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.

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.

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.

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.

· 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 ...

Written two years before his most prominent book Revolt Against the Modern World, Julius Evola's THE FALL OF SPIRITUALITY was originally published in Italian as Maschera e volto dello spiritualismo contemporaneo (The Mask and Face of Contemporary Spiritualism).

Esoteric tradition has long maintained that at the dawn of human civilization there existed a unified science-religion, a spiritual grasp of the universe and our place in it. The biblical Enoch--also known as Hermes Trismegistus, Thoth, or Idris--was seen as the guardian of this sacred knowledge, which was inscribed on pillars known as Enoch's or Seth's pillars.

Ancient and classical societies have always had an ideal of manhood. In Japan, the samurai cultivated not only the art of the sword but also poetry, calligraphy, and spiritual practice. In Confucianism, the ideal man was the Chun-Tzu (the Higher Man), who cultivated both the arts of war and the arts of peace. And, in medieval Europe, the knight lived by the comparable code of chivalry.

One of the most important texts in the Western magical tradition for nearly 500 years, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's 1533 work THREE BOOKS OF OCCULT PHILOSOPHY collates a multitude of sources from the Classical, Medieval, and Renaissance periods and organizes them into a coherent explanation of the magical world.

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.

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.

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.