Mysticism, Alchemy and Magic

In the pre-Christian societies of Northern Europe, magic was embedded in the practical skills of everyday life. Everything in Nature was imbued with an inner spirit, as was anything made by hand. People believed in magic because it worked and because it was part of the functionality of their day-to-day lives.

· Reveals spells and workings drawn directly from surviving magical books from the 16th to 20th century preserved at the National Library in Reykjavík · Explores the history of magic in Iceland through original translations of Icelandic folktales about famous magicians and about legendary grimoires, such as the Galdrabók, the oldest and most complete book of its kind · Explains how to ...

Reconstructs the lost world of Gnostic spiritual-erotic experience through examination of every surviving text written by heresiologists Investigates the sexual gnosis practices of the Barbelo Gnostics of the 2nd century and their connections to the Gnostic Aeon Sophia, the Wild Lady of Wisdom Explains the vital significance of “the seed” as a sacrament in Gnostic practice Examining ...

· Deconstructs each line of Genesis chapters 1–3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah · Reveals the sefirot, the Tree of Life, as the Divine blueprint of the creative process · Explains how Genesis reveals the Divinity of mind and consciousness Hidden within the first three chapters of Genesis rests one of the greatest jewels of Western mystical literature.

Contemplation begins with intellectual understanding. As contemplation deepens, the mind shifts from the accumulation of data to the unfolding of direct gnostic apprehension. This dissolves the idea that outer and inner or personal and cosmic distinctions exist, allowing phenomena to return to its basis as a single, uninterrupted continuum.

During Paris's Belle Époque (1871–1914), many cultural movements and artistic styles flourished - Symbolism, Impressionism, Art Nouveau, the Decadents - all of which profoundly shaped modern culture. Inseparable from this cultural advancement was the explosion of occult activity taking place in the City of Light at the same time.

In THE PATH OF MODERN YOGA, Elliott Goldberg shows how yoga was transformed from a sacred practice into a health and fitness regime for middle-class Indians in the early 20th century and then gradually transformed over the course of the 20th century into an embodied spiritual practice - a yoga for our times.

Shamanism is humanity's oldest spiritual tradition. In much of the Western world, the indigenous pre-Christian spiritual practices have been lost. Yet at the northern fringes of Europe, Christianity did not displace the original shamanic practices until the end of the Viking age.

Freemasonry bears the imprint of the society in which it exists and Freemasonry in North America is no exception. While keeping close ties to French lodges until 1913, American Freemasonry was, also, deeply influenced by the experiences of many early American political leaders, leading to distinctive differences from European lodges.

Since the beginning of history, people have sought remedies for the many ills that have beset them, from illnesses afflicting the body to threats posed by evil and hostile individuals. In many folk healing and pagan traditions, it was believed that one must gain the assistance of the guardian spirit of a healing plant or substance through prayers or offerings before its chemical properties would ...

In November 1949, architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, announced the death of “the greatest man in the world,” yet few knew who he was talking about. Enigmatic, misunderstood, declared a charlatan and recently dubbed “the Rasputin who inspired Mary Poppins,” Gurdjieff's life has become a legend. But who really was George Ivanovich Gurdjieff?

Set in the 13th century, this sweeping historical novel opens on the island of Torcello, outside Venice, in 1219, after the Crusaders have lost possession of Jerusalem. Yehezkel, a young yet revered kabbalist and student of Maimonides, is on the island for a secret meeting of rabbis.

We are in the midst of a revival of an ancient way of looking at the world - an approach that enabled great civilisations of the past to bring forth inventions of great beauty and power. This school of thought envisioned the natural world and the solar system as an interlocking matrix of harmonious numbers.

No decade in modern history has generated more controversy and divisiveness than the tumultuous 1960s. For some, the '60s were an era of free love, drugs and social revolution. For others, the Sixties were an ungodly rejection of all that was good and holy.

The most influential magical group in Germany during the 20th century, the Fraternitas Saturni or Brotherhood of Saturn, is still the most active and important magical society in Germany today. But from its formal beginnings in 1926 in Weimar Berlin until around 1970 it was almost totally secret.

The “Gruppo di UR” was a group of Italian esotericists who collaborated from 1927 to 1929. The purpose of this group was to study and practise ancient rituals gleaned from the mystery traditions of the world, both East and West, in order to attain a state of superhuman consciousness and power to allow them to act magically on the world.

The "Gruppo di UR" was a group of Italian esotericists who collaborated for three brief years, from 1927 to 1929. The purpose of this group was to study and practice ancient rituals and procedures they gleaned from the mystery traditions of the world, both East and West, in order to attain a state of superhuman consciousness and power that would allow them to act magically on the world.

A controversial examination of the influence and presence of the Norse god Odin in contemporary history and culture · Documents Odin's role in the rise of Nazi Germany, the 1960s counterculture revolution, nationalist and ecological political movements, and the occult revival · Examines the spiritual influence of Odin in relation to Jesus Christ · Profiles key individuals instrumental in the ...

Although the rune renaissance began blossoming in Anglo-American occult circles in the 1970s, the runes have been part of the occult revival in Germany since its beginning in the late 19th century, with roots that go back centuries further.

A surrealist exploration of the marvelous in ancient, classic, and modern works from around the world · Long considered one of the most significant and original books to have come out of the surrealist movement · Reveals the “marvelous” in works from William Blake, Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Chrétien de Troyes, and Arthur Rimbaud; legends and folktales from around the world; ...