Theos-Talk Archives (February 1995 Message tl00221)

In message <L8851c2w165w@actrix.co.at> theos-l@vnet.net writes:
> A.M.Bain writes:
>
> > Just read Liesel's enthusiasm for an e-mail study group, and am
> > suitably inspired to offer to teach Kabbalah (not Qabalah) -

> > Feedback awaited . . .

> Can you explain the difference between Kabbalah and Qabalah.  I
> thought they were both corruptions, or rather translations, from
> the Hebrew.  Which do you think is better and why?

A kind of literary convention has appeared in recent years on
this matter, in which Qabalah is generally used by those of the
[broadly] "New Age" approach or the "Magical" or the "Mystical
Orders and/or Brotherhoods" approach.  Those like myself, who may
or may not have come originally from these traditions (I did) but
have moved to a - IMVHO opinion - saner approach, spell it
Kabbalah: this way students get to know which is more likely to
be the approach taken by a given writer, teacher, student or
whoever.  More seriously, Jewish students will _usually_ spell it
with a K not a Q in order not to be identified with the New Age
people.  As in all these things, you pay your money (or not :))
and take your pick.  Strictly speaking, "Q" is a better rendering
of the Hebrew letter beginning the word, but the magicians got to
it first in this century :-).

So - I use K in order to distance myself from the Q folk.  If
anyone wants to study magic, fine, but not with me, as I don't
teach or study it [any more].

> I would be interested in reading your chapters on the Kabbalah.
> But actually it would be even nicer to have them in nicely
> presented hard copy!

Costs money ...

> ASTREA

Alan