Kabbalah - Qabalah - Cabala

Best I can figure it out, if it is spelt with a "K" it is the Hebrew version. Spelt with a "C" it is the Christian version  (I know nothing about this) and spelt with a "Q" it is a Judeo-Christian pagan version. This is the one used by the Golden Dawn. The one with the "Q" uses it more like a magickal system. The Hebrews us it more along a meditative spiritual system, but the also have The Key of Solomon, so magick is also there. Not everyone agrees with ithis. QBL is pretty generic for "pick your own spelling".

Also, take you pick of how many "B's" and "L's" to put in it. I've done a ton of looking to get this sorted out, but I just kept getting more confused, so I decided to only concentrating on the Kabbalah that I want to use.

I've only been at this for a few months, so this is very basic stuff. There should be enough here for you to decide if this is something you would like to pursue.

My purpose for learning the Kabbalah is to know G-d in a transcendent. spiritual, magickal Christian way. My spiritual transcending will come through the Hebrew Kabbalah. They are the roots of Christianity. I also wish to learn about the magickal aspect of the Hebrew Kabbalah, which is used in the Greater Key of Solomon, but that's way down the road. First the Tree of Life.

What I have learned so far is that working the Tree of Life comes in many different stages. At this first stage I am learning about the characteristics of the Divine and recognizing them in everyday life. The outer stage. For me it's like learning what God is like and looking for that in the Goddess. The sephirah called Tiphareth is called Beauty, but refers the Sacrificial God of your choice. For me that would be Jesus, but for the Hebrew it's Messiah. Everything else in the Tree connects to this. It's the heart of the Tree. I look at it as God incarnated. All of these are aspects that are in us as well. This is the inner stage. Our heart is the Beauty of the unconditional love that Jesus shows us.

A quick run through the Tree. Starlight's version :-)

10. Malkuth, the Kingdom of God on Earth

9. Yesod, our Foundation in Faith

8. Hod, the Splendor of this kingdom

7. Netzach, our Victory over sin

6. Tiphareth, the Beauty of the unconditional love of the Divine

4. Chesed, Mercy to all people;

5. Geburah, our Strength to conquer sin

(hidden) Daath, Knowledge

3. Binah, Understanding

2. Chockman, Wisdom

1. Kether, Crown - One with the Divine

There are 32 different paths on the Tree. The tarot's major arcana are connected to these paths as the Hebrew alphabet in Psalm 119. I like the tarot and love the idea of using the Bible, so I do both. I use Psalm 119 for meditating on the paths in the Tree and I use the Tarot for meditating on the Sephiroth on the Tree. I could not find a correspondence chart for each sephirah and the major arcana, so I made my own.

I used the Hansen-Roberts deck, so the Strength card looks to me more like a women of strength showing mercy. I use that card for the sephirah Mercy. I encourage you to make this up for yourself with your favorite tarot deck. Remember our relationship with the Divine is a very personal one.

There are also temples with magickal gifts and images for each sephirah. Each sephirah has a list of strengths and weaknesses as well. The magickal image for Strength is a chariot, so you can see how the Chariot card fits in well for the sephirah Strength. These gifts and images have been used for hundreds if not thousands of years, so they have a life of their own for this purpose. I would encourage you to use these gifts and images in your temple as well as adding your personal touch.

There are also correspondences for musical note, color, incense, stone, planet, and angel for each sephirah. There are tons more, but these are the ones I use and will list at each sephirah. I don't use all of them at the same time. Don't overload yourself.

Follow the link to Tree of Life and click on the individual Sephirah to get the correspondences for that sephirah.

The Tree of Life is not only about the creation of the universe or our relationship with the Divine, but it is also a way for us to reach back up to the Divine with clear and well worn paths for us to follow.

Blessings on your journey

Text only on correspondences

Tree of Life with links

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