The Mystical Qabalah (Dion Fortune)
The Claptrap Qabalah
[My 1-star Amazon review (NDA) “The Mystical Qabalah” by Dion Fortune.]
Dion Fortune, author of “The Mystical Qabalah,” bills her mystical Qabalah teachings as “The Yoga of the West.” In her book she makes it clear that the book is about the Mystical Qabalah rather than the practical, or theurgical, one. She writes: “In these pages we propose to give the philosophical Tree of Life, and enough practical instruction to render it available for meditation puposes; but we do not propose to give the Practical Qabalah, which is for magical purposes; because that can only properly be learn and safely practiced in the Temple of Mysteries.”
So this book, according to Fortune, is primarily about the philosophical, or cosmological-theosophical, Tree of Life and yogic, or meditation, exercises pertaining to it. Does Fortune succeed in her exegesis of the Tree of Life and creation of a “Yoga of the West”? My answer is an emphatic “NO.”
First off, Fortune is almost clueless about the Tree of Life. In fact, half way through the book, I tossed it aside because I couldn’t take any more of her nonsense. I could write a book refuting her attributions and explanations, but since this is just a review, I’ll limit myself to a few examples: 1) She has no understanding of Daath, the mysterious, invisible Sephirah located beneath Kether. She considers it to be “formed out of the conjunction of Chokmah and Binah.” In reality, Daath correlates with the planet Neptune, and functions as a “converter-channel” for Kether (which correlates with Pluto), transforming its Force into a flow of divine Power, the Shekinah, or Holy Spirit, which unites with Tiphareth, spiritually en-Lightening the qabalist. Pluto is pressure, the atomic Force of consciousness. But for this conscious Force to flow, it needs an open vessel, a line of least resistance-- and that is Daath. Daath is invisible, open, and empty (like a vagina), allowing the phallic “thrust” of Kether to penetrate into Tipareth. 2) According to Fortune, “… if we assign to Kether the Sphere of the Three in One, the undivided Unity, and to Tiphareth the Sphere of the Redeemer or Son, we may be justified in referring to Yesod the sphere of the Holy Spirit…” Wrong again. The Holy Spirit, the Shekinah, flows from Kether, Consciousness Itself, and redeems the son, contracted Tipareth, transforming him into the Son, Or Self, en-Lightened Tipareth. Yesod correlates with the Moon, the personal subconscious, not with the transpersonal Supernal Influx, the down-poured Holy Spirit. 3) Fortune writes: “In the Vedantan philosophy Kether would undoubtedly equate with Parabrahma, Chokmah with Brahman, and Binah with Mulaprakriti.” Nonsense. Para Brahman would correlate with Ain Soph, the unspeakable Emanator of the ten Sephirot; Kether as the Primordial Adam, the atomic Atman, or Self (which realizes Itself in Tipareth via “marriage” with the Bride, the Holy Spirit); Chokmah with the fourth sheath (of the five sheaths, or “koshas,”which, according to Vedanta, veil Brahman from the yogi)—“wisdom,” the higher mind, or ascertaining intelligence; and Binah pertains to worldly “understanding,” the third sheath, the lower mind. I could continue to deconstruct Fortune’s philosophical Tree of Life, but I’ll stop here out of respect for the book review format, which is not meant for endless critiques. Instead, I’ll briefly turn my attention to Fortune’s “Yoga of the West.”
I have devoted the past forty years of my life to studying, practicing, and teaching mystical and occult systems. I’m not only an expert in the foremost spiritual traditions—Hindu Raja Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, and Kashmir Shaivism; Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism; Christian Hermeticism, the mystical Kabbalah, Daism, and J.Krishnamurti’s teachings—I’ve also practiced professional astrology and have studied the I Ching and Tarot. In my opinion Fortune doesn’t know the first thing about yoga, particularly genuine kabbalistic yoga. All she offers are rudimentary focusing exercises on abstract mental constructs pertaining to a mere map—the abstract Tree of Life. There is no such thing as a “Yoga of the West” as opposed to a “Yoga of the East.” True yoga, genuine kabbalistic yoga, knows no such distinction.
I’ll now summarize real kabbalistic yoga: Kabbalah means “to receive.” And what one receives in genuine kabbalistic yoga, which mirrors Tibetan Dzogchen and the true Christian Eucharist, is the en-Light-ening power of Now, Shakti, the Holy Spirit, or Sambhogkaya. The union of a yogi’s consciousness (soul) with this Spirit produces Awakening, Self-realization. Kabbalah has also been described as the “Work of integration,” which means being integrally, or immediately and unobstructedly, present, so as to be a fit vessel for receiving and uniting with the Divine Light-energy, the Blessing Power from on high that transforms the kabalistic yogi into a Blessed One.
There is no need to even think about the Tree of Life if your only interest is the mystical Qabalah. The term “mysticism” means “communing with Ultimate Reality, as Spirit.” It’s the exact spiritual practice I described in the preceding paragraph. The Tree of Life is only important if you’re interested in the theurgical-theosphical Kabbalah—in philosophy, cosmology, and/or occult divining practices, such as astrology and the Tarot.
In sum, Dione Fortune is clueless about the Mystical Qabalah; and, in my opinion, her book does not merit serious consideration from those looking to understand the true mystical Qabalah.
[My 1-star Amazon review (NDA) “The Mystical Qabalah” by Dion Fortune.]
Dion Fortune, author of “The Mystical Qabalah,” bills her mystical Qabalah teachings as “The Yoga of the West.” In her book she makes it clear that the book is about the Mystical Qabalah rather than the practical, or theurgical, one. She writes: “In these pages we propose to give the philosophical Tree of Life, and enough practical instruction to render it available for meditation puposes; but we do not propose to give the Practical Qabalah, which is for magical purposes; because that can only properly be learn and safely practiced in the Temple of Mysteries.”
So this book, according to Fortune, is primarily about the philosophical, or cosmological-theosophical, Tree of Life and yogic, or meditation, exercises pertaining to it. Does Fortune succeed in her exegesis of the Tree of Life and creation of a “Yoga of the West”? My answer is an emphatic “NO.”
First off, Fortune is almost clueless about the Tree of Life. In fact, half way through the book, I tossed it aside because I couldn’t take any more of her nonsense. I could write a book refuting her attributions and explanations, but since this is just a review, I’ll limit myself to a few examples: 1) She has no understanding of Daath, the mysterious, invisible Sephirah located beneath Kether. She considers it to be “formed out of the conjunction of Chokmah and Binah.” In reality, Daath correlates with the planet Neptune, and functions as a “converter-channel” for Kether (which correlates with Pluto), transforming its Force into a flow of divine Power, the Shekinah, or Holy Spirit, which unites with Tiphareth, spiritually en-Lightening the qabalist. Pluto is pressure, the atomic Force of consciousness. But for this conscious Force to flow, it needs an open vessel, a line of least resistance-- and that is Daath. Daath is invisible, open, and empty (like a vagina), allowing the phallic “thrust” of Kether to penetrate into Tipareth. 2) According to Fortune, “… if we assign to Kether the Sphere of the Three in One, the undivided Unity, and to Tiphareth the Sphere of the Redeemer or Son, we may be justified in referring to Yesod the sphere of the Holy Spirit…” Wrong again. The Holy Spirit, the Shekinah, flows from Kether, Consciousness Itself, and redeems the son, contracted Tipareth, transforming him into the Son, Or Self, en-Lightened Tipareth. Yesod correlates with the Moon, the personal subconscious, not with the transpersonal Supernal Influx, the down-poured Holy Spirit. 3) Fortune writes: “In the Vedantan philosophy Kether would undoubtedly equate with Parabrahma, Chokmah with Brahman, and Binah with Mulaprakriti.” Nonsense. Para Brahman would correlate with Ain Soph, the unspeakable Emanator of the ten Sephirot; Kether as the Primordial Adam, the atomic Atman, or Self (which realizes Itself in Tipareth via “marriage” with the Bride, the Holy Spirit); Chokmah with the fourth sheath (of the five sheaths, or “koshas,”which, according to Vedanta, veil Brahman from the yogi)—“wisdom,” the higher mind, or ascertaining intelligence; and Binah pertains to worldly “understanding,” the third sheath, the lower mind. I could continue to deconstruct Fortune’s philosophical Tree of Life, but I’ll stop here out of respect for the book review format, which is not meant for endless critiques. Instead, I’ll briefly turn my attention to Fortune’s “Yoga of the West.”
I have devoted the past forty years of my life to studying, practicing, and teaching mystical and occult systems. I’m not only an expert in the foremost spiritual traditions—Hindu Raja Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, and Kashmir Shaivism; Theravada, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism; Christian Hermeticism, the mystical Kabbalah, Daism, and J.Krishnamurti’s teachings—I’ve also practiced professional astrology and have studied the I Ching and Tarot. In my opinion Fortune doesn’t know the first thing about yoga, particularly genuine kabbalistic yoga. All she offers are rudimentary focusing exercises on abstract mental constructs pertaining to a mere map—the abstract Tree of Life. There is no such thing as a “Yoga of the West” as opposed to a “Yoga of the East.” True yoga, genuine kabbalistic yoga, knows no such distinction.
I’ll now summarize real kabbalistic yoga: Kabbalah means “to receive.” And what one receives in genuine kabbalistic yoga, which mirrors Tibetan Dzogchen and the true Christian Eucharist, is the en-Light-ening power of Now, Shakti, the Holy Spirit, or Sambhogkaya. The union of a yogi’s consciousness (soul) with this Spirit produces Awakening, Self-realization. Kabbalah has also been described as the “Work of integration,” which means being integrally, or immediately and unobstructedly, present, so as to be a fit vessel for receiving and uniting with the Divine Light-energy, the Blessing Power from on high that transforms the kabalistic yogi into a Blessed One.
There is no need to even think about the Tree of Life if your only interest is the mystical Qabalah. The term “mysticism” means “communing with Ultimate Reality, as Spirit.” It’s the exact spiritual practice I described in the preceding paragraph. The Tree of Life is only important if you’re interested in the theurgical-theosphical Kabbalah—in philosophy, cosmology, and/or occult divining practices, such as astrology and the Tarot.
In sum, Dione Fortune is clueless about the Mystical Qabalah; and, in my opinion, her book does not merit serious consideration from those looking to understand the true mystical Qabalah.
