Frater FP - The Magician's Kabbalah.pdf - Federal Jack

Chapter One; The Tree of Sapphires
Voices of the Word, Leaves of the Light
The Kabbalah (a Hebrew word meaning "handed down", or "oral tradition") is the term used
to denote a general set of esoteric or mystical teachings originally held within Judaism, but later
promulgated to a wider audience in the 12th century onwards through centres of learning such as
Spain. It consists of a body of teachings and analysis dealing with the nature of the Universe, the
aspects of divinity, and the method of creation. From this set of teachings is derived the role of man in
the revealed scheme of things.
The history of the Kabbalah is difficult to fix to dates and linear sequences of succession due
to its nature as oral, traditional, teachings. Long before printing presses, the Kabbalistic teachings
were passed from teacher to pupil as oral teachings and collections of manuscripts, which in turn may
have been copies of other sets being used by other teachers. The original impulse of Kabbalah,
however, emerged from a first century school of Jewish mysticism termed "Merkabah", meaning
"chariot". These mystics utilised secret methods of "spiritual ascent" in order to attain mystical
experience. These experiences can be recognised as those common to any modern adept following the
occult initiatory system, for example; "the world changed into purity around me, and my heart felt as
if I had entered a new world".
The teachings of the Merkabah mystics became part of the "Heikhalot" school, whose name
means "palace", referring to the spiritual planes through which the mystics ascended. The description
of these journeys seems to bear similarities to the journey of the soul into the Underworld depicted in
the Egyptian Book of Coming Forth by Day, with magical words or appropriate names of the gods to
be spoken before each door is passed and each palace entered.
Three classical texts formulate the basic structure of traditional Kabbalah, being ;
The Sefer-ha-Zohar; Book of Splendour - First printed 1558-60 and 1559-60
The Sefer Yetzirah; Book of Formation - First printed in Mantua 1562
The Sefer-ha-Bahir; Book of Light - First printed in Amsterdam 1651