Afterword:
Book Structure, the Kabbalah, and the Tree of Life
This novel is the first part of a trilogy and is structured on the Kabbalah, in part because my protagonist’s mentor follows the path laid out by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, with a good sprinkling of Thelema tossed in, and both those orders, I am sorry to say, appropriated the Kabbalah for its own purposes, although I would like to iterate that the reality of Edwardian era cultural appropriation of course does not render the Golden Dawn path invalid for those who believe in it and follow it. Nor does it invalidate Thelemic magick for those who feel called to follow that path. I do have some rather strong and unflattering opinions about Aleister Crowley, the creator of Thelema, but they aren’t relevant for the purpos
