This is a book I would be delighted to recommend to my students, to members of my Druid order, and to anyone interested in Celtic spirituality as a living path for today.” —John Michael Greer, former Grand Archdruid, Ancient Order of Druids in America and author of The Druidry Handbook The Druids were the mystics, philosophers, and magicians of the ancient Celtic world. Their spirituality was borne from their near-worship of poetry and music, their warrior prowess, and the world of nature. The Mysteries of Druidry reveals this mystical romanticism as it was in ancient times, and shows various ways to bring it to life today. It includes:A professionally researched survey of Druidic history, tradition, and customs.Detailed descriptions of the mysteries of Celtic spirituality, including the Sacred Truth, the Great Marriage, the Hero’s Journey, and the Otherworld.Practical guidance for meditation and ceremony, for individuals and for groups.The Celtic story of the creation of the world, presented together with a plan for re-enacting the story in ritual.

    She is a Goddess of sex and battle, the Irish Bestower of Sovereignty, and it is she who shapes the land and rules the fairy as Queen. Her raw power manifests through the Irish myths and legends, a prophetess and shapeshifter who uses her potent magic to shapeshift, assuming the forms of numerous wild animals and delivering victory to her chosen heroes.Her manifold roles, titles and guises weave a rich and colourful tapestry showing the continued dominion of the Morrigan in mythology, folklore and literature. She was the tutelary goddess to the ill-fated hero Cu Chulainn, she was the Fairy Queen and the Washer at the Ford. She was also the wise crone the Cailleach, and the battle crow Badb, the frenzied Nemain and Warrior Queen Macha.Her roles and guises which are brought together for the first time in this carefully researched volume, the work of many years of study, demonstrate clearly the significant status that she held in the ancient Celtic world and continues to enjoy today.

    From magic's origin in the Shamanic tradition can religion, which, for the world's first civilizations, had no disctinction from magic. The book includes an international sweep of ancient cultural traditions and details the medieval phenomena of witch-hunts that still have resonance in modern society. In addition, the book examines the modern wicca movement, tracing the development fromt he 1900s and its links with the Celtic tradition.Illu strated with archival material, fine art illustrtaions of legendary magic workers, and special photography, this volume is a comprehensive examination of a timeless subject.

    Watson discusses the principles that underlie magical practice in a veryeasytounderstand manner. She includes information on affirmations, visualization, spiritual practices, folk magic, and ritual. Safety measures and ethical considerations are stressed throughout.

    I. Gurdjieff is a man who would continually straddle borders-between East and West, between man and something higher than man, between the ancient teachings of esoteric schools and the modern application of those ideas in contemporary life.In many respects-from the concept of group meetings to the mysterious workings of the enneagram to his critique of humanity as existing in a state of sleep-Gurdjieff pioneered the culture of spiritual search that has taken root in the West today. While many of Gurdjieff's students-including Frank Lloyd Wright, Katharine Mansfield, and P. D. Ouspensky-are well known, few understand this figure possessed of complex writings and sometimes confounding methods. In Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas, the acclaimed novelist John Shirley-one of the founders of the cyberpunk genre-presents a lively, reliable explanation of how to approach the sage and his ideas. In accessible, dramatic prose Shirley retells that which we know of Gurdjieff's life; he surveys the teacher's methods and the lives of his key students; and he helps readers to enter the unparalleled originality of this remarkable teacher.

    Psychoanalyst Jean Bolen's career soared in the early 1980s when Goddesses in Everywoman was published. Thousands of women readers became fascinated with identifying their own inner goddesses and using these archetypes to guide themselves to greater self–esteem, creativity, and happiness.Bolen's radical idea was that just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they were also unconscious of powerful archetypal forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel, and which account for major differences among them. Bolen believes that an understanding of these inner patterns and their interrelationships offers reassuring, true–to–life alternatives that take women far beyond such restrictive dichotomies as masculine/feminine, mother/lover, careerist/housewife. And she demonstrates in this book how understanding them can provide the key to self–knowledge and wholeness.Dr. Bolen introduced these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, with whom all women could identify, from the autonomous Artemis and the cool Athena to the nurturing Demeter and the creative Aphrodite, and explains how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become a better "heroine" in one's own life story.

    The author assumes no previous knowledge, only a willingness to explore what magick offers, yet its apparent to anyone with a background in the subject that Alan Chapman is drawing on a wide range of experience, from classical Crowleyean Magick, to eastern metaphysics, and back again to Discordianism and Chaos Magick. Chapmans writing-style is humorous, direct, seductively logical, and his enthusiasm for the benefits of magick is both tangible and infectious. The novice magician will indeed find themselves equipped to commence all sorts of magickal operations: trance work, enchantment, divination, and even some of the higher forms of spiritual development. To experienced magicians, Chapman offers a subtler challenge: he revitalises magick by cutting it free from the extreme relativism Chaos Magick bequeathed, provocatively redefining it as: the art, science and culture of experiencing truth.

    Here is the revised and updated version of Earth Magic, the author's personal book of magical practice, made available for today's Witches. Based on an indepth study of the many facets of Witchcraft, Earth Magic presents the religion as positive and life-affirming.The book is filled with how-to's of a practical nature, as is traditional in Witchcraft. It is intended to be a springboard, to unlock the reader's psychic Wiccan abilities and guide them into the creation of their own unique and personal work. Every technique is explained in detail, in keeping with Weinstein's proviso that one should never attempt to work any magic unless one understands it fully. The goal is to encourage true Witchcraft expertise and creativity.The information from the original edition is still available, as well as a treasure trove of new material, some of which has never been seen before. In this thoroughly revised edition, you will learn: -- How to set up psychic protection.-- How to work string and cord magic.-- Working with the phases of the Moon.-- Forming and working with your own coven.-- Visualization in a Witch's mode.-- Choices of Deity alignments from a wide realm of cultures.-- Not one, but two methods of Manifestation: Creation Manifestation and Affinity Manifestation.-- Creating rituals, creating Words of Power, composing one's own spells, use of talismans, candles, pendulums, Witch's Bottles, scrying, oracles, and much more.

    story of the predecessors of Christians

    As much as 7,000 years older than the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge, its strange buildings and rings of T-shaped monoliths--built with stones weighing from 10 to 15 tons--show a level of sophistication and artistic achievement unmatched until the rise of the great civilizations of the ancient world, Sumer, Egypt, and Babylon. Chronicling his travels to Göbekli Tepe and surrounding sites, Andrew Collins details the layout, architecture, and exquisite relief carvings of ice age animals and human forms found at this 12,000-year-old megalithic complex, now recognized as the oldest stone architecture in the world. He explores how it was built as a reaction to a global cataclysm--the Great Flood in the Bible--and explains how it served as a gateway and map to the sky-world, the place of first creation, reached via a bright star in the constellation of Cygnus. He reveals those behind its construction as the Watchers of the Book of Enoch and the Anunnaki gods of Sumerian tradition. Unveiling Göbekli Tepe’s foundational role in the rise of civilization, Collins shows how it is connected to humanity’s creation in the Garden of Eden and the secrets Adam passed to his son Seth, the founder of an angelic race called the Sethites. In his search for Adam’s legendary Cave of Treasures, the author discovers the Garden of Eden and the remains of the Tree of Life--in the same sacred region where Göbekli Tepe is being uncovered today.

    The Way of Four helps you determine which of the four elements are prominent and which are lacking in your world using a variety of custom-made quizzes. It includes a multitude of methods to incorporate and balance the elements in your environment, wardrobe, and even your perfume. This is a fun and valuable sourcebook for anyone seeking balance and beauty in a hectic world.

    As humans we share the earth with many magnificent creatures, and through Pagan magic we can connect with the animal kingdom and with our individual animal spirits, or totems. In TOTEM MAGIC, author Yasmine Galenorn-whose soul is part panther, boa, and peacock-shows you how to uncover the animal spirits who guide and guard you in your life'-'s journey. Drawing on Pagan shamanism, she offers guidelines, spellwork, and rituals for connecting with your totems for strength, protection, and empowerment. Through the ancient mystical practice of totem magic, you can discover your animal within while exploring new, exciting paths in your spiritual development.

    It is so interlaced with Japanese cultural values and practices that scholarly studies usually focus on only one of its dimensions: Shinto as a nature religion, an imperial state religion, a primal religion, or a folk amalgam of practices and beliefs. Thomas Kasulis' fresh approach to Shinto explains with clarity and economy how these different aspects interrelate.As a philosopher of religion, he first analyzes the experiential aspect of Shinto spirituality underlying its various ideas and practices. Second, as a historian of Japanese thought, he sketches several major developments in Shinto doctrines and institutions from prehistory to the present, showing how its interactions with Buddhism, Confucianism, and nationalism influenced its expression in different times and contexts. In Shinto's idiosyncratic history, Kasulis finds the explicit interplay between two forms of spirituality: the existential and the essentialist. Although the dynamic between the two is particularly striking and accessible in the study of Shinto, he concludes that a similar dynamic may be found in the history of other religions as well.Two decades ago, Kasulis' Zen Action/Zen Person brought an innovative understanding to the ideas and practices of Zen Buddhism, an understanding influential in the ensuing decades of philosophical Zen studies. Shinto: The Way Home promises to do the same for future Shinto studies.

    Tells how to create and maintain a personal book of spells, divination methods, and notes on magic.

    Prepare to embark on a spiritual journey unlike anything you've ever known! Faery Craft is a comprehensive guide to the modern Faery lifestyle and an essential handbook to human-faerie relations. Brimming with practical and spiritual advice, you'll discover how to use Faery magick, create altars, and find a Faery ally. Learn about proper etiquette, find your unique gifts, use the Faery zodiac, explore Faery festivals around the globe, and much more.Enjoy nearly 200 beautiful photographs alongside original art, poetry, and meditations, as well as interviews with renowned Faery authors, artists, and musicians. R. J. Stewart, John and Caitl�n Matthews, Brian and Wendy Froud, Linda Ravenscroft, S. J. Tucker, and Charles de Lint are all featured in this glittering introduction to the fae and the people who love them.Praise: This book shows us that to connect with Faery is to connect not only with nature, spirit, and the world around us, but perhaps most of all to ourselves.--Wendy and Brian Froud, authors of The Heart of FaerieFaery Craft opens doors into other worlds and allows its readers to pass though them and experience the wonders beyond...This is a tremendous book.--John Matthews, author of The Sidhe and How To See FaeriesCarding invites you to find the real power in the woods and forgotten ways.--Caitl�n Matthews, author of Celtic Visions and Singing the Soul Back Home