Kabbalah, Magic & the Great Work of Self Transformation: A Complete Course

by Lyam Thomas Christopher

Advancing to higher levels of ritual magic with purpose and power requires an exaltation of consciousness-a spiritual transformation that can serve as an antitode to the seeming banality of modern life. Based on Kabbalistic techniques, the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and an Hermetic tradition spanning nearly two thousand years, this innovative new work introduces the history of the Golden Dawn and its mythology, the Tree of Life, Deities, demons, rules for practicing magic, and components of effective ritual. A comprehensive course of self-initiation using Israel Regardie's seminal Golden Dawn as a key reference point, Kabbalah, Magic and the Great Work of Self-Transformation guides you through the levels of the Golden Dawn system of ritual magic. Each grade in this system corresponds with a sphere in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and includes daily rituals, required reading, written assignments, projects, and additional exercises. Knowledgeable and true to tradition, author Lyam Thomas Christopher presents a well-grounded and modern step-by-step program toward spiritual attainment, providing a lucid gateway toward a more awakened state. Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Magick/Shamanism Book

Genres: Magick, Occult, Spirituality, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

Reviews

[James Self · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is basically a layout of the Golden Dawn system of ceremonial magick, with some pretty lazy and poorly written commentary about various opinions the author holds on a variety of subjects. The GD material is presented in a kind of workbook style, similar to other books of the type; it presents nothing special and is basically just an explanation of what is contained in the Regardie material published in the 70s. I diligently approached the material,and after a couple of months contacted to author on Facebook. At first the exchange seemed alright, but shortly after the initial contact I began noticing links to Left Hand Path sites on his page, and the conversations he was having on the page had a very negative tone-- he talked about the importance of developing what he called "the killer instinct," before one developed compassion, for instance. I wasn't sure what he was referring to but as I had been drawn to the material out of an interest in studying White magick, I decided to terminate the contact and discontinue work with the book. I have since come to understand clearly why the book, written for what Cristopher calls. "the solitary practitioner," is targeting people who are new to the study of occultism, as they generally have few contacts with others who might be able to help them deal with what amounts to psychic attack. After I disconnected on Facebook I found myself dealing with a number of phenomenon that are best described in Dion Fortune's excellent book, Psychic Self Defense, as the symptoms of an occult attack. I subsequently researched Mr. Christopher's "credentials" and the only online reference I could find to the "Ra Horakhty" Temple was a Facebook page that hadn't been updated in several years and that had 72 likes. It has taken me the better part of a year to extricate myself from the harrassment that ensued after I blocked the author on Facebook and I would warn ANYONE who is not interested in the magick of the Left Hand Path to avoid this book, and the author, as if their well being depended on it. It was only through great effort and the help of several spiritual healers where I live that I have been able to successfully deal with the consequence incurred by choosing this particular book as a source of learning material for the Holy Kaballah. Additionally the material presented can all be found in other, less negative sources without too much trouble.

[Jake Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had my doubts about the author at first because he's a consultant to my teacher. When she started using his suggestions and prescribing them in my work, I didn't like it. Lyam Thomas Christopher demands a lot out of his students.

But then the changes started happening. This stuff works, and you needn't wonder how. Lyam lays it out for you in the pages...and by the time you're done reading, you have a grand view of the whole spiritual process. And you're faced with the choice of whether or not to go down the road that this book offers. The haunting thing is that this is nothing new to anyone in the west. We've all known all along that the road was there.

Lyam's approach is grand, but it's not in the least bit overwhelming. The book is grand in scope, but thankfully piecemeal and step-by-step.

I thought I knew what magic was. I've read a lot. I know a lot. But in this book the details come together differently. I realize that I've learned almost nothing...yet.

[Onur · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book aimed to renew the GD teachings and tried to explain blind spots of it. It also seems more organised in a way with some checklist for those who want to initiate themselves (no matter how organised a magickal book, a learner still needs a teacher anyway) he also refers to bible verses with different interprations aligned with the purpose of this teaching. This book can be good to read with other GD materials, I would not suggest just to read it and practise straight.

[Fabian Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say I really like this book, although it's generally quite good, but I wouldn't recommend it particularly. I am somewhat neutral about it. So that's where my 3 star rating comes from. It's 'ok' as a whole. Was recommended to me by a friend who still rates it. So this is another Golden Dawn tuition book, and as an overall summary and guideline, it seems quite good. It's not a complete course. That would suggest that it contained everything you needed to know, which obviously is not the case, as you need to buy one of the thick Regardie Golden Dawn books as well as a book on Hermetic Qabalah, and others.

I can't really comment on all aspects of the core GD tuition here, but one thing I did notice was that the author's version of the LBRP, specifically the Kabbalistic Cross, contains what would be for most people a lengthy visualisation exercise, imagining yourself expanding in size from where you are standing to becoming the size of the complete universe, whatever that is. This is performed twice in the LBRP, at the start of each Kabbalistic Cross. I think it's a good meditation exercise, but it's too lengthy to perform each time if you want to do any justice to it. This exercise is not mentioned in any of Regardie's writings that are referenced and Thomas states that the LBRP described is 'adapted' from these sources. Did he create this himself, adapt it from elsewhere or was he taught this at his lodge? I think if he is going to make his own changes, then it should be explicitly stated what they are, or you end up with an idiosyncratic version of the modernised GD tradition. Yes you can figure it all out as you go along by cross referencing all of Regardie's books, but then you may as well follow Regardie's instructions, with the exception of how to draw the hexagram in one continuous motion.

The author puts the GD tuition in a modern lifestyle context, describing what modern distractions or practices to avoid during certain phases of the program. This I think is adding value. He brings in observations that I am in general agreement that most ceremonial magicians, and indeed occultists in general, tend to be too nerdy, and need to look after their bodies more and have a more balanced lifestyle, suggesting types of exercise including the gym, qi gong etc. Ok, this is all well and good, but I am not sure this really belongs in such a GD program book. If I want a book on fitness and habits of successful people, I will buy one, and anyone who is interested in the GD tradition will likely be interested in Indian or Chinese internal alchemical arts anyway.

However, I find parts of the book rather patronising and sanctimonious, excessively moralising when it really is not necessary to do so, but to credit the reader with a little intelligence. The book is also rather flippant in places, and making non-relevant claims or references, such as the claim that there is historical evidence of Jesus not dying on the cross ('by the way' he writes!), citing one single rather new age gnostic sounding book without a page number or summarising what the actual claimed facts were in the citation, i.e. not an academic paper or news report; with no reference to Josephus, which is more or less the only historical evidence that he may have existed.

Thomas' view of the reasons behind the failure of the Golden Dawn, in running before they could walk, and thus being plagued by deluded failed mysticism, egotism and such, may well have some truth to it, but if it is I don't think it's the full story and it has to be viewed in historical context. We do not know the psychological profiles of the founders and famous members of the GD to any significant degree beyond what can be derived from their writings and written historical record. It could be that Mathers was suffering from a severe personality disorder, which would never liked change significantly using a purely high magic approach and if anything may have been nurtured with the secrecy of the GD, it's novelty/elitism, and his position of authority within the order. The author's assertions suggest that building the correct foundation and progressing at a slower pace will thus empower the individual to overcome such personality traits or personality disorders, which in itself is a form of self-delusion. This reasoning is behind Thomas' course structure that he implies allows on to deal with such emotional and ego issues before advancing and being able to receive and absorb 'light' more effectively. However, I do not believe that the author is entirely free of such narcissism issues, nor anyone else I've come across in the Golden Dawn community. The GD community has had the benefit of being able to dissect the history over the last 100+ years. Observing the ongoing hostilities and petty squabbling between the different self-proclaimed GD factions is evidence that egotism and narcissism are far from relinquished with a more evolved structured approach to the discipline. If one is relatively speaking less of a pathological narcissist than Mathers, that does not mean one is not subject to such tendencies manifesting in other ways.

I also found the author's choice of tarot deck a little sub-optimal, although obviously this is always going to be personal preference. I think a 'proper' GD deck would have been more appropriate, if it was Wang/Regardie's slightly ugly deck, or the various other clones available on the marketplace now. Having a 'corrected' Smith Waite deck to me seems half baked and excessively cautious, if one is specifically learning the GD system, although the choice may have been influenced by what Llewellyn would allow. In such a case, I think the Initiatory Golden Dawn Tarot would have been a better choice, if not ideal, at least has illustrated pips. A RWS clone I would expect in a new age tarot book for beginners, not in a serious GD study book, even if it is for beginners.

I assume it was Llewellyn that had a hand in this claim on the front of the book to entice readers, which is understandable. What does complete really mean in this context, anyway? I think the spelling 'Kabbalah' is misleading, as it really ought to be 'Qabalah'. Kabbalah is the original Jewish Kabbalah, not the occult Qabalah that is featured here. Sure, there is a little flexibility in this, but I suspect this spelling was used to appeal to a wider audience, with the word 'magic' used to explain that it is about the Golden Dawn.

So yes, there some value has been added, but not necessarily anything one could not find elsewhere in this day and age. I would prefer to use another guide book, despite this works strengths.

[Paola Dunbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was explained easily and gives a guide to working through the golden dawn by Iserael Regardie. So beware, he suggests reading pages and copying diagrams from the 6th edition of the GD, I'm unsure if any edition would work. He also recommends other reading alongside this, as well as exercises he gives you. If you want to reach spiritual enlightenment, this book is for you if you put in the hard work that comes with it.
I have debated between 4 and 5 stars so decide on just making it 4.5☆ really good book.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing of the nature of man and our relationships to our spiritual world. Very motivating.

[Rus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, easy to understand introduction. This book will take you far if you implement and integrate its teachings.