Kabbala Denudata: The Kabbalah Unveiled. Containing the following books of the Zohar: 1. The Book of Concealed Mystery. 2. The Greater Holy Assembly. 3. The Lesser Holy Assembly. Translated into English from the Latin version of Knorr von Rosenroth, and collated with the original Chaldee and Hebrew text.

MATHERS, Samuel Liddell MacGregor.

Published by London: George Redway, 1887

About this Item

First edition of this uncommon cabalistic work translated by one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Kabbala Denudata was first published in Latin by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth between 1677 and 1678, gathering and translating various Hebrew sources. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918) became involved in the study of the occult via freemasonry; in 1882 he was admitted to the Metropolitan College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. In 1886 he lectured on the Kabbalah to the Theosophical Society and began work on this translation. It was one of a number of translations of medieval texts Mather published, including The Lesser Key of Solomon (1904, as The Book of the Goetia of Solomon the King) and The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage (1897). His Kabbala Denudata was contemporarily popular and influential. The Golden Dawn was a ceremonial magical order devoted to the study of theurgy, the occult, and spiritual development. By the mid-1890s it was well-established with members across the country, including many of the literary and revolutionary set such as W. B. Yeats, Arthur Machen, Maud Gonne, Edith Nesbit, Florence Farr, and, before he established his own sect, Aleister Crowley. Octavo. With 7 plates, 3 folding. Publisher's 16-page catalogue at end. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt, single rule frame in gilt to front cover, yellow coated endpapers, fore and bottom edges untrimmed. Bookplate imitating that of Andrew Carnegie, the owner's name sometime erased, occasional pencil annotations. Bookseller's ticket of John M. Watkins on front free endpaper. Spine toned, label sometime removed from foot, spots of wear to extremities, short closed tear to foot of front joint, inner hinges split, book block remaining firm, short closed tears to free endpaper edges: a very good copy. Seller Inventory # 176965

Bibliographic Details

Title: Kabbala Denudata: The Kabbalah Unveiled. ...

Publisher: London: George Redway, 1887

Edition: 1st Edition