Esoterism

In SECRET SOCIETIES AND THE HERMETIC CODE, Ernesto Frers presents a virtual museum of artistic works that contain occult secrets. The scope of his research ranges from the paintings of Byzantine icons to Salvador Dali, from mystery sites such as the Pyramids to the architecture of Andrea Palladio's Villa Cornaro.

In Antiquity, the art of memory was a mnemonic device that allowed an orator, such as Cicero, to recall all the points he wished to make by associating each of them with an image or architectural element in the site he was speaking.

The main purpose of the hermetic science, as seen by Giuliano Kremmerz (1861-1930), Italian alchemist, hermeticist, philosopher and member of the Ur Group, is to allow the adept to concentrate on the natural and divine magic that will allow him or her to develop the latent powers innate in every human being.

Exploring the craftsman, warrior and magician archetypes - three vocations that echo the traditional tripartite division of society, Angel Millar reveals how these archetypes represent the three successive stages of spiritual growth in an individual's life. He shows how they provide structure for the initiatory process to develop one's mental, physical and spiritual potential.

In this initiatory guide to the hermetic art of alchemy, artist Marlene Seven Bremner reveals how the alchemical opus, the Great Work, offers a practical means for liberating the authentic creator within and attaining gnosis, or true self-knowledge.

The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, often looked upon as the third Rosicrucian manifesto, has an entirely different tone from the other Rosicrucian documents. Unlike the Rosicrucian manifestoes, which address the transformation of society, The Chemical Wedding is concerned with the inner transformation of the soul.

One of the last Renaissance men, Robert Fludd (1574-1637) was one of the great minds of the early modern period. A physician by profession, he was also a Christian Hermetist, a Rosicrucian, an alchemist, astrologer, musician and inventor.

TEMPLARS IN AMERICA reveals the story of two leading European Templar families who combined forces to create a new commonwealth in America nearly a century before the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Henry St. Clair of the Orkney Islands, then part of Normandy, and Carlo Zeno, a Venetian trader, made peaceful and mutually beneficial contact with the Mi'kmaq people of what is now Canada.

Drawing on ancient Egyptian and Greek cosmogonies and essential Hermetic texts, such as the Corpus Hermeticum, the Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina), and the Nag Hammadi codices, Marlene Seven Bremner offers a detailed understanding of Hermetic philosophy and the art of alchemy as a foundation for a psycho-spiritual creative practice.

This book reminds us that spiritual and material life has always been governed not just by God the Father, but, also, by God the Mother. It is the blending of these two energies which produces the power of the Christ within our own being and in the world.

Robert Fludd was one of the last true 'Renaissance men' who took all learning as their preserve and tried to encompass the whole of human knowledge. His voluminous writings were devoted to defending the philosophy of the alchemists and Rosicrucians, and applying their doctrines to a vast description of man and the universe.

The Rosicrucian Emblems is a significant yet little-known work of emblematic philosophy published in 1617, only one year after the appearance of The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz. The work consists of 40 emblematic plates, each bearing a title, together with a verse from the Bible and two lines in Latin.

For nearly 400 years, incredible myths and stories have been woven around the “invisible” Brothers of the Rose Cross, the Rosicrucians. It is said that they possessed the secret of man and God, that they could turn lead into gold, that they governed Europe in secret, that theirs was the true philosophy of Freemasonry, and that they could save--or destroy--the world.

· Explores the golden civilization of ancient Egypt and its system of natural magic that birthed the Western Mystery tradition · Examines each phase of Egyptian history from the Pharaonic period, through the Roman conquest, to the ongoing Islamization · Provides a revised portrait of the life of Muhammad, revealing his connections to the Essene tradition Imagine the paradise of ancient ...

Mention the Hell-Fire Clubs and you conjure up an image of aristocratic rakes cutting a swath through the village maidens. Which is true, but not the whole truth. The activities of these clubs of upper-class Englishmen revolved around not only debauchery, but, also, blasphemy, ritual, quasi-magical pursuits and political intrigue.

Set within the dramatic tableau of the mediaeval Crusades, this story of initiation, adventure and romance follows members of the Knights Templar and Assassins as they discover a mystical tradition with the potential to unify, protect and liberate humankind - the very heresy for which the Knights Templar were later condemned.