Qabbalistic Cross - I want to try it but am afraid.

[Seeuzin]

I read in a book called "Psychic Protection" by Ted Andrews about the Qabbalistic Cross and the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. I would like to try them, but I'm afraid. Aren't the archangels, and the Hebrew names for God, etc, all associated with the god of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible? I recall reading as a child about how that god commanded the Israelites to smash the city of Ai, burn the poles they used to worship Asherah, and leave not a man woman or child alive...the details are kind of fuzzy but it was something extremely violent. And there are so many instances in the Bible of these kinds of commands coming from him. To me this "deity" is rageful, vengeful, uncompassionate, and not of the Light. I don't want anything to do with him. So for a while I have avoided these rituals.

However, I want to leave no stone unturned....and I believe I might be thinking about this in the wrong way. Judaism is a rich tradition, and I've known many good people to follow it and somehow reconcile these passages in the Torah with the good they have in them. In addition I've been in synagogues and had a couple experiences where I felt something...there...that definitely felt "good."

Is anyone able to clarify this for me? =/ Is the entity who commanded the Israelites to ruthlessly slaughter their enemies different from the one who many feel in synagogue? How does this all work out? Most importantly, if I do the Qabbalistic Cross and LBRP, what forces am I connecting with?

Thanks for any insight!

[Ouroboros]

I have the same issues with Yahweh as you do! Part of what caused me to turn from Christianity, actually.

When it comes to archangels however, I have an alternate viewpoint you may find useful. I'm not entirely sure I've accepted it completely myself, but I've been contemplating it a lot:

Think of it this way; the archangels are simply advanced spiritual beings which mankind have given names and assigned attributes to in accordance with their experiences with them. This doesn't necessarily dictate any relationship to Yahweh. In other words, just because we call them "angels" doesn't make them tied down to any particular mythos.

Something to contemplate, in any case.

[ButterflyWoman]

As far as Yahweh (who, as I've read, was kind of a bastard, really), you need to read the Old Testament with a "third voice". In other words, "Moses says that God said to do such and such" or "Jeremiah said that God told him to tell you that...."

The thing is, the Hebrews saw their God the way they saw their God, and it says more about the Hebrews than it does about their God, in my opinion.

I don't care much for Yahweh, either, for what it's worth, but now that I understand more about the third voice and about how the expectations of the people, themselves, influence their interpretation of their God, I'm not afraid any more. Yahweh was an ancient God of an ancient theocracy of people who felt themselves outnumbered and set apart... and it shows.

Spirit will fill any god-shaped belief that humans generate.

[Seeuzin]

Thanks for yall's replies. =) I've decided to try the rituals and see what kind of energy comes in. (After setting up a circle of protection.) The energies connected to in services in synagogues are clearly of the light (in my experience) and so I think the entity who calls himself God in the violent parts of the Hebrew Bible, and what is worshipped by the Jewish religion, are two different things. I have been in synagogues before during services and the energies always felt very positive. I've even felt guided by these energies during a very difficult time in my life. Makes me lean more and more towards the idea that there was a being who hijacked something very valuable (human faith in the Divine) and used it for his own ends way back when.

[Palehorse Redivivus]

I think the entity who calls himself God in the violent parts of the Hebrew Bible, and what is worshipped by the Jewish religion, are two different things.

*puts theology geek hat on*

The thing to keep in mind about the Hebrew scriptures is that they were composed by several different groups, with different political and religious ambitions, which disagreed with and took occasional potshots at each others' views on God. All these different scriptures were pulled together into what we now know as the Hebrew Tanakh, or Old Testament -- but that happened centuries after they were written. So, you've either got several different deities running through it, or one deity called by different names with several different personalities; take yer pick. If I was going to be really irritating I could probably debate whether the four names used for God in the LBRP even refer to the same guy, lol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_hypothesis

FWIW, I've taken to doing the LBRP and Kabbalistic Cross semi-frequently, and the energies / beings involved feel positive IMO. I'm not entirely fond of Yahweh myself, but I lean toward what Ouro had to say about the archangels being independent advanced beings who aren't necessarily attached to any particular mythos (or maybe show up under different names in different cultures, even).

[ButterflyWoman]

...archangels being independent advanced beings who aren't necessarily attached to any particular mythos (or maybe show up under different names in different cultures, even).

They do, actually. Not by the same name, but they show up in a few different ways in different cultures and religions. I can't drag the specifics out of my tired old brain just at the moment, but I do recall reading about them and thinking, "Ah, angels, they're just going by a different name and interpretation..."

[Ouroboros]

...archangels being independent advanced beings who aren't necessarily attached to any particular mythos (or maybe show up under different names in different cultures, even).

They do, actually. Not by the same name, but they show up in a few different ways in different cultures and religions. I can't drag the specifics out of my tired old brain just at the moment, but I do recall reading about them and thinking, "Ah, angels, they're just going by a different name and interpretation..."

Aha! I figured that this was likely the case; it makes perfect sense to me in any case.

[SlashRick]

Spirit will fill any god-shaped belief that humans generate.

oh my.

i think i just wet myself!

it's soooo obvious!
/rick

[star]

Archangels are advanced beings or whatnot. But they still play practical jokes. Go figure.

[Zareste]

Another bit of history: Many books of the bible seem to be talking about different entities whose names were all turned into 'God' in translation. For example Jesus originally referred to his superiors by differing names, but translators made them all into 'God' to fit Roman monotheism.

Here's an interesting note:
There was somebody who says she saw a memory of Earth's past when the book of Exodus took place. She said it was not a deity but a group of 'chosen 12' who went to free the Hebrews. These chosen 12 appeared plainly human but were not Earthly - they created the pillar of fire and released manna for the Hebrews every night. They were from a civilization that spoke a language called 'Sumer' - making me believe these were an ascended branch of the ancient Sumerians and thus considered the Hebrews to be 'their people'

Dunno if that pertains to this ritual. It's just a fun subject