Door Three Initiates

64 Pagina’s | 2020 | Softcover | Uitgevrij e-artnow | ISBN 9788027308095

The “Three Initiates” who authored The Kybalion chose to remain anonymous. As a result, a great deal of speculation has been made about who actually wrote the book. The most common proposal is that The Kybalion was authored by William Walker Atkinson (1862 -1932), either alone or with others, such as Paul Foster Case (1884 -1954) and Elias Gewurz.

The Kybalion is based on the extensive research and study of the world-old Hermetic Teachings. The book has dedicated to everyone interested in Secret Doctrines.

‘There has been so little written upon this subject, not withstanding the countless references to the Teachings in the many works upon occultism, that the many earnest searchers after the Arcane Truths will doubtless welcome the appearance of this present volume. The purpose of this work is not the enunciation of any special philosophy or doctrine, but rather is to give to the students a statement of the Truth that will serve to reconcile the many bits of occult knowledge that they may have acquired, but which are apparently opposed to each other and which often serve to discourage and disgust the beginner in the study. Our intent is not to erect a new Temple of Knowledge, but rather to place in the hands of the student a Master-Key with which he may open the many inner doors in the Temple of Mystery through the main portals he has already entered.’

Three Initiates, The Kybalion

Door Three Initiates

139 Pagina’s | 2008 | Softcover | Uitgeverij Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin | ISBN 9781585426430

Wie schreef deze mysterieuze gids over esoterische psychologie en werelds succes? De geschiedenis laat ons hiernaar slechts raden. Onderzoek zelf deze occulte klassieker die zoekers al generaties lang heeft geïntrigeerd en verlicht.

Dit zijn de leringen van de legendarische wijze Hermes Trismegistus, opnieuw geinterpreteerd voor de moderne mens. Naar verluidt was de mythische figuur van Hermes een oude Egyptische mens-god die de vader was van astrologie, alchemie en andere magische kunsten. Eeuwenlang heeft hij lezers van occulte literatuur gefascineerd. Tovenaars en gnostici in de late oudheid identificeerden Hermes Trismegistus als de auteur van vele esoterische leringen, die zijn mysterieuze afstamming hebben gevormd.

Sinds 1908 heeft Het Kybalion, geschreven door de “Three Initiates”, zelf tot discussie en controverse geleid. Wie zit erachter? Komen deze ideeën werkelijk voort uit de geheimen van een ver vervlogen tijdperk? En, belangrijker nog, zijn ze van nut ze voor de hedendaagse zoeker?

In deze beknopte en meeslepende gids bundelen de drie ingewijden de hermetische leer in zeven boeiende principes, en bieden ze praktische methoden om deze ideeën toe te passen ten dienste van zelfontplooiing in het dagelijks leven.

Het is de definitieve tekst van een esoterische klassieker, volledig opnieuw opgebouwd en opnieuw vertaald voor een prettige leeservaring.

Door Richard Smoley

174 Pagina’s | 2022 | Softcover | Uitgeverij Gildan Media (G&D Media) | ISBN 9781722505899

Magie, het occulte, het mystieke: zit er iets achter die woorden behalve clichés uit horrorfilms? Mensen over de hele wereld hebben deze verborgen krachten altijd gekend en er mee omgegaan. Maar tegenwoordig zijn er maar heel weinig manieren om waarheid van onzin te onderscheiden. In dit boek duikt Richard Smoley, een expert op het gebied van het occulte, in de kracht van de geest, magie, suggestie en de rijken van het ongeziene. Hij spreekt eenvoudig en duidelijk, in termen van gezond verstand over deze mysterieuze krachten, hoe ze voor je kunnen werken en wat je moet vermijden. Deze reis door ongeziene werelden zou wel eens het meest opwindende avontuur van je leven kunnen zijn als je leert over: meditatie, magische kleuren, de levenskracht, het astrale licht, gedachtekracht, profetie, paranormale krachten, astrologie, de tarot, spoken, engelen en geesten, leven na de dood, kwade hekserij en satanisme, atlantis en verloren beschavingen, het laatste oordeel, het koninkrijk van God, genezing, reïncarnatie, de Broederschap, en psychedelica en spiritualiteit.

Richard Smoley is redacteur van Quest, het officiële tijdschrift van de Theosofische Vereniging in de Verenigde Staten, en voormalig redacteur van “Gnosis: A Guide to, the Western Inner Traditions”. Hij heeft elf boeken gepubliceerd, waaronder Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism, Innerlijk christendom: een gids voor de esoterische tradities, en Supernatural: geschriften over een onbekende geschiedenis. Hij heeft meer dan vijfenveertig jaar studie gemaakt van de mystieke tradities van de gehele wereld.

By Alice Bailey (1880 – 1949).

705 Pages | 2018, twenty second edition, original printed in 1934 | Paperback | Lucis Publishing Company, New York | ISBN: 9780853301233.

This book contains Fifteen Rules for Magic, and for soul control, based on these words in the Bhagavad-Gita: ”Though I am Unborn, the soul that passes not away, though I am the Lord of Being, yet as Lord over My nature I become manifest, through the magical power of the soul.”

The soul unmanifest in its essential being, manifest through the nature of its personality equipment, is always a source of mystery. It evades the analytical concrete mind: it reveals its true self to the illumined mind fused with the open heart, seeking not to grasp and to hold for personal progress, but to wield the magical power in service. The power of the soul is always available to the one who seeks, as an aspirant to accepted discipleship, to become of practical service in his own peculiar times, state and environment.

The book closes with a rousing call to the soul in all aspirants: ”I close with an appeal to all who read these instructions, to rally their forces, to renew their vows of dedication to the service of humanity, to subordinate their own ideas and wishes to the group good, to take their eyes off themselves and fix them anew upon the vision. . . . Let all students make up their minds in this day of emergency and of opportunity to sacrifice all they have to the helping of humanity. ”

Door Christian Vandekerkhove

120 Pagina’s | 2017 | Softcover | Sharanam Books | ISBN 9789077135532

De term MAGIE roept bij veel mensen weerstand op. Hij is ook omgeven met een waas van ongeloofwaardige en vaak tegenstrijdige verhalen. In dit boek wordt magie op een rationele manier benaderd, vanuit gedachtekracht en energieën. Er wordt ook aangereikt hoe ieder met deze zogenaamd magische krachten kan werken en zich beschermen in geval van een mogelijke magische aanval. De term ENGEL wordt eveneens op een energetische manier verklaard, wat hem niet minder machtig of werkzaam maakt.

Christian Vandekerkhove studeerde informatica en vergelijkende godsdienstwetenschappen. Naast zijn activiteit als docent bestudeert hij al decennia de paranormale verschijnselen, steeds op een zo rationeel mogelijke manier.

Hij is auteur van: Paranormaal zijn we allemaal, Ontdek je zesde zintuig, Ontwikkel je zesde zintuig met de ziel van het licht, Het paranormale is onder ons, De wonderen van Meester Philippe, 1000 Boeddhistische wijsheden, Franciscus, de allerlaatste paus?, Aan de Voeten van de Meester: Werkboek, Het Martinisme, de mystieke zuster van de Vrijmetselarij, Werken met Boeddhisme

By Richard Smoley.

229 Pages | Published in 2013 | Softcover | Jeremy P. Tarcher / Penguin, a member of Penguin Group Inc., New York | ISBN: 9780399161827.

An illuminating journey into the history of the paranormal and how it has shaped our world.

Nostradamus . . . channeling . . . Atlantis . . . divination. Most serious people consider such topics nonsense. But look again. Writing with intellectual verve and a deeply critical mind, religious thinker Richard Smoley uses this anthology to explore and reconsider the supernatural in history and today. We are often conditioned to think of the Judeo-Christian tradition as the only valid, historically accurate, and rational spiritual philsophy. Occultism, magic, intrinsic worth. The pieces in Supernatural challenge this prejudice, illustrating that Western occult traditions are richer and more historically impactful than most of us imagine. The book reveals hidden diamonds and neglected ideas that characterize the magical tradition in the West. For any reader, at any level of experience, who has ever been curious about an arcane subject – from psychical powers to secret societies – here is a collection that delivers a complete yet precise, critical yet serious, and always respectful account of topics from the unseen world. Supernatural is a brilliant primer to the occult and magical history of the West.

From Chapter One – ‘An Encounter with the Ancient Wisdom’ (p. 17):

” Another British magus, Aleister Crowley, defined magic as ‘the Science and Art of causing Change in conformity with will’. One could add that this ‘Science and Art’ involves the use of power – the ‘electric’ atmosphere in the room during the ritual that was so powerful as to possess a sense of danger. From even this short discussion it should be obvious that power and attention are closely related. Perhaps at some level they are identical. In any event, power is, under ordinary circumstances, fairly diffuse. It is only when the will and the attention have been trained that it can be directed in the intense, ‘electric’ way that a magical ritual requires. “

Comments by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891) compiled by Lina Psaltis.

132 Pages | 1972, Second reprint 2006 | Hard cover | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 8170594863.

Psychic phenomena, magic, hypnotism, spiritualism, planes of perception, dreams, and spiritual progress – these are some of the subjects discussed in this collection of excertps from the writings of one of the most famous occultists of history:

In this small book the compiler has drawn together from various sources some of the important and interesting statements made by H.P. Blavatsky more than a century ago on subjects, which are arousing wide interest today. Her comments not only reveal something of her profound knowledge and wisdom, but are also fascinating, informative and relevant. They contain valuable advice to those who would dabble in psychic realms without being aware of their dangers and pitfalls.

From page 104/105:

” The key in each degree is the ‘aspirant himself’. It is not the fear of God, which is the beginning of Wisdom, but the knowledge of SELF which is WISDOM ITSELF. How grand and true appears, thus, to the student of Occultism who has commenced to realize some of the foregoing truths, the answer given by the Delphic Oracle to all who came seeking after Occult Wisdom – words repeated and enforced again and again by the wise Socrates: MAN KNOW THYSELF . . . ” 

• From: Collected Writings, Vol. IX, p. 162.

332 pages | Paperback | Quest Books, 2013 by Serge King

“Reality is experience, and experience is reality,” says Hawaiian shaman Serge King, speaking of Huna, the esoteric tradition in which he was reared. King emphasizes that all of us have the ability to shift from one world to another. The difference is that shamans do it purposefully, while the rest of us are unaware of it. He trains us to engage in the process consciously in order to expand our human potential. Among books on Huna, this one is unique for offering actual practices for changing our reality to create the life we want.

By William Rutherford Hayes Trowbridge (1866-1940).

311 Pages | Facsimile edition of the Brentano’s, New York 1910 edition, published on January 1st, 1992 | A4 Softcover | Kessinger Publication Company Ltd. | ISBN: 1564590631.

CONTENTS

Preface by the Author
Bibliography

PART I
Chapter 1 – The Power of Prejudice
Chapter 2 – Guiseppe Balsamo

PART II
Chapter 1 – Cagliostro in London
Chapter 2 – Eighteenth Century Occultism
Chapter 3 – Masked and Unmasked
Chapter 4 – The Conquest of the Cardinal
Chapter 5 – Cagliostro in Paris
Chapter 6 – The Diamond Necklace Affair
Chapter 7 – Cagliostro’s Return to London
Chapter 8 – ‘Nature’s Unfortunate Child’
Index

From the Preface (p. xvii & xviii)::

” Though much has been written about Cagliostro, most of it is confined to articles in encyclopedias and magazines, or to descriptive paragraphs in works dealing with magic, freemasonry and the period in which he lived. This material may be describes as a footnote, which has been raised to the dignity of a page of history. […] It has been said that every book on Cagliostro must be a book against him. With this opinion I totally disagree. In choosing Cagliostro as the subject of an historical memoir I was guided at first, I admit, by the belief he was the arch-imposer he is popularly supposed to be. With his mystery, magic, and highly sensational career he seemed just the sort of picturesque personality I was in search of. The moment, however, I began to make my researches I was astonished to find how little foundation there was in point of fact for the popular conception. The deeper I went into the subject – how deep this has been the reader may gather from the Bibliography, which contains but a portion of the material I have sifted – the more convinced I became of the fallacy of this conception. “

By Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney.

400 Pages | First edition 1999, revised edition 2006, incl. suggested reading lists per chapter | Softcover | Quest Books U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835608442.

For decades, our modern society has looked to the East for spiritual guidance and renewal. Here is a guide much closer to home. Its subjects range comprehensibly from Jungian psychology to the Kabbalah and Gnosticism, and from Freemasonry and the Templars to Alchemy, Shamanism, the work of Gurdjieff, Neopaganism, Sufism and esoteric Christianity.

Authors Smoley and Kinney speak with sensible, even-handed objectivity, covering the strengths and weaknesses as well as the history and ideas of each tradition. They also end each chapter with a wealth of resources for further exploration. Whether you are just beginning to seek a spiritual practice or want to know more about a particular teaching; Hidden Wisdom is an invaluable resource for finding the Path, that is right for you.

From Chapter 5 – ‘Magicians: Sculptors of the Astral Light’ (p. 105):

” Magic is the traditional science of the secrets of Nature, which has been transmitted to us from the Magi. By means of this science the Adept is invested with a species of relative omnipotence and can operate superhumanly – that is, after a manner which transcends the normal possibility of man. “

Richard Smoley is the former editor of <em>Gnosis</em> magazine and today is editor of Quest Books.

Comments by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), compiled by Lina Psaltis.

132 Pages | Reprint 1989 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar | ISBN: 817059121X.

Psychic phenomena, magic, hypnotism, spiritualism, planes of perception, dreams, and spiritual progress – these are some of the subjects discussed in this collection of excertps from the writings of one of the most famous occultists of history: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.

In this small book the compiler has drawn together from various sources some of the important and interesting statements made by H.P. Blavatsky more than a century ago on subjects, which are arousing wide interest today. Her comments not only reveal something of her profound knowledge and wisdom, but are also fascinating, informative and relevant. They contain valuable advice to those who would dabble in psychic realms without being aware of their dangers and pitfalls.

From page 104/105:

” The key in each degree is the ‘aspirant himself’. It is not the fear of God, which is the beginning of Wisdom, but the knowledge of SELF which is WISDOM ITSELF. How grand and true appears, thus, to the student of Occultism who has commenced to realize some of the foregoing truths, the answer given by the Delphic Oracle to all who came seeking after Occult Wisdom – words repeated and enforced again and again by the wise Socrates: MAN KNOW THYSELF . . . ” 

• From: Collected Writings, Vol. IX, p. 162.

298 pages | Paperback | TAT Foundation, 1980

This classic work addresses magic as the exercise of spiritual power obtained by practicing self-control. Dr. Hartmann considered the spiritual regeneration of Man the highest form of Magic. This book gives the reader a priceless formula for mental power and spiritual achievement.

“Magic may be said to be that science which deals with the mental and moral powers of man, and shows what control he may exercise over himself and others.”

“Before one can become a magician he must learn to control his own mind; for mind is the substance with which the magician acts, and the power to control it is the beginning of magic.”

“The beginning of all knowledge is the knowledge of self; the knowledge of the soul and not the vagaries of the brain.”

By Mabel Collins (1851-1927).

332 Pages | Facsimile edition of the original 1890 publication | Softcover | Kessinger Publications LCC, Montana U.S.A. | ISBN: 1564597032.

‘Only – One facet of the stone, One ray of the star, One petal of the flower of life, But the one that stands outermost and faces us who are men and women’.

This strange story has come from a far country and was brought in a mysterious manner; we claim only to be the scribes and the editors. We therefore ask that the reader will accept the theory of the reincarnation of Souls as a fact.

From the Introduction (p. 16):

” At last Wild Blossom’s Soul woke from its sleep, satiated; the hunger returned to gnaw at her heart; the longing to know reasserted itself. Holding tight the hand she held in hers, she sprang from the soft couch on which she lay. Then, for the first time, she noticed that the ground was so soft and pleasant, because there, where she had lain, had drifted great heaps of the fallen fruit blossoms. “

By Coleston Brown.

171 Pages | First edition, 2007 | Paperback | Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton | ISBN: 9780835608558

Linking Magic with Christianity is less controversial than som may think, says Coleston Brown. All spiritual traditions are potentially magical in containing myths and symbols that enable the mediation of energies between levens of reality. And mediation by its very nature brings about change. To speak of ”Magical Christianity,” then, refers to the use of certain potent Christian symbols as a means to self-transformation and spiritual service.

When studying with Gareth Knight—renowned authority on Qabalistic magic—Brown became fascinated by how specific Christian symbols also appear in esoteric traditions worldwide. He later explored these images using special methods of ritual and inner vision. Here he makes that experience available to you, explaining the esoteric meaning of symbols such as:
– the cross                  – the center            – the chalice
– the three realms    – the holy fire        – the wheel of life

This edition also includes new material on the Divine Feminine. On the CD, Brown narrates the experiential meditations given in each chapter to guide you more deeply into the renewing power of the imagery.

”Magic is an age-old means of using the imagination in a self-transformative way, and applying it to the symbolism of mystical Christianity has startling potential. Brown brings the two together to safe and rewarding effect. This is practical mysticism and enlightened magic in formidable combination!”
— Gareth Knight, author of Experience of the Inner Worlds