The Secret Garden of the Soul – An Introduction to the Kabbalah by: Allan Armstrong
Allan Armstrong, has devoted his life to the study of Kabbalah, the metaphysical system which is at the heart of Western spirituality. He has written introductions to a series of books on mysticism, and he is the Prior of the Order of Dionysius & Paul, a religious Order dedicated to a life of contemplation and the study of religion, mythology and symbolism. He’s been the Prior since 1991.
Most scholars see the Kabbalah as an esoteric system of spiritual development, which emerged at the time of medieval Judaism. But there are those who say that its roots go back much further than that and that it is the secret doctrine of spiritual development, which was passed on to the people of Israel by the Moses. The fact is that since it emerged in the late 12th century, the teachings of Kabbalah has influenced some of the world’s esoteric movements, including Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. It is rooted though in the Torah, the divine law at the heart of the Jewish faith and central to it is the Tree of Life, an arrangement of 10 spheres, or Sephiroth, and 22 paths connecting them, which as the book points out, appears at the beginning of the Old Testament, in the first book of the Torah, and at the end of the New Testament, in the closing chapter of Revelations.
The earliest description of the Sephiroth and the 22 paths, appear in the Sepher Yetzirah, a text which was the work of Simeon ben Yohai, the great Jewish sage who lived in Palestine in the 2nd century. The book gives the following quotation from the Sepher Yetzirah, which it says is often used as the basis for the Tree of Life: In thirty-two mysterious Paths of Wisdom did Jah the Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, the Living Elohim, the King of ages, the merciful and gracious God, the Exalted One, the Dweller in eternity, most high and holy – engrave his name by the three Sepharim – Numbers, Letters and Sounds. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth. Twenty-two are the Letters, the Foundation of all things; there are Three Mothers, Seven Double and Twelve Simple letters. The ineffable Sephiroth are ten, as are the Numbers; and as there are in man five fingers over against five, so over them is established a covenant of strength, by word of mouth, and by the circumcision of the flesh. Ten is the number of the ineffable Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand this wisdom, and be wise by the perception. Search out concerning it, restore the Word to its creator, and replace Him who formed it upon his throne.
The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have ten vast regions bound unto them; boundless in origin and having no ending; an abyss of good and of ill; measureless height and depth; boundless to the East and the West; boundless to the North and the South; and the Lord the only God, the Faithful King, rules all these from his holy seat, for ever and ever. This book explains that hidden within each one of us is a world of beauty and peace, which is the secret garden of the soul and central to the Kabbalah is how to gain access to that wonderful garden of tranquillity, where the Divine Presence resides, so that we can all live a happier and peaceful life. This is no lightweight book but it is written in an easily understandable form for those who are searching for a more peaceful path, in an ever more complex and confusing world. There is an extensive Foreword to this book, written by R.A. Gilbert, the noted esoteric scholar, who has written many books, including The Treasure of Montsegur, Mysticism, and Casting the First Stone.
Published by Imagier Publishing at £15.99 – Purchase this title online at www.lewismasonic.com
