Dr. von Franz focuses on the symbolism of the bird motif in six fairy tales of Europe and Asia: "The White Parrot" (Spain), "The Bath Bagerd" (Persia), "Princess Hassan Pasha" (Turkestan), "The Bid Flower Triller" (Iran), "The Nightingale Giser" (Balkans), and "The Bird Wehmus" (Austria). She explores the themes of psychological and spiritual transformation in the varied images of birds, such as the phoenix, the parrot, and the griffin. Special attention is given to the connection between fairy tales and alchemy and to the guidance that fairy tales give to therapeutic work.

    Johnson has taken tens of thousands of readers on spiritual and psychological journeys towards inner transformation. In 'Ecstasy', he reconnects with the powerful and life-changing ecstatic element that lies dormant – but long-repressed – within us.Ecstasy was once considered a divine gift, Johnson tells us, one that could lift mortals out of ordinary reality and into higher world. But because Western culture has systematically repressed this ecstatic human impulse, we are unable to truly experience its transformative power.Johnson penetrates the surface of modern life to reveal the ancient dynamics of our humanity, pointing out practical means for achieving a healthy expression of our true inner selves. Through dreams, rituals, and celebrations, he shows us how to return to these original life-giving principles and restore inner harmony.Robert A. Johnson is the best-selling author of 'He, She, We, Inner Work, ' and 'Femininity Lost and Regained. '

    Blending archaeological fact and legend, the myths of the gods and the feats of heroes, Marion Zimmer Bradley breathes new life into the classic tale of the Trojan War-reinventing larger-than-life figures as living people engaged in a desperate struggle that dooms both the victors and the vanquished, their fate seen through the eyes of Kassandra-priestess, princess, and passionate woman with the spirit of a warrior.

    Part I covers the myriad faces of the Goddess revealed, including: Her presence throughout history; Her Earth and Moon symbolism; Her Madonna and Magdalene disguises; Her revelation within the psyche; Her relationship with women; Her influence today; and much more. Part II covers ritual invocations of the Goddess in 13 guises: from Ishtar to Isis, from Hecate to Aphrodite, from Epona to Ma'at. Part III gives an alphabetical listing of more than 1000 goddesses including a brief history and the main correspondences of each. This is an important work by the Farrars providing an indepth exploration of the Goddess in her many aspects at a time when Western culture is awakening to the influence of Feminine Divinity, both individually and collectively. Over 40,000 sold!

    Pele lives in Hawaiian hearts and minds as the personification of volcanic majesty and power. Having the power to create new land, she has a volcanic personality - an impetuous, lusty nature, jealous, unpredictable, capable of sudden fury and great violence. Yet she can also be gentle, loving and as serene as her forests of ferns and flowering trees.

    The themes developed in the poems—quite possibly the earliest poems extant—are those that have fascinated humanity since the time people first began to spin stories: the longings of young lovers; courage in battle; joy at the birth of a child; the pleasures of drink and song.

    She and a De Danaan foundling, Aherne, are charged with finding the lost treasures of the De Danaans. Ultimately, their quest will redeem the ancestors and reconcile warring invaders and settlersmoral concerns that mirror modern ones.

    Here are heroic legends of fearless warriors and mythical Hindu gods as well as traditional Hindu folktales. Full-color illustrations.

    

     This prediction is only a fragment of the vast knowledge of Shaiva wisdom, author Alain Danielou as assimilated and reviewed essential concepts of the Shaiva philosophy and its predictions. Clearly expressed in the ancient teachings, these concepts are in accord with, yet surpass, the boldest scientific speculations about consciousness, time, the nature of life and matter, and the history and destiny of the human race. Inherent in this body of knowledge is an understanding of the cycles of creation and destruction which, in conjunction with astronomical phases, determine the life span of the species. Since 1939, humankind has been in the twilight of the Kali Yuga age, or at the end of a cycle. The impending cataclysm, Danielou explains, is brought on by our own errors, and its date will be determined by our present and future actions. While the Gods Play examines how the visionaries of ancient times defined our rose in creation. It explains why and how we have abandoned this role, and reflects on what action can be taken to consciously and creatively influence our own destiny. Included are chapters on The Religion of Nature and The Religion of the City, The Transmigrant Body, Sexual Rites, the Castes, Sacrifice, Magical Powers, Monastic Orders, and Forestalling the Final Day.

    His assertions, radical at the time-indeed, almost a century before the discovery of three-million-year-old human remains in Africa-resonate loudly today, when molecular biology is making corresponding discoveries alongside the still-raging creation-versus-evolution controversy. In Volume I, Massey lays the foundation of the Egypt-centric position through a scholarly comparative analysis of language, names, and mythology-delving not only into our most basic actions of naming and communicating, but also man's beloved, universal myths of death, awakenings, and love. British author GERALD MASSEY (1828-1907) published works of poetry, spiritualism, Shakespearean criticism, and theology, but his best-known works are in the realm of Egyptology, including The Natural Genesis and Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World.

    Collected in a volume by Lady Charlotte guest in 1849, the stories are preserved in two Welsh manuscripts written in the Middle Ages.

    

    Subtitled "a play with poetic myths," it evolves around a modern-day Helen (associated with Inanna, the Sumerian Queen of Heaven and Earth) who descends to an underworld complete with a lesbian bar and a chorus of punning crow-dykes who put her through various trials designed to release her powers. The play is followed by two poems, connected thematically and imagistically, and exhaustive notes explaining the mythic allusions.

    -- A fascinating introduction to the world of mythology-- Brief outlines of all of the most famous stories-- Ideal source of inspiration for role-playing games

    Here for a wide range of readers Douglas recounts fairy tales, classical stories, myths, and adventure stories that inspired Anderson to create these enchanting pictures. Douglas's special gift for storytelling weaves an alluring spell that is intensified by twenty-four of Anderson's most spectacular works. These are reproduced in full color and are adapted from his linoleum block prints of tremendous size (18 in. x 6 ft.) and hand colored by his niece Adele Anderson Lawton. This indeed is a document of art's power to excite the imagination. What is the elusive quality in narrative that draws out the illustrator's response? And the quality in illustration that compels the teller of stories to elucidate? Just as great tales piqued Anderson to create these fantastical pictures, his illustrations motivated Douglas to take them back to their source, the word. From the Brothers Grimm, Ovid, Malory, Burton, Perrault, and other great storytellers she has retold her refreshingly appealing versions of Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Magic Carpet, The Fisherman and the Genie, Sinbad and the Roc, Rapunzel, The Six Swans, Thumbelina, The Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince, The White Cat, Puss in Boots, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Bremen Town Musicians, Jack the Giant Killer, The Birth and Coronation of Arthur, Cupid and Psyche, Androcles and the Lion, Europa and the Bull, and The Golden Apples of the Hesperides. In recounting them anew she gives them fresh insights while retaining their eternal charm. Ellen Douglas is the award-winning author of five novels and a collection of stories. Among her books are "Black Cloud, White Cloud, Apostles of Light" (University Press of Mississippi), and "Can't Quit You, Baby." Walter Anderson (1903-1965) was the reclusive Mississippi Gulf Coast artist whose legacy of art has been celebrated in many exhibitions and in films and books.

    It starts with the Vandals, Visigoths, Burgundians and other Germanic invaders of the Empire, whose coins were modelled on contemporary issues of the Western or Eastern emperors. The coinage of the Franks is followed from early Merovingian times through to the establishment and subsequent fragmentation of the Carolingian empire. Italy is represented by the coinages of the Ostrogoths, Lombards, Carolingians and popes down to the Ottoman conquest in the mid-tenth century. The coinage of the Anglo-Saxons is traced from the introduction of minting in the early seventh century to the emergence of a united kingdom during the first half of the tenth century, including the aberrant coinages of Northumbria and the Anglo-Viking coinages of the Danelaw.

    This is the story of the Norse gods and goddesses and their many adventures in the lands of men, dwarfs, and gaints.

    This book includes seven folktales especially for young adults, but of universal appeal. Beautiful black and white ink drawings illustrate the tales whose cast of characters include humans, a goddess, an elephant woman, a boa constrictor and a shell-man.

    This is the book to read to trigger the core of your remembrance of the great civilizations of Lemuria and Atlantis!

    Raven went searching for it - and found it all in the belly of a giant frog!

    Over the course of time Olympian luster diminished in favor of religious experiences more immediate to the concerns of people living in an increasingly cosmopolitan ancient world. These experiences were provided by the mysteries, religions that flourished particularly during the Hellenistic period and were secretly practiced by groups of adherents who decided, through personal choice, to be initiated into the profound realities of one deity or another. Unlike the official state religions, in which people were expected to make an outward show of allegiance to the local gods, the mysteries emphasized an inwardness and privacy of worship within a closed band of initiates.In this book, Marvin W. Meyer explores the sacrifices and prayers, the public celebrations and secret ceremonies, the theatrical performances and literary works, the gods and goddesses that were a part of the mystery religions of Greece in the seventh century B.C. to the Judaism and Christianity of the Roman world of the seventh century A.D.

    This expanded edition of an underground classic (Shambhala, 1987) features new artwork, new chapter introductions, and songs with musical scores. The author of six books, Judith Gleason has traveled extensively to Africa and the Caribbean to research the ancient and contemporary Yoruba and Santeria traditions.

    Retells the Greek myth in which the beautiful Pandora, created by the gods, was sent to Earth with a special box she was not to open, an instruction she was not able to follow.