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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Myths & mythology
What is the origin of the stories of the Round Table, of Excalibur
and the Holy Grail, of Sir Launcelot and Guinevere? And where was
Camelot?King Arthur's name has echoed down the centuries, conjuring
up rich images of mystery and power, chivalry and romance. But did
he exist at all? There is no evidence to prove he reigned in the
fifth and sixth centuries; no eye-witness accounts of his
coronation and no reliable manuscripts outlining his deeds. This
full-colour guide examines the facts of the legends in the
tantalising puzzle of King Arthur and his knights. Learn about the
origins of the Round Table, the cult of chivalry and conflict
between knights, and Arthur's shape-shifting half-sister Moran le
Fay. From the origins of Arthurian legend to the new phase in the
Arthurian cyce in the romantic revival of the early nineteenth
century, read about the tantalizing puzzle that is King Arthur.Look
out for more Pitkin guides on the very best of British history,
heritage and travel.
Though nearly everyone is familiar with the great mythological
figures such as Hercules, Icarus and Medusa, readers may wonder
what relevance these ancient tales hold for them. This unique
reference book brings mythology to life for students by exploring
the connections between ancient myths and contemporary culture. The
delightful introductory essay sets the tone, with its overview of
the myriad areas of human endeavors that have been influenced by
mythology including the arts, science, psychology, language and
literature, consumer products and other aspects of popular culture.
The user-friendly volume is comprised of 50 narrative essays, that
offer a lively retelling of the myth, and then trace the cultural
connections. Readers will discover, for example, the fascinating
derivation of Freudian psychoanalysis from the myth of Oedipus.
Fans of popular film and fiction may be surprised to learn the
mythological inspiration for works like Beauty and the Beast, The
Matrix, or Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead. This engrossing
book is enhanced with 25 original illustrations. Five fact-filled
appendices offer glossaries and interesting mythological
etymologies of commonplace words in nature, science, and everyday
consumer products like Nike shoes and Olympus cameras. Whether for
research or pure enjoyment, this accessible and informative book
reveals the many unrecognized references to mythology that impact
our lives.
This book is another example of the New Thought movement where the
author looks at the law of attrac-tion in the sense of thought with
the respect of the power of mind. Atkinson points out the
similarities between the law of gravitation and the mental law of
attraction. He ex-plains that thought vibrations are as real as
those manifesting as light, heat, magnetism and electricity. The
difference is in the vibratory rate which also ex-plains the fact
that thought vibrations cannot usually be perceived by our five
senses. The author, rather skillfully, argues that there are huge
gaps in the spectrum of light and sound vibrations, wide enough to
include other worlds. It is logical that these activities would be
perceived by sense organs at-tuned to them. Increasingly
sophisticated scientific instruments are able to register more and
more of these hidden frequencies.
"At sea, when the nets are out and the pipes are lit, then will
some ancient hoarder of tales become loquacious, telling his
histories to the tune of the creaking of the boats. Holy-eve night,
too, is a great time, and in old days many tales were to be heard
at wakes. But the priest have set their faces against wakes. . . ."
From the celebrated poet, William Butler Yeats, a volume of folk
and fairy tales to stir the Irish soul.
A miracle happened that now reveals many secrets of the earth, the
universe. Many great mysteries, never before known, will be told in
this incredible story, a true phenomenal series of spectacular
events. All of mankind is on a well-planned scientific journey. It
is a known fact that the sun is traveling or darting through space
at a constant speed of 700,000 miles per hour. The earth is being
pulled along with the other planets in an exact positioned filing
order. The sun is the engine, which controls these planet
formations. Their destination will surprise you. This story is so
powerful the weak may not be able to follow through to its
conclusion. You will come to know and understand this force. There
are many forces in the universe and they are sometimes referred to
as laws. Such awesome and controlling powers as time, gravity,
perpetual energy, and nature are some of the great controlling
forces that surround man. Logic and reason should impress the
senses that their existence is far more reaching and purposeful
than the mere fact of their existence. The knowledge gained through
the miracle will indeed show a spectacular reason, that all things
have purpose.
This book discusses erotic and magical goddesses and heroines in
several ancient cultures, from the Near East and Asia, and
throughout ancient Europe; in prehistoric and early historic
iconography, their magical qualities are often indicated by a
magical dance or stance. It is a look at female display figures
both cross-culturally and cross-temporally, through texts and
iconography, beginning with figures depicted in very early
Neolithic Anatolia, early and middle Neolithic southeast
Europe--Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia--continuing through the late
Neolithic in East Asia, and into early historic Greece, India, and
Ireland, and elsewhere across the world. These very similar female
figures were depicted in Anatolia, Europe, Southern Asia, and East
Asia, in a broad chronological sweep, beginning with the
pre-pottery Neolithic, ca. 9000 BCE, and existing from the
beginning of the second millennium of this era up to the present
era. This book demonstrates the extraordinary similarities, in a
broad geographic range, of depictions and descriptions of magical
female figures who give fertility and strength to the peoples of
their cultures by means of their magical erotic powers. This book
uniquely contains translations of texts which describe these
ancient female figures, from a multitude of Indo-European, Near
Eastern, and East Asian works, a feat only possible given the
authors' formidable combined linguistic expertise in over thirty
languages. The book contains many photographs of these
geographically different, but functionally and artistically
similar, female figures. Many current books (academic and
otherwise) explore some of the female figures the authors discuss
in their book, but such a wide-ranging cross-cultural and
cross-temporal view of this genre of female figures has never been
undertaken until now. The "sexual" display of these female figures
reflects the huge numinosity of the prehistoric divine feminine,
and of her magical genitalia. The functions of fertility and
apotropaia, which count among the functions of the early historic
display and dancing figures, grow out of this numinosity and
reflect the belief in and honoring of the powers of the ancient
divine feminine.
Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World by
William Walker Atkinson
In this New Thought classic, Atkinson looks at the law of
attraction in the thought world. He points out the similarities
between the law of gravitation and the mental law of attraction. He
explains that thought vibrations are as real as those manifesting
as light, heat, magnetism and electricity. The difference is in the
vibratory rate which also explains the fact that thought vibrations
cannot usually be perceived by our 5 senses.
Contents: Law of attraction in the thought world; Thought-waves
and their power of reproduction; About the mind; Mind building;
Secret of the will; How to become immune to injurious thought
attraction; Transmutation of negative thought; Law of mental
control; Asserting the life force; Training the habit mind;
Psychology of the emotions; Developing new brain cells; Attractive
power-desire force; Law, not chance.
Your Invisible Power by Genevieve Behrend
This is a really inspiring book. It gets you focused on your
dreams and goals with very simple to understand directions. I
encourage everyone to read and apply the information with a spirit
of enthusiasm and watch your life change
Perhaps no other stories have ever been told so often or listened
to with so much pleasure as the classic tales of ancient Greece.
For many ages they have been a source of delight to young people
and old, to the ignorant and the learned, to all who love to hear
about and contemplate things mysterious, beautiful, and grand. They
have become so incorporated into our language and thought, and so
interwoven with our literature, that we could not do away with them
now if we would. They are a portion of our heritage from the
distant past, and they form perhaps as important a part of our
intellectual life as they did of that of the people among whom they
originated.
Folktales collected from Teuan, Al-Huceima, Taza, Fex, Marrakesh,
and Tahanout. Drawing on stories he heard as a boy from female
relatives. Jilali El Koudia presents a cross section of utterly
bewitching narratives. Filled with ghouls and fools, kind magic and
wicked, eternal bonds and earthly wishes, these are mesmerizing
stories to be savored, studied, or simply treasured. Varied genres
include anecdotes, legends, and animal fables, and some bear strong
resemblance to European counterparts, for example Aamar and his
Sister (Hansel and Gretel) and Nunja and the White Dove
(Cinderella). All capture the heart of Morroco and the soul of its
people. In an enlightening introduction. El Koudia mourns the loss
of the teller of tales in the marketplace, and he makes it clear
that storytelling, born of membory and oral tradition, could vanish
in the face of mass and electronic media.
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