New Light on the Ancient Mystery of Glastonbury

Download New Light on the Ancient Mystery of Glastonbury PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780906362143
Total Pages : 180 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (621 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis New Light on the Ancient Mystery of Glastonbury by : John Michell

Download or read book New Light on the Ancient Mystery of Glastonbury written by John Michell and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text gives historical context to the living myths and legends surrounding the ancient Isle of Avalon. Its themes and characters are traced from their beginnings, against a background of social changes from prehistoric to modern times.

Claiming Sacred Ground

Download Claiming Sacred Ground PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780253108388
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (83 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Claiming Sacred Ground by : Adrian J. Ivakhiv

Download or read book Claiming Sacred Ground written by Adrian J. Ivakhiv and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2001-07-26 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Claiming Sacred Ground Pilgrims and Politics at Glastonbury and Sedona Adrian J. Ivakhiv A study of people and politics at two New Age spiritual sites. In this richly textured account, Adrian Ivakhiv focuses on the activities of pilgrim-migrants to Glastonbury, England and Sedona, Arizona. He discusses their efforts to encounter and experience the spirit or energy of the land and to mark out its significance by investing it with sacred meanings. Their endeavors are presented against a broad canvas of cultural and environmental struggles associated with the incorporation of such geographically marginal places into an expanding global cultural economy. Ivakhiv sees these contested and "heterotopic" landscapes as the nexus of a complex web of interestes and longings: from millennial anxieties and nostalgic re-imaginings of history and prehistory; to real-estate power grabs; contending religious visions; and the free play of ideas from science, pseudo-science, and popular culture. Looming over all this is the nonhuman life of these landscapes, an"otherness" that alternately reveals and conceals itself behind a pagenant of beliefs, images, and place-myths. A significant contribution to scholarship on alternative spirituality, sacred space, and the politics of natural landscapes, Claiming Sacred Ground will interest scholars and students of environmental and cultural studies, and the sociology of religious movements and pilgrimage. Non-specialist readers will be stimulated by the cultural, ecological, and spiritual dimensions of extraordinary natural landscapes. Adrian Ivakhiv teaches in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto, and is President of the Environmental Studies Association of Canada. April 2001 384 pages, 24 b&w photos, 2 figs., 9 maps, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, index, append. cloth 0-253-33899-9 $37.40 s / £28.50 Contents I DEPARTURES 1 Power and Desire in Earth's Tangled Web 2 Reimagining Earth 3 Orchestrating Sacred Space II Glastonbury 4 Stage, Props, and Players of Avalon 5 Many Glastonburys: Place-Myths and Contested Spaces III SEDONA 6 Red Rocks to Real Estate 7 New Agers, Vortexes, and the Sacred Landscape IV ARRIVALS 8 Practices of Place: Nature and Heterotopia Beyond the New Age

The 2012 Collection

Download The 2012 Collection PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101578114
Total Pages : 659 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (15 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The 2012 Collection by : Daniel Pinchbeck

Download or read book The 2012 Collection written by Daniel Pinchbeck and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-02-21 with total page 659 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in the years beyond 2012—discover the true meaning behind the hype that captivated the world. It should be no surprise to us now, but the pomp surrounding the coming of the year 2012 that grasped the human race’s attention in those preceding years was not at all about the end of the world. Instead, much to the contrary, Daniel Pinchbeck believes that the passing of the year 2012 marked the beginning of a global shift in consciousness—where the human race would begin to see the world and existence on this planet through a different lens, embracing fresh ideas about who we are and what it means to be human. Discover the true wisdom behind the 2012 phenomenon with these two captivating works by one of the leading minds in the movement—both in one place for the first time, and at one low price. 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl Cross James Merrill, H. P. Lovecraft, and Carlos Castaneda—each imbued with a twenty-first-century aptitude for quantum theory and existential psychology—and you get the voice of Daniel Pinchbeck. And yet, nothing quite prepares us for the lucidity, rationale, and informed audacity of this seeker, skeptic, and cartographer of hidden realms. Throughout the 1990s, Pinchbeck had been a member of New York's literary select. He wrote for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and Harper's Bazaar. His first book, Breaking Open the Head, was heralded as the most significant on psychedelic experimentation since the work of Terence McKenna. But slowly something happened: Rather than writing from a journalistic remove, Pinchbeck—his literary powers at their peak—began to participate in the shamanic and metaphysical belief systems he was encountering. As his psyche and body opened to new experience, disparate threads and occurrences made sense like never before: Humanity, every sign pointed, is precariously balanced between greater self-potential and environmental disaster. The Mayan calendar's "end date" of 2012 seems to define our present age: It heralds the end of one way of existence and the return of another, in which the serpent god Quetzalcoatl reigns anew, bringing with him an unimaginably ancient—yet, to us, wholly new—way of living. A result not just of study but also of participation, 2012 tells the tale of a single man in whose trials we ultimately recognize our own hopes and anxieties about modern life. Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age An informed, challenging, and engaging collection of essays on the new choices in lifestyles and community as we begin the countdown toward the year 2012. This fresh and thought-provoking anthology draws together some of today’s most celebrated visionaries, thinkers, and pioneers in the field of evolving consciousness—exploring topics from shamanism to urban homesteading, the legacy of Carlos Castaneda to Mayan predictions for the year 2012, and new paths in direct political action and human sexuality. Toward 2012 highlights some of the most challenging, intelligent pieces published on the acclaimed website Reality Sandwich. It is coedited by Daniel Pinchbeck, the preeminent voice on 2012, and online pioneer Ken Jordan, and features original works from Stanislav Grof, John Major Jenkins, and Paul D. Miller (DJ Spooky); interviews with Abbie Hoffman and artist Alex Grey; and a new introduction by Pinchbeck. Here are ideas that trace the arc of our evolution in consciousness, lifestyles, and communities as we draw closer to a moment in time that portends ways of living that are different from anything we have expected or experienced.

Medieval Mysteries

Download Medieval Mysteries PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Nicolas-Hays, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 0892545925
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (925 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Medieval Mysteries by : Karen Ralls

Download or read book Medieval Mysteries written by Karen Ralls and published by Nicolas-Hays, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journey into twelve of the world’s favorite medieval mysteries and cross the threshold into the world of the High Middle Ages. From Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose to Dan Brown’s bestselling The Da Vinci Code, the medieval period continues to intrigue, inspire, entertain, and fascinate many today. This is a book for the general reader and specialist alike, Medieval expert, former Rosslyn Chapel museum exhibition curator, and bestselling author Dr. Karen Ralls guides the reader through the key historical facts, legends and lore, affiliated places, and major symbolism of 12 popular medieval enigmas, providing a lively introductory portal which includes some of the lesser-known, sidelined, or unacknowledged aspects of each of these enduring topics. The story of each subject comes alive as never before, providing a solid introduction for all readers as well as further suggested resources for teachers and researchers. Also included are photographs, a recommended reading section, maps, a list of the key major sites associated with each topic, and a full bibliography. Topics covered include: King Arthur, Merlin, and Glastonbury The Grail Quest Mary Magdalene The real meaning of Black Madonnas The Knights Templar, the Cathars, and Rosslyn Chapel Medieval Guides and Troubadours Heresy and Heretics

Ancient Mysteries

Download Ancient Mysteries PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 0307414604
Total Pages : 673 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ancient Mysteries by : Peter James

Download or read book Ancient Mysteries written by Peter James and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 673 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What was the Minotaur? Did a Welsh prince discover America? Did Robin Hood really exist? How does the Star of Bethlehem fit into the science of astronomy? Is the Vinland Map a fake? Can archaeologists use spirit messages to guide their work? For centuries, philosophers, scientists, and charlatans have attempted to decipher the baffling mysteries of our past, from the Stonehenge to the lost continent of Atlantis. Today, however, DNA testing, radiocarbon dating, and other cutting-edge investigative tools, together with a healthy dose of common sense, are guiding us closer to the truth. Peter James and Nick Thorpe, the professional historian and archaeologist team who created the acclaimed Ancient Inventions, now tackle these age-old conundrums, presenting the latest information from the scientific community--and the most startling challenges to traditional explanations of mysteries such as: - The rise and fall of the Maya - A lost cache of Dead Sea Scrolls - The curse of Tutankhamun - The devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah - The Nazca Lines These true mystery stories twist and turn like a good whodunit, as James and Thorpe present the evidence for and against the expert theories, shedding new light on humankind's age-old struggle to make sense of the past. The authors also make dramatic contributions of their own to the fray, demonstrating persuasively that cataustrophic events--including the collisions of comets with the Earth long ago--could explain puzzles that have baffled experts for centuries. Ancient Mysteries will entertain and enlighten, delight the curious and inform the serious.

The Ceremony of the Grail

Download The Ceremony of the Grail PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN 13 : 0738759686
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (387 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Ceremony of the Grail by : John Michael Greer

Download or read book The Ceremony of the Grail written by John Michael Greer and published by Llewellyn Worldwide. This book was released on 2022-12-08 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delve into Ancient Mysteries with Some of Freemasonry's Most Guarded Secrets The Holy Grail. The medieval stories of Merlin. The ancient Greek Mysteries. Discover the connection between them all with this phenomenal book by 32nd-degree Freemason and celebrated author John Michael Greer. He uses careful research to fit together seemingly unrelated traditions and topics, drawing on translated texts and published documents that, until recently, were jealously guarded. A must-read for anyone interested in occult Freemasonry and the Grail mysteries, this book provides answers that have eluded seekers for centuries. Using the earliest surviving Masonic ritual texts as well as pioneering insights and writings by Jessie Weston, William Morris, and other renowned scholars, this book reconstructs the Grail ritual and provides guidelines for performing it. Greer also presents Freemasonry's origins, full translations of pivotal essays, and fascinating history from megalithic to modern times. The Ceremony of the Grail pieces together a puzzle that has captivated practitioners throughout the ages.

THE GODS IN THE FIELDS

Download THE GODS IN THE FIELDS PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : SCB Distributors
ISBN 13 : 1948803399
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (488 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis THE GODS IN THE FIELDS by : Nigel Graddon

Download or read book THE GODS IN THE FIELDS written by Nigel Graddon and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers for the first-time detailed insights into England’s St. Michael leyline, the celebrated “straight track” whose dragon energies (Michael and Mary) travel coast-to-coast from Cornwall to Norfolk. Along its 364-mile length are some of the most renowned megalithic, historical and “otherworldly” features found anywhere in the world. British researcher Nigel Graddon takes us on a special journey to explore these magnificent locations. We learn of Britain’s special place in the origins of ancient wisdom and of the “Sun-Men” who taught it to a humanity in its infancy. Aspects of these teachings are to found all along the St Michael ley: at Glastonbury, Britain’s “holyeste erthe” and the hallowed location of Merlin and Arthur’s Avalon; in the design and layout of the extraordinary Somerset Zodiac of which Glastonbury is a major part; in the amazing stone circles and serpentine avenues at Avebury and nearby Silbury Hill: portals to unimaginable worlds of mystery and enchantment; the Gods in the Fields—Wiltshire’s incredible volume of mind blowing crop circles and their invisible makers; Graddon’s exciting discovery of the St. Michael ley’s Golden Ratio position and its enchanting connections between Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland and the fairyfolk; and, not least, the enduring tales of high strangeness east of the line, including Suffolk’s history of “X-Files” time-slip phenomena and the infamous UFO events (Britain’s “Roswell”) in the county’s Rendlesham Forest. Chapters include: Britain: Key, Lock and Door; Michael, Mary and Merlin; England’s West Country; The Glastonbury Zodiac; Wiltshire; The Gods in the Fields; Michael, Mary and Alice; East of the Line; Table of Michael and Mary locations; more.

Sacred Space, Sacred Sound

Download Sacred Space, Sacred Sound PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Quest Books
ISBN 13 : 9780835608565
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (85 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Sacred Space, Sacred Sound by : Susan Elizabeth Hale

Download or read book Sacred Space, Sacred Sound written by Susan Elizabeth Hale and published by Quest Books. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Visionary singer Susan Hale believes that early peoples deliberately built their structures to enhance natural vibrations. She takes us around the globe-from Stonehenge and New Grange to Gothic cathedrals and Tibetan stupas in New Mexico-to explore the acoustics of sacred places. But, she says, you don't have to go to the Taj Mahal: The sacred is all around us, and we are all sound chambers resonating with the One Song.

2012

Download 2012 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 9781585425921
Total Pages : 422 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (259 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis 2012 by : Daniel Pinchbeck

Download or read book 2012 written by Daniel Pinchbeck and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draws on cosmological phenomena of the modern world as well as the author's own research into shamanic and metaphysical belief systems to support the Mayan theory about an unprecedented global shift predicted for the year 2012.

The Templar Papers

Download The Templar Papers PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN 13 : 1601636946
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (16 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Templar Papers by : Oddvar Olsen

Download or read book The Templar Papers written by Oddvar Olsen and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 2006-03-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Delve into the myth and mystery of the Knights Templar with essays by Lynn Picknett, Robert Lomas, Stephen Dafoe, Sandy Hamblett, and other experts. Much has been written about the group of fourteenth-century warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. Some authors, such as Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, portray them as folk heroes wrongly accused. Others disagree, saying the Templar story is ultimately one of greed, deception, and idolatry. Just who were the Knights Templar? And what is their legacy? In The Templar Papers, author and historian Oddvar Olsen has assembled a veritable Who’s Who of experts to unravel the mystery. Instead of rehashing previous scholarship, this book delves into new aspects of Templar lore, such as the origins of the order and its supposed survival after 1314. It attempts to answer the following: Were the Templars devil worshippers who venerated a mysterious head? Was the head that of John the Baptist? What exactly did they find in Solomon’s Temple? Did they keep, and later hide, the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant? You’ll also discover the Templar link to Mary Magdalene and the Freemasons, including answers to questions such as: Were Jesus and Mary lovers or, in fact, husband and wife? Did Mary give birth to a child after Jesus’ death? Did Freemasonry originate from the Templars? The Templar Papers offers the inquisitive reader several lifetimes of research and insight. This is a distinctive and truly unique compilation that will stimulate your mind and settle the controversy.

Absolutely Now!

Download Absolutely Now! PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : A&C Black
ISBN 13 : 1448214416
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (482 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Absolutely Now! by : Lynne Franks

Download or read book Absolutely Now! written by Lynne Franks and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-08-14 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lynne Franks is a legendary figure in international fashion and public relations and the inspiration for the outrageous and driven character of Edina on the cult television series, 'Absolutely Fabulous.' Yet at the pinnacle of her success, after building a world class public relations firm by working 20-hour days, spinning off new ideas and tracking trends for her clients at the expense of her personal life, she abruptly sold her company and reclaimed her life, embarking on a quest for meaning that took her around the globe. Lynne Franks' journey took her to the United Nations Women's Conference in Beijing; a holy mountain in India; the sacred Celtic sites of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales; the Californian Redwoods; and trance dancing to African drums. She addressed conferences on ethical business and spent time with many of the world's spiritual leaders, leading environmentalists and visionaries. This book recounts that journey. For entrepreneurs; for women and men doing far too much; for those interested in socially responsible business practices; and for anyone interested in simplifying life; Franks points the way to achieving a balanced, happy life with the same dead-on intuition that has made her one of the top trend-spotters of our time. This 2014 Bloomsbury Reader edition includes a new introduction by Lynne Franks.

Alexandria 2

Download Alexandria 2 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN 13 : 9780933999978
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (999 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Alexandria 2 by : David Fideler

Download or read book Alexandria 2 written by David Fideler and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Journal of cosmology, philosophy, myth, and culture.

Children of a Living Universe

Download Children of a Living Universe PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Hampton Roads Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1612833276
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (128 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Children of a Living Universe by : Paul Von Ward

Download or read book Children of a Living Universe written by Paul Von Ward and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children of a Living Universe is a call to action unlike any other you may have encountered. According to cultural historian and cosmologist Paul Von Ward, the time has come for human beings to reassess just about everything we believe about our ancestry and global past. Drawing upon forgotten prehistory, clues from the world’s esoteric traditions, and new research in consciousness, Von Ward asserts we are more powerful beings than either science or religion has led us to believe. He exhorts us to embrace a bold, new model of human existence, one that explains our celestial origins, multidimensional capacities, and destiny as conscious co-creators of a self-learning and self-correcting universe. With insight and clarity, Von Ward envisions that the discovery of our true legacy will inspire a global renaissance of inner knowing and unprecedented social progress. He sees humanity assuming its place as part of a universal community of conscious beings, and fulfilling our potential to serve as galactic leaders. Children of a Living Universe is a brilliant guide to this new and essential process in human spiritual evolution. Previously published as Our Solarian Legacy.

The Modern Pilgrim

Download The Modern Pilgrim PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Peeters Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9789042906983
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (69 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Modern Pilgrim by : Paul Post

Download or read book The Modern Pilgrim written by Paul Post and published by Peeters Publishers. This book was released on 1998 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the product of a relatively long history of pilgrimage research in a Dutch theological setting. It is intended as a report for an international audience on this long-running programme. Two lines are followed in the book. The first is the track of liturgical studies, in which an historical, European ethnological and anthropological approach has predominated. The second is a social science track, with specific content coming from psychology of religion. The combination of these two lines has been extremely fruitful. In addition to results of various surveys of contemporary pilgrimage practice and the expansion of research into ritual and cultural context in which modern pilgrims find themselves, special attention is also bestowed on historiographic issues involved in orienting pilgrimage research, and its theoretical and methodological aspects. The places of pilgrimage examined here are Wittem, Dokkum and Amsterdam in The Netherlands, Banneux in Belgium, Lourdes and La Salette in France, and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The central question which informs the whole study is to what extent one can perhaps speak of a new type of pilgrim today, the "modern pilgrim".

The Imagination of Pentecost

Download The Imagination of Pentecost PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : SteinerBooks
ISBN 13 : 9780880103794
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (37 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Imagination of Pentecost by : Richard Leviton

Download or read book The Imagination of Pentecost written by Richard Leviton and published by SteinerBooks. This book was released on 1994 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carlo Pietzner speaks, out of his own ego-directed, inner experiences, about several motifs inherent to inner striving: the problem of self in relationship to the world, the disintegration of the three soul forces, the transition from sense perception to spiritual perception, the reality of evil, the condition of loneliness, and more.

Consumption and Spirituality

Download Consumption and Spirituality PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0415889111
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (158 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Consumption and Spirituality by : Diego Rinallo

Download or read book Consumption and Spirituality written by Diego Rinallo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book sheds light on the consumption of spiritual products, services, experiences, and places through state-of-the-art studies by leading and emerging scholars in interpretive consumer research, marketing, sociology, anthropology, cultural, and religious studies. The collection brings together fresh views and scholarship on a cultural tension that is at the centre of the lives of countless individuals living in postmodern societies: the relationship between the material and the spiritual, the sacred and the profane. The book examines how a variety of agents - religious institutions, spiritual leaders, marketers and consumers - interact and co-create spiritual meanings in a post-disenchanted society that has been defined as a 'supermarket of the soul.' Consumption and Spirituality examines not only religious organizations, but also brands and marketers and the way they infuse their products, services and experiences with spiritual meanings that flow freely in the circuit of culture and can be appropriated by consumers even without purchase acts. From a consumer perspective, the book investigates how spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences are now embedded into a global consumer culture. Rather than condemning consumption, the chapters in this book highlight consumers' agency and the creative processes through which authentic spiritual meanings are co-created from a variety of sources, local and global, and sacred and profane alike.

Eternal Chalice

Download Eternal Chalice PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0857730908
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (577 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Eternal Chalice by : Juliette Wood

Download or read book Eternal Chalice written by Juliette Wood and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the secret of the Grail?' So intoned a heavenly voice to Sir Percival in John Boorman's stylish and influential film 'Excalibur' (1981). The sacred allure of the Holy Grail has fascinated writers and ensnared knights for over a thousand years. From Malory to Monty Python, the eternal chalice - said to be the very cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper - has the richest associations of any icon in British myth. Many different meanings have been devised for the Grail, which has been linked to the Celts and King Arthur, the eucharistic rites of Eastern Christianity, ancient mystery religions, Jungian archetypes, dualist heresies, Templar treasure and even the alleged descendants of Christ himself and Mary Magdalene. The common thread running through all these stories is the assumption that the Grail legend has a single source with a meaning that - if only we could decode it - is concealed in the romances themselves. That meaning has become the subject of coded, secret documents and is the central feature of a vast conspiracy supposedly stretching back to the dawn of western civilization. Juliette Wood here reveals the elusive and embedded significance of the Grail story in popular consciousness - as myth, medieval romance, tangible holy relic and finally as the centre of an esoteric theory of global conspiracy. The author shows how various interpretations of the Grail, over the centuries, reflect changing cultural needs and desires. Her book will enthral those who, like Sir Percival, seek to unlock the mysterious secrets of western mythology's most extraordinary and tantalising enigma, and will delight students of history, myth and religion alike.