Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ritual. Show all posts

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Father Of Creation Divine Mother

Father Of Creation Divine Mother Cover We sit at thy lotus feet in celebration of the consciousness you left us,
the Universal intelligence present in every atom of creation.

Let us all unite and throw away the chains of dogma,
that all people, from all walks of life, unite in truth.

We understand the point of religion isn't to have blind faith,
rather direction perception and experience,
that is why we sit here today,
so that we may directly experience our birthright,
the Christ Consciousness.

Bless all with the strength to sit with you for the whole time,
may this not feel like a burden to anyone that attempts it,
we do this with love, and free will.

We are sitting because we want too, in honor.
We use our free will to sit with thee,
you do not have to play hide and seek anymore,
this is our choice.

One thing we are not, oh Divine mother, are beggars.
We will not sit here and beg things of you,
We are your sons and daughters!

We only demand for what is ours!
What you created for us,
your love.

May your presence be felt as we sit in silence,
giving thanks to the consciousness you left us,
a road map back to your kingdom.

May you bless not only all that are attempting to sit with you,
but every sentient being.

Peace, Aum, Amen

Love, peace, compassion and respect
-wishy

Also try this free pdf e-books:

Aleister Crowley - The Heart Of The Master
Aleister Crowley - The Invocation Of Thoth
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Monday, September 27, 2010

Stories From Northern Myths

Stories From Northern Myths Cover

Book: Stories From Northern Myths by Emilie Kip Baker

"Stories From Northern Myth" written in 1914 by Emilie Kip Baker. Most of the existing records on Norse Mythology date from the 11th to 18th century, having gone through more than two centuries of oral preservation in what was at least officially a Christian society. At this point scholars started recording it, particularly in the Eddas and the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, who believed that pre-Christian deities trace real historical people. There is also the Danish Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus, where the Norse gods are more strongly Euhemerized. The Prose or Younger Edda was written in the early 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, who was a leading skald, chieftain, and diplomat in Iceland. It may be thought of primarily as a handbook for aspiring skalds. It contains prose explications of traditional "kennings," or compressed metaphors found in poetry. These prose retellings make the various tales of the Norse gods systematic and coherent.

The mythological literature relates the legends of heroes and kings, as well as supernatural creatures. These clan and kingdom founding figures possessed great importance as illustrations of proper action or national origins. The heroic literature may have fulfilled the same function as the national epic in other European literatures, or it may have been more nearly related to tribal identity. Many of the legendary figures probably existed, and generations of Scandinavian scholars have tried to extract history from myth in the sagas.

Sometimes the same hero resurfaces in several forms depending on which part of the Germanic world the epics survived such as Weyland/Volund and Siegfried/Sigurd, and probably Beowulf/Bodvar Bjarki. Other notable heroes are Hagbard, Starkad, Ragnar Lodbrok, Sigurd Ring, Ivar Vidfamne and Harald Hildetand. Notable are also the shieldmaidens who were ordinary women who had chosen the path of the warrior. These women function both as heroines and as obstacles to the heroic journey.

Download Emilie Kip Baker's eBook: Stories From Northern Myths

Books in PDF format to read:

Aleister Crowley - Stone Of Cybele From Golden Twigs
Padraic Colum - The Children Of Odin The Book Of Northern Myths
Tommie Eriksson - Tree Cults In Northern Magic
Helene Adeline Guerber - Myths Of Northern Lands
Emilie Kip Baker - Stories From Northern Myths
Read more »

Friday, September 17, 2010

Someone Princess Someone Shame

Someone Princess Someone Shame Cover by Roy Rindom

So young and tender pure at heart
She walks the street alone at night
Waiting for a John to bite.
It's the only life she ever knew
So take your fondle, kiss or screw
There's no time to play this game
Someone's princess -- someone's shame.

I need to see some paper first
So watch your hands before you pay
Give it up, or I'm on my way
His name is John and she takes his dough
Shit. He's yelling "Start the show!"
The names never change on any given night
A Pro / A Whore / even Bum
The one that hurts is a Little scum
He doesn't care what she's Called
There's no time to hear her name
Someone's princess -- Someone's shame.

She dares not think how it all started
Lives are ruined with families parted
At thirteen she's young and sweet
What great Friends are on the street
Trust me / Take this / Listen here
At night it's always "be my dear"
There's no time to lay the blame
Someone's princess -- Someone's shame.

Now fourteen -- one year older
Much more callous, even bolder
Her hips, her walk speak that beat
She's a lady of the street
The clothes have changed throughout the year
First champagne; now it's beer
How she's grown since she first started
Damn that day the family parted
This world's unfair and barely tame
Someone's princess -- Someone's shame.

Now fifteen; it's been two years
Oh my God she's lost her fears
She's slept with women and two men
On the street there's no pretend
My, her heart is filled with pain
Someone's princess -- Someone's shame.

How much longer will she last
For on the street you age so fast
She's not allowed to show her tears
They are only hurts and fears
Then one night with a sigh
She felt a peace deep inside
Reminiscing how she started
That fateful day the family parted
For on the street there is no game
Someone's princess -- Someone's shame.

Books in PDF format to read:

Ramsey Dukes - Ssotbme Revised An Essay On Magic
Solomonic Grimoires - Lemegeton I The Lesser Key Of Solomon Goetia
Anonymous - Basic Principles Of The Craft
Read more »

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Shepherd

The Shepherd Cover "How sweet is the shepherd’s sweet lot!
From the morn to the evening he strays;
He shall follow his sheep all the day,
And his tongue shall be filled with praise.

For he hears the lambs’ innocent call,
And he hears the ewes’ tender reply;
He is watchful while they are in peace,
For they know when their shepherd is nigh."

by William Blake

Keywords: odin volsunga saga  corrections reprint  portable magic tool  witchcraft south  anthology oral histories  devil feminine soul  asgard tales northern  recommended heathen  
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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Linear Light From The Ivory Tower A Posthumous Poetry Collection

Linear Light From The Ivory Tower A Posthumous Poetry Collection Cover

Book: Linear Light From The Ivory Tower A Posthumous Poetry Collection by Sheryl Mathis

Linear Light from the Ivory Tower is a posthumous poetry Anthology of Sheryl Williams Mathis. Sheryl, an African-American Wiccan in Georgia, was a lover of all things metaphysical and natural. She often expressed her deepest feelings through her poetry. After her death in 2001, her daughter, DaKarai Noshell Yuko, made it her mission to collect and compile her poems into two books, in honor of her mother's loving memory. Linear Light from the Ivory Tower is the first book.

Sheryl, an African-American Wiccan from Georgia, was a lover of all things metaphysical and natural. She often expressed her deepest feelings through her poetry. Some of Sheryl's poems have been featured in:

* IMAGE OF MYSTIC TRUTH by NEW WORLDS UNLIMITED 1980
* YEARBOOK OF MODERN POETRY by YOUNG PUBLICATIONS 1980
* OUR Twentieth Century'S Greatest POEMS by WORLD OF POETRY PRESS 1981
* THE FAMILY TREASURY OF GREAT POEMS by WORLD OF POETRY PRESS 1981
* EARTHSHINE by POETRY PRESS 1982
* AMERICAN POETRY ANTHOLOGY by AMERICAN POETRY ASSOCIATION 1982
* POETRY OF LOVE-PAST AND PRESENT by FINE ARTS PRESS 1982
* POEMS OF THE HEARTLAND by FAIRLANE HOUSE 1990's
* HONEY CREEK ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY POETRY by FAIRLANE HOUSE 1990's Sheryl's many awards include:
* THE GOLDEN POET AWARD by WORLD OF POETRY PRESS 1989 * AWARD OF MERIT by WORLD OF POETRY PRESS 1989

Buy Sheryl Mathis's book: Linear Light From The Ivory Tower A Posthumous Poetry Collection

Books in PDF format to read:

Christopher Bache - Dark Night Early Dawn Steps To A Deep Ecology Of Mind
Order Of The Golden Dawn - High Lights Of The Fifth Knowledge Lecture
George Robert Stowe Mead - Echoes From The Gnosis Vol Vii The Gnostic Crucifixion
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Friday, June 4, 2010

The Witches Creed

The Witches Creed Cover Hear Now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night,
When dark was our destiny's pathway,
That now we bring forth into light.

Mysterious water and fire,
The earth and the wide-ranging air,
By hidden quintessence we know them,
And will and keep silent and dare.

The birth and rebirth of all nature,
The passing of winter and spring,
We share with the life universal,
Rejoice in the magical ring.

Four times in the year the Great Sabbat
Returns, and the witches are seen
At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,
On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.

When day-time and night-time are equal,
When sun is at greatest and least,
The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,
And Witches gather in feast.

Thirteen silver moons in a year are,
Thirteen is the coven's array.
Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,
For each golden year and a day.

The power that was passed down the age,
Each time between woman and man,
Each century unto the other,
Ere time and the ages began.

When drawn is the magical circle,
By sword or athame of power,
Its compass between two worlds lies,
In land of the shades for that hour.

This world has no right then to know it,
And world of beyond will tell naught.
The oldest of Gods are invoked there,
The Great Work of magic is wrought.

For the two are mystical pillars,
That stand at the gate of the shrine,
And two are the powers of nature,
The forms and the forces divine.

The dark and the light in succession,
The opposites each unto each,
Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:
Of this our ancestors teach.

By night he's the wild wind's rider,
The Horned One, the Lord of the Shades.
By day he's the King of the Woodland,
The dweller in green forest glades.

She is youthful or old as she pleases,
She sails the torn clouds in her barque,
The bright silver lady of midnight,
The crone who weaves spells in the dark.

The master and mistress of magic,
That dwell in the deeps of the mind,
Immortal and ever-renewing,
With power to free or to bind.

So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,
And Dance and make love in their praise,
Till Elphame's fair land shall receive us
In peace at the end of our days.

And Do What You Will be the challenge,
So be it Love that harms none,
For this is the only commandment.
By Magic of old, be it done!

Doreen Valiente, "Witchcraft For Tomorrow" pp.172-173

Also try this free pdf e-books:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Street
Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Tree
Tarostar - The Witchs Spellcraft Revised
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Friday, March 19, 2010

The Speech Of The High One

The Speech Of The High One Cover I know I hung on that windswept tree,
Swung there for nine long nights,
Wounded by my own blade,
Bloodied for Odinn,
Myself and offering to myself:
Bound to the tree
That no man knows
Wither the roots of it run.

None gave me bread,
None gave me drink.
Down to the deepest depths I peered
Until I spied the Runes.
With a roaring cry I seized them up,
Then dizzy and fainting, I fell.

Well-being I won
And wisdom too.
I grew and took joy in my Growth:
From a word to a word
I was led to a word, From a deed to another deed.

The Poetic Edda (ca A.D. 1200)

Books in PDF format to read:

Carroll Runyon - The Secret Of The Dark Mirror
Dion Fortune - The Machinery Of The Mind
Stephen Flowers - The Secret Of The Gothick God Of Darkness
Graham Hancock - The Message Of The Sphinx
Read more »

Monday, March 15, 2010

Strange Changes

Strange Changes Cover I met you first on darkened moors,
one night beneath a cobalt moon
We walked the hills, climbed rugged tors
the wind sang sweet cold eerie tunes

Then you were quick to dance,
your lustrous hair a flowing breeze
When I chanced to glance at you
I saw your body rearrange
taking the shape of a yew tree
Strange change I thought...so strange...

The second time I saw you playing a sea nymph
on a black sand beach
We swam Together Through the surf,
I Touched the sea, but you I could not reach

Then you were quick to laugh,
your mirth a shiny aura
I paused to stare
while you shimmered in the air
taking a Griffin's form
Strange change I cried...too strange

The last time I saw you
acting like a wilderness child
Canadian tundra frozen and bleak,
animal magic free and wild

Presenting your true self
while the wolves remained silent
The Moon howled in delight
as you kissed me softly in the arctic night
and left me standing on a melting world
full of strange changes...very strange...

by Zhuavastou c1996

Books in PDF format to read:

Kathryn Rountree - Embracing The Witch And The Goddess
Douglas Colligan - Strange Energies Hidden Powers
John Yarker - Arcane Schools
Karl Hans Welz - Armanen Runes
Read more »

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Minstrel

The Minstrel Cover (Holly Solt)

What music shall I Play
what song shall I now sing
the minstrel took a bow
and asked the royal king...

Play a song of merriment
sing a song of joy
for we have had some troubles
and this night we shall enjoy...

He plucked the merry lute strings
and he danced upon the floor
and the court heard such sweet music
as it never heard before...

The weary knights with broken bones
picked up their heavy heads
and twas well past the midnight hour
when they laid upon their beds

Even in the deepened sleep
they heard the joyous song
and forgot the wartime nightmares
and the day that had been long

What music shall you play for Him?
what song shall you now sing?
become the magic minstrel
and play before your King

Make weary Knights with broken bones
lift up their heavy heads
sing the words of truth and love
and go to those in beds

And dance a dance to celebrate
the wonder of it all
so others too may dance with you
in Heaven's wondrous Hall.

Books in PDF format to read:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Tree
Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Street

Keywords: practice divinity life  hidden meaning numbers  master encyclopedia magical  history  
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Friday, January 22, 2010

The Hermit Hymn To Solitude

The Hermit Hymn To Solitude Cover

Book: The Hermit Hymn To Solitude by Aleister Crowley

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhasa. Venerable Lord and Best of Friends. We, seeing the cycle in which Maha Brahma is perhaps more a drifting buoy than ourselves, knowing that it is called the walking in delusion, the puppet show of delusion, the writing of delusion, the fetter of delusion, are aware that the way out of the desert is found by going into the desert. Will you, in your lonely lamaserai, accept this hymn from me, who, in the centre of civilisation, am perhaps more isolated than you in your craggy fastness among the trackless steppes of your Untrodden Land?

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: The Hermit Hymn To Solitude

Books in PDF format to read:

Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - The Hermit
Arthur Edward Waite - The Hermetic Museum
Aleister Crowley - The Heart Of The Master
Aleister Crowley - The Hermit Hymn To Solitude
Read more »

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Sick Rose

The Sick Rose Cover O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm.
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

by William Blake

Also try this free pdf e-books:

Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Silver Key
Reynold Nicholson - The Mystics Of Islam
Tuesday Lobsang Rampa - The Saffron Robe
Read more »

Sunday, October 25, 2009

An Encyclopedia Of Ancient Greek And Roman Mythology

An Encyclopedia Of Ancient Greek And Roman Mythology Cover

Book: An Encyclopedia Of Ancient Greek And Roman Mythology by James Hampton Belton

E. M. Berens orginally wrote “Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome” to provide an interesting work on Greek and Roman mythology, suitable for advanced schools. He (or she, I haven't been able to find out) wanted to give the student a clear and succinct idea of the Religious beliefs of the ancients, and to render the subject at once interesting and instructive. He hoped to awaken in the minds of young students a desire to become more intimately acquainted with the noble productions of classical antiquity.

I decided to create this Encyclopedia because I like the ease of use of a single browsable document in alphabetical order, and did not find a free encyclopedia that I liked. Wikipedia is a fantastic resource, but it is not an easy read. I liked the consistant, easy style of the E. M. Berens book, and because it was available from Project Gutenberg for free and without restrictions, I could take it and turn it into this reference work at only the cost of my time.
A very brief note on the conventions for the entry headings: the name of the entry is usually followed by the pronounciation in parentheses. In the case of figures who have equivalents in Greek and Roman mythology, the equivalent figure's name then follows in brackets. I hope you enjoy this book. Regards, James Hampton Belton

Download James Hampton Belton's eBook: An Encyclopedia Of Ancient Greek And Roman Mythology

Books in PDF format to read:

Robert Ellwood - The Encyclopedia Of World Religions
Scott Cunningham - Cunninghams Encyclopedia Of Crystal Gem And Metal Magic
James Hampton Belton - An Encyclopedia Of Ancient Greek And Roman Mythology
Read more »

Friday, September 4, 2009

Hymn To Pan

Hymn To Pan Cover

Book: Hymn To Pan by Aleister Crowley

HYMN TO PAN: This poem, Together With extracts from the Book of the Law and the Collects from the Gnostic Mass formed the Last Ritual at aleister crowley at his funeral in Brighton on December 5th, 1947.

Download Aleister Crowley's eBook: Hymn To Pan

Books in PDF format to read:

Devi Spring - The Emerging Indo Pagans
Aubrey Bell - The Magic Of Spain
Aleister Crowley - To Man
Aleister Crowley - Hymn To Pan
Read more »

Friday, August 21, 2009

Apikorsus An Essay On The Diverse Practices Of Chaos Magick

Apikorsus An Essay On The Diverse Practices Of Chaos Magick Cover

Book: Apikorsus An Essay On The Diverse Practices Of Chaos Magick by Lincoln Order Of Neuromancers

Common to the various systems/Traditions/paradigms of Magick are certain key concepts. We urge the reader not to accept/reject these as Theoretical constructs, but to try and verify them by personal experience.
1. The Whole is encoded within each of its constituents - "As above, so below."
2. The Whole is interconnected, and all relative wholes partake in Consciousness to varying degrees.
3. The Whole is self-organizing, and the evolution of all forms is governed by similar principles.
4. By means of a trained and directed will, we can effect change (probability > possibility) at various levels of organization.
5. Change is the only constant!
6. The Whole is more than the sum of its parts
7. Our beliefs define the limits of our allowed experience
8. "Everyday Reality" is not the limit of our experience - by entering Altered States of Consciousness we can experience other realities.
9. The entities which may be encountered during our experience of those other realities are real within their own world. To question their relative existence is unimportant, since the universe behaves as if they do exist.
10. Magical ability is engendered through an inward, transformative journey.

Download Lincoln Order Of Neuromancers's eBook: Apikorsus An Essay On The Diverse Practices Of Chaos Magick

Books in PDF format to read:

Terry Findlay - Phronesis The Development Of Practical Wisdom
Phil Legard - An Approach To The Operation Of The Arbatel Of Magic
Ophiel - The Art Practice Of Caballa Magic
Lincoln Order Of Neuromancers - Apikorsus An Essay On The Diverse Practices Of Chaos Magick
Read more »

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Pandemonium

Pandemonium Cover Hi, ho, it's Spring again,
Out of my eye's corner
I Thought I saw the Horned Man, the Green Man
Charging down the glen,

It was not Pan,
I did not get that freezing in the bone,
Half fear, half ecstacy.
Perhaps I was mistook,
And only wished I saw,

And maybe Pan is playing in a rock band,
Traveling in a wave of liquorous riot,
George 'Something' and the Destroyers

Sonia Brock

Books in PDF format to read:

Miac - Asatru And Odinism
Roger Whitaker - Antinomianism
Edward Bulwer Lytton - Zanoni
Read more »

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Sacred Trees

Sacred Trees Cover Sacred trees
You among all creation deserve high honor.
For all your long life your arms you raise,
Heaven-ward in endless praise,
Leaves upturned to the sun,
To the face of the God of Life.

Sacred trees
You among all creation deserve love.
You give of yourself freely, as laden branches bend.
You give of yourself completely, your fruit, your wood; your end
Becomes a new Beginning
As you return your gift of life
And once again to the body of Mother Earth.

Sacred trees
You among all creation deserve sanctification.
Giving of yourself, from without and within
You sow no hate, you make no sin
You give to us the breath of life, even as you die.
Pray we too, learn to live as trees.

Raven Le May '95

Raven is a woman of spirit living in Ohio, who describes her Spirituality as having a Pagan Heart and a Catholic soul. She is publishing a book of her poems in the near future. Copyright (c) 1995 belongs to the author.

Books in PDF format to read:

Aleister Crowley - World Tragedy
Yacki Raizizun - The Secret Of Dreams
Howard Phillips Lovecraft - Selected Novels
Friedrich Max Muller - The Sacred Books Of The East
Stephen William Hawking - Space And Time Warps
Read more »

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Abyss And Tabaet A Study Of Adversarial Mythology In Magick

The Abyss And Tabaet A Study Of Adversarial Mythology In Magick Cover

Book: The Abyss And Tabaet A Study Of Adversarial Mythology In Magick by Michael Ford

The purpose of the following essay is to not only examine masks worn by the fallen angels throughout history as well as to examine the etymology of the spirit of self-liberation and opposition from the praxis of occult thought. The very passing of power in the Circle of Witchcraft And Sorcery is the averse way of bringing into union Daemon and Man, the intent of the Adversary is life and the Immortality of the spirit. As “Luciferian Witchcraft” and “Liber HVHI” provide a foundation of sorcery which incorporates an interwoven praxis of Antinomianism and self-deification, the essential origins of the Daemonic Feminine and Masculine should be further understood by its origins.

What is regarded as common knowledge depicts that the Luciferian spirit, what is found are the associative traits and that the Adversary has existed long before Christianity. The Avestan texts as well as the Denkard provide a wealth of knowledge of Ahriman from a right hand path point of view, consider as such a veil which can only be passed through by the Great Work of initiation.

The names and cultural expressions of the Adversary are briefly explored as an introduction, from the ancient Persian, Hebraic and even Norse, the Adversary appears in each. As tempter, war maker, wisdom bringer and devouring predatory spirit. Look to the common aspects which make the Opposer as a force of initiation.

Lucifer/Ahriman/Samael is a spirit which is made viable through the Adept his/herself, this force is expressive of the individual, thus each manifestation unique as the initiate in question.

Download Michael Ford's eBook: The Abyss And Tabaet A Study Of Adversarial Mythology In Magick

Books in PDF format to read:

Scott Cunningham - Earth Air Fire And Water More Techniques Of Natural Magic
Three Initiates - The Kybalion A Study Of The Hermetic Philosophy Of Ancient Egypt And Greece
Joanne Pearson - Wicca And The Christian Heritage Ritual Sex And Magic
Lisa Mcsherry - The Alchemy Of Abundance Practical Money Magic
Michael Ford - The Abyss And Tabaet A Study Of Adversarial Mythology In Magick
Read more »

Sunday, April 12, 2009

A Dream Within A Dream

A Dream Within A Dream Cover by Edgar Allen Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow -
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if Hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a Vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream Within a dream.

I stand amind the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand -
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep - while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Books in PDF format to read:

Alexander Roberts - A Treatise Of Witchcraft
John Musick - The Witch Of Salem
Marian Green - A Witch Alone
Read more »

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Witchs Dance

Witchs Dance Cover Nude bodies
Dancing in perfect time
To the beat of the earth,
And the music of nature.
The fire shines brightly,
Ecasin gthe witchs' dance
In a god(dess) like essence.
The silent whisper of approval
Rings loudly in the ears of the deaf.
To them, this is the life
Of peace and tranquility;
But to the righteous,
It is sin,
Carried on a silver platter,
To mock the Younger god
Of the Western world;
The one who sent the peaceful ones
Into a world of seclusion.
Locked into silence.
To speak out is death.
The righteous
Would have a magnificent feast
Of witchs' meat at the slightest
Peep of the hidden Children

DeRaNgEd

Books in PDF format to read:

John Musick - The Witch Of Salem
Louise Jackson - Witches Wives And Mothers
Jaroslav Nemec - Witchcraft And Medicine
Mary Mazzer - Witch Brew
Marian Green - A Witch Alone
Read more »

Monday, September 15, 2008

Myth Ritual And Religion

Myth Ritual And Religion Cover

Book review: Myth Ritual And Religion by Andrew Lang

The original edition of Myth, Ritual and Religion, published in 1887, has long been out of print. In revising the book I have brought it into line with the ideas expressed in the second part of my Making of Religion (1898) and have excised certain passages which, as the book first appeared, were inconsistent with its main thesis. In some cases the original passages are retained in notes, to show the nature of the development of the author's opinions. A
fragment or two of controversy has been deleted, and chapters xi. and xii., on the religion of the lowest races, have been entirely rewritten, on the strength of more recent or earlier information lately acquired.

The gist of the book as it stands now and as it originally stood is contained in the following lines from the preface of 1887: "While the attempt is made to show that the wilder features of myth survive from, or were borrowed from, or were imitated from the ideas of people in the savage condition of thought, the existence--even among savages--of comparatively pure, if inarticulate, religious beliefs is insisted on throughout". To that opinion I adhere, and I trust that it is now expressed with more consistency than in the first edition. I have seen reason, more and more, to doubt the validity of the "ghost theory," or animistic hypothesis, as explanatory of the whole fabric of religion; and I present arguments against Mr. Tylor's contention that the higher conceptions of savage faith are borrowed from missionaries. It is very possible, however, that Mr. Tylor has arguments more powerful than those contained in his paper of 1892.

Download Andrew Lang's eBook: Myth Ritual And Religion

Keywords: lesser goetia spirits  dreamer from  with some  science numbers letters  michelet models  
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