W nen most people hear the mysterious word ““Qabalah’' (or Cabala, or Kabbalah), they may have vague ideas that it is something extremely abstruse and probably Jewish. If so, they would be only partly correct. The word itself does derive from the Hebrew root QBL, signifying to meet or embrace instruction, admit or allow a law, receive or obtain. By implication it points to a “secret tradition”’ known only to a few select scholars and imparted by them directly to carefully chosen disciples down the ages. In early days it was entirely an oral teaching, like that of the Druids. It did not reach a literary public until the late Middle Ages, and remained an obscure topic of interest only to the most eclectic students of esoterica until the nineteenth century. It did not become freely available until this century, mostly since World War IL. Even now, although many have heard of it, relatively few could give a good description of what it is and of what use it might be in a modern world.
The fundamentals of Qabalah are really very simple. It is essentially a search for “God,” “ultimate identity,” or however a human life quest might be termed, by using a system of mathematically relatable concepts acceptable to a consciousness activated by rationality and logic, as well as romantic idealism.
Wm. G. Gray was born in Middlesex, United Kingdom, at 2:10 p.m. on the 25th of March, 1913. Astrologically this gave him: Sun in Aries, Moon in Scorpio, and Leo rising.
On his father's side, Bill Gray comes from a long line of churchmen with his grandfather being an Anglican rector and his heritage extending back to Archbishop Walter de Gray of York. His mother was Scottish-American and in mid-life became a prominent astrologer. This was young Bill's first introduction to the occult and through his mother was able to meet many members of the Golden Dawn and other esoteric groups.
He joined the British Army as a communications technician and served several years in Egypt where he came into contact with additional material relevant to the Inner Tradition.
Shortly after his return home, England became involved in World War II and Bill's military outfit was immediately transferred to France where he was in action until evacuated during the Dunkirk disaster. It was at this time that he swore to devote the remainder of his life to the Western Spiritual Way of Life, After the holocaust, his health broke and he was invalided from the British forces.
For a short period, Wm. G. Gray was a member of the Society of the Inner Light.