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Books > Health, Home & Family > Mind, body & spirit > The Occult > General
Brought to Cuba as slaves, the Yoruba people of West Africa
preserved their religion's heritage by disguising their gods as
Catholic saints and worshipping them in secret. The resulting
religion is known as Santeria, a blend of primitive magic and
Catholicism now practiced by an estimated five million Americans.
S"anteria: The Religion" is an informative and insightful
examination of an African religion's survival in the New World. No
one could write this book better than Migene Gonzalez-Wippler.
Combining her informed study as an anthropologist and personal
experience as a Santerian initiate results in a thrilling book that
reveals some of Santeria's most spellbinding elements:
-The or'shas: the deities of Santeria. Who they are. What they
represent. How they may be contacted.
-The santeros: the priests of Santeria. What they are like. What
they do. Initiations into the priesthood.
-The diloggœn: shells used in divination. How they are used.
Methods to consult the gods with the shells.
-Ewe: the magic of Santeria. Includes herbal potions prepared as
medicinal cures.
"Santeria: The Religion" covers every aspect of this religion,
including its rites and ceremonies. Some of these ceremonies may be
considered bizarre or controversial--but, if you want to know the
truth, get this book.
"Santeria: The Religion" contains over 65 remarkable photographs
that will take you right into Santeria traditions. Interviews with
practitioners reveal aspects of the religion rarely disclosed to
non-believers.
The time has come to reveal the growing spiritual practice that
continues to gain ground worldwide, and to remove the fear and
distrust from people who do not understand. Here is the truth about
the religion. Get "Santeria: The Religion "today.
Charlotte Higgins' spellbinding new collection will include all the
most famous Greek myths, as well as many less well known but
equally intriguing ones. Here are stories of the creation, of
Heracles and Theseus and Perseus, the Trojan war and its origins
and aftermaths, tales of Thebes and Argos and Athens. There are
stories of love and desire, adventure and magic, destructive gods,
helpless humans, gender-shifting characters, resourceful witches,
and the origins of birds and animals. Taking her cue from Ovid,
Charlotte Higgins has an intriguing structural device to thread her
stories together. Inspired by the many moments in Greek myths in
which women are seen to weave stories on to textiles (such as Helen
of Troy in Homer, and Arachne and Minerva in Ovid), the tales will
be told as if they are scenes in the act of being woven on to
textiles by women. And, while not operating as an explicitly
feminist retelling, this will add a new dimension to her myths,
bringing women narrators and characters into the foreground. Above
all, Charlotte Higgins' Greek Myths will be an original work of
literature and scholarship by an exceptionally talented writer. It
will be book to be enjoyed as a work of art, a source to be
consulted, a present to be given, and an object to keep and
treasure.
Llewellyn's Sabbat Essentials series explores the old and new ways
of celebrating the seasonal rites that are the cornerstones in the
witch's year. A well-rounded introduction to Ostara, this
attractive book features rituals, recipes, lore, and
correspondences. It includes hands-on information for modern
celebrations, spells and divination, recipes and crafts,
invocations and prayers, and more! Ostara-also known as the Spring
Equinox-is a time of renewal, a time to plant seeds as the earth
once again comes to life. This guide to the history and modern
celebration of Ostara shows you how to perform rituals and work
magic to energize yourself and renew the power and passion to live
and grow.
From black magic and Satanism to Gnostic sects and Gurdjieff's
Fourth Way, the left-hand path has been linked to many practices,
cults, and individuals across the ages. Stephen Flowers, Ph.D.,
examines the methods, teachings, and historical role of the
left-hand path, from its origins in Indian tantric philosophy to
its underlying influence in current world affairs, and reveals
which philosophers, magicians, and occult figures throughout
history can truly be called "Lords of the Left-Hand Path." Flowers
explains that while the right-hand path seeks union with and thus
dependence on God, the left-hand path seeks a "higher law" based on
knowledge and power. It is the way of self-empowerment and true
freedom. Beginning with ancient Hindu and Buddhist sects and moving
Westward, he examines many alleged left-hand path groups, including
the Cult of Set, the Yezidi Devil Worshippers, the Assassins, the
Neoplatonists, the Hell-Fire Club, the Bolsheviks, the occult
Nazis, and several heretical Sufi, Zoroastrian, Christian, and
Muslim sects. Following a carefully crafted definition of a true
adherent of the left-hand path based on two main
principles--self-deification and challenge to the conventions of
"good" and "evil"--the author analyzes many famous and infamous
personalities, including H. P. Blavatsky, Faust, the Marquis de
Sade, Austin Osman Spare, Aleister Crowley, Gerald Gardner, Anton
LaVey, and Michael Aquino, and reveals which occult masters were
Lords of the Left-Hand Path. Flowers shows that the left-hand path
is not inherently evil but part of our heritage and our deep-seated
desire to be free, independent, and in control of our destinies.
Speaking towards the end of the catastrophic Great War, Rudolf
Steiner reveals the spiritual roots of the crises of our times.
Since 1879, he says, human minds have been influenced by backward
angels, 'spirits of darkness', who - following their defeat in
battle with Archangel Michael - were forced out of the heavens and
'fell' to the earth. This war in the spiritual worlds had
consequences, and it is essential that people today are
sufficiently awake to the retrogressive influences around them. In
a positive sense, we can choose freely to engage with the spirits
of light, who seek to emancipate human beings from bonds of race,
nation and blood. In this extraordinary series of lectures, Rudolf
Steiner throws light on hidden aspects of world affairs. With the
Bolshevik Revolution having just taken place, he discusses events
in Russia and humanity's attempts to build theoretically perfect
social orders. Steiner also speaks about the roles and spiritual
backgrounds of significant individuals, such as the mystics Johann
Valentin Andreae, Vladimir Soloviev and Saint-Martin, the American
and British politicians Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George, and
world-historic figures including Charles Darwin and Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe. The new edition of this classic work features a revised
translation, notes and extensive appendices by editor Frederick
Amrine, plus a new introduction by Christopher Schaefer.
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