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application form)
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah is a way of understanding all aspects of ourselves and is a rewarding
guide for personal and spiritual development.
Based on a map of consciousness called the Tree of Life, Kabbalah, or Qabalah
(an alternative spelling), is relevant to modern everyday life, offering
greater freedom and fulfillment through including the experience of both
our spirit and shadow sides.
Want to know more about Kabbalah, Qabalah and the
Tree of Life?
What is the difference between Kabbalah
and Qabalah?
Is non-Jewish Kabbalah authentic
or not?
What group courses do you offer?
What books can I read about Kabbalah?
Do you have any articles I can read
about Kabbalistic topics?
What does Kabbalah say about sex
and parenting?
Is Kabbalah a kind of therapy?
What is the link between Kabbalah
and Christianity?
What are energy bodies and how
does Kabbalah describe them?
What does Kabbalah say mediumistic
or channeled material?
What links do you have to Kabbalah,
Qabalah and related topics?
Anything we haven't covered, please let us know .
Available Now!
Kabbalah for Life
How to use
the power and wisdom
of this ancient tradition
Basically there is no difference between 'Qabalah' and 'Kabbalah', they
are simply alternative transliterations of the Hebrew word composed of the
letters Qoph, Beth, Lamed and He. As these are usually written as QBLH it
makes sense, in one way, to use the transliteration QaBaLaH. On the other
hand, more people use the word Kabbalah than use Qabalah, and maybe it makes
sense to stick to one spelling that, although strange, isn't as weird looking
as a word with, for instance, a 'Q' without a 'U'!
It used to be the case that the transliteration Qabalah was applied to the
version of the work associated with the Western Mystery Tradition, whereas
Kabbalah was applied when the version being used was associated with the
Jewish Mystery Tradition. Taking this even further, the transliteration
Cabalah was used when it was the Christian version being applied. This quite
useful difference was never fully accepted however, and never rigidly applied
to. In more recent times it has completely broken down and the words are
often used interchangeably.
Qabalah/Kabbalah working in the Western Mystery Tradition uses the same
correspondences, or very similar ones, to those given in my books. That
includes some 'modern Jewish' traditions. Traditional Jewish Kabbalists
use several different, but fairly similar, versions of correspondences which
are not too dissimilar to many used in the Western Mystery Tradition. Some
Western Mystery Tradition Qabalists and some Jewish Kabbalists make up completely
different sets of correspondences, etc., which are highly personal connections
of varying value to the rest of us. Some far out Qabalists/Kabbalists are
just plain crazy/wild!
At the bottom line, it seems to me it is what is being described that is
important, not the way you spell the word. How you transliterate the Hebrew
letters QBLH doesn't make one iota of difference to the Magical Hebrew Alphabet
itself which remains infinitely mysterious and excitingly revelatory when
it is used by a Kabbalist, Qabalist or cabalist.
The same applies to the pronunciation of Hebrew words. Should GBVRAH be
pronounced Geburah or Gevurah? As what we are dealing with is an ancient
holy alphabet, not a modern language, I prefer to say Beth is 'B' because
it avoids any misunderstanding. And from a magickal viewpoint, when we say
Geburah we are not using a modern Jewish word (meaning power or strength)
we are pronouncing individually and together a string of sounds which create
an effect. Perhaps ultimately with spelling and pronunciation, the important
factor is in the intent.
Having said all this, I have generally moved over to using Kabbalah for
my work rather than Qabalah, despite a long association with the latter.
This is a mainly pragmatic decision (the word with a K is more widely recognized
and used.) The reification of language is an vital part of the work of a
Kabbalist and magician; petty disagreements on how to transliterate words
is of no value in the journey to come to OneSelf.
© Will Parfitt 2006 (v7.1)