But what do those myths represent, and why are they so enduringly fascinating? Why do they seem to be such a potent way of talking about our selves, our origins, and our desires? This imaginative and stimulating Very Short Introduction goes beyond a simple retelling of the stories to explore the rich history and diverse interpretations of classical mythology. It is a wide-ranging account, examining how classical myths are used and understood in both high art and popular culture, taking the reader from the temples of Crete to skyscrapers in New York, and finding classical myths in a variety of unexpected places: from Arabic poetry and Hollywood films, to psychoanalysis, the Bible, and New Age spiritualism.#167

    Nor is it a collection of bizarre facts, though the Angel of the Bizarre might well find himself at home in it. It is not a scientific contribution, a vehicle for an exotic teaching, a testament, a document, a fable. It is simply an account - at times figurative, at times factual - of a first excursion into some as yet scarcely explored realms of consciousness. The Morning of the Magicians is a classic of radical literature, a book that has challenged assumptions and conventional knowledge for decades. It has shaken the foundations of beliefs all over the world and may be the most influential book published in the twentieth century. Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier spent years searching "through all the regions of consciousness, to the frontiers of science and tradition" and opened their minds to any fact or theory that went beyond the frontier of current theories. The result is this remarkable work, and the stream of possibilities that it contains: Do mutants exist, are they a future form of man? Does extrasensory perception reveal that human consciousness has advanced beyond its currently accepted limits? What connects the ancient art of alchemy and modern atomic physics?

    With this book Immanuel Velikovsky first presented the revolutionary results of his 10-year-long interdisciplinary research to the public, founded modern catastrophism - based on eyewitness reports by our ancestors - shook the doctrine of uniformity of geology as well as Darwin's theory of evolution, put our view of the history of our solar system, of the Earth and of humanity on a completely new basis - and caused an uproar that is still going on today.

    People all over the world embrace the ideas discussed in this work: the animistic worldview, spiritual communion with the dead and the Unseen World, sorcery and magic. Author and Mystic Robin Artisson explores these mystical themes from the perspective of The Old Faiths and pre-Christian metaphysical impulses of Europe and the British Isles. Bringing a new perspective to these ancient practices and making them more accessible, this book is a key to the door that leads into the mythical dimension of each person, and every feature of the sacred landscape. It helps to unlock the hidden wisdom in folklore, shed light on the enigma of the human being, and manifest an experience of the wisdom of the Old Ways- insofar as a book can. This book is about getting out of books and back into the spiritual dimension of the Land itself, and requires considerable dedication and work.

    He demonstrates how hero stories continue to shape our world – arguing that we need them now more than ever.From the Stone Age to the Greek Tragedies, from Shakespeare to Robin Hood, we have always had our heroes. The hero is at the centre of formative myths in every culture and persists to this day in world-conquering books, films and TV shows. But why do these characters continue to inspire us, and why are they so central to storytelling?Scalpel-sharp on the roots of storytelling and enlightening on the history and science of myth, The Hero is essential reading for anyone trying to write or understand fiction. Child teaches us how these stories still shape our minds and behaviour in an increasingly confusing modern world, and with his trademark concision and wit, demonstrates that however civilised we get, we’ll always need heroes.

    However, as we begin to understand how ancient people viewed the world, the Old Testament becomes more clearly a book that stands within its ancient context as it also speaks against it. John Walton provides here a thoughtful introduction to the conceptual world of the ancient Near East.Walton surveys the literature of the ancient Near East and introduces the reader to a variety of beliefs about God, religion, and the world. In helpful sidebars, he provides examples of how such studies can bring insight to the interpretation of specific Old Testament passages. Students and pastors who want to deepen their understanding of the Old Testament will find this a helpful and instructive study.

    The Perennial Philosophy includes selections from Meister Eckhart, Rumi, and Lao Tzu, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Diamond Sutra, and Upanishads, among many others.

    He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination.

    The Nature of the SelfIndexEdward Carpenter (1844-1929) had a Cambridge education, and then joined the church as a curate. He left the church in 1874 and came a lecturer in astronomy. He was born into a wealthy family, but he eschewed the trappings of wealth because he believed that the first step toward Utopia, or the "New Life," was the elimination of the class hierarchy.

    Topics range from ruminations on why Charles Dickens was among the best of writers and the worst of men to the haunting science fiction of J.G. Ballard; from the enduring legacies of Thomas Jefferson and George Orwell to the persistent agonies of anti-Semitism and jihad. Hitchens even looks at the recent financial crisis and argues for the enduring relevance of Karl Marx. The book forms a bridge between the two parallel enterprises of culture and politics. It reveals how politics justifies itself by culture, and how the latter prompts the former. In this fashion, Arguably burnishes Christopher Hitchens' credentials as (to quote Christopher Buckley) our "greatest living essayist in the English language."

    The author demonstrates that valid historical methods—not only in the study of Christian origins but in any historical study—can be described by, and reduced to, the logic of Bayes’s Theorem. Conversely, he argues that any method that cannot be reduced to this theorem is invalid and should be abandoned. Writing with thoroughness and clarity, the author explains Bayes’s Theorem in terms that are easily understandable to professional historians and laypeople alike, employing nothing more than well-known primary school math. He then explores precisely how the theorem can be applied to history and addresses numerous challenges to and criticisms of its use in testing or justifying the conclusions that historians make about the important persons and events of the past. The traditional and established methods of historians are analyzed using the theorem, as well as all the major "historicity criteria" employed in the latest quest to establish the historicity of Jesus. The author demonstrates not only the deficiencies of these approaches but also ways to rehabilitate them using Bayes’s Theorem. Anyone with an interest in historical methods, how historical knowledge can be justified, new applications of Bayes’s Theorem, or the study of the historical Jesus will find this book to be essential reading.

    Now available in a smaller, more convenient format, the astonishingly in-depth and widely praised Oxford History of the Classical World offers the general reader the definitive companion to the Graeco-Roman world.The first volume, Classical Greece and the Hellenistic World, covers the period from the eighth to the first centuries B.C., a period unparalleled in history for its brilliance in literature, philosophy, and the visual arts. It also treats the Hellenization of the Middle East by the monarchies established in the area conquested by Alexander the Great. The second volume, Classical Rome, covers early Rome and Italy, the expansion of the Roman republic, the foundation of the Roman Empire by Augustus, its consolidation in the first two centuries A.D., and the later Empire and its influence on Western civilization. The editors, John Boardman, Jasper Griffen, and Oswyn Murray—all eminent classicists—intersperse chapters on political and social history with sections on literature, philosophy, and the arts, and reinforce the historical framework with maps and historical charts. The two volumes also offer bibliographies and a full index, as well as black and white photographs integrated into the text. The contributors—thirty of the world's leading scholars—present the latest in modern scholarship through masterpieces of wit, brevity, and style. While concentrating on the aspects essential to the understanding of each period, they also focus on those elements of the classical world that remain of lasting importance and interest to readers today. Together, these volumes provide both a provocative and entertaining window into our classical heritage.

    These stories have been around since the dawn of human civilization. They were tales that were passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition that spanned hundreds of years. They have since been written down, translated and have traveled the world, encompassing many languages and cultures over the millennia.These 60 stories can be read and enjoyed by all ages, all religions and all cultures.

    Appearing as goddess and demon, gate and pillar, garden and tree, hovering sky and containing vessel, the Feminine is seen as an essential factor in the dialectical relation of individual consciousness, symbolized by the child, to the ungraspable matrix, symbolized by the Great Mother.

     Learn about: The grimoire tradition and its relationship to Chaos Magic. The latest consciousness science and the return of Animism. The role of the Devil and the Saints in European magic and witchcraft. Begin practising: A Chaos Magic form of Remote Viewing. An Ancient Roman system of hexing. A method of summoning Dragon Spirits. A Sumerian method of banishing Ghosts. A complete system of spirit evocation. From the author of the acclaimed Star.Ships: A Prehistory of the Spirits and The Chaos Protocols: Magical Techniques for Navigating the New Economic Reality comes a definitive and much-needed exploration of the core principles of Chaos Magic. "Whoever said books on magick can't be fabulously entertaining as well as eminently practical has obviously not read up on their Gordon White. Remedy that situation." -Christopher Knowles. The Secret Sun.