On Magic and the Kabbalah

¶ The works of Christ could not have been performed either through the way of magic or through the way of Kabbalah A Jewish mystical tradition involving the study of divine emanations and the Hebrew alphabet; the author argues Christ's power surpassed these human arts..

¶ The miracles of Christ are the most certain proof of his divinity, not merely by reason of the thing performed, but by reason of the manner of their performance.

¶ There is no science that better certifies us of the divinity of Christ than magic and Kabbalah. The author suggests that by understanding the limits of natural and mystical arts, one realizes Christ’s works were truly supernatural.

¶ That which a magus A practitioner of high natural magic; a wise man. does through art, nature did naturally in the making of man.

¶ The wonders of the magical art exist only through the union and activation of those things which are found in nature in a seminal and separate state.

¶ The form of all magical power comes from the soul of man, standing firm and not falling.

¶ To perform magic is nothing other than to marry the world. A famous metaphor suggesting that the magician joins together disparate forces of the cosmos to produce fruit, much like a farmer or a spouse.

¶ If there is a nature immediate to us which is either simply, or at least largely, rational, magic possesses it in the highest degree; and through participation in it, magic can be more perfect in men.

¶ No magical operation can have any efficacy unless it has a work of Kabbalah annexed to it, either explicitly or implicitly.

¶ That nature which is the Horizon A boundary or limit between two realms. of eternal time is closest to the magus, but below him.

¶ Magic is proper to that nature which is the horizon of time and eternity; it must be sought from there through the proper methods known to the wise.

¶ To that nature which is the horizon of temporal eternity, the magus is closest, but it is above him, and to it Kabbalah is proper.

¶ Voices and words have efficacy in a magical work for this reason: because the first thing in which nature exercises magic is the voice of God.

¶ Any voice whatsoever has power in magic insofar as it is formed by the voice of God.

¶ Non-significant words Words that do not have a standard dictionary meaning, often called "barbarous names" in magical traditions. have more power in magic than significant ones; he who is profound can understand the reason for this conclusion from the preceding one.

¶ No names, as significant things and insofar as they are individual names taken by themselves, can have power in a magical work unless they are Hebrew, or derived closely from it.

¶ Every number except for three and ten are material. Suggesting that 3 and 10 hold a spiritual or formal significance beyond the physical world.