When Jean-Francois Champollion rediscovered how to translate the Egyptian hieroglyphs in the early nineteenth century he described them as "....a complex system, a writing that is figurative, symbolic, and phonetic all within the same text, a single sentence, I would even say a single word." Since then, although his discoveries have led to the translation of most of the ancient Egyptian texts, the emphasis in modern scholarship is to regard the hieroglyphs purely as sounds and to disregard or even deny their symbolic meaning. This book explores how the hieroglyphs function as a comprehensive system of magical symbolism, the medw neter or Words of the Gods by which the sacred truths of the Inner worlds of creation are conveyed to humanity. Their effect is 'magical' because when we study them and ponder their meaning they cause changes in our consciousness, enabling us to reach a deeper understanding of ourselves, of our surroundings and of the universal principles that lie behind all creation. They also incidentally teach us a great deal about the magical beliefs and practices of the ancient Egyptians and their perception of the relationship between the earthly and spiritual worlds. Using many examples and illustrations, this book demonstrates how the hieroglyphs formed the basis of Egyptian magic and were the means by which it was taught and practiced. It offers an entirely new interpretation of Egyptian magic, and shows how the hieroglyphs can be used as a magical tool that is as transformative today as it was in ancient times.

Dion Fortune's The Cosmic Doctrine is a spiritual work that resulted from a psychic experiment between two friends in Glastonbury, 1923. It has since become one of the most important works in modern esoteric literature and a constant source of inspiration and instruction to many practitioners. Sparks from the Cosmic Flame is a series of essays written by some of those inspired practitioners, which rather than seeking to 'explain' the work or re-write it in more modern vernacular, instead develops various and different aspects of its ideas that can be applied to one's practice. It's a book about how The Cosmic Doctrine can be used, or perhaps used differently and more flexibly. Wendy Berg, author of Red Tree, White Tree and Gwenevere and the Round Table has collated a series of illuminating essays by those who share a common enthusiasm for The Cosmic Doctrine and its applicability to contemporary practice. The contributors include the editor as well as M. E. Beardsley, James North, Stuart Delacey, Dale Kendrick, J.R. Petrie, Derek Thompson, Gwen Blythe, Christian Gilson, Holly Mulhern and Alan Robinson. There is no single or orthodox interpretation but rather a call for individual imagination and intuition, as well as the reasoning mind. It is unlike any other book and the reader will find that the guidance and inspiration of the original Inner Plane communicators are still there to be contacted; the words are the catalyst. One needs only to read a portion of the text and hold the images and concepts in the mind for the magic to work.

The new book by Wendy Berg puts her acclaimed Red Tree, White Tree into practice. It shows how the Round Table was an actual, practical system of magic, demonstrated by Gwenevere, who was its prime interpreter within the court of the Round Table. Central to the book is the concept of five Faery kingdoms described in the legends, with which Gwenevere was closely associated: Lyonesse, Sorelois, Gorre and Oriande, about the central Grail kingdom of Listenois. The book comprises a graded series of meditations, practical magical exercises, guided visualisations and a full ritual, which take the reader into each of the Faery kingdoms in turn, guided by Gwenevere, to experience the various challenges and gifts that they each represent. The fourth kingdom, Oriande, takes the reader into the Round Table of the Stars, an experiential journey through 12 constellations, which very neatly and remarkably demonstrates the continuing work of the Round Table into the future.

"The most important and challenging book on Arthurian and Grail tradition for many a long year." - Gareth Knight. The relationship between human and Faery lies at the very core of the Arthurian stories. In this radical re-evaluation of the Grail legends, Wendy Berg brings the ancient mythology of the British Isles into sharp focus centred around the marriage of King Arthur to the Faery Gwenevere and the origin and destiny of the Grail Hallows. Drawing upon numerous Arthurian sources and other related texts from the Book of Genesis to The Lord of the Rings, she explores the magical ritual underpinning of the legends and their connection to the ancient stellar deities of Britain. "When these stories are read with the additional level of understanding that they are for the most part a record of the lives and relationships of Faeries and humans working together about the Round Table, they immediately become not only a great deal more interesting, but also acquire a new and vivid relevance for the present day."

The Arthurian Formula, was the last major work of Dion Fortune and formed the corner stone of the inner work of her Society of the Inner Light for the following twenty years, supplemented by the remarkably gifted psychic Margaret Lumley Brown. It later formed the basis for work by Gareth Knight with the Company of Hawkwood and allied groups in later years, inspiring his book The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend. Dion Fortune's contribution explores the remote sources of the Arthurian legends and the mission of Merlin, played out in the polar relationships between Arthur, Guenevere and Lancelot in both human and faery dynamics and leading to aspects of the Grail. Margaret Lumley Brown develops the threads in the labyrinth formed by the archetypal patterns of the knights and ladies, including particular reference to Morgan le Fay. Gareth Knight's commentary pulls together these strands with an overview of the various traditions behind the Arthurian Formula - of Glastonbury, Atlantis, the world of Faery, Merlin, the Troubadours, the cult of Queen Venus and their application in the practical mysteries of today.