"At all times, he who has been called “master of the word" has always been the highest initiate, the highest priest, the true representative of God.
Each religious system, each initiation, regards the knowledge of the word as the highest knowledge.
To speak kabbalistically is to form words from letters; words analogous to this or that idea according to the universal laws."
(Franz Bardon)
INTRODUCTION
This site is devoted to the Kabbalah teachings of Franz Bardon who was a practitioner of Kabbalah and is known to have illustrated his mastery of "the Word" by commanding the weather and healing the sick. His approach in teaching his students was always practical and he was of the view that the use of the Kabbalistic language has to be trained practically. But; what is Kabbalah?
The word “Kabbalah,” like every Hebrew word, is based on a root. The root usually consists of three Hebrew letters that serve as the basis for many words. Each root has a primary meaning; the meaning of the root of “Kabbalah” is “to receive.” What is the person who’s engaged in the study of Kabbalah receiving? The answer is both simple and, in a sense, impossible. Kabbalists receive knowledge of God and guidance for living.
Traditionally, Kabbalah is divided into three categories, the theoretical, the meditative, and the magical.
The "Theoretical Kabbalah", which in its present form is based largely on the Zohar, is concerned mostly with the dynamics of the spiritual domain, especially the worlds of the Sefirot, souls and angels. This branch of Kabbalah reached its zenith in the writings of the Safed school in the 16th century, and the vast majority of published texts belong in this category.
"Meditative Kabbalah" deals with the use of divine names, letter permutations, and similar methods to reach higher states of consciousness, and as such, comprises a kind of yoga. Most of the main texts have never been published, but remain scattered in manuscripts in the great libraries and museums. Some of these methods enjoyed a brief renaissance in the mid 1700's with the rise of the Hasidic movement, but within a half century they were once again largely forgotten.
The third category of Kabbalah–the magical–is closely related to the meditative. It consists of various signs, incantations and divine names, through which one can influence or alter natural events. Many of the techniques closely resemble meditative methods, and their success may depend on their ability to induce mental states where telekinetic or spiritual power can effectively be channeled. As with the second category, the most important texts have never been printed, although some fragments have been published. One of the best examples of these is the book Raziel.
The Kabbalah of Bardon was strongly influenced by a book known as the Sefer Yetzirah.
The Sefer Yetzirah is without question the oldest and most mysterious of all Kabbalistic texts. The first commentaries on this book were written in the 10th century, and the text itself is quoted as early as the sixth. References to the work appear in the first century, while traditions regarding its use attest to its existence even in Biblical times. So ancient is this book that its origins are no longer accessible to historians. We are totally dependent on traditions with regard to its authorship. Equally mysterious is the meaning of this book. If the author meant to be obscure, he was eminently successful. It is only through the most careful analysis, studying every word with its parallels in Biblical and Talmudic literature, that its haze of obscurity begins to be penetrated.
Careful study indicates that Sefer Yetzirah is a meditative text, with strong magical overtones. This position is supported by the earliest Talmudic traditions, which indicate that it could be used to create living creatures. Especially significant are the many reports and legends in which the Sefer Yetzirah is used to create a Golem, a sort of mystical android.
What we therefore have in the Sefer Yetzirah appears to be an instructional manual, describing certain meditative exercises. There is some evidence that these exercises were meant to strengthen the initiate's concentration, and were particularly helpful in the development of telekinetic and telepathic powers. It was with these powers that one would then be able to perform feats that outwardly appeared to be magical. This is supported by the Talmudical references, which appear to compare the use of Sefer Yetzirah to a kind of white magic. An important 13th century commentator writes that students of Sefer Yetzirah were given a manuscript of the book Raziel, a magical text containing seals, magical figures, divine names and incantations.
It must be pointed out that in his book The Key to the True Quabbalah (Dieter Rüggeberg, 1957), Bardon follows an absolutely unique approach to the subject matter. This site is therefore not for those students interested in the traditional approach to Kabbalah.
This website is dedicated to Franz Bardon's Kabbalistic techniques.
