Druidry and Kabahlah

[Tynan Elder Oak]

Hi all we had a great teaching once on the synchronicity ofthe three rays of awen, the cirlcels of being... (Anwyn, Abred, Gwnvydd and Cuegant) and its correspondance tothe Kabahlah.... I have found one brief mention on a IMHO suspect site on You tube which had little ot offer, and wondered if any of oyu other wise ones here knew anything?

[Creirwy]

I havent heard anything like that, but I would LOVE to hear more!!

Perhaps a seminar with all your fab knowledge on the subject?

[Badger Bob]

The group that got me interested in Druidry as a wee teenager was heavily into Ceremonial magic and Kabbalah in particular. It is a massive subject and I only have a very superficial knowledge of it. John Michael Greer, the Archdruid of the AODA and Mt.Haemus scholar, wrote a brilliant book called Paths of Wisdom many years ago (still available from Thoth pubs) which sets out the traditional associations with the paths and spheres on the tree of life. My druidic experience of Kabbalah is a series of meditations on the paths and spheres which ascends through the three realms from Malkuth to Kether. Alan Moore wrote a comic book called Promethea which is basically a long exploration of this path through the tree in the form of a mystical journey by a woman who inadvertently becomes the goddess Promethea. Well worth reading if you find it.

[MiriamSPia]

I heard of kabalah for the first time many years ago. I even pulled a book about it off a shelf at my father's. He told me that he had looked into it, but he didn't get much out of it. It isn't real in every sense. It is Medeival Jewish Mysticism. Nevertheless, as a system it is known to be quite valuable and useful for many people of various religions.

I am not sure that qabbalah has a legitimate place in druidry, but I'm sure it can be used by people who also study druidry. I think the most important thing about qabbalah for druidry is that it is also nicknamed 'the tree of life'. The tree of life, to me, is an idea which resonates much better with druidry as trees have a much more pronounced role in druidry than in Judaism - to the best of my knowledge.

I think one of most overlooked points of significance in our training is the use of the tree, in the general sense. We do some rites which help immensely but others do not. The roots of the trees are easily overlooked and I think as humans, except for the arborists, there is a tendency to misunderstand some of what is going on. Trees both help one another and compete with each other, for instance. Some dislike humans, some cannot make a real connection for whatever reasons and others seem able to connect, to even befriend or support humans and to be able to relate.

Here is another idea: it occurred to me at some point - what if the animals and plants who befriend some human druid type are just as special amongst their own species for being able to relate to us, as any of us is to be able to connect so well with that individual? Say, only the especially spiritual squirrel or the one with the right personality can even confront the idea of relating to a human. this may seem far off, but where I went to university for 2 of the years of my course there were squirrels in trees along one part of the campus that literally would huck half eaten nuts down at passing humans. Seriously! Yet, I read a newspaper article about an old woman who has troops of the little beasts at her place because they found out that she rescues some of them and is a bit of a naturopathic doctor. Nothing like a leg splint and a safe warm place with food when you're an injured animal!

My apologies if that wandered a bit much. I think kabalah isn't a druid thing at all, but many people in druidry have heard of it and may have chatted with people who love the kabalah.

[MountainGnome]

I'm not sure if Druidism can be reconciled easily to the Kabbalah either, though I also would be very interested in any attempts to try it.

The Tree of Life in the Kabbalah ties together a lot of esoteric Jewish concepts, and to really bring it into Druidism, these concepts would have to be approached in different terms. I wonder how much the tool would have to offer, considering that the Kabbalah seems to be a very intellectually-oriented pursuit while the spirit of Druidism seems to be more along the lines of quieting the mind in an almost Buddhist way as we return to a more natural, peaceful state, at peace with and in tune with our surroundings in a deeper way. But I could be wrong too.

[treegod]

A Woman's Kabbalah by Vivianne Crowley is a good resource. It's not exactly about Druidry and Kabbalah, but it puts Kabbalah into a Neo-Pagan context and, as the name suggests, gives a more balanced place to the Divine Feminine.

[treegod]

For anyone interested, I found this article of John Michael Greer's comparing The Tree of Life and the Wheel of the Year. Very interesting correspondences between the festivals and the sephiroth.

[SeekerOfTruth3]

Have any of you read John Michael Greer's "The Celtic Golden Dawn"? I haven't read all of it but it does combine Qabalah and Golden Dawn style ritual magic with Druidry. JMG has also created the Druidical Order of the Golden Dawn to go along with the book, which is the textbook of the order. I just thought I'd throw that out there for those who may be interested.

[treegod]

Thanks for the info, Seeker. Just looked at the website and it looks interesting. Hmm, I have books to buy, along with Greer's Paths of Wisdom.

[Badger Bob]

JMGs Celtic Golden Dawn is very intriguing. I have read it and it all makes sense from a Ceremonial Magic point of view and is still heavily based on AODA Druidry. With a bit of tweaking it would fit right in with OBOD Druidry as well. I can see myself using a lot of this material in my own Druidry, I had started to go down a similar path but it takes me an aeon to work such things out for myself. Well worth a punt if you are looking for something like Druidcraft but have a more CM leaning than Wiccan.