The
Greek Qabalah
The
Greek Qabalah
The
Pythagorean SourcebookFrom the Phanes Press site: " Pythagoras (fl. 500 B.C.), the first man to call himself a philosopher or lover of wisdom, was both a brilliant mathematician and spiritual teacher. This anthology, the largest collection of Pythagorean writings ever to appear in the English language, contains the four ancient biographies of Pythagoras and over 25 Pythagorean and Neopythagorean writings from the Classical and Hellenistic periods. The Pythagorean ethical and political tractates are especially interesting for they are based on the premise that the universal principles of Harmony, Proportion, and Justice govern the physical cosmos, and these writings show how individuals and societies alike attain their peak of excellence when informed by these same principles. Indexed, illustrated, with appendices and an extensive bibliography, this acclaimed anthology also contains a foreword by Joscelyn Godwin and an introductory essay by the editor, David Fideler.
For a more detailed prospectus of the Pythagorean Sourcebook, click here.
Jesus
Christ, Sun of God
Godwin,
Jocelyn. Harmonies
of Heaven and Earth : Mysticism in Music from Antiquity to the Avant-Garde .
Inner
Traditions, 1995.
Godwin,
Jocelyn. The
Mystery of the Seven Vowels. Phanes
Press, 1991. From Phanes Press: "The seven vowels, which we use every day in speech,
are truly mysterious things. Analysis shows that vowels depend on the phenomenon
of harmonics, which is at the very basis of music, while our sensitivity to them
proves that the human ear is naturally attuned to harmony. When we hear vowels,
we are hearing the laws of harmony, which are ultimately the laws of number that
are said to govern the universe."
(Pseudo-)Iamblichus.
The
Theology of Arithmetic: From the Phanes Press site: "Attributed to Iamblichus (fourth century A.D.), The Theology of Arithmetic is about the mystical, mathematical and cosmological symbolism of the first ten numbers. It is the longest work on number symbolism to survive from the ancient world, and Robin Waterfield's careful translation contains helpful footnotes, an extensive glossary, bibliography, and foreword by Keith Critchlow. Never before translated from the ancient Greek, this important sourcework is indispensable for anyone interested in Pythagorean thought, Neoplatonism, or the symbolism of Numbers."
The
Manual of Harmonics of Nicomachus the Pythagorean. Translation and
Commentary by Flora R. Levin. Phanes Press,
1993. From Phanes Press: "This book is the first ever complete translation of The Manual of Harmonics by the Pythagorean philosopher Nicomachus of Gerasa (second century A.D.) published with a comprehensive, chapter-by-chapter commentary. It is a concise and well-organized introduction to the study of harmonics, the universal principles of relation embodied in the musical scale. Also included is a remarkable chapter-by-chapter commentary by the translator, Flora Levin, which makes this work easily accessible to the reader today. Dr. Levin explains the principles of Pythagorean harmony, provides extensive background information, and helps to situate Nicomachus' thought in the history of ideas. This important work constitutes a valuable resource for all students of ancient philosophy, Western cosmology, and the history of music."
In
the Dark Places of Wisdom by Peter Kingsley
Divine
Harmony: The Life and Teachings of Pythagoras
Jocelyn Godwin.
The Harmony of the Spheres:
A Sourcebook of the Pythagorean Tradition in MusicThis is Part Two of the collection that began with "Music, Mysticism and Magic." It contains the more cosmic and speculative sources, from Plato to Romanticism. My object in both books has been to encourage others to go deeper into these mysteries, and to make life easier for those who are eager for knowledge, but lack the time and access to the original sources. That seems to me one of the few justifications for the scholar's life. -- J.G.
The
Eastern Mysteries : An Encyclopedic Guide to the Sacred Languages & Magickal
Systems of the World : The Key of It All, Book 1
by David Allen Hulse
Table of
Contents
Introduction
First Key---Cuneiform
Second Key---Hebrew
Addendum: The 32 Paths of Wisdom
Third key---Arabic
Addendum: G. I. Gurdjieff
Fourth Key---Sanskrit
Addendum: The Chakras
Fifth Key---Tibetan
Addendum: The Eastern Tattva System
Sixth Key---Chinese
Annotated Essential Bibliography
Index
The
Western Mysteries : An Encyclopedic Guide to the Sacred Languages & Magickal
Systems of the World : The Key of It All, Book II
by David Allen Hulse
Table of
Contents
Introduction
Greek:
Addendum: Pythagorean Number Symbolism
Coptic:
Addendum: Horapollo's Secret Key for the Egyptian Hieroglyphics
Runes:
Addendum: the Ogham Alphabet
Latin:
Addendum: The Three Worlds of the Angelic Alphabets
Enochian:
Addendum: The Enochian Systems of S. L.
MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley
Tarot:
Addendum: Mathers' Qabalistic Proof of the Tarot
Addendum: Tarot Esoterica---Secrets of the
Waite Deck
English:
Addendum: The Magickal Polyglot
Addendum: The Sieve of Numbers
Epilogos:
13 Questions Concerning The Key of It All Series
Annotated Essential Bibliography
Index
Scripture Scholarship, Ancient and Modern
A Brief Excursus on Genesis and Scripture Scholarship
Introduction:
1. The Question of the Days of Creation. As is shown by the enclosed translation of Genesis 1, the Days of Creation are set forth as
Day 1: Light (differentiation between day and night)
Day 2: Water (separation of the upper and lower waters)
Day 3: Dry land (separation between earth and seas) and Plants
Day 4: Lights of the Heavens (sun, moon, stars) to light day and night
Day 5: Fish and Birds created from Water
Day 6: Animals and Humans from Earth
Day 7: God sees that it is good, and rests
It should be noted that the repeated method or logic of the creation story is differentiation, separation, opposition which produces a result: reminiscent of the wisdom of M and R+C about the role of opposition and the law of the Triangle!
In brief, one can say that modern scholars see the text of the Pentateuch to be a literary and religious redaction (edition). The Encarta Encyclopaedia sums this up well:
"According to Jewish and Christian tradition, Moses was the author of the
Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Nowhere in the books themselves,
however, is this claim made; tradition stemmed in part from the Hebrew designation of
them as the books of Moses, but that meant concerning Moses. As early as the Middle
Ages, Jewish scholars recognized a problem with the tradition: Deuteronomy (the last
book of the Pentateuch) reports the death of Moses. The books are actually anonymous
and composite works. On the basis of numerous duplications and repetitions, including
two different designations of the Deity, two separate accounts of creation, two
intertwined stories of the flood, two versions of the Egyptian plagues, and many others,
modern scholars have concluded that the writers of the Pentateuch drew upon several
different sources, each from a different writer and period.
"The sources differ in vocabulary, literary style, and theological perspective. The
oldest source is the Jehovistic, or Yahwist (J, from its use of the Divine Name the
Tetragrammaton modern Jehovah or YHVH), commonly dated in the 10th or 9th
century BC. The second is the Elohist (E, from its use of the general name Elohim for
God), usually dated in the 8th century BC. Next is Deuteronomy (D, limited to that
book and a few other passages), dated in the late 7th century BC. Last is the Priestly
Writer (P, for its emphasis on cultic law and priestly concerns), dated in the 6th or 5th
century BC. J includes a full narrative account from creation to the conquest of Canaan
by Israel. E is no longer a complete narrative, if it ever was; its earliest material concerns
Abraham. P concentrates on the covenant and the revelation of the law at Mount Sinai,
but sets that into a narrative that begins with creation.
"None of the writers of these documents if they were individuals and not
groups was a creative author in the modern sense. Rather, they worked as editors who
collected, organized, and interpreted older traditions, both oral and written. Therefore,
most of the contents of the sources are much older than the sources themselves. Some
of the oldest written elements are parts of poetic works such as the Song of the Sea (see
Exodus 15), and some of the legal material was derived from ancient legal codes. One
recent view suggests that the individual stories of the Pentateuch were collected under
the heading of several major themes (Promise to the Patriarchs, Exodus, Wandering in
the Wilderness, Sinai, and Taking of the Land) and took their basic shape by about 1100
BC. In any case, the story of Israel's roots was formed in and under the influence of the
community of faith." "Bible," Microsoft®
Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000 CD edition. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved. Slightly adapted for this edition by Brother S.
For all practical purposes, the final form of the Pentateuch as we know it (and several
other Books of the OT as well) took shape during the Babylonian Captivity (597-538 BC).
These discoveries, largely inspired by Rosicrucian influences (17th Century to the
present) for the love of scientific truth, do not necessarily mean that
the Initiate Moses’ teaching are not powerfully embodied in the Pentateuch.
Like most other Biblical writings, the books in the form we have them today come
from "The Community of . . ." the named author. (All of the Gospels
are now understood in this fashion as well: the Gospel of John is from
the Johannine Community, naturally based on the teachings of St. John, etc.)
2. Translations of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. At the present, most scholars consider the New Revised Standard Version to be the most accurate. The best study edition is the one published by Oxford University Press:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books (NRSV).
There is a difference in the Canon (list of books) of the Old Testament among religious groups. The Jewish community and Reformed (Anglican & Protestant) Christians follows the Hebrew Canon (The Masoretic Text), which has the fewest number of books. Roman Catholics use a few of the books from the Greek Canon (the Septuagint Text, from the Jewish Community in Alexandria before Christ, cf. Philo of Alexandria, et al.), while Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians use a few more. The Oxford edition of the Bible mentioned above contains all of the extended Canon. Among present-day Christians, there are no variations in the Canon of the New Testament.
There are many other religious writings from the periods just before Christ ("the Inter-testamental period") and the following several centuries. If you want to explore these, several of the best popularly accessible scholarly collections are:
The
New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books (NRSV).
Abegg, Martin (ed)
The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible
Barnstone, Willis (ed)
The Other
Bible
Brown, Raymond, et al.
(ed) The
New Jerome Biblical Commentary
Layton, Bentley (ed)
The Gnostic
Scriptures
Miller, Robert (ed)
The Complete Gospels
Wise, Michael (ed)
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Robinson, James M. (ed)
The Nag Hammadi Library in
English
3. The state of Scripture Scholarship among establishment Christians
Ancient Christian scholars were well aware of the multi-level meanings in the writings of the Old and New Testaments, as well as in other Literature. The first great Christian Scripture Scholar was Origen (ca. AD 185-254), a presbyter of the Church of Alexandria who clearly followed this approach, as did St. Jerome (AD 347-419). Excellent examples of this kind of interpretation can be found in the writings of an Chaledan Deacon, St. Ephrem the Syrian (AD 306-378) and an Antiochian Bishop, St. Gregory of Nyssa’s (AD 335-394) Life of Moses.
In both Eastern and Western Christianity, this tradition continued. In the Mediaeval West, it is exemplified in Celtic Christian writings, as well as those of Richard of St. Victor (d. AD 1173). Interestingly enough for Martinist students, this system of the levels of Scripture became codified by the high middle ages in the West.
It was said that the Scriptures were overlaid by an Integementum (protective covering), which when opened revealed the four levels of meaning:
(1) Historical or Literal (the basic exoteric meaning of the text)
(2) Allegorical (one to one esoteric meanings and references about this plane of existence)
(3) Moral or Ethical (what the esoteric meaning teaches us about how we should live)
(4) Anagogical or Eternal (what the esoteric meaning teaches us about the eternal plane).
This method of textual criticism, analysis and understanding was also used by later Mediaeval Western authors to examine many other texts, for example, The Romance of the Rose. It is closely connected with Alchemy and the whole Esoteric tradition in the West.
For some examples of these Ancient Authors, the following modern editions are highly recommended from the Classics of Western Spirituality of Paulist Press:
Origen:
Selected Writings
Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns
Gregory of Nyssa: Life of Moses
Davies, O. (ed): Celtic Spirituality
Richard of St. Victor: The Book of the Patriarchs, The Mystical Ark, Book Three of the Trinity
For descriptions of all of the Books in this Spirituality series, click here.
Modern Scripture Scholarship is a child of the Western Renaissance and Enlightenment. But also taking its cue from Origen and the ancient scholars. Today, the vast majority of established Christians (Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, "High-Church" Protestants) as well as many Jewish scholars, employ what is broadly called the "Historical-Critical Method." It is the antithesis of Fundamentalism. By-and-large, it is not confessionally-based, but attempts to be religiously neutral.
The Historical-Critical method seeks to study only the first level of meaning (literal/historical), employing all of the tools of modern linguistics, literary study, archaeology, anthropology, comparative religions, etc. This process is called Exegesis. The goal is to
(1) establish the accurate linguistic meaning, compositional history and context of the material studied,
(2) understand the historical and cultural context of the writing,
(3) establish and interpret the genre, style and original intent (insofar as possible) of the author/redactor.
An excellent example of this kind of approach is found in the introductory pages from the New Jerome Biblical Commentary in this packet. Ample use of made of comparisons and contrasts with materials from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gnostic literature, and other contemporaneous surrounding religious literatures and traditions.
While most of these scholars are men and women of faith and prayer, their work does not seek to interpret the material spiritually, but to establish the groundwork for others to understand the text on the first level (historical/literal).
The next step in the spiritual process would be Hermeneutics, the appropriation, understanding and application of an ancient text by a modern community of prayerful mystics. Most Christians who employ the Historical-Critical Method in their studies of the literal level of scripture, would religiously understand prayerfully reading the Old and New Testaments as one of "the Holy Mysteries," that is, a Sacramental occasion of mystical encounter with the Living God, not a search for doctrinal proofs or facile answers.
This is in stark contrast with religious Fundamentalists and Biblical Literalists, who unknowingly use a process called Eisegesis. Having pre-suppositions about morality, spirituality, etc. from their own cultural and social milieu, they unwittingly search the Old and New Testaments looking for justification for their already-held cultural beliefs, and then use the often out-of-context quotations in a method called "proof-texting." They are literally "reading-into" the text what they want to find. Whether they realize it or not, they are using an interpretive tradition based on their own culture to condition their understanding of Scripture. As the Eastern Orthodox religious historian Jaroslav Pelikan once quipped, "the only alternative to Tradition is bad tradition." No human community operates outside the framework of interpretive traditions, consciously or unconsciously.
6/7/2000
Questions? Contact me at TheloEgo@aol.com
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