Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy
Mircea Eliade - 1951
Writing as the founder of the modern study of the history of religion, Romanian emigre--scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-86) surveys the practice of Shamanism over two & a half millennia of human history, moving from the Shamanic traditions of Siberia & Central Asia--where Shamanism was first observed--to North & South America, Indonesia, Tibet, China & beyond. In this authoritative survey, Eliade illuminates the magico-religious life of societies that give primacy of place to the figure of the Shaman--at once magician & medicine man, healer & miracle-doer, priest, mystic & poet. Synthesizing the approaches of psychology, sociology & ethnology, "Shamanism" will remain for years to come the reference book of choice for those intrigued by this practice.
Craft: How to Be a Modern Witch
Gabriela Herstik - 2018
From working with crystals, tarot and astrology, to understanding sex magick, solstices and full moons; learn how to harness energy, unleash your inner psychic and connect with the natural world. Full of spells and rituals for self-care, new opportunities and keeping away toxic energy, Craft is the essential lifestyle guide for the modern woman who wants to take control and reconnect with herself. After all, empowered women run the world (and they’re probably witches).
Witchcraft: Theory and Practice
Lore de Angeles - 2000
With more than three decades of experience she has learned how to bring the teachings alive, combining modern with ancient, so you can better understand the true potential and depth of Witchcraft.Within the pages of this book you will find the secrets and techniques to become a Witch. These can be divided into three categories: philosophical disciplines, spiritual beliefs, and practical techniques. Each part gets a focus in this book.In the first section, you will:Learn meditation and how it can be used for ritual Discover the secrets of visualization, telepathy, and personal power Use the self-analysis techniques to discover who you are and never walk in anyone's shadowIn the second section you can:Uncover the essence of the God and Goddess Discover the festivals of Witchcraft Learn how to make and use the tools of Witchcraft Understand how to do rituals, including the rite of self-initiationAnd in the final section, you'll:Practice psychic protection, shapeshifting, and banishing Master astral projection Learn to interpret omens This really just barely covers some of the information you will find revealed in these pages. Written in a style that is clear and concise, this book will add to your knowledge of Witchcraft. Whether you are new to the Craft or have been practicing for some time, Witchcraft: Theory and Practice will impart wisdom that will fascinate and entice. You will be using this book for many years to come.
Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult
Richard MetzgerDaniel Pinchbeck - 2003
Just as Russ Kick's Guides focusing on secrets and lies from the mainstream media, government, and other establishment institutions rethought what a political science book could look like and whom it would appeal to, Book of Lies redefines occult anthologies, packaging and presenting a huge array of magical essays for a pop culture audience. Just some of the contents:An introduction by comics genius Grant Morrison, who also contributes a threepart article on Pop Magick.Mark Pesce, author of The Playful World, compares computer programming and spellcasting.Genesis POrridge, father of Industrial Music and Rave culture explains how samples in a rave song can have magical consequences.Paul Laffoley discusses his magical artistic strategies (Metzger compares Laffoley to Merlin the Magician).Magical Thinking--an extended excerpt from Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head.William Burroughs and the occult.Nevill Drury, Australia's most noted occult writer, tells of Dion Fortune, Austin Spare, and Rosaleen Norton.Why Does Aleister Crowley Still Matter?Donald Tyson's "The Enochian Apocalypse Working." Were the seeds of the end of the world sown in the Elizabethan era?.The first ever biographical essay on Marjorie Cameron, the fascinating character from Los Angeles' occult and beatnik scene.Hitler and the occult--Peter Levenda interview by Tracy Twyman.Robert Temple on how his book The Sirius Mystery's, controversial thesis (for which he was ridiculed) was proven by the Hubble telescope twentyfive years late.An exclusive Anton LaVey interview by Michael Moynihan, author of bestselling book Lords of Chaos.Erik Davis, author of Techgnosis, looks at H. P. Lovecraft's Magick Realism.
Prometheus Rising
Robert Anton Wilson - 1983
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.
The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth
Robert Graves - 1948
In this tapestry of poetic and religious scholarship, Graves explores the stories behind the earliest of European deities—the White Goddess of Birth, Love, and Death—who was worshipped under countless titles. He also uncovers the obscure and mysterious power of "pure poetry" and its peculiar and mythic language.
The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries
W.Y. Evans-Wentz - 1911
This magnificent book is a collection of stories, anecdotes, and legends from all six of the regions where celtic ways have persisted in the modern world.
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
Lewis Spence - 1920
Spence organizes a world's worth of magic -- from "Ab" (a magical month in the ancient Semitic calendar) to "Zulu witch-finders" -- into 2,500 dictionary-style entries that explore concepts and personalities both familiar (Freemasonry, Morgan le Fay) and obscure: palingenesy (a process by which plants or vegetables are destroyed and then "resurrected"), Leonora Galigai (a 17th-century Italian aristocrat who was burned as a witch). A delight for devotees of the weird and the strange, and a valuable resource for students of mythology and the evolution of scientific thought, this important volume is at home in the libraries of all book lovers. Scottish journalist and folklorist LEWIS SPENCE (1874 -1955) was a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and Vice-President of the Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society. He published more than 40 works on mythology and the occult, including History of Atlantis, An Introduction to Mythology, and Myth and Ritual in Dance, Game and Rhyme.
The Black Pullet: Science of Magical Talisman
Anonymous - 2000
With the use of these rings, people attained extraordinary powers. Perhaps the most wonderful secret revealed is the power to produce the Black Pullet, otherwise known as the "Hen with the Golden Eggs." Unlimited wealth was granted to the person who achieved the creation of this incredible Hen. Includes complete instructions for creating the Black Pullet.
The Elixir & the Stone: The Tradition of Magic & Alchemy
Michael Baigent - 1997
By the middle of the twentieth century, the battle appeared to be won; scientific rationalism and skepticism were triumphant. Yet in the last few decades a strong and potent counter-current has emerged. One manifestation of this has been the so-called occult revival.In The Elixir and the Stone, Baigent and Leigh argue that this occult revival — and indeed the entire revolution in attitudes which has taken place recently — owes a profound debt to Hermeticism, a body of esoteric teaching which flourished in Alexandria two thousand years ago and which then went underground. The authors trace the history of this intriguing and all-encompassing philosophy — which has much in common with contemporary holistic thought — charting it’s origin in the Egyptian mysteries, and demonstrating how it continued to exercise enormous influence through the magicians and magi of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.Many remarkable characters feature in the narrative, including the Franciscan friar Roger Bacon and the Elizabethan magus John Dee; prototype of Shakespeare’s Prospero in The Tempest, but the central figure that emerges is that of Faust himself — one of the defining myths of Western civilization.The Elixir and the Stone is a remarkably rich and ambitious book that adds up to a little short of an alternative history of the intellectual world. Perhaps for the first time it puts into their true context those shadowy alchemists and magicians who have haunted the imaginations of people for centuries. Moreover it offers a way of looking at the world that is in one sense ‘alternative’, but in another, deeply historical.
Ancient Ways: Reclaiming the Pagan Tradition (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)
Pauline Campanelli - 1991
In each culture, independent ways to honor the Goddess and God and watch the turning of the wheel of the year have developed. In "Ancient Ways" by Pauline Campanelli, you will learn many of those ideas and techniques, enhancing your magick and your ties to Pagan ancestors. The book follows the flow of growth in the world that is linked to the Pagan festivals. It begins with Imbolc (February 2) and continues with the solstices and equinoxes, as well as the cross-quarter holidays such as Lammas, Samhain, and Yule. Each festival has a chapter dedicated to it, and each chapter is filled with folklore, history, and traditions that will make your heart sing. For example, in the section on Samhain (October 31) you'll learn about traditional Halloween party favors and how to use a tambourine to help contact spirits. You'll discover information about cats and why they became associated with Witches. You'll also learn where the association of this festival with bats and owls came from. And of course the book explains the pumpkin and the Jack-o'-lantern. There's even a recipe for pumpkin bread. "Ancient Ways" explains how this holiday is actually considered the third or final harvest. You'll learn how apples are involved with the holiday and how they can be used for healing. Other topics here include how to use a pendulum, channeling, and mediumship; a brief history of important dates in Witchcraft; and how to use magick mirrors and crystal balls. This type of information is included in every chapter of this book. You'll also learn charms and spells, numerology and folk arts, as well as traditional myths and legends. With this book you will expand your knowledge of Paganism and enhance and add to your practices. It is a book you will use again and again.
Tarot for Your Self: A Workbook for Personal Transformation
Mary K. Greer - 1984
The exercises can be enjoyed by an individual or shared with others, making it a popular text for classes and study groups. It uses meditations, rituals, spreads, mandalas, visualizations, dialogues, charts, affirmations, and other activities to help you establish your own relationship with the cards. It offers the best in traditional knowledge and know-how. Learn the many variations of three card spreads and ways of moving around the cards in the Celtic Cross Spread to get far more information than you thought possible. Use Mary Greer's powerful "breakthrough process" with all your readings to turn them into truly transformative experiences.
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot
Rachel Pollack - 1980
Described by many as ‘the Bible of Tarot readers’, the books brought awareness of myth and modern psychology to the Tarot’s ancient esoteric symbolism. Now, for the first time, the texts for 'The Major Arcana' and 'The Minor Arcana' appear in one volume. To mark this special occasion, Rachel Pollack has revised and updated the book in the light of her thirty years’ teaching, reading, and writing about Tarot cards. She has also written a new preface describing her own journey through the Tarot’s world of symbols.The Tarot is an eternally fascinating set of strange and beautiful pictures. But beyond this lies a world of potent symbols granting access to a path of self knowledge, personal growth and freedom. These symbols connect us to the great stories of world mythology and the eternal truths of the soul. 'Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom'shows you how to use Tarot as an effective and accessible means of self-enlightenment. The book includes a complete section on how to give Tarot readings, as well as an analysis of the origins, meaning and psychological aspects of Tarot divination.
Hekate: Her Sacred Fires
Sorita d'EsteTinnekke Bebout - 2010
It brings together essays, prose and artwork from more than fifty remarkable contributors from all over the world. Their stories and revelations are challenging, their visions and determination in exploring the mysteries are inspirational, and their enthusiasm for the Goddess of the Crossroads is truly entrancing and sometimes highly infectious. Hekate is a Goddess of great antiquity. She is primordial, powerful and sometimes animalistic - and yet, she is also sophisticated, modern and capable of adapting to different cultures. She is the Torchbearer, the Cosmic World Soul, the Guide and Companion. She is Mistress of the Restless Dead, who rules over the Heavens Earth and Sea. She is the Keybearer and so much more. Her devotees today, as throughout the ages, include philosophers, poets, sorcerers, theurgists, witches, root-cutters, enchantresses and ordinary people. In her introduction, the author and priestess Sorita d'Este brings together an exciting wealth of material on the history and development of how the goddess Hekate has been seen through the ages. As well as a fascinating discussion of her possible origins and mythological connections, the introduction also includes a timeline providing glimpses into her portrayal through the ages, with extracts from literature and examples of amulets, coins and art. The spectrum of material covered in this anthology is as diverse as the forms of Hekate herself, emphasising her role as lightbearer, keybearer, initiatrix, world soul, child's nurse, mistress of crossroads and serpent mysteries. Her devotees describe her role in traditional witchcraft and initiatory Wicca, healing and paganism, her approachability through her angels and trance oracles, her assistance in overcoming traumas and helping the dead continue their journeys. From the reestablishment of the ancient worship of the great mother goddess as Hekate in Thrace (Bulgaria) to meteorites and pilgrimages, Hekate's presence around the world and beyond is vividly described and illustrated by her torchbearers.
Psychic Dreamwalking: Explorations at the Edge of Self
Michelle Belanger - 2006
Explaining both the phenomenon and technique of dreamwalking, Michelle Belanger takes readers on an adventure into the subconscious world of dreams.