An investigation of the Eleusinian mysteries, supposed by some to be the predecessors of Masonic rites. Contents: Eleusinian legend; Ritual of the mysteries; Program of the greater mysteries; Initiatory rites; Their mystical significance; Bibliography.
A useful source book for Pagan spiritualists. Elisabeth Goldsmith examines symbols found in the art and artefacts from across cultures and throughout history. Explanations reveal the symbolism of the Elements, the Lotus, the Tree of Life, the Cross, the Swastika, and many more.Elisabeth Goldsmith begins Ancient Pagan Symbols with a poetic description of the creative forces of life and the metaphys
Escaping to the magnificence of the Tyrolean Alps for a much-needed respite from the angst of his life the narrator of this delightful and instructive tale encounters a mysterious dwarf who seems to understand the dilemmas that cloud his mind. The dwarf leads him to the Brothers of the Golden and Rosy Cross where the narrator begins his adventure among adepts of the Order. Franz Hartmann writes po
Author, psychologist, and astrologer Monika Wikman has worked for decades with clients and their dream symbols and witnessed the presence of the divine hand at work in the psyche. In The Pregnant Darkness, Wikman shows readers that the best way to cope with their darkest hours is by fostering a connection to the deeper current of life, those mysteries that give life form and meaning. Wikman?s anal
When we lose a loved one, the experience is simultaneously mythical and personal. Grubbs anchors the mythical aspect of loss in the story of Gilgamesh and the loss of his beloved Enkidu which sets him on a quest for his beloved and the meaning of life. The personal aspect arises in the particular path we take in recovery from loss. Both realms blend in the dream space where we often encounter ou
We reap what we sow, but we also reap what others before us have sown. If we do this unconsciously, we find ourselves victims of unfortunate circumstances, but if we are conscious of what we have taken on from our family legacy, we can turn it around.Doctors Bedi and Matthews have worked with people who have carried the burden of their families' best achievements, worst failures, and unrealized dr
Count Michael Maier (1568-1622) is among the giants of the Alchemical Renaissance of the early 17th century. Atalanta Fugiens and Themis Aurea transcend their era and continue to inspire alchemical students today. But Maier's many other works remain virtually unknown--to our loss, for he was a champion of Rosicrucianism as well as a spiritual alchemist of the highest caliber. Reverend J.B. Crave
William Greene was unique among his fellow Christian writers on the Kabbalah in that he saw clearly both its significance for Freemasonry and its application to radical thought. He prefaced his study, first published in 1872, with a stirring account of the significant Masonic symbol of the Blazing Star - a symbol also of liberty of conscience and political freedom, goals that must still be sought
The continuing fascination with Gnostic Christianity has stimulated the translation of a vast range of Gnostic texts with both popular and critical commentaries. But the later texts of the Coptic Church remain virtually unknown outside a small circle of scholars, even more so in their Ethiopic versions. One exception is The Book of Enoch, but Enoch does not stand alone. Associated with it is an
Being a really good writer involves looking deep into ourselves as well as others in order to understand human--our nature, our challenges, and our motivations. Often, we work out our own problems through the stories we tell. Our dreams provide essential clues to our deeper selves. Nelson's "soulful dream-writing practice" teaches readers how to "catch" their dreams and turn them into a treasure
Theurgy means "the science or art of divine works." In alchemy, this process is called the "Great Work," which is the purification and exaltation of our "lower" nature by the proper application of esoteric principles, so that it may become united with its higher counterparts, whereby we may attain spiritual, and ultimately divine, consciousness.
Drawing on the teachings of the Egyptian, Greek,
In The House of the Hidden Places, first published in 1895, Adams clearly lays out evidence that the Great Pyramid at Giza corresponds architecturally to the initiation ritual detailed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead (which Adams preferred to call what he felt was its rightful title, The Book of the Maste).
The House of the Hidden Places was the first book to go beyond the current speculations
The Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Formation, although very short, is probably the most important of the Kabalistic texts. Its secrets were passed on in the Hebrew oral tradition until it was written down in the 2nd century b.c.e. It lays out the principles of Kabalistic cosmology and the Tree of Life, how humankind (the microcosm) reflects the Divine (the macrocosm). It also sets forth the Hebrew
This is a source work of medieval magic that gives complete sets of zodiacal lames, characters, and planetary sigils, with full details for their manufacture and consecration, often omitted by later writers. Paracelsus is essentially concerned with the practical applications of magic, especially with regard to healing, rather than the extravagant fantasies of theorists. His sections on alchemy i
This down-to-earth exploration of natal chart interpretation shows the familial, male-female patterns in the zodiacal signs and the potentials they hold in combination with planetary energies and house symbolism. Our personalities are strongly influenced by what was happening around us when we were infants and whether our needs were met. Lundsted explains that our natal chart is our parent's trans
This book is a milestone in Western magical practice. Often erroneously called a forgery, it is in fact six separate books in one, the first two being by Agrippa (1486-1535). One of them, Of Magical Ceremonies, is Agrippa's clearest step-by-step formulation of how to perform an evocation, much more openly expressed than in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy. In addition there is the key grimoire
Geomancy, or "divining by means of the earth," was originally carried out by making marks in the dirt with a divining stick and then determining the geomantic symbols from these marks. It's based on the idea that our movement is influenced by the energies in circulation within and around us. This book explains the modern method of geomancy using just a writing tool and a piece of paper to obtain
From the latches on our kitchen cabinets to the magnetic strips on our credit cards, we take magnetic forces for granted every day. Magnets are a relatively new technology, although people have remarked on naturally-occurring magnets, or loadstones, for hundreds of years. Mickaharic, in his inimitable, no-nonsense style relates the history and folklore of magnets and how they work, and explains
Born of the author's personal experience as well as her studies in Jungian psychology, this book takes the fundamental ideas in Healing the Wounded God, which Vocatura co-authored with Jeff Raff, and applies them to life's most important challenge: developing soul-consciousness by becoming reconciled with the inevitability of one's death.
Through folk stories, dreams, and active imaginations, w