelyn Godwin, Hans Thomas Hakl, Theodor Harmsen, Elke Morlok, Noel Putnik, Jonathan Schorsch, György Szönyi, Carsten Wilke, and Thomas Willard.

L’article a pour sujet la personnalité extraordinaire du kabbaliste le Rabbin Levi Isaac Krakovsky (1891–1966), un des étudiants oubliés du Rabbin Yehuda Leib Ashlag (1885–1955). Krakovsky diffusait l’enseignement de son maître en Amérique en anglais, écrivait des douzaines de livres et essayait d’établir des yeshivot de Kabbalistes. Contrairement à son maître, il présentait un enseignement exotérique et une vision de diffusion de la Kabbale dans le monde entier. Son influence était minime, mais un de ses élèves était Shraga Philip Berg qui continuait son chemin et le complétait de plusieurs points de vue. L’article se base sur de riches matières archivales, parmi lesquelles de longues essays de l’auteur en manuscrit qui sont décrits ici pour la premiere fois. D’une telle façon, nous décrivons le dévelopment de la Kabbale en Amérique du début du vingtième siècle jusqu’ aujourd’hui.

This study examines affinities between kabbalah and Böhme's theosophy. There are hints in Böhme's writings of an awareness of the esoteric dimension of Judaism, regarding the mystical-magical power of the name. For Böhme, the Tetragrammaton signifies the efflux of the Word, which through Wisdom, facilitates the transition from infinite unity to finite multiplicity. The aspect of Böhme's incarnational theosophy most indebted to the kabbalah concerns the role of the imagination as the faculty wherein the body of God is reflected as the anthropos in the sophianic mirror of nature. Böhme's speculation on the seven properties parallels what kabbalists aver regarding the ten sefirotic potencies that collectively disclose the hidden essence of the infinite in the attributes of lovingkindness on the right and judgment on the left of the Tree of Life. Finally, the study assesses the conceptual correspondence between the desire of the Ungrund in Böhme and the jouissance of the kabbalistic Ein Sof.

This is a 72 page preview of the 327 page OMS - Lessons of Lyon book.

The Lessons of Lyons: Instructions for the Élus Coëns, a critical translation of all 3 manuscripts, for the first time in English. 120 extensive lessons on E.C. initiations, practices and philosophy from three Réaux+Croix: Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (The Unknown Philosopher), and Jean-Jacques du Roy d'Hauterive, delivered at the Lyons Temple between 1774-1776.

These lessons are an in-depth commentary and exegesis on the initiations, mythology, and personal grade work of the Élus Coëns, especially the 1st three Classes of Grades, the Blue Band (I°-III°), Black Band (IV°), and Red Band (V°-VII°). Together with St. Martin's "10 Instructions to Men of Desire", they comprise ones of the most complete commentaries on the cosmology and philosophy of E.C. work written by the original 1700s Masters.

Complete with a 50 page introduction, over 60 illustrations/diagrams, correspondences tables, glossary, index, and an extensive commentary of nearly 500 footnotes cross-referencing key primary source manuscripts and initiations of the original Ordre.

Translated by Alex Bushman, and edited with commentary by Paul Edward Rana.

327 full-colour pages, hardcover with dustjacket, letter-size, $50 USD.

This article deals with the Jewish tradition of magic and its relationship with Kabbalah. It begins by clarifying internal and external views of magic in Judaism, the place of “Kabbalah” and “kabbalists” in the traditional Jewish discourse of ritual power, and the role of “practical Kabbalah” in Israel’s market of New Age spiritual therapies. The focus
is on the mutual relationships between the conceptual and performative foundations of Jewish magic practice and Kabbalah, as well as on Kabbalah’s actual influence on the Jewish tradition of magic.
1.  Jewish Magic—the Emic/Etic Perspectives
2.  Contemporary Discourse of Practical Kabbalah
3.  Magic, Holy Names, and the Rise of Kabbalah
4.  “Practical Kabbalah” and the Tradition of Jewish Magic
5.  Conclusion

At the dawn of the European renaissance in the late fifteenth century, the Italian aristocrat and philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) became the first Christian by birth known to have studied authentic kabbalistic texts. Inspired by what he found, Pico propounded his own Christian form of kabbalah and provided material for generations of thinkers drawn to occult and esoteric philosophy. This essay discusses some continuities and differences between Jewish and Christian kabbala iyyunit or "speculative kabbalah," inspired by the Jewish exegetical techniques of gematria, notariqon, and temura. This essay first introduces Jewish uses of these techniques on the opening words of Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" (Bere'shit bara Elohim et ha-shamayim we-et ha-ares). It then concludes with Christian appropriations of these techniques in the works of Pico and several of his Christian commentators.

This paper will conduct a detail analyze on Freemasonry's symbolism codified to The Great Seal of the United States obverse and reverse sides, The Apotheosis of George Washington, The Centennial Great Seal of 1882, The Capitol Building and the mapping out of Washington DC.

Here I analyze Freemasonry ongoing enterprise of codifying esoteric symbols into the streets and monuments of Washington DC.  Most of the symbols I discuss have never been videoed or written about by previous authors or film makers.

Jacques Gaffarel is best known for his Curiositez inouyes in which he discusses Persian talismans, the horoscopes of the Patriarchs and the reading of the stars. The first part defends « Oriental » religion and philosophy, focusing on ancient Hebrew traditions in particular, the second considers Persian talismans in relation to natural and astral magic, the third part discusses the « horoscope of the patriarchs» or astrology of the ancient Jews, and the final, fourth part concerns itself with how to read the stars and other heavenly phenomena. Gaffarel discusses the origins of these various traditions and argues that they are neither diabolical, nor hostile to Christianity.

In the introduction to Curiositez, Gaffarel justifies his choice of the book’s title by reminding his reader that the curiosities he is discussing, obscure even to their originators, the Jews, are indeed « unheard of » by most Christians, due to their ignorance of the Hebrew language. During the course of these discussions Gaffarel displays his personal knowledge of Hebrew and with it an interest in a doctrine that was a relative newcomer to the Christian West, the Jewish tradition of Kabbalah. This, too, is discussed under the assumption that it is in no way hostile to Christianity, indeed it is presented as a subject that can only serve to deepen a Christian’s knowledge of his own religion and guide him on the path to salvation. Further reading of Gaffarel’s publications reveals a protracted interest in the subject of « Oriental » Jewish Kabbalah and its more recent Occidental mutation, Christian Cabala, concerning which he has been recognised as one of the most prolific authors. This essay shall provide some evidence of the French scholar’s familiarity with the subject.