The work of an old wanderer in Kabbalistic 'wasteland' -- Brother Steven Ashe. This is not an introductory kabbalistic text -- goodness knows there are enough of them in circulation. What follows is an initiate's journey through a particularly obscure and largely unexplored territory; told in the form of a fictional narrative. Well I suggest you cut to the chase now and start enjoying this latter day pilgrim's progress from life to the 'City of the Pyramids'. But for the perplexed I offer a few more words by way of my own personal prolegomena to Steven's eloquent parables and meditations. Whatever the literal meaning of the word 'Kabbalah' it actually denotes the magical tradition within Judaism. For various reasons this secret tradition has exerted a huge influence on Hermetic or Western magick for at least the last 500 years. Since, that is, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 by the authoritarian Christian monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella. The upshot of the destruction of Jewish centres of learning was the spread of Kabbalistic ideas throughout Europe and the publication of ideas that previously had only been transmitted by word of mouth. Many Kabbalistic ideas are very ancient and formulated in the last few centuries before the dawn of the common era. These important magical ideas were formed in the melting pot which including, Greek magic, gnosticism and concepts from Egypt, Persian and even India.
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"This is not an introductory kabbalistic text, goodness knows there are enough of them in circulation .... What follows is an initiate's journey through a particularly obscure and largely unexplored territory ......"
Mogg Morgan
Mogg Morgan
From the Author
There are many texts which deal purely with the
mechanistics of the Tree of Life. These often provide an 'engineering model' of the Qabalistic scheme of Creation, yet fail to leave the reader with any sense of the psychological drama of the experience of working with the Sephiroth. The contemporary focus which the Western World has on the tradition has ignored the storytelling side of what is essentially an oral tradition. I think this is mainly because there has been a tendency to remain blissfully ignorant of the influence of those other children of Abraham who, alongside the Judaic tradition, developed an Islamic faith giving us the Sufi storytelling genre which has a Zen wit bordering on nonsense lore. This was called 'The Wisdom of the Idiots' by Idries Shah.
mechanistics of the Tree of Life. These often provide an 'engineering model' of the Qabalistic scheme of Creation, yet fail to leave the reader with any sense of the psychological drama of the experience of working with the Sephiroth. The contemporary focus which the Western World has on the tradition has ignored the storytelling side of what is essentially an oral tradition. I think this is mainly because there has been a tendency to remain blissfully ignorant of the influence of those other children of Abraham who, alongside the Judaic tradition, developed an Islamic faith giving us the Sufi storytelling genre which has a Zen wit bordering on nonsense lore. This was called 'The Wisdom of the Idiots' by Idries Shah.
The three main characters of the work, Kif, Kilo and Coconut represent the three aspects of the Soul: the Spiritual Self (Neschamah), the Soul (Ruach) and the Personality (the Nephesch). Their interaction with the challenges, riddles and guardians of the paths and gates takes place within a model of the ten Sephiroth of Tree of life where the influence of the lower Spheres are transcended - a consequence which allows the journeying consciousness to escape the limitations of the world of certainty as it wanders towards the Abyss of Desolation and the City of Pyramids that lies beyond.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Maverick
Format:Paperback
One of the most original commentators of The Qabalah, the author presents a mystical view of the progress of the initiate which will immediately appeal to anyone interested in the inner quest of the contemporary Golden Dawn school initiate. The text incorporates traditional Continental Hermetics of the Levi / Papus school, the mythos of the Hermetic Golden Dawn and is inclusive of a select cross section of Aleister Crowley's psycho-spiritual imagery. The book gives a detailed account of general Qabalistic lore (the foreword by Mogg Morgan is also one of those 'must read' for anyone struglling with the basics of the system known as the Qabalah) which serves as Part One of the Book. Part Two takes the form of a variety of symbolic parables rich in Qabalistic symbolism which are a cut above the standard 'by the book' renderings of what the Qabalist can expect to confront upon the mystical planes of the Tree of Life. There is also a fine bent to the highly imaginative stories involving characters that represent the three Aspects of the Self according to the Qabalah (the Nephesch, the Ruach and the Neschamah - the personality, the Intellect and the Spirit). The lore of the Qabalah is also juxtaposed with the genius inifinity mathematics of Georg Cantor and the philosophical dilemmas of Quantum Gravity Theory and Time / Space displacement. For those seeking a lot more depth from Qabalah books than the boring humdrum of those authors that seem only to be seeking to represent the same old theories, time and time again, this book is a breath of fresh air. The symbolism may be quite heavy for beginners, but this does not mean that there is any real confusion for novitiates. Rather, the work is like a many layered painting that can be appreciated more and more as the student learns more about the Qabalah. No other book on Qablah is quite like this.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly inspired work
13 July 2008
By Damian Murphy
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Simply put, this book is a tremendous breath of fresh air which comes sorely needed in the dusty library that is 99% of modern occult writing. Many books on the subject of Western hermetic magic, specifically Golden Dawn or Thelemic magic, come out every year, containing little more than the same rituals, techniques and maxims re-hashed again and again and again. This book is truly different. I can honestly say that I've never seen anything like it before. It is a true original, a genuine work of inspiration.
Adapting the Sufi tradition of passing on sacred knowledge through allegorical stories, Ashe presents stories for 35 of the 50 Gates of Understanding (the first ten are elucidated directly, while gates 46-50 are presented in a slightly different form). The stories feature three main characters: Kif, Kilo and Coconut; representing the Neschamah, the Ruach and the Nephesch respectively. The characters weave in and out of the narrative throughout the course of the 50 gates, interacting with each other sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. Each story stands on its own as a single lesson or allegory, while collectively they weave an intricate parable of the evolution of the soul. The whole work is shot through with the light of direct experience, rising far above the level of intellectual speculation.
The book is a pleasure to read. Time and time again I've come back to it, pondering the various levels of meaning contained within the stories. More than once it's helped me come to grips with some elusive aspect of my own spiritual progress. I highly recommend it to all seekers on the path of occult wisdom.
Adapting the Sufi tradition of passing on sacred knowledge through allegorical stories, Ashe presents stories for 35 of the 50 Gates of Understanding (the first ten are elucidated directly, while gates 46-50 are presented in a slightly different form). The stories feature three main characters: Kif, Kilo and Coconut; representing the Neschamah, the Ruach and the Nephesch respectively. The characters weave in and out of the narrative throughout the course of the 50 gates, interacting with each other sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. Each story stands on its own as a single lesson or allegory, while collectively they weave an intricate parable of the evolution of the soul. The whole work is shot through with the light of direct experience, rising far above the level of intellectual speculation.
The book is a pleasure to read. Time and time again I've come back to it, pondering the various levels of meaning contained within the stories. More than once it's helped me come to grips with some elusive aspect of my own spiritual progress. I highly recommend it to all seekers on the path of occult wisdom.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspirational
23 Mar 2009
By A. McDonald
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a nice read and quite inspiring, in introducing the reader to the 50 gates. One must ponder and examine within to obtain some of the lessons here, and is especially effective for Thelemic students and adepts. I might add that this book is included in the "The Complete Golden Dawn Initiate", as well. This is a well done, inspirational book, and I can highly recommend it.
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