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Hermeticism Isn't Qabbalah

Hermeticism is not equatable with Qabbalah. It's entirely possible (and encouraged) to be a Hermeticist without Qabbalah. Qabbalah is like terrible, drab shag carpeting laid out over a beautifully polished, ancient hardwood floor. Jewish Kabbalah is rich and profound, but Hermetic Qabbalah is effectively a cultural appropriation and maladaptation of it, andβ€”let's be honestβ€”doesn't provide much for us anymore besides a massive correspondence table with a lot of badly-pronounced Hebrew. And yet, it's formed such a procrustean bed that so many of us struggle to think outside of, much less break away from; it's become as much a crutch as it has a shackle. The more we divest ourselves of it and practice Hermetic spirituality without it, the better off we'll all be.

Beyond the specific contexts in which Hermetic Qabbalah is used, like Golden Dawn stuff, the fact is that it's all just so much overused, misunderstood, overapplied, and misapplied, especially when there are easier, simpler methods to consider and do the Work. Most people are not in such a tradition with the resources, training, and skillsets they need to use Hermetic Qabbalah, whether properly or at all (or if there's even a "properly", given the history of how it came to be from its earlier Jewish roots and context). Just like not everyone needs to use a cuisine-specific cooking tool all the time, not everyone needs to use Hermetic Qabbalah for their own Work.

In the end, most people in the occult don't need qabbalah at all, but they end up trapped by it all the same because of how overused and prolific it is, even if only at a superficial level.