Instructor: Erik Arneson

A Brief History of Kabbalah follows the history of this complex system of mysticism from its early influences to the modern day. We begin its roots in earlier systems of Jewish mysticism, tracing its formal origin to the 12th century, through the Renaissance, and into the modern occult revival.

We’ll explore the three main branches of this tradition: Jewish Kabbalah, Christian Cabala, and Hermetic Qabalah. From Abraham Abulafia to Isaac Luria to the Ba’al Shem Tov, from Pico della Mirandola to Athanasius Kircher, and finally from Eliphas Levi to William Wynn Westcott to Aleister Crowley, come on an exploration of this rogue’s gallery of mystics, saints, and magicians through centuries of Kabbalistic lore and learning.