The Vikings Bok, commonly known as the Poetic Edda, is the spiritual foundation for the Heathen revival today. It is the indigenous, historical remains of a once widespread Teutonic spirituality that has been too long absent from the Western world. This newly revised edition is based on the rare and highly acclaimed Olive Bray translation. Together with a New Glossary of modern Heathen terms and a concise introduction, this single source book is a practical "must have" for those interested in following the Northern Way

Memory and Urban Religion in the Ancient World brings together scholars and researchers working on memory and religion in ancient urban environments. Chapters explore topics relating to religious traditions and memory, and the multifunctional roles of architectural and geographical sites, mythical figures and events, literary works and artefacts. Pagan religions were often less static and more open to new influences than previously understood. One of the factors that shape religion is how fundamental elements are remembered as valuable and therefore preservable for future generations. Memory, therefore, plays a pivotal role when - as seen in ancient Rome during late antiquity - a shift of religions takes place within communities. The significance of memory in ancient societies and how it was promoted, prompted, contested and even destroyed is discussed in detail. This volume, the first of its kind, not only addresses the main cultures of the ancient world - Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome - but also looks at urban religious culture and funerary belief, and how concepts of ethnic religion were adapted in new religious environments.

This work discusses the decline of Greek religion and the christianization of town and countryside in the eastern Roman Empire between the death of Julian the Apostate and the laws of Justinian the Great against paganism, c. 370-529. It examines such questions as the effect of the laws against sacrifice and sorcery, temple conversions, the degradation of pagan gods into daimones, the christianization of rite, and the social, political and economic background of conversion to Christianity. Several local contexts are examined in great detail: Gaza, Athens, Alexandria, Aphrodisias, central Asia Minor, northern Syria, the Nile basin, and the province of Arabia. It lays particular emphasis on the criticism of epigraphy, legal evidence, and hagiographic texts, and traces the demographic growth of Christianity and the chronology of this process in select local contexts. It also seeks to understand the behavioral patterns of conversion.

This work discusses the decline of Greek religion and the christianization of town and countryside in the eastern Roman Empire between the death of Julian the Apostate and the laws of Justinian the Great against paganism, c. 370-529. It examines such questions as the effect of the laws against sacrifice and sorcery, temple conversions, the degradation of pagan gods into daimones, the christianization of rite, and the social, political and economic background of conversion to Christianity. Several local contexts are examined in great detail: Gaza, Athens, Alexandria, Aphrodisias, central Asia Minor, northern Syria, the Nile basin, and the province of Arabia. It lays particular emphasis on the criticism of epigraphy, legal evidence, and hagiographic texts, and traces the demographic growth of Christianity and the chronology of this process in select local contexts. It also seeks to understand the behavioral patterns of conversion.

The Basics of Torah - The Tree of Life helps define the simple purpose of Torah and gives scriptural reference for what is sin, truth, light. One will learn how the Father Yahuah blesses. This book is designed for the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Yashra'al) that are return back to the Torah and the Father commandment, statues, precepts and judgments.

The Elder or Poetic Edda of Saemun Sigfusson, bi-lingual side-by-side edition with illustrations.

Lucian was born at Samosata, a city in the ancient kingdom of Commagene (present-day Turkey) some time around 125 AD. Trained as a sculptor, he later became a rhetorician, pleading legal cases in the courts. But Lucian's cynical turn of mind and biting wit made him popular with the region's intelligentsia and he was soon performing set-pieces in public. So successful was he, his skills brought both fame and fortune, and allowed him to travel extensively, through Greece and Italy and even as far as Gaul. In 'The Syrian Goddess' Lucian does more than merely entertain an audience. His essay on the worship of the goddess Atargatis (= Astarte) at Hierapolis ('Holy City') in northern Syria, gives an eye-witness account of a whole swathe of (to our eyes) outlandish pagan ceremonies: ritual prostitution, phallic worship, priestly self-castration, and human sacrifice are all recorded with meticulous care. 'The Syrian Goddess' remains one of the most important sources for 'oriental' religions under the Roman Empire, and is a classic read for all those interested in paganism and the cult of the Great Goddess.

Drawing on two years of ethnographic field research among the Navajos, this book explores a controversial Native American ritual and healthcare practice: ceremonial consumption of the psychedelic Peyote cactus in the context of an indigenous postcolonial healing movement called the Native American Church (NAC), which arose in the 19th century in response to the creation of the reservations system and increasing societal ills, including alcoholism. The movement is the locus of cultural conflict with a long history in North America, and stirs very strong and often opposed emotions and moral interpretations. Joseph Calabrese describes the Peyote Ceremony as it is used in family contexts and federally funded clinical programs for Native American patients. He uses an interdisciplinary methodology that he calls clinical ethnography: an approach to research that involves clinically informed and self-reflective immersion in local worlds of suffering, healing, and normality. Calabrese combined immersive fieldwork among NAC members in their communities with a year of clinical work at a Navajo-run treatment program for adolescents with severe substance abuse and associated mental health problems. There he had the unique opportunity to provide conventional therapeutic intervention alongside Native American therapists who were treating the very problems that the NAC often addresses through ritual. Calabrese argues that if people respond better to clinical interventions that are relevant to their society's unique cultural adaptations and ideologies (as seems to be the case with the NAC), then preventing ethnic minorities from accessing traditional ritual forms of healing may actually constitute a human rights violation.

Joseph's Dream News represents ancient stories in a modern newspaper or popular magazine style of reporting for the modern reader who may have little knowledge of ancient past, or of epistemology, psychology, cosmology, theology, astronomy, science, psycholinguistics, politics and religion. Presenting these ancient stories using modern idioms and formats the author makes them come alive in dealing with real life problems, challenges and circumstances in the world today. In ancient characters we can learn something about life and ourselves. Is it possible to see the repeat of history as you read through these headlines? History will show you the future if you understand and gain perspectives from studying narratives of the past. Our story of Joseph's heroic adventures is the timeless tale of a young person who faces many challenges while growing up and how he responds and reacts to these challenges. Core principles enabled Joseph to be a servant of God and to follow his dreams. Tossed into a hole in the ground by his own brothers and then later sold into slavery did not alter Joseph's firm belief that God was with him. Joseph was a possibility thinker, no matter what was happening in the circumstances or changing events of the moment around him he stayed true to his God and his beliefs. Often held in slavery or captivity, Joseph served his fellow man confident that God was with him as he hustled to make his dreams a reality. Joseph's faith in God engendered his high ethical standards early in life and shaped his passion to serve humanity to the best of his ability. He was proactive and took responsibility for acquiring learned lessons from his experiences and by always choosing a positive, life affirming response to dire circumstances. Early in life, Joseph learned time tested sound principles while working on his father's farm. Joseph's principled thinking empowered his honesty, duty, service and problem solving skills. Joseph believed his life purpose was service to God. He believed that in serving others he was serving God. His life of service to others helped to mold his character and shape his choices and options in life. This humble personality is what made him a great leader. However, this did not necessarily mean he always made the right choices in what was best for the people.

We often think of classical Greek society as a model of rationality and order. Yet as Walter Burkert demonstrates in these influential essays on the history of Greek religion, there were archaic, savage forces surging beneath the outwardly calm face of classical Greece, whose potentially violent and destructive energies, Burkert argues, were harnessed to constructive ends through the interlinked uses of myth and ritual. For example, in a much-cited essay on the Athenian religious festival of the Arrephoria, Burkert uncovers deep connections between this strange nocturnal ritual, in which two virgin girls carried sacred offerings into a cave and later returned with something given to them there, and tribal puberty initiations by linking the festival with the myth of the daughters of Kekrops. Other chapters explore the origins of tragedy in blood sacrifice; the role of myth in the ritual of the new fire on Lemnos; the ties between violence, the Athenian courts, and the annual purification of the divine image; and how failed political propaganda entered the realm of myth at the time of the Persian Wars.

Excavation of Goebekli Tepe has revealed the hitherto unknown religion of the "Neolithic Revolution." Almost twelve millennia ago the cult was established, at the northern end of the Fertile Crescent, by priests who were hunter-shamans, miners of flint and weapon-makers. Progress in weapon manufacture resulted in overhunting, a temporary surplus of meat, too many human hunters, and a decline in prey animal populations. Shortages of prey animals elicited a priestly cult that specialized in the regeneration of life. Priestly minds rationalized taking control of plants and animals and thereby encouraged domestication--which led to "hyper-domestication," or, what evolved as our history of civilization and our history of religions.

'The Book of Jasher' is said to derive from a manuscript that was discovered by the Romans after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. It appeared in Europe as a printed version at Venice in 1613. From internal evidence it seems to date from around the time of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmudic literature - it may even be contemporary with the 'Book of Enoch'. The book is enormously valuable as an adjunct to Biblical studies. It contains historical information that can help to fill in historical gaps in the Biblical narrative, such as the reason for Cain and Tubal Cain's deaths, and the true identity of Melchizedek. There are also many problematical comments, while others directly contradict orthodox Jewish rites, such as Rachel's use of necromancy and the practice of astrology by Benjamin. 'The Book of Jasher' is a document that both enlightens and disturbs in equal measure - a book that cannot and should not be ignored.

1 Enoch, written in great antiquity, is a text of ecstasy and heavenly vision purported to be written by Enoch, seventh from Adam, who "lived 365 years and was no more, for God took him." This book was influential and widely read in the early church, as witnessed by its quotations in the Biblical books of Jude and 1 Peter.

A short introduction to Witchcraft or Wicca with its symbols, spells, and practices.

A historical novel set within the first century C.E. Follow the lives of some of the ancient characters mentioned in the New Testament. Meet Magdala. Phoebe, John the son of Zebedee, Lysander, Mariam, and more, as they face the challenges of poverty, disease, Herders, and the strong arm of the Roman Empire. Weep when Jerusalem is destroyed

Awo Falokun Fatunmbi presents in "Ebora" a revealing account and understanding for the first time of Africa's metaphysical aspect of Odu Ifa releasing the connection of Spiritual Warriors within our lives. A dupe Awo Ogun. - - Ifasina O. Agbede In this book, Awo Falokun Fatunmbi continues to make lasting contributions to our understanding of the Yoruba cosmos. In "Ebora," Awo Falokun provides an in depth explanation of the often misunderstood topic of Spiritual Warriors in Ifa. Set to the rhythm of the universal hero's journey, baba takes us on a voyage into the Yoruba spiritual world. This book also provides instruction on how to embark on the journey to self-transformation with the help and guidance of the Yoruba Spiritual Warriors. - - Awo Fategbe Fatunmbi

This research takes an integrative approach to the study of Hellenistic cult and cultic practices in an important part of western Asia by employing a combination of archaeological, numismatic and historical evidence. Although any thorough investigation of Seleukid religion would prove illuminating in itself, this research uses religion as a lens through which to explore the processes of acculturation and rejection within a colonial context. It discusses the state attitude towards, and manipulation of, both Hellenic and indigenous beliefs and places this within a framework developed out of a series of case studies exploring evidence for religion at a regional level. The study outlines the development of religious practices and expression in the region which formed the birthplace of the modern world's three most influential monotheistic religions.