Magical Healing & a Consumer Society - Part 1

The employment of Segulot (Magical techniques or Spiritual Remedies) has generated heated reaction from “mainstream” religionists rejecting its use altogether, whilst the more esoterically minded consider such remedies to be most valuable and effective. Regarding the latter, Shlomo ben Adret, the great Rashba, wrote: “And I say that it was the kindness of the Supreme Being at the start of Creation to create in his world things that would ensure the health of the created beings, that if the existents happen to fall ill or for any other reason deviate from their natural perfection, these [things] are ready to restore them to their realm or to make them healthy. And He placed these forces in the essence of things found in nature, as may be attained by study, such as medications and aids known to scholars of medicine, or in nature based on properties but not attainable by study..... And it is not impossible that such a power should also be in speech, as in the case of amulets and similar things.” [Ben Adret, S.: Responsa, transl. in Schwartz, D.: Studies on Astral Magic in Medieval Jewish Thought, Brill, Leiden & Boston 2005.]

I am a firm believer in Segulot, Refu’ot, Kame’ot, in fact, in all things “magical” and “miraculous,” and I have personally derived great benefit from the use of Segulot for a variety of purposes. After all, my life to date has been all about magic, and long may it continue that way! However, in this regard one is so often faced with the dichotomy of “Divine Will” and “(H)human (W)will,” i.e. that “either or” situation in which those who are of the “man proposes, God disposes” persuasion maintain faith in the absolute imposition of “Divine Will” in the least of our human affairs, usually by a deity whose lofty existence is quite removed from us lowly earthlings, whilst at the other end of the scale there are those who avow with equal faith and fervency their belief in the absoluteness of “Human Will” as far as determining our material existence, i.e. life and destiny, is concerned.

I believe the truth regarding this matter lies somewhere in the “middle,” and that if everything is indeed “God,” as some Kabbalists maintain, the will of an individual must also be “God’s will.” Of course, there are endless problems for those who allow their consciousness to embrace this line of thought, since then they are faced with all the rubbish humans have foisted on their own kind and environment, and having to acknowledge these to be the self inflicted injuries by “God” on “God”! Oyoyoy!.....I can hear the deafening roar of fundamentalist dismay at the other end of this page at such blasphemy!

Be that as it may, the intention here is not to address the religious contentions, but to focus on what is accurately termed “magical” or “miraculous” living factors. Those who consider themselves generally more “respectable,” follow passionate prayer to the Almighty One rather than intensive invocation of His subtle minions. We might note that the mainstream religionists have certainly no qualms in what they might be praying for, hence they will employ prayer for any personally justified purpose whatsoever. Again those who are more esoterically minded do the same with their Segulot, Refu’ot, Kame’ot, etc. Regarding the “ardent prayer” for all purposes approach, we might recall the example of a fundamentalist religious organisation that started a “Pray at the Pump” action, that is “gas pumps” in the U.S. of A., and “petrol pumps” for the majority of humanity living beyond American borders. The intention was to implore Divinity, who has power over everything, to reduce gasoline prices. In this regard, one commentator remarked that “God is first answering the prayers of those who want people to lose weight by forcing them to walk and ride bicycles.”

Being a true believer in the “miraculous,” I am naturally intrigued by such quaint religious antics, and particularly by the keenness of those who pray so as to “twist the arm of the Almighty” into interfering with others in order to favour themselves. I am well aware that there would be arguments that such prayers are never for personal benefits, but that they are meant for the greater good of everyone! Besides, so what if these prayers were uttered for ones’ personal benefit only? After all, anyone praying is still hoping that they might turn “divine decision” into personal favour. I do not have an issue with that at all.

What interests me greatly are the actual mechanics of “prayer” and how a “god” can hear us. Having discovered the “gateway to magic and miracles” inside myself, rather than in the actual prayer and external ritual, I attempted to address this in “The Book of Self Creation,” stating that the manner in which “God” hears us is “through ourselves, and to the extent that we are in contact with ‘God.’ On this planet WE are the ears, eyes and agents whereby He (She or It) knows man.” My fifty plus years of “praying” have brought me to the full realisation that Kabbalah was right all along in stating that all is God. In this regard, the late Israel Regardie related a delightful saga regarding a “chela” whose “master” had taught him that he was “God.” Mr Disciple was wandering absentmindedly down a road reiterating to himself “I am God......I am God......” Approaching him from the opposite end was a huge elephant, yet he was paying no attention and continued to recite “I am God.....I am God.....” Eventually, virtually at the instant of serious impact between man and beast, the master wrenched the wretch out of the way of the larger mammal, exclaiming “You idiot! Didn’t you see the elephant?” “But master” retorted the startled disciple, “I am God!” “So is the elephant!” returned the master. So you see, it is all a matter of perspective! I am “God,” you are “God,” the pump is “God,” the fuel is “God,” everything IS “God.” Never all of “God,” but still part of “God.” Everything is God but God is not a “thing”.....and neither are you!

Now, regarding the employment of “magical tools” in ones daily life, e.g. Segulot and Refu’ot, I would like to point out that my personal domicile is in Africa, a continent in which our normal three dimensional existence is comfortably shared with the multiple degrees of the “realm of the ancestral spirits.” The traditional African healer called a “Sangoma” or “Inyanga,” functions in what could be termed an “in-between” condition of consciousness, one in which he or she mediates between the world of physical matter and the subtle realms of spirit. Like other practitioners of “sympathetic magic” around the globe, the African medicine man, or woman for that matter, attempts to alleviate all manner of disease, whether of the physical, psychological or spiritual kind, employing unique remedies which they, under the guidance of the spirits of their ancestors, glean from their physical surroundings. These include special herbs, a variety of tree barks, skins, bones, teeth, and other bodily parts of various animals and birds, some rocks, insects, etc.[Ademuwagun, Z.A.: African Therapeutic Systems, Crossroads Press, Los Angeles 1979; Cumes, D.: Africa in My Bones: A Surgeon’s Odyssey into the Spirit World of African Healing, New Africa Books (Pty) Ltd, Claremont 2004.]

Whilst the average Westerner today might frown at such practices, it is worth considering that similar magical practices are to be found in the tribal medicinal traditions of our own ancestors, and much of these ancient folk customs have come down to us. It might be generally believed that the Hebrew Bible proscribed all forms of sorcery. This view is not quite accurate, since many distinctly magical activities abound in its sacred pages. In this regard, we have been informed that “to say that the Bible prohibits magic is to make no statements about primordial realms. The ancient Hebrews shared with their contemporaries the belief that certain rituals were approved by the gods and that others were disapproved.” [Green, A.: Jewish Spirituality: From the Bible, through the Middle Ages, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1986.]

We have also been reminded that “the interpenetration of religion and magic was even more pronounced in Jewish communities where.....the problem of removing magic from religion was hardly an issue.” [Sharot, S.: Messianism, Mysticism, and Magic: A Sociological Analysis of Jewish Religious Movements, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill 1982.] However, it should be noted that throughout Jewish history, the higher rabbinical authorities attempted to rid post-biblical Judaism of that which those who claimed to be “enlightened” called the gross, ungodly superstitious customs of their kinsfolk. Some of the mediaeval magical customs were indeed extremely crude, and many of these can be traced in the protection and healing recipes listed in the Talmud, not to mention in the primary literature of Practical Kabbalah.

In this regard, it should be noted that we have “come a long way,” and have indeed transcended crude mediaeval customs.....or have we? Judging by the popularity of the coarsest favoured “magic recipe” texts, these being mainly “for the millions” presentations in which the most tasteless magical practices are freely pandered without blinking an eyelid, it is quite clear that those very crude customs of our ancient forebears, are in fact being “idealised” rather than “transcended” in our day. Considering this, it would seem that the “magical apothecary” of the modern magician would still have to include items like the teeth of dogs and foxes, horns of she goats, and other assorted oddities.

These items are basically no different from the “magical inventory” of South African “traditional healers,” which may include the tooth of a hyena or of a lion; or suggestions that you apply to a wound some hair taken from the dog that bit you in order to prevent infection and rabies; or the dung of an elephant; the skin of a puffadder; or the horn of a kudu; all very unhygienic yet remarkably effective and successful remedies amongst local inhabitants. This must appear quite revolting to moderns with their remedies “clinically distilled,” as it were, from plants, placentas, or from the genes of “the fowls of the air and beasts of the fields,” or perhaps “generically” manufactured and sold at lower prices, etc. The difference appears to be but the mindset of the “end-user,” and, of course, the quality of the product, albeit without the dried heart of a dove or “forefinger of a mummy”! However, as in the case of the greedy chemical companies controlling modern medicine, you will get from your local “Sangoma” or “Inyanga” the best service for the best price.....we hope!

What I am really trying to say is, that it seems to me there is little difference between our local African “Sangoma” with his or her herbs, bones, stones, assorted potions and ancestral spirits, and the medieval Kabbalist (including some moderns like myself) with his or her herbs, bones, stones, assorted potions, and unique “spirit intelligences.” It is but a question of angle of approach, semantics for lunatics, or simply that “sweet rose by any other name would smell like.....fish!”

(More to follow)

"And a river went out of Eden" - Part 6

We are informed that through the Names of the four "Edenic Rivers" we can witness the wonders of El Chai, the Powerful Overlord of Life. As noted previously, the very Name of the Eternal One is in (Pishon), the name of the first of the four "Rivers." In this regard we are told that there is no disease in the world which cannot be cured by the letters of this single Name, including the alleviation of conditions like infertility; the elimination of all plagues and epidemics, whether pertaining to man or beast; etc.

Moses Zacutto advised us that there is nothing to compare with the power of the Name in question, which he said can also be employed to control the injurious impact of crawling insects on our world and ourselves. As delineated in the second part of these articles, the "secret" of is in the first four letters of this name expressing the Ineffable Name. Just as the Name Pishon includes fhe Name , so is the Name (Ehyeh) hidden in the first four letters of the Name . In like manner the "secret" of the Name is the Divine Name (Adonai), and that of the fourth "Edenic River," (Frat), is said to be its connection to the (Merkavah), the divine "Chariot Throne," which pertains to the Name (Yabok) being hidden in the Name Frat.

Be that as it may, considering the remarkable powers of the Names of the four "Edenic Rivers," we are informed that these pertain to a most potent segulah, the latter being delineated in "The Book of Sacred Names" as "a unique action or an object, often comprised of Divine Names, special signs, words or phrases, which is considered to be a most precious ‘spiritual treasure’ to be employed in a unique manner, in order to affect a physical outcome in harmony with the intention of the one who employs the segulah." In the current instance the segulah comprises the previously delineated Names of the "four Rivers," including their combinations and permutations, written in soluble ink on parchment (clean white paper will do nicely). For the sake of easy reference, here is the entire set again:

Following the writing of these combinations, the letters comprising the names are dissolved by soaking the parchment in havdalah wine, which is afterwards quaffed by the one requiring the segulah. In this regard, some stress that all the wine must be consumed to the very last drop, whilst others claim that a single drop of this wine is enough to work the full power of this segulah within ones body. Still others maintain that the Names of the four "Edenic Rivers," as well as their mentioned combinations and permutations, should be engraved on the inside of the silver cup, effectively turning the chalice into a kamea or "power object." In this manner the wine, when poured into the cup, would be potently infused with the "forces" inherent in the Names. This is considered to be equally as powerful as writing the Names on parchment and then dissolving them in the wine. There are however some disagreement about this, which include variant instructions regarding the exact amount of the "magically infused wine" one has to imbibe.

Personally I could not care less about such disparities, and have no interest in any of the affiliated bickering, my only concern being the effectiveness of the "method" employed to work the "magic," i.e. whether it achieves the sought-after objective. Notwithstanding this, I believe it would be a damn-sight easier to write the combinations of Names and their permutations on parchment, than it would be to find an individual willing to work the arduous task of engraving that mass of peculiar writing faultlessly on the inside of a silver chalice!

"And a river went out of Eden" - Part 3

Amongst the most important uses of the names of the four “Edenic Rivers” is in amulets to promote a long life. In this regard the standard arrangement of the names are permuted, written forwards and backwards, and the component letters of the names intermingled in special ways. Whilst there are variations on these arrangements in Jewish magical tomes, I have consulted as many primary texts as I could find, including paying very close attention to their appearances on a variety of Hebrew amulets, and after careful consideration have settled on the following list:

A friend of mine, a Rabbi from Moroccan descent, insisted emphatically that this amulet is not only for “a long life,” but for a “long SUCCESSFUL life.” I have perused a number of amulets comprising these sets of names, and noted that it is usually customary to engrave section A on the front side of a metal disc [usually silver], with a header in certain instances comprising the earlier addressed (YHVH Ehyeh Adonai YB”K) combination of Divine Names. However, this header is not standard throughout, since I have noted different headers accompanying the same, e.g. the fully spelled letters of the three associated Divine Names, the first two being written as a header, and the third as a footer as shown below:

In this instance the YB”K combination is omitted on the front of the amulet, but it does appear on the rear. As it is, more often than not the back of these specific amulets comprises the set of names derived from the intertwined component glyphs of the “River Names” as shown in section B above. This portion of the amulet is sometimes also accompanied by a header, e.g. the three associated Divine Names and the full spelling of the component letters of the first two Names, whilst the full spelling of the letters of the third Divine Name as well as the YB”K combination is added as a footer. In the same instance, the entire construct is completed with a repeat of the affiliated Divine Names. The rear of the amulet then appears like this:

Whilst the headers and footers of this specific amulet might appear quite complex, simpler versions in which the combination only heads the entire construct. I have also perused an amulet in which the front of same construct is headed by the Divine Name (Shadai) only, whilst the rear is concluded with a footer comprising the name of the owner. Of course, the simplest format is to plainly engrave the names of the four “Edenic Rivers” without any of the complexities of permutations and conjoining of component letters. For example, I perused an amulet of this nature comprised of nothing more than the name of the bearer as a header, followed by the Divine Name (Taftafyah) and the names of the four rivers written in the standard manner, with the addition of a single permutation of each name. Here is the complete construct:

In this instance the front and rear of the amulet are exact copies.

(More to follow)

"And a river went out of Eden" - Part 2

Suspecting that there was a lot more to the four “Edenic Rivers” than meets the eye, Kabbalists closely scrutinised the names of the four streams. By means of somewhat complex application of Temurot, in this instance exchanges of Hebrew letters by means of six special ciphers, i.e. Achas Beta, Atbach, Atbash, Albam, Avgad, Ayak Bachar, they concluded that, with the exclusion of the final letters Nun of the names PishoN and GichoN, the first three names of the “Rivers of Eden” are hidden references to the three Divine Names which are vital for our continued well-being on this planet. It is also understood that the three letters derived from, or, as it were, “hidden” within the name of the last “river,” is indicating a very unique Hebrew abbreviation. The Divine Names and mentioned abbreviation are shown below [read from right to left]:

Of course, the three Divine Names are immediately recognised, and, considering the Kabbalistic doctrine on the flow of the “river of Shefa” (Divine Abundance) into manifestation by means of tzinorot [spiritual channels] which are “controlled,” so to speak, by these important Divine Names aligned with the sefirot of Keter [Crown - Ehyeh], Tiferet [Beauty - YHVH] and Malchut [Kingdom - Adonai], it is only natural that they should be included in amulets comprising the names of the four divisions of the Edenic “River of Life.”

What remains to be considered is the unique transposition of the three letters of the “river” Frat, i.e. . Since the three letters in question could be read Yabok, i.e.the river where the Patriarch Jacob wrestled “a man” (Genesis 32:23–31 [24–32]), and, as mentioned in my “The Book of Sacred Names,” it was ascertained from this saga that Jacob wrestled with the angel Pani’el, and that his attacker was actually the Almighty virtually in person, so to speak, some curious deliberations could be derived from the Frat/Yabok affiliation. After all there are also very special “numerical” connections between the YBK letter combination and two Divine Names, i.e. the gematria of Yabok is 112 and so is the combined value of the Names YHVH and Elohim . However, in the current instance the YB”K letter combination is generally conceded to be an abbreviation. On the one hand it refers to the concluding portion of Psalms 20:10 reading (ya’aneinu b’yom kar’einu — “answer us in the day that we call”), the verse being uttered three times during morning prayers [see for example the Kabbalistic Siddur Kol Yaakov by Yakov Koppel Lifshitz], on the other hand it indicates (yichud b’rachah k’dushah — “Unification Blessedness Holiness”) [see Toldot Yitzchak by Yakov Yitzchak ben Asher, Ha-Kami’a ha-Ivri by E. Davis & D.A. Frenkel; Mikra’i Refu’i Kelali im Tatzlumim v’Iyurim Rabim Ner Mitzvah b’Torah Or by Shniori, etc.].

As it is, the three letters in question and the words comprising each of these Hebrew phrases, are themselves understood to be direct references to the three mentioned vital Divine Names. In fact, the “Divine Unification,” “Blessedness” and “Holiness” of YB”K are said to indicate the union of Keter [Ehyeh], Tiferet [YHVH] and Malchut [Adonai], or the “unification” of the Neshamah, Ru’ach and Nefesh, the “Higher Self,” “Middle Self” and “Lower Self” aspects of the human soul [see the very interesting observations by Chananya Yom Tov Lippa Daitch in Mishnayot Masechet Mikva’ot (Vol. 4), and those of Meir Paprish [Poppers] in Or Tsadikim v’Derech Se’udah].

(More to follow)