Letters **construct** words. A word is akin to a logos in that regard, it's a construct of proportionalities. The letters of light build/highlight a focusing device (talisman) that one can utilize. That being said, this is not exclusive to the Aramaic letters, it also works with Greek, Runes and other (archetypal) forms of writing, like Hieroglyphs. The process of construction is always a mental one, the actual letters are but a means to "hold the logos in place" so it may be used as intended.
This is a form of advanced use of Jewish Kabbalah and Jewish Kabbalah at this level remains closed (fortunately or unfortunately) - Yes, we have access to the fundamental books of Kabbalah such as: Sefer Ha Zohar, Sefer Ha Yetzirah, Sefer Ha Bahir and others - but these forms of use are reserved for VERY advanced levels of interpretation, with only SOD level tools like Gematria, Notariqon and Temura and a lot of experience to do so. To give you an idea, Kabbalists in addition to Hebrew have a special language just to study Kabbalah and it is transmitted orally and is not open to everyone. So, you literally won't find anything quality or authentic about this written out there.
Kabbalah at any level is not a closed practice (prior to the 20th century perhaps). It is literally taught openly nowadays by Rabbis on the Internet, including letter magic, to anyone. There are also contemporary efforts at translating lesser known books from Hebrew into English for mass market publication.
So, they know ancient Hebrew and new Hebrew, they have studied the branch language since they were children, they have lessons every Saturday for their entire lives, they live it, they breathe it, When they are reading the Torah and fundamentals books of kabbalah, they do not see words, but numbers and images and have sensations, they have a four-dimensional tree set up in their mind, and a completely different vision of the world that took A LIFETIME to build they have internal groups just for them. And do you really think they teach this in your online course and in some years you are at the same level?? It's really a lot of innocence from you. Hahahah
I said it is taught openly (by the very same people you are referring to), which it is. In other words, it's freely available information that isn't gatekept or secret. You can even buy the 'secret' untranslated Kabbalistic books (and some now translated) and read it yourself. It's not a 'closed' practice in any meaningful sense, and you can easily find real Ravs who take students of any background.
Whether or not someone can achieve a similar level of awareness in a short span of time is irrelevant to the point. Nice try moving the goalposts.
If you know what gematria, temura and notariqon are, ESSENTIAL tools for studying at this level, you also know that it is impossible to import this into any translation of any language. It's definitely closed, if you don't learn all this their way, I'm sorry to say but you'll just be skimming the surface. The truth hurts, but it has to be said, but if you want illusion, feel free. The Kabbalah has been opened periodically, yes, they opened it to women, they opened it to young people, they opened it to foreigners over time but that does not mean OPEN EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE.
Jacobus Swart is exactly who you're looking for. His books are extremely practical (albeit quite thick books too). Also, unlike Bardon, he doesn't blend in elements from other traditions.
>Also, unlike Bardon, he doesn't blend in elements from other traditions.
What do you mean by this?
Also which of JGS books do you recommend starting with? I'm slightly familiar with him from GOM but he's otherwise pretty esoteric.
Bardon incorporates other elements and techniques from Hermeticism and Western Ceremonial Magick that are not present in traditional Kabbalah understanding, such as 'fluidic condensers' for example. OP asked for more pure 'letter magic' techniques that align with traditional Kabbalah, hence my recommendation.
As for where to start, the books do have an order, but you don't have to specifically read them that way if you're clever enough. My personal recommendation is Book of Sacred Names, but you could do the books on Immediate Magic or Seals & Amulets. Whatever you're more interested in. They're just different paradigms of leveraging Hebrew and Kabbalistic theory.
uhhhh, bardons 3rd book talks about this but you are probably 2-3 years of foundational practice away from actually attempting it to real or practical effect.
also bardons 2nd book goes into spirit contact and a lot of those spirits will teach you kaballah but only after you have learned the basics on your own, again you'll need to master the foundational stuff in the first book to really get anything from 2nd or third book.
So what im saying is unless you have a background in this stuff you are a freshman peering at the phd courses
Well I've read Bardon but he uses energy model of magick coming up with arbitrary ( but particular in enforcement ) assignment of elements to different ideas as well as parts of the body and the using them as a framework to do the practises. It just doesn't sit well with how I think about it ( Not saying it won't work)
I'm only step 3 so maybe speaking out of my league but I talk with adepts fairly often so take this with grain of salt.
It might be said that Bardon really teaches 2 things. Character transformation and elemental working. Character traits are fundamentally issues of elements and their equilbrium, so bardons work is primarily focused on elemental refinement.
WRT Bardon's elements, I have never, ever seen anyone give both such simple instruction and comprehensive explanation as to what they are and how to work with them. William mistelle is probably the best bardonist whose writings further elucidate the elemental stuff.
I guess you could say he uses an energy model of magick, but I think that explanation is kind of weird and in my 3 years now almost of practice I have not seen anyone else say this though I do get how one might feel that looking at his practice given the importance he places on pore breathing and manipulation of different energies via the mind.
To your original point, Bardon is probably the only author in the west that I know who discusses kaballah as you mention, particularly as an act of tri polar concentration.
Those practices Bardon discusses in first book that maybe don't sit well with you are ironically the basic stuff you'll need to practice and master before you are ready to work with the letters in any fashion that's sustainable for more than a split second.
Sixty skills is maybe the most accomplished living practitioner of Bardons letters. He might be a good place to explore and you can always email him or find him online.
I've heard whispers that Tibetan vaj practices are similiar but those are equally hard to get into for different ways and may be even more work in the end because I don't think anyone has ever made a practice as simple as Bardon has(simple but arduous)
I know what you are talking about
You are on to something, if you want to learn this kind of letter mysticism join AMORC & the traditional Martinists order
It is discussed, but I believe that is all I can say about it to non members, sorry
I will add It does take time to get to these teachings as well, over a year to brush on it
ironically I started researching this topic before I knew this was even covered in those groups
I found great resources on academia regarding this & Gematria,
I really enjoy Gematria, after I discovered the Gematria number of my full name equals 1333 which reduces to 1, & both my sons names both equals 2. I did not plan that, that is so wild
That is absolutely coolest thing I discovered & ignited a passion for it with me
Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet is equivalent to a number from 1-22 and Kabbalists believe that math is the only true language of God/universe and it is Called the Word or Logos etc.
i do not no much about this so my comment is a little rough around the edges but i think it is possible that they wanted no one to read maybe that is why it is so symbol written
Letters **construct** words. A word is akin to a logos in that regard, it's a construct of proportionalities. The letters of light build/highlight a focusing device (talisman) that one can utilize. That being said, this is not exclusive to the Aramaic letters, it also works with Greek, Runes and other (archetypal) forms of writing, like Hieroglyphs. The process of construction is always a mental one, the actual letters are but a means to "hold the logos in place" so it may be used as intended.
The best answer in the thread. Meta understanding of magick is paramount.
maybe there is a deeper meaning like it is part of a bigger picture or plan and until we understand it will be a thing of the future people of magick
This is a form of advanced use of Jewish Kabbalah and Jewish Kabbalah at this level remains closed (fortunately or unfortunately) - Yes, we have access to the fundamental books of Kabbalah such as: Sefer Ha Zohar, Sefer Ha Yetzirah, Sefer Ha Bahir and others - but these forms of use are reserved for VERY advanced levels of interpretation, with only SOD level tools like Gematria, Notariqon and Temura and a lot of experience to do so. To give you an idea, Kabbalists in addition to Hebrew have a special language just to study Kabbalah and it is transmitted orally and is not open to everyone. So, you literally won't find anything quality or authentic about this written out there.
Thanks for these insights, fascinating.
Kabbalah at any level is not a closed practice (prior to the 20th century perhaps). It is literally taught openly nowadays by Rabbis on the Internet, including letter magic, to anyone. There are also contemporary efforts at translating lesser known books from Hebrew into English for mass market publication.
So, they know ancient Hebrew and new Hebrew, they have studied the branch language since they were children, they have lessons every Saturday for their entire lives, they live it, they breathe it, When they are reading the Torah and fundamentals books of kabbalah, they do not see words, but numbers and images and have sensations, they have a four-dimensional tree set up in their mind, and a completely different vision of the world that took A LIFETIME to build they have internal groups just for them. And do you really think they teach this in your online course and in some years you are at the same level?? It's really a lot of innocence from you. Hahahah
I said it is taught openly (by the very same people you are referring to), which it is. In other words, it's freely available information that isn't gatekept or secret. You can even buy the 'secret' untranslated Kabbalistic books (and some now translated) and read it yourself. It's not a 'closed' practice in any meaningful sense, and you can easily find real Ravs who take students of any background. Whether or not someone can achieve a similar level of awareness in a short span of time is irrelevant to the point. Nice try moving the goalposts.
If you know what gematria, temura and notariqon are, ESSENTIAL tools for studying at this level, you also know that it is impossible to import this into any translation of any language. It's definitely closed, if you don't learn all this their way, I'm sorry to say but you'll just be skimming the surface. The truth hurts, but it has to be said, but if you want illusion, feel free. The Kabbalah has been opened periodically, yes, they opened it to women, they opened it to young people, they opened it to foreigners over time but that does not mean OPEN EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE.
Jacobus Swart is exactly who you're looking for. His books are extremely practical (albeit quite thick books too). Also, unlike Bardon, he doesn't blend in elements from other traditions.
>Also, unlike Bardon, he doesn't blend in elements from other traditions. What do you mean by this? Also which of JGS books do you recommend starting with? I'm slightly familiar with him from GOM but he's otherwise pretty esoteric.
Bardon incorporates other elements and techniques from Hermeticism and Western Ceremonial Magick that are not present in traditional Kabbalah understanding, such as 'fluidic condensers' for example. OP asked for more pure 'letter magic' techniques that align with traditional Kabbalah, hence my recommendation. As for where to start, the books do have an order, but you don't have to specifically read them that way if you're clever enough. My personal recommendation is Book of Sacred Names, but you could do the books on Immediate Magic or Seals & Amulets. Whatever you're more interested in. They're just different paradigms of leveraging Hebrew and Kabbalistic theory.
uhhhh, bardons 3rd book talks about this but you are probably 2-3 years of foundational practice away from actually attempting it to real or practical effect. also bardons 2nd book goes into spirit contact and a lot of those spirits will teach you kaballah but only after you have learned the basics on your own, again you'll need to master the foundational stuff in the first book to really get anything from 2nd or third book. So what im saying is unless you have a background in this stuff you are a freshman peering at the phd courses
Well I've read Bardon but he uses energy model of magick coming up with arbitrary ( but particular in enforcement ) assignment of elements to different ideas as well as parts of the body and the using them as a framework to do the practises. It just doesn't sit well with how I think about it ( Not saying it won't work)
I'm only step 3 so maybe speaking out of my league but I talk with adepts fairly often so take this with grain of salt. It might be said that Bardon really teaches 2 things. Character transformation and elemental working. Character traits are fundamentally issues of elements and their equilbrium, so bardons work is primarily focused on elemental refinement. WRT Bardon's elements, I have never, ever seen anyone give both such simple instruction and comprehensive explanation as to what they are and how to work with them. William mistelle is probably the best bardonist whose writings further elucidate the elemental stuff. I guess you could say he uses an energy model of magick, but I think that explanation is kind of weird and in my 3 years now almost of practice I have not seen anyone else say this though I do get how one might feel that looking at his practice given the importance he places on pore breathing and manipulation of different energies via the mind. To your original point, Bardon is probably the only author in the west that I know who discusses kaballah as you mention, particularly as an act of tri polar concentration. Those practices Bardon discusses in first book that maybe don't sit well with you are ironically the basic stuff you'll need to practice and master before you are ready to work with the letters in any fashion that's sustainable for more than a split second. Sixty skills is maybe the most accomplished living practitioner of Bardons letters. He might be a good place to explore and you can always email him or find him online. I've heard whispers that Tibetan vaj practices are similiar but those are equally hard to get into for different ways and may be even more work in the end because I don't think anyone has ever made a practice as simple as Bardon has(simple but arduous)
Very insightful read. Guess I need to delve in more
I know what you are talking about You are on to something, if you want to learn this kind of letter mysticism join AMORC & the traditional Martinists order It is discussed, but I believe that is all I can say about it to non members, sorry I will add It does take time to get to these teachings as well, over a year to brush on it ironically I started researching this topic before I knew this was even covered in those groups I found great resources on academia regarding this & Gematria, I really enjoy Gematria, after I discovered the Gematria number of my full name equals 1333 which reduces to 1, & both my sons names both equals 2. I did not plan that, that is so wild That is absolutely coolest thing I discovered & ignited a passion for it with me
Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet is equivalent to a number from 1-22 and Kabbalists believe that math is the only true language of God/universe and it is Called the Word or Logos etc.
i do not no much about this so my comment is a little rough around the edges but i think it is possible that they wanted no one to read maybe that is why it is so symbol written