The Key of It All-Book I: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Sacred Languages & Magical Systems of the World (Llewellyn's Sou) (Bk.1) [Paperback]

David Allen Hulse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 8, 2006 | Series: Llewellyn's Sou (Book 1)

This book will become the indispensible reference for all occult students. It catalogs and distills, in hundreds of tables of secret symbolism, the true alphabet magick of every ancient Eastern magickal tradition: Cuneiform, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 2nd edition (April 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875423183
• ISBN-13: 978-0875423180
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for students of the Western Esoteric Traditions, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Key of It All: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Sacred Languages & Magickal Systems of the World: Book Two: The Western Mysteries (Paperback)

Of all the many esoteric books published throughout the current Magickal Revival, there are none that can match the sheer comprehensive magnitude of David Allen Hulse's two volume The Key of It All, with Book One - The Eastern Mysteries published in 1993, and Book Two - The Western Mysteries published in 1994. These absolutely indispensable books catalogue, distill, and synthesize the true alphabet symbology of every Eastern and Western, Magickal and Mystical Tradition, including the Tarot. While it deals with many foreign languages and alphabets, even the beginning student will find this work easily navigable and accessible, for Hulse takes the reader step by step through the historic symbology of number and letter, transliterating the foreign scripts into English, and provides copious tables and illustrations, as well a very readable commentary with each of the world's 13 great Magickal Languages. If any one work could possibly serve as the catalyst to unify the many World Traditions into one singular Tradition, it would have to be Hulse's The Key of It All. Hulse essentially shows how each of these 13 World Traditions of alphabet and number in fact serve as a Qabalah or Tarot for each of the cultures they once, or still, represent. In many ways this book is a great Thesaurus of the World Traditions, allowing for a comparison of the synonymous metaphors which link them all in form and function. In fact, in Book Two - The Western Mysteries, Hulse offers His A = 1 code for the English Alphabet, along with some of the major Thelemic and Qabalistic proofs of its verity; and yet He wisely leaves the door open for further research into the possibilities of an English Qabalah. He also provides one of the most compelling studies ever undertaken to root out the true order and allocations of the Tarot upon the Tree of Life, and serves as S. L. Mathers greatest champion in revealing how this previously unheralded Master's work has formed the foundation of all subsequent Tarot symbology. His work with Mathers' Golden Dawn attributions, as well as Waite's Tarot symbology truly has no equal in the world of Occult literature.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars helpful reference, November 19, 2003

By 

Margaret Magnus (Francestown, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Key of It All-Book I: An Encyclopedic Guide to the Sacred Languages & Magical Systems of the World (Llewellyn's Sou) (Bk.1) (Paperback)

This book is essentially a large collection of numerological, astrological and similar tables correlating, for example, letters of the various alphabets with planets, their qabbalistic meanings, body parts, etc.. I find it very helpful as a starting point because of it's sheer volume. I occasionally come across correlations which differ from those provided in the book, although I have not attempted to look into this in any systematized way. The book is different from something like Manly Hall, in that it does not discuss, for example, the symbolism of various versions of the cross in text. Nor is it intended as a dictionary of symbols. I use it specifically when I want to cross-reference symbols of various types -- tarot cards with alphabetical letters or astrological signs with colors. Its primary weakness, I would say, is that it doesn't provide as much information about its sources as I would like. When I encounter a conflicting interpretation of some symbol, therefore, I find insufficient basis from which to proceed to research the matter on my own terms -- I just have to accept or reject Hulse at face value.