Corbin, like Scholem and Jonas, is remembered as a scholar of genius. He was uniquely equipped not only to recover Iranian Sufism for the West, but also to defend the principal Western traditions of esoteric spirituality." —From the introduction by Harold Bloom Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240) was one of the great mystics of all time. Through the richness of his personal experience and the constructive power of his intellect, he made a unique contribution to Shi'ite Sufism. In this book, which features a powerful new preface by Harold Bloom, Henry Corbin brings us to the very core of this movement with a penetrating analysis of Ibn 'Arabi's life and doctrines.Corbin begins with a kind of spiritual topography of the twelfth century, emphasizing the differences between exoteric and esoteric forms of Islam. He also relates Islamic mysticism to mystical thought in the West. The remainder of the book is devoted to two complementary essays: on "Sympathy and Theosophy" and "Creative Imagination and Creative Prayer." A section of notes and appendices includes original translations of numerous Sufi treatises.Harold Bloom's preface links Suufi mysticism with Shakespeare's visionary dramas and high tragedies, such as The Tempest and Hamlet. These works, he writes, intermix the empirical world with a transcendent element. Bloom shows us that this Shakespearean cosmos is analogous to Corbin's "Imaginal Realm" of the Sufis, the place of soul or souls.

    Schwaller de Lubicz (1887-1961), one of the most important Egyptologists of this century, links the sacred science of the Ancients to its rediscovery in our own time. Sacred Science represents the first major breakthrough in understanding ancient Egypt & identifies Egypt, not Greece, as the cradle of Western thought, theology & science.

    Hence the soul ascends to the high regions of Divine Communion and Bliss.But these letters also aswer numerous questions that confront a seeker and a disciple in many phases of his physical, mental and spiritual life. Indeed such problems are not only inevitable in the course of our existence, but they press insistently for satisfactory answers; and their solution lends a greater coherence, stability and serenity to life. To the solution of every problem, big and small, the Master brings a sublime and enlightened quality consonant with the highest spiritual welfare of the disciple.The letters are a mine of esoteric wealth and eternal truths which travelers on the spiritual path cannot but keenly treasure.

    Julius Evola sheds new light on the mystical and spiritual expression of sexual love. This in-depth study explores the sexual rites of sacred traditions, and shows how religion, mysticism, folklore, and mythology all contain erotic forms in which the deep potentialities of human beings are recognized.