This book explores the life-history of the individual within the context of Plato's social thought. The author examines Plato's treatment of the principal crises in an individual life - birth, educational selection, sex, the individual's contract with society, old age, death, and life after death - and provides an unprecedented analysis of Plato's theory of genetics as it appears in the Timaeus. Comparisons are made with contemporary developments in anthropology, sociology, and comparative myth but without losing sight of the fact that Plato, whilst having much to say to the modern world, was not a modern.

"The Key of Solomon" is the most famous and infamous of the Grimoires ever produced. Yet amazingly only one version of it has ever been published, by S L MacGregor Mathers, over 100 years ago. What Mathers may not have known is that there were much more detailed and complete versions of this grimoire available in many other languages. This is not just a variant of Mathers' text, but a translation of three completely different and beautifully illustrated 1796 French manuscripts of the Key of Solomon. These are the most beautiful and complete manu-scripts of "The Key of Solomon" ever published. Much of the detail omitted from Mathers' edition is given here, providing a complete and workable system of high magic with full details of implements, procedures, and a wide range of talismans. Much material not available to Mathers is also found in this extraordinary book, including planetary prayers, names of angels and demons, and a vast array of pentacles, as well as material on the Olympic Spirits, Planetary Spirits and Intelligences. The commentary by two of the best known scholar-magicians provides much additional material, a full survey of all the extant manuscripts of this famous grimoire and how they relate to each other, as well as the historical influence of the Key of Solomon on the development of magic from the Renaissance until now. The pentacles as drawn by Fyot, the original scribe, are reproduced here, with more than twice as many pentacles as were produced in Mathers' text. "The Key of Solomon" is the most significant magical grimoire ever penned, certainly for the period from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth century. This present work finally restores "The Key of Solomon" back to its place at the heart of practical Western magic.

There have been many grimoires attributed to St Cyprian of Antioch due to his reputation as a consummate magician before his conversion to Christianity, but perhaps none so intriguing as the present manuscript. This unique manuscript (unlike the more rustic examples attributed to St Cyprian called the Black Books of Wittenburg, as found in Scandinavia, or the texts disseminated under his name in Spain and Portugal) is directly in line with the Solomonic tradition, and therefore relevant to our present series of Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic. It is unique in that instead of being weighed down with many prayers and conjurations it addresses the summoning and use of both the four Archangels, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel as well as their opposite numbers, the four Demon Kings, Paymon, Maimon, Egyn and Oriens. The later are shown in their animal and human forms along with their sigils, a resource unique amongst grimoires. The text is in a mixture of three magical scripts, Greek, Hebrew, cipher, Latin, (and reversed Latin) with many contractions and short forms, but expanded and made plain by the editors. The title literally means 'The Key of Hell with white and black magic as proven by Metatron'.

This book explores the representation of the idea or theme of redemption in contemporary, popular film. The discussion focuses primarily on the work of three directors - Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Kore-eda Hirokazu - but also considers a few films from other directorial hands. David Rankin divides the notion of personal redemption into transactional and transformational aspects, differentiating between redemption, understood as that which is external to the person but impacting on their being and environment, and that which is internal to the person. Redemption is viewed broadly as a journey from brokenness to wholeness, from imprisonment to release, or from some form of slavery to freedom. Both secular and religious (especially Christian) understandings of the notion are discussed, and consideration is given to how the former might inform the latter.

This book explores how post-death existence is represented in popular film, looking at issues such as continuity, personal identity, and the nature of existence beyond the grave. Film often returns to the theme of dying, death and the afterlife, both directly and indirectly, because there are very few subjects as compelling and universal. The book compares the representation of death, dying and the afterlife in films to scholarly surveys of attitudes towards life-after-death through the analysis of twenty films made between the end of World War II and now. It looks at the portrayals of stages between death and a final destination; spatio-temporal and personal continuity; the nature of afterlife existence in terms of embodiment, or not; and the contact between the worlds of the living and the dead. This book offers a wide-ranging view on a compelling subject in film. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Religion and Film, Religion and Media, the Philosophy of Religion, and the Sociology of Religion, as well as Religion, Media and Film Studies more generally .

This work includes the complete unabridged version with variants of "The Nine Great Keys", a vital early 17th century manuscript detailing the invocation of the Archangels and nine Orders of Angels. The full practical techniques of summoning the Archangels, details of the hierarchies of spiritual beings, and how the full Enochian system fits in with the Angelic and Demonic hierarchies are all covered, as well as the theology and philosophy associated with Angelic magic, giving the context that these magical practitioners were working with. It includes the evocation of the Four Demon Princes and their role within the traditional system of magic. The book deals clearly with the full continuum of spiritual creatures from Archangels through Angels to Demon Princes (Fallen Angels), to Olympic Spirits and Elementals. This is presented in practical detail, with much rare manuscript material being made available in print for the first time.

The resurrection of the dead was, as Tertullian says, 'the chief article of the whole Christian faith' (De resurrectione 39.3) and one of those beliefs which most distinguished Christian thought from much other contemporary thinking. This book looks at the way in which post-death existence is represented in the work of the early Church Fathers - notably Athenagoras, Tertullian, and Origen - and the Letter to Rheginos, and how these representations compare with its treatment both in Scripture and in contemporary, modern theological reflection. Examining these attitudes to life after death, and putting them into conversation with more modern interpretations, the book asks four main questions. Firstly, whether resurrection happens immediately after death. Secondly, if there is continuity or discontinuity of space and time between death and a resurrection life. Thirdly, it explores whether post-death existence was thought to be embodied or not, and if so how might it be embodied. Finally, it addresses the issue of continuity, or discontinuity, of personal identity after death. This book sheds light on the formation of a key doctrine of Christian faith. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars and academics working in the History of Religion, Theology and Patristics.

This book explores how post-death existence is represented in popular film, looking at issues such as continuity, personal identity, and the nature of existence beyond the grave. Film often returns to the theme of dying, death and the afterlife, both directly and indirectly, because there are very few subjects as compelling and universal. The book compares the representation of death, dying and the afterlife in films to scholarly surveys of attitudes towards life-after-death through the analysis of twenty films made between the end of World War II and now. It looks at the portrayals of stages between death and a final destination; spatio-temporal and personal continuity; the nature of afterlife existence in terms of embodiment, or not; and the contact between the worlds of the living and the dead. This book offers a wide-ranging view on a compelling subject in film. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Religion and Film, Religion and Media, the Philosophy of Religion, and the Sociology of Religion, as well as Religion, Media and Film Studies more generally .

This classic text of the Nine Great Keys details the invocation of the Archangels, the full hierarchy of spiritual beings (including Olympic Spirits and Elementals) and the evocation of the four Demon Princes.

Highly sought-after, this edition of a rare early seventeenth century grimioire has never before appeared in English. Occult scholar Stephen Skinner, along with magician and author David Rankine, trace the history of the Keys and offer full transcriptions of four key seventeenth century manuscripts in the British Library and in the Bodleian Library.

Athenagoras of Athens was a Christian thinker of the second century who engaged with contemporary philosophical thought in the matters of the divine, and the relationship of that divine to the material world. While clearly a Christian apologist, Athenagoras presents doctrines of God, of the Holy Trinity, and of other theological matters which clearly evidence an engagement with Greek philosophical thought which goes beyond the merely linguistic and embraces the notion of God as true being. Athenagoras is a Church Father who has not been given great attention in twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century scholarship. This book explores Athenagoras' undeniable place in the development of Christian thought on the divine, on the Trinity, on the human person, and on the resurrection. His work provides an important link between the mid-second-century and the work of Justin and that of the third-century Christian theologians of the East.

To observe the Celts through the eyes of the Greeks and Romans is the first aim of this book.

The Sophists, the Socratics and the Cynics had one important characteristic in common: they mainly used spoken natural language as their instrument of investigation, and they were more concerned to discover human nature in its various practical manifestations than the facts of the physical world. The Sophists are too often remembered merely as the opponents of Socrates and Plato. Rankin discusses what social needs prompted the development of their theories and provided a market for their teaching. Five prominent Sophists - Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias and Thrasymachus - are looked at individually. The author discusses their origins, aims and arguments, and relates the issues they focussed on to debates apparent in contemporary literature. Sophists, Socratics and Cynics, first published in 1983, also traces the sophistic strand in Greek thought beyond the great barrier of Plato, emphasising continuity with the Cynics, and concludes with a look forward to Epicureans and Stoics.

Athenagoras of Athens was a Christian thinker of the second century who engaged with contemporary philosophical thought in the matters of the divine, and the relationship of that divine to the material world. While clearly a Christian apologist, Athenagoras presents doctrines of God, of the Holy Trinity, and of other theological matters which clearly evidence an engagement with Greek philosophical thought which goes beyond the merely linguistic and embraces the notion of God as true being. Athenagoras is a Church Father who has not been given great attention in twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century scholarship. This book explores Athenagoras' undeniable place in the development of Christian thought on the divine, on the Trinity, on the human person, and on the resurrection. His work provides an important link between the mid-second-century and the work of Justin and that of the third-century Christian theologians of the East.

The resurrection of the dead was, as Tertullian says, 'the chief article of the whole Christian faith' (De resurrectione 39.3) and one of those beliefs which most distinguished Christian thought from much other contemporary thinking. This book looks at the way in which post-death existence is represented in the work of the early Church Fathers - notably Athenagoras, Tertullian, and Origen - and the Letter to Rheginos, and how these representations compare with its treatment both in Scripture and in contemporary, modern theological reflection. Examining these attitudes to life after death, and putting them into conversation with more modern interpretations, the book asks four main questions. Firstly, whether resurrection happens immediately after death. Secondly, if there is continuity or discontinuity of space and time between death and a resurrection life. Thirdly, it explores whether post-death existence was thought to be embodied or not, and if so how might it be embodied. Finally, it addresses the issue of continuity, or discontinuity, of personal identity after death. This book sheds light on the formation of a key doctrine of Christian faith. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars and academics working in the History of Religion, Theology and Patristics.

To observe the Celts through the eyes of the Greeks and Romans is the first aim of this book.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203441982

This book explores the life-history of the individual within the context of Plato s social thought. The author examines Plato s treatment of the principal crises in an individual life - birth, educational selection, sex, the individual s contract with society, old age, death, and life after death and provides an unprecedented analysis of Plato s theory of genetics as it appears in the Timaeus. Comparisons are made with contemporary developments in anthropology, sociology, and comparative myth but without losing sight of the fact that Plato, whilst having much to say to the modern world, was not a modern.

From Dr. Stephen Skinner and the Golden Hoard Press comes a historical grimoire that features a fascinating blend of high magic and local village magic. Originally a handbook for a working sorcerer, this book includes a wealth of magical workings in addition to a treasure trove of critical astrological information, including a unique set of astrological tables that are generally absent from other grimoires. Going beyond the planetary days and hours, A Cunning Man's Grimoire reveals detailed aspects of timing and magical operations connected with the 28 Mansions of the Moon and image magic, which rarely appear in Solomonic grimoires. This practical manual of magic is strongly influence by Arabic and Indian roots, placing it at the crossroads of several powerful magical streams.

Was Tertullian of Carthage a schismatic? How did he view the Church and its bishops? How did he understand the exercise of authority within the Church? In this study David Rankin sets the writings of Tertullian in the context of the early third-century Church and the developments it was undergoing in relation to both its structures and its self-understanding. He then discusses Tertullian's own theology of the Church, his imagery and his perception of Church office and ministry. Tertullian maintained throughout his career a high view of the Church, and this in part constituted the motivation for his vitriolic attacks on the Church's hierarchy after he had joined the New Prophecy movement. His contribution to the development of the Church has often been misunderstood, and this thorough exploration provides a reassessment of its nature and importance.

Completely new and richly detailed, this is perhaps the most comprehensive version of The Key of Solomon ever published. Based on one of the best-known grimoires of the Western world, The Veritable Key of Solomon presents all aspects of this revered magical system in one impressive source.

Based on the original Key of Solomon manuscript, this brand new text features never-before-published material and added detail. Over 160 illustrations beautifully complement the elements of this complete and workable system of high magic, from a broad range of talismans and techniques to magical implements and procedures.

Also featured is a commentary by two of the best-known scholar magicians alive--Stephen Skinner and David Rankine--who offer a full survey of all extant manuscripts of this famous grimoire and an exploration of how they interrelate.

Was Tertullian of Carthage a schismatic? How did he view the church and its bishops? In this study David Rankin sets the writings of Tertullian in the context of the early third-century church and its developments, and discusses Tertullian's own theology of the church, his imagery and his perception of church office and ministry. Tertullian's contribution to the development of the church has often been misunderstood, and this thorough exploration provides a timely reassessment of its nature and importance.

Derived from two previously unpublished seventeenth century manuscripts on angel magic, this coveted book contains the final corrected version of John Dee's great tables and an expansion of his most prized book of invocations.

Discover what happened to John Dee's most important manuscript, his book of personal angelic invocations, and how it was developed by seventeenth century magicians into a full working magical system. Learn how only a small part of this material reached the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and was suppressed--never appearing in Israel Regardie's monumental work on the Order rituals.

The Sophists, the Socratics and the Cynics had one important characteristic in common: they mainly used spoken natural language as their instrument of investigation, and they were more concerned to discover human nature in its various practical manifestations than the facts of the physical world. The Sophists are too often remembered merely as the opponents of Socrates and Plato. Rankin discusses what social needs prompted the development of their theories and provided a market for their teaching. Five prominent Sophists - Protagoras, Gorgias, Prodicus, Hippias and Thrasymachus - are looked at individually. The author discusses their origins, aims and arguments, and relates the issues they focussed on to debates apparent in contemporary literature. Sophists, Socratics and Cynics, first published in 1983, also traces the sophistic strand in Greek thought beyond the great barrier of Plato, emphasising continuity with the Cynics, and concludes with a look forward to Epicureans and Stoics.

Le Livre d'Or (The Book of Gold) is a unique 17th century French magical work comprising numerous amulets, charms, prayers, spells and sigils for working with the Biblical Book of the Psalms of King David. Written in a simple style akin to a medieval Book of Secrets combined with magical practices from the ancient world, Le Livre d'Or brings together practices which have their roots in major works from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Cairo Genizah, to the Greek Magical Papyri and Sepher Shimmush Tehillim (Magical Use of the Psalms). Now translated into English for the first time, this exceptional text demonstrates the significance of the Psalms as a unifying and vital thread throughout the development of Western magic. From Sweden to Syria, Britain to the Baltic, the use of appropriate Psalms has spread as a significant part of popular folk and religious magic, and Le Livre d'Or is an inimitable example of the transmission of divine power through the written and spoken word. Le Livre d'Or was originally bound as part of Lansdowne MS 1202 with a 17th century French copy of the most important of grimoires, the Key of Solomon. The extensive commentary by David Rankine and Paul Harry Barron emphasises the place of the Psalms within the Grimoire tradition, detailing their extensive apotropaic, amuletic and coercive uses in works such as the Book of Abramelin, the Key of Solomon and the Goetia. The editors also illustrate how the magic of the Psalms has underlain and cross-fertilised numerous traditions over the last two thousand years, from Hellenic magicians, early Christians and Jews of the ancient world to practitioners of the medieval Grimoires and Renaissance Cunning-folk. Whether it was for benevolent or malefic results, Le Livre d'Or provided the appropriate Psalm verses and relevant techniques. This previously ignored work is an outstanding example of eminently practical magic which not only draws on such major works as the Heptameron and the Steganographia, but also many of the divine names found in the Kabbalah. From Saints to spirits, characters to Creeds, Le Livre d'Or shines forth as a significant and reclaimed chapter in the Western Esoteric Traditions.