In 1999, a seemingly incongruous collection of protestors converged in Seattle to shut down the meetings of the World Trade Organization. Union leaders, environmentalists dressed as endangered turtles, mainstream Christian clergy, violence-advocating anarchists, gay and lesbian activists, and many other diverse groups came together to protest what they saw as the unfair power of a nondemocratic elite. But how did such strange bedfellows come together? And can their unity continue? In 1972 another period of social upheaval sociologist Colin Campbell posited a "cultic milieu": An underground region where true seekers test hidden, forgotten, and forbidden knowledge. Ideas and allegiances within the milieu change as individuals move between loosely organized groups, but the larger milieu persists in opposition to the dominant culture. Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow find Campbell's theory especially useful in coming to grips with the varied oppositional groups of today. While the issues differ, current subcultures often behave in similar ways to deviant groups of the past. The Cultic Milieu brings together scholars looking at racial, religious and environmental oppositional groups as well as looking at the watchdog groups that oppose these groups in turn. While providing fascinating information on their own subjects, each essay contributes to a larger understanding of our present-day cultic milieu. For classes in the social sciences or religious studies, The Cultic Milieu offers a novel way to look at the interactions and ideas of those who fight against the powerful in our global age.

In 1999, a seemingly incongruous collection of protestors converged in Seattle to shut down the meetings of the World Trade Organization. Union leaders, environmentalists dressed as endangered turtles, mainstream Christian clergy, violence-advocating anarchists, gay and lesbian activists, and many other diverse groups came together to protest what they saw as the unfair power of a nondemocratic elite. But how did such strange bedfellows come together? And can their unity continue? In 1972-another period of social upheaval-sociologist Colin Campbell posited a 'cultic milieu': An underground region where true seekers test hidden, forgotten, and forbidden knowledge. Ideas and allegiances within the milieu change as individuals move between loosely organized groups, but the larger milieu persists in opposition to the dominant culture. Jeffrey Kaplan and Helene Loow find Campbell's theory especially useful in coming to grips with the varied oppositional groups of today. While the issues differ, current subcultures often behave in similar ways to deviant groups of the past. The Cultic Milieu brings together scholars looking at racial, religious and environmental oppositional groups as well as looking at the watchdog groups that oppose these groups in turn. While providing fascinating information on their own subjects, each essay contributes to a larger understanding of our present-day cultic milieu. For classes in the social sciences or religious studies, The Cultic Milieu offers a novel way to look at the interactions and ideas of those who fight against the powerful in our global age.

Since the 1980s, neoliberalism has had a major impact on social life and, in turn, research in the social sciences. Emerging from the crisis of the Keynesian welfare state, neoliberalism describes a social transformation that has impacted relationships between citizens and the state, consumers and the market, and individuals and groups. Neoliberal Contentions offers original essays that explore neoliberalism in its various guises. It includes chapters on economic policy and restructuring, resource extraction, multiculturalism and equality, migration and citizenship, health reform, housing policy, and 2SLGBTQ communities. Drawing on the work of influential Canadian political economist Janine Brodie, the contributors use Brodie's scholarship as a springboard for their own distinct analyses of pressing political and social issues. Acknowledging neoliberalism's crises, failures, and contradictions, this collection contends with neoliberalism by "diagnosing the present," situating the phenomenon within a broader historical and political-economic context and observing instances in which neoliberal rationality is reinforced as well as resisted.

Symbolic images are the alphabet underlying all Mystery traditions. It has been stated that Albert Pike's "Magnum Opus Morals and Dogma" no longer has any relevance to Scottish Rite Masons. For many, it has become an esoteric antediluvian composition, a momentous work deemed too difficult for the average person to comprehend or to glean information from. Albert Pike composed his esoteric information so as not to reveal any Masonic secrets, understanding that non-Mason and Mason alike would be exploring the degrees contained within. Could he have concealed information within his writings, as did many of the great artists and thinkers of the past? For the first time, Professor Len Seymour provides an interpretation of the enigmatic drawing of an Egyptian Stele found in Pike's book, "Morals and Dogma," the timeless and hidden symbolism of which has remained a mystery until now.

In Spain, on May 15, 2011, a movement against austerity measures began. In a time when representative democracies were under threat, 15M came to life as a virtuous and democratic response to the slide into far-right populism and authoritarianism. More than a social movement, 15M became a mode of being with transformative, democratizing potential. In Democracy Here and Now, Pablo Ouziel offers a grounded analysis of 15M. At the time of the movement and during the ensuing encampments, Ouziel travelled extensively, speaking to participants, and keeping an ongoing record of his conversations. Presenting an original participatory mode of research, the book reveals six types of intersubjective, "joining hands" relationships that 15M has brought into being and works to carry on in creative ways. The book shows how the movement's way of being and temporality persists in Spain following the square occupations, while 15M citizens continue to learn and move forward in less perceptible ways. Democracy Here and Now sheds light on a deeply relational, intersectional, and eco-social mode of democracy, and shows how 15M's ongoing democratization practices are exemplary of similar grassroots movements around the world, broadening our understandings of what it means to be democratic in the here and now.

The bringing together of the Antients and Moderns to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813 was a tricky matter. How all this came about is not just an English tale but an Irish and Scots one as well. Complexities concerning 'union' included what to do about other masonic orders, especially the Royal Arch and the Knights Templar. For the first time ever this account provides a birds-eye view of the issues and personalities behind one of the big events of masonic history still affecting us today. "In this pioneering and stimulating book, John Belton tells with verve and enthusiasm the story behind the events which led up to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. Providing completely new perspectives on this key event in the history of British Freemasonry, John's book will be of interest not only to freemasons but to all those who are interested in the contribution of Freemasonry to British culture and society." - Prof Andrew Prescott, Kings College London

This is a photographic reproduction of Calvin C. Burt's 1879 history "Egyptian Masonic Rite of Memphis." This classic work provides an important look at the history of this near lost rite and provides much food for thought regarding the activities of U.S. Freemasonry in the 1800's.

2012 Reprint of 1927 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. For the individual looking to take Masonic orders, or for the person who is just curious about all the secrecy; this book contains virtually complete rituals, ceremonies, and lectures for the first three degrees of Masonry. Because of this, it makes an excellent study guide for degree work and serves to aid the initiate in better understanding his transformation.

Over the years many myths have built up about one of the founders of the Golden Dawn, Samuel L. MacGregor Mathers. Many of these have been created by those who wish to damn the Golden Dawn and its system of magic or by those who want to naively believe a bogus magical story about the Order and its founders. In King Over the Water, Golden Dawn magician Nick Farrell paints a picture of the founders of the Golden Dawn becoming out of their depth as the Order began to create magicians. Rather than painting Mathers as an eccentric genius, Farrell sees him as an autocratic fantasist. He sees Mathers struggling to keep up as his students rapidly became better than him at the system he created, and shows how he was unable to raise his game to help the Order develop further. In what is a portrait of the problems that could befall any esoteric leader, Farrell (author of Gathering The Magic, a textbook on magical group dynamics) reveals how Mathers' later rituals were an attempt to remove the magic from the system he created so that he could milk it for money. Included are previously unpublished papers from Mathers' own version of the Golden Dawn, the Alpha et Omega, including the original Z documents, the full version of the Book of the Tomb (a key document for creating a Vault of the Adepts), the original method for the consecration of the sword, and much more. King Over the Water is the prequel to Farrell's groundbreaking expose on the Alpha et Omega, Mathers' Last Secret, and provides another look into the mind of a magician that helped develop the magic we use today.

This book, a product of collaboration and cooperation between two non-Masonic historians and the Grand Lodge of Virginia, is an objective, comprehensive study of the history of Freemasonry in the state of Virginia. The authors relate a fascinating chronicle of Freemasonry, from its British origins two hundred years ago to today. Along the way, they describe the colorful figures who populate this history and debunk many myths about Freemasonry.

1907. Contents: Mysteries-Ancient, Egyptian, Adonisian, Dionysian, Eleusinian, and Mithraic; Solomon's Temple; Ancient Temples; Speculative Masonry; Revival; Degrees; Ritual; Book of the Law; Design of Freemasonry; Commandery; Knights of the Red Cross; Symbolism; Ancient Templars; Defense and Fall of Acre; Final Dissolution; Knights of Malta; Encyclopedia.

Additional Editor Is Harold Van Buren Voorhis.

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THIS 66 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Gnostics and their Remains Ancient and Mediaeval, by C. W. King. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766103811.

THIS 24 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Symbolism of Freemasonry: Its Science, Philosophy, Legends, Myths and Symbolism, by Albert G. Mackey. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564594696.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

1924. Brotherly Love; Attendance; The Ideal Mason; DeMolay; For Love or Money; The Charity Fund; Masonic libraries; The Masonry You Make; Understanding; The Pledge; Those Symbols; Ancient Landmarks; Do you Study Geometry; Work to Do; Those Legends; plus much more!

Contents: On the Hieroglyphical System of the Ancients; On the All Seeing Eye; The Serpent; The Cherubim; The Deluge; The Mysterious Darkness of the Third Degree; The Three Pillars, Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty; The Masonic Ladder; The Point Within the Circle; The Masonic Apron; The Government of the Lodge; Conclusion of the Course.

THIS 68 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, by Malcolm C. Duncan. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564594882.

THIS 40 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods, by J. S. M. Ward. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564591336.

THIS 38 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Masonic Symbolism, by Charles Clyde Hunt. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766100294.

The mention of the word Masonry, to the ordinary mind, suggests a body of men possessing certain secrets, which, to the uninitiated, are full of wonder. Should I here announce to the Masonic world that they, as an organization, have not in their possession THE secret for which all their rite and symbolism stands, they would be justly startled. But such is the fact. It is not the purpose of this work to review Masonry as to its origin, etc., but to interpret its hidden mystic meaning to those 'Who have made proficiency and been duly passed.' By some I shall perhaps be thought a madman, by some as too vague for clear understanding, and by some as undertaking the impossible. To all, I humbly ask a close and sincere study of these pages; and, I have reason to believe, that if you will pursue this course, you will discover the 'LIGHT' which you have so fondly dreamed in your possession.

A Similar System Exists Among the Mohammedans; Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods of India; Symbolic Conception of FM and India; R.A. Proves the Truth of this Contention; Brief Summary of Hindoo and Other Eastern Doctrines Traceable in Freemasonry; Lost Sign in Masonry and the "Operative" Masons; Letter "G"; Mark Degree; Masonic Signs and Grips the World Over; Our Signs and Grips in Africa; America and Australasia; Ancient Europe; Origin of Freemasonry; Mythos; When Did the Purely Jewish Influence Enter? Brief Summary of the True Line of Descent of Modern Freemasonry; Comacines; Ancient Charges and What They Tell Us; Decline of the Guilds; Darkness Before the Dawn; Formation of Grand Lodge; Early History of Grand Lodge; So-Called Higher Degrees; Ancient and Accepted Rite; Remaining Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite; Cross and the Vesica Piscis; Two Kinds of Cross; Crosses in the Craft; Vesica Piscis; Rose Croix and Kindred Degrees; So-Called "York Rite" and Allied Degrees; Knights Templars; What Were the Beliefs of the Templars? Are There Any Traces of the Old Templar Ceremonies in the Masonic Templar Ritual? Other Chivalric Degrees in Freemasonry; Iconoclasm in Freemasonry; Brief Summary of Evidence as to the Antiquity of our Signs; Grand Ideal; The First Steps; Ancient Wisdom and Modern Masonry; The Bora Ceremony.