Alembic
(Alchemy) In alchemy, the top part of a still. Often used to refer to a complete still. An instrument used for distillation.
Archigenitor
(Gnostic) The “first begetter”. A Greek reference to Yaldabaoth.
Cenobite
(Ecclesiastic) A member of a religious order choosing to dwell within a convent, monastery or a community, as opposed to a hermit, who lives in solitude.
Evocation
(Magick, [...]
Akashic Record
(Yoga, Theosophy) A term invented and popularized by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. The idea is that the Akasha is a thought substance which can be imprinted by experience, making it possible to retrieve otherwise inaccessible information from the past, such as a person’s past life. This is remarkably close idea to the concept of Jung’s [...]
Tags: alchemy, columns, dictionary, experimental magick, gerald del campo, gnosticism, mythology, philosophy, qabalah, science, thelema, yule
Agape
(Ecclesiastic) Greek αγαπη Unconditional love. Godly love. The love feast of the primitive Christians, being a meal partaken in connection with the communion. Originally a Hebrew funerary ceremony during which wine and milk were poured into the earth over the grave, and food was passed in to the corpse through a hole in the [...]
Agnosia
(Gnosticism) The state of not having insight or Gnosis. This is the root for the word “agnostic,” also meaning a person who does not have Gnosis.
Barbelos
(Gnosticism) A very confusing concept due to plethora of ways it has been used. It is masculine gender, but is used to stand for Sophia as a woman who is [...]
June 5, 2009 by Gerald del Campo
Filed under alchemy, astrology, columns, divination, gerald del campo's dictionary, magick, mysticism, philosophy, qabalah, religion and spirituality, thelema
Air
(Alchemy) One of the Four Elements of alchemy believed to carry the archetypal properties of spirit into the visible world. It is linked to the process of Separation and corresponds to the metal Iron.
Cassock
(Ecclesiastic) A full-length gown with sleeves and collar worn priests, bishops and helpers.
Nephesh
(Qabalah) Hebrew The animal soul that corresponds to animal/ vegetable [...]
Tags: astrology, columns, dictionary, divination, gerald del campo, magick, midsummer, philosophy, qabalah, religion and spirituality, science, thelema
Ain Sof
(Qabalah) Hebrew “Without end.” A reference to God, who is everywhere and in all things. If Ain is the number 0, then Ain Sof is the number 1 and represents creation as it is about to manifest. Because Ain Sof represents a pre-existent state and is infinite, it can have no attributes. Ain Sof [...]
Ain
(Qabalah) Hebrew Literally, “no thing.” Some texts suggest that this is the condition of being that is God. Or, to put it another way, God is absolute nothingness or negative existence. No thing that can be understood. Ain represents the first Veil of Negative Existence.
Cherub
(Qabalah) Hebrew The four powers of the Universe, corresponding to the [...]