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Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magic on the Pagan Path
Explore the Tree of Life from a Pagan Point of View You don't have to shy away from Qabalah anymore―this book makes it easy to use ceremonial magic and incorporate its symbolism into your Wiccan rituals and workings. Join Jack Chanek on an exploration of Hermetic Qabalah and learn how its concepts can be interwoven with the essential elements of Wicca. Featuring an abundance of journal prompts, exercises, and correspondences, Qabalah for Wiccans is the ideal resource for understanding Qabalah as a Pagan practitioner. You'll uncover Qabalistic connections to Wiccan theology, ascend the Tree of Life through meditation and ritual, and explore the Tree's ten Sephiroth using the four elements, tarot, and more. Revealing many similarities between the two practices, this remarkable book shows you how Qabalah works and why it matters to your Wiccan path. Includes a foreword by Deborah Lipp, author of Magical Power for Beginners
274 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 3, 2022
This review was originally appeared on The Magical Buffet's website on 02/03/2022.
Anyone who has had any interest in magic has stumbled across Qabalah. Unlike Jewish Kabbalah (a closed tradition to those of the Jewish faith), hermetic Qabalah is an appropriation of the tradition that blends Jewish theology, astrology, Hermeticism, and Neo-Platonic philosophy. It serves as the roots from which many initiatory lodge systems, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, arose. It can come across as overly complex, difficult to learn, and perhaps not entirely practical for those not interested in a formal ceremonial magic practice. However, in saunters Jack Chanek with his book “Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magic on the Pagan Path,” and believe me, it changes EVERYTHING.
Trust me, I’m a lady that has looked into Qabalah. I’m an Israel Regardie fangirl (he founded the Golden Dawn). I’ve read the comic “Promethea” from Alan Moore (a ceremonial magician who wrote this comic centered around the Qabalah). Heck, I’m from a Jewish family, the Kabbalah should be in my DNA! Yet, the Qabalah has always remained foreign, alien, out of my grasp. But Chanek made Qabalah readily accessible. I’ve never been so exhilarated from a text. I get it! I got it! AMAZING!
Now, imagine finally getting Qabalah, and then finding out you can easily apply it to your Wiccan/Pagan practice! Chanek’s purpose in this book is to “show that Wicca and Qabalah are already compatible with each other,” and he succeeds. He writes from the perspective of British Traditional Wicca, but don’t worry, I’m decidedly not Wiccan and everything made sense. “Qabalah for Wiccans” has meditations, exercises, and rituals that will feel familiar to Wiccans, but help meld Qabalah with your practice.
To sum up, if you are ANYONE EVEN REMOTELY INTERESTED IN MAGIC, get “Qabalah for Wiccans” by Jack Chanek NOW!
Anyone who has had any interest in magic has stumbled across Qabalah. Unlike Jewish Kabbalah (a closed tradition to those of the Jewish faith), hermetic Qabalah is an appropriation of the tradition that blends Jewish theology, astrology, Hermeticism, and Neo-Platonic philosophy. It serves as the roots from which many initiatory lodge systems, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, arose. It can come across as overly complex, difficult to learn, and perhaps not entirely practical for those not interested in a formal ceremonial magic practice. However, in saunters Jack Chanek with his book “Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magic on the Pagan Path,” and believe me, it changes EVERYTHING.
Trust me, I’m a lady that has looked into Qabalah. I’m an Israel Regardie fangirl (he founded the Golden Dawn). I’ve read the comic “Promethea” from Alan Moore (a ceremonial magician who wrote this comic centered around the Qabalah). Heck, I’m from a Jewish family, the Kabbalah should be in my DNA! Yet, the Qabalah has always remained foreign, alien, out of my grasp. But Chanek made Qabalah readily accessible. I’ve never been so exhilarated from a text. I get it! I got it! AMAZING!
Now, imagine finally getting Qabalah, and then finding out you can easily apply it to your Wiccan/Pagan practice! Chanek’s purpose in this book is to “show that Wicca and Qabalah are already compatible with each other,” and he succeeds. He writes from the perspective of British Traditional Wicca, but don’t worry, I’m decidedly not Wiccan and everything made sense. “Qabalah for Wiccans” has meditations, exercises, and rituals that will feel familiar to Wiccans, but help meld Qabalah with your practice.
To sum up, if you are ANYONE EVEN REMOTELY INTERESTED IN MAGIC, get “Qabalah for Wiccans” by Jack Chanek NOW!
December 30, 2021
I am both an experienced Wiccan (30+ years) and casual student of the Qabalah, and I loved this book. I thought I would skim most of it, but over and over I found new explanations of information I already know that caught and kept my attention. I especially liked how the author define qabalah vs. kabalah, and his position on importance of leaving Jewish mysticism to Jewish people. Likewise he includes the most important details of how Western Occultism, espeially the Golden Dawn, influenced the magickal use of Qabalah. There are reflection questions at the end of each chapter for those who want to journal about what they are learning, and lots of rituals the incoporate Qabalistic symbols. Chanek keeps the material accessible to any Wiccan, which is not something most authors writing about the Qabalah aim to do, and the result is an excellent and highly informative book that I will certainly recommend to my Wiccan students.
July 26, 2024
Although it made the Sephiroth more accessible due to my understanding of Wicca, I left Wicca because it was too hippie. This book was definitely hippie.
August 15, 2022
I was super suss on this book from when I first saw it in a bookshop in London. It had that vaguely American air of “Holy Yoga” or “Christian Taichi”; where spiritual items are totally ripped from original context and shoved into another framework with an adjective placed at the start to rectify any orthodox misgivings about its new appropriated home. It should go without saying that Qabalah, as Chanek mentions, is kinda that already. Hermetic Qabbalah with a capital Q and Christian Cabala with an lovely alliterative C both being derived/stole /appropriated/misappropriated forms of the Jewish Kabbalah. I won’t wade into the debate here regarding the ethics behind practising either Q or C style Kabbalah as I certainly do not have the knowledge nor skills to discuss it with any potency. Suffice to say that Jack invites us to engage with Q and C type Kabbalah with the knowledge that they were both developed/taken/stolen from K-Kabbalah which is most certainly a closed Jewish practise. So how does one then take an appropriated Jewish framework used by Victorian occultists and then squeeze it into a Wiccan framework? Enter High Priest Chanek.
Firstly I think that “for Wiccans” is relatively inconsequential here. Chanek uses Wicca as the comparative or illustrative low magical practise to place this high magic work into as it’s his tradition. But I really do feel that any Trad Craft Terry or Druid Donna could take the lessons in this book and apply it equally as Wicca Wendy could; it’s less a book about Wicca and more a book about Hermetic Qabbalah.
The first chapter delves into the whole explanation of what Hermetic Qabbalah is and how it was used. With the next chapters explaining, in very digestible terms, what the fuck this collection of dots oft seen on aged hippies’ walls actually means. There is no doubt that Qabalistic magic is as dense as a good mud cake but Chanek has a really excellent way of breaking it down into digestible chunks. Instead of explaining each Sephirah individually, the Sephiroth are explained in pairs and/or triads to illustrate the polarity and interconnected of the whole tree. As is the whole damn point of it. These chapters were only slightly confusing due to the Hebrew names and recalling where on the tree they actually sit; always reminds me of my Jewish linguistics lecturer who refused to learn Hebrew as “every letter looks like Pac-Man”. Go off, Queen. What struck me here is that getting the basics of this esoteric connect-the-dots isn’t that difficult. It’s basic stuff to explain the human experience and to understand our universe as a whole. Polarity is an old magical concept and the interplay between poles makes the tree run; you can see the Qabbalistic influence on Feri tradition’s “Iron Pentacle” a mile off.
The ongoing chapters delve deeper into how complicated Qabbalistic work _can_ be. From the naming of each pathways between Sephirah, to the one of many colour correspondences for each Sephirah, to their astrological correspondences to the laying of Trees with Sephirah and Sephirah within larger Trees, correspondences with the Tarot, differences between different Tarot systems. Its truly incredible. What Chanek stresses is that the Qabbalistic way isn’t a new magic, it’s a new way to interpret your current magic. He is not asking us to do anything wildly new, only consider our current work in a new framework. So instead of doing your baneful work with the old cord cutting, considering the Sephirah of Gevurah to layer the spell. _Sounds new to me_, I hear you say. _You may be wrong_, I shall counter. As, truly, I think the greatest lesson I took from this book was understanding actually how influential the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was in our modern magical practise. All those colour correspondences? HOGD Qabbalah. All them planetary correspondences? HOGD Qabbalah. Herbs? HOGD Qabbalah. That numerology you’re popping in that spell? HOGD Qabbalah. Obviously what most of us are doing is not the exact same but, by gum, you can see the influence. And if the influence is there, why not understand its genesis? If after that your conscience tells you to remove the Qabbalah, so be it. If not, perhaps your knowledge and magic will reach a new level. Perhaps not. But just knowing the history, as I stress in pretty much every review, is so damn important. Point here is that this book isn’t just a handbook on Hermetic Qabbalah, it’s a new way to view your practise, a new angle to approach it from. Moreover, it’s a history of one of the shortest lived but potentially most influential magical orders of our time, Golden Dawn.
This book is incredibly readable, Chanek has a lovely way of writing that makes you feel like a welcome student in his classroom. He approaches potentially triggering topics with aplomb (gender and polarity) and stresses that Qabbalistic work is hard, often bewildering but rewarding esoteric work for any magical practitioner. Highly recommend.
5 Golden Dawns outta 5.
Firstly I think that “for Wiccans” is relatively inconsequential here. Chanek uses Wicca as the comparative or illustrative low magical practise to place this high magic work into as it’s his tradition. But I really do feel that any Trad Craft Terry or Druid Donna could take the lessons in this book and apply it equally as Wicca Wendy could; it’s less a book about Wicca and more a book about Hermetic Qabbalah.
The first chapter delves into the whole explanation of what Hermetic Qabbalah is and how it was used. With the next chapters explaining, in very digestible terms, what the fuck this collection of dots oft seen on aged hippies’ walls actually means. There is no doubt that Qabalistic magic is as dense as a good mud cake but Chanek has a really excellent way of breaking it down into digestible chunks. Instead of explaining each Sephirah individually, the Sephiroth are explained in pairs and/or triads to illustrate the polarity and interconnected of the whole tree. As is the whole damn point of it. These chapters were only slightly confusing due to the Hebrew names and recalling where on the tree they actually sit; always reminds me of my Jewish linguistics lecturer who refused to learn Hebrew as “every letter looks like Pac-Man”. Go off, Queen. What struck me here is that getting the basics of this esoteric connect-the-dots isn’t that difficult. It’s basic stuff to explain the human experience and to understand our universe as a whole. Polarity is an old magical concept and the interplay between poles makes the tree run; you can see the Qabbalistic influence on Feri tradition’s “Iron Pentacle” a mile off.
The ongoing chapters delve deeper into how complicated Qabbalistic work _can_ be. From the naming of each pathways between Sephirah, to the one of many colour correspondences for each Sephirah, to their astrological correspondences to the laying of Trees with Sephirah and Sephirah within larger Trees, correspondences with the Tarot, differences between different Tarot systems. Its truly incredible. What Chanek stresses is that the Qabbalistic way isn’t a new magic, it’s a new way to interpret your current magic. He is not asking us to do anything wildly new, only consider our current work in a new framework. So instead of doing your baneful work with the old cord cutting, considering the Sephirah of Gevurah to layer the spell. _Sounds new to me_, I hear you say. _You may be wrong_, I shall counter. As, truly, I think the greatest lesson I took from this book was understanding actually how influential the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was in our modern magical practise. All those colour correspondences? HOGD Qabbalah. All them planetary correspondences? HOGD Qabbalah. Herbs? HOGD Qabbalah. That numerology you’re popping in that spell? HOGD Qabbalah. Obviously what most of us are doing is not the exact same but, by gum, you can see the influence. And if the influence is there, why not understand its genesis? If after that your conscience tells you to remove the Qabbalah, so be it. If not, perhaps your knowledge and magic will reach a new level. Perhaps not. But just knowing the history, as I stress in pretty much every review, is so damn important. Point here is that this book isn’t just a handbook on Hermetic Qabbalah, it’s a new way to view your practise, a new angle to approach it from. Moreover, it’s a history of one of the shortest lived but potentially most influential magical orders of our time, Golden Dawn.
This book is incredibly readable, Chanek has a lovely way of writing that makes you feel like a welcome student in his classroom. He approaches potentially triggering topics with aplomb (gender and polarity) and stresses that Qabbalistic work is hard, often bewildering but rewarding esoteric work for any magical practitioner. Highly recommend.
5 Golden Dawns outta 5.
November 8, 2021
I wish I'd had this book when I started studying Qabala! It does so many things right that most Qabala books do terribly. Rather than get bogged down in tables of correspondences, Chanek clearly explains the much-more-important whys about Qabala in an engaging, practical way. I'll definitely be referring back to this book a lot as I continue my work with the Tree of Life.
April 23, 2022
Ellen Cannon Reed and Ted Andrew's Both Wrote Books on Qabalah for Witches . This along with those books the Goddess and the Tree and Simplified Qabalah. Make great foundational Texts to get Started . The Only real issue is the Over Simplified explanations. All in all a Wonderful Book !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2022
What a ride up and down the Tree of Life! Chanek uses an unconventional method of tackling the sephiroth, namely in groups of three, each consisting of a polarity and a synthesis that follows from them, not unlike Hegel's dialectic model for classifying historical progress. This is particularly helpful, because rather than just considering a sephira after another (whatever direction you go), it is a constant reminder that they are all connected.
I loved the emphasis that was placed on the path between Malkuth and Yesod as the place where most action probably takes place in a Wiccan / witchcraft practice. Also the last few chapters on actually integrating the Tree were thought provoking.
Minor disturbances in the force:
1. Ihate loathe the pronunciation guide that is being used in virtually all Llewellyn books. It's time to grow up America and learn IPA.
2. The diagrams were not always clear.
a. Captions often included a pair of sephiroth but in the wrong order (left-right vs. right-left) as they are shown on the tree. Obviously the solution is to add / highlight the relevant sephiroth.
b. Diagrams were only black and white, but if instead a neutral grey was used with black highlights, some didactic points could have come across better.
That being said, a book to return to many times.
I loved the emphasis that was placed on the path between Malkuth and Yesod as the place where most action probably takes place in a Wiccan / witchcraft practice. Also the last few chapters on actually integrating the Tree were thought provoking.
Minor disturbances in the force:
1. I
2. The diagrams were not always clear.
a. Captions often included a pair of sephiroth but in the wrong order (left-right vs. right-left) as they are shown on the tree. Obviously the solution is to add / highlight the relevant sephiroth.
b. Diagrams were only black and white, but if instead a neutral grey was used with black highlights, some didactic points could have come across better.
That being said, a book to return to many times.
September 27, 2021
This is a great book for anyone who wants to enhance, create or understand his/her own practices in natural magic (stone, star, water, candle, magnet magic etc...) with the help of ancient esoteric teaching of Qabalah. You will be able to create or incorporate tecniques from hermetic magic into your spells as well. In this book one will also learn new insights into facets of the Tree of Life and to invoke deities with a new awareness about their qualities. All this is explained very well. Yet, more teachings about qlippothic (out of balance) aspects of Qabalah would be welcomed. Ten stations of Qabalah are not only "sunshine and flowers" but they contain harmful energies as well. Same is for deities. We all know about not only beneficial, but the bad aspects of some gods and goddesses, so clear presentation is needed. Also it would be good to avoid fuzzy sentences, like this: "Cancer is hard on the outside but vulnerable on the inside, and linking to the Chariot teaches us that this card's ambition and drive can mask a deeper sensitivity and softness", now what exactly this broadness means? This text is for anyone who wants to study the origins of Wiccan beliefs, practices and mythology.
August 31, 2023
I’m impressed. Qabalah is a subject that has confused me for years, and honestly, it continues to do so, but now I feel like I have a good solid foundation. I am not a ceremonial magician and so I have never considered Qabalah for any part of my practice, but Chanek has changed that.
This book is easy to read and easy to understand and yet it is full of complex information that helps you understand Qabalah. It is repetitive, but in doing so you can begin to see what the author is trying to stress. I like how Chanek goes about explaining each subject and his views on relating Qabalah to Wicca make it relatable.
Definitely will recommend this book to any witch wanting to learn more about Qabalah.
This book is easy to read and easy to understand and yet it is full of complex information that helps you understand Qabalah. It is repetitive, but in doing so you can begin to see what the author is trying to stress. I like how Chanek goes about explaining each subject and his views on relating Qabalah to Wicca make it relatable.
Definitely will recommend this book to any witch wanting to learn more about Qabalah.
August 12, 2024
As an experienced practitioner of Wicca, I’ve been waiting for a book like this for years. Hermetic Qabalah is foundational for ceremonial witchcraft, and can be a complex subject to learn. Chanek introduces the history of the subject and its impact on modern Wicca with clarity, tact, and nuance. I especially like this consideration of cultural appropriation. He packs so much information into this book that it’s going to take multiple reads for me to entirely wrap my mind around it, especially all of the layered correspondences at the end. This book is a great cover-to-cover read & reference text.
December 7, 2021
I'm always a bit wary when people talks about Qabalah and how to introduce into a Wiccan practice.
Hermetic Qabalah is a complex and ancient magical system and it's not easily approached as it's a mix of different cultural elements.
I think that the author did a good job in explaining and proposing how to include it into the practice.
An informative and intersting book.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Hermetic Qabalah is a complex and ancient magical system and it's not easily approached as it's a mix of different cultural elements.
I think that the author did a good job in explaining and proposing how to include it into the practice.
An informative and intersting book.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
June 11, 2022
This was a great intro to Qabalistic concepts without getting lost in the weeds and being super intricate. Definitely a great place to start if you're curious and wondering if you want to go deeper into studying Qabala.
January 31, 2022
A worthwhile read
June 10, 2025
This is a good introductory book to Hermetic Qabala. The exercises connect it to Wiccan religion and rituals. I liked his unique way of organizing the chapters into triads.
December 7, 2025
Great Book
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