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Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion by Joshua Trachtenberg
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By Oak, Ash, & Thorn: Modern Celtic Shamanism
D.J. Conway - 1994
But the Native American and African peoples were not the only cultures to traditionally practice shamanism. For centuries, shamanism was practiced by the Europeans, as well - including the Celts.
Wicca for Beginners: Fundamentals of Philosophy & Practice
Thea Sabin - 2006
Rather than depending on snippets of wisdom to build a new faith, Wicca for Beginners provides a solid foundation to Wicca without limiting the reader to one tradition or path.Embracing both the spiritual and the practical, Wicca for Beginners is a primer on the philosophies, culture, and beliefs behind the religion, without losing the mystery that draws many students to want to learn. Detailing practices such as grounding, raising energy, visualization, and meditation, this book offers exercises for core techniques before launching into more complicated rituals and spellwork.Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Wiccan/Pagan BookIn her first book-length work, Sabin presents a first-rate, fresh, and thorough addition to the burgeoning field of earth-based spiritual practice volumes...written in a light, informative style that magically mines depth, breadth and brevity.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
Graham Hancock - 2005
Then, in a dramatic change, described by scientists as 'the greatest riddle in human history', all the skills & qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as tho bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Supernatural Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious before-&-after moment & to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern mind. His quest takes him on a detective journey from the beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain & Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of S. Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the Amazon rainforest to drink the hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of 'super-natural beings' identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other dimensions. Could the supernaturals 1st depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of humankind? Could it be that human evolution isn't just the meaningless process Darwin identified, but something more purposive & intelligent that we've barely begun to understand?AcknowledgementsPart 1: Visions 1: Plant that enables men to see the dead 2: Greatest riddle of archeology 3: Vine of souls Part 2: Caves 4: Therianthropy5: Riddles of the caves6: Shabby academy 7: Searching for a Rosetta Stone8: Code in the mind 9: Serpents of the Drakensberg10: Wounded healer Part 3: Beings 11: Voyage into the supernatural 12: Shamans in the sky 13: Spirit love 14: Secret commonwealth15: Here is a thing that will carry me away16: Dancers between worlds Part 4: Codes 17: Turning in to channel DMT18: Amongst the machine elves19: Ancient teachers in our DNA?20: Hurricane in the junkyard Part 5: Religions 21: Hidden Shamans22: Flesh of the GodsPart 6: Mysteries 23: Doors leading to another world Appendices Critics & criticisms of David Lewis-Williams' Neuropsychological theory of rock & cave artPsilocybe semilanceata-a hallucinogenic mushroom native to Europe / Roy Watlng Interview with Rick StrassmanReferences Index
Awakening Osiris: A New Translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Normandi Ellis - 1988
It comes as close to an appreciation of the themes of the soul's journey portrayed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead as any modern interpretation has, and with a poetry unmatched anywhere in the literature thus far". —KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient EgyptThe Egyptian Book of the Dead is one of the oldest and greatest classics of Western spirituality. Until now, the available translations have treated these writings as historical curiosities with little relevance to our contemporary situation. This new version, made from the hieroglyphs, approaches the Book of the Dead as a profound spiritual text capable of speaking to us today. Awakening Osiris is a beautiful and engaging rendering of the Egyptian Book of the Dead as a series of meditations that reveals the soul of Egypt like no book before.These writings suggest that the divine realm and the human realm are not altogether separate—they remind us that the natural world, and the substance of our lives, is fashioned from the stuff of the gods. Devoted like an Egyptian scribe to the principle of "effective utterance", Normandi Ellis has produced a prose translation that reads like pure, diaphanous verse.
Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages
Richard E. Rubenstein - 2003
His ideas spread like wildfire across Europe, offering the scientific view that the natural world, including the soul of man, was a proper subject of study. The rediscovery of these ancient ideas sparked riots and heresy trials, caused major upheavals in the Catholic Church, and also set the stage for today's rift between reason and religion. In Aristotle's Children, Richard Rubenstein transports us back in history, rendering the controversies of the Middle Ages lively and accessible-and allowing us to understand the philosophical ideas that are fundamental to modern thought.
Sigils of Power and Transformation: 111 Magick Sigils to Change and Control Your Life
Adam Blackthorne - 2017
When you work with the sigils in this book, you throw out all the confusing magickal garbage and get straight to the power of change. Sigils provide you with a visual code that unlocks the essence of magick. This book does not contain anything to do with witchcraft, spellcasting, kabbalistic ritual, evocation or any other method of magick that you might be familiar with. A sigil is nothing more than a drawing, but in this case, the drawing is so much more than you can imagine. These drawings bypass the conscious mind, connecting you to a stream of pure magick. This is not dark magick, but magick of light. You can do no harm with this magick, to yourself or to others. The magick works because you have access to one hundred and eleven secret sigils, handed down from ancient times. Every one of them can work wonders in the modern world. You will discover: The Magick of the Mind Inspiring Others Extended Perception Fortune Love and Friendship Breakthrough Magick Spiritual Magick Personal Strength Peace Magick Protection Magick Personal Healing Health Magick Wisdom and Education Business and Finance Employment Magick The magick presented here is not bound to any religion, and it requires no magick words. You don't have to learn any difficult pronunciations or say a single word out loud. The magick requires no visualization and no equipment. You won't light a candle or wave a wand. All you need is this book, your own strong desire and the will to carry out the instructions.
The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth
Monica Sjöö - 1987
Now, with a new introduction and full-color artwork, this passionate and important text shows even more clearly that the religion of the Goddess—which is tied to the cycles of women’s bodies, the seasons, the phases of the moon, and the fertility of the earth—was the original religion of all humanity.
The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit
Patricia Monaghan - 2003
Pat Monaghan has studied and taught many integrated studies in poetry, science, mythology, feminist spirituality, environmental studies, chaos theory, and religion. All of these disciplines inform her writing, but none distract from the poetic story-telling or the mystical lore she encounters and then conveys. Her journey takes her to a churchyard with a fountain representing St. Bridget, perhaps a Christian representation of the Celtic goddess of water, fire, and transformation, called Brigit. Monaghan describes spiral petroglyphs and ancient sacred caves, bogs and woods where fairies have played their tricks on humans, and water falls that became sacred spots. The stories instruct and teach, as Monaghan points to ways that these myths still reveal the truths of human life, and the contradictions of love and hate, mother and seductress, harmony and struggle that are embodied in women’s lives — in all of human existence.
The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom: A Celtic Shaman's Sourcebook
Caitlín Matthews - 1994
This superb sourcebook contains many new translations of seminal Celtic texts, including stories, poems, and prose pieces, some dating from as far back as the seventh century. Key ingredients in this rich cauldron of ancient lore include sections on: . Shamanic Memory, including chapters on: The Memory of the Earth--The Memory of the Trees--The Memory of Animals--and The Memory of Ancestors . Vision Poets, Druids, and Shamanic Guardians, including chapters on: Initiations--ShapeshiftingóDru . . . and Vision Poets . The Bright Knowledge, including chapters on: Prophecy and Divination--Healing and Soul Restoration-Dreams and Visions . Otherworldly Journeys, including chapters on: The Journey Quest--The House of the Sidhe. These ancient tales are accompanied by detailed commentaries, comprehensive background material, and practical shamanic insights. This wide-ranging sourcebook contains new translations of seminal texts, and is a must-have for any devotee of one the world's richest religious traditions.
The Red Goddess
Peter Grey - 2007
The Red Goddess takes you through a tale of sex, drugs and violence.This is an ecstatic journey through the unheard history of BABALON from Revelations, back through the Ishtar Gate and forward into a living modern magickal current.This is an explicit and challenging vision of a very modern goddess coming into power.This is more than a history, it is a passionate account of living magick and the transcendent power of Love.The Red Goddess answers the fundamental questions:Who is BABALON?Why should we care?Where did She come from and where is She going?Does Revelations have anything to tell us?Is there a hidden western tradition of sacred sex?The epic sweep of the text takes us from Babylon to Jerusalem to Rome, and onwards to Apocalypse.It looks at the angelic work of renaissance mage John Dee.It delivers a devastating exegisis on the excesses of Aleister Crowley, and unlocks the secrets of Waratah Blossoms.It explains the immolation of the Californian antichrist-superstar Jack Parsons and his relationship with Scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard.There is also a full supporting cast of Solomon, Simon Magus, St John the Divine, Earl Bothwell, the Templars, Mary, the Magdalene and countless others.This is the missing history of the Holy Whore.Thirteen essays conclude the book on subjects including: roses, mirror magick, BDSM, aphrodisiac drugs, the information age, love vs lust, and the meaning of apocalypse.Those working with Ishtar, Inanna, Lilith, Kali, Sekhmet, Bast, Freya, Pomba Gira, Erzulie, witchcraft, tibetan tantra, sacred sex and transgression will find much here to intrigue and inspire them.The Red Goddess is suitable for anyone with blood in their veins, regardless of tradition, background or experience.It is a Love story.
Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life
Thomas Dale Cowan - 1996
Drawing on shamanic practices from the world over, SHAMANISM AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE FOR DAILY LIFE addresses the needs of contemporary people who yearn to deepen their own innate mystical sensibilities. This inspirational book shows how to develop a personal spiritual practice by blending elements of shamanism with inherited traditions and current religious commitments. Contents include: The central role of power animals and spirit teachers.Visionary techniques for exploring the extraordinary in everyday life.Elements of childhood spirituality including songs, secret hiding places, power spots, and imaginary power figures.A journey to an ancestral shaman to recover lost knowledge.
Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within
Juliet Diaz - 2019
Are you ready to answer the call and embrace your own inner witch?
In this book, third-generation Witch Juliet Diaz guides you on a journey to connect with the Magick within you. She explains how to cast off what doesn't serve you, unleash your authentic self, and become an embodiment of your truth. You'll also learn the skills and techniques you need to build your own Magickal craft. Within these enchanted pages you'll discover how to: * Connect with the power of your inner witch * Create spells, potions, and rituals for love, protection, healing, manifestation and more * Amplify your energy by working with a Book of Shadows * Create an altar and decorate it according to the seasons * Work with the Moon and the Seasons of the Witch * Connect with your ancestors to receive their wisdomFilled with Magick, inspiration, and love, Witchery is your guide and companion on a wickedly delicious journey to true self-empowerment.
Generation Hex: New Voices from Outside Reality
Jason Louv - 2005
In Generation Hex, editor Jason Louv assembles a collection of dispatches from the edge—a generation of young adults who are inventing and imagining radically new directions for spirituality and human evolution.Arising from the magical and occult underground of the early twenty-first century, the authors, artists, thinkers, and magicians assembled in Generation Hex collectively point the way to a future in which fanaticism and dogma have disappeared, in which human beings are free to realize their own destinies, and where the theory and practical applications of magic—the psychic ability of all human beings to engage and participate with the creative energy of the universe itself—-saturate and regenerate this troubled planet.Through critical essays and practical demonstrations of how a positive interaction with the occult, esoteric, and psychic undercurrents of human life can radically alter one’s existence, the young magicians collected here provide a collective snapshot of a dramatically new way forward for global culture as it emerges from the fringes and into the mainstream, from counterculture to ultraculture.Generation Hex offers the reader an excursion into the lives and practices of real-life Harry Potters, young men and women who practice real magic, here stripped of its sinister trappings and revealed to be what it truly is—the key to human evolution. Generation Hex provides a blueprint for escaping the suicidal rut of modern life and the radical redesign of the very essence of what it means to be human.Jason Louv is a New York-based writer and editor. He has spent the last six years researching and practicing magic, being initiated into various questionable secret societies, traveling around the Near East, and learning how to cloud minds. This is his first book.
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic
John Matthews - 2005
From unicorns, salamanders, satyrs, giants, elves and trolls, to dragons, nymphs, mermaids, werewolves and griffins — take an enchanting journey through the history, folklore, and mythology of these beasts from virtually every culture in the world. With stories and amazing facts on even the most obscure mythological creature, this is a cornucopia of magic and folklore.
To Ride a Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft
Silver RavenWolf - 1994
"To Ride a Silver Broomstick" presents both the science and religion of Witchcraft so you can become an active participant while growing at your own pace. This book is ideal for anyone, regardless of religious background: male or female, young or old, beginners and initiates.