--- title: "Cath Thompson: Exploring Art, Occultism, and English Qaballa" url: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/cath-thompson-exploring-art-occultism-and-english-qaballa/ date: 2024-08-26 modified: 2026-07-03 lang: en author: "Perseus Arcane Academy" description: "Introduction Cath Thompson is a multifaceted artist and occultist who has dedicated her life to exploring the intersections of creativity, spirituality, and esoteric knowledge. In this interview, she shares insights..." categories: - "Interviews" - "Kabbalah" - "Western Traditions" tags: - "Kabbalah" - "Magic" image: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Leonardo_Lightning_Create_an_ethereal_image_of_a_figure_balanc_2-1024x575.jpg word_count: 2469 --- # Cath Thompson: Exploring Art, Occultism, and English Qaballa ## Introduction Cath Thompson is a multifaceted artist and occultist who has dedicated her life to exploring the intersections of creativity, spirituality, and esoteric knowledge. In this interview, she shares insights into her journey, from early artistic inspirations to groundbreaking work with English Qaballa and Tarot. Her unique perspective offers a glimpse into the world of modern occultism and its potential for personal and spiritual growth. Huge thanks to Cath for spending the time to answer our questions, if you have found these subjects interesting then let us know in the comments and have a look at a book that Cath has written on these subjects [here](https://www.hadeanpress.com/shop-books/p/mystery-of-letters?fbclid=IwY2xjawE5Bl9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRarvyr9bjhMo7RFcSTEsdKvzcx194Uft4mr5gIz4KhhjOw5u4HY3OEzfg_aem_S4dGuDzYROGlkoJabEzcAA). --- ## Interview **PAA: What inspired your early interest in art and writing? ** My mother showed me how to mix colours with a simple primary colour palette when I was big enough to hold a brush, and that was a wonderful and exciting thing, so making pictures became my favourite occupation. My interest in writing developed in the course of my education, doing essays and suchlike, my English grades were always pretty good. **PAA: How do you describe your creative process?** ** **It just happens, an idea comes along, an image in the mind's eye, and I'll put it on paper and see if I can capture the emotional content and compose a picture to express that. Or a subject I feel strongly about might suggest a sentence, which I'll expand. Or occasionally a set of words, a rhyming couplet or something with a rhythm to it, and I'll try a poem. There's always an imperative, an urgency, and I'll have a go at satisfying it. Doesn't always work, of course. Admitting defeat is important. It keeps you honest. But once the idea is brought into a manifest form, a sketch, or a line of writing, there's the work of research and development, to turn it into something coherent, accurate, and pleasing, and then the thing can be properly made. **PAA: How do you balance your artistic and occult practices? ** They inform each other. Decorating an altar or making a talisman take a certain amount of creative flair and hand/eye coordination, improvisation, knowing when to stop. Making a picture requires a stillness of mind and concentration of will, a contemplative focus that is an occult ability, I think. **PAA: What do you hope to achieve with your work? ** My ambition as an author was (and still is) to put Jim's work into a form that will last into the future, and to introduce it to a wider audience in the public domain. **PAA: How did you first encounter occultism? ** I was introduced to an occultist by a mutual friend, who knew him only as a mildly eccentric person with some interesting books and periodical magazines. He was in fact a member of the occult group led by James Lees, and actively involved in the group's research into the English Qaballa and in the production of the magazine (The New Equinox/British Journal of Magick) in which the first results of their work were published. **PAA: What was your initial impression of James Lees' group? ** I was rather in awe of them. They spoke a slightly different language using frames of reference I'd never heard of, and they all had a certain glow about them, a shared knowledge of having been there and seen it. **PAA: How did the Book of the Law influence your path? ** I first saw the text as it had been prepared by the group, typewritten and photocopied, and with all the word-values under the words, and the sub-totals of phrases and sentences and verses all in there with the punctuation, and it lit me up like a flare. It was so unlike anything I'd ever encountered. I felt an intense curiosity and desire to understand what this Book was, what it meant, what relevance it had, and that became my path. **PAA: How has your understanding of occultism evolved over time? ** I think occultism is generally a great adventure in search of Truth, it's always seemed like that to me since I first started. **PAA: Can you explain the significance of English Qaballa?** ** **Gematria functions through mathematical patterns inherent in alphabetical language. Letters are given numerical values, word-combinations are added up, and words having the same total have shared energies or parallel meanings. The numbers are incontrovertible, they cannot be false. English Qaballa is significant because it demonstrates this mathematical certainty through the English language and the 26-letter alphabet, and it can be used with any system that is expressible in English. **PAA: How does it differ from Hebrew Qaballa? ** The Hebrew system is used to interpret the Hebrew holy books to elucidate their deeper meanings and expand the understanding of life, the universe, and everything, seen from the Jewish point of view. It's a system that's been developed and used by Jews for centuries. It relates to Judaism and to Jewish mysticism, history and mythology. **PAA: What were the key discoveries made by James Lees? ** I think his most important contribution to modern occultism is the cycle of rituals known as the 418. It's a nine month endeavour designed to prepare the ritualist for the final journey into the afterlife. **PAA: How do you apply English Qaballa in your work? ** Mostly the calculation of word values and the use of numeric correspondences to put words and phrases together. **PAA: What are the main challenges in studying English Qaballa?** ** **EQ presents some unusual ideas which can be very disturbing to rational logical mentation. **PAA: Can you explain the significance of the number 286 in English Qaballa? ** 286 is the sum of both 22x13 and of 26x11 and thus makes a link between the English Alphabet of 26 letters and the Hebrew Alphabet of 22 letters. When the Key was discovered in 1976 the number 286 repeatedly appeared in the calculations, even when it was the wrong result, with separate calculators used by different people or the sums worked out on paper. The importance of the number 11 in EQ was made clear. **PAA: What is the ALW sequence, and why is it important? ** Counting every eleventh letter of the common ABC, with the first letter remaining as A with the numeric value 1, the next letter is L, having 2 as its value, the third is W with the value 3, followed by H=4, then S=5, and D=6, and continuing through to P=26. This is the English Qaballistic Alphabet and it makes a neat unicursal 26-point star from the common alphabet written on the circumference of a circle. **PAA: How is astrology integrated into English Qaballa? ** We add up the values of planetary names, Zodiac signs, and so on, and look at the correspondences, other words with the same numeric values, to elucidate both the meanings of those words and the significance of the astrological factors. **PAA: Can you explain the significance of the number 93? ** 93 is how the impossible becomes necessary, which is the essence of magic. SCORPIO adds to 93, in divinatory astrology it's very unfortunate to find the Moon there because it makes the future unpredictable so the divination won't work. The unpredictability is the key factor. Scorpio is the House of Death, it's the season of remembrance and celebration of the dead in the Solar cycle, and in the Lunar cycle it's the menstrual period. It's like a full stop in the Zodiac. 93 is how and where the most unexpected things happen. It's the formula of Unity by Denial or Division by Affirmation, where both UNITY and DIVIDE add to 93. It's how NATURE=93 works, and it's the characteristic of TIME=93. The number also symbolises the paradox of how the VIRGIN=93 is also the MOTHER=93. **PAA: What are some examples of gematria calculations you use? ** Counting well, a calculation to elucidate the combined meaning of two words, is a method peculiar to EQ. The value of the first word is multiplied by the number of letters in the second word and the value of the second word is multiplied by the number of letters in the first word, and the two results are added together. Example: I=23 AM=22 counted well is 23x2=46, 22x1=22, 46+22=68 = LIFE. The reversal of a number in EQ shows its reward, thus WATER=65 is the reward of CUP=56. **PAA: How do you view the relationship between numbers and occultism? ** I think numeracy is a magical skill, and being able to turn symbols into numbers with gematria can be magically educational in enabling and enhancing the understanding of particular words. Numbers don't lie or bear false witness. With numerological analysis the occultist can develop reliable working theories and practices that other people can use with confidence, because the foundation is in solid reality and mathematical logic rather than artifice or invention. **PAA: What role does astrology play in modern occult practices? ** The grimoirists use planetary days and hours and pay attention to planetary aspects and lunar phases according to the instructions in the various source texts available to them. From what I see online, few occultists practise astrology, and not many astrologers are occultists. **PAA: How do you incorporate astrological principles into rituals? ** In the English Qaballistic tradition we time our rituals to synchronise with beneficial planetary aspects. **PAA: What is Stellar magic, and how is it practiced? ** Stellar magic is astrologically synchronised magic, magic timed to coincide with stellar configurations and the movements of the stars. When we began to experiment with ritual astrological synchronicity and compiling notes we called our work "Stellar Magic." **PAA: How have you revised traditional rituals in your work? ** I've done a few rewrites of the Qaballistic Cross, swapping out the Hebrew GodNames for alternative words of power, and I've done a version of the LBRP which I think is rather good. **PAA: Can you describe the process of creating a revised version of the LBRP? ** It was a seed that grew rapidly. To begin with, I wanted alternative imagery and Names to use in the four quarters instead of those described by Israel Regardie. Planetary deities came to mind, and I realised that the vertical plane could be included by indicating that which is above and that which is below the central axis of the compass delineated in the horizontal circle of Elements and Quarters. This would take four planets around the circumference, plus two top and bottom, plus one at the centre of the sphere. Then it was a matter of planetary attributes and appropriate positions. Mars for Fire, for example, and Mercury for Air, didn't take too long to place them, and Water being the most feminine Element was comfortable with Venus. Jupiter for the abundance of Earth seemed suitable, leaving the Moon for the position above as the closest celestial object and link to the cosmos, and Saturn below for a solid foundation. The Sun naturally is at the solar plexus. I tinkered with the attributions for a while but found these to be the best, the balancing of the six opposites being harmonious. It took me one whole night, and the work was inspired from start to finish. **PAA: How have you adapted Tarot imagery based on English Qaballa? ** By increasing the number of Trumps or Greater Arcana from 22 to 26 to align with the English letters. Each one has the appropriate English letter in its design, and they're numbered accordingly. I made cards for Uranus (The Magician), Neptune (The Mystic), Pluto (The Threshold), and the Earth, to match the present knowledge of the outer planets and of our own planet. The Earth card is called The Hanged Man, and the image is a baby upside down and ready to be born. BABE has the same value as EARTH. I made a new image for Water because WATER=GODDESS. I made a lot of changes, based on EQ and magical experience and common sense and consultation with my Muse. I made a lot of new images, within some strict compositional boundaries to make the whole deck consistent. I wanted to create a memory tool incorporating the 12 Zodiac Signs, 10 planets, and 4 Elements. So I looked at the astrological symbolism of the Trumps, as well as the traditional imagery. I made a centaur the image of the Art card, because Sagittarius is the attributed Zodiac sign, and there seemed to be no definite traditional image. I asked questions like "Why is the face of the charioteer hidden, and why is the card attributed to Cancer, the Mother of the Zodiac?" and after a few hours I got the answer, "The chariot is the womb," so I made the image of a pregnant woman for The Chariot. I asked whether the Hermit has to be an old man when the Zodiac Sign is traditionally female, and the answer was "women can be hermits too," so I made an image of a young woman in robes and veil. And so on. Some of the images are more or less traditional, the Jupiterian Wheel of Fortune has a wheel, the Lovers card shows identical twins, for instance. **PAA: How do you interpret the concept of the divine feminine? ** The divine feminine is the ideal archetypal Woman, the image of the Goddess. Beautiful, sensuous, wise, and so on, and very complicated, because all the goddesses are represented, from Kali and Hecate to Aphrodite and Venus. So she must be approached carefully and with great respect. **PAA: What are your views on the future of occultism? ** Occultism is in an interesting place, it has become socially acceptable in recent decades, and the knowledge base has broadened by exposure to magical traditions from around the world. I see occultism continuing to evolve. I hope it will develop a cosmopolitan philosophy that accepts our planetary home as something to be venerated rather than dominated. I hope it will develop a spiritual dimension to serve the magical purpose of religion, which is the preparation for death. **PAA: How do you see the balance between masculine and feminine energies? ** One hand throws, the other hand catches. **PAA: What advice do you have for modern occult practitioners? ** Always be honest. **PAA: In terms of Spirits and Entities have you had experiences with these? If so do you see them as existing externally from our own psyche? ** I think they are external but made of the same stuff as the psyche and able to permeate through the physical boundaries by something like osmosis. **PAA: It is a personal question but are you able to tell us anything about the breakthroughs or peak experiences?** The big ones are the mystical visionary type events, mostly internal, with great emotional content of joy and love and so forth, and light blossoming in one centre or another. The most significant experiences have been without imagery, consisting of pure pinkish-white light. Significant to me, you understand, in that they permanently altered my consciousness. Thank you. ALways Cath Thompson August 2024 **PAA: Thank you for sharing with us, greatly appreciated.** --- ![](https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/EQML.jpg) More Info