Encoded within his work are the ancestral beliefs of the Celtic and pre-Celtic peoples. In addition, his verse is established as a direct precursor to the Arthurian Legends--and Taliesin himself, shaman and shapeshifter, is said to be the direct forebear to Merlin. Though the bard's work is steeped in the rich traditions of druidic practice, few have explored the revelations of his writings--the secret poetic language of the bards, revelatory information about divination, the ancient mysteries of the Druids, and the cosmological rites that were central to Celtic worship. John Matthews, one of today's preeminent Celtic scholars, sheds new light on the poems of Taliesin and on the vast body of allusion, story, and myth that grew from his body of work and shamanic practice. With the help of fellow Celtic scholar Caitlin Matthews, the author presents completely new translations of Taliesin's major poems in their entirety, uncovering the meanings behind these great works for the first time.

    In addition to its in-depth theoretical analysis, Walkers Between the Worlds contains practical exercises drawn from traditional teaching methods used by both native and hermetic traditions to help the reader explore these mysteries.

    With all four books of the Latin Picatrix complete in one volume, translated & annotated by the noted scholars, magicians and astrologers John Michael Greer & Christopher Warnock, Picatrix takes its rightful place as an essential occult text. Picatrix is an encyclopedic work with over 300 pages of Hermetic magical philosophy, ritual, talismanic and natural magic. Greer & Warnock’s complete translation is lucid and well annotated. Renaissance Astrology & Adocentyn Press have released the complete Picatrix in a variety of different editions, including the Liber Atratus and Liber Rubeus editions. All editions contain the same basic text, but add additional variant passages, either from the Arabic Picatrix or authors cited, but not found in the Latin Picatrix. The Liber Atratus edition adds a passage on poisons from Ibn Washiyya’s Book of Poisons.

    Now, in Egyptian Mythology, Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction thatuntangles the mystery of Egyptian Myth.Spanning Ancient Egyptian culture--from 3200 BC to AD 400--Pinch opens a door to this hidden world and casts light on its often misunderstood belief system. She discusses the nature of myths and the history of Egypt, from the predynastic to the postpharaonic period. She explains how Egyptian culturedeveloped around the flooding of the Nile, or the inundation, a phenomenon on which the whole welfare of the country depended, and how aspects of the inundation were personified as deities. She explains that the usually cloudless skies made for a preoccupation with the stars and planets. Indeed, much early Egyptian mythology may have developed to explain the movement of these celestial bodies. She provides a timeline covering the seven stages in the mythical history of Egypt and outlining the major events of each stage, such as the reign of the sun God. A substantial A to Z section coversthe principal themes and concepts of Egyptian mythology as well as the most important deities, demons, and other characters. For anyone who wants to know about Anubis, the terrifying canine god who presided over the mummification of bodies and guarded burials, or Hathor, the golden goddess whohelped women to give birth and the dead to be reborn, or an explanation of the nun, the primeval ocean from which all life came, Egyptian Mythology is the place to look.

    He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.

    From its first known appearances in New Orleans of 200 years ago, here are the fetishes and formulae, the rites and dances, the cures, charms and gris-gris. Here were the witch-doctors and queens, and in particular Doctor John, who acquired fame and fortune, and Marie Laveau, who with her daughter dominated the weird underworld of voodoo for nearly a century." Kirkus Reviews "Robert Tallant speaks with authority . . . ." New York Times "Much nonsense has been written about voodoo in New Orleans. . .here is a truthful and definitive picture." Lyle Saxton Both of Robert Tallant's highly praised books about the practice of voodoo in New Orleans have been re-issued in paperback. Originally published in 1946, Voodoo in New Orleans examines the origins of the cult voodooism. The lives of New Orleans's most infamous witch doctors and voodoo queens have been re-created in this well-researched account of New Orleans's dark underworld.

    Gurdjieff's self-observation exercises, Alfred Korzybskis general semantics, Aleister Crowley's magical theorems, and the several disciplines of Yoga; not to mention Christian Science, relativity, quantum mechanics, and many other approaches to understanding the world around us! That is exactly what Robert Anton Wilson does in Prometheus Rising. In short, this is a book about how the human mind works and what you can do to make the most of yours.

    This innovative primer highlights sexual liberation as it traces the lineage of “witch feminism.” Juxtaposing scholarly research on the demonization of women and female sexuality that has continued since the witch hunts of the early modern era with pop occulture analyses and interviews with activists, artists, scholars, and practitioners of witchcraft, this book enriches our contemporary conversations about reproductive rights, sexual pleasure, queer identity, pornography, sex work, and more.Kristen J. Sollee is instructor at The New School and founding editrix of Slutist, an award-winning sex positive feminist website."

    Starting from first principles, Huson instructs the novice step by step in the arts of circle casting, blessing and banning, the uses of amulets and talismans, philters, divination, necromancy, waxen images, knots, fascination, conjuration, magical familiars, spells to arouse passion or lust, attain vengeance, and of course, counter-spells to exorcize and annul the malice of others. "A genuine "vade mecum.""-"The Catholic Herald."

    Two introductory chapters detail the authors’ theories about how to work with crystals and stones—including the concept of crystal resonance and the scientific observation that living organisms (such as ourselves) are liquid crystalline structures. An illuminating alphabetical journey through the mineral kingdom, stone by stone, follows.Each entry begins with the stone name and photo, plus its elemental and chakra correspondences, as well as keywords that indicate its properties. Next comes a description of the crystal structure, hardness, history, and known locations of each mineral, plus any relevant legend or lore from the past. Each author then offers an essay on the subtle energy properties and spiritual applications of the stone. The entries conclude with summaries of the spiritual, emotional, and physical healing qualities of the stone, and an affirmation for evoking its potential benefits. The book’s presentation is straightforward enough to make it an excellent introduction for beginners, yet the level of detail and the depth of research make it an invaluable resource for the most experienced stone practitioners.

    It contains a dictionary of abbreviated meaning and messages of more than 250 animals. This portable guide will enable readers to begin uncovering the meaning of their animal encounters wherever they go. Initial guidance is readily at hand until deeper study can be done.

    The doctrine codified in The Book of the Law and the numerous other Holy Books known as Thelema revealed Aleister Crowley as the Prophet of the new Aeon.In this ground-breaking book, author J. Daniel Gunther provides a penetrating and cohesive analysis of the spiritual doctrine underlying and informing the Aeon of the Child, and the sublime formulas of Initiation encountered by those who would probe its mysteries. Drawing on more than 30 years of experiences as a student and teacher within the Order of the A.·.A.·., the author examines the doctrinal thread of Thelema in its historical, religious, and practical context. This book is written in clear, precise language that will aid those students who seek to navigate the difficult terrain of the spiritual quest. More advanced students will find tantalizing clues to serve as guideposts and eventual confirmation of direct experience. With numerous diagrams and detailed references encompassing ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, the Apocrypha, the Old and New Testaments, alchemy, hermetic Qabalah, and tarot, as well as the writings of Carl Jung and Aleister Crowley.

    Eros and Magic in the Renaissance challenges this view, providing an in-depth scholarly explanation of the workings of magic and showing that magic continues to exist in an altered form even today.Renaissance magic, according to Ioan Couliano, was a scientifically plausible attempt to manipulate individuals and groups based on a knowledge of motivations, particularly erotic motivations. Its key principle was that everyone (and in a sense everything) could be influenced by appeal to sexual desire. In addition, the magician relied on a profound knowledge of the art of memory to manipulate the imaginations of his subjects. In these respects, Couliano suggests, magic is the precursor of the modern psychological and sociological sciences, and the magician is the distant ancestor of the psychoanalyst and the advertising and publicity agent.In the course of his study, Couliano examines in detail the ideas of such writers as Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, and Pico della Mirandola and illuminates many aspects of Renaissance culture, including heresy, medicine, astrology, alchemy, courtly love, the influence of classical mythology, and even the role of fashion in clothing.Just as science gives the present age its ruling myth, so magic gave a ruling myth to the Renaissance. Because magic relied upon the use of images, and images were repressed and banned in the Reformation and subsequent history, magic was replaced by exact science and modern technology and eventually forgotten. Couliano's remarkable scholarship helps us to recover much of its original significance and will interest a wide audience in the humanities and social sciences.

    Their supposed author, a mythical figure named Hermes Trismegistus, was thought to be a contemporary of Moses. The Hermetic philosophy was regarded as an ancient theology, parallel to the revealed wisdom of the Bible, supporting Biblical revelation and culminating in the Platonic philosophical tradition. This new translation is the only English version based on reliable texts, and Professor Copenhaver's introduction and notes make this accessible and up-to-date edition an indispensable resource to scholars.

    The master of Gothic suspense, H.P. Lovecraft, wrote about a mystical and dreaded grimoire, known as the Necronomicon––an ancient text written by an Arab that, if it were to fall into the wrong hands, could have disastrous consequences. But no one thought the Necronomicon had any basis in the world outside of Lovecraft's fiction. Until...Simon was a young man drawn to the mysterious world of the occult through his association with several Eastern Orthodox religions and his friendship with the owner of an occult bookstore in Brooklyn. In 1972 he stumbled upon a stolen text in a friend's apartment, unaware that what he held in his hands was the real Necronomicon––something long thought to be a creation of Lovecraft's brilliant mind and deft pen. After an arduous translation, done in the utmost secrecy (since the tome was in fact stolen), Simon and his close circle of friends unveiled the now–infamous grimoire to a clamoring public.In Dead Names, Simon tells the amazing true story that surrounds the Necronomicon. From the main players' humble beginnings in the pageantry–filled and secret world of Eastern Orthodox religion, to the accidental discovery of the Necronomicon, to the Son of Sam murders, the JFK assassination , the brilliant William S. Burroughs, and the eventual suspicious deaths of almost everyone involved with the grimoire, this book is an enthralling account of a book steeped in legend, lies, and murder.