Kaballah

The Kabbalah is an ancient esoteric and magical pathway from the Hebrew tradition that offers profound wisdom and spiritual insight. The word Kabbalah is derived from a Hebrew word meaning to receive. The core element of the Kabbalah is the Tree of Life, a blueprint for the universe which attempts to reveal the interconnected aspects of all life.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Eliphas Levi (born Alphonse Louis Constant), an ex-Catholic priest turned teacher and writer, made the first connections between the Kabbalah and the tarot. He noticed that the 22 Major Arcana cards seemed to correspond to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet which were part of the pathways of the tree of life. These letters and pathways subsequently connected each card with specific ways to enlightenment. Levi also linked the rest of the tarot pack to other aspects of the Tree of Life.

Even in its simplest form, the Tree of Life can form a powerful blueprint for a personal divination system when used with the tarot. There is not enough room in this book to go into the more profound elements of using the kabbalah. But the following correspondences and Tree of Life layout using the tarot will deepen your knowledge.

• The Tree of Life
• Kether (Unity)
• Chokmah (Wisdom)
• Binah (Understanding)
• Chesed (Gifts)
• Geburah(Challenges)
• Tiphareth (The heart of the problem)
• Netzach (Desires/feelings)
• Hod (Intellect)
• Yesod (The unconscious)
• Malkuth (Environment/outcome)