Customer Reviews

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After many years of interest in this subject matter, I'm thrilled that someone has finally managed to produce a book that distills all the esoteric tomes into a single very readable, and better yet, very practical handbook on the Left Hand Path.

The first half of the book deals with this rarely seen side of the Qabalah. Unlike so many books, Karlsson draws from a wide range of Qabalistic texts beyond just the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, including those of Christian and Hermetic Qabalahs. From all of these he manages to draw a very clear picture of the creation of the dark side of the Tree of Life; the Tree of Knowledge, and the dark side of the Sephiroth; the Qliphoth.

The following chapters step through the worlds in the Sitra Ahra, or the 'Other Side' with tantalizing hints of the treasures hidden there. I was pleasantly surprised how much of this information was new, perhaps even learned from actual exploration by Karlsson himself. In fact this section of the book ends with a range of Qliphotic invocations the reader can try, if he dares!

This is the main reason I'd recommend this book as a true magical text. Even the section on the well-trodden territory of Goetia offers a selection of truly original ways of contacting these spirits. The book ends with some first person accounts of actual encounters with Goetic entities.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a realistic, functional guide to experiencing the dark side of magic.

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic
Reviewed by Thabion

In Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic Swedish magus Thomas Karlsson has transcended the banality of neo-gothic "Necrononicnism" with an erudite and philosophically astute creative synthesis of Kenneth Grant's Klipothic diabolism and classic Solomonic ceremonial magick.

Even if we disagree with Karlsson's all-on-the-darkside approach we must concede that he does not rationalize in an effort to seduce his readers with the glamour of evil. He tells it like it is. His grasp of those aspects of Kabbalah (and Qabalah) that deal with such concepts as "The Fall" and "the Klippoth" are well researched and clearly presented - reminding us of the old rabbinical requirement that the Kabbalah should be taught only to those who were mature and responsible members of the community.

Karlsson warns us of the dangers of the "left hand path" and the psychological perils of Klippothic invocations. He suggests that the Klippothic magician be "well balanced" and "mentally stable" - a chilling reminder to those of us who can read between the lines that a sociopath is not mentally deranged.

And yet he eschews blood sacrifice and 11th degree techniques; both traditional aspects of black magick, making us wonder if he is himself evil, or is he trying to find evil in himself?

Is this a dangerous book?

Yes, it is - not because Karlsson or his group are themselves dangerous, anymore than the French diabolic dilettantes of the fin de siecle period - but because he has produced a handbook which may fall into the hands of those who might enact the visions that he and his mentor Kenneth Grant experience only on the astral.

While admitting the perils of madness and oblivion, Karlsson contends that if the black magician delves deep enough into the Klippothic mysteries he can make himself a God.

In this he may be right - but he would be a very lonely God...and that's the hell of it.

Poke Runyon

I ordered this book and it got to me pretty quick.

But more importantly about Thomas Karlsson's book,I give this book a five star rating for many reasons,first and for most aside from the work of Kennith Grant this has been the first truly informative and practical book on the Qliphoth,Kabbalah ive seen in a long time.

This book is full of compressive teaching's on the Qliphoth and the "Tree of Knowledge" as it relates to the Kabbalah and the "Tree of Life".

It also contains a full list of Demons from many of the Grimoires that exist for Goetic practice,it is also full of Qliphothic path workings and rituals.

The book is also full of very good art work in my opinion,This book is a must for any one who is a Draconian[and or any of the similar tidal's out there]and any Initiate of the Left Hand Path and also I recommend this book for any one who just wants to study the Qlipoth,which in my opinion I feel its a very widely misunderstood force and subject.

Oh Special note this book is a reprint from the ornigal Swedish version which I personalty waited some time for.

SetiDraconis

In this book Thomas Karlsson provides the most well-researched, insightful, and practical exploration of the dark worlds of the Qlippoth, a subject that has been referenced by many well-known occultists but rarely covered in-depth. The content is academically and intellectually rigorous, so it can be a challenging read for people who are new to the occult. However Karlsson's writing style is smooth and comprehensible, which is comendable especially considering it wasn't originally written in English.

In the first part of the book Karlsson gives a brief overview of basic Kabbalistic theory so you don't have to be an expert Qabalist (though it would certainly help) to understand the main points he makes later on. He then goes into the theories of the Qliphoth and how it ties into creation myths, cosmology, and humanity's ultimate destination. His theories on the origins and meaning of the Qliphoth are much different than those of most ceremonial magicians, who see the Qliphoth as little more than an "evil" byproduct or inversion of the Sephiroth. I can't fully explain it in this review, but read the book for yourself and whether you agree with his theories or not it is certainly good food for thought. There is also useful practical material for those who would wish to invoke (not evoke) the forces of the Qliphoth into their magickal rituals, including invocations, visualizations, sigils, and suggested ritual setup. Karlsson also goes into Goetic magick from a left hand path view; calling upon the Goetia as helpful spirits rather than as demons that need to be binded. While this section can feel a bit tacked on and there isn't too much that hasn't already been written about the Goetia, it is still well done. He concludes the book with accounts of the experiences of other magaicians who have invoked the Qliphoth and Goetia. While not really necessary, it is interesting to read about some of the powerful thing others have experienced working with the dark forces.

The book itself is very nice hardbook with a nice dust jacket and coverart, not too big and not too small. While it can get expensive at times, it is very well worth it for anyone interested in the Qabablah, Qliphoth, or the left hand path. It's wisdom and insight on the dark forces of the Qliphoth remain unmatched by any other book.

Fellow Fraters and friends of the esoteric paths, Thomas Karlsson's book (Qabalah,Qliphoth and Goetic Magic) is pure magic and you should buy it today. I simply love it and the author has done a great service by giving us such a wealth of esoteric knowledge regarding the shadow nature of humanity.

The whole book is based on the Qabalistic Tree of Life and will be of interest to all advanced Rosicrucian students and esoteric Freemasons for this very reason.

The book will also appeal to the beginning students of the Western Esoteric Traditions because of it's easy to read format and the obvious mastery of the presentation of it's subject matter by the author. Beginning with the wonderful Introduction, "The Tree of Life Before the Fall", the author states on page 19 what is necessary for a student of the dark path: "Many religions attempt to advertize themselves as a path of life for everyone; a path that can quickly and easily lead to salvation. Darker forms of spirituality cannot, in such a superficial manner, be sold as if they were a shampoo or a new revolutionary cleaning product. The dark path does not claim to be for all. To be able to tread upon the dark path one will need an ability to penetrate beneath the surface of words, symbols and images". Well said, indeed!

Finally, the whole book is written with a delightful attitude of humility which reminds me of Rule number eleven of the Rosicrucian code: "Flaunt not your attainments, nor boast of your Rosicrucian Knowledge. You may be a Rosicrucian as a member of the brotherhood, but as a Rosicrucian in knowledge and power, the greatest and highest among us is but a child of the studies and unworhty of Rosicrucian recognition. Proclaim yourself, not as a Master, but as a Rosicrucian Student and ever a student eternally". Buy this book today, my friends. It has my absolute highest recommendation. Enuff said.

In a realm over filled with obfuscation, half baked misrepresentations of appropriated 'tradition', obscurantism, and the like: here is an author who has both the clarity and objectivity of a disciplined academic (he is a professor of Esoteric Studies at the University of Stockholm) and the breadth of occult knowledge one would expect of an experienced dark magickian. The pressure upon such a person to merely fill the room with hot air is intense. But Karlsson knows the well of silence: the highest chakra. He is worthy of a greater measure of your trust than the vast majority of authors in the same field. This well written and well organized book lays out a number of insights and observations that are foundational or guiding principles: aptly occupying the space that it sets out to fill. It is what it purports to be. For a few this will open doors not just windows in dark Qaballistic path working. If you are interested in the Western Left Hand Path, Thomas Karlsson is one of the most lucid and credible authors on the subject.

This is a very hard to obtain book, and now I can clearly see why. Mr. Karlsson's analysis and exploration of the Qlipothic realms is by far the best I have ever read. This book does not sugar coat the information. It reaches right into the heart of darkness, or more appropriately the "Dark Sun", and pulls out the prima material which is blacker than the blackest regions of outer space. But this is not to sensationalize this precious knowledge. This truly is a practical text on the left hand path. And I am further pleased by the unearthly gothic beauty of the original sigils of Qlipothic entities that are included in this text. The scholarship is very top notch and it explores multiple spiritual and literary sources which have examined the reality of these darker dimensions. This text also included various rituals that Mr. Karlsson, and his colleagues, used to explore and interact with these Qlipothic entities. Simply put this book is an excellent addition to my occult library.

I orginally bought this book when I saw that the first edition had gone out of print and was commanding a high price. I knew of a store that still had a copy of the first edition and so I snatched it as an investment. After the second edition was announced and that it wouldn't include the gallery of prints, I still left it on the shelf for a later sell. I have a passing interest in the dark side but found that a lot of what was written about the subject just didn't raise it to the level that I want to work magic in. Everything seemed a bit trivial and just plain anti-establishment which to me is infantile. My interest and involvement in magick has nothing to do with mundane world but rather in my personal evolution as a spiritual being. After reading great reviews about the book as well as the official website for Dragon Rouge, I decided to read the book before I sold it on ebay. I'm really glad I did because now it's a permanent fixture on my bookshelf. The research the author has done, gathering and incoporating information from many different religious sources is fantastic. It has led away from keeping the subject stuck in an archaic cubbyhole of a solitary religious viewpoint. Everytime I thought the author was leading the reader down a familiar superficial path that has been tread before in so many other publications, he brought it up into a new light that reflects the present current of magickal thought instead of keeping it stagnant, stuck in the century is was created. Even though I understand that the core of Goetic and Qabbalistic work has a solid foundation and doesn't age, it's still important that we work with it in the current age and mindset we are currently inhabiting. We are living in a world that has changed (for better or for worse) so not all aspects of magick and personal evolution echoes what came before us. And the author understands this and has provided a blueprint for the seeker to use today. I hope more publications come from the author in the future and I just may have to investigate his organization, Dragon Rouge.

Not being a stranger to Kabballah, I read the book hoping that it would be an enlightening guide to an area that is often shrouded in fear and shunning in study. However, I was somewhat disappointed when I saw that the book contained only the barest of quality information and focused more on the typical LHP "become your own god" sort of stuff. What information there was that I could see was genuine, was twisted around to aggrandize the system the author has synthesized with Dragon Rouge. True, it kept me from having to wade through the Zohar, but I have the distinct feeling that to get what I want (more information on redeeming the sparks), I'm going to have to do that anyway.

Nevertheless, I was happy to see that at least there's a book out there better than Michael W. Ford's "Liber HVHI" and more readily understandable than Kenneth Grant's wonderful and completely insane (in a good way) "Nightside of Eden". In the meantime, I suppose I'll have to read more into Luranic Kabballah and the traditional texts to get what I'm looking for, which is the actual nature of the Qlippoth, and the method of Tikkun Olam.

When i purchased this item i thought i was getting the book encased in goat skin. I am still pleased that i got this book. The description was not accurate thought. The image of the book that was shown had the leather goat skin.