The Sacred Magic of the Qabbalah (1936) by writer and mystic Manly P. Hall, explores the doctrines of the Qabbalah, an ancient tradition that investigates the science and mystery of divine names and numbers.
Author, lecturer, and mystic Manly P. Hall (b. 1901, d. 1990) wrote over 150 books and pamphlets, countless essays, and gave thousands of lectures over his 70-year career. Canadian-born, young Hall was first led to mysticism when he moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18. As a preacher and lecturer at the Church of the People in the 1920s, Hall shared the wisdom of Pythagoras, Plato, and the teachings of ancient traditions.
During these years, he also met his wealthy patrons, Carolyn Lloyd, and her daughter, Estelle. With their financial backing, Hall was able to expand his research across the globe, learning more about age-old religions and amassing a sizeable library of rare books that he sent back to Los Angeles. In later years, these books would be collected at the Philosophical Research Society, a center of wisdom and learning.
A prolific writer, Hall wrote consistently throughout his career, with titles like The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928) and Lectures in Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Practical Ideals (1984). He also lectured frequently, attracting a record-setting audience at Carnegie Hall in 1942 with his talk titled "The Secret Destiny of America."
The Sacred Magic of the Qabbalah is one of Hall's earlier works, first published in 1929 and republished in 1936.
The work, while short, is broken into three distinct parts. Part one is titled Keys of the Sacred Wisdom, and describes the preparatory work that a student of the Qabbalah must do before being pure enough to receive these teachings. They must only be motivated by the "highest motives and purest ideals" if they hope to gain true understanding. This section also introduces the reader to the importance of the twenty-two hieroglyphic letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the ten sacred numbers. It is from the interactions of these letters that all creation originates.
Part two is titled The Mystery of the Numbers. "The ancient Qabbalistic magic of the philosophers had nothing to do with fortune-telling, divination, or the so-called art of numerology..." Hall warns. This section explains the significance of the numbers one through ten. The number two, for example, is "symbolic of the dual system of human thought, which views everything either from the standp