Q: How is Kabbalah related to astrology?
A: In the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is the matter of Kabbalistic Astrology, as well as Kabbalistic Geography and Kabbalistic Medicine. Those topics deal with the connection between our universe and the systems in the collective universe, the broader one, which includes the Upper World.
If you’re interested in learning why our world is built the way it is, including the earth and stars, the planets and the links among them, know that in actuality everything corresponds to the forces in the Upper World. All the bodies and the forces in our world are but a consequence of the materialization of those Upper Forces.
The reflection of the Upper World in ours creates various fields called Astronomy, Astrology, Psychology, Medicine, etc. That is why the science in our world is to some extent a reflection of the wisdom of Kabbalah in the material foundation of our world.
Q: Why is it that, in our time, there is such an evolution of sciences such as astrology?
A: People have always searched for any possible way to end the misery of mankind and society. Humanity has slowly gained experience, and became convinced that the progress of science and technology, including medical technology, does not deliver us from pain and torment.
People are less interested in knowledge and progress and more concerned with their own personal fate. The human ego, the desire to enjoy for ourselves, continues to grow with each generation and seek fulfillment. It is happening very powerfully in our time, and therefore, along with technology, there are courses in astrology and the supernatural that are opening everywhere around us, even in universities. Books about mysticism abound on the shelves of bookstores; horoscopes, prophecies and clairvoyants are found in every form of the media.
I published my first book on Kabbalah in 1984. At that time, the public was very “earthbound,” with its feet firmly on the ground, and thought that progress and a rational attitude would solve the questions of life. It seemed as though the topic of the book went against common sense.
But in retrospect, when I look ten or fifteen years back, I see that everything has changed completely, even among people who are my age. Today, people believe that which they regarded as nonsense only fifteen years ago: the spiritual world, souls, prophesies, the change of fate – these are things that excite everyone today.
The Zohar predicted this time as a necessary phase in the collective development of humanity. For that reason, I am delighted with what is happening. However, as in anything else, after the current enthusiasm there will come disappointment, because magic has existed for thousands of years, and if there were anything real to it, people would have long been using those methods for personal profit in a systematic and scientific way.
The Torah says. “…neither shall ye practice divination” (Leviticus 19, 26), meaning, do not perform witchcraft, although it is possible. When one uses witchcraft, it seemingly improves one’s situation. A visit to a fortune teller performs only a temporary change. But the change is only on the physical level, and for that you don’t have to be a Kabbalist, or have spiritual forces behind you.
The force that exists in our world is enough to slightly change our inner feelings within our physical bodies, because these are only external forces, not spiritual ones.
Nature is set in such a way that it helps us achieve the purpose of creation and spiritual attainment. If we do not approach that goal of our own free will, but search for a way to avoid the torments life presents us, it is as though we do not relate to the force that promotes us. This brings upon us a more intense, acute and painful effect of that force in the next life.
However, the constant pursuit of a way to eliminate the torments and our attempts to overcome them brings us an accumulation of experience, and disappointment with all these methods. Mankind will ultimately arrive at a single system, received from Above, namely the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Q: We can compare our situation in this world to sailing in a small boat that is carried away in a mighty stream. We are unable to do anything about it. How is it possible to escape the drift and the rocks and maintain the right course in order to come to a safe shore in peace, to the inevitable end that we will come to?
A: We can escape disaster only if we add an engine of our own to the boat, called a “screen.” The Kabbalah helps us acquire that screen. With it, we can run our lives by ourselves, without the help of fortune tellers and other such counselors. By so doing, we replace the torment–the cruel pushing force–that keeps pushing us toward the purpose of creation, with the good Force, as we begin to learn to manage our lives and maintain our course.
Everyone will have to go the way that one is ordained to go, but with Kabbalah it will be done in the best possible way.
Q: And what does Kabbalah offer?
A: Take the book of a real Kabbalist, a genuine book, or listen to talks and lessons about Kabbalah, or watch a class. Today, there are many options open for all, man or woman, in some twenty languages. If you use these possibilities and begin to read the right books, the surrounding Light will immediately begin to work on you, and will start to change everything around you: the collectiveProvidence will become private Providence, a beam of Light that points precisely to you. You will gradually feel it, and will acquire an inner strength of your own to change your own destiny.
All that will happen provided you read the books of Kabbalists. That by itself is enough to change the course of your life.