A.E. Waite, thoughts?

[Lax67]

I just picked up Arther Edward Waite's A New Encyclopedia for Freemasonry at a used book store for $7.

I don't know much about Waite other than reading in a Tobias Churton book that UGLE was not supportive or in agreement with Waite's writings on Freemasonry. Anyone know why?

 

[Winter]

I've always been suspicious of anything he had a hand in predominantly because he was one of those wanna-be magician loonies in the Golden Dawn. Who knows, maybe there's a nugget in there somewhere.

 

[CoachN]

I found his works pocked full of great gems and nuggets that required a lot of sifting to get to.

 

[Gary]

I've always been suspicious of anything he had a hand in predominantly because he was one of those wanna-be magician loonies in the Golden Dawn. Who knows, maybe there's a nugget in there somewhere.

Golden Dawn loonies? The next thing you are going to tell me is that Aleister Crowley was a nut too.... Eh?

You have to sift through the writing of a lot of those types, but there are gems to be had.

 

[Lax67]

So, would the gems be the kabbalistic explanations of each officer, the pillars, etc? I ask because I just finished reading several pieces by W. Kirk MacNulty and was fascinated by his explanations. I see that Waite has a good section dedicated to Kabbalah and it mirrors, to some extent, to what MacNulty had to say.

Also, after reading MacNulty's description of neo-platonism in terms of emanation from a point to a line to a superficie to a solid seems to echo what Coach was getting at in his response to my salvation discussion, i.e., we're here and 'there' at that same time. I apologize if I'm not providing enough context regarding MacNulty if no one knows what I'm referring to.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

 

[Winter]

My issue with the various occult societies like Golden Dawn and OTO is that they always claim to have a base in Kabbalah. True Kabbalah is not something you can just pick up a book and learn. That is why there are so many strict rules for its study and who is allowed to study it in Judaism. Yet almost every occult group claims to understand its secrets. Highly doubtful!

My other issue comes from the fact that they all usually have a divination component. (Tarot, scrying, etc) Jews are forbidden from playing with such dangerous activities. So that part is a personal issue.

 

[Gary]

My issue with the various occult societies like Golden Dawn and OTO is that they always claim to have a base in Kabbalah. True Kabbalah is not something you can just pick up a book and learn. That is why there are so many strict rules for its study and who is allowed to study it in Judaism. Yet almost every occult group claims to understand its secrets. Highly doubtful!

My other issue comes from the fact that they all usually have a divination component. (Tarot, scrying, etc) Jews are forbidden from playing with such dangerous activities. So that part is a personal issue.

Oh! That makes perfect sense!