Liber Quantum covers a wide variety of topics spanning subjects in sacred mathematics and the Qabalah (or Kabbalah). It also touches on a range of more general western occult practices such as astrology into the more fringe of the mainstream with its interpretation of the Enneagram. Each essay is self-contained, but most benefit from having read up to that point.
The work is further divided into two main parts. The first part’s essays primarily target sacred math and the Qabalah. Part two gets a bit more out there into Qabalah and numerology and how they apply to dreams and the astral plane. For a great work on astral travel, see my review of Orry Whitehand’s work here.
This book really shows how theory can become practice for occult study. Some essays focus heavily on theory while some of them expound on a concept to the point of absurdity just to drive the point home.
Outline
As mentioned, the book is divided into two major parts. The first part is much more straight-forward and clear than the second part. Part two gets a bit more abstract in layout with anecdotes and personal application. This isn’t a sleight against it either.
The very first chapter tries to reconcile metaphysics with physics via quantum physics. I’ll get into that more later in the article. The second chapter hits on gematria. These topics are the foundation of the entire work for a basic understanding of how math works in the occult and how it crosses over.
Chapter 3 through 5 (and 12) touch on the enneagram and how it crosses over into other occult systems. Chapter 6 hits on chaos theory and its application to the tarot and I Ching. 7 and 8 discuss sacred geometry, and 9 and 10 talk about astrology and numerology. Chapter 11 discusses the monad of John Dee, and 12 hits on the enneagram and many other things.
Part two gets a bit more off the rails and isn’t something I can easily sum up. Each chapter has a theme and a lesson, but it’s more about the journey than the result for the essays. This feels like the basis for the book and the first part feels more like the more practical application of the principles to make it all make sense.
The Good
Many of these essays are extremely well-written and interesting. Most of the first part is relatively self-contained so if you read the entirety, you won’t feel like you’re grasping (some similar essay collections vary heavily in the requisite context). I learned a lot about occult applications and a little bit of math trivia.
This book gives a great spread of interesting topics and touches on many different spiritual practices. It covers the I Ching, runes, tarot cards, astrology, numerology, Kabbalah, etc. It stays away from magick workings, but the principles are applicable to virtually any spiritual practice which has an analytic edge. Just because it doesn’t spell it out, doesn’t mean the same concepts don’t apply.
Even though it is a collection of essays which don’t really flow into one another, that just adds to its charm. Some of the essages connect and build on an interesting concept while others just touch on the principles and leave the exercise to the reader. The tone shifts and varies making it feel like a compilation with a single editor rather than multiple essays from a single writer. If this style didn’t work as well as it does in this book, it would be a condemnation.
I normally wouldn’t include something like this, but it’s gotten to be a thing with many works I’ve read and haven’t written about. For a lesser known occult publisher’s book, it is extremely well edited. One of the few typos I saw was in the table of contents for numbering. Very few other spots in the book had anything notable. I didn’t take notes of any mistakes, but I can’t recall anything obvious in the rest of the book. It might have some minor mistakes, but nothing as heinous as even professional works I’ve read.
The Not So Good
I’m going to be especially brutal in this section because I really feel this book has a lot to offer, but has some heavy caveats to brace yourself for. That said, I still think it’s a great overall add to a library, but I would only suggest it as an addition due to some of its limitations.
As should be expected from a work titled Liber Quantum, we get a delve into quantum physics. Take that as you will. It’s the first chapter which kind of tripped me up in the beginning. It’s pretty much a rule of thumb that any spiritual work discussing quantum physics is going to be misguidedly wrong in their interpretation of the science at best.
One arguable flaw is that it only focuses on the high magick aspects of spiritual practice. There are mundane applications, but they don’t feel like they’re gulfing the same dichotomy. The appearance of purer application of theory harms it to some degree even with the attempt to connect for more mundane aspects.
Each essay being relatively disconnected helped for making the book work, but it also limited certain conjectures and trains of thought. Some of the essays felt like they dropped a good premise but never really had the space to flesh them out fully. I feel like the author could cut some content to expand out what I liked, but this would also weaken the work for other audiences. Without just adding content or targeting a specific demographic, there really isn’t a good way to add more without upsetting the boat.
Part two is interesting, but I felt it was a bit harder to work through. I felt myself grasping for the next page more than appreciating the content like I had most of the first part. Some of the content was interesting, but a lot of it doubled down on concepts from earlier in the book for better and for worse. If the first part resonated with you heavily, the second probably will too, but if you have reservations about some of the leaps of faith, the second part may be a bit much.
Considerations
This is an interesting book which offers a lot to the more theoretical aspects of occult or spiritual practices. It brings theory into practice and practices back into a greater theoretical framework without trampling on your toes. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater if it makes too great of a leap. There is a lot worth reading in this book even if some of the essays turn you off.
Liber Quantum builds heavily off of western esoteric practices. It touches on the Kabbalah, numerology, astrology, etc., and it expects a certain level of familiarity. While it does go over many of the concepts, the leaps in logic will seem extreme without some external reading under your belt. The explanations are deceptively simple, but the leap in concepts is much more complex. This is like a more advanced textbook reframing the basics rather than a meandering work.
I’ve also never seen this book anywhere near list price, so that definitely increases its value proposition. This book gets you a lot of interesting content and I paid little more than a couple cups of cheap black coffee for it. It worked out to cheaper than most used occult books I’ve been buying locally.
Conclusion
Liber Quantum is a conceptually rich work with a deceptively simple style that helps make the contents more accessible. Even though there were many parts I was a bit skeptical of, I feel I got a lot out of this book. Each article (or minor series of articles) is self-contained so a less than interesting topic is done with quickly (though it may factor into later articles).
If you’re interested in how theory is applied or more just the general leaps of metaphysics into the real world, this is a great book. I liked what I got out of it even if I didn’t agree with every article and every point. There’s enough content to go around that if you’re interested in the western esoteric tradition in general, you will get something out of this work.
The book doesn’t restrict itself to a singular practice and it doesn’t constrain itself to any one dogma at the exclusion of other beliefs. It’s refreshing to get a work which feels so technical without being bogged down by the technical at the expense of flexibility. You can take it or leave it for each point, but even if you disagree, a given point still provides something to reflect on and a way to explore how you link the theory of your spiritual practice to the reality you live in.
Liber Quantum is a great read for anyone who practices a western esoteric tradition. While it draws heavily from astrology, Kabbalah, etc., it isn’t limited to them. This book will give you a lot to reflect on and help connect theory to practice in ways which you may not normally.
Get it here.