1 Franz Bardon: The Key to the True Quabbalah The Quabbalist as a Sovereign in the Microcosm and the Microcosm 1986 ~ Publisher: Dieter Ruggeberg / Wuppertal / Germany ISBN 3-921338-03-4 ~ Library of Congress No. 85-670007 ISBN 1-885928-14-9 Contents Preface Introduction Part I ~ Theory Symbolism of the 3rd Tarot Card Theory - The Quabbalah Man as Quabbalist The Laws of Analogy Esoterics of Letters The Cosmic Language The Magic-Quabbalistic Word -- Tetragrammaton The Mantras The Tantras Magic Formulas Theory of Quabbalistic Mysticism Quabbalistic Magic Part II ~ Practice ~ Preconditions Practice -- Preconditions Step I -- Mysticism of Letters Step II -- Quabbalistic Incantation Step III -- Aqua Vitae Quabbalisticae Step IV -- Quabbalistica Elementorum Step V -- The Ten Quabbalistic Keys Step VI -- The Tetragrammaton -- Jod-He-Vau-He -- The Quabbalistic Fourfold Key Step VII -- The Quabbalistic Mysticism of the Alphabet -- First key -- Simple Letters Part III ~ Practice ~ The Magic of Formulas Step VIII -- The Quabbalistic Alphabet -- Twofold Key Step IX -- The Use of the Threefold Key Step X -- The Use of the Fourfold Key -- Formula of Elements Step XI -- Quabbalistic Use of Divine Names & Beings Step XII -- The Quabbalist as Absolute Master of the Microcosm & the Macrocosm Epilogue 2 Preface As promised in the two foregoing works Initiation Into Hermetics and The Practice of Magical Evocation, the author Franz Bardon has now published his third textbook, dealing with the cosmical language, called Quabbalah by the initiates. Those who are already well advanced in their studies of the spiritual, i.e., the hermetic science, by practical work on themselves will naturally be seized with great pleasure and, on account of their having already acquired practical experience, strengthened in their confidence that the road they have taken is virtually the most reliable one and will, without exception, meet all their expectations. Many scientists who have been induced, by their great interest in Quabbalah, to take up the studies of this science in accordance with diverse theoretical pieces of advice will be lost in amazement at the contents of this textbook. If not at once, then certainly very soon will they have to admit, whether they like it or not, that all the specified and widely approved quabbalistic methods in their richness, variety and truthfulness differ widely from those contained in the quabbalistic books hitherto published. Not even the most concealed, most secret libraries of the completely secluded monasteries in the Far East, the so-called ashrams, which are inaccessible to any ordinary earthly being, can pride themselves on possessing the true Quabbalah in one single secret script of such clear and distinct diction. After a perusal of this book even those who have already a good knowledge of the Quabbalah will admit that they have to bring up a good deal until they can call themselves a true Quabbalist. Upon mature consideration the reader can come to the conviction that it counts to drop all incomplete teachings and keep on going with the methods in this textbook. In the history of man, many a Quabbalist has devoted all his life to the untiring but fruitless search for the unpronounceable name of God lost by mankind in the days of yore. Having also gone through this third work conscientiously, the Quabbalist will suddenly have the impression of a miracle, of an immense treasure put into his lap by Divine Providence when, as a reward for his untiring, honest efforts, the true name of God, apart from many other things, will be revealed to him spontaneously. And this exceedingly high reward is being provided for all seekers of truth for whom the three volumes, which are unparalleled in the occult literature, are not merely interesting reading, but a valuable impulse towards the practice of Magic and Quabbalah. Otti Votavova Introduction To my third volume of initiations into hermetics I have given the title of Key to the True Quabbalah, which, strictly speaking, is a theology dealing with the Knowledge 3 of the Word. When engaged in Theurgy, one must, in any case, have gone through a magic development; i.e., one must at least completely master the practices described in my first volume Initiation Into Hermetics. Like my first two works, the present book, too, consists of two parts. In its first part, the theory, I prepare the reader for the difficult field of the Quabbalah, whereas the second part contains the actual practice. Much has been written about Quabbalah, a hard nut in hermetic literature, but in practice only little can be used of all this. Nearly always it is claimed that the person engaged in Quabbalah must have a command of the Hebrew language, without which it is impossible to study Quabbalah. The academic Quabbalah, in most books, is usually of Hebrew origin and is said to convey to the scholar a philosophy of life on the line of a quabbalistic paragon. But the number of books also indicating the practice and the use of the true Quabbalah is very limited. A few Jewish clergymen (rabbis) had a knowledge of Quabbalah, but, probably due to their orthodox thinking, kept it strictly confidential, thus not even fragments of quabbalistic practices have become known to the public. The many descriptions of Quabbalistics do not even offer any theoretical details to the seriously interested student, to say nothing of any true hints for the practice. They only supply at the most, a philosophical representation of the micro-and the macrocosm. The student of Quabbalah cannot get any idea of the Quabbalistic philosophy of life at all, since, on the one hand, he will not be able to see his way in this great confusion of ideas and since, on the other hand, he will still be left in darkness due to the contradictory statements made in different books. My present volume contains the theory as well as the practice, the latter being especially ample, as the diligent student of Quabbalah will see for himself. To represent the whole, comprehensive Quabbalah in one book is, of course, impossible for mere technical reasons. However, I have taken pains to string together the pearls of this wonderful science to an extremely beautiful chain. In doing so, I have naturally taken into account the laws of analogies referring to the micro- and macrocosm, for it could not be done otherwise, if the total aspect of the Quabbalah is to be done without any gaps. I make as little use as possible of the numerous Hebrew terms which have commonly been used in Quabbalah up to now and prefer such terms which are easily understood by everybody. At any rate, the reader studying my book will get quite a different idea, i.e., the right idea of the Practical Quabbalah. He who wants to be successful in convincing himself of the reality of the Quabbalah in practice must go through my two first books Initiation Into Hermetics and The Practice of Magical Evocation systematically. Otherwise, the training to achieve perfection would take too long and any success would ensue very late. However, it is quite up to the reader to study my books merely theoretically. In doing so, he will acquire a knowledge which he would not be able to get from any philosophical book. But knowledge is not yet wisdom. Knowledge depends on the development of the intellectual features of the spirit; wisdom, on the other side, necessitates the equable development of all four aspects of the spirit. Therefore, knowledge is mere philosophy, which by itself alone can make a man neither a Magician nor a Quabbalist. A learned man will be able to say a lot about magic, Quabbalah, etc., but he will never be able to understand the powers and faculties rightly. 4 With these few words I have explained to the reader the difference between the philosopher and the sage. It is up to him either to follow the more convenient path of mere knowledge or to proceed along the more arduous path of wisdom. Already the primitive people, no matter what race they belonged to and which part of our terrestrial globe they inhabited, had their special religion, i.e., an idea of God, and consequently also some kind of theology. Each of these theologies was divided into two parts: an exoteric and an esoteric part, the exoteric knowledge of God being the knowledge for the people and the esoteric knowledge, on the other hand, being the theology of initiates and high priests. Exoteric knowledge never contained anything of true magic or Quabbalah. Thus only magicians and Quabbalists could be the initiates of the primitive people. Since the days of yore it has been the most sacred commandment to keep this wisdom strictly confidential; firstly, in order to maintain the authority; secondly, in order not to lose the power over the people and, thirdly, in order to prevent any abuses. This tradition has been maintained up to the present days, and although my book will convey complete knowledge to my reader, it will only be able to make him know, but it will never give him wisdom. He will have to strive for the latter by honest practical work. The stage of wisdom he is able to achieve will again depend on his maturity and personal development. My book will make the highest wisdom accessible only to the really mature, i.e., the initiate, thus leaving a great gap between the learned one and the sage and not trespassing against the commandment of silence, in spite of my publishing the highest truths and secrets. To the learned man, wisdom will always remain occult; it will only be allotted entirely to the initiate. The science of Quabbalah, i.e, Theurgy, is very old and took its rise in the Orient. The sages of the dawn of history laid down the greatest secrets in the universal language, the metaphorical language, as can be seen from the hieroglyphs of ancient people, the Egyptians, and so on. The ancient sages could only pass on their wisdom in the metaphorical language, i.e., in a symbolic style. The absorption of this wisdom then always depended on the stage of maturity of the relevant scholar. All oriental wisdom was laid down in the symbolic language only. This wisdom remained a secret to the immature or, in other words, to the person who had not reached the necessary state of maturity by developing his individuality under the guidance of a master, a guru. That is why until today all true books of initiation are in agreement with one another on the point that without a personal guru initiation is not only impossible, but even dangerous. A true initiate had to explain the symbolic meanings of the writings to his scholar gradually, according to the development of the same and he taught him the symbolic, i.e., the metaphorical language. The scholar soon got used to his master's language and again was only able to pass on the wisdom in this symbolic language. Thus, up to the present day, this holy science was passed on from one person to another merely by tradition. Any explanation a master gave to his scholar was conveyed to the latter by inspiration, so that it suddenly became clear to the scholar what his master wanted to tell him. This enlightenment, i.e., initiation, had a number of names in the Orient, for instance "abhisheka", "angkhur", etc. Never did a master reveal the true mysteries of wisdom to the poorly prepared or the immature. There were, no doubt, also magicians and Quabbalists who left behind some writings about the highest wisdom. But, as already mentioned, the highest wisdoms were all laid 5 down in the symbolic language and if, by chance, they came into the hands of an immature person, they remained inexplicable to him. However, sometimes it did happen that an immature person tried to explain these wisdoms from his own point of view. That such an explanation was far from any true interpretation goes without saying. Most writers who succeeded in getting hold of writings left behind by initiates of the Orient always made the same mistake, i.e., they translated these writings into the language of the intellect, interpreting them literally. Since they were usually not mature enough to interpret correctly the symbols of a mystery or a practice, a.s.o., due to their lacking the necessary training and the true understanding of the metaphorical or cosmic language, they gave rise to numerous errors in hermetics. Today hardly anyone can imagine how many absurd practices have been published in civilized languages. In my present book I have transformed the symbolic language into the language of the intellect, making accessible the path to true hermetics, to Quabbalah, i.e., the mystery of the word, in a manner in which the initiate may safely proceed. The Author The Symbolism of the Third Tarot Card The picture on the opposite page is the graphic representation of the Third Tarot Card. The first (or outer) circle has ten sections symbolizing the ten quabbalistic keys. These ten quabbalistic keys (v. their color symbolism) are identical with the ten Hebrew Sephiroth. Since these ten keys, or Sephiroth, comprise the knowledge of the whole universe with all its ways of existence, methods and systems, they are placed in the outer circle. The fact that these ten keys refer to the micro- as well as the macrocosm becomes evident also by the fact that the next, i.e., the second circle, reflects the signs of the zodiac of the whole universe, again in the relevant color symbolism. The third circle (going from the outside to the inside) is the planetary circle, which is identified by the planetary symbols and the colors analogous to the planets. All three circles enclose a large square symbolizing the four elements represented in the relevant color symbolism. This square, indicating the realization of the elements, symbolizes the material world. The inner, smaller square signifies the tetragrammatonic mystery, the Jod-He-Vau-He or quabbalistic fourfold Key necessary for mastering the elements and their influences. The sun in the center of the picture represents Divine Providence, the Akasa Principle, the origin of all that exists. 6 Thus not only man (i.e., the microcosm), but also the whole macrocosm is graphically represented by this picture. Furthermore, all keys are drawn in it, the fourfold key being especially dominant, since it is the key to the realization, the materialization of things. Everything that the quabbalah teaches us, i.e., its whole system, all analogies, follows clearly from this picture and its clear symbolism. The meditating quabbalist will therefore deduce all analogies from the Third Tarot Card. Part I Theory: The Quabbalah Quabbalah is the science of the letters, the science of the word and the language, not though, of the intellectual, but -- mark you -- the universal language. The term "Quabbalah" derives from Hebrew. Some religious systems have a different term for 7 this science. Thus, for instance, in India and Tibet, the science of the words is called "Tantra". And again in other religious systems they talk of "formulas", and so on. In my present work I keep to the term of "quabbalah". To speak quabbalistically is to form words from letters; words analogous to this or that idea according to the universal laws. The use of the quabbalistic language has to be trained practically. Quabbalah therefore is the universal language by which everything was made, it is the incarnation of one or several divine ideas. By means of quabbalah, i.e., the universal language, God has created everything. The Evangelist St. John, in the Bible, is also referring to quabbalah when saying, "In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God". Thereby St. John clearly says that God made use of the Word in order to create, by means of It, out of Himself. Only he who is really able to materialize the divinity within himself in such a way that he will speak, out of himself, as Deity in accordance with universal laws, may be regarded a true quabbalist. The practicing quabbalist therefore is a theurgist, a God incarnate, being able to apply the universal laws in the same way as the macrocosmic God. Just like the magician who, after his initiation and personal development towards perfection, has realized the connection with his Deity within him can now act accordingly, the quabbalist can do so, too, with the only difference that the quabbalist is making use of the Word Divine when expressing his divine spirit externally. Every true magician having command of the universal laws can become a quabbalist by appropriating to himself the knowledge of the practical quabbalah. The structures of the quabbalah cited in numerous books do certainly suit the theorist who wants to get an idea of the principles, but they are thoroughly insufficient for the practice which promises the correct application of the powers of the word. This clearly shows that a perfect quabbalist must be a man connected with God, a man who has realized God within himself and who, being a God incarnate, makes use of the universal language materializing everything he says the very moment he says it. In whatever sphere he wants his language to materialize, there it will be materialized. In India, for instance, a man who can at once materialize every word he says is called a "Wag". In Kundalini yoga this power and ability is identified with the Visuddha center. A perfect quabbalist knows all the rules of the micro- and macrocosmic Word, by which the law of the Creation by the Word is meant, and he also knows what true harmony is. A genuine quabbalist will never violate the laws of harmony since he is representing -- with his microcosmic language -- the Deity. If he acted contrary to the laws of harmony, he would not be a genuine quabbalist but a chaote. From the hermetic point of view, a quabbalist, or theurgist, is, in his body, a representative of the macrocosmic Deity on our globe. Whatever he speaks in the original language, as God's representative, is done, for he has the same power as the Creator, as God has. To achieve this maturity and height of quabbalistic initiation, the theurgist must first learn the letters like a child. He must have a complete command of them to be able to form words and sentences with them and to speak, eventually, in the cosmic language. The practice involved in this is dealt with in the practical part of this book. 8 Anyone can occupy himself with the true quabbalah, theoretically as well as practically, no matter what religious system he may adhere to. The quabbalistic science thus is no privilege for people who profess the Hebrew religious system. The Hebrews do maintain that the quabbalah is of Hebrew origin, but in Hebrew mysticism the knowledge of the quabbalah is of Old Egyptian origin. The history of the Hebrew quabbalah, its origin, development, etc., is to be found in the literature on the subject, for much has already been written about this field. In my book, the synthesis of quabbalah is dealt with insomuch as it is absolutely necessary for the practice. I refrain from all unnecessary burdens of historic and other structures of quabbalistic philosophy. The term "quabbalah" has often been abused by degrading it to a play with numbers, horoscopic assessments, name analogies and various other mantic purposes. Although numbers do have a certain relation to letters, as the reader will be able to gather from the practical part of this book, this is one of the lowest aspects of the quabbalah which we do not want to deal with in this place. True quabbalah is no mantic science which makes fortune telling possible, nor is it an astrology facilitating the interpretation of horoscopes or an anagram, the construed names of which make forecasts possible. Since the true quabbalah, when applied correctly, represents the universal laws, relevant analogies of harmony in accordance with cosmic analogies are, up to a certain point, possible. This, however, is ordinary fortune telling and has nothing to do with the true science of the universal language. The reader will agree that this science is most sacred and will never dare to degrade the universal laws to fulfill ordinary mantic purposes. Each religious system had its own genuine quabbalah which it was gradually losing due to the various reforms of the religious systems; it is being fully maintained only in the Orient. The ancient Celts and Druids also had their genuine quabbalah which was well known to Druid priests. The practical use of the runic magic by the Druid temple priests originates from their ancient knowledge of the quabbalah. Today there are unfortunately only very few people who understand the runic quabbalah of the old Druids and can apply it practically. The practical runic quabbalah has been lost completely during the course of time. Man as Quabbalist In my first volume, Initiation Into Hermetics, I divide man into three regions -- into body, soul and spirit -- and there I also mention the quadripolar magnet. It is clear to the meditating scholar that the mental body is connected to the astral body by the mental matrix and that the astral matrix is keeping the mental and astral bodies together with the material body. It is certainly also clear to him that the physical body is kept alive by food (condensed elemental matter), the astral body by breathing. The perceptive faculty of the senses is tied to the material and the astral body by the mental matrix. The future quabbalist must know all this well and must, in this connection, be able to gain a clear picture of the process in his own body if he honestly wants to go in for quabbalah. Apart from this fundamental knowledge, the 9 quabbalist must find a deeper relationship to his own self, and these deeper relations are the actual fundamentals for studying quabbalah. The functioning and working between body, soul and spirit comes to pass automatically with every human being, no matter whether he has been initiated into the secrets of hermetic science or not. For the quabbalist this is the multiplication table: he knows all the processes and is therefore able to arrange his life in accordance with the universal laws. This knowledge distinguishes the initiate from the non-initiate, for the initiate having been taught the laws knows how to make practical use of them and is able to balance out any disharmony between body, soul and spirit. Apart from this, the initiate, by his conscious attitude towards the universal laws, is capable of leading a sensible life in accordance with these universal laws and to proceed along the path to perfection. Already when looking at it from this angle, one realizes that initiation is something quite special, offering a particular view of life. For the initiate looks at the world with quite different eyes than all other people. The various buffets of fate that an initiate might be exposed to can never hit him so hard, and he will never suffer so much. One can see that easily when considering what has been said above. From the quabbalistic point of view, man is a perfect embodiment of the universe, since he has been made the image of God. Man is the highest being on our earth and everything that takes place in the universe on a large scale also takes place in man on a small scale. Seen from the hermetic angle, man represents the miniature world, i.e., the microcosm, in contradiction to the universe, the macrocosm. A genuine quabbalist who really wants to work practically within the scope of the universal laws, i.e., who wants to take an active part in the great work, must, at any rate, have undergone a magic development and must safeguard the genuine ideas in accordance with the universal laws. He who is content with mere theory will absorb quabbalistic knowledge and, apart from this, enrich the intellectual features of is spirit, but the other three fundamental principles of the spirit will lag behind. A theorist will never be able to grasp the essence of knowledge, to say nothing of his inability to bring about anything. He may become a quabbalistic philosopher if he is intellectually talented, but never a genuine, magically trained quabbalist whose spoken word becomes reality. A theorist may become a scientist, but never a sage. The difference between a learned man and a sage is very great. The magician, on account of this magic development, realizes his intention by the power of his will, but due to his ties to God he cannot make the same use of the magic word as can the quabbalist. A magician who is not engaged in practical quabbalah may use the powers which he has developed within himself and, apart from this, is able to call various beings to help him with his work, but a quabbalist achieves everything by his quabbalistic word, without the help of any beings, genii, and so on. Therefore, from the hermetic point of view, a genuine quabbalist is the highest initiate, for he acts for God in the miniature world, the microcosm and, applying the laws of analogy, he may become active also in the macrocosm. This is the difference between the magician and the quabbalist, and therefore anyone striving for perfection will want to occupy himself, in practice, with quabbalah. A quabbalist taking part in the great work is then usually selected by Divine Providence to carry out certain