The major thing to know about this book was that it was written in England in the 1930's. It is very literate, clear, and relatively easy to follow, and since it was written as an introduction to the subject, it explains many of the more difficult concepts step by step. Fortune is well aware of the difficulty of her material and uses multiple examples to illustrate each of her points, often backtracking in order to show how later concepts fit together with earlier ones. Though she has a tendency to repeat herself, this seems like a strength when dealing such abstract material. Unfortunately, the book is weakened by strongly showing the biases of its time.

Firstly, the book draws heavily on the standard 1930's understanding of physics -- and by this I mean the physics that was being taught in schools at the time, meaning 1. the concept of ether was still in use and 2. we're not just talking pre-quantum physics, but pre-relativity. The result is that many of the connections Fortune makes between the various cosmic forces and physical principles vary from irrelevant, being that her model is so outdated, to flat-out wrong. (This, of course, is the eternal danger of mixing science with metaphysical philosophy.)

Second, Fortune shares at least some of the imperialist, elitist attitudes of early-20th century Britain. While I admire the fact that she condemns other occult writers for their elitism and their deliberate attempts to mislead the uninitiated, she still makes a number of comments about the "temperament of the European and Asian races" that are very much at odds with a 21st-century perspective. This is not to say that her observations are necessarily wrong, but she attributes to genetics what people today usually attribute to culture, and often makes sweeping generalizations that I found uncomfortable.

Third, Fortune reinforces the traditional belief that women are born emotionally strong and intellectually weak, while men are born the opposite. Though she asserts that both men and women need to be strong in both areas in order to be whole people, this still seems a rather backwards point of view from a woman whose primary personality trait was so clearly her intelligence. While it may be true that men and women have tendencies in these directions, her belief that gender and certain personality characteristics come as an inseparable package is clearly wrong.

If you can ignore these flaws as you read, this book is excellent for gaining a basic understanding of the qabalah from an occult perspective. For myself, however, I will be looking for a book whose biases are not quite so pronounced.


Indispensible guide to Qabalah in Western Occultism   April 19, 2003
 55 out of 57 found this review helpful

First: you need to know that the Qabalah as it is used by Western Occultists bears little resemblance to Qabalah as it is practiced by Chasidic and Orthodox Jews. (Dion Fortune says as much in this book, but many miss this distinction). The Qabalah of the Occultists should be judged as a thing in itself, not as an outgrowth of Judaism... in fact, you'll find that efforts to link the two will only get you confused.

As a thing in itself, the Western Qabalah is a fine system for organizing the mind; it can provide a wonderful framework for structuring rituals, and it is a powerful mandala for meditation. And Dion Fortune's book is unquestionably the best introduction to the Qabalah of the Occultists. Her writing is clear and concise and her examples are easy to grasp. In connection with Crowley's *777*, this provides you with everything you need to create your own rituals in the Western Ceremonial tradition. (If you're going to do this, you should also [a] read Fortune's *Psychic Self-Defense* and [b] avoid slavishly following Crowley's suggestions: remember, the Qabalah is essentially an empty filing cabinet, to be organized in the way which suits your needs best... although some will hop up and down and scream "blasphemy" because I dared to say that).


New Edition is badly flawed.   February 6, 2003
 25 out of 25 found this review helpful

When examining this new edition in order to consider it as a course text I found several problems within the edition itself. At first I thought that, maybe, it had been a very long time since I'd read it as some things didn't seem as clear as I'd remembered them. Upon comparison to the '84-'89 edition I found the source of the problem, the text has not been faithfully reproduced. For example the following two quotes are from the end of Chapter 2, Paragraph 4.

2001 Edition: "Nor am I impressed by a dedication to the higher life which by peculiarities of clothing and bearing and by the manner of cutting, or omitting to cut, the hair."

1984 Edition: "Nor am I impressed by a dedication to the higher life which manifests itself by peculiarities of clothing and bearing and by the manner of cutting, or omitting to cut, the hair."

This is only a single example and I have yet to find an entire chapter devoid of such mistakes, some of them leaving out entire sentences.

The Mystical Qabalah is, without a doubt, one of the best books on Qabalah ever written. It is a shame that Weiser, a formally respected publisher, could make such a mess of it.

-Greg Wotton


Nature's deepest science written by an Expert   August 19, 2003
 19 out of 19 found this review helpful

When I read this book, I was amazed with its precision, clarity and completeness. For me, new doors of understanding the science of Qabalah opened up as I read through the chapters that touch upon all of the basic aspects of this occult science.
I have studied Qabalah for some time, under various schools and sects, but I feel that this book is one of the greatest to come out of the early part of the 20th century.
Qabalah is an in depth science, that maps the relationship of the various hidden, unseen dimensions of the universe--in relation to one's psyche (soul), mind, and divinity...
This science truley unveils the occult, the mysteries of life and death, magick, etc. Qabalah synthesizes the use of words (etymology), numbers (numerology), celestial bodies (astrology), symbols, mystical practices and many other key occult applications. Verily, Qabalah ties together the hidden, unseen mystery that awaits the true seeker.
I recommend that one should read the book: Tarot and Kabalah by Samael Aun Weor. This book will shed much more light on the topic. I was even more impressed with the said work. Also, read Eliphas Levi. gnosis-usa.com or go through amazon.


A PROSAIC MEDITATION ON THE TEN HOLY SEPHIRAH   March 16, 2000
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Dione Fortune first published The Mystical Qabbalah in 1935. She was a member of the prestigous occult society, The Golden Dawn, and so many of the approaches this book takes draw from that order's conclusions. Aleister Crowley's ideas permeate this book as well. This book is written with a deeply prosaic style and study upon the text reveals layers of meaning. Considering the book was written over 60 years ago by a exceptional woman, in an age where women were far from being equal, I candidly recomend this title.