Astrology and Kabbalah

   Kabbalah (the Hebrew "legend, tradition", from לקבל‏‎ - "to receive") - the religious and mystical doctrine which arose in the XII-XIII centuries among the Jews living in Spain and Provence (Southern France). Is based on the Jewish Gnosticism, Pythagoreanism and Neoplatonism connecting to Judaic belief in the Bible as to the world of symbols. Some authors refer emergence of a Kabbalah to Old Testament times, however this thesis has under itself no historical reasons. One of the fundamental Kabbalistic works "Sefer Yetzirah" ("Book of Formation") is attributed to Abraham, however the valid time of its creation - the III-VIII centuries AD. Some kabbalists specify that in the 7th and 8th chapters of "Book of Enoch" there is a detailed description of falling of angels. Listing 18 leaders of fallen angels, Enoch, in particular, mentions that "Barkayal taught [people] the observers of the stars, Akibeel taught signs; Tamiel taught astronomy; And Asaradel taught the motion of the moon". Thus, the Kabbalah, according to these kabbalists, came from fallen angels and that knowledge of divine things which was reported by angels consists in it and is stated in an allegorical form in the writing of the Old Testament. Therefore kabbalists aspired to finding means again to take all these data from the Writing. According to other version of origin of a Kabbalah (the Babylon Talmud), the Lord told Moses on Sinai, except the known laws, still a lot of things what could know only devoted about. By oral transfer the divine word remained in a close circle.
   Already "Book of Formation" learns about 32 elements of the universe which treat not only 10 Numbers, but also 22 Letters of the Jewish alphabet. The Kabbalah properly develops at the beginning of the 13th century among Jews of Spain and Provence and develops in difficult relations of interrelation and confrontation with the Arab-Jewish philosophical movement in Andalusia. Fundamental monument of a Kabbalah - the book of "Zohar" ("Radiance") written in Aramaic language in Castile at the end of the 13th century and belonging, apparently, to Moses de León (Moshe ben Shem-Tov) which, however, preferred to give it for heritage of the talmudical wise man of the 2nd century of Shimon bar Yohai; it has the form of allegorical interpretation of bible texts.
   Cosmogonic representations of a Kabbalah are based on interpretation of the 1st and 2nd chapters of the Genesis. The Kabbalah understands God as absolutely indefinable boundlessness without qualities ("Ein Sof"). However it nothing is at the same time all in things in which it pours out the essence, limiting for this purpose itself (thus, the Kabbalah puts to the place of the doctrine about creation of the world the doctrine about an emanation). Indefinable God comes to definiteness to ten Sefirot, or stages of the semantic self-expansion, similar "Aeons" of Gnosticism; the ratio of these hypostasis attributes of god was represented in the form of "a tree of Sefirot". In the set Sefirot form a space body of Adam Kadmon.
   The whole world is generated by the emanation of the deity having 32 main forms (10 Sefirot and 22 Letters of the Jewish alphabet). The specific form in which the divine emanation is embodied depends on remoteness degree from the deity. Three worlds are so generated; most closer to a divine source the world of creation, or area of the creative ideas and pure spirits is located; further - the world of creation, or area of souls; and the most remote - the world of making, or the sphere of the material phenomena. The person belongs at the same time to all three worlds. The Kabbalistic idea of a solar angel of Metatron (possibly, going back to a mitraizm), the highest intermediary between God and the Universe is interesting.
   The practical Kabbalah based on belief that by means of special rituals, prayers and strong-willed acts it is possible to interfere with divine and space process of history actively stands alone. Influence of mysticism of a Kabbalah directly or indirectly was experienced Hegel, V.Solovyov, Berdyaev, Jung, Buber.

Literature

Астрологический словарь / Авт.-сост. С.Ю.Головин. - Мн.: Харвест, 1998

The Zohar. - London, 1931

Д.Куталев Новая астрологическая энциклопедия

Ginsburd Ch. The Kabbalah. Its Doctrines, Development and Literature. - London, 1925

Scholem G. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. - New York, 1978

Scholem G. Kabbalah. - New York, 1974

Знание за пределами науки. Мистицизм, герметизм, астрология, алхимия, магия в интеллектуальных традициях I - XIV вв./ Сост. и общ.ред. И.Т.Касавина. - М.: Республика, 1996

Becker U. Lexicon der Astrologie

Иллюстрированная история суеверий и волшебства от древности до наших дней. Сост. А.Леманн

Философский энциклопедический словарь

Рав Матитьягу Глазерсон. Астрология и Каббала. - Мосты культуры / Гешарим, 2007

Астрология каббалы и таро, Семира и В.Веташ, 1998

А.Подводный. Каббалистическая астрология, 1993

Р.Берг Каббалистическая астрология и смысл нашей жизни, 2011; ISBN: 978-5-699-45906-3

Website

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabbalah