A question about which books to read..

trinityangel

Hello, I've been looking at Qabala for the last 3 years and the books I have been studying are:

'Simplified Magic' by Ted Andrews, and

'The Witches Qabala' by Ellen Cannon Reed. (I know this one's a bit of a mix as it's to do with the pagan path of Qabala.)

So I just wanted to know if anyone has read these two, what you've thought and any other books to recommend.

Many Thanks
 

bradford

A question about which books to read

Hi there.
I personally don't hold a high opinion of those approaches.
I think you'd be better off first reading a good introductory book from the Jewish perspective (usually spelled Kabbalah), and then one from the Western Mystery Tradition perspective (usually spelled Qabalah) second.
To keep it simple, maybe Daniel Matt (The Essential Kabbalah) for the first, and Dion Fortune (The Mystical Qabalah) or Mathers (The Kabbalah Unveiled) second. You should also read the Sefer Yetzirah by itself, maybe the Kaplan translation. I'd avoid the new-agey stuff and books from the Research Center of Kabbalah. If you want a good publisher for Kabbalah try anything from Jason Aronson, for Qabalah, Weiser's usually a good bet.
There's a huge bibliography at my website www.hermetica.info/TongBib.htm if you want to get an idea of what's out there. It includes Tarot.
 

trinityangel

Thanks Bradford.

I first read simplified magic about 4 years ago, and although the introduction is a bit new-age-like, I thought it was a really good total beginners read into the Qabala. It was easy to understand, some books being a lot more confusing, and a way to familiarise with the names colours and associations of the Qabala. So I think it's a good refernce to go back to, though I need to read some more on working with the Qabala, to go throught the different stages as that book lacks what to do there.

Thanks again for your suggestions, I'll be looking up the authors and books very soon.
 

wizzle

Chicken Qabala by Lon Duquette is a must. It has a great section on the tarot cards, btw. It's easy to understand and funny but should not be underrated therefore for content. Duquette knows his stuff.

I second the recommendation for Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabala but it's a dense read for those who have no background in high magick.

I've read Regardie's intro book on qabala, Garden of Pommegranites, and would say it's ho hum except that in the current edition the Cicero's give some great exercises for pathworking.

While it's a book on the Thoth deck, Duquette's Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot is loaded with qabala goodies. So if you already have the Thoth, this is a good choice.

Mather's is an advanced read, imho. But it's free online at http://www.tarot.org.il/Library/English.html which is a darn good reason to read anything.
 

trinityangel

hey,

muchas muchas gracias wizzle for that link. Loads of interesting stuff to read and for free too, Heaven!!! Just bought the mythic tarot book too, so going to have my head stuck in books and printed pages for a while.

*peace, love, harmony*
 

linabeet

I just got the 'Qabalistic Tarot' by Robert Wang and it's fantastic.

I kept reading online how good it was but it's OOP, priced high on amazon, when it's there. I was downtown the other day and remembered this tiny bookstore I hadn't been to in a while. It's on the edge of town, down these crooked stairs, hidden from the street, full of dusty old arcane occult books. I can't even remember what the store is called now. Very harry potter. There in a batch of new arrivals was this banged up old copy for 16$.

I haven't been able to stop reading it. It's definately dense and loaded with info but it's well put together and interesting to read. Much of it has gone in my head and out already but I'll know where to go for the info now.
 

wizzle

I finally nailed down a copy of Qabalistic Tarot as well after an abortive attempt to get it used via Amazon. I found my copy on www.abebooks.com. I can only say it was worth the money and worth the wait. I didn't get nearly the deal linabeet did and am jealous... lol.
 

Pauline Kilar

I second the recommendation for CHICKEN KABBALAH. It is a great intro, packed with information and really funny.
 

Fulgour

KABBALAH DECODER
Revealing the Messages of the Ancient Mystics
by JANET BERENSON-PERKINS

ISBN 0764152629

reviewed by Steve McCardell

http://www.newtimes.org/issue/0103/decoder.htm

"Kabbalah Decoder is a beautifully designed and illustrated book that, like so many others today, introduces us to the basics of Kabbalah. There are some important differences, however, that do make this a unique work, and one from which a beginning student may gain a lot."

"First among these differences is that many of today’s titles are written from a Christian, alchemical, or other approach, whereas this one roots itself in the traditional Judaic approach. One won’t find Tree of Life (the traditional Kabbalistic glyph) associations with tarot, for instance, though the book does include a chapter showing how Kabbalah relates to a number of different mystical teachings."

"Another difference from many titles is that, unlike those merely explaining the Kabbalah, this takes the more traditional approach of Jewish study, helping one to learn through questions."
 

MikeTheAltarboy

I've read
The Mystical Qabala (fortune)
The Essential Kabbalah (Matt) (actually my first one - randomly a gift from my mom!)
The Chicken Qabalah (DuQuette)
The Sepher Yetzirah
and The Garden of Pomogranates (Regardie)
and liked them all.

I'd also recommend
Heavenly Powers: Unraveling the Secret History of the Kabbalah (Neil Asher Silberman) as a history of Hebrew Kabbalah,
and
The LWB from The New Golden Dawn Tarot (Cicero) or
The LWB from The Thoth Tarot as good overviews of it's relationship to tarot.