The Hermetic Kabbalah (Colin A. Low)
Informationally Interesting, Exegetically Flawed
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Hermetic Kabbalah†by Colin A. Low.]
Colin A. Low, author of the “The Hermetic Kabbalah,†is a serious scholar who has devoted decades of his life to studying Kabbalah (both the Jewish and the non-Jewish, or occult and New Age, traditions). Moreover, he is an excellent writer who seamlessly and agreeably communicates his knowledge and insights. But, unfortunately, this does not translate into an impressive explication of the Kabbalah.
Don’t get me wrong: Low provides plenty of interesting and worthwhile information in this text. But this is overshadowed by his failure to grok and proficiently elaborate the Kabbalah. And this failure pertains to both the mystical-ecstatical and the theosophical-occult Kabbalahs.
Regarding the mystical-ecstatical Kabbalah, the “higher†Kabbalah, he has virtually nothing to say. Clearly, he is an un-Initiated mystic, hence the via mystica lies beyond his apprehension and comprehension. He doesn’t broach the subject of the Ruach HoKodesh, or Holy Spirit, in the Kabblistic project. By contrast, Moshe Idel, in his fine text “Kabbalah New Perspectives,†focuses considerable attention on the divine efflux downward.
Most tellingly, in the chapter titled Awakening, Low effectually reduces true Kabbalistic spirituality (relating to and receiving the Supernal Influx) to a reductive theurgical operation. He writes:
“I have spent decades summoning spirits from the vastly deep, for the most part using the ancient model of Iamblicus, Ficino, and Agrippa, that of sympathy – sunathemata. As outlined in Theurgy on page 129, the ritualist uses perfumes, sounds, symbols, music, gestures, plants and objects that are connected through innate occult sympathy with a specific cosmic power, usually anthropomorphised as a spirit.â€
Unfortunately, Low’s exegetical deficiencies are not limited to the mystical Kabbalah, but also infect his discourse on the theosophical and occult Kabbalahs.
His descriptions of the Tree of Life and Sefirot are askew (which isn’t surprising given the sources he cites), and, dismayingly, he all but ignores astrology and tarot, without which the “code†of the occult Kabbalah cannot be cracked.
Ordinarily, I would give a book as flawed as this one no more than two stars, but given that it is a well written and contains worthwhile general, historical, and explanatory information, I have decided to give it three.
[My 3-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Hermetic Kabbalah†by Colin A. Low.]
Colin A. Low, author of the “The Hermetic Kabbalah,†is a serious scholar who has devoted decades of his life to studying Kabbalah (both the Jewish and the non-Jewish, or occult and New Age, traditions). Moreover, he is an excellent writer who seamlessly and agreeably communicates his knowledge and insights. But, unfortunately, this does not translate into an impressive explication of the Kabbalah.
Don’t get me wrong: Low provides plenty of interesting and worthwhile information in this text. But this is overshadowed by his failure to grok and proficiently elaborate the Kabbalah. And this failure pertains to both the mystical-ecstatical and the theosophical-occult Kabbalahs.
Regarding the mystical-ecstatical Kabbalah, the “higher†Kabbalah, he has virtually nothing to say. Clearly, he is an un-Initiated mystic, hence the via mystica lies beyond his apprehension and comprehension. He doesn’t broach the subject of the Ruach HoKodesh, or Holy Spirit, in the Kabblistic project. By contrast, Moshe Idel, in his fine text “Kabbalah New Perspectives,†focuses considerable attention on the divine efflux downward.
Most tellingly, in the chapter titled Awakening, Low effectually reduces true Kabbalistic spirituality (relating to and receiving the Supernal Influx) to a reductive theurgical operation. He writes:
“I have spent decades summoning spirits from the vastly deep, for the most part using the ancient model of Iamblicus, Ficino, and Agrippa, that of sympathy – sunathemata. As outlined in Theurgy on page 129, the ritualist uses perfumes, sounds, symbols, music, gestures, plants and objects that are connected through innate occult sympathy with a specific cosmic power, usually anthropomorphised as a spirit.â€
Unfortunately, Low’s exegetical deficiencies are not limited to the mystical Kabbalah, but also infect his discourse on the theosophical and occult Kabbalahs.
His descriptions of the Tree of Life and Sefirot are askew (which isn’t surprising given the sources he cites), and, dismayingly, he all but ignores astrology and tarot, without which the “code†of the occult Kabbalah cannot be cracked.
Ordinarily, I would give a book as flawed as this one no more than two stars, but given that it is a well written and contains worthwhile general, historical, and explanatory information, I have decided to give it three.
