A preeminent scholar, writer, and teacher, he has had a profound influence on millions of people. To him, mythology was the "song of the universe, the music of the spheres." With Bill Moyers, one of America's most prominent journalists, as his thoughtful and engaging interviewer, The Power Of Myth touches on subjects from modern marriage to virgin births, from Jesus to John Lennon, offering a brilliant combination of intelligence and wit.

    "A perfect work like no other. (Calasso) has re-created . . . the morning of our world."--Gore Vidal. 15 engravings.

    It comes as close to an appreciation of the themes of the soul's journey portrayed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead as any modern interpretation has, and with a poetry unmatched anywhere in the literature thus far". —KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient EgyptThe Egyptian Book of the Dead is one of the oldest and greatest classics of Western spirituality. Until now, the available translations have treated these writings as historical curiosities with little relevance to our contemporary situation. This new version, made from the hieroglyphs, approaches the Book of the Dead as a profound spiritual text capable of speaking to us today.  Awakening Osiris is a beautiful and engaging rendering of the Egyptian Book of the Dead as a series of meditations that reveals the soul of Egypt like no book before.These writings suggest that the divine realm and the human realm are not altogether separate—they remind us that the natural world, and the substance of our lives, is fashioned from the stuff of the gods. Devoted like an Egyptian scribe to the principle of "effective utterance", Normandi Ellis has produced a prose translation that reads like pure, diaphanous verse.

    Sticking out the tongue is still a polite sign of greeting in northern India and Tibet (see Body Parts).Cosmic Egg In ancient times the primeval universe-or the Great Mother-took the form of an egg. It carried all numbers and letters within an ellipse, to show that everything is contained within one form at the beginning (see Round and Oval Motifs).

    In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex the king sets out to uncover the cause of the plague that has struck his city, only to disover the devastating truth about his relationship with his mother and his father.Medea is the terrible story of a woman's bloody revenge on her adulterous husband through the murder of her own children.

    In the tradition of The Power of Myth, a conversation with Joseph Campbell that distills the mature wisdom and eclectic spiritual thinking of the world-renowned scholar and mythologist.

    Yet, few people realize the significance of the similarities and contrasts between the religions of the pre-Christian people of north-western Europe. The Celts and Germans and Scandinavians had much in common in their religious practices and beliefs, and this is the first serious attempt that has been made to compare them. There are striking resemblances in their ideas about battle-goddesses and protective spirits, holy places, sacrificial rituals, divination and ideas about the Other World; and Myths and symbols in pagan Europe poses questions like: do such parallels go back to early times or are they owing to late Viking contact?

    Ferdowsi's epic style and mastery of poetic organisation, however, is matched by the psychological and ethical depth of his insight and his concerns for the primal struggle between good and evil, and man's continual attempt to create justice and civilized order out of the chaos of human greed and cruelty. The Legend of Seyavash begins with the stuff of romance -- a foreign girl of royal blood, found as a fugitive and introduced into the king's harem, gives birth to a son, Seyavash, who is raised not by his father the king, but by the great hero Rostam. On Seyavash's return home Sudabeh, his stepmother, attempts to seduce him, and when he spurns her she accuses him of having attempted to rape her. He undergoes a trial by fire to prove his innocence, and goes on to battle successfully against Iran's rival, Turan, concluding a truce with the Turanian king, Afrasyab, on amicable terms.But Seyavash's father, Kavus, insists that Seyavash surrender the Turanian hostages to slaughter, and with a conflicted conscience and no one to turn to, Seyavash flees to the Turanian court, where he is first given safe harbour, but is once again abandoned. Dick Davis has made a masterful translation of the poem and written a penetrating introduction.

    Line drawings.

    It seems that a demon daughter of the legendary Lilith had made her home in the mirror and would soon completely possess the unsuspecting girl. Such tales of terror and the supernatural occupy an honored position in the Jewish folkloric tradition. Howard Schwartz has superbly translated and retold fifty of the best of these folktales, now collected into one volume for the first time. Gathered from countless sources ranging from the ancient Middle East to twelfth-century Germany and later Eastern European oral tradition, these captivating stories include Jewish variants of the Pandora and Persephone myths and of such famous folktales as The Fisherman and His Wife, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Bluebeard, as well as several tales from the Middle Ages that have never before been published. Focusing on crucial turning points in life--birth, marriage, and death--the tales feature wandering spirits, marriage with demons, werewolves, speaking heads, possession by dybbuks (souls of the dead who enter the bodies of the living), and every other kind of supernatural adversary. Readers will encounter a carpenter who is haunted when he makes a violin from the wood of a coffin; a wife who saves herself from the demoness her husband has inadvertently married by agreeing to share him for an hour each day; and the age-old tale of Lilith, Adam's first wife, who refused to submit to him and instead banished herself from the Garden of Eden to give birth to the demons of the world. Drawn from Rabbinic sources, medieval Jewish folklore, Hasidic texts, and oral tradition, these stories will equally entrance readers of Jewish literature and those with an affection for fantasy and the supernatural.

    

    But for 15-year old Saya, the war is far away and unimportant--until the day she discovers she is the reincarnation of the Water Maiden and a princess of the Children of the Dark. Raised to love the Light and detest the Dark, Saya must come to terms with her heritage even as she is tumbled into the very heart of the conflict that is destroying her country. Both the army of the Light and Dark seek to claim her, for she is the only mortal who can awaken the legendary Dragon Sword, the weapon destined to end the war. Can Saya make the dreadful choice between the Light and Dark, or is she doomed like all the Water Maidens who have come before her?

    Includes a clear and concise explanation of the runes and their placement and significance in the runic alphabet. Introduces the use of runes in counseling and healing of others.

    This spectacular collection of five hundred stories and one hundred songs represents the best of American tall tales, yarns, myths, ballads, and more, about such legends as Buffalo Bill and Jesse James.

    

    2, Pt. 1 : The Sacrifice (Historical Atlas of World Mythology Ser., Vol. II)

    Rafael López-Pedraza approaches the soul through myth, pathology, image and the very living of them all. The love and passion of a man fully in his element radiates throughout this unique work, now updated and expanded for this edition.

    Collected from people of all walks of life, they include parables and allegories about life, luck, and wisdom; tales of magic and wonder; stories about rebbes and their disciples; and tales whose only purpose is to entertain. Long after the culture that produced them has disappeared, these enchanting Yiddish folktales continue to work their magic today.Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

    The author found in the material a personal resonance, found that Pan spoke to him of certain mysteries, and indeed provoked him-in the midst of his scholarly apparatus-to poetry.

    This study assesses Cei from his native Welsh context to his role in the romances of Chr�tien de Troyes and later developments, in which the author looks at the portrayal of Cei in a selection of medievalContinental, Welsh and English works, before moving closer to the present day and the rich heritage of English ballad and Gaelic folktale; the ending offers something of a surprise. This account of the long and varied career of one of Arthur's closest associates shows how a sympathetic approach to Cei can shed new light on some particularly controversial aspects of Arthurian studies.

    Based entirely upon the adventures of Merlin, drawn directly from authentic twelfth-century sources, it is a modern restatement of a set of primal, powerful magical images which predate the earliest known set of tarot cards by over 300 years.

    - Animal Farm- Barbarossa- Big Foot- Cardiff Giant- Chaucer- Djinn- Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse- Fujiyama- Gnosticism- Knights Templar- La Llorona- Merseburg charms- Nostradamus- Oral theory- Skald- Urban legend- Vampire.

    The Middle Ages are recreated with symbols, costumes, and settings against gold backgrounds.

    Drawing on legends worldwide from prehistory to the modern age, the text explores the origin, development and various incarnations of different characters and places.

    It can be used with any deck of cards, for it looks at the symbols of the tarot from the Sangreal viewpoint to teach you a new way of meditation that will enhance your pursuit of the Western Mystery Tradition. Gray combines the symbolism of the Quabbalistic Tree of Life with the symbolism inherent in the traot so you can learn the secret language of the tarot while looking at it through the lens of the mystical path. The ten fundamental types of consciousness will be explored using the four worlds of the qabbalah that also appear in the four suits in the tarot, and Mr. Gray will explain how he workds with the meanings of the major and minor arcana. Also included is the Journey of the Fool, that mystical journey of the soul that each person who quests for the Holy Grail must take. Mr. Gray does recommend that you use the cards for fortunetelling, but rather that you use them to help your spiritual growth. By working with the cards, they will begin to talk to you, and as you better understand the symbolism, you will learn the true value of what you hold within yourself.

    It draws upon mythology, folklore, religious texts, and fairy tales from around the world as well as upon the secret traditions of ancient cultures and sects. 1,400 illustrations.

    Written by Catholic scholars from a wide range of backgrounds, the commentary proceeds passage-by-passage through the Old Testament (including the Apocrypha). It is based on the New American Bible (NAB) translation. This commentary is well suited for use in assisting those who lead Bible studies, pastors, or individuals who wish to better understand Scripture.

    Eliot had but a few things in common - one of them was inspiration by The Golden Bough of J.G. Frazer, the monumental study of the origins of Magic and Religion. Frazer's influence was immense and it changed the way ordinary people felt about their lives. This collection of eight compelling tales intensely dramatize themes drawn from The Golden Bough, from the ancient legend of the sacred oak of Nemi to Satanism in modern France. Like Poe's short stories, magic, murder and mystery are woven together into stories you won't forget. Written in America during the First World War, these creative re-tellings of folklore and legend are collected here for the first time, edited and annotated by Martin P. Starr, a scholar of Crowley's life and works. Illustrated with a previously unpublished portrait of Crowley by Arnold Genthe.