Achad's or Bardon's Qabbalah books, Which should be read with Regardie's GoP Options

Hello folks!

I just finished reading Dion Fortune's book " The Mystical Qabbalah" and have just started reading Regardie's " Garden of Pomegranates". Since the latter book is so thick making it kinda hard to pack around at work and also keep it out of harm's way, I was looking for a pdf that I could print out and take to work not having to worry if it gets fuel on it and ,most importantly, complement "Garden's" and "Mystical's" take on the Qabbalah. The two that I am looking at are Bardon's " Key to the True Qabbalah" and Achad's "QBL". In y'all's opinion, which would tie in better with Fortune's and Regardie's
books or is it pretty much "six of one, half dozen of the other"?

Any guidance much appreciated

G.L.B.

Greetings!
Achads QBL would be more in keeping with Regardie and Fortune. Bardons book is good but follows his own system. Happy Reading! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_bookread.gif)

bym,

Thank you for the input! Just out of curiosity, is there a great deal of difference between the two systems?

G.L.B.

Actually, yes! Bardon's system has a different Gematria than Achad, who tends to favor the Golden Dawn/OTO approach. Frater Nero and Doc Holiday are perhaps the two names that come immediately to mind on this Forum that are in the know. Read up! Bardon's approach is wrapped up in his system of magic as opposed to Achad who favors more the mainstream western idea(s). They both make some very interesting points. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/book.gif)

Hello folks!

I just finished reading Dion Fortune's book " The Mystical Qabbalah" and have just started reading Regardie's " Garden of Pomegranates". Since the latter book is so thick making it kinda hard to pack around at work and also keep it out of harm's way, I was looking for a pdf that I could print out and take to work not having to worry if it gets fuel on it and ,most importantly, complement "Garden's" and "Mystical's" take on the Qabbalah. The two that I am looking at are Bardon's " Key to the True Qabbalah" and Achad's "QBL". In y'all's opinion, which would tie in better with Fortune's and Regardie's
books or is it pretty much "six of one, half dozen of the other"?

Any guidance much appreciated

G.L.B.

Tarnished books are the best! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

The mystical qabalah and garden of pomegranates should contain all you need to know, but if you still feel lost I would actually recommend Will Parfitt's "The Complete Guide to The Kaballah", a small 260 page book. Easy reading (lots of diagrams), and might give you a better grip on the qabalah. It aims more at the common sensible mind than the books you mention.

Hell, I might misunderstand the situation here, but I'll take the chance.

-thief

This post has been edited by thief_and_a_liar: Jul 28 2005, 01:19 PM

I know I'm ressurecting an old thread, but it's been a while since I've perused the forums here. Without further ado, here are my two cents:

1)Read some books on the history of the Qabbalah. Gershom Scholem is perhaps the author to whom one should turn in this endeavour.

2)In choosing between Fr. Ahad and Bardon, I will second the voices which have weighed in favour of Fr. Ahad. While I have not read any books by Fortune, I have read Regardie's multiple times and agree that Fr. Ahad's text will be more in line with this than Bardon's.

3)Papus' book on the Qabbalah is decent, as is Godwyn's Qabalistic Encyclopedia (it has some textual errors, but nothing that will affect Hermetic use of the Qabbalah, since the textual errors are those found everywhere save Regardie, who seemed more than a little zealous for the Jewish origin of the tradition).

4)Once you have read through some basic books, you really should pick up a copy of the Sefer Yetzirah. If you can make sense of it, then you're ready to move on to more obscure texts (provided you're able to read Hebrew!).

Thank you all for the the info!

DocHolliday, which of Gershom Scholem's books would you recommend I start with? Also, would you by any chance know of any sites that have basic instruction on Hebrew (prfererably free 'cause I'm cheap!)?

G.L.B.

On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism would be the best place to start with Scholem, IMHO.

As for learning Hebrew, run a Google search. It will take some wading, since most of the results point to either books or classes. You could always get Hebrew for Dummies (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Personally, I started with a text called HaYesod which wasn't too expensive. Check the libraries also!

Hmmmm... The "Dummies" books always seemed a bit advanced for me.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/uglyhammer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/uglyhammer.gif)

I looked on amazon for "HaYesod" and the book descriptions say that it teaches modern hebrew. How different is modern hebrew from biblical hebrew and, in your opinion, which would be better for magical studies or would they be about the same?

Thank you once again

G.L.B.

Edit: Mods, if you think that this thread is starting to get too off topic please let me know and I will start a new thread. Thank you

This post has been edited by G.L.B.: Aug 19 2005, 04:14 AM

The difference between Biblical and Modern Hebrew is negligible, IMHO. For example, I taught myself using Modern Hebrew resources, and first used it reading my prayerbooks and the Hebrew Bible! Some things are different, but it's like comparing modern English to Olde Engliffe.