Qabalistic Concepts: Living the Tree

I have no doubt that the author knows his subject, but if you're looking to understand the psycho-spiritual aspects of Qabala you will probably not find it in this book. There are a few nuggets of information worth considering but I had to read through a lot of the usual rhetoric to extract them. Overall disappointing, as are so many books on the subject...they bog you down with ritualistic minutiae before you can even appreciate the "why". I had better luck wth John Michael Greer's Paths of Wisdom.

William Gray provides one of the best introductions to "practical" Qabalah in the Western Esoteric Tradition in this book. Covering nearly 400 pages, with diagrams, practical and theoretical advice, Gray will expose you to the foundations of the Western Esoteric Qabalah.For those not familiar with these concepts, the Western Esoteric Qabalah is a method of providing a divine worldview, and doing so in such a way that meditation, ritual and searching are key components to the discipline. Exploring Hermetic, Orphic and Mystic paths to "understanding" the role of divinity in the world, Gray's book will provide a great deal of insight into this well established methodology of spiritual exploration.He also is careful to note the allegorical elements of the work, and cautions the reader many times to not take certain elements of the work too literally, and that in many cases the mental state is far more important than the ritual or the "right" answer.Each chapter ends with about 10 questions for the reader to review and answer for themselves. This question format allows the reader to synthesize the information in a way that brings forth the key chapter elements in a learning and mentoring style. All in all, if this is your cup of tea, pour yourself a cup of Gray.

This book came highly recommended from an author I have come to highly respect and so I went ahead and purchased it. I am still reading it but I am enjoying it immensely so far. The product arrived brand new and shipped quickly.

I was quite surprized by the clear and concise manner in which the author presented his material. Nothing of this nature was available when I first began my own investigations (prior to WW II.) His methods are workable and I especially blessed him for reiterating several times that you must build your own version of the tree and his recommendations to use any tarot deck that suits your fancy. What a blessing that todays seekers have a book that cuts out all the rhetoric and goes directly to the point..I threw away my old Rider deck of tarot and am now using the Arthurian deck, which makes more sense to me as a grail seeker also....this deck is quite beautiful and struck a personal note....three cheers for Mr. Gray.

A good read for specific knowledge

On the surface this book is about the Quabala and how to to learn and work with the Quabala. A deeper reading reveals that this book is really about how to develop a viable system of magic. The Quabala is used as an example, but the principles and practices that Gray shares in this book can be used for other models of magic. This is one of the best books I've read about magic, because it takes a technical look at what's involved in creating a system of magic as well as how you develop the necessary connections and work around the system. Whether you're looking to understand Quabala better or want to develop your own system of magic, this is a must read book. Note: The author does have some biases that will offend some people reading the book. Just recognize he was a product of his time and culture.

Structured something like a workbook, with questions at the end of each chapter. Mr. Gray's writing is intelligent and intelligible; he does not "dumb down" the subject matter but he does not talk "over the heads" of beginners. His tone comes across something like what I imagine as a classic English schoolmaster: knowledgeable, practical, stern but friendly, approachable, and trustworthy. I knew next to nothing about Qabala when I bought this book. Gray recommends that the student read a chapter and then let it soak in for a week or two before proceeding to the next one. I tried that initially, along with doing the exercises and answering the questions, but I got bogged down & distracted, and lost interest about 4 chapters in. Recently I picked the book up again and just read straight through it to get a "concept overview." This time I found it to be very fascinating and instructive, and I hope to return to it again later with a slightly improved understanding and do a slow pass through it according to Mr. Gray's recommendation.I was able to catch Mr. Gray out on a few factual errors concerning linguistic history and word derivations (apparently not his strong suit.) For example, in adding "th" when assigning letters of the English alphabet to paths, he mistakenly calls the rune "thorn" by the name "eth" (in Old English, eth and thorn were two different letters with different origins, both representing the "th" sound) and furthermore, he tells us that "eth" (actually "thorn") was the origin of the modern letter Y, which is not the case at all (y was already in use as a letter in Anglo-Saxon / Old English. Substitution of Y for thorn as in "Ye Olde..." occurred because Italian type foundries did not include thorn in printing typesets, thus forcing its use to wane throughout the renaissance and eventually be replaced by the modern spelling "th".) Don't trust William Gray when he tells you where a word came from, but the quality of his OTHER information seems to be good.I have other questions about the assignment of the Tarot Major Arcana cards to paths on the Tree. Gray proposes path assignments that make a lot of sense, but for some reason none of my other sources about the Tarot have adopted them; they all still use the traditional Golden Dawn "numerical order" assignments. I have to do more research in order to find out what justification there is behind the traditional system in order to decide which is better. Gray's system seems a lot more logical and is easier to remember.All in all, you can't go wrong with this book as an overview of Qabala, but don't rely on it as your sole source of information. It opens the door and invites you to further exploration.

This book is a really good read. It is actually part the framework for the training of the Sangreal Sodality. There are questions at the end of each chapter to test your reading. William Gray goes through meditation techniques, pathworking, linking the tarot with the Tree of Life and the various philosophies associated with the tree of life. You won't waste your money with this book.

Students often ask for advice on choosing Qabalistic texts on the Tree of Life that are not too archaic or difficult in both use of language or teachings. Gray was a most serious Qabalist and any of his extensive body of work is well worth having on your shelves, or bedside table, for easy access. This is a good book also for beginners as it offers a good grounding while leading you through the vast amount of information necessary before travelling on the Tree with any insight or competence. As with all things, you need to work at it, nothing worth having comes without effort, but you will certainly find this book useful in your continued studies.

カバラーのなかには豊富な思想が織り込まれています。本書は特にその中の生命の樹に関して、シンボリズムを解説し、さらに実践的な情報を与えています。一章ごとに確認問題がついていて、教科書風に学んでいくことができます。ひとつのカバラーのとらえ方として参考になる本です。