People have been interested in secret traditions since the beginning of time. Fraternal brotherhoods and sisterhoods, and secret orders of varying degrees exist in every country, race, and religion. Dion Fortune, in Esoteric Orders and Their Work, gets to the root of exactly what esoteric orders are, leaving no stone unturned. "Esotericism, Occultism, and Mysticism" defines what esotericism is in relation to exoteriscism; in layman's terms, the inner life versus the outer one. In "The Origin of the Mysteries", she looks at how esotericism grew hand-in-hand with the evolution of humankind, discussing how humans evolved from a group soul (still present in animals today, i.e.: packs of wolves) into a singular soul. "The Paths of the Western Tradition" is a discussion on the different schools that have developed (known as Rays) and how students, after having formed a solid base of knowledge, work through each ray on their way to becoming closer to an esoteric ideal. She expounds upon Masters in "The Evolution and Functions of the Masters". We discover that they are not so much superhuman entities as beings who have learned all they need to know on the physical plane and now teach from the ethereal. Chapters such as "The Right and Left-Hand Paths" and "The Use and Power of Ritual" explain the differences between Black and White Occultism, and how long-kept-secret rituals taught only to initiates are used to further the order's members along their paths.

Today, in the centers of the civilized world, there is renewed interest in esoteric schools, and although they may be misunderstood by the mainstream, some of the noblest people have been among their advocates. This book removes the shroudof mystery and fear from esotericism, and makes the Western Mystery Tradition accessible to anyone who has ever been curious about this fascinating spiritual path! Revised edition contains a new foreword by Gareth Knight, and an index.

Almost 15 years after she first appeared in Sea Priestess, Dion Fortune wrote about her heroine Vivien Le Fay again in her second classic novel, Moon Magic. In Moon Magic Vivien appears as Lilith Le Fay, and uses her knowledge of moon-tides to construct an astral temple of Hermetic magic. Dion Fortune's novels are enduring favourites among readers of esoteric fiction.

The Training and Work of an Initiate shows how, from ancient Qabalistic, Greek, and Egyptian roots, the Western Esoteric Systems have an unbroken initiation tradition that has been handed down from adept to neophyte. In this book, Dion Fortune indicates the broad outlines and underlying principles of these systems, illuminating an obscure and greatly misunderstood aspect of the path. Thanks to her teaching, even if you cannot give your entire life over to the pursuit of esoteric science, you can still develop a philosophy of life and learn your individual relationship to the cosmic whole. You will discover how initiates prepare body, mind, and spirit for the challenging journey that is the esoteric path, what the path of initiation looks like, and what it is to be called to this work. The book is filled with accessible information, presented in a way so that "even that which the smallest cup can carry away is the true water of life". This revised edition contains a new foreword by Gareth Knight, and an index.

Applied Magic is a selection of Dion Fortune's writings on the practical applications of magical and esoteric techniques. The whole of existence is not just what our five senses can comprehend. There is a whole kingdom of mind and spirit that comes from another plane of existence -- the cosmos -- where mystics and poets have gone to reach another kind of knowing. Everyone has the ability to access these invisible planes of existence -- and to bring themselves into harmony with the great Cosmic Forces. Fortune also discusses practical applications, the group mind, the psychology of ritual, the three kinds of reality, and people who have been involved in esoteric study. She provides invaluable guidance to anyone intent on increasing inner awareness. She declares, "Esoteric tradition admits of no exclusiveness; it sees all religions as the expressions of our spirit rather than the personal revelation of a jealous God to His chosen people. It suffers from neither superstitious awe nor bigoted fear". This edition includes a glossary that defines terms used in the study of the Western Mystery Tradition when she was teaching her group in London, a new introduction by Gareth Knight, and an index.

Sea Priestess is the highly acclaimed novel in which Dion Fortune introduces her most powerful fictional character, Vivien Le Fay Morgan - a practising initiate of the Hermetic Path. Vivien has the ability to transform herself into magical images, and here she becomes Morgan Le Fay, sea priestess of Atlantis and foster daughter to Merlin! Inextricably drawn to an ancient cult, she learns the esoteric significance of the magnetic ebb and flow of the moon-tides.

In this groundbreaking book, Knight shows how the Qabalah and its basic diagram, the Tree of Life, is a system of relationships among mystical symbols that can be used to gain access to the hidden reaches of the mind. He also demonstrates how the Qabalah is applicable to all mystical traditions and religious beliefs, including Christian mysticism, Greek, Egyptian and Celtic mythologies, and even Native American beliefs. It is indeed symbolic of our universal search for the Divine. Included here are two books in one. The first compares the Western Mystery Tradition with the Eastern system of yoga, analyzes the Tree of Life in full detail, and describes the practical application and theories of Qabalistic symbolism. The second gives the most comprehensive analysis ever published of the twenty-two 'Paths of Concealed Glory' that join the Spheres of the Tree of Life taking into account the Hebrew alphabet, astrological signs, and tarot trumps. A large section explores the history of tarot design and the varying systems of correspondence with the Tree of Life.

Potent medieval faery lore and hidden goddess traditions for the 21st century. Gareth Knight explores and reveals the hidden mystery of the Faery Melusine, a major figure in medieval French lore and legend. Through vivid interpretation of original source texts, Gareth Knight shows that the Melusine story is a powerful initiatory legend emerging from the deeply transformative Faery Tradition of ancient Europe. Furthermore he demonstrates how such legends manifest as history: the innate sacromagical power of Melusine affected key places and events in the development of the medieval world and from there reached far into the shaping of the modern world through the conflicts for Jerusalem and the Middle East. Gareth Knight is the author of many books on magic, occultism, and esoteric tradition. His work is known world-wide and has been influential in the development of the contemporary magical revival.

"By the time we met, he was a newly ordained curate and I was scratching a living in the esoteric world, had written a book on the Qabalah and ran an occult magazine. We were thus inhabitants of two worlds that were never supposed to meet - at least by popular convention - or if they did, to be diametrically opposed to each other." The catalyst for such a meeting of the minds was the provocative poetry of Anthony Duncan, hitherto little known to the world but privately praised by Kathleen Raine. Following on from the "Lord of the Dance" chapter in his recent autobiography, I Called it Magic, and various entries in his book of collected letters, Yours Very Truly, Gareth Knight muses on the esoteric resonances resulting from his unlikely friendship with the Reverend Anthony Duncan. Their intellectual sharing of ideas led to Duncan's The Christ, Psychotherapy and Magic and Knight's Experience of the Inner Worlds, which have become companion texts of esoteric Christianity often read and taught together. The pair had planned to co-author a book before Duncan's untimely passing in 2003 so Christ & Qabalah comes as a fulfilment of a long-held promise. The book will delight admirers of both authors with its intertextual interplay as well as a fresh exploration of the differences and similarities between a cleric and an occultist. Knight has described the book as an "organic process, almost an initiation, that has left me with a somewhat expanded consciousness." Readers are invited to share in the various machinations that sparked this dynamic relationship - one that keeps on giving.

The knowledge and use of magical images was once a closely guarded secret of initiates and adepts in the Mystery Schools. Gareth Knight gives easy-to-follow classifications of the various kinds of magical image, along with instructions for their use as agents of self realisation and spiritual service. Indispensible for beginners and advanced practitioners alike, this book presents the theory and techniques of creative visualisation and meditation. These practical teachings range from the circulation of force within the aura for the purpose of balancing the personality to the development of a full magical system of pathworking, enabling deep contact with inner sources of wisdom. Now in its third edition, a new section is included on the magical images of the Tarot, plus an extensive chapter on Qabalistic pathworking in the Western Mystery Tradition.

In this book Gareth Knight takes the most famous and most haunting of all British legends and places it in its rightful position as the core of the Western Mystery Tradition, which draws its inspiration from Greek, Irish and even Atlantean myth. The central Arthurian themes and characters are brought to life with clear and thorough explanations, while the carefully woven pattern that has developed around the Arthuriad is carefully unravelled and its full esoteric significance revealed. This fascinating study, which builds on the work of Dion Fortune and Margaret Lumley Brown, takes the reader beyond the world of Malory and unfolds an inner landscape as real as the isles in which it was created.

Springing from the heart of medieval France, The Romance of the Faery Melusine tells the story of Raymondin of Poitiers who accidentally kills his uncle while out hunting, and fleeing deep into the forest, encounters a faery by a fountain. Falling deeply into a mutual soul-love, the faery Melusine agrees to help Raymondin and to become his wife, on condition that he makes no attempt to see her between dusk and dawn each Saturday. On this basis the house of Lusignan thrives and prospers, until a series of treacherous events tempt Raymondin to violate his promise and shatter the magic which holds his faery wife to the human world. First rendered into written form in a text by Jean d'Arras in 1393, the legend of the Faery Melusine is well established in France, where she is credited with having founded the family, town and castle of Lusignan. However, it is very little known in the English-speaking world, despite the fact that Melusine originally hailed from Scotland. This new retelling by Gareth Knight translated from Andre Lebey's 1920s novel Le Roman de la Melusine captures the freshness of Lebey's telling of the legend and brings the benefit of Knight's expertise both in French literature and in the esoteric faery tradition.

The works of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams and Owen Barfield have had a profound impact on the contemporary world. Together they were The Inklings, a small literary group of friends who set out to explore the 'mythopoeic' or myth-making element in imaginative fiction. The Magical World of the Inklings reveals how each of these writers created a 'magical world' which initiates the reader into hidden and powerful realms of the creative imagination. Originally published in 1990, this new edition has been substantially revised and expanded. It gives a thorough overview of the works of all four writers, including some of their lesser known work and posthumous publications, and explores the very practical way in which the creative imagination is invoked within the reader through the 'magical world' each writer constructed. In this respect, Gareth Knight's background as a leading expert on both magic and myth gives him a unique perspective which takes this book some way beyond the sphere of straightforward literary criticism.

Dion Fortune describes techniques for raising the personal magnetic forces within the human aura and their control and direction in magic and in life, which she regards as 'the Lost Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition'. Gareth Knight provides subject commentaries on various aspects of the etheric vehicle, filling in some of the practical details and implications that she left unsaid in the more secretive esoteric climate of the times in which she wrote.

The essays in this book originally appeared as articles in the Inner Light Journal, the house journal of Dion Fortune's Society of the Inner Light, between 2002 and 2005 and include two lectures originally given at the Temenos Academy. Full of wisdom and insights gained through a lifetime's work in the Western Esoteric Tradition, topics covered include the role of psychism within the occult tradition, working with the Elemental Tides, the medieval grail texts of Chretien de Troyes which predate Malory, pathworking the Qabalistic Tree of Life and the magical symbolism of the rose. Many of the articles have a common theme relating to the life and work of Dion Fortune and her trailblazing esoteric path, the results of which are still bearing fruit today.

With a foreword by Iain Sinclair. London is an ancient city, whose foundation dates back literally thousands of years into the legendary prehistory of these islands. Not surprisingly it has accumulated a large number of stories, both historic and mythical, during this period, many of which, though faithfully recorded at the time, have lain almost forgotten in dusty libraries throughout the city. The Secret Lore of London is a guide to the legends, including a discussion of their importance as part of the oral tradition of Britain, combining Prehistoric, Celtic, Arthurian, Roman, Saxon and Norman levels - each of which has contributed to the many-layered life of the city. The first part contains a unique selection of essays (some printed here for the first time) by experts in their fields, each of whom possesses a unique interest in the legends of these islands, and who have written widely on associated themes. The second part of the book will consist of a Gazetteer of the sites mentioned which are still in existence, together with various other sites of associated interest, compiled by the Editor, the contributors, and members of the London Earth Mysteries Group. This part will be fully updated and extended to include many more sites. The result is a wide ranging and wholly fascinating book, with wide sales application possible. A series of appendixes will include William Stukley's extraordinary document The Brill, which relates to the ancient prehistoric sites around the area of present day St. Pancras, and excerpts from some of the best known 19th and early 20th century works on Legendary London by Lewis Spence and Harold Bayley Contributors to the book are: Nigel Pennick John Matthews Caroline Wise Caitlin Matthews Carol Clancy R.J. Stewart Bernard Nesfield-Cookson Gareth Knight Robert Stephenson Geraldine Beskin Chesca Potter William Stukeley Lewis Spence Harold Bayley Alan V. Insole Ross Nichols

In what appears on the surface to be a children's story, Gareth Knight, using Tarot imagery, conducts a guided visualisation through the Tree of Life from the homely Cottage of Heart's Desire to the Heart of the Rainbow ... and back again. Richard and Rebecca meet the Joker of their granny's pack of cards, and guided by his dog, embark on an adventure through the Inner Worlds in search of their True Names. To those attuned to its deeper symbolism, the story forms an imaginative journey along the serpentine path of the Tree of Life, conducted via the Tarot archetypes, which when read with openness and imagination may serve as a powerful key to intuitive understanding of the Western Mystery Tradition. Gareth Knight is one of the world's leading authorities on modern esoteric studies and the Western Mystery Tradition, with a career as an author, publisher and lecturer which spans more than 50 years.

Paul Sedir was one of the most important figures of the late 19th century occult renaissance in France, and yet he remains very little known in the English-speaking world. Born Yvon Le Loup in 1871, the young Breton moved to Paris and took up occultism as a teenager under the patronage of Papus (Gerard Encausse). Blessed with an exceptional memory and intuition, he embraced a diversity of paths and quickly rose through the ranks of a wide range of esoteric fraternities, authoring a number of books. From his home in Montmartre he held weekly open discussions on occultism and was well known for his exceptional knowledge and powerful presence. In later life, a significant mystical encounter led him to resign from his occult activities and focus solely on a Christian mystical path. Adopting the name Sedir (an anagram of 'desir'), he began writing his important work Initiations around 1901, and expanded it gradually over the following twenty-five years until his death in 1926. It follows the 'initiations', both occult and mystical, of a Paris doctor and his strange friend Andreas, nuanced by the enigmatic background presence of Theophane, the true healer. Presented in a deceptively simple narrative form, it distils and encodes a lifetime's esoteric and mystical knowledge in a way which serves as a very real initiation for the perceptive reader. Gareth Knight brings the benefit of 60 years' experience in practical occultism to this new translation of Sedir's work. He has translated a number of French esoteric texts, as well as being a renowned author in his own right.

A series of essays covering a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience, whose underlying theme is to show how our daily lives can be made a training ground for adepthood. It explains the different kinds of meditation and how to find the right esoteric teachers. Essays on the Tree of Life explain the evolution of modern esoteric Qabalah and how it has evolved from an image of God to a map of the created universe. A careful elucidation of the philosophy of Coleridge, and its relevance for today, is followed by a chapter on bridging the gap between psychology and occultism, with examples from the life of Dion Fortune and the 'ghost' of her Sea Priestess. Written by one of the world's foremost experts on Western Esoteric Traditions, this book is full of wisdom and insights that will help readers apply spiritual, magical and Qabalistic principles to their everyday life.