Introduction to Lyric Kabbalah

Updated May 2006

Roses represent the sephirot in this interpretation of the Tree of Life

It’s easy to understand the Kabbalah’s current popularity . The elegance and symmetry detailed in the etz hachayim, the Tree of Life, suffuses all areas of life, from the sciences, to spirituality, to the arts. The Kabbalistic Tree of Life represents the body of the Divine, from the most profane to the most Holy and back again. Everything in our universe from stars to seeds is encapsulated in the Tree, and within the Tree all relationships are delineated and explored in minute detail. One could easily dedicate her whole life to the study of the Kabbalah without ever illuminating all its possible splendor.

As beautiful and rich as traditional Jewish Kabbalah is, however, I cannot present that study here, as not being Jewish myself and having zero knowledge of the Hebrew language makes that particular endeavor nigh impossible. Yet, luckily for us, the essenece of Kabbalah speaks in mythologic language that transcends religion and creed. The poetry and integrity inherent in Kabbalism is not germane to Judaism alone; it touches all aspects of life, and therefore all religions and paths. The Tree of Life can be looked on as art, as truth, as metaphor, as the web of life. The possibilities are all but endless.

Many gentiles before me have explored the depths of Kabbalah, but many of my peers have presented a view of Kabbalah that is primarily Hermetic (therefore useful to magicians) or deeply Western, commercial and relatively psychological and watered down (suitable for non-Jews with little knowledge of or interest in Judaism). While potentially valid, I wish to take neither of these courses. The view that I will present is on that I am calling Lyric Kabbalah: a look at Kabbalah through the eyes of mythology, poetic imagery, holistic science and romantic panentheism. My vision of Kabbalah is neither Jewish nor Hermetic nor Gentile; it is my own, and while I believe it has wide application, I don’t claim to present a vision that anyone else will necessarily agree with, though my aim is to be as truthful to Traditional Kabbalah as possible.

How I came into this love affair with Kabbalah is the story of how I came to appreciate the necessity for deep ecology and sacred history. My studies began with the works of Fritjof Capra, Ken Wilbur, and even Starhawk before exploring the works of Gershom Scholem and Aryeh Kaplan, and eventually turning to Joseph Campbell and Mircea Eliade. Even Israel Regardie stuck a finger in my work (especially early on). A rather obvious synthesis began to take place in my mind, and it became clear to me that the central themes of mythology are rooted in the Tree of Life, or perhaps that the Tree is rooted in universal mythic themes. Moreover, all of the themes represented in the branches of the tree were integrally related, such that removing one left the entire network impotent. At the same time, my feeble studies in astronomy, quantum mechanics, chaos theory, and string theory began to leave whispers of the Tree behind. Each subject began to take on a mystical aspect as they wove their tendrils into each other’s space. I was no longer able to study the phenomenon of black holes without being drawn to the Supernal Triad, for the correlation between the two was too magnificent in scope to ignore. Even mathematics acquired mystical overtones. As all of these things began coming together in my mind, the one word that persisted between all of them was poetry. The divine language of the universe was wrapped in poetry, and it was this poetry that I was slowly uncovering. And the single most versatile system that I have encountered to codify and express this poetry is the beloved Kabbalah.

Lyric Kabbalah, then, is my attempt to weave a tapestry of the great poetic threads found in the many areas of my spiritual life, and presumably in the lives of seekers from all over the globe. It is a synthesis of romantic theology and science, myth and experience. It relies heavily on mythic imagery, though it is firmly rooted in a panentheistic worldview, and deeply indebted to the work of the brilliant Jewish Kabbalists on whose shoulders I falteringly stand.

Onward to Chapter One: Deep Ecology and Kabbalah

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