The term ‘perennial philosophy’ was first coined in the writing of Aldous Huxley, to describe the golden thread of truth which runs through all religions, philosophies and spiritualities. The idea he was trying to express is that all of the worlds many religions, no matter how different they may appear on the outside, are all drawn from the same well of eternal truth. At different times and in different cultures amongst people with diverse sensibilities and needs, it may manifest in radically different ways; but yet at its core it remains always the same. Rom this perspective whilst Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans and all of the rest may be following different paths all roads ultimately lead to r, and all of their various symbols and rituals are speaking the same words in different languages.

It is an idea that appeals to me very much, and one which I intuitively feel has the ring of truth. The idea that these traditions –which have given so much to so many, and have produced such wisdom, consolation, inspiration and virtue in their followers – could have no element of truth to them seems unlikely to me. But yet neither do any of them seem to be the absolute, literal and exclusive truth which they so often claim to be.

How much more peaceful, productive and enlightened the world would be if we could begin to unravel the cultural packaging to find the gifts underneath. And how much more compassion and understanding would there be, if our religions, beliefs and spiritual practices were ultimately perceived to be a source of unity rather than conflict.

Kabbalah began its life as a part of Jewish mysticism, and was largely concerned with esoteric interpretations of the Torah, and with rituals of mysticism and magick based on them. At one time it was widely studied and practiced by Rabbis and devout Jews, and it was said that Kabbalah was the soul, and that conventional Judaism was the body of religion.

Over time, and after suppression by priests wishing to maintain the authority of their role as intermediaries between god and man, the practice declined and was largely forgotten amongst the Jewish community. It was later to be rediscovered by others. In the medieval period it was widely studied by Christians, who called it Cabala to distinguish it from the original Jewish version. In more recent times it has flourished amongst students of esoteric philosophy, magick and the occult. This most recent incarnation of the holy Kabbalah, known by the variant spelling Qabalah, is really quite close in spirit to the vision of the perennial philosophy. Students of Qabalah generally study the subject outside of any religious dogma, and become students of comparative religion.

What really makes Qabalah stand out as a candidate for the perennial philosophy are the tables of correspondences first popularized by Aleister Crowley, who described the Qabalistic representation of the Tree of Life as a ‘spiritual filing cabinet’. The tree of life consists of 10 spheres and 22 connecting paths, which are the fundamental forms, or archetypes, of all things. As the deeper truths they represent cannot be adequately described by language the tables of correspondences provide a method by which a student can gain a more intuitive and holistic understanding through the mechanism of the subconscious mind - association.

Various symbols, ideas, and through meditation even personal experiences,  are all associated with the sphere or path they are derived from, and thus an understanding of the deeper truths of the spheres of existence are built up in the mind through meditation on these various things and what unites them.

These tables of correspondences have been built up to include the symbols and ideas of religions as diverse as Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Egyptian Paganism and many more – and with a surprisingly high degree of success.

The third sphere of Binah, for example, is associated with (amongst many others):

Saturn, The Queens of the Tarot, Nephthys, Bhavani, The Virgin Mary, Yin, the Khwan trigram, and the philosophical death of Alchemy and Hermetic philosophy.

So although Qabalah cannot explicitly tell you what the perennial philosophy says about the universe, through the use of the Tree of Life it can give you a method through which you can find out for yourself.