It has been out of print for many years and until the release of this brand new edition was as rare as hen's teeth, with some old copies fetching prices of up to USD $600.00. This new edition features a beautiful new cover and has been revised and updated by the author. Know this: I, Mercurius, have set down a full, true and infallible account of the Great Work. But I give you fair warning that unless you seek the true philosophical gold and not the gold of the vulgar; unless your heart is fixed with unbending intent on the true Stone of the Philosophers, unless you are steadfast in your quest, abiding by God s laws in all faith and humility and eschewing all vanity, conceit, falsehood, intemperance, pride, lust and faintheartedness, read no further lest I prove fatal to you. In 1952 a country clergyman called Smith begins his tortuous quest for the Holy Grail of alchemy - the Philosophers' Stone which transmutes base metal to gold and confers immortality. As he pits himself against the bizarre perils of the GreatWork, it becomes clear that his arcane transformations are as much spiritual as chemical. Gradually the shadow of alchemy falls over those around him; a young girl whose sudden pregnancy is a local scandal; Janet, trapped in a barren marriage; and Robert who pursues his own quest for the legendary blue glass of Chartres. Thirty years later, Eileen comes to live in Smith's vicarage. In the medieval cellar she unearths a hidden manuscript and begins to read of secret fire and mysterious prime matter, a green lion and a raven's head, a fatal conjunction of king and queen, a descent into Blackness and putrefaction. As she penetrates farther into the alchemical labyrinth, she is haunted both by her own history and by that of her neighbours, the menacing Mrs Zetterberg and the disfigured Pluto - and, finally, by the enigma of Smith himself. In separate but interwoven accounts, Smith and Eileen strive towards the one thing necessary for the Work's success -the great Secret guarded by the paradoxical Mercurius, who leads them to the zero point where Heaven is wedded to Earth and the miraculous Stone appears at the intersection of time and eternity. By reconstructing a highly sophisticated but almost forgotten world-view, Mercurius restores to us our own spiritual heritage which, rooted in the alchemists' dark retorts, will perhaps flower in the light of the future.

    Even historians of religion, whose work naturally attends to events beyond the realm of empirical science, have shown scant interest in the subject. But the history of psychical phenomena, Kripal contends, is an untapped source of insight into the sacred. By tracing that history thru the last two centuries of Western thought we can see its potential centrality to the critical study of religion. Kripal grounds his study in the work of four major figures in the history of paranormal research: psychical researcher Frederic Myers; writer Charles Fort; astronomer, computer scientist & ufologist Jacques Vallee; & philosopher & sociologist Bertrand Mheust. Thru incisive analyses of these thinkers, Kripal ushers readers into a beguiling world somewhere between fact, fiction & fraud. The cultural history of telepathy, teleportation & UFOs; a ghostly love story; the occult dimensions of sf; cold war psychic espionage; galactic colonialism; & the intimate relationship between consciousness & culture all come together in Authors of the Impossible, a look at how the paranormal bridges the sacred & the scientific.

    However, your psyche is constantly under attack from friends and strangers, advertisers and politicians who want to manipulate you. Luckily, there is a solution--Denning and Phillips' Practical Guide to Psychic Self-Defense. The best way to overcome attacks on your psyche is through awareness that they are occurring. This requires you to become more awake and alert to this bombardment. Part of the technique is to understand how this attempted manipulation works. By studying this book you will gain that knowledge. The result is that the psychological intimidation that has been used on you in the past will no longer control you.There are two types of psychic attack. The first kind is attack by a person who has not had any occult training. He or she may feel slighted or betrayed by you (based on actual or imagined situations) and hold on to negative emotions. Eventually, unknown to that person, the negative energy can leap out, directed at you.This book reveals that your aura is your best line of defense. By using the exercises in this book to strengthen your aura, any such unintentional psychic attack will easily be dispelled and discharged.Even more rare is the classic psychic attack where a person does some sort of spell or ritual to harm you. Full instructions are given for overcoming such negative magick, both on a practical, physical level (sever any physical connection between you and the attacker) and on a ritual, spiritual level (perform blessings and rites to overcome psychic attack).But what happens if an attack does get through? First, you have to know how to recognize it. Usually, a successful attack strikes at your weak link. That could be your physical health (causing illness) or your mental attitude (causing depression). This book will show you how to recognize the problem and how to deal with it effectively.

    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.

    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.

    Gives all the necessary theory and directions to enter the astral plane, function there, and return with memory available.

    He felt that achieving purity by avoiding meat and refraining from committing harm further promoted the pursuit of a peaceful life. Elements of the worship of Dionysus, such as shape-shifting and ritualistic ecstasy, were fused with Orphic beliefs to produce a powerful and illuminating new religion that found expression in the mystery cults. Practitioners of this new religion composed a great body of poetry, much of which is translated in The Orphic Hymns.The hymns presented in this book were anonymously composed somewhere in Asia Minor, most likely in the middle of the third century AD. At this turbulent time, the Hellenic past was fighting for its survival, while the new Christian faith was spreading everywhere. The Orphic Hymns thus reflect a pious spirituality in the form of traditional literary conventions. The hymns themselves are devoted to specific divinities as well as to cosmic elements. Prefaced with offerings, strings of epithets invoke the various attributes of the divinity and prayers ask for peace and health to the initiate. Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow have produced an accurate and elegant translation accompanied by rich commentary.

    P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant, and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley • Provides instructions on how to identify egregores, free yourself from parasitic and destructive entities, and destroy an egregore, should the need arise One of most important but little known concepts of Western occultism is that of the egregore, an autonomous psychic entity created by a collective group mind. An egregore is sustained by belief, ritual, and sacrifice and relies upon the devotion of a group of people, from a small coven to an entire nation, for its existence. An egregore that receives enough sustenance can take on a life of its own, becoming an independent deity with powers its believers can use to further their own spiritual advancement and material desires. Presenting the first book devoted to the study of egregores, Mark Stavish examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day, with detailed and documented examples, and explores how they are created, sustained, directed, and destroyed. He explains how egregores were well known in the classical period of ancient Greece and Rome, when they were consciously called into being to watch over city states. He explores the egregore concept as it was understood in various Western Mystery traditions, including the Corpus Hermeticum, and offers further examples from Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, modern esoteric orders such as the Order of the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucianism, the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant, and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley. The author discusses how, even as the fundamental principles of the egregore were forgotten, egregores continue to be formed, sometimes by accident. Stavish provides instructions on how to identify egregores, free yourself from a parasitic and destructive collective entity, and destroy an egregore, should the need arise. Revealing how egregores form the foundation of nearly all human interactions, the author shows how egregores have moved into popular culture and media--underscoring the importance of intense selectivity in the information we accept and the ways we perceive the world and our place in it.

    Filled with practical spells, rituals, and fresh ideas, you'll find new ways to deepen your craft and enhance everyday life.This edition features compelling articles, grouped by element, on solar power and the home, carnival magic, recycling and refurbishing, enlightened eats, emergency healing, faery offerings and shrines, folk clothing, alcohol and the gods, soap magic, animism, transforming negativity, and other magical topics.Also included is a handy calendar section-- shaded for easy "flip to" reference--featuring world festivals, holidays, and 2014 Sabbats. You'll also find astrological info, plus incense and color correspondences, to empower your magical work.

    Mining the Hermetic, alchemical, and Neoplatonic influences behind the evolution of the deck, author Robert M. Place provides a historically grounded and compelling portrait of the Tarot's true origins, without overlooking the deck's mystical dimensions.Indeed, Place uncommonly weds reliable historiography with a practical understanding of the intuitive help and divinatory guidance that the cards can bring. He presents techniques that offer new and valuable ways to read and interpret the cards. Based on a simple three-card spread, Place's approach can be used by either the seasoned practitioner or the new inquirer.

    In this path-breaking collection of Greek and Roman writings on magic and the occult, Georg Luck provides a comprehensive sourcebook and introduction to magic as it was practiced by witches and sorcerers, magi and astrologers, in the Greek and Roman worlds. In this new edition, Luck has gathered and translated 130 ancient texts dating from the eighth century BCE through the fourth century CE. Thoroughly revised, this volume offers several new elements: a comprehensive general introduction, an epilogue discussing the persistence of ancient magic into the early Christian and Byzantine eras, and an appendix on the use of mind-altering substances in occult practices. Also added is an extensive glossary of Greek and Latin magical terms. In Arcana Mundi Georg Luck presents a fascinating -- and at times startling -- alternative vision of the ancient world. "For a long time it was fashionable to ignore the darker and, to us, perhaps, uncomfortable aspects of everyday life in Greece and Rome," Luck has written. "But we can no longer idealize the Greeks with their 'artistic genius' and the Romans with their 'sober realism.' Magic and witchcraft, the fear of daemons and ghosts, the wish to manipulate invisible powers -- all of this was very much a part of their lives."

    All of these three-hole-punched information sheets -- the Lucky Mojo Shop Flyers and the Hoodoo Workshop Hand-Outs -- were then collected together into a black school-report cover -- which we called The Black Folder. As the years went on, the content of The Black Folder grew and grew and grew, until there were so many pages that they could no longer easily fit into a single report cover ... and so we put together the complete set of all of the past Missionary Independent Spiritual Church Workshop flyers, plus a complete set of all of the Lucky Mojo shop flyers into a 136 page professionally printed BOOK. The name of the book is "The Black Folder" -- but don't let the name (or the cover) fool you -- it's a regular 8 1/2" x 11" trade paperback book, like nothing else available anywhere.Contributors include an all-star line-up of well-known conjure doctors from around the world: ConjureMan Ali, Deacon Millett, Dr. E., Lara Rivera, Prof. Charles Porterfield, Dr. James Dotson, Khi Armand, Sister Robin Petersen, Sindy Todo, Susan Diamond, Marin Graves, Miss Elvyra Curcuruto-Love, Ms. Robin York, Dr. Johannes Gardback, Michele Jackson, Valentina Burton, Tanisia Mooney, and catherine yronwode.

    He spent three days with a woman named Anastasia who shared with him her unique outlook on subjects as diverse as gardening, child-rearing, healing, Nature, sexuality, religion and more. This wilderness experience transformed Vladimir so deeply that he abandoned his commercial plans and, penniless, went to Moscow to fulfill Anastasia's request and write a book about the spiritual insights she so generously shared with him. True to her promise this life-changing book, once written, has become an international best-seller and has touched hearts of millions of people world-wide.ASIN: B00CP6AWY6

    Its publication was the culmination of five years of research into rare artifacts, obscure manuscripts and travels into remote areas where strange magical practices endure. The "Singing Sands" of Egypt, the invisible rulership of Sufism, subcutaneous electricity, and the prehistoric sources of Babylonian occult practices are just a few of the intriguing subjects described. The author includes personal accounts of "training" under a Ju-Ju witch doctor, a demonstration of Hindu levitation, and translations of secret alchemical and magical formulae. Revealed is an astonishing similarity in magical beliefs, practices and terminology of places as diverse as China, the Near East, Scandinavia and Africa. "Oriental Magic" includes a myriad of illustrations, including unique photos of places and people associated with the mysterious world of magic. Only an author of Shah's experience, dedication, and knowledge of human nature could assemble such an array of arcane information into a dazzling picture of human beliefs and practices. This new release is sure to attract the attention of a new generation of interested readers.

    Original.