Occult studies / Supernatural studies Books

Book SynopsisGo on a hunt for the facts, folklore, and fiction about zombies from the 1800s to popular culture. The evolution of the zombie is explored in depth and includes historic accounts as well as a peek into the current craze. From whispered stories in voodoo legends and experiments in reanimation performed in the 1800s to recent events that allude to the scary possibility that such creatures really exist, you are in for a wild ride. Take a look at George Romero's many contributions to the popularity of the living undead, with films such as Night of the Living Dead. Go inside with the incredibly popular AMC television series, The Walking Dead. Read interviews from people who are involved directly with zombie-mania, such as those who sell themed goods, ranging from bleeding mannequin zombie targets to Zombie Max ammunition. Visit with frenzied groups like the Zombie Squad featured on the History Channel or take a stroll in Zombie Walks taking place around the world. You can even learn to use

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Book SynopsisEnjoy 11 spooky campfire tales based on legends and true events in and around the Great Lakes region. Filled with creepy and sometimes humorous details, each has historic significance. Shiver as you read about the ghosts in Duluth, Minnesota, haunting the Glensheen Mansion, and the myth of a giant moose terrorizing tourists off the North Shore of Lake Superior. Meet the Melon Head Creatures, living in a dark and forbidden forest off Lake Michigan, the result of a mad scientist's experiments, or a classic Lady in White. Discover the Manitous water gods, Native American spirits living at the bottom of the lake always looking for unsuspecting prey. Find a giant man-eating turtle, storm Hags, and the Red Devil of Detroit. Learn about Niagara Falls'' Maid of the Mist, the real legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the Michigan Dogman.

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Book SynopsisA Definitive Edition of the Symbolist Classic by the author of The Secret Teachings of All AgesManly P. Hall is widely recognized as the preeminent voice of occult scholarship in the twentieth century, famous for his esoteric masterpiece The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928). Now, in this deluxe edition, Hall's earliest work, The Initiates of the Flame, is reborn with a full complement of illustrations and historical introductions.Originally published in 1922, The Initiates of the Flame is Hall's first explorationand still one of his most powerfulof myth and symbol. Its pages shine on a light on the inner meaning of symbols including the pyramid, holy grail, flame of wisdom, ark of the covenant, all-seeing eye, sword and stone, the elements of alchemy, and other gateways to the unseen world. Edited and reintroduced by popular voice of esoteric spirituality, Mitch Horowitz, and president of the Philosophical Research

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Book SynopsisThe most popular occult work of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisContains hands-on information and techniques to connect you with the Faery realm, including origins, history, and lore, the best days, times, and locations for Faery magick, and more.

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Book SynopsisIn addition to the fascinating biographical sketch drawn by Richard Kaczynski, author of the classic biography Perdurabo, this book offers Crowley''s teachings in his own words. A carefully chosen series of his instructions for concentration, meditation, magick, invocation, even sex magick are included. Crowley''s descriptions of the teaching Orders A:.A:. and OTO are presented, along with the Creed of EGC. In addition, a suggested reading list of Crowley''s "top-eleven" most important books is enhanced by an extensive bibliography for further in-depth research. This is the first and only introductory book that does not pretend to "improve" upon the Master''s writings, but attempts to showcase them into a coherent introduction to his spiritual system. A practicing occultist whose mastery of western magick and eastern mysticism was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries, and who continues to be an icon for many of today''s practicing magicians. The founder and prophet of the new religious movement of Thelema, best known by its oft-misunderstood catchphrase, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." A prolific poet whose Collected Works, by age thirty, filled three volumes, and whose last published work, Olla, was subtitled Sixty Years of Song. A maverick mountaineer whose numerous innovations and world records in the sport are acknowledged by even his most vocal critics. An adventurer whose exploits in the far east were serialized by Vanity Fair magazine as "A Burmese River." An impresario who took the violin troupe, the Ragged Ragtime Girls, on a tour of Russia. A British secret agent who marshaled his literary and occult connections to the service of his country, including (reputedly) the invention of the "V for Victory" sign as a magical antidote to the swastika. A ranked chess master who could trounce many players without even looking at the chess board. A pioneering entheogenic explorer who conducted psychedelic experiments with mescaline. Producer and star of The Rites of Eleusis, a series of ritualistic plays featuring an innovative blend of magick, drama, music and poetry. One of the most unjustly vilified men in the history of journalism, garnering headlines like "The Wickedest Man in the World" and "A Man We''d Like To Hang. More mistruth and rumor has circulated about Aleister Crowley than perhaps any other figure in recent history. When the reporter Henry Hall introduced him to readers of the New York World Sunday Magazine, he wrote, "Some said that he was a man of real attainments, others that he was a faker. All agreed that he was extraordinary." Crowley openly defied social conventions, challenging people to examine what they really believed, and why they believed it. He confronted blind faith with rational skepticism. Yet he likewise challenged the skeptic with scientific illuminism, a systematic approach to spirituality that he described as "The method of science, the aim of religion."

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Book SynopsisIn Esoteric Egypt, J. S. Gordon reveals how the sacred science and wisdom tradition of ancient Egypt--the Land of Khem--stems from an advanced prehistoric worldwide civilization. Examining the metaphysical structure of our universe as seen by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Celts, he shows that each tradition is merely a variation on the central concepts of the precession of the equinoxes and the obliquity of the ecliptic pole. He explores the connections between the cyclical movements of Orion and Sirius and the story of Osiris and Isis, the importance of the Pleiades and the circumpolar stars, and the ancient tradition of man as a divine being "born from the substance of the stars." He investigates the people who colonized greater Egypt 100,000 years ago, the progenitors of ancient Egyptian civilization descended from the 4th- and 5th-Root Race Atlanteans. Gordon explores the magical and esoteric meanings behind Egyptian sacred ritual and temple art, drawing parallels to the Mystery School process of initiation. Explaining the fundamental unity of the Egyptian pantheon and the structure of the after-death state, he shows that the Egyptians clearly believed in reincarnation and a spiritual evolutionary process. Revealing the ancient sacred science of the Land of Khem, teachings passed down from the earliest times, he examines the psychospiritual nature of the human being and the function of our spiritual identity and our souls.Trade Review“More than anyone else I’ve known, John Gordon shows a deep insight into the esoteric mind-set of the ancient Egyptians. I fully recommend this book to all who want to understand and relate to ancient Egypt’s spiritual message.” * Robert Bauval, author of Secret Chamber Revisited, Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient *“An important investigation into the deep prehistory of ancient Egypt and the lost roots of ancient Egyptian spiritual wisdom.” * Graham Hancock, author of Fingerprints of the Gods *“In his last book, Esoteric Egypt, the late John Gordon delves deeply into the origin of ancient Egyptian beliefs and explains the mystery of their symbolism about Man and the Cosmos. It was in Egypt that man first recognized his two dimensions: physical and spiritual. While the body dies, the spirit joins the heavenly beings awaiting resurrection.” * Ahmed Osman, author of The Lost City of Exodus and Moses and Akhenaten *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part One Celestial and Metaphysical Background 1 The Spheres of Creation 2 The Astronomical and Astrological Dimensions of Creation 3 The Multi-Sevenfold Mill of the Gods Part Two The Subtle Nature of Existence 4 Kosmic Genesis--The Origin and Nature of the Gods 5 Sidereal Genesis--The Origin and Nature of Man 6 Man, the Multiple Being Part Three Egypt's Historical Background 7 The River Nile and Its Symbolism 8 The Ancient Colonization of Egypt 9 The Spread and Decline of Ancient Mystic Culture Part Four Ancient Egyptian Civilization and Culture 10 Egypt’s Sacred Art, Architecture, and Statuary 11 The Ritualized Magic of Egypt 12 The Mystery Tradition and the Process of Initiation EPILOGUE The Future of the Sacred Mystery Tradition Appendices A The Geometrical Correspondence to the Cycle of Involution and Evolution B Polar Misconceptions C The Funeral Positions of Orion-Osiris D The Primary Celtic Festivals E The Slaughter of Mankind F Correlations between the Ancient Egyptian and Tibetan Mystic Systems Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisGnostic poet, painter, writer, and magician Aleister Crowley arrived in Berlin on April 18, 1930. As prophet of his syncretic religion "Thelema," he wanted to be among the leaders of art and thought, and Berlin, the liberated future-gazing metropolis, wanted him. There he would live, until his hurried departure on June 22, 1932, as Hitler was rapidly rising to power and the black curtain of intolerance came down upon the city. Known to his friends affectionately as "The Beast," Crowley saw the closing lights of Berlin's artistic renaissance of the Weimar period when Berlin played host to many of the world's most outstanding artists, writers, filmmakers, performers, composers, architects, philosophers, and scientists, including Albert Einstein, Bertolt Brecht, Ethel Mannin, Otto Dix, Aldous Huxley, Jean Ross, Christopher Isherwood, and many other luminaries of a glittering world soon to be trampled into the mud by the global bloodbath of World War II. Drawing on previously unpublished letters and diary material by Crowley, Tobias Churton examines Crowley's years in Berlin and his intense focus on his art, his work as a spy for British Intelligence, his colorful love life and sex magick exploits, and his contacts with German Theosophy, Freemasonry, and magical orders. He recounts the fates of Crowley's colleagues under the Nazis as well as what happened to Crowley's lost art exhibition--six crates of paintings left behind in Germany as the Gestapo was closing in. Revealing the real Crowley long hidden from the historical record, Churton presents "the Beast" anew in all his ambiguous and, for some, terrifying glory, at a blazing, seminal moment in the history of the world.Trade Review“An invaluable in-depth history--magnificently illustrated in full color--that sheds light on one of the most important periods in both 20th century Europe and the life of the Magus of the Aeon, Aleister Crowley. His two-year stay in volatile, bohemian, and urbane Berlin during the final years of the Weimar Republic and first years of the Great Depression has hitherto been largely undocumented. This full-length treatment of Crowley as artist (in Churton’s words, “the only Magus in history with a name worthy of the annals of Art”) is cast against the last days of Germany’s Versailles Treaty era and the apocalyptic rise of Adolph Hitler and his “merely brutal men.” The author well captures the cultural spirit and intoxicating New Age currents in which Crowley moved. For specialists, he provides a uniquely intimate view of Crowley’s succession to the Headship of O.T.O. during the Weida Conference of 1925; some intelligent observations on sexual magick; and extensive extracts from Crowley’s voluminous correspondence--allowing the reader a “Beast’s-eye-view” of his personal life, proselytizing efforts, business activities, and thorough contempt for Nazism. Highly recommended.” * James Wasserman, author of The Mystery Traditions: Secret Symbols and Sacred Art and In the Center o *“As soon as I opened this book I knew I was in for an exceptional treat, and I was right. This is Churton at his best. His book focuses, with some broader contextualization, on Crowley’s intermittent sojourns in Berlin between 1930 and 1932, which climaxed in a sensational exhibition of his paintings in October 1931. We follow Crowley as he strolls through the city, dressed in a knickerbocker suit, proclaiming his gospel of Thelema, exploring Berlin’s extensive demi-monde, playing chess, painting, writing, fornicating, spying for British intelligence, and mingling with a remarkable constellation of artists, writers, philosophers, and occultists. One of his friends at the time was Christopher Isherwood, who fictionalized his own Berlin experience in the novel that later became the musical Cabaret. Churton, in his vivid, witty style, superbly captures the atmosphere of the city during that feverish, decadent, but immensely vibrant and creative era, which ended abruptly with the catastrophe of 1933. Move over, Isherwood. From now on we should be talking about ‘Crowley’s Berlin.’” * Christopher McIntosh, Ph.D., author and Honorary University Fellow and Western Esotericism lecturer *“Yet again, Tobias Churton shows a unique ability to combine an approachable writing style with scholarly research and the result is an authoritative book on Crowley, the artist, a person who deserves to be re-assessed rather than be relegated to the dustbin of history.” * Sanda Miller, Ph.D., research fellow, History of Art, Southampton Solent University *“Tobias Churton has done it again! Exhaustively exploring the Beast’s sojourn through the kaleidoscope of cultural tumult that was the final years of the Weimar Republic, Churton’s astute eye and clarity of composition provide the lucky reader with a riveting view into what was a hotbed of sex, art, and politics. Churton’s gifts at conjuring a fascinating and profound study from myriad sources are in evidence as usual, painting an engaging portrait of the Magus of the Aeon and the milieu in which he moved.” * Frater Puck, Ordo Templi Orientis-U.S. Grand Lodge and host of Thelema NOW! *“Whether Quantum Magus, Berlin Artist, lover, or spy, Churton brings Crowley to life like no other biographer. He truly gets him . . . You don’t so much read this book as you live it, the noisome Beast in Berlin, our own beast within. Churton brings us the first serious and comprehensive study of Crowley’s remarkable Berlin period.” * Stephen J. King (Shiva Xâ °), Grand Master, Ordo Templi Orientis *“A remarkable account of Baphomet in Berlin, full of fascinating new information on Crowley’s decadence and discipline as a Berlin Boy as Germany spiraled down into its apocalyptic picnic. Tobias Churton has uncovered much that is new and marvelously expands on and clarifies that which was already known. A wonderful evocation of the darkness becoming visible--a truly Manichæan history.” * David Tibet, founder of Current 93 *“Aleister Crowley: The Beast in Berlin is magic! Churton opens box after box of secrets in a dazzling display of research, erudition, and insight. Aleister Crowley is revealed in all his jaw-dropping splendor, plus warts. A genius forced to suffer fools, able to transcend misfortune, an adventurer in the worlds of art and war. His wisdom is both light and deep; the book is thrilling.” * Vanilla Beer, artist *“It’s hard not to empathize with Crowley as portrayed in the book—a man possessed of more radical intelligence than most before or after, who probably came off a bit autistic in his time, dealing with constant trouble, power games and consistently overestimating both people’s intelligence and integrity. Though he stands so far above both the Theosophical movement and its heirs in the New Age and Neopagan Revival, much of Crowley’s life was overshadowed by his troubles with money, students, the press and local governments—all of which consistently seem to thwart him in his latter years. Despite all that, he left a body of work, and philosophy, of unparalleled clarity and value. But in Aleister Crowley: The Beast in Berlin—Art, Sex and Magick in the Weimer Republic, we get a better look at Crowley not as a symbol, but as a man of his time. Highly recommended.” * Ultraculture, Jason Jouv, August, 2014 *“The Beast in Berlin is an inspiring and engaging narrative of Aleister Crowley in the turbulent and cathartic years of Berlin in the early 1930s. Meticulously researched and filled with just enough biographical fact, informed speculation, dirty gossip and esoteric philosophy to keep you riveted from first word to last, Crowleyan scholar Tobias Churton has spun an entertaining and eye-opening tale documenting the reckless life of outsider artists living on the edge in a city on the brink of Apocalypse. Along the way we see the Beast play chess with Fernando Pessoa, correspond with Aldous Huxley, night crawl with Christopher Isherwood, spy, paint, incant, exorcise and interact artistically and sexually with a wide range of colorful, bizarre and nondescript characters—the absolute dregs of Berlin society. Perhaps the most readable and interesting book to catch the true spirit of Frater Perdurabo.” * John Zorn, Musician, July 2014 *“…This book offers a fascinating insight into a little known part of the Great Beast’s colourful and extraordinary life. Recommended.” * The Cauldron, December 2014 *“Weimar and what happens after become, in Churton’s hands, the darkness against which to highlight Crowley with stunning chiaroscuro.” * Rain Taxi, Spencer Dew, April 2015 *Table of ContentsForeword: Degenerate Berlin by Frank van Lamoen Assistant Curator, Stedelijk Museum, AmsterdamAcknowledgments Dramatis Personae -- WHO’S WHO IN THE BEAST IN BERLIN ONE -- SCOOP! TWO -- Selling Aleister Crowley THREE -- The New Age in Germany Theosophy in GermanyAleister Crowley Meets the German New AgeFOUR -- Karl Germer and the Weida Conference Arrival at HohenleubenKarl GermerThelema VerlagDr. PeithmannReturn to HohenleubenFIVE -- Cosmopolis--City of the Future SIX -- Good-Bye to All That Hello Again to All ThatSEVEN -- Kings in Exile Are Always Beggars The Stunt Hits the FanEIGHT-- Quantum Magus “Nick” Carter and the Case of the Reappearing WifeNINE -- An Old Master Modern Art in BerlinThe Artist in the BeastTEN -- Hanni Jaeger, Save Our Souls ELEVEN -- Thoroughly Modern MagusThe Ninth Degree (IX°)TWELVE -- The Last Summer of Freedom BlunderstormFlechtheimWerner Alvo Konstantin August von AlvenslebenTHIRTEEN -- Toward the Exhibition The World from BelowMarcellus and Margo SchifferFOURTEEN -- Porza! Mali and IgelFIFTEEN -- Hope of Harvest The Great Crowley Movie ConnectionSIXTEEN -- Spying Ethel ManninSEVENTEEN -- Last OrdersJean RossDiscovery of the NeutronEIGHTEEN -- Lost TimeLost PaintingsNINETEEN -- Lost People Before Hitler Was, I AmTWENTY -- Rebirth--The Spirit Can Return Notes Bibliography Index

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