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Tarot and the Jewish Kabbalah

  Disclaimers : The Mystical part of the Kabbalah’s foundations developed around three pillars demarcating the divine within male/female principles and some combination in between and union of the two. “Principle” is the key word. I am not engaging in a political definition of gender, only that kabbalah engages a strong dialectic between masculine and Divine feminine active throughout its processes and a gender polarity language active in the Hieros Gamos .  Secularized Good/Bad perspective are extremely strong in Christian Cabbalesk paradigm. As we look deeper at Jewish kabbalah, we’d need to redefine ideas around demons and the Devil. Lastly, Gershom Scholem lends a word about mysticism saturated with unembodied life forms as they affect spirituality. He says:  The conservative character so frequent in mysticism hinges largely on two elements: the mystic’s own education and his spiritual guide... As to the mystic’s education, he almost always bears within him an ancient heritage” A r

Christian effect on European Mysticism needs revision

  Disclaimers : The Jewish Kabbalah’s foundations develop from three pillars demarcating the divine within male/female principles and some combination in between and union of the two. “Principle” is the key word. I am not engaging in a politically definition of gender, only that kabbalah has a strong dialectic between a masculine and Divine feminine active throughout its processes and a gender polarity language active in the Hieros Gamos .  Good/Bad paradigm are extremely strong in Christian theology which is reflected in their Kabbalah. As we look deeper at Kabbalah, we’d need to redefine ideas around demons and the Devil. And then Gershom Scholem lends a word about mysticism saturated with unembodied life forms as they affect spirituality. He says:  The conservative character so frequent in mysticism hinges largely on two elements: the mystic’s own education and his spiritual guide... As to the mystic’s education, he almost always bears within him an ancient heritage” A religion for

Notes on Tarot Kabalaha and Hieros Gamos

  Notes for THE TAROT, JEWISH KABBALAH AND THE HIEROS GAMOS December 30, 2016 These are citations and notes for the above titled essay.  They are listed a random order generating from the revision made by Amanda Torrey and Grace Mary Perez.  They will be revised for publishing at a later date.  FIRST CONNECTION BETWEEN JEWS AND HIEROS GAMOS: ANCIENT. First paragraph – {1} There is some evidence that establishes the beginnings of the original "Sumerians." According to  Jean Bottero, PhD , " We know that it (Fertile Crescent) was then populated progressively by the inhabitants of the piedmonts of Kurdistan and of the Zagros Mountains, themselves possibly descendants of the Cave dwellers, whose oldest remains go back more than a hundred centuries ." Further, " During the fourth millennium the Sumerians who probably came from the southeast (Dilmun?) seemingly came to mingle with the first populations of "natives" about whom we know almost nothing, and wit

Mysticism has Practical Application in Jewish Kabbalah

  There is a prevailing view in Religious Studies that those involved in academic studies need to be completely objective.  Consequently, too many academics exploring religions are atheists and want to explore topics like ritual and ceremony from a distance which seems ludicrous.  That's like a medical doctor dissecting a cadaver that he thinks will be his model for family practice.  Because our society is so heavily secularized and works from a language as developed by "Tyler/Frazier" that such practices are naive and superstitious. My thesis would have centered on practical applications for mystical paradigms.  The example I'm using comes out from Native American practices as shared by Jim Northrup, an Anishinabe soldier coming back from Vietnam with PTSD.  Northrup began traditional therapy and when he wasn't healing he began using Native American spiritualities of sweat lodges, trickster stories and pow wows. There are two issues we’re facing. 1.  Native Ameri

KABBALAH A Very Short Introduction*, Joseph Dan

In his book, *KABBALAH A Very Short Introduction*, Joseph Dan says,  "The development of the Christian kabbalah began in the school of Marsilio Ficino in Florence in the second half of the fifteenth century. It was the peak of the Italian Renaissance, when Florence was governed by the Medici family, who supported and encouraged philosophy, science and art. Florence was a gathering place for many of the greatest minds of Europe, among them refugees from Constantinople, which was conquered by the Turks in 1453. Ficino is best known for his translations of old esoteric treatises that eventually became the Hermetica. These works that probably originated in Egypt in late antiquity were attributed to Hermes Trismegestus, dealing in magick, astrology and  esoteric theology. “The Thrice-Great Hermes centered on the concept of magic as an ancient scientific doctrine and “source of all religious and natural truth,” which deeply inspired Ficino and his followers. A great thinker that came ou