Earthpulse Blog

In the first two parts of this three part series, I talked about traditional and inscriptive talismans and talismanic crystals. I showed how one belief system (western astrology) could draw on relevant symbols and correspondences to create a talismanic system. In this regard few talismanic systems could be more intricate than that used by some kabbalists. For this reason, the final part of this series considers Kabbalistic talismans in some depth.

The Kabbalistic Tree of Life

Clearly, a system as ancient as the Kabbalah could not be adequately explained in a short article but some grounding in the subject is necessary to appreciate the underlying logic behind kabbalistic talismans. The Kabbalah (or Qabalah) translates as ‘receiving’ in Hebrew and is traditionally thought to have been orally transmitted by Jewish prophets and sages in order to supplement the written forms of Judaism. Other Jewish followers dismiss the Kabbalah as heretical and it certainly treads precarious ontological ground in that the presence of a supreme creator becomes harder to discern the closer you study it, the truth of creation mysteriously hidden behind three unknowable veils.

In the kabbalah everything is seen as a unity which is one reason why it is seen as a mystical system. The ‘map’ of reality is the ‘Tree of Life’ and on the tree everything is related to everything else; planets, astrological signs, Hebrew letter-numbers, stones, creatures, flowers, plants and the gods and spirits of all faiths.

So how does the tree depict this relationship between the divine and the mundane? The spheres on the tree are known as the sephira (emanations) and are the forces by which existence evolved from the currently unknowable (Kether and beyond the veils) to the known (Malkuth).

Thine is the Kingdom

Kether, meaning ‘crown’ is unknowable to human intelligence and even this sephiroth supposedly originated from a source that lies behind three mysterious veils. From Kether arises Chokmah, described as the result of Kether with direction. This sephiroth is equivalent to Jehovah and is the first idea of which humans are supposedly able to conceive. Chokmah is constrained and formed in Binah (understanding), described as the ‘great sea’ or ‘mother’.

Next comes Chesed, explained as love without form, and Geburah, which gives form but is at the same time the destroyer of force. In between is the balancing force of Tiphareth, the highest spiritual state a human can allegedly reach. In Tiphareth we see an interesting correspondence with Jesus Christ since this sephiroth is equated with the sun, the king and the sacrificed god who stands in the centre of a symbolic cross, representative of balanced forces.

From here we descend to the knowable sephirah; Netzach (victory), corresponding with Venus and her double-edged attributes of love and lust; Hod (reason), associated with Mercury, Thoth and the pursuit of truth through logic; Yesod (foundation), the realm of imagination, fluid energies and illusion and finally Malkuth (kingdom), the mundane Universe and the position from which humanity must ascend to achieve unity.

Yesod deserves special mention since it is from this realm (for sephirah represent the worlds created by the forces as well as the forces themselves) that all magik, including talismanic magik, arises.

Correspondences: Crowley and 777

Love him or hate him, there can be little doubt that Aleister Crowley’s ’777 and other Qabalistic writings’ is a remarkable work. Within its 155 pages are an astounding collection of detailed correspondence tables whereby pretty much anything you can imagine can be placed somewhere on the tree. For example, if you wanted to design a talisman based on the concept of the evolution of Kether to Binah (an alternative evolutionary path to that presented above), you could draw upon all of the following:
The letter B, the number 2, the Magician tarot card, Thoth, Hermes, the swallow, the ibis, the ape, Mercury, wednesday, the colour yellow, upper limbs, etc.

In practice this might involve making the talisman out of a yellow material on wednesday and inscribing a B and a 2 on it (or the Hebrew character Beth which represents both B and 2). This might be created to allow the wearer to bring a complex abstract concept into understanding (the Kether to Binah pathway).

Astrology, numerology and the ‘magic square’

No article on the Kabbalah and talismans would come close to completion without looking at the role of the Hebrew language and how numerology and astrology are combined to form unique talismans, sometimes known as ‘magic squares’.

Many readers, especially those with occult interests, will be aware that in the Hebrew language numbers double up as letters (as in the Beth example in the previous section). This concept lies behind numerology and its development into the interesting, and sometimes bizarre, systems of Gematria, Notarikon and Temura.

Gematria hinges on the belief that each number-letter in the Hebrew language is the physical representative of an abstract principle (i.e. 1/Aleph = Unity or God, 2/Beth = duality, form, the home). Therefore everything that can be written becomes a combination of principles. By rearranging written names and phrases to form new ones, correspondences can be found between seemingly disparate things. One of the most famous applications of Gematria is in attributing the ‘number of the Beast’ in the New Testament to various Roman Emperors. In fact readers might be interested to note that the number (666) is equivalent to www. Gematria, itself comprising of multiple systems, was changed and adapted into new variations, notably Notarikon and Crowley’s own Temura, although to be honest, many of the correspondences seem ridiculous rather than sublime. As if to mock me though, WordPress has autosaved my draft at 911 words!

If you were to take a Sudoku grid and rearrange the numbers so that each column and row, including diagonals, added to 15, you would have a ‘magic square’ known as the ‘Table (or Kamea) of Saturn’. First discovered in the far east over 4000 years ago, magic squares are used as kabbalistic talismans. Each planet is represented by a grid of set dimensions (e.g. Saturn 3×3, the Sun 6×6) and the (Hebrew) numbers are arranged so that each row and column add up to the same value. Three sigils are derived from the squares: The ‘seal’ of the planet is an abstract design which takes the form of a line which passes through every square. This protects the wearer from unbalanced forces (demons or spirits) associated with the planet. Those who want to work with these forces are advised to use the sigil representing that planet’s controlling ‘intelligence’ since the sigil for the demon can bring both beneficial and destructive energies into play.

This completes this article on the power of talismans and the more I have written it seems the more there is to write about. Please post a comment and if there is enough interest in any of the associated topics (e.g. Gematria, Magic Squares, Kabbalah, Crowley), I will be sure to write an article on it. For more information on talismans you can find and purchase the book below on the Earthpulse bookshelf.

Reference: Skelton, R. (1985) ‘The magical practice of talismans’, Beach Holme, Victoria

Do you have any personal experiences with talismans, or kabbalah, that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.

Coming next: Church of the Dead: Who are the Spiritualists?