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The Secret Wisdom of the Qabalah: A Study in Jewish Mystical Thought
This masterly introduction to the Qabalah was written by Jfc Fuller who, in addition to being the most decorated officer in the British Army was a pupil and close associate of Aleister Crowley - one of the most influential occultists of the 20th Century. This overview of the Qabalah reveals a strong depth of insight into western esoteric mysticism and should take pride of place alongside Dion Fortune's 'The Mystical Qabalah' on any self respecting esotericists shelf.
244 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1976
About the author
J.F.C. Fuller
119 books70 followersMajor-General John Frederick Charles Fuller, CB, CBE, DSO was a British Army officer (1899–1933), military historian and strategist, notable as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising principles of warfare.
Fuller was also an early disciple of English poet and magician Aleister Crowley and was very familiar with his, and other forms of, magick and mysticism.
Fuller was also an early disciple of English poet and magician Aleister Crowley and was very familiar with his, and other forms of, magick and mysticism.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 21, 2019
This is certainly an unusual take on Qabalah.
Take, for instance, this view of the subject:
'THE Wisdom of the Qabalah may be sublime or it may be diabolical; but whatever its values are,
one thing is certain: they are utterly confused.' (page 61)
Many things are confused in this book, really. For instance, the order of the emanations of the Sephiroth:
"The second Sephirah is Binah, the Universal Intellect or Understanding, also called Immah or Mother." (page 23)
Which is followed on page 24 by a diagram showing Binah to be the third Sephirah...
Which is followed on page 25 by this statement:
"The second emanation from Kether is called 'Hokmah, Wisdom, the Word, Logos, or Son; it is the
male principle in activity, for through it all things are generated."
I am aware that some Kabbalists do not count Kether as a Sephirah and therefore start with Chockmah as 1, but this is not common among Qabalists with a "Q" so far as I have seen, and I do not think this was JFC Fuller's intention, either. This is perhaps best illustrated by the statement:
"Kether is also called Abbah, the Father;" (page 23)
and
"From the union between Kether and Binah emanates 'Hokmah." (page 28)
Neither of these statements have been reflected in the Qabalah I have been exposed to. That said, I am not an expert, and I may be somehow missing out on a whole branch of Qabalistic thought to which Mr. Fuller subscribed.
Then there is this:
"The “SINGLE POINT which was transmuted into a thought” is the first Sephirah, Kether or Crown." on page 23
and
"Though the primordial POINT of light, [Kether] is nevertheless the circumference of all things,
the centre of which is nowhere because it is in No-Thing."
followed, immediately by:
"[Binah's] dimension is depth, whilst Kether's is length."
A single point (1 dimensional) is a poor representation of a line (2 dimensional). Perhaps Chokmah would have been a better designation here.
There is also the idea that the God of this world is the malefic gnostic demiurge Yaldabaoth/ Samael, that the fourth dimension is some kind of otherworldly perch that occasionally generates temporary messiahs, and, finally this unique conclusion:
'In short, the Chosen People are the light of the world, a light which at present is mixed with
darkness (the Gentiles or children of Esau). This darkness will vanish little by little... When this is
accomplished, not a Gentile will be left to pollute the earth; for Israel will have become its Messianic Shin which will untie the tongue of God, and on the utterance of His name will the entire universe vanish into absolute light. Such is the inner meaning of illuminism to the Qabalist.'
I'm not sure I agree with this "inner meaning," and I think it would be rare indeed among Qabalists with a "Q." At any rate, this is the first time I have seen this perspective in my own reading.
There are some interesting perspectives and some food for thought amidst a lot of rambling and some really useless diagrams (for examples of both see pages 75-78.) Ultimately, though, this was not for me. As with all books on this subject, mileage will vary by reader, I am sure.
Take, for instance, this view of the subject:
'THE Wisdom of the Qabalah may be sublime or it may be diabolical; but whatever its values are,
one thing is certain: they are utterly confused.' (page 61)
Many things are confused in this book, really. For instance, the order of the emanations of the Sephiroth:
"The second Sephirah is Binah, the Universal Intellect or Understanding, also called Immah or Mother." (page 23)
Which is followed on page 24 by a diagram showing Binah to be the third Sephirah...
Which is followed on page 25 by this statement:
"The second emanation from Kether is called 'Hokmah, Wisdom, the Word, Logos, or Son; it is the
male principle in activity, for through it all things are generated."
I am aware that some Kabbalists do not count Kether as a Sephirah and therefore start with Chockmah as 1, but this is not common among Qabalists with a "Q" so far as I have seen, and I do not think this was JFC Fuller's intention, either. This is perhaps best illustrated by the statement:
"Kether is also called Abbah, the Father;" (page 23)
and
"From the union between Kether and Binah emanates 'Hokmah." (page 28)
Neither of these statements have been reflected in the Qabalah I have been exposed to. That said, I am not an expert, and I may be somehow missing out on a whole branch of Qabalistic thought to which Mr. Fuller subscribed.
Then there is this:
"The “SINGLE POINT which was transmuted into a thought” is the first Sephirah, Kether or Crown." on page 23
and
"Though the primordial POINT of light, [Kether] is nevertheless the circumference of all things,
the centre of which is nowhere because it is in No-Thing."
followed, immediately by:
"[Binah's] dimension is depth, whilst Kether's is length."
A single point (1 dimensional) is a poor representation of a line (2 dimensional). Perhaps Chokmah would have been a better designation here.
There is also the idea that the God of this world is the malefic gnostic demiurge Yaldabaoth/ Samael, that the fourth dimension is some kind of otherworldly perch that occasionally generates temporary messiahs, and, finally this unique conclusion:
'In short, the Chosen People are the light of the world, a light which at present is mixed with
darkness (the Gentiles or children of Esau). This darkness will vanish little by little... When this is
accomplished, not a Gentile will be left to pollute the earth; for Israel will have become its Messianic Shin which will untie the tongue of God, and on the utterance of His name will the entire universe vanish into absolute light. Such is the inner meaning of illuminism to the Qabalist.'
I'm not sure I agree with this "inner meaning," and I think it would be rare indeed among Qabalists with a "Q." At any rate, this is the first time I have seen this perspective in my own reading.
There are some interesting perspectives and some food for thought amidst a lot of rambling and some really useless diagrams (for examples of both see pages 75-78.) Ultimately, though, this was not for me. As with all books on this subject, mileage will vary by reader, I am sure.
May 3, 2020
Crowley's review of it: “turgid unintelligible rant: no idea of what he’s driving at. It is a damnable shame-he did start so well.”
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews