Jesus Christ is not a ✡️.

Yggdrasil the Tree of life or The Unseen Architects: How Jewish Thinkers and Kabbalistic Mysticism Shaped American Neo-Paganism The Irony of Intellect: How Guido von List Absorbed Kabbalah into Germanic Occultism The integration of Kabbalah into modern Norse heathen mysticism represents one of the most paradoxical intellectual maneuvers in modern esotericism. At the epicenter of this fusion was Guido von List (1848–1919), an Austrian völkisch author, playwright, and the founder of Ariosophy (or Armanism). List envisioned an apocalyptic cleansing of the degenerate modern world to pave the way for a neo-pagan Pan-German Empire built upon Wotanism. The Asatru Folk Assembly celebrates October 5th as a “Holy Day” to Guido Von List. In a write-up on their website they state that List created Wotanism and it was an integral precursor to the reforging of Asatru. They also claim that his interpretation of the runes is still used to this day, and that they have a shrine dedicated to him. While this write-up details the life and beliefs of List, strangely it does not tell the reader that he was a Freemason, and also a believer in the Kabbalah. Two jewish members of his order that we know of are Moritz Altschuler, a rabbinical scholar, and Ernst Wachler, a writer. Yet, despite his radical allegedly anti-Semitic nationalism, List did not build his system from raw, isolated Germanic relics. Instead, he systematically mapped his revived "Armanen" mythology directly onto the scaffolding of Hermetic Kabbalah. To justify this synthesis, List constructed a convoluted revisionist narrative: he argued that the Jewish people were merely the historical curators of an ancient Aryan-Germanic spiritual system, preserving it for centuries after Christian authorities violently suppressed Europe’s indigenous pagans. Guido Von List was initiated into the Freemasonic Lodge Humanitas at Neudörfl. He was active until 1877. He later became critical of Freemasonry but copied their ways. In 1911 he created the High Armanen Order; the inner circle of the Guido von List society. He appointed himself Grand Master (same title as a Freemason who is elected head of a Grand Lodge) and there would be 3 degrees, signs, grips, and passwords copied from the three Craft degrees of Freemasonry. Guido von List decoded the runes the same way a Kabbalist reads Hebrew letters. Kabbalists believe that every Hebrew letter has 3 meanings/layers: a plain meaning, a symbolic meaning, and a secret meaning. List decoded the runes to have a plain meaning, a hidden meaning, and a highest “Armanen” meaning only initiates were supposed to know. This same secret was also passed to the Templars, Rosicrucians, and the Freemasons. The Kabbalah actually began in 12th century France, and the Zohar in 13th century Spain. 1. The Structure: Theft by Universal Blueprint To build a comprehensive, structurally sound system of magic for his elite occult lodge, the Hohe Armanen-Orden, List required a definitive cosmic map. He found it in the primary symbol of Kabbalah: the Etz Chaim (the Tree of Life). Rather than discarding the 10 spheres (Sefirot) and 22 connecting paths, List stripped them of their Hebrew context and re-clothed them in Norse-Germanic mythology. Through this structural assimilation, List and his later occult interpreters enabled a radical theological mapping: The Cosmological Grid: The 10 developmental stages of the Kabbalistic tree were repurposed to represent Germanic evolutionary law and the elements of the cosmos (fire, air, water, and earth). The Path Correspondences: The 22 paths—historically correlated with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet—were systematically replaced by List's own 18-rune system (the Armanen Futharkh) and traditional zodiacal symbols. The Deities: Kabbalistic archetypes of divine creation, severe justice, and mercy were replaced with Norse equivalents. The supreme cosmic consciousness became Wuotan (Odin); the elemental forces of protection were assigned to Thor; and the fertile, generative qualities of the Divine Feminine were attributed to Freya. 2. The Myth of the "Unconscious Guardians" To reconcile his fierce anti-Semitism with his reliance on Kabbalistic mechanics, List formulated a highly specific historical theory in works like The Secret of the Runes and The Rita of the Ario-Germanen. He asserted that the complex systems of letter mysticism, numerology (gematria), and spiritual geometry found in Jewish texts were not Semitic in origin. Instead, he claimed they were the Ursprache (primordial language) and esoteric layer of an ancient Aryan priest-caste called the Armanen. List claimed that during late antiquity, ancient Jewish mystics interacted with these European priesthoods and adopted their cosmic sciences. When the expanding Christian Church later executed or forcibly converted the Germanic pagans, the original European line of knowledge was severed. However, because Jewish communities lived in highly insular enclaves protected from Christian iconoclasm, their mystical libraries remained safe. In List's view, the Jewish people preserved the sacred science of the Aryans, acting as unwitting, temporary couriers who guarded a stolen European heritage until the time was ripe for its reclamation. 3. The Cultural Context: The Vienna Conundrum List’s unique ability to weave Jewish mysticism into an anti-Semitic pagan revival can be traced back to his deep integration within the broader esoteric subcultures of turn-of-the-century Vienna. The European occult renaissance was profoundly syncretic, borrowing from Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Gnosticism, and Hermeticism. Crucially, Theosophy and ceremonial magic were heavily shaped, co-authored, and populated by Jewish intellectuals and esotericists who were exploring universal spiritual brotherhood and comparative religion. Scholars, publishers, and occultists of Jewish descent frequently translated, defended, and codified the very Kabbalistic texts that circulated through the Viennese intellectual circles List frequented. List did not operate in a vacuum; he actively consumed the output of this interconnected, internationalist occult network. However, as the political climate of Austria-Hungary grew increasingly nationalistic and hostile toward the wealthy Jewish bourgeoisie, List and his immediate völkisch circle (such as Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels) weaponized these universal esoteric tools for racialized propaganda. When the modern Neo-Pagan and earth-based spiritual movements erupted across the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s, the public face of the revival was overwhelmingly European. Images of Celtic Druids, Anglo-Saxon witches, and classical Greek reconstructions dominated the alternative religious landscape. Yet, beneath the surface of this green renaissance lay an intriguing paradox: many of its primary architects, media advocates, and philosophical pioneers were of Jewish descent. Rather than working in opposition to their ancestral roots, these foundational figures frequently drew upon a hidden wellspring within Jewish tradition: Kabbalah, the ancient lineage of Jewish mysticism. By examining the history of American Neo-Paganism, we can trace how Jewish leaders shaped modern witchcraft, Druidry, and eco-feminist spirituality, and explore how the architectural framework of Kabbalah provided the essential magical mechanics that made the modern Pagan movement possible. Part 1: The Jewish Pioneers of Non-Semitic Pagan Movements While some modern practitioners choose to reconstruct ancient Semitic or Canaanite polytheism, the most influential Jewish figures in the movement built traditions entirely separate from Middle Eastern history. Instead, they revolutionized European-inspired paths. The Activism of the Reclaiming Tradition Founded in California in the late 1970s by Starhawk (born Miriam Simos) and Diane Baker, the Reclaiming tradition is one of the most prominent, politically active branches of modern witchcraft in the United States. Reclaiming blends traditional European-style Wicca with political radicalism, environmentalism, and feminist spirituality. While the movement's mythology centers on the elemental forces of nature and the immanence of the Great Goddess, Starhawk’s driving philosophy is explicitly tied to her Jewish heritage. She has frequently noted that her commitment to Tikkun Olam (the Jewish theological mandate to heal or repair the world) heavily informed her desire to create a pagan tradition focused on social justice, anti-war activism, and environmental sustainability. The Scholarship of Modern Neo-Druidism In 1983, Isaac Bonewits founded Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship (ADF), which grew to become one of the largest and most influential Neo-Druid organizations in North America. ADF was created to practice a structured, polytheistic religion that reconstructs the spiritual practices of ancient Indo-European peoples, focusing on Celtic, Germanic, Slavic, and Hellenic pantheons. Bonewits, a towering intellectual in the pagan world who coined much of the community's modern magical vocabulary, frequently engaged with his Jewish background. In the 1970s, as a satirical yet affectionate nod to his dual identity, he co-founded a small group called the Hasidic Druids of North America (HDNA), showcasing a lifelong comfort with blending rigid scholarship with esoteric play. The Matriarchy of Dianic Wicca The rise of Dianic Wicca—a women-only, Goddess-exclusive branch of feminist witchcraft founded in 1971 by Hungarian emigrant Zsuzsanna Budapest—was deeply intertwined with the Jewish counterculture of California. Early Dianic covens in Los Angeles were heavily populated, funded, and co-shaped by secular Jewish-American feminists. Seeking an alternative to the patriarchal structures of mainstream religious institutions, these women utilized classical European and Roman myths (such as the Goddess Diana) to construct a revolutionary, matriarchal spiritual space. Part 2: Intellectual Architects and Media Advocates Beyond the creation of specific traditions, Jewish writers, publishers, and journalists acted as the primary engine for mainstreaming Neo-Paganism across America. Margot Adler (1946–2014): A legendary NPR journalist and Wiccan High Priestess, Adler authored Drawing Down the Moon (1979). This seminal text served as the first comprehensive sociological study of the American Neo-Pagan movement. Growing up in a secular Jewish family, Adler used her journalistic precision to legitimize the movement, shaping how pagans viewed themselves and how the public viewed them. Carl Weschcke (1930–2014): As the longtime president and owner of Llewellyn Worldwide, Weschcke (born to a family of Jewish and German heritage) was arguably the most powerful commercial force in modern Paganism. After purchasing Llewellyn in 1961, he transformed it into the world's largest publisher of Neo-Pagan, Wiccan, and occult literature, effectively moving the movement from underground secrecy into mass-market public consciousness. Jason Pitzl-Waters: A prominent contemporary journalist of Jewish ancestry, Pitzl-Waters founded The Wild Hunt, the premier daily news agency for the global Pagan and heathen communities, pioneering objective, professional journalism within alternative spirituality. Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart (1948–2006): Born to a Jewish family, she co-founded the Church of All Worlds (CAW) alongside her husband Oberon. CAW was the first earth-based spiritual group to receive formal religious recognition in the United States, and Morning Glory herself is widely credited with coining the modern term "polyamory." Part 3: The Kabbalistic Blueprint of Modern Paganism The connection between Jewish people and the Neo-Pagan movement is not merely a historical coincidence of the 1960s counterculture. It is deeply rooted in the philosophical structures of Kabbalah, which provided the literal blueprint for modern Western magic and Wiccan ritual mechanics. To understand this connection, one must look to Israel Regardie (1907–1985). Born Francis Israel Regardie to a Jewish immigrant family, he became a foundational occultist and ceremonial magician. Regardie broke strict oaths of secrecy to publish the rituals of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn system was entirely built upon the Hermetic Kabbalah—a Renaissance-era adaptation of Jewish mysticism. By publishing these texts, Regardie provided the raw materials and structural framework that early Wiccan pioneers (including Gerald Gardner) used to build modern witchcraft. Modern Neo-Paganism directly ties into Kabbalistic belief through several core concepts: 1. The Tree of Life as a Universal Cosmological Map At the heart of Kabbalah is the Etz Chaim (the Tree of Life), a diagram composed of ten spheres (Sefirot) representing the various emanations of the Divine. In Neo-Pagan practices, this tree is used as the ultimate filing cabinet for the universe. When a modern pagan performs a ritual involving a specific pagan deity (such as Aphrodite or Thor), a specific herb, or a certain planet, they are utilizing a system of correspondences directly mapped onto the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. 2. The Divine Feminine (The Shekhinah) Mainstream Western religions have historically spent centuries emphasizing a singular, masculine deity. Kabbalah, however, preserved the concept of the Shekhinah—the immanent, earthly, and feminine aspect of God. In Jewish mysticism, creation occurs through the balance of masculine and feminine divine energies. This Kabbalistic concept provided a seamless philosophical bridge for Jewish thinkers entering the Neo-Pagan movement, where the re-emergence of the Great Goddess and the balance of the God and Goddess are paramount. 3. As Above, So Below (Microcosm and Macrocosm) A core tenet of Kabbalah is that the human body and the human soul are perfect miniature reflections of the Divine Creator. Therefore, an action taken by a human in the physical world reverberates through the spiritual worlds. This is the foundational logic of modern Neo-Pagan magic. When a witch casts a circle, lights a candle, or visualizes an outcome, they are operating under the Kabbalistic principle that the microcosm alters the macrocosm. 4. The Animistic Universe Traditional Jewish Kabbalah views the entire universe as being vibrating with divine sparks; everything from rocks and trees to water and wind contains a piece of the divine essence. This mystical worldview directly mirrors the core animism of Neo-Paganism, which views the Earth not as a dead resource to be conquered, but as a living, sacred entity. Conclusion: The Modern Syncretism of the "Jewitch" Today, the historical intersection of Jewish leadership and pagan ideology has culminated in a vibrant grassroots cultural movement known as Jewitchery or Jewish witchcraft. Modern creators and practitioners are actively decoupling witchcraft from its strictly Anglo-Saxon or European presentation to explicitly combine Jewish folk magic—such as Kabbalistic amulets, Ayin Hara (evil-eye) protections, and Hebrew lunar tracking—with Neo-Pagan structures. Ultimately, the leading role of Jewish individuals in the Neo-Pagan movement was not a rejection of their heritage, but an expansion of it. Through the structural genius of Kabbalah and a cultural drive for social healing, these thinkers helped build a decentralized, earth-honoring spiritual landscape that continues to thrive across the globe.