Rene Guenon (1886-1951) is undoubtedly one of the luminaries of the twentieth century, whose critique of the modern world has stood fast against the shifting sands of recent philosophies. His oeuvre of 26 volumes is providential for the modern seeker: pointing ceaselessly to the perennial wisdom found in past cultures ranging from the Shamanistic to the Indian and Chinese, the Hellenic and Judaic, the Christian and Islamic, and including also Alchemy, Hermeticism, and other esoteric currents, at the same time it directs the reader to the deepest level of religious praxis, emphasizing the need for affiliation with a revealed tradition even while acknowledging the final identity of all spiritual paths as they approach the summit of spiritual realization. Traditional Forms and Cosmic Cycles is a wide-ranging collection of articles that could just as well have been called Fragments of an Unknown History. Although they must remain fragments, as Guenon did not return to many of these themes again, it would have been regrettable to leave such fascinating articles buried in old journals, and so this posthumous collection is now offered to Anglophone readers for the first time. by two pieces on Atlantis and Hyperborea. Two sections follow, concerned respectively with the Hebrew Tradition and the Egyptian Tradition. The former comprises five articles concerned primarily with the Kabbalah and the Science of Numbers, and the latter includes three articles on Hermes and the Hermetic Tradition. Book reviews are inserted at relevant points. To lend the collection coherence, no other spiritual Traditions are here represented. A list of the Collected Writings of Rene Guenon has been provided for those who wish to investigate Guenon's metaphysical expositions on such topics as Christianity, Islam, the Greco-Latin Traditions, Celtism, etc.

The new religious movement of Peoples Temple, begun in the 1950s, came to a dramatic end with the mass murders and suicides that occurred in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978. This analysis presents the historical context for understanding the Temple by focusing on the ways that migrations from Indiana to California and finally to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana shaped the life and thought of Temple members. It closely examines the religious beliefs, political philosophies, and economic commitments held by the group, and it shifts the traditional focus on the leader and founder, Jim Jones, to the individuals who made up the heart and soul of the movement. It also investigates the paradoxical role that race and racism played throughout the life of the Temple. The Element concludes by considering the ways in which Peoples Temple and the tragedy at Jonestown have entered the popular imagination and captured international attention.

This Element surveys the history and practice of Scientology studies over the past sixty years and offers resources for scholars and students moving forward. Section 1 reviews the history of academic research on the subject from 1958 to the present day. Section 2 draws on the author's fieldwork with the Church of Scientology to illuminate how founder L. Ron Hubbard (1911-86) is viewed among contemporary members. Section 3 considers Hubbard's influence and legacy in terms of the church sites and institutions that exist today in connection with the soteriological 'Bridge to Total Freedom.' Section 4 introduces English-language archival resources and their strengths. Section 5 proposes some open areas for Scientology researchers. Finally, glossaries of terms and appendices are included with major dates in Hubbard's life and Scientology research and bibliographical information for major archival collections in North America.

Although we live in a technologically advanced society, superstition is as widespread as it has ever been. Far from limited to athletes and actors, superstitious beliefs are common among people of all occupations and every educational and income level. Here, Stuart Vyse investigates our proclivity towards these irrational beliefs. Superstitions, he writes, are the natural result of several well-understood psychological processes, including our human sensitivity to coincidence, a penchant for developing rituals to fill time (to battle nerves, impatience, or both), our efforts to cope with uncertainty, the need for control, and more. Vyse examines current behavioral research to demonstrate how complex and paradoxical human behavior can be understood through scientific investigation, while he addresses the personality features associated with superstition and the roles of superstitious beliefs in actions. Although superstition is a normal part of human culture, Vyse argues that we must provide alternative methods of coping with life's uncertainties by teaching decision analysis, promoting science education, and challenging ourselves to critically evaluate the sources of our beliefs.

It was said in the beginning, in a garden called Eden, that woman was created at the same time as man, and not from his rib. Lilith, the first female, created equal to stand as a partner. But she proved to be a person so troublesome that she vanishes from her rightful place in civilization's mythological legends in place of Eve, the first wife. With her younger sister Eve's story heralding the future of all womankind, Lilith and her story stands alone as a testament to the Sacred Feminine and man's fear of the mysteries that lie within her. The First Sisters: Lilith and Eve is a gateway to a provocative awakening.

Spoken in the middle hills of Nepal, Gurung is a Tibeto-Burmese language spread along the southern slopes of the Himalayas. The Nepalese Gurung recitations known as pe or pe-da lu-da form a diverse group of oral narratives and invocations, thought to exemplify ritual utterances from the origin of Bon. The pe are performed by a medicine man or shaman, in collaboration with a priest, to promote health and prosperity, and to help with illness and bereavement. They work occasionally with Lamaist practitioners. This two-volume set includes an analytical introduction, 13,000 lines of annotated transcriptions with interlinear gloss for 92 pe, and a synopsis of a further 49 items representing over 4,000 lines. The material was collected between 1979 and 1992. The introduction outlines the formal properties of pe: structure, metrics, style, figurative language, metaphor, and implicit meanings. This is followed by an overview of patterns of thought in pe, their ontologies, divinities, cosmological order, journeys, use of reported speech, action during discourse, the meanings of the lexical items, and a study of the methods of learning the pe. Appended is a catalog of pe and color plate illustrations. Field recordings of the transcribed pe are included on an accompanying DVD.

Using archaeology, archaeo-mythology and mitochondrial DNA we can chart the mass migrations of people throughout the ancient world and follow the footsteps of the beliefs of Old Europe. But if the concept of the Old Goddess is at odds with current popular thinking, how will we feel if we discover that the Great Mother of contemporary Paganism bears no similarity to the primal Great Goddess of the Old European world? Is there a `magico-spiritual' gene that could be traced back to those distant ancestors who actually worshipped the forebears of the various deities to whom we claim allegiance today? Are there time-honoured things about us all as individuals that are bred deep in the bone? Are we what our roots (our DNA) claim us to be? Perhaps, even though we are now scattered all over the globe, we cannot escape those ancient racial memories of where we originally came from.

- A daybook containing information about rituals and celebrations that have for centuries been associated with the changing seasons of the year. - Includes charts of equinoxes and solstices, movable holy days, and monthly lunar phases through 2033 - First edition sold more than 30,000 copies Pagan rites and festivals are at the root of many traditional holidays in the Western world. Embracing a sensitivity we have lost, the Pagan traditions emphasize mystical spirituality, reverence for the feminine principle, and the links between people and the earth. This unique daybook contains a treasury of information about rituals and celebrations that have for centuries been associated with the changing seasons of the year. Included are the observances of the ancient Greek, Roman, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse traditions, as well as Wiccan traditions and the worship of the Goddess. In The Pagan Book of Days the author provides details on auspicious and inauspicious days, holy days of ancient gods and goddesses, and the eight stations of the year (the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days). He also includes lunar and solar charts indicating dates of major Pagan celebrations from the year 2011 through 2033. Illustrations throughout depict images from the classical and northern European traditions. The Pagan Book of Days is an enlightening way to incorporate these ancient cultural and spiritual practices and awarenesses into your daily life.

Just as we speak of "dead" languages, we say that religions "die out." Yet sometimes, people try to revive them, today more than ever. New Antiquities addresses this phenomenon through critical examination of how individuals and groups appeal to, reconceptualize, and reinvent the religious world of the ancient Mediterranean as they attempt to legitimize developments in contemporary religious culture and associated activity. Drawing from the disciplines of religious studies, archaeology, history, philology, and anthropology, New Antiquities explores a diversity of cultic and geographic milieus, ranging from Goddess Spirituality to Neo-Gnosticism, from rural Oregon to the former Yugoslavia. As a survey of the reception of ancient religious works, figures, and ideas in later twentieth-century and contemporary alternative religious practice, New Antiquities will interest classicists, Egyptologists, and historians of religion of many stripes, particularly those focused on modern Theosophy, Gnosticism, Neopaganism, New Religious Movements, Magick, and Occulture. The book is written in a lively and engaging style that will appeal to professional scholars and advanced undergraduates as well as lay scholars.

Despite modern Paganism being one of the fastest growing new religious movements in Britain and the USA, there is no up-to-date straightforward and informed introduction to modern Paganism from a Christian perspective. The Shaken Path addresses that gap.

Tibetan Demonology discusses the rich taxonomy of gods and demons encountered in Tibet. These spirits are often the cause of, and exhorted for, diverse violent and wrathful activities. This Element consists of four thematic sections. The first section, 'Spirits and the Body', explores oracular possession and spirit-induced illnesses. The second section, 'Spirits and Time', discusses the role of gods in Tibetan astrology and ritual calendars. The third section, 'Spirits and Space', examines the relationship between divinities and the Tibetan landscape. The final section, 'Spirits and Doctrine', explores how certain deities act as fierce protectors of religious and political institutions.

Written with a rare combination of analysis and speculation, this comprehensive study of Javanese religion is one of the few books on the religion of a non-Western people which emphasizes variation and conflict in belief as well as similarity and harmony. The reader becomes aware of the intricacy and depth of Javanese spiritual life and the problems of political and social integration reflected in the religion.
"The Religion of Java" will interest specialists in Southeast Asia, anthropologists and sociologists concerned with the social analysis of religious belief and ideology, students of comparative religion, and civil servants dealing with governmental policy toward Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

White Eagle's teaching is an inspirational, spiritual message bringing great encouragement and a clearer understanding of human purpose. The understanding and love which the teaching embodies, finds its roots in the Ancient Wisdom and, therefore, contains a distillation of elements from many religions and spiritual teachers, including Christianity, Eastern Religions and Native American wisdom. However, White Eagle's 'voice' is timeless and the depth of awareness and explanation, as well as advice, resonates strongly with the needs and challenges of our modern lives. Therefore, much of the material in the publications is not only philosophical, but provides us with ways of approaching all aspects of life in a practical, as well as spiritual, way. This famous collection of White Eagle sayings has already sold over 400,000 copies. Following the Master within' is the theme for the sayings in this book. This pocket-sized book seems to touch people from all persuasions at the heart level (nearly half a million copies have been sold). The sayings are not intellectual statements so much as themes for further reflection - themes that give deep comfort and encouragement. White Eagle's gentle words help the reader hear the voice of his or her own heart. Each saying gives guidance on how to bring peace and harmony into our lives. The secret of strength lies in the "Quiet Mind". This much-loved book of spiritual guidance is now available in paperback.

Dr. Francis Israel Regardie was one of the most important figures in the 20th centure development of the Western Mystery Tradition. From the teachings of Madame Blavatsky, the Bhagavad-Gita, Buddhism, and yoga he came to study with Crowley and became his secretary.

Throughout history, humans have always been fascinated by drugs and altered states. Despite the risk of addiction, many have used drugs as technologies to induce moments of meaning-making transcendence. This book traces the quest for transcendence and meaning through drugs in the modern West. Starting with the Romantic fascination with opium, it goes on to chronicle the discovery of anesthetics, psychiatric and religious interest in hashish, the bewitching power of mescaline and hallucinogenic fungi, as well as the more recent uses of LSD. It fills a major gap in our understanding of contemporary alternative and in the study of countercultures and popular culture. Today we are seeing increased social and scientific attention to both the positive and the negative effects of psychoactive drugs, particularly following the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and/or recreational use in some US states, as well as court cases involving the sacramental use of drugs. This fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of the controversial relationship between drugs and spirituality could not be more timely.

Bridges between Worlds explores Icelandic spirit work, known as andleg mal, which features trance and healing practices that span earth and spirit realms, historical eras, scientific and supernatural worldviews, and cross-Atlantic cultures. Based on years of fieldwork conducted in the northern Icelandic town of Akureyri, Corinne G. Dempsey excavates andleg mal's roots within Icelandic history, and examines how this practice steeped in ancient folklore functions in the modern world. Weaving personal stories and anecdotes with engaging accounts of Icelandic religious and cultural traditions, Dempsey humanizes spirit practices that are so often demonized or romanticized. While recent years have seen an unprecedented boom in tourist travel to Iceland, Dempsey sheds light on a profoundly important, but thus far poorly understood element of the country's culture. Her aim is not to explain away andleg mal but to build bridges of comprehensibility through empathy for the participants who are, after all, not so different from the reader.

To truly know Rhiannon, we must excavate the layers of her myth, decode the meaning of her symbols, and seek to restore the significance of her very name. Although she has a mythology around her, and has many modern-day devotees, nowhere in ancient lore has she been identified as a Goddess. We have no known cult centers or devotional altars dedicated to Rhiannon. How then do we approach this revered Lady? How can we best know her as Goddess? We need but call to her, and ask for what we need. Be it her bag of plenty, the soul-healing song of her birds, or the empowerment of the sovereignty she holds, when you call to Rhiannon, the Divine Queen of the Britons, know that she will stop... and know that she will answer your call.

#1 Best Seller in Religion & Spirituality, Agnosticism Want to Learn More About Moon Spells, Phases of the Moon, Wiccan Spells and Other Aspects of Wiccan Religion?Moon Spell Magic is intended to be a practical and inspirational handbook to making magic from spells for each day of the week: rituals for romance seasonal sacred energy altars secrets for money magic and, everything in between The wisdom of Wiccan religion. Moon Spells Magic contains an abundance of folk wisdom as well as many modern pagan practices that will help you learn the necessary lore and background information for creating the life of your dreams. Rituals and incantations can lead to great personal growth. Witches are the among the most devoted spiritual seekers. This book can be an important tool for gaining a deep grounding in magical correspondences, astrological associations, and the myths behind the magic. Whether you are looking to conjure up a supernatural Saturday for your coven or rid your home of negative energy and blocks to happiness, this numinous guide can help you turn your home into a personal pagan power center and have fun in the process. The moon has enormous power and celestial energy; by harnessing that, you can improve your life every day with the spells in this book. What You'll Learn Inside This Book: Features over 100 recipes for spells ranging from the everyday to special occasions and high holidays Something for every reader, from beginner level to advance students of the craft Contains many ritual resources with lunar lore, astronomical and color correspondences, plant associations, god and goddess invocations, elemental aspects for creating personal spells New takes on the basics such as spells for love, money and luck as well as many pagan practices for a modern lifestyle A fun read that is grounded in scholarship for a fresh approach to spellwork as well as invocations and rituals for wealth, health and happiness A "personal super moon" section detailing your luckiest days of the year and the best time for working, romance, prosperity and when you can access you "Lunar Super Powers"