Gnosis 23: Gnosticism Revisited. A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions (New)

by Gnosis

Publisher: Gnosis

Binding: Magazine

Book ID: GNO23, GNO23

Price: $9.00

Description

"Whatever the virtues of Gnosticism, this journal has always resisted being identified as a rallying point for a specifically gnostic movement. This in part because, as our name indicates, our allegiance is to gnosis itself - not to a latter-day 'Gnosticism' derived primarily from second-century sources."
- Jay Kinney, from the introduction

Contents -- Spring 1992

1
Editorial

2
News

3
Forum

8
Alternative Realities
Textual Cruxes
A column by Stephan A. Hoeller

10
Skeptic's Corner
Gimme a Break, Sheldrake
A column by Ted Schultz

12
Introduction: Shadowboxing with God
by Jay Kinney
What does Gnosticism have to do with gnosis?

16
Attack of the Archons
by James B. DeKorne
If the archons are the enemy, they may be us.

24
What Is a Gnostic?
by Stephan A. Hoeller
Suggestions for pinning down this slippery term.

28
The Seed of Light
by Chas S. Clifton
Did the ancient Gnostics practice sacramental sex?

34
Gnosticism and Social Action
by Charles Upton
How does a Gnostic change the world?

40
Tongues of Fire, Gifts of Noise
by Erik Davis
No, information isn't knowledge. But it can be some help along the way.

50
Imagination and the Sacred: An Interview with Kathleen Raine
by Jay Kinney
The noted poet and scholar discusses art and spirituality in today's world.

56
Caliban's Masque: Spiritual Anarchy and the Wild Man in Colonial America
by Peter Lamborn Wilson
Had American history gone differently, we might have ended up with a religion of the Wild Man.

64
Book Reviews

A History of Gnosticism by Giovanni Filoramo, translated by Anthony Alcock
The Beginnings of Christianity: Essene Mystery, Gnostic Revelation, and the Christian Vision by Andrew Welburn
Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom: The Divine Feminine from Black Goddess to World Soul by Caitlin Matthews
The Mystery of the Seven Vowels in Theory and Practice by Joscelyn Godwin
Angels and Aliens: UFOs and the Mythic Imagination by Keith Thompson
In Pursuit of VALIS: Selections from the Exegesis by Philip K. Dick, edited by Lawrence Sutin, with introduction by Jay Kinney and afterword by Terence McKenna
Money and the Meaning of Life by Jacob Needleman
PIHKAL: A Chemical Love Story by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin
Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath by Carlo Ginzburg
The Magical Revival by Kenneth Grant
Company of Prophets: African American Psychics, Healers, and Visionaries by Joyce Elaine Noll
Meditating as a Christian: Waiting upon God by Peter Toon
Twelve-Tribe Nations and the Science of Enchanting the Landscape by John Michell and Christine Rhone
Happiness without Death: Desert Hymns by Assad Ali, translated by Camille Adams Helminski, Kabir Helminski, and Ibrahim Al-Shihabi
Words of Power: Sacred Sounds of East and West by Brian and Esther Crowley

Arcanum Bestiarum: Of The Subtil And Occult Virtues Of Divers Beasts
Fitzgerald, Robert
Three Hands Press

Written in the great tradition of the medieval bestiaries, Robert Fitzgerald's long-awaited new work Arcanum Bestiarum re-imagines the animal menagerie in the context of bestial mystery and atavistic power. Written for the modern magical practitioner and zoophile, the 272-page volume examines the occult virtues and totemic majesties of fifty animals, theriomorphs, and their kindred. Correspondences with deific powers, atavistic wisdom, and mythopoetic emanation are examined, especially in light of the tutelary powers all animals possess.

The Tetramorph -- essentially an animalic ‘crown of creation’ -- is here transformed into the far broader and innovative concept of the ‘Theriomorph’, or, the Zodiak Entire of Creation as an apotheosis of the animal form and zoötype… One of the greatest of virtues possessed by the Human is its bestial heritage, both spiritually and genetically. These attributes are often seen as primitive, chaotic and dangerous to civilized culture by the custodians of moralism and religion today, but the fact remains that it is our animal heritage that makes us what we are, or, more accurately, what we should and can be.

Special attention is given to the zoomorphic aspects of alchemy, which historically used the bestial emblemata as veils of the stages of the Great Work, as well as shamanism and witchcraft, bodies of knowledge particularly rich in the lore of animals as spirit-helpers. The work is an emergent strand of magical investigation long part of the author’s private life, where he has worked in the ecological field of wildlife rehabilitation, especially raptors.

The text is graced with fifty-five original woodcut illustrations by artist Liv Rainey-Smith, prepared especially for this title in close collaboration with the author. Amongst the more ambitious renderings in the work are the occult cryptofauna Homunculus, Manticore, Ouroboros, and Basilisk, as well as animals prominent in the ancient dawn of magick: the Bear, Goat, Viper, Peacock, and more. Completing the design elements is an original typeface designed for the work by calligrapher Gail Coppock, serving to illuminate this grimoire of the Magician’s Primal Eden.

The book is 272 pages, printed in two colour ink on heavy stock, and illustrated throughout.

Standard Edition: 1400 copies, in hardcover with dust jacket.

Price: $75.00

Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality
Harner, Michael
North Atlantic Books

In 1980, Michael Harner blazed the trail for the worldwide revival of shamanism with his seminal classic The Way of the Shaman. In this long-awaited sequel, he provides new evidence of the reality of heavens.

Drawing from a lifetime of personal shamanic experiences and more than 2,500 reports of Westerners' experiences during shamanic ascension, Harner highlights the striking similarities between their discoveries, indicating that the heavens and spirits they've encountered do indeed exist. He also provides instructions on his innovative core-shamanism techniques, so that readers too can ascend to heavenly realms, seek spirit teachers, and return later at will for additional healing and advice.

Written by the leading authority on shamanism, Cave and Cosmos is a must-read not only for those interested in shamanism, but also for those interested in spirituality, comparative religion, near-death experiences, healing, consciousness, anthropology, and the nature of reality.

Price: $19.95

The Chaldean Oracles: Translation, Text, and Commentary
Majercik, Ruth
Prometheus Trust

The Chaldean Oracles hold a special place in the development of the Platonic tradition - they gave a new impetus and inspiration to a number of philosophers now known as neoplatonists. The extant fragments of the Oracles have been the subject of several studies in the modern era: since its publication in 1989 this presentation of the Chaldean Oracles in parallel text and translation with Ruth Majercik's detailed notes and analysis has established itself as the modern baseline for scholarly work upon the Oracles. This is a facsimile edition of that publication. 272pp

Price: $34.00

The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness
Watts, Alan W
New World Library

In describing the effects of mescaline, Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception literally opened a door. Watts walked through it with this classic account of the levels of insight consciousness-changing drugs can facilitate "when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding." Watts and peers including foreword authors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (then Harvard professors) anticipated physicists recognizing the individuals "inseparability from the rest of the world," the work of New Age thinkers who combine scientific findings and spiritual experiences, and federally funded clinical trials utilizing psilocybin to treat a variety of conditions. More than an artifact, The Joyous Cosmology is both a riveting memoir of Watts’ personal experiments and a profound meditation on our perennial questions about the nature of existence and the existence of the sacred.

Includes Watts's article "Psychedelics and Religious Experience"

Price: $14.00