Radical movements are feeding on anxiety about immigration, globalization and the refugee crisis, giving rise to new waves of nationalism and surges of white supremacism. A curious mixture of Aristocratic paganism, anti-Semitic demonology, Eastern philosophies and the occult is influencing populist antigovernment sentiment and helping to exploit the widespread fear that invisible elites are shaping world events.Black Sun examines this neofascist ideology, showing how hate groups, militias and conspiracy cults gain influence. Based on interviews and extensive research into underground groups, the book documents new Nazi and fascist sects that have sprung up since the 1970s and examines the mentality and motivation of these far-right extremists. The result is a detailed, grounded portrait of the mythical and devotional aspects of Hitler cults among Aryan mystics, racist skinheads and Nazi satanists, and disciples of heavy metal music and occult literature.Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke offers a unique perspective on far right neo-Nazism viewing it as a new form of Western religious heresy. He paints a frightening picture of a religion with its own relics, rituals, prophecies and an international sectarian following that could, under the proper conditions, gain political power and attempt to realize its dangerous millenarian fantasies.

    Games Systems has proudly reissued the Hermetic Tarot deck in recognition of its historical and artistic importance. The details and symbols in each card reveal many of the esoteric workings of the Secret Order of the Golden Dawn, which flourished around the turn of the century.Godfrey Dowson’s subtle black and white designs emphasize the Golden Dawn’s astrological attributes with further sephirotic, angelic, geomantic, numerical, and kabbalistic elements. All 78 cards feature an exquisite level of detail that highlights the powerful symbolism.The 70-page instruction booklet includes an introduction by Stuart R. Kaplan and card meaning written by Godfrey Dowson and Stuart R. Kaplan. The booklet also gives instructions for the classic ten-card Celtic Cross layout and presents a chart of the elemental and astrological symbols, and a diagram of the ten spheres and 22 Hebrew Letters of the of the 22 Paths of the Tree of Life.

    These men and women regarded themselves as professional anti-witches, who (in dream-like states) apparently fought ritual battles against witches and wizards, to protect their villages and harvests. If they won, the harvest would be good, if they lost, there would be famine. The inquisitors tried to fit them into their pre-existing images of the witchesâ�� sabbat. The result of this cultural clash which lasted over a century, was the slow metamorphosis of the benandanti into their enemies â�� the witches. Carlo Ginzburg shows clearly how this transformation of the popular notion of witchcraft was manipulated by the Inquisitors, and disseminated all over Europe and even to the New World. The peasantsâ�� fragmented and confused testimony reaches us with great immediacy, enabling us to identify a level of popular belief which constitutes a valuable witness for the reconstruction of the peasant way of thinking of this age.

    One of the most progressive and imaginative people in British education today he has hitherto kept a low profile. This book accompanies a three part television series to be screened on BBC 2 but differs from it significantly.There is a crisis in the British education system. Year on year GCSE and A Level pupils post better exam results, with more students achieving top grades. Yet business leaders and employers complain bitterly that our schools are not producing people fit for purpose. What we have become is a nation 'Over schooled and under educated'. Far from being locked in an ivory tower, a bastion of privilege, Mr Little has used his time as a teacher and headmaster to get to grips with fundamental questions concerning education. He wants to produce people fit to work in the modern world. How do children absorb information? What kind of people does society need? What is education for? Not only is the author one of the great reforming headmasters of our time but he has planted Academies in the East end of London, founded a state boarding school near Windsor and yet is a passionate advocate of single sex schools.This book is not a text book for colleges of education- it is a book to enlighten the teaching profession and just as much for anxious parents. The book is simply arranged under topics such as authority, expectations, progress, self-confidence, sex, crises and creativity.Tony Little thinks it is time to ask some fundamental questions, and to make brave decisions about how we make our schools and our schoolchildren fit for purpose.

    He than disappeared. The book decodes the symbology found upon and within the Gothic Cathedrals of Europe which have openly displayed the secrets of alchemy for 700 years.

    They may wonder how, when and where did writing evolve? Do alphabets function better than hieroglyphs? And are we today, in the computer age, moving towards a universal language of signs and symbols?

    This accessible guide provides readers with the basic knowledge and tools that will allow them to find their way in this bewildering but fascinating field. What is it that unites phenomena as diverse as ancient gnosticism and hermetism, the -occult sciences- of astrology, alchemy, and magic, rosicrucianism, as well as Christian theosophy, occultism, spiritualism, and the contemporary New Age spiritualities? What can the study of them teach us about our common cultural and intellectual heritage, and what is it that makes them relevant to contemporary concerns? How do we distinguish reliable historical knowledge from legends and fictions about esoteric traditions? These and many other questions are answered clearly and succinctly, so that the reader can find his way into the labyrinth of Western esotericism and out of it again.

    S. Eliot as one of the chief sources for his great poem "The Waste Land," Jessie L. Weston's From Ritual to Romance remains a landmark of anthropological and mythological scholarship. In this book she explores the origins of the Grail legend, arguing that it dates back to a primitive vegetation cult and only later was shaped by Celtic and Christian lore.To prove her thesis, Weston unites folkloric and Christian elements by using printed texts to prove the parallels existing between each and every feature of the legend of the Holy Grail and the recorded symbolism of the ancient mystery cults. Specifically, she finds the origin of the Grail legend in a Gnostic text that served as a link between such cults and later Celtic and Christian elaborations of the myth.With erudition and critical acumen, the author provides illuminating insights into diverse aspects of the legend: the task of the hero; the freeing of the waters; medieval and modern forms of nature ritual; the symbols of the cult (cup, lance, sword, stone, etc.); the symbolism of the fisher king; the significance of such deities as Tammuz, Adonis, Mithra, and Attis; the meaning of the adventure of the Perilous Chapel in Grail romances; and much more.Awarded the Crawshay Prize in 1920, this scholarly yet highly readable study will interest any student of the Arthurian legends, mythology, ancient religion, and Eliot's poetry.

    . . . Food transmutes directly into body, mind, and spirit . . . creates our day-to-day health and happiness.”—from The Macrobiotic Path to Total HealthEven in medical schools, alternative medicine is blossoming. Two thirds of them now offer courses in complementary healing practices, including nutrition. At the heart of this revolution is macrobiotics, a simple, elegant, and delicious way of eating whose health benefits are being confirmed at an impressive rate by researchers around the world.Macrobiotics is based on the laws of yin and yang—the complementary energies that flow throughout the universe and quicken every cell of our bodies and every morsel of the food we eat. Michio Kushi and Alex Jack, distinguished educators of the macrobiotic way, believe that almost every human ailment from the common cold to cancer can be helped, and often cured, by balancing the flow of energy (the ki) inside us. The most effective way to do this is to eat the right foods, according to our individual day-to-day needs. Now in this marvelous guide, they give us the basics of macrobiotic eating and living, and explain how to use this powerful source of healing to become healthier and happier, to prevent or relieve more than two hundred ailments, conditions, or disorders—both physical and psychological. This encyclopedic compendium of macrobiotic fundamentals, remedies, menus, and recipes takes into account the newest thinking and evolving practices within the macrobiotic community. The authors integrate all the information into a remarkable A to Z guide to macrobiotic healing—from AIDS, allergies, and arthritis, to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. They also clearly explain what we need to know to start eating a true macrobiotic diet that will provide us with a complete balance of energy and nutrients. Living as we all do in environmental and climactic circumstances that are largely outside our personal control, it is vital that we follow a healthy lifestyle, including a flexible diet that we can adjust to meet our own individual needs. The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health gives us precisely the tools and the understanding we need to achieve this goal. Use it to build a strong, active body and a cheerful, resourceful mind.

    Jason Ā. Josephson-Storm argues that as broad cultural history goes, this narrative is wrong, as attempts to suppress magic have failed more often than they have succeeded. Even the human sciences have been more enchanted than is commonly supposed. But that raises the question: How did a magical, spiritualist, mesmerized Europe ever convince itself that it was disenchanted? Josephson-Storm traces the history of the myth of disenchantment in the births of philosophy, anthropology, sociology, folklore, psychoanalysis, and religious studies. Ironically, the myth of mythless modernity formed at the very time that Britain, France, and Germany were in the midst of occult and spiritualist revivals. Indeed, Josephson-Storm argues, these disciplines’ founding figures were not only aware of, but profoundly enmeshed in, the occult milieu; and it was specifically in response to this burgeoning culture of spirits and magic that they produced notions of a disenchanted world.   By providing a novel history of the human sciences and their connection to esotericism, The Myth of Disenchantment dispatches with most widely held accounts of modernity and its break from the premodern past.

    She was valedictorian of her Yale undergrad class, is ranked top of her Yale Medical School class, and unlike her promiscuous roommate, she would rather spend her free nights reading Jane Austen than out partying. Undeniably, the lifelong promise that she made to her dying mother to become a doctor, is firmly in her grasp and she is focused not to let anything or anyone deter her from fulfilling it. That is, until the last day of her second year of medical school, when her friends surprise her with a summer vacation to England. While in England, she breaks one of her many sacred rules and falls for, Jude, a professional footballer with an appetite for wild parties and beautiful women. Over the course of their improbable summer romance, Jude introduces Emily to a new world of excitement and spontaneity, leaving her to question the secluded life she had always known, while Emily shows Jude the depths of the human heart and all the joy it can bring. However, once the summer ends, their love is tested by distance, social class, and the sacrifices needed to make enduring love blossom. And when fate intervenes by sending their lives spiraling on separate paths, will a memorable summer romance years ago be enough to bring them back together? I Choose You is a charming love story that has been compared to the unforgettable romances of A Walk to Remember, and Dear John (Nicholas Sparks). Bush explores the many intricacies of young love and the choices we must make to live life to the fullest.

    In her introduction, Eva Gillies presents the case for the relevance of the book to modern anthropologists.

    The creating, supporting, nurturing aspect held by the goddess Ceres, the universal mother, brings us to how we feel nurtured and how we function with our roles of mother-child. She embodies the principle of unconditional love. Pallas Athena is our Warrior Goddess, a woman in a man's world, carrying the principle of creative intelligence. Vesta, our goddess of Focus and Commitment, is our High Priestess. Juno, the Queen of Heaven and Divine Consort, is our capacity for meaningful relationships. Understanding the themes that each goddess holds enriches our understanding of that function and expression in our lives.

    A collection of herbal formulas and magical prayers, The Long-Lost Friend draws from the traditional folk magic of Pennsylvania Dutch customs and pow-wow healers.This is authentic American folk magic at its best--household remedies combined with charms and incantations to cure common ailments and settle rural troubles. The most well-known grimoire of the New World, this work has influenced the practices of hoodoo, Santeria, Paganism, and other faiths. In this, the definitive edition, you'll find:Both the original German text and the 1856 English translation More than one hundred additional charms and recipes, taken from the pirated 1837 Skippacksville edition and others Extensive notes on the recipes, magic, Pennsylvania Dutch customs, and the origin of many of the charms Indices for general purposes and ingredients Explanations of the specialized terminology of illnesses Whether your interest lies in folklore, ethnobotany, magic, witchcraft, or American history, this classic volume is an essential addition to your library.

    In "Gothicka, " Victoria Nelson identifies the revolutionary turn it has taken in the twenty-first. Today's Gothic has fashioned its monsters into heroes and its devils into angels. It is actively reviving supernaturalism in popular culture, not as an evil dimension divorced from ordinary human existence but as part of our daily lives.To explain this millennial shift away from the traditionally dark Protestant post-Enlightenment Gothic, Nelson studies the complex arena of contemporary Gothic subgenres that take the form of novels, films, and graphic novels. She considers the work of Dan Brown and Stephenie Meyer, graphic novelists Mike Mignola and Garth Ennis, Christian writer William P. Young (author of "The Shack"), and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. She considers twentieth-century Gothic masters H. P. Lovecraft, Anne Rice, and Stephen King in light of both their immediate ancestors in the eighteenth century and the original Gothic-the late medieval period from which Horace Walpole and his successors drew their inspiration.Fictions such as the "Twilight" and "Left Behind" series do more than follow the conventions of the classic Gothic novel. They are radically reviving and reinventing the transcendental worldview that informed the West's premodern era. As Jesus becomes mortal in "The Da Vinci Code" and the child Ofelia becomes a goddess in "Pan's Labyrinth, " Nelson argues that this unprecedented mainstreaming of a spiritually driven supernaturalism is a harbinger of what a post-Christian religion in America might look like.