The Talking Tree

William G. Gray

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In The Talking Tree (also formerly published as Growing the Tree Within), W.G. Gray presents an encyclopaedic and systematic analysis of the 22 Paths of the Qabalistic Tree of Life and the archetypal principles underlying them in each of the ‘four worlds’. This unique work by a leading Qabalist of his generation includes a detailed and comprehensive study of the symbolism of the Tarot, in which he offers an alternative method of allocating the Major Arcana to the Paths in place of the commonly used Golden Dawn system. He also explains how the Western alphabet can be applied to the Tree of Life as a viable alternative to Hebrew letters.

This book is a priceless reference work for the serious Qabalah student who has already studied the ten Sephiroth and is looking to move on to the Paths. As well as explaining the function of God-names, archangels, angelic orders and mundane archetypes for each Path, Gray seeks to demonstrate that the Tree of Life is in a continual state of growth and evolution, and that those who study and work with the Qabalah should not be afraid to apply new correspondences to it and rethink some of the traditional assumptions.

William G. Gray was a legendary magician and author of many influential books on occult practice. He met both Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley during his childhood, and later worked with many other well known practitioners of magic and witchcraft including Gareth Knight, R.J. Stewart, Marian Green, Doreen Valiente, Pat Crowther and Robert Cochrane, in whose memory The Rollright Ritual was written. Born in Harrow in 1913, he lived for most of his life in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, where he ran a chiropody practice. Bill Gray devoted his entire life to his “esoteric interests”, and by questioning every detail of the established assumptions, found out what worked and what didn’t. His books on Qabalah and ritual magic set out a fresh pathway along which most others have followed, often without realising that he originated much of what is taken for granted in magic and paganism today. He died in 1992.

  • ISBN: 978-1-908011-75-6
  • 410 pages
  • cover artwork by Rebsie Fairholm
  • perfect-bound paperback: 229mm x 152mm
  • black and white text, some diagrams
  • published 28th February 2014