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Between the Gates
An A to Z guide to evolved states of consciousness. Between the Gates is a manual of self-initiation and liberation that takes the student through the basic methods of experiencing dream states and conscious astral projection, to the ultimate culmination of consciousness-- creation of the Body of Light. Between the Gates is for anyone who has ever desired to experience the "afterlife" while still alive, or who has desired to rid themselves of the fear of death. While drawing upon traditional Qabalistic and alchemical sources, the methods presented are applicable to a variety of traditions and schools of thought. Between the Gates functions as an "A to Z" guide to psychic initiation toward higher consciousness, and ultimately, to preparation for the great transition beyond this life and this physical body. * Stavish is featured in Guy Ritchie's hotly anticipated documentary on the Qabala. * Features black and white illustrations to further guide the reader to a higher state of awareness.
265 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
About the author
Mark Stavish
42 books39 followersMark Stavish, the Director of Studies for the Institute for Hermetic Studies (which he established in 1998), is a life-long student of esotericism with over 25 years experience in comparative religion, philosophy, psychology, and mysticism with emphasis on Traditional Western Esotericism. His articles have appeared in academic, specialty, and mass market publications specializing in spiritual studies, making Mark one of the leading authorities in Hermeticism today.
In addition to being a member and officer of several prominent Rosicrucian and Martinist societies, he served as the Director of Research for the Occult Research and Applications Project, of the Philosophers of Nature (PON). The Philosophers of Nature was founded by Jean Dubuis in France in 1979 and for twenty years was the leading resource for practical information on mineral and plant alchemy, as well as qabala. ORA, a statistically based research wing of the American branch of PON performed detailed exploration into the validity and practicality of various traditional esoteric methods. Original research from the ORA Project was published in the organization's journal, The Stone.
A graduate of King's College, in Theology (B.A.), and Communications (B.A.), and Rhode Island College (Providence), with a Master's degree in Counseling emphasizing psycho-spiritual modalities and Psychosynthesis, he brings a unique blend of tradition with modern research to the application of esoteric philosophy.
In addition to being a member and officer of several prominent Rosicrucian and Martinist societies, he served as the Director of Research for the Occult Research and Applications Project, of the Philosophers of Nature (PON). The Philosophers of Nature was founded by Jean Dubuis in France in 1979 and for twenty years was the leading resource for practical information on mineral and plant alchemy, as well as qabala. ORA, a statistically based research wing of the American branch of PON performed detailed exploration into the validity and practicality of various traditional esoteric methods. Original research from the ORA Project was published in the organization's journal, The Stone.
A graduate of King's College, in Theology (B.A.), and Communications (B.A.), and Rhode Island College (Providence), with a Master's degree in Counseling emphasizing psycho-spiritual modalities and Psychosynthesis, he brings a unique blend of tradition with modern research to the application of esoteric philosophy.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Did Not Finish
June 23, 2017
This is bold: mixing Kabbalah with Alchemy (and much more), the author ventures in enterprises such as: lucid dreaming, astral projection, creation of a body of light*, preparing for death and beyond, and physical resurrection.
Exercises for each theme invite you to try.
*or Rainbow body, for Tibetan Yogis.
December 21, 2016
This is a very well balanced and laid out book for those serious about getting into the Hermetic studies. As I haven't decided to make that my focus yet, I read it a little quick and didn't bother much with the exercises. But if I wanted to dedicate myself to this topic, this is definitely the book to start with.
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June 15, 2023
*⠀⠀SP. &. EN. review . scroll down for the english version.
⠀◟⠀3 ½ estrellas 🔮 .⠀⠀╱⠀⠀review positiva y sin spoilers !⠀más comprensión, menos crítica .
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Main tropes:
⠀—⠀esoterismo occidental (western esotericism)
⠀—⠀sueños lúcidos (lucid dreaming)
⠀—⠀proyección astral (astral projection)
⠀—⠀cábala y alquimia (qabalah & alchemy)
⠀—⠀autoiniciación (self-initiation)
⠀—⠀preparación para la muerte (preparation for death)
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Resumencito:⠀Una guía práctica de autoiniciación en la tradición hermética occidental. A través del esoterismo, la Cábala y la alquimia, Stavish lleva al lector desde las técnicas básicas de sueños conscientes y proyección astral hasta la creación del Cuerpo de Luz — y en última instancia, a una preparación consciente para la muerte. Un libro para quien quiera experimentar el más allá sin haberlo cruzado todavía.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Pensamientos:⠀Muy interesante. He aprendido un montón de cosas que ni sabía que eran posibles, y en general me ha resultado muy revelador — me ha hecho darme cuenta del potencial que tenemos y de que somos mucho más que "simples humanos". Aprender sobre nuevas filosofías e historia de la magia ha sido muy entretenido.
Sin embargo, el 3.5:
Hubo muchos momentos de "wtf" donde simplemente no entendía a qué se estaba refiriendo, y tampoco terminé de captar el significado detrás de muchos de los rituales. Por ejemplo, ¿qué tienen que ver los símbolos elementales con los sueños lúcidos, o con el color gris? Se explica al principio, pero me pareció demasiado vago y críptico. Supongo que esa complejidad, aunque se presente como apto para iniciados, en realidad requiere un conocimiento previo de las tradiciones esotéricas que yo no tenía antes de leerlo.
Tampoco me gustó que el libro estableciera constantemente plazos de tiempo para que los métodos dieran resultados — y que esos plazos fueran ENORMES. Meses. Años. Entiendo que avanzar en el camino qabbalístico requiere tiempo y esfuerzo, pero yo hice sueños lúcidos en menos de dos semanas simplemente afirmando que lo iba a hacer — así que cuando el libro convierte algo así en un proceso que requiere conocimiento experto y una inversión enorme de tiempo, me suena un poco a gatekeeping. Quizás controlar los sueños desde una perspectiva esotérica requiere más — no lo descarto. Pero el libro lo hace sentir como una tarea hercúlea reservada solo para los más iniciados. Y nunca he tenido proyecciones astrales porque me dan mucho miedo la verdad JAJAJAJ, así que no puedo decir.
Dicho esto, las meditaciones me gustaron mucho. Las seguí durante un tiempo y los resultados en cuanto a sentirme mejor y más centrada fueron muy buenos — eso me lo quedo sin duda. Y puede que lo relea cuando mi conocimiento del tema se haya ampliado.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ ¿A quién se lo recomendaría?⠀Solo a alguien que ya tenga cierta familiaridad con el esoterismo. Si no la tienes, prepárate para el viaje — y no necesariamente en el buen sentido. En general, he aprendido mucho, y eso es lo que me llevo.
.
. . ⠀ ,
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.
.
. .
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀eng. version.
.
. .
⠀◟⠀3 ½ stars 🔮 .⠀⠀╱⠀⠀positive review and spoiler-free !⠀more understanding, less criticism .
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Short summary:⠀A practical guide to self-initiation in the Western Hermetic tradition. Drawing on esotericism, Qabalah and alchemy, Stavish takes the reader from the basic techniques of lucid dreaming and astral projection all the way to the creation of the Body of Light — and ultimately, to a conscious preparation for death. A book for anyone who wants to experience the afterlife without having crossed it yet.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Thoughts:⠀Very interesting. I've learned a lot of things I didn't even know were possible, and overall it was very enlightening — it made me realise how much potential we have, and that we are so much more than "simple humans." Learning about new philosophies and the history of magic has been really fun.
That said, the 3.5:
There were a lot of "wtf" moments where I simply didn't understand what it was referring to, and I also didn't quite grasp the meaning behind many of the rituals. For example, what do elemental symbols have to do with lucid dreaming, or with the color gray? It gets explained at the start, but it felt too vague and cryptic to really land. I think the complexity — even though the book is presented as initiation-friendly — actually requires some prior knowledge of esoteric traditions that I didn't have before reading this.
I also didn't like how the book constantly set time frames for the methods to produce results, and those time frames were MASSIVE. Months. Years. I understand that moving up the Qabalistic path takes time and real effort, but I had lucid dreams in barely two weeks just by affirming I was going to — so when the book frames something like that as a complex, knowledge-requiring procedure, it kind of feels like gatekeeping. Maybe controlling dreams from an esoteric angle does require more — I'm not dismissing that. But the book makes it feel like a Herculean task reserved only for the most advanced.
That said, the meditations were genuinely great. I followed them for a while and got really nice results in terms of feeling better and more grounded — I'm absolutely keeping those. And I might reread this once my knowledge on the subject has expanded.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Who would I recommend it to?⠀Only to someone who already has some familiarity with esotericism. If you don't, prepare yourself for the ride — and not necessarily in a good way. Overall, I learned a lot, and that's what I'm taking from it.
⠀◟⠀3 ½ estrellas 🔮 .⠀⠀╱⠀⠀review positiva y sin spoilers !⠀más comprensión, menos crítica .
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Main tropes:
⠀—⠀esoterismo occidental (western esotericism)
⠀—⠀sueños lúcidos (lucid dreaming)
⠀—⠀proyección astral (astral projection)
⠀—⠀cábala y alquimia (qabalah & alchemy)
⠀—⠀autoiniciación (self-initiation)
⠀—⠀preparación para la muerte (preparation for death)
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Resumencito:⠀Una guía práctica de autoiniciación en la tradición hermética occidental. A través del esoterismo, la Cábala y la alquimia, Stavish lleva al lector desde las técnicas básicas de sueños conscientes y proyección astral hasta la creación del Cuerpo de Luz — y en última instancia, a una preparación consciente para la muerte. Un libro para quien quiera experimentar el más allá sin haberlo cruzado todavía.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Pensamientos:⠀Muy interesante. He aprendido un montón de cosas que ni sabía que eran posibles, y en general me ha resultado muy revelador — me ha hecho darme cuenta del potencial que tenemos y de que somos mucho más que "simples humanos". Aprender sobre nuevas filosofías e historia de la magia ha sido muy entretenido.
Sin embargo, el 3.5:
Hubo muchos momentos de "wtf" donde simplemente no entendía a qué se estaba refiriendo, y tampoco terminé de captar el significado detrás de muchos de los rituales. Por ejemplo, ¿qué tienen que ver los símbolos elementales con los sueños lúcidos, o con el color gris? Se explica al principio, pero me pareció demasiado vago y críptico. Supongo que esa complejidad, aunque se presente como apto para iniciados, en realidad requiere un conocimiento previo de las tradiciones esotéricas que yo no tenía antes de leerlo.
Tampoco me gustó que el libro estableciera constantemente plazos de tiempo para que los métodos dieran resultados — y que esos plazos fueran ENORMES. Meses. Años. Entiendo que avanzar en el camino qabbalístico requiere tiempo y esfuerzo, pero yo hice sueños lúcidos en menos de dos semanas simplemente afirmando que lo iba a hacer — así que cuando el libro convierte algo así en un proceso que requiere conocimiento experto y una inversión enorme de tiempo, me suena un poco a gatekeeping. Quizás controlar los sueños desde una perspectiva esotérica requiere más — no lo descarto. Pero el libro lo hace sentir como una tarea hercúlea reservada solo para los más iniciados. Y nunca he tenido proyecciones astrales porque me dan mucho miedo la verdad JAJAJAJ, así que no puedo decir.
Dicho esto, las meditaciones me gustaron mucho. Las seguí durante un tiempo y los resultados en cuanto a sentirme mejor y más centrada fueron muy buenos — eso me lo quedo sin duda. Y puede que lo relea cuando mi conocimiento del tema se haya ampliado.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ ¿A quién se lo recomendaría?⠀Solo a alguien que ya tenga cierta familiaridad con el esoterismo. Si no la tienes, prepárate para el viaje — y no necesariamente en el buen sentido. En general, he aprendido mucho, y eso es lo que me llevo.
.
. . ⠀ ,
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀.
.
. .
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀eng. version.
.
. .
⠀◟⠀3 ½ stars 🔮 .⠀⠀╱⠀⠀positive review and spoiler-free !⠀more understanding, less criticism .
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Short summary:⠀A practical guide to self-initiation in the Western Hermetic tradition. Drawing on esotericism, Qabalah and alchemy, Stavish takes the reader from the basic techniques of lucid dreaming and astral projection all the way to the creation of the Body of Light — and ultimately, to a conscious preparation for death. A book for anyone who wants to experience the afterlife without having crossed it yet.
⠀❛⠀This book contains all you need to have the direct experience of lucid dreaming, astral projection, and the Body of Light.⠀❜
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Thoughts:⠀Very interesting. I've learned a lot of things I didn't even know were possible, and overall it was very enlightening — it made me realise how much potential we have, and that we are so much more than "simple humans." Learning about new philosophies and the history of magic has been really fun.
That said, the 3.5:
There were a lot of "wtf" moments where I simply didn't understand what it was referring to, and I also didn't quite grasp the meaning behind many of the rituals. For example, what do elemental symbols have to do with lucid dreaming, or with the color gray? It gets explained at the start, but it felt too vague and cryptic to really land. I think the complexity — even though the book is presented as initiation-friendly — actually requires some prior knowledge of esoteric traditions that I didn't have before reading this.
I also didn't like how the book constantly set time frames for the methods to produce results, and those time frames were MASSIVE. Months. Years. I understand that moving up the Qabalistic path takes time and real effort, but I had lucid dreams in barely two weeks just by affirming I was going to — so when the book frames something like that as a complex, knowledge-requiring procedure, it kind of feels like gatekeeping. Maybe controlling dreams from an esoteric angle does require more — I'm not dismissing that. But the book makes it feel like a Herculean task reserved only for the most advanced.
That said, the meditations were genuinely great. I followed them for a while and got really nice results in terms of feeling better and more grounded — I'm absolutely keeping those. And I might reread this once my knowledge on the subject has expanded.
⠀⠀♡⠀⠀؛⠀⠀ Who would I recommend it to?⠀Only to someone who already has some familiarity with esotericism. If you don't, prepare yourself for the ride — and not necessarily in a good way. Overall, I learned a lot, and that's what I'm taking from it.
April 11, 2017
Probably one of the most dangerous books I've read. There are many paths to discovering esoteric mysteries, but this book is based solely on the Qabbala.
I would like to explore other alternatives to Jewish Mysticism such as Greek, Hindu, Mithraic, Egyptian, or even Meso-American because the Qabbala is just one path out of many, and if not handled properly, you could be summoning powers and entities that might not have your best interest at heart.
Most people will not understand a word of this book as it is steeped in multi-layered language, but it has incredible insights and methods for lucid dreaming, astral projection, and the manipulation of symbols.
My only beef with this book is that it calls upon users to draw power from Hebrew symbols, pentagrams, and the teachings of Aleister Crowley -- a very controversial subject.
I would like to explore other alternatives to Jewish Mysticism such as Greek, Hindu, Mithraic, Egyptian, or even Meso-American because the Qabbala is just one path out of many, and if not handled properly, you could be summoning powers and entities that might not have your best interest at heart.
Most people will not understand a word of this book as it is steeped in multi-layered language, but it has incredible insights and methods for lucid dreaming, astral projection, and the manipulation of symbols.
My only beef with this book is that it calls upon users to draw power from Hebrew symbols, pentagrams, and the teachings of Aleister Crowley -- a very controversial subject.
June 7, 2023
Enlightening
There’s more to life (and death) than what we were taught in our usual western systems of education and belief.
Instead of a simple book denomination, these writings should perhaps be called a “map to the other side” for those out there that want to enhance and maintain (retain) their consciousness when they cross that unexplored frontier that unfolds when the physical aspect of life comes to an end.
There’s more to life (and death) than what we were taught in our usual western systems of education and belief.
Instead of a simple book denomination, these writings should perhaps be called a “map to the other side” for those out there that want to enhance and maintain (retain) their consciousness when they cross that unexplored frontier that unfolds when the physical aspect of life comes to an end.
April 9, 2018
quite a few interesting points.
March 16, 2016
This book was suggested to me by a friend, I didn't realize it was about the Kabbalah. I am on a different Journey, hence my two stars.
I am sure someone on the Kabbalah Journey would not only enjoy this book but also learn a lot.
It was interesting for me to read about a different Spiritual Path.
Half of the book is practice and it was waisted on me as I have already a well established practice.
I recommend this book to all people of Jewish Faith and Kabbalah Followers.
I am sure someone on the Kabbalah Journey would not only enjoy this book but also learn a lot.
It was interesting for me to read about a different Spiritual Path.
Half of the book is practice and it was waisted on me as I have already a well established practice.
I recommend this book to all people of Jewish Faith and Kabbalah Followers.
December 7, 2023
Promises to be a book about the role of various dreaming topics in western esotericism. Is actually a long ramble about Kabbalah and attempts to shoehorn unrelated dreaming practices into a kabbalistic framework.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews