The Western magical traditions are currently undergoing an international resurgence. In Stealing Fire from Heaven, Nevill Drury offers an overview of the modern occult revival and seeks to explain this growing interest in ancient magical belief systems. Gnosticism and the Hermetica, the medieval Kabbalah, Tarot and Alchemy, and more recently, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, collectively laid the basis for the modern magical revival, which first began to gather momentum in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. Western magic has since become increasingly eclectic, drawing on such diverse sources as classical Greco-Roman mythology, Celtic cosmology, Kundalini yoga and Tantra, shamanism, chaos theory, and the various spiritual traditions associated in many different cultures with the Universal Goddess. Drury traces the rise of various forms of magical belief and practice, from the influential Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to the emergence of Wicca and Goddess worship as expressions of contemporary feminine spirituality. He also explores Chaos Magick and the occult practices of the so-called Left-Hand Path, as well as twenty-first-century magical forays into cyberspace. He believes that the rise of modern Western magic stems essentially from the quest for personal spiritual transformation and direct experience of the sacred--a quest which the trance occultist and visionary artist Austin Osman Spare once referred to as "stealing fire from heaven." Considered in this light, Drury argues, modern Western magic can be regarded as a form of alternative spirituality in which the practitioners seek direct engagement with the mythic realm.
A rare combination of personal and academic, this book showcases the myriad avenues for transcending the boundaries of reality through direct sensory experience. The Varieties of Magical Experience: Indigenous, Medieval, and Modern Magic provides a comprehensive volume that examines magic in all its aspects. Through detailed case studies, verbatim accounts of personal experiences, and first-hand experience from the authors' own active participation in many alternative religious rituals and ceremonies, this unique book reveals how magic can be a universal phenomenon that crosses cultural, historical, and spatial boundaries. The work is organized in five sections that embrace several broad themes: indigenous magical and shamanic practices; medieval witchcraft; sorcery and hermetic magic; and contemporary Western magical practices, including the role of sexuality, trance, and meditation. The introductory section explores the idea of magic, other realities, and the employment of all the senses, while the final section discusses contemporary issues of ecology and cybermagic. The authors give voice to the powerful emotions and feelings that result from a magical encounter, providing engaging and accessible information to general readers, while those well versed in the opaque world of magic and occultism, consciousness studies, and imaginal and disembodied realms will appreciate the book's content at a deeper level.
This is a re-release of Stephen Skinner's first book on magic (written jointly with Nevill Drury) which is organised as a collection of essays. At the time it broke a lot of new ground, and was enthusiastically reviewed by Colin Wilson who wrote, The authors of this book represent a new phenomenon: the serious study of the practice of magic. ... What is so interesting about this latest wave of occultism is it is more sober and rational than any of its predecessors. These practicing magicians have decided that there is something in magic, something as objective as radio waves. They have set out to investigate it in a spirit in which Yeats romanticism combines with scientific empiricism. They seem determined to get to the bottom of it, or at least, to go further in understanding it than any of their predecessors have attempted. After setting the scene with essays on the Gnostics, the Rosicrucians and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the book moves on to modern magicians such as Austin Osman Spare. In fact, apart from one privately printed monograph, this was the first book to explain Spare's genius and his system of sigil magic, long before his Zos-Kia cultus became popular in the occult world. The connection between magic and the hippie culture is examined in the context of Carlos Casteneda, and original material on Surrealist art and astral projection rounds off the book.
The shaman is an enigmatic figure – a healer, magician and visionary who moves between the everyday world and the realm of gods and spirits. "The Shamans Quest" describes the spiritual journeys of four shamans from different corners of the world – the arctic snows of Canada, the central Australian desert, the sacred mountains of Japan, and the forests of north-western South America. From the North comes a tale of the Inuit shaman Enoyuk and his magical adventures with different gods and spirit-helpers. In the South we enter the world of the Aboriginal elder Kalu, with his sacred desert Dreamings, and in the East we meet Saimei, a Japanese shamaness who lives in a world of kami spirits. And in the West we encounter Baiya, a shaman from the Amazonian forest who undertakes visionary journeys so he may perform tasks of spiritual healing. In "The Shamans Quest" these four shamans finally come together at the mythic centre of the world, and it is a very special purpose which has brought them here – for they have come to witness the healing of the Earth. Exploring universal themes of spiritual renewal, "The Shamans Quest" shows us how we can find the Great Song of Life and learn to value the sacred qualities of Nature and the Universe. ,
The Tarot is one of the most fascinating of all Western mystical tradition. The Tarot Workbook will guide you step by step through the ancient wisdom of the cards. Learn how to choose the right Tarot deck and understand the cards in your own way, then do readings that are relevant to you and your life at this moment. Follow the exercises and find out how to read the cards for insight on current and future relationships, how to get a yes or no answer and how the Tarot relates to astrology. Each chapter has a section for you to review the exercises and monitor your progress. The Tarot Workbook provides a fascinating overview of the Tarot including the history of the Tarot, the meaning of the individual cards of the Major and Minor Arcana, the symbolism of the four elements and the special qualities of the four suits (Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles).
The Dalai Lama has observed that our wars and battles are really conflicts within ourselves. Before we can hope to bring peace to the world, we must learn to transform ourselves and search for the deepest wisdom within each of us. Anna Voigt and Nevill Drury show how to do just that. Through spiritual musings--pithy essays on personal meaning and purpose; love, compassion, and forgiveness; life, death, and rebirth--the authors offer priceless advice and questions to gain greater self-and-universal knowledge. And following each essay is a stunning collection of reflections from the most influential peace-keepers of our time, carrying us one step closer to peace. Providing comfort and spiritual guidance in these troubled times, Anna Voigt and Nevill Drury choose reflections from Jesus, Buddha, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., among many others, to guide us forward. This selection of comforting insight is a modest contribution towards making the world a better place for us to share despite the fear that surrounds. "There is some sort of message within that fear that can show us the path forward," Anna and Nevill write. "Somewhere in our personal darkness we have to look for a message of hope that will lead to new insights and new ways of seeking harmony and reconciliation.
Here is my gift to you--a secret book of wondrous power and spells of enchantment. Here are the elements of earth, water, fire, air, and spirit--and the magickal symbols of the circle, sword, wand, disc and cup. Here are the secret formulae for calling the spirits, ensnaring your lover, attracting good fortune and predicting what will come to pass.
Everyday Magic is a handbook offering a practical path towards personal and spiritual transformation. Drawing on the magical ideas and practices from a variety of wisdom traditions, Nevill Drury shows how to bring visionary empowerment into your everyday life to help you focus your goals and aspirations, and to connect with the Universal Spirit.
The full story of the New Age movement told for the first time - its origins and precursors, its flowering within the counterculture of the 1960s and its development into an international spiritual perspective. Author is Australia, his degree was from Macquarie University NSW.
Originally published in 1982, The Shaman and the Magician draws on the author’s wide experience of occultism, western magic and anthropological knowledge of shamanism, to explore the interesting parallels between traditional shamanism and the more visionary aspects of magic in modern western society. In both cases, as the author shows, the magician encounters profound god-energies of the spirit, and it is up to the individual to interpret these experiences in psychological or mythological terms. The book demonstrates that both shamanism and magic offer techniques of approaching the visionary sources of our culture.
With ovear 3000 cross-referenced entries this is an invaluable reference to the mystical and esoteric traditions. It gives succinct definitions in the fields of magic hermeticism, alchemy, spiritualism, parapsychology, eastern and western mysticism, mind and consciousness research divination, tarot, and a variety of less welll-known subjects. It also features biographies of leading figures in the field with details of their lives, philosophies and writings- from astrologer Evangeline Adams to the prophet Zarathustra.
Wisdom Seekers: The Rise of the New Spirituality explores the origins and precursors of the New Age movement, its consolidation within the American counterculture of the late 1960s, and its development into an international spiritual perspective in contemporary Western society. The book considers the influence on the New Age of metaphysicians like Emanuel Swedenborg, Mesmer, Madame Blavatsky and Gurdjieff; pioneering thinkers like Freud, Jung and William James; and the contribution to New Age thought of Indian spiritual traditions and transpersonal psychology. Wisdom Seekers also describes the way in which the New Age paradigm has absorbed the most recent discoveries of quantum physics and consciousness research, and it explores the New Age focus on personal spiritual experience rather than formal religious doctrines.
First published in 1978, Don Juan, Mescalito and Modern Magic begins with an analysis of the Castaneda material from the viewpoint of its inherently magical content. The author examines the symbiotic gestures, the magical actions and the mind-altering techniques employed by the brujo Don Juan, and then goes on to draw comparisons with two other schools of thought: the psychedelic development of the 1960s and the Western Magical Tradition. The essential aim throughout is to show that there is a basically Western shamanism which uses Western symbols and is easily accessible. The shamanistic practices of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn are examined in this context. Considerable emphasis is also placed on mythological aspects associated with out-of-the-body experiences and their relevance to both the Don Juan Mescalito imagery and the Qabalistic and Tarot symbols found in Western Magic. This book will be of interest to students of religion, history and literature.
Offers a path towards personal and spiritual transformation. Drawing on magical ideas and practices from several different wisdom traditions, including the Kabbalah, Wicca and Goddess spirituality, alchemy, Shamanism and the Tarot, this book shows how to bring visionary empowerment into everyday life to help focus on goals and aspirations.
Originally published in 1978, The Occult Sourcebook has been compiled primarily for the many people who are for the first time becoming engrossed by the numerous and often confusing possibilities underlying the occult sciences. It consists of a series of articles on key areas, providing the reader with easy access to basic facts, together with a carefully planned guide to further reading. Critical comments on the recommended books allow the reader to select those which best suit their interests. The authors have also included a ‘Who’s Who of the occult’ to provide short biographies of some of the more amazing figures who have already travelled down the mystic path. The book offers a programmed system of exploration into the realms of the unknown. It will be invaluable to the increasing number of people who are concerned with the exploration of enlarging human consciousness.
What are the implications of out-of-body experiences (OBE) and near-death experiences for our religious and philosophical perspectives? Can the findings of recent paranormal research be incorporated within our existing frameworks of consciousness? In The Visionary Human, Nevill Drury explores this challenge, describing a visionary as one who is able to look beyond external appearances and perceive the world in a more profound way Visionaries have inspired great religions, art, and mythology, and visionary consciousness is an insight that potentially we all share. Includes an exclusive interview with Robert Monroe, a pioneer of research into OBE.
Here is my gift to you--a secret book of wondrous power and spells of enchantment..." "Here are the secret formulae for calling the spirits, ensnaring your lover, attracting good fortune and predicting what will come to pass." "Here are the secrets for becoming like the Ancient Ones." He is the most well-known wizard of all time, a name beloved of all who cherish the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Now, through this magnificently illustrated manual, Merlin displays the fruits of his knowledge and power and reveals how you too can become a wizard or witch. Through the wise words of the master, learn about the mystic festivals; the five elements; the Alphabet of Trees, divining with the Oghams, and "candle magick." See how to find something that was lost, make mischief against those who offend, and--most wonderful of all--become invisible and fly in the spirit-vision.
ESP, reincarnation, strology, meditation, astrology, faith-healing, shamanism, Tarot, out-of-body experiences and New Age practices are some of the topics in this book.
A survey of magic and witchcraft throughout history traces its earliest animist concepts about the universe's spiritual forces to the emergence of wicca and contemporary neopaganism, discussing such topics as traditional shamanism, medieval witchcraft, satanism, the occult, the tarot, and modern technologies. Reprint.
If you loved The Da Vinci Code and The Celestine Prophecy, consider this: The date is 21 December 2012, the fabled End-Time of the Mayan Calendar. What will happen on this fateful day? Journalist James Highgate and linguist Flavia Timmins journey to Xocomil near Lake AtitlNBn in the Mayan highlands. There they meet the custodian of a secret ancient text that holds the key to the amazing link between the Mayan god Kukulcan and the Christian disciple St Thomas, brother of Jesus. How are the destinies of these two spiritual figures connected as the End-Time draws near? Both the secret Mayan teachings and the ancient biblical text point to a dramatic climax in world history which will take place at the end of recorded time, on 21 December 2012. Is this the date of the biblical Second Coming? And what dark forces stand in the way of this startling Revelation?
This collection of occult writings spans a period from 1979 to the present. It covers various subjects and themes: shamanism; magical cosmology; mythology of the Tarot; and a Qabalistic interpretation of surrealism. Other chapters feature a comparison of frameworks of consciousness proposed by Carl Jung and John Lilly; and profiles of three magical artists: Austin Spare, Rosaleen Norton and H.R. Giger (the creator of The Alien).
Including over 3000 cross-referenced entries from the prehistoric to the contemporary, this unique dictionary is an invaluable reference to the mystical and esoteric traditions. It includes biographies of leading figures in the field, such as astrologer Evangeline Adams and the prophet Zarathustra, and also offers a fascinating look at esoteric religious texts such as The Egyptian Book of the Dead, The Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Zohar, revealing both human and divine characters from the great legends and myths of the world.
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