At 09:15 PM 10/18/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>
>I'm a bit confused about why the Hebrew alphabet shows up so often in occult
>or mystical contexts that are essentially non-Jewish. Some packs of Tarot
>cards have Hebrew letters on the cards, and I've also seen Hebrew letters in
>diagrams in books that were occult but didn't specifically mention the
>Kabbalah. What could the Hebrew alphabet possibly have meant to non-Jewish
>users of Tarot cards? If an allusion to the Kabbalah, how would they have
>known of the Kabbalah, which isn't even widely familiar among Jews?
>
>pat sloane
>
>
Are these recently produced Tarot cards to which you refer? Here in
Southern California, Kabbalism is enjoying tremendous popularity. I was
reading an article in Entertainment Weekly (yes, low culture, I confess)
recently that stated that Kabbalism was now one of the big trends in
Hollywood, attrcting the likes of Madonna, Courtney Love, Roseanne etc.--all
the people the American public strives to emulate. The article chalked up
this fascination to your standard Hollywood strangeness and the approaching
millenium. This might account for any recent uses of the Hebrew alphabet in
such contexts.
Pop culturally literate,
Ron
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