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Initiation Into The Mysteries
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Book Synopsis Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World by : Jan N. Bremmer
Download or read book Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World written by Jan N. Bremmer and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2014-07-28 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ancient Mysteries have long attracted the interest of scholars, an interest that goes back at least to the time of the Reformation. After a period of interest around the turn of the twentieth century, recent decades have seen an important study of Walter Burkert (1987). Yet his thematic approach makes it hard to see how the actual initiation into the Mysteries took place. To do precisely that is the aim of this book. It gives a ‘thick description’ of the major Mysteries, not only of the famous Eleusinian Mysteries, but also those located at the interface of Greece and Anatolia: the Mysteries of Samothrace, Imbros and Lemnos as well as those of the Corybants. It then proceeds to look at the Orphic-Bacchic Mysteries, which have become increasingly better understood due to the many discoveries of new texts in the recent times. Having looked at classical Greece we move on to the Roman Empire, where we study not only the lesser Mysteries, which we know especially from Pausanias, but also the new ones of Isis and Mithras. We conclude our book with a discussion of the possible influence of the Mysteries on emerging Christianity. Its detailed references and up-to-date bibliography will make this book indispensable for any scholar interested in the Mysteries and ancient religion, but also for those scholars who work on initiation or esoteric rituals, which were often inspired by the ancient Mysteries.
Book Synopsis The Mysteries of Initiation by : Rudolf Steiner
Download or read book The Mysteries of Initiation written by Rudolf Steiner and published by Rudolf Steiner Press. This book was released on 2021-10-14 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a concise study, Rudolf Steiner presents an inspirational sketch of the evolution of the Mysteries – from ancient Persia through Egypt and Greece, to the Christian era and the present day. He traces the line of initiates from Egyptian divinities Isis and Osiris to Moses, King Arthur’s Round Table and the Holy Grail in the twelfth century. Steiner focuses on the process of initiation as a historical topic: how initiation worked in ancient Egypt and in the late Middle Ages. But his presentation is also inspirational, leading to the question: How can we advance to initiation now? He underscores the potential for achieving enlightenment today without a teacher in the flesh, and explains the four stages of the process towards initiation. He also highlights the need for strenuous efforts to overcome the subtle power of evil – in the form of Lucifer and Ahriman – through selfless work. The four lectures collected here form an important landmark in Rudolf Steiner’s biography: the first being delivered on 3 February 1913 – the very day that the Anthroposophical Society was founded. First published in English under the title The Mysteries of the East and of Christianity and unavailable for many years, this edition has been re-edited by Professor Frederick Amrine and features appendices, an index as well as an introduction by Robert McDermott.
Download or read book Lords of Light written by W. E. Butler and published by Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. This book was released on 1990-12 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The last public work of W.E. Butler before his death in 1978, this series of talks offers a fascinating, personal, and accessible course of training in the Western Mystery Schools by one of the world's great occultists. With humility, humor, and conviction, Butler conveys an extensive knowledge of the occult mysteries, including ritual and ceremonial magic, the awakening of the kundalini energy, and the path of the regeneration of the personality and the relinquishing of false ego through control of one's mental and emotional reactions."--back cover.
Book Synopsis Initiation Into the Grail Mysteries by : Grailmaster
Download or read book Initiation Into the Grail Mysteries written by Grailmaster and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2001-04-24 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Significant new spiritual impulses come into our world through the strivings and invocations of unique men and women who have achieved a close attunement with the invisible guides of humanity known in Hermetic terms as Spiritual Hierarchy. The Temple of the Holy Grail is a new spiritual impulse given in the latter quarter of the twentieth century. It is a mystery school designed to empower spiritually mature women and men with Hierarchical attunement for esoteric world service. Thus, Hierarchy has created an initiatic mystery school based not upon secrecy, but accessibility, and not upon hidden geographical centers, but a worldwide virtual platform. T:.H:.G:. is not dependent upon secret adepts, but upon self-empowerment. It is focused not merely upon the spiritual achievements of the past, but upon the coming generation of spiritually gifted individuals who are attuning themselves to Divine Will and Hierarchy. T:.H:.G:. exists to facilitate the empowerment of those spiritually talented individuals who have the potential to contribute wonderful new achievements of soul and spirit for the sake of the New Humanity. It is a tool to be used by such people.
Download or read book Grail Alchemy written by Mara Freeman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-01-24 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An experiential guide to the spiritual path of the Holy Grail • Traces the evolution of the Holy Grail from the sacred vessel of the Celtic goddess to the Cup of Christ and how it represents the longing for the divine feminine • Provides exercises, meditations, and rituals to connect you with the powers of the Cauldron of Rebirth, the Chalice of Healing, the Sword of Light, and the Holy Grail • Explains how attaining the Grail brings full consciousness of the soul and Divine influence for the healing of self and others The primary myth of Western culture, the quest for the Holy Grail persists through the centuries like a recurring dream, embodying the longing for the divine feminine suppressed for more than two thousand years. The Holy Grail emerged not only as a symbol of the feminine but also as a symbol of the soul, for hidden within the sacred Grail legends lies an initiatory path that leads to the highest realms of consciousness and spiritual illumination. By working with the symbols of the Grail tradition we can gaze into our own hidden depths and heal the separation between masculine and feminine, Spirit and Matter, and Heaven and Earth. Mara Freeman traces the evolution of the Grail from the sacred vessel of the Celtic goddess to the Cup of Christ, revealing a spiritual path rooted in the mysteries of the Goddess, the Grail, and the Sword. She explains how the Sword has dominated over the Goddess and the Grail for far too long, leading to a spiritual wasteland as foretold in the Grail stories. She provides a practical workbook of exercises, visualizations, and magical rituals to restore the power of the divine feminine through spiritually transformative experiences with the Cauldron of Rebirth, the Chalice of Healing, the Sword of Light, and the Holy Grail itself. Drawing on folk traditions and medieval Arthurian romances as well as alchemy and the wisdom of the mystics of Glastonbury, Freeman reveals the ancient Celtic teachings of the Western Mystery tradition. She shows that attaining the Grail involves achieving full consciousness of the soul. Then, as a Grail-bearer, you can bring the light of the Grail into the world for the healing of self and others.
Book Synopsis Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth by : Michael Meade
Download or read book Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth and Rebirth written by Michael Meade and published by Spring Publications. This book was released on 2017-09-11 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Organizing data from cultures the world over, Mircea Eliade, one ofthe preeminent interpreters of world religion in the twentieth century, lays out the basic patterns of initiation: group puberty rites, entranceinto secret cults, shamanic instruction, individual visions, and heroicrites of passage. The vast information assembled here transcendsusual scholarship. Eliade always affirms the greater experience in allinitiation - the indissoluble tie between humans and the cosmos ofgods, spirits, animals, ancestors, and nature.As Michael Meade writes in his foreword, Eliade "fervently workedat keeping the doors of perception open to the world of sacred symbolsand creative ritual. Through his insistence that we are each thenecessary inheritors of a vast sacred heritage, he has acted as a spiritualelder and distant mentor to me and many students of myth andritual. Like an archeologist of symbols, he has unearthed, preserved, and found new meanings in the rites of our ancestors."
Book Synopsis Mystery Cults of the Ancient World by : Hugh Bowden
Download or read book Mystery Cults of the Ancient World written by Hugh Bowden and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A richly illustrated history of antiquity's secret religious rituals This is the first book to describe and explain all of the ancient world's major mystery cults--one of the most intriguing but least understood aspects of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal Mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in the Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honor Dionysus; and in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings. These cults were an important part of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, but their actual practices were shrouded in secrecy, and many of their features have remained unclear until now. By richly illustrating the evidence from ancient art and archaeology, and drawing on enlightening new work in the anthropology and cognitive science of religion, Mystery Cults of the Ancient World allows readers to imagine as never before what it was like to take part in these ecstatic and life-changing religious rituals--and what they meant to those who participated in them. Stunning images of Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, inscribed gold tablets from Greek and South Italian tombs, and excavated remains of religious sanctuaries help show what participants in these initiatory cults actually did and experienced. A fresh and accessible introduction to a fascinating subject, this is a book that will interest general readers, as well as students and scholars of classics and religion.
Book Synopsis The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Qumran by : Robert Feather
Download or read book The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Qumran written by Robert Feather and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2005-07-28 with total page 714 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the early, mysterious Essene community at Qumran that links it with John the Baptist, Jesus, and the beginnings of Christianity • Offers an eyewitness account of the final burial place of John the Baptist • Makes the case that Christianity grew out of a form of monotheism first formulated by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten • Includes physical and photographic evidence never before published In his earlier book The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran, Robert Feather analyzed the Dead Sea Scroll engraved on copper that is considered the work of the secretive, devout Jewish sect known as the Essenes, who lived at Qumran around the time of Jesus. To continue his research into the Essene community's way of life and how its beliefs may have influenced the beginnings of Christianity, he met with Father Jozef Milik, one of the scholars who worked on deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1950s. Feather learned that during Milik's work somewhere near the Qumran ruins, he had excavated a headless corpse that he believed to be that of John the Baptist. Feather presents persuasive, powerful evidence illustrating the strong link between the Qumran Essenes and New Testament teachings and showing that both John the Baptist and Jesus were intimately involved with this community at Qumran. He further supports the claim that early Christians continued a belief system centered on a form of monotheism first formulated by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten and uniquely espoused by the Essenes at Qumran.
Book Synopsis The Path of Initiation by : J. S. Gordon
Download or read book The Path of Initiation written by J. S. Gordon and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-07-04 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Details the process of spiritual initiation from aspirant to the highest Adept • Explains the characteristics of each stage of initiation, including the associated psychological issues that need to be faced to move to the next stage • Explores the long history of the Mystery traditions from ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and India to the modern Theosophy of Blavatsky and Bailey • Reveals how the Brotherhood of Spiritual Adepts is increasing global tensions to prepare humanity for the Age of Aquarius and spiritual revelation As the precessional cycle transits from Pisces to Aquarius, great shifts in spiritual evolution are on the horizon--not for all of humanity as many in the New Age movement have generously hypothesized but for those who have undertaken the necessary spiritual preparation and initiatory work. Drawing from his deep immersion in the Mystery traditions of both East and West, author J. S. Gordon investigates the initiatic path from ancient times to modern day, detailing the step-by-step process of initiation and the sequence from spiritual aspirant to the highest Adeptship. He explains the natural logic and characteristics of each stage of initiation, including the associated problems and psychological issues that need to be faced in order to move forward to the next stage. He shows how humanity is naturally inclined to spiritual evolution and the development of higher consciousness. We are part of the overall evolutionary process of Nature, a system guided by the most highly evolved Adepts and extending beyond Earth to the entire kosmos. Exploring the long history of the Mystery schools beginning with ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and India, Gordon examines the sacred metaphors and allegories of esoteric philosophy, metaphysics, occult science, and the Science of the Seven Rays as well as the Adept-inspired theosophical works of H. P. Blavatsky and A. A. Bailey. He looks at the Adept Hierarchy of the Great White Himalayan Brotherhood and considers in detail two much-discussed mysteries: The Jesus-as-Christ mystery and the Maitreya-Buddha mystery. Revealing how advancement--spiritual, scientific, and cultural--erupts out of tension, he explains how the Adepts have been increasing local and global tensions to prepare humanity for the Age of Aquarius, thereby creating the ideal preconditions for spiritual evolution and an eventual restoration of the Mysteries in our own modern era.
Book Synopsis Mysteries of the Bridechamber by : Victoria LePage
Download or read book Mysteries of the Bridechamber written by Victoria LePage and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-11-12 with total page 499 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus was an initiate and adept of the ancient Judaic mysteries who strove to reinstate the tradition of the bridechamber sacrament in his time • Shows that Jesus sought to establish equity of masculine and feminine in both spiritual practice and social traditions, particularly in the sacrament of marriage • Reinterprets Jesus’ key teachings in light of the ancient tradition of sacred consortship • Reveals what happened to the gnostic heart of Christianity that Jesus embodied Jesus was a high-initiate and master adept of the ancient Judaic mysteries who strove to free people from the dead hand of the ritualists. He was trained in a dissident Jewish brotherhood that arose in Egypt before he was born, which sought to bring back the ancient Judaic mysteries outlawed by the Jerusalem temple. At the heart of this movement was a yogic-based practice known in the apocrypha as the Gnosis of the Heart, which espoused the union of both sexes in a secret initiatic teaching. As a fearless social reformer, Jesus wanted to restore the authority of the feminine principle, including asserting the equality of man and woman in the social contract of marriage. He reinstated in his own life the tradition of sacred consortship--a rite known to early Church fathers as the bridechamber sacrament, whereby the marriage of the masculine and feminine energies was effected. This rite, Victoria LePage suggests, was the primary focus of Jesus’ teachings, the very heart of his exhortations to love thy neighbor, and the source of his healing power. Mysteries of the Bridechamber explains how, as a master adept of the Temple of Solomon, Jesus derived these teachings directly from ancient Judaic mystery traditions, revealing both a life story for Jesus that differs markedly from the version the Church has offered as well as a spiritual practice based on a mystical wisdom tradition of self-initiation and transformation.
Book Synopsis The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites by : Dudley Wright
Download or read book The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites written by Dudley Wright and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2021-04-25 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This brochure by Brother Wright, a Masonic scholar of Oxford, England, contains the ripest scholarship on Eleusis, its rites, symbols, and legends. This study of the Grecian mysteries shows the ties between the rituals celebrated in the 7th century BC and the 19th cent Freemasonry tradition. As the author noted, there is a striking resemblance in many points to the Operative and Speculative Freemasonry practices, which laid the basis of this work.
Book Synopsis Greek Mysteries by : Michael B. Cosmopoulos
Download or read book Greek Mysteries written by Michael B. Cosmopoulos and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-08-18 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by an international team of acknowledged experts, this excellent book studies a wide range of contributions and showcases new research on the archaeology, ritual and history of Greek mystery cults. With a lack of written evidence that exists for the mysteries, archaeology has proved central to explaining their significance and this volume is key to understanding a phenomenon central to Greek religion and society.
Book Synopsis The History of Initiation by : George Oliver
Download or read book The History of Initiation written by George Oliver and published by . This book was released on 1855 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Theoroi and Initiates in Samothrace by : Nora Mitkova Dimitrova
Download or read book Theoroi and Initiates in Samothrace written by Nora Mitkova Dimitrova and published by ASCSA. This book was released on 2008 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As one of the most famous religious centers in the Aegean, the island of Samothrace was visited by thousands of worshippers between the 7th century B.C. and the 4th century A.D. All known inscriptions listing or mentioning Samothracian initiates and theoroi (a total of 169 texts) are presented, including a number of previously unpublished fragments.
Book Synopsis The Mystery of the Grail by : Julius Evola
Download or read book The Mystery of the Grail written by Julius Evola and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-07-13 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this important study of the meaning of the Grail, one of Europe's greatest esoteric philosophers discloses the pre-Christian and initiatic sources of this symbolic motif that is so central to Western mythology and culture. He demonstrates how the main features of the legend are from an older tradition analogous to the great heroic sagas and cycles of the North, and that the Grail itself is a symbol of initiation. Evola uncovers the hidden meaning in the often surreal adventures of the knights who searched for the Grail, interpreting them as inner experiences and tests for the seeker. He also explores the history of the myth in the Middle Ages, its use by the Knights Templar and the Cathars, its legacy during the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, and its links with Rosicrucianism, alchemy, and Masonry. This excursion into the realm of the Grail throws new light on an endlessly fascinating subject.
Book Synopsis Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries by : Michael B. Cosmopoulos
Download or read book Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries written by Michael B. Cosmopoulos and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than one thousand years, people from every corner of the Greco-Roman world sought the hope for a blessed afterlife through initiation into the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis. In antiquity itself and in our memory of antiquity, the Eleusinian Mysteries stand out as the oldest and most venerable mystery cult. Despite the tremendous popularity of the Eleusinian Mysteries, their origins are unknown. Because they are lost in an era without written records, they can only be reconstructed with the help of archaeology. This book provides a much-needed synthesis of the archaeology of Eleusis during the Bronze Age and reconstructs the formation and early development of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The discussion of the origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries is complemented with discussions of the theology of Demeter and an update on the state of research in the archaeology of Eleusis from the Bronze Age to the end of antiquity.
Book Synopsis ROSICRUCIANISM AND MODERN INITIATION by : Rudolf Steiner
Download or read book ROSICRUCIANISM AND MODERN INITIATION written by Rudolf Steiner and published by Rudolf Steiner Press. This book was released on 2020-06-26 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Steiner has been able to clarify the historical reality behind the Rosicrucian story, with all its aura of glamour and fantasy. That effected, he points to the enormity of its vision for the future evolution of ideas...' – Dr Andrew Welburn (from the Introduction)In the immediate aftermath of the 'Mystery-act' of the Christmas Foundation Conference, Rudolf Steiner chose to speak on the subject of 'Rosicrucianism and Modern Initiation, Mystery Centres of the Middle Ages'. Clearly connected to the events that had just taken place in Dornach – in which he not only refounded the Anthroposophical Society but took a formal position within it – Steiner begins by exploring the intellectual life of the Middle Ages and the role that Mystery culture played within it. He throws new light on the foundations of Rosicrucianism, its principles of initiation and its inherent impulse for freedom. Steiner also discusses the secret teachings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the dawn of the age of the Archangel Michael.In the second series of lectures, entitled 'The Easter Festival and the History of the Mysteries' (April 1924), Steiner describes how festivals grew out of the Mysteries themselves. He speaks of Mysteries connected to Spring and Autumn, Adonis and Ephesus, and the significance of Sun and Moon. Throughout the volume he discusses the roles of Alexander the Great and Aristotle in world history and the significance of Aristotle's 'Categories'. Published for the first time as a single volume, the freshly revised text is complemented with an extensive introduction by Dr Andrew Welburn, detailed notes and appendices by Professor Frederick Amrine and an index.