This is the book that brings you the uncut version of The Killing Season, taking you behind the cameras to reveal the untold stories and candid moments that didn’t go to air. For the first time a more complete version of the truth is revealed.Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard dominate the drama as they strain to claim the narrative of Labor’s years in power. The journey to screen for each of their interviews is telling in itself. Rudd gives his painful account of the period and recalls in vivid detail the events of losing the prime ministership. Gillard is frank and unsparing of her colleagues.More than a hundred people were interviewed for The Killing Season—ministers, backbenchers, staffers, party officials, pollsters and public servants—recording their graphic accounts of the public and private events that made the Rudd and Gillard governments and then brought them undone. It is a damning portrait of a party at war with itself—of the personal rivalries and bitter defeats that have come to define the Rudd-Gillard era.It is also a remarkable insight into the work of Sarah Ferguson, one of Australia’s top journalists.

     Take an enlightening journey through occult history, exploring 100 dramatic incidents, arcane knowledge, and key historical figures from around the world. John Michael Greer delves into two millennia of tradition, from the earliest alchemists to pagan rituals; from the Philosopher’s Stone to Cabala, the first tarot, and the Knights Templar; and from the first horoscopes to fortune-telling trials and the birth of modern witchcraft, or Wicca. Each entry features a stunning image or intriguing item of ephemera.

    A Swedish Enlightenment scientist of extraordinary accomplishment, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual crisis that led to an unparalleled series of paranormal experiences. He spent his last twenty-seven years in almost daily experience of heaven and hell, recording his observations and conversations, many of which are reported in Heaven and Hell. This sustained and detailed description of the nonphysical realms has left its impression on the minds of many great thinkers, including Goethe, Blake, Coleridge, Emerson, Borges, and Milosz.This deluxe edition contains an introduction by religious historian Bernhard Lang setting the volume in the context of its time.The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg is a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life. Introductions and annotations by eminent, international scholars place Swedenborg’s writings in their historical context and illuminate obscure references within the text, enabling readers to understand and trace Swedenborg’s influence as never before.

    It is the first in a two volume work; the companion volume, Praxis, being an exposition of ritual actions, is due to be published in 2016.The fall of Lucifer, and that of the rebel angels who descended upon the daughters of men, comprise the foundation myth of the Western occult tradition. Lucifer: Princeps is a study of origins, a portrait of the first ancestor of witchcraft and magic. In tracing the genealogy of our patron and prince, the principles that underlie the ritual forms that have come down to us, through the grimoires and folk practices, are elucidated. The study draws on the extensive literature of history, religion and archaeology, engaging with the vital discoveries and advances of recent scholarship, which render previous works on Lucifer, however well intentioned, out of date. A concomitant exegesis of the core texts conjures the terrain and koine of the Ancient Near East, the cradle cultures and language of his nascence. Of critical importance are the effaced cultures and cults that lie behind the Old Testament polemics, viz. those of Assyria, Ugarit and Canaan, as well as Sumeria, Egypt and Greece; they provide the context that give meaning to what would otherwise be an isolated brooding figure, one who makes no sense without being encountered in the landscape.Intended to be the definitive text on Lucifer for the witch, magician and student of the grimoires, Princeps spans wingtip to wingtip from the original flood myth and legends of divine teachers to the Church Fathers, notably Augustine, Origen and Tertullian. The tales of the Garden of Eden, the Nephilim, of the fall of Helel ben Šahar and the Prince of Tyre, the nature of Azazel, and the creation of the Satan are drawn beneath the shadow of these wings into a narrative that binds Genesis and Revelation via the Enochian tradition. The story of the Serpent in the Garden and that of Lucifer are revealed to be a singular myth whose true significance had been lost and can now be restored. It illuminates the path to apotheosis, and the role of the goddess as the transforming initiatrix who bestows the crown.

    Edgar Hoover to brilliant imaginer Walt Disney and bad boy of baseball Ty Cobb, Freemasons have influenced every aspect of American life. Yet this secret society remains as controversial and mysterious as ever. In this book, you'll learn the truth about: The power and meaning behind the symbols, rites, and rituals Alleged connections with Jack the Ripper, the KKK, and the Holy Grail Freemasons vs. the Nazis The centuries-long rivalry with the Catholic Church Freemasonry's growing influence here and abroad As the largest--and oldest--fraternal organization, the Freemasons will continue to shape the world we live in for the foreseeable future. With this tell-all guide, you'll unravel the mystery of this intriguing society--one secret at a time!

    It includes hands-on information for modern celebrations, spells and divination, recipes and crafts, invocations and prayers, and more!Samhain—also known as Halloween—is the final spoke in the wheel of the year. At this time, the harvest has finished and the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. This guide shows you how to practice the serious work of divination and honoring the dead along with the more light-hearted activities of Halloween.

    But magic - the idea that we have a connection with the universe - has developed a bad reputation.It has been with us for millennia - from the curses and charms of ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish magic, to the shamanistic traditions of Eurasia, indigenous America and Africa, and even quantum physics today. Even today seventy-five per cent of the Western world holds some belief in magic, whether snapping wishbones, buying lottery tickets or giving names to inanimate objects.Drawing on his decades of research, with incredible breadth and authority, Professor Chris Gosden provides a timely history of human thought and the role it has played in shaping civilization, and how we might use magic to rethink our understanding of the world.

    . .In Stop at Nothing Annabel Crabb recounts the Malcolm Turnbull story with characteristic wit and perceptiveness.Drawing on extensive interviews with Turnbull, Crabb delves into the young man's university exploits – which included co-authoring a musical with Bob Ellis – and his remarkable relationship with Kerry Packer, the man for whom he was at first a prized attack dog, and then a mortal enemy. She asks whether Turnbull – colourful, aggressive, humorous and ruthless – has changed sufficiently to entrench himself as prime minister. She tells how he first lost, and then won back, the Liberal leadership, and explores the challenges that now face him as the forward-looking leader of a conservative Coalition government.This is a memorable and highly amusing portrait by one of the country's most incisive writers.‘The most incisive portrait of Turnbull that's been written.’—David Marr

    With this book, Ellen Cannon Reed a High Priestess of the Isian tradition brings the symbolism of the Qabala into a new light so pagans can see its value and use it to enhance the Great Work.Reed explains the Tree of Life the primary symbol used to represent the universal energies as "revealed" by the Qabala and how its spheres and paths correspond to elements in the pagan tradition. Teachers can use the Qabala to understand the growth of students and their problems, using the Vices and Virtues to recognize stages of growth. Reed also provides exercises, meditations, and encouragement to students who are studying without a teacher. She discusses the Qabala as it appears in everyday life, which spheres of the Tree of Life to use for specific workings, and details two rituals using the Tree: a Dedication to the Journey, and the Rite of mending Love. Reed's command of the material allows teachers and students alike to gain powerful insight into their own search for spirituality. First published in 1983 as Witches Qabala Book 1: The Goddess and the Tree, this revised and updated edition is enhanced with Reed's thirteen additional years of experience.

    This ancient oracular practice has been rediscovered in the twentieth century as we try to simplify our complicated existence.A Practical Guide to the Runes provides in a concise manner:• Complete descriptions of the 25 runes in divination• Four rune layouts• Instructions for making runes and accessories• Meanings and uses of the runes in magick• Step-by-step guidelines in carving runes and creating talismans• Charging of talismans• Differences between bindrunes and runescriptsTake charge of your life to make the choices and changes you desire.

    It describes the tools and techniques for developing the magical mind and honoring the soul, while revealing how Vodou can release creative spirituality and open doors to self-awareness. Comprehensive and inviting, this book introduces readers to Vodou's rich history, powerful ancestors, and vibrant spirits, known as Lwa. With more than one hundred breathtaking illustrations, Vodou Visions reveals how to honor and invoke the Lwa with specific ceremonial offerings and litanies. Using methods drawn from more than twenty years of practice, Vodou priestess Sallie Ann Glassman shares purification and empowerment rituals for individuals, communities, homes, and spiritual spaces. For more advanced practitioners, Glassman describes ways to deepen communication with the Lwa and to give thanks for an ongoing spiritual relationship. The visions of the Lwa bring a living experience of the Spirit into daily life. Glassman welcomes readers to a community of faith and--above all--to a journey toward a creative spirituality that will enrich and affirm their lives.

    Ten years on she'd calmed right down and was just 'lapsed'. Then, on a family trip to Rome, her young daughter expressed a desire to be baptised. Monica found herself re-examining her own childhood and how Catholicism had shaped her. Was it really out of her system or was it in her blood fr life?In Lapsed, Monica sets out to find the answer. Her investigations lead her to test a miracle cure in Lourdes and to steal from a church. She visits the grave of a headless Saint who claimed to be married to Christ (and wore a wedding ring made of his foreskin to prove it), and speaks to cannon lawyers, abuse survivors and even a nun who insists that the Virgin Mary starts her car every morning. She ponders the big questions, such as would Jesus really make a great dinner party guest? And, far more seriously, given what she now knows about clerical abuse and its extent, is it enough to turn her back on the Church, or did she have a deeper, more enduring obligation?With the wry humour of David Sedaris and the razor-sharp observations of Nora Ephron, Lapsed is the story of one woman's attempt to exorcise her religious upbringing, and to answer the question, is Catholicism like a blood group and, if so, is it possible to get a total transfusion?'It made me laugh, cry and swear.' Jane Caro

    "Originally released in 1993 when Packer was still alive"--Provided by publisher.

    English authors such as J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, and J.K.Rowling, dominate the world of magic in fiction, but from the earliest times, England has also acted as home to generations of eccentrics and scholars who have researched and explored every conceivable kind of occult art. Most people are torn between a fascination with magic and an almost instinctive fear of the occult, of a world redolent with superstition and illusion. And yet more people now practice magic in England than at any time in her history. The Book of English Magic explores this hidden story, from its first stirrings to our present-day fascination with all things magical. Along the way readers are offered a rich menu of magical things to do and places to visit.