Maya, their gifted architect, had created for them three cities fortified with iron, silver and gold and the great lord Brahma himself had decreed that these cities would be indestructible, unless struck by a single arrow. The three cities, known together as Tripura, orbited the earth and only once in a thousand years fell in a straight line, directly one above the other. Would Shiva be waiting to destroy them with a twang of his deadly bow?

    I am not mentioned nearly enough, but that is neither here nor there. What you will find in this guide includes: notes from those vile fools, the Hunters; interviews with the Lords of the Underworld, as organized by that irreverent whelp William the Ever Randy; a candid discussion about the Lords of the Underworld among their women; answers to questions readers have been dying to know; and an intimate look at my very own sacred scrolls.As I said, you will read and you will enjoy. That is your mission. Nay, your honor. Do not disappoint me. You will not like the results. Just ask Aeron, keeper of the demon of Wrath. Bad things tend to happen.This Lords of the Underworld guide is also available in the anthology Into the Dark.

    It brings together essays, prose and artwork from more than fifty remarkable contributors from all over the world. Their stories and revelations are challenging, their visions and determination in exploring the mysteries are inspirational, and their enthusiasm for the Goddess of the Crossroads is truly entrancing and sometimes highly infectious. Hekate is a Goddess of great antiquity. She is primordial, powerful and sometimes animalistic - and yet, she is also sophisticated, modern and capable of adapting to different cultures. She is the Torchbearer, the Cosmic World Soul, the Guide and Companion. She is Mistress of the Restless Dead, who rules over the Heavens Earth and Sea. She is the Keybearer and so much more. Her devotees today, as throughout the ages, include philosophers, poets, sorcerers, theurgists, witches, root-cutters, enchantresses and ordinary people. In her introduction, the author and priestess Sorita d'Este brings together an exciting wealth of material on the history and development of how the goddess Hekate has been seen through the ages. As well as a fascinating discussion of her possible origins and mythological connections, the introduction also includes a timeline providing glimpses into her portrayal through the ages, with extracts from literature and examples of amulets, coins and art. The spectrum of material covered in this anthology is as diverse as the forms of Hekate herself, emphasising her role as lightbearer, keybearer, initiatrix, world soul, child's nurse, mistress of crossroads and serpent mysteries. Her devotees describe her role in traditional witchcraft and initiatory Wicca, healing and paganism, her approachability through her angels and trance oracles, her assistance in overcoming traumas and helping the dead continue their journeys. From the reestablishment of the ancient worship of the great mother goddess as Hekate in Thrace (Bulgaria) to meteorites and pilgrimages, Hekate's presence around the world and beyond is vividly described and illustrated by her torchbearers.

    This hidden tradition, according to Harpur, places our soul at the center of the universe and emphasizes imagination, the collective unconscious, and an “otherworld” or afterlife; above all, it teaches us how to know ourselves and how to recover a sense of meaning largely lost today. Harpur shows how this tradition drives the literature of otherworld journeys, from the flights of shamans and the dreams of psychoanalysis to the mystic imagination of Romantic poets and the visions of those having near-death experiences. The Secret Tradition of the Soul is the first book to gather together all the threads of the soul tradition and weave them into a bigger, clearer picture, presenting a worldview at once ancient and revolutionary.About the Imprint: EVOLVER EDITIONS promotes a new counterculture that recognizes humanity's visionary potential and takes tangible, pragmatic steps to realize it. EVOLVER EDITIONS explores the dynamics of personal, collective, and global change from a wide range of perspectives. EVOLVER EDITIONS is an imprint of North Atlantic Books and is produced in collaboration with Evolver, LLC.

    In Haiti, carnivals offer an opportunity for people to come together-to hang out, sing, dance, laugh and to generally let go. Light years away from the government- sponsored, tourist inspired carnival floats of so many other cultures, the Haitian carnival is particularly notable for its more sober political dimension, as a venue for Haitian peasants to discuss local politics, or older, nagging, historical problems dating back to the slave revolts-and as an occasion to commune with ancestors both personal and historical. With oral histories from participants, Karnaval is a fascinating combination of photography, cultural analysis and anthropology.

    The fantastically colorful costumes specific to African and Caribbean rituals and celebrations go several steps further, transforming ordinary people into mythic figures and magicians, tricksters and gods, and symbolizing the roles their wearers play in the ancient dramas that form the cornerstones of their cultural heritage. Phyllis Galembo began photographing the characters and costumes of African masquerade in Nigeria in 1985, and since then she has continued developing her theme throughout Africa and the Caribbean. This volume collects 108 thrilling carnival photographs from Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Zambia and Haiti. In magnificent color shots, Galembo's subjects pose in striped bodysuits that cover the entire body, including the face; or outfits made entirely of bunched greenery; or a lacquered wooden mask topped with a headdress featuring full-body models of other characters; or an oversize misshapen animal head and plywood wings. The carnival characters, rooted in African religion and spirituality, are presented in chapters organized by tribal or carnival tradition and are accompanied by Galembo's personal commentary, shedding light on the characters and costumes portrayed, and on the events in which they play a pivotal role. "Maske" is a serious contribution to ethnographic study, a photo-essay about fashion and an assembly of superb images.

    This guide, second in the Zoamorphosis Essential Introductions series, provides a clear and lucid account of the composition of those Songs as well as close readings of individual poems from both Innocence and Experience.Jason Whittaker is Professor of English and Media Arts at University College Falmouth, and the author and editor of a number of books and articles on Blake, including William Blake and the Myths of Britain (Macmillan 1999), Radical Blake: Influence and Afterlife from 1827 (with Shirley Dent, Palgrave 2002), and Blake, Modernity and Popular Culture (with Steve Clark, Palgrave 2007).

    It is a dangerous world where religion and magic and indistinguishable and those with powers are both persecuted and revered. Alix Reste is possessed with powers he can neither control nor understand. When he is forced to flee Zoelon, he sets out on a journey of discovery to find out who he is and where his strange powers come from. His journey takes him from the bleak industrial north right into the heart of the enemy's lair. Accompanied by his friends, the rebellious rich girl, Altair and the troubled immortal, Midnight, he discovers a world full of ancient grudges, betrayal and false prophets where no one, least of Alix, is quite what they seem. Alix will follow the mysterious enteri to the city of Haith where he finds himself immersed in the household of Havgard, a powerful magician, and where he realises that he must face the harrowing events of his own past. And then on to the ancient city of Gel-Terridar, where the enteri Nightshade, has been planning for centuries for the events that will lead up to the Fourth Cleansing. Immanion Press is proud to present in omnibus form Fiona McGavin's ground-breaking fantasy trilogy, incorporating 'A Dark God Laughing', 'Dreams of Drowning' and 'The Fourth Cleansing'

    Inaugurating the space, Matthew Barney and Elizabeth Peyton collaborated on a site-specific installation composed of sculptures, drawings and paintings--mostly themed around food and flesh--and devised a performative presentation of the collaboration by housing several of their works in a vitrine that was immersed 30 feet in the sea, and then raised by divers and borne to the project space during a twilight procession. This book records Barney and Peyton's collaboration with documentary photographs of the works and their facture, the island, the procession and installation.

    Despite his popularity, the jolly, pot-bellied deity has received far less attention in literature than he deserves.This present authoritatively researched volume attempts to collate existing reference material on the subject, as also offer valuable original insights into various aspects of Ganesh.The diversity of the benevolent god's representations is amply illustrated in the survey of the British Museum collection in London. An article on the Hindu Ganesh discusses his importance in Maharashtra where the annual festival is observed with fervor. Subsequent essays examine the iconography of the dancing Ganesh and the deity's place in Tantric literature, and in the Buddhist and Jain traditions. Travelling with Buddhism to Southeast and East Asia where he developed distinctly local characteristics, Ganesh is today especially favored in Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia. In a more personal vein, an avid collector writes of his passion for Ganesh.Although his career began as a humber leader of Shiva's hosts, Ganesh subsequently emerged as a supreme deity and, simply, a god who removes obstacles and grants success. And despite his strange appearance, he has inspired countless artists over the centuries to create his form with sensitivity and a touch of whimsy.