Customer Reviews

The Witches Qabala: The Pagan Path and the Tree of Life

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Ellen Cannon Reed's book on the interface between Kabbalah and Witchcraft is an important work. For Pagan's interested in using the Practical Kabbalh in their magick, it is a good place to begin. The best feature of the book is the relating of the Sefiroth (the spheres on the Tree of Life) to the passages in the Charge of the Goddess. I deducted one star for the ambiguities surrounding the practice of Rising on the Planes. The technique given for this is not, in fact, Rising on the Planes, but a description of a useful technique for attuning to the energies of a particular Sephrira in preparation for actual pathworking. Despite this drawback (one which is unfortunatly all too common in books on Practical Kabbalah) Reed's book is excellent and should be on every Witch's shelf. Very highly reccomended.

This book is probably the best introduction to the ancient and highly complex occult system of the Qabala. The author writes in a clear, user-friendly manner without ever underestimating her readers' intelligence--it is far more accessible than Dion Fortune's classic but very esoteric book on Qabala. This is such an intricate and complex subject that I recommend you start with this book if you want to begin to study it. An essential introduction book for students of the occult.

Thanks are due to Ellen Cannon Reed for popularising Qabala to the neo-pagan community. This is not only a step toward advancing spirituality and magick for modern pagans/witches and Wiccans, but it may yet prove to be the next evolutionary step necessary for cutting through the dross and cutting to the chase.

As a ceremonial magician who has recently moved into neo-pagan practice, I was stunned at the utter rejection (and often, unfortunately, the complete ignorance) of many Wiccans and pagans I talked to when it came to ceremonial magick and its relation to their practices and beliefs. A weird kind of divide seemed to be in place which saw ceremonial work, especially and centrally Qabala, as something alien to and removed from the Goddess and God archetypes of Wicca, along with the reverence of nature in witchcraft and paganism. Well, this simply is not true, as even a glancing appreciation of magical Qabala clearly shows.

What this form of Qabala teaches is that the ultimate point of creation is neither male or female, but that the emanations from that neutral point are indeed both male and female at the highest (supernal) level. In fact, everything that develops from the nothingness/everythingess that proceeds these male and female forms is, in turn, either positioned as male or female as a result, with a balance between them which sets the universe together cohesively. This is most certainly true of the Goddess and the God representations which are central to nearly all forms of nature oriented spirituality, and there they are in Qabala - as clear as clear can be!

(I chuckled recently, in point of fact, when I read Scott Cunningham's book 'Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner' and saw the alter layout described within it - the left is female, the right is male and they join in the middle - which is exactly as Qabala represents it too!)

However, it doesn't just stop there. Nature, of course, is a fully realised spiritual place, as every pagan knows. Well, so does every magician that uses the Qabala! The bottom sphere, Malkuth (where we find the universe), is the receiver of ALL the divinity pouring from above, so everything we need is here: all blent essences and all paths of exploration open to us. As Qabala and paganism both teach this to be the case then there shouldn't be a problem if we relate them together, just as Reed has done.

As a ground breaking book and a timely one, Ellen Cannon Reed's book is both a triumph for magick and a triumph for crossing boundaries. Just as I criticised those ignorant or closed minded people in the Wiccan and pagan groups, so too I must criticise those equally closed minded and ignorant who are involved in ceremonial work! What we have to realise, if we are ever to get anywhere, is that we are bickering about different names for exactly the same things, and that we are separated only by divisions that we create - they are not absolutes at all.

Qabala is ALREADY in neo-paganism and neo-paganism is ALREADY in Qabala - as they are both situated here, now, and working magically this could hardly be otherwise. Ellen Cannon Reed has pointed that out clearly, superbly and in a well written way.

Finishing off, I would say that you should buy The Witches Qabala if you are a Wiccan who thinks or a ceremonial who thinks they know it all! In both cases you will be pleasantly surprised and will find, if you look around you, that magic is moving anyway - regardless of any petty barriers set upon it.

This book is not the most comprehensive of all the books I own on Qabala, but it has several virtues:

It is clear. It is easy to read. It doesn't weigh more than my bookshelf. It is written from a Wiccan standpoint, not dependent on Christian or Jewish religious knowledge. (Did I mention that I can carry it in a backpack, without a luggage cart?)

This is the book I usually recommend to Pagans who are trying to undertake the study of the Tree of Life. Most books on Qabalah (also spelled Kabbala, Quabala, and many other variants) are written from an explicitly Jewish or Christian perspective, which may be difficult to follow for those not especially knowledgable in that faith. In addition, books on Qabalah which do not account for reincarnation, or other tenets of many Pagan faiths, may prove hard to apply for Pagans. Since this book is written from a Pagan/Wiccan perspective, it is much easier to apply and interprete for most Pagans (in fact for anyone not of the Jewish or Christian religions). Christians and Jews who wish to study Qabalah will also find this book useful, but generally have more books on Qabalah that are written from the perspective of their religion, and may wish to have at least one of those in addition.

Knowledge of Qabalah can be very useful in crafting better rituals, allowing you to have a different perspective on energy or healing work, understanding paths and patterns within your life, and working with the Tarot.

This book is actually one of the set of Ellen Cannon Reed's works on Qabalah and Tarot, although it does stand on its own. In order to get a complete picture,and a better understanding of Qabalah I do suggest buying all three items in the set: This book, "The Witches Qabala", her other book, "The Witches Tarot", and the Tarot deck "The Witches Tarot".

The actual Tarot deck is a useful addition, but for those who are mostly interested in the study of Qabala, you may wish to start with this book, add "the Witches Tarot" book after this one, and decide if you want the deck later. The Tarot book *does* add to your understanding of the Qabalah, and should be considered part of the set, according to the author. ....

When i first heard of the Qabalah i could never comprehend the workings of it less than how to apply it to the Wiccan Path i follow. Ellen Reed not only puts everything in plain english to make it easy to understand, but the way she applies it to a pagan path is awesome! It has made my journey down the Wiccan path more understanding and my ritual and magickal work have benefited from this greatly!

I am a witch interested in the roots of my religion which lie in the Qabalah. I have studied the Qabalah before, using the more traditional approaches of e.g. Dion Fortune, and I was expecting this book to be a kind of missing link between the highly esoteric approach and the more down-to-earth pagan viewpoints. I also bought the book to learn how to apply Qabalistic concepts into my own spirituality.

Both my expectations were never fulfilled. "The Witches Qabalah" is a very easy read, but that is exactly why it can never be a good treatise on anything as profound as the Qabalah. And it isn't; the Tree of Life is presented in a matter-of-fact way with a great many number of correspondences, some of them of interest to paganists but certainly not all of them. The various diagrams are useful, but all-in-all it left me a little dissatisfied. Still: it is a good introduction to the systematic approach of the Qabalah to spirituality, but for those already acquainted with it it will leave a sense of superficiality.

But what I found worse than that is that the title does not keep its promise. The Qabalah is discussed (or, rather, presented) in the traditional judaeo-occult framework. Witchcraft and wicca concepts sporadically enter the discussion, but this happens far to infrequently to justify the title "Witches' Qabalah".

To me the book appears to be simplifying the Qabalah - sometimes to the point of dogmatism- and embellishing it with some remarks and elements that will cater and appeal to the pagan community.

The author also seems quite preoccupied with the traditional Angels, Archangels, Names of Power and other typically Qabalistic ideas. This is all OK for ceremonial magic users, but of less immediate interest to the average witch or pagan who hopes to gain a deeper understanding of his or her own path, rather than learning about the assets of a different path.

My final assessment of this book: a nice and quick read and a nice and readable introduction to elements of the Qabalah. The treatment of the relationship between Qabalah and Witchcraft or other pagan paths I found highly unsatisfactory, however.

The study of the Qabalah can sometimes be confusing and hard to make a connection to. Ellen Cannon Reed has taken the confusion out of Qabalah by writing an excellent, easy to read reference tool. This is a permanant keeper in any Witches library.

Ellen does a fantastic job of making the Qabala accessible to the Pagan community without stripping it of the valued symbolism it has garnered throughout the centuries. Her unique, down to earth style coupled with her superb analogies make these once difficult concepts very easy to grasp.

The Witches Qabala is great for teachers, students, and solitary practitioners. Outlined in the book are examples of the how the Qabala can be used to evaluate your students' or your own progress on your respective path. The practicle portions of the book include meditations and visualizations that facilitate the learning process and growth.

As never having read the Mystical Qabala before, I figured out quickly that it would be a book that I would have to read at least twice to fully understand it. During my studies, my then teacher recommended I get the Witch's Qabala for our studies. After reading about 10 percent of the Qabala, I finally purchased this book and read it first before continuing reading the Mystical Qabala. It was a blessing! The Witch's Qabala gave me an overview of what I've been reading, making it easier for me to understand it compared to reading it cold. This book in no way compares to the Qabala, but is more an introduction or an overview, if you may, of the Qabala This book makes it easier to understand what you're reading and how the Qabala itself can be incorporated into Wiccan practices and daily life. I did enjoy Ms. Reed's personal comments as it made it more casual and fun (much like a book club), which made it more interesting and fun for me as much of my reading have been more 'textbook' material.

Ellen Cannon-Reed presents the Qabalah in easy to understand language. Qabalah is a very extensive and often confusing system but this book clarifies the spirit of the system and inspires to further study. The companion book relates to the paths of the Qabalah and the Witches Tarot deck. These two books have aided in the development in insight in using her tarot.