Two Trees: Magical vs Rabbinical Treatments of the Kabbalah, and How They Can Work Together
Presented by Richard Kaczynski.
In the 1400s, the Jewish mystical system called the kabbalah split into two
very different streams: The magical system taught by western mystery schools
like the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Golden Dawn, A.A. and O.T.O.; and the
rabbinical system found in works by Aryeh Kaplan, Benjamin Blech and the
like. This talk will delve into both traditions: It will begin by convering
how the kabbalah is treated in the west, including the essential tools and
building blocks needed to get the most out of one's initiations and magical
studies (including the Tree of Life, tarot, correspondences, and how these
relate to banishing rituals, the Middle Pillar, and Liber Resh). Next, it
will cover teachings and methods from the "kosher" kabbalah that are rarely
discussed by western magicians, but which enrich and expand the practice of
kabbalistic magick, including the Lurianic Tree of Life, meditative
exercises from Abulafia to the early Chasidic mystics, kabbalistic sex
magick, and equidistant letter sequences.
