Knowledge Files » Religions

Mysteria – History of the Secret Doctrines and Mystic Rites of Ancient Religions and Medieval and Modern Secret Orders

Vigilant — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:05:06 +0000

The Mysteries of the Ancient Grecian religions; the cryptic teachings and occult interpretations of the popular religious beliefs communicated to disciples by the priests in the temples of ancient Egypt, Assyria, and India: the interesting, half fabulous, half historical episode of Pythagoras and the Pythagorean League in Magna Graecia; the mystic, ascetic, and semi-monastic communities of the Therapeutae and the Essenes in Palestine a century before the birth of Jesus Christ; the later developments of Mysticism in the time of the Roman Empire, as seen in the history of Apollonius of Tyana and in Isis worship, Mithras worship, worship of the Great Mother, etc.; the secret creed and rites of the Knights Templar and the usages of the lodges of the Stonemasons in the Middle Age; the constitution and procedure of the Femgerichte of Westphalia in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; the origin and history and the aims of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Illuminism, and a swarm of honest and fraudulent secret organizations in modern’ times: all these topics have before been made subject-matter of numerous learned tractates or of popular compends; but hitherto these doctrines, rites, associations, have not beea studied in their unity, in their mutual relation. One service which the author of this work renders to the student of this particular phase of human psychology the longing for mystery and secret associations is that he develops this relationship, thus enabling the reader to get a clearer understanding of the whole subject.

But the author does very much more than to coordinate the facts of mystic associations. He is both a scholar and an artist. Having amassed whatever information regarding the Mysteries and allied phenomena is accessible in universal literature, he handles his materials with the skill of a consummate master of style and of the art of popular exposition. The result is a history of the ancient Mysteries and of their counterparts and imitations in later times, as authentic as the most painstaking research could make it, yet possessing all the charm and grace of a literary masterpiece.

Contents
PART FIRST. MYSTERIES OF THE EAST AND OF BARBAROUS NATIONS.

1. Introduction
2. The Gods
3- Egypt
4. The Higher Development of Egyptian Religion
5. A Reformation in the Land of Nile
6. The Egyptian Realm of the Dead
7. The Secret Teaching of the Priests of Nileland
8. Babylon and Ninive
9. Zoroaster and the Persians
10. B’rahmans andl :Buddhists
11. Secret Leagues of Barbarous Peoples

PART SECOND. THE GRECIAN MYSTERIES AND THE ROMAN BACCHANALIA. .
1. Hellas
2. Hellenic Divine Worship
3. The Hellenic Mysteries
4. Th’e Eleusinian Mysteries
5. The Mysteries of Samothrace
6. The Mysteries of Crete
7. The Dionysia
8. The Roman Bacchanalia
9. Debased Mysteries from the East

PART THIRD. THE PYTHAGOREAN LEAGUE AND OTHER SECRET ASSOCIATIONS.
1 . Pythagoras
2. The Pythagoreans
3. The Orphici
4. Mysterious Personages of Ancient Times

PART FOURTH SON OF MAN. SON OF GOD.
1. Hellenism and Judaism
2. The Essenes
3. Christianism
4. Jesus
5. The Early Christians
6. The New Testament
7. The Elements of the Church

PART FIFTH. A PSEUDO-MESSIAH. A LYING PROPHET.
1. Apollonius of Tyana
2. Alexander, the False Prophet

PART SIXTH. THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
1. The Middle Age
2. The Templars
3. The Secrets of the Templars
4. The Downfall of the Knights Templar

PART SEVENTH. THE FEMGERICHTE.
1. Courts of Justice in the Middle Age
2. The Secret Tribunal
3. The End of the Feme

PART EIGHTH. STONEMASONS’ LODGES OF THE MIDDLE AGE.
1. Medieval Architecture
2. The Stonemasons’ Lodges of Germany
3. French Craftsmen
4. The English Stonemasons
ASTROLOGERS AND ALCHEMISTS

PART NINTH. RISE AND CONSTITUTION OF FREEMASONRY.
1. Rise of Freemasonry
2. Constitution of the Order
3. The Lodge

PART TENTH. SECRET SOCIETIES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
1. Miscellaneous Secret Societies
2. Obscurantist Influences
3. The ”High Degrees” Swindle
4. Apostles of Nonsense
5. The Swedish Rite.
6. The New Rosicrusians

PART ELEVENTH. THE ILLUMINATI.
1. The Illuminati
2. Imitations of Illuminism

PART TWELFTH. SECRET SOCIETIES OF VARIOUS KINDS.
1. Societies of Wits
2. Imitations of Ancient Mystic Leagues
3. Imitations of Freemasonry

The Perennial Philosophy

Vigilant — Sat, 15 May 2010 03:58:50 +0000

An inspired gathering of religious writings that reveals the “divine reality” common to all faiths, collected by Aldous Huxley, author of A Brave New World.

“The Perennial Philosophy,” Aldous Huxley writes, “may be found among the traditional lore of peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions.”

With great wit and stunning intellect—drawing on a diverse array of faiths, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, and Islam—Huxley examines the spiritual beliefs of various religious traditions and explains how they are united by a common human yearning to experience the divine. The Perennial Philosophy includes selections from Meister Eckhart, Rumi, and Lao Tzu, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Diamond Sutra, and Upanishads, among many others.

Contents
Introduction page
I That Art Thou
II The Nature of the Ground
III Personality, Sanctity, Divine Incarnation
IV God in the World
V Charity
VI Mortification, Non-Attachment, Right Livelihood
VII Truth
VIII Religion and Temperament
IX Self-Knowledge
X Grace and Free Will
XI Good and Evil
XII Time and Eternity
XIII Salvation, Deliverance, Enlightenment
XIV Immortality and Survival
XV Silence
XVI Prayer
XVII Suffering
XVIII Faith
XIX God is not mocked
XX Tantum religiopotuit suadere malorum page
XXI Idolatry
XXII Emotionalism
XXIII The Miraculous
XXIV Ritual, Symbol, Sacrament
XXV Spiritual Exercises
XXVII Perseverance and Regularity
XXVIII Contemplation, Action and Social Utility
Bibliography

The Hierophant or Gleanings from the Past

Vigilant — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:03:31 +0000

The full title of the book is: The Hierophant or Gleanings from the Past Being and Exposition of Biblical Astronomy and the Symbolism and Mysteries on Which Were Founded All Ancient Religions and Secret Societies. Also an Explanation of the Dark Sayings and Allegories which Abound in the Pagan, Jewish and Christian Bibles. Also, The Real Sense of the Doctrines and Observances of the Modern Christian Churches.

“Without making any pretence to literary talent, I have in the following pages attempted to gather and arrange the fragmentary remains of a world-wide system of worship and belief which has been perpetuated under different names in the various systems of religion and continues to
give laws to the modern christian as well as the pagan world.”

INDEX
INTRODUCTION.
Object of the book, page 13—Universality of star -worship,
15—Basis of all religions and secret societies, 16—
Similarity of Jewish and heathen worship, 18—Antiquity
and supposed origin of Egypt, 1 9—Origin of the Priesthood,
22—Origin of Lent, 25—Jesus of Nazareth, 26.

CHAPTER I
The religious element in man, p. 28—Age of thought,
31—The Bible, 34—Destruction of ancient and modern
literature, 37—Reasons for running counter to the opinions
of the age, 39.

CHAPTER II
Introduction of religious forms, 43—Planet worship,
45—Saturn, Jupiter, Brahm, 45—Dives and Lazarus, 47
Sun travel, 50—Zodiac, 52—”War in heaven, 53—Moses
and the Jews, 54—Jewish sects, 55—Canonization of
Saints, 57—Symbol language, 58—Phallum worship, 63
— Correspondence, 65.

CHAPTER III.
Common origin of all religions, 67—The talent of the
world anciently absorbed by astronomy and astrology,
70—Origin of unlucky days and seasons, 71—War in
heaven, “7 2—Devil born, 73—Hell discovered, 74—Bottomless
pit, 74—Lake of fire, 75—Devil slain, 77—The
Old Serpent, 80—Origin of plays and secret societies, 84—
• Oriental style, 85—Witchcraft, 87.

CHAPTER IV.
Amours of the gods, 89—Trinity of evils, 90—Constellations,
96—Baal worship, 98—Indian star worship, 99
Ceremonies of Indians and Hebrews identical, 102—Jonal
among our western Indians, 102—Devil in China, 105—
The Cross among the Aztecs, 106.

CHAPTER V.
Osiris, Isis and Typlion, 107—Pyramids, 114 —System
of gradual Divinities,’ 118—Difference between Moses and
the Egyptians, 110—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob always
pagans, 120.
CHAPTER VI.
Circumcision, 125—Circle, 126r-Druids, 126—Celtic
temples, 127—Hall of Odin, 128—Masonry, 123—Names
of God, 128—Trinity, 132—Creation, 137.

CHAPTER VII
Origin of Man, 142—Garden of Eden and the fall, 144
— Mysteries in the Bible, 151—Oriental style, 152—Most
ancient names of God, 156
CHAPTER YIII.
Cherubim, 161—Satan to be restored, 166—Jacob’s
blessing, 168—Joseph’s coat, 168—Mistakes in Jewish
encampment, 174—White throne, 177.
CHAPTER IX.
David’s intrigues, 180—Samson, 182—Baalim. 186—
Phaeton, 187—Change of the names of the Patriarchs,
189—Abraham sacrificing Isaac, 190.

CHAPTER X.
Serpent symbol, 191—The two Sauls, 195—The Devil
202.
CHAPTER XL
Fallen spirits. 203—War in heaven, 213—The Apocalypse,
215—The mystical number seven, 215—The perfect
number twelve, 218—Seven churches, 219—The two
Covenants, 221—Theology of the Magi, 224—The Woman
clothed with the Sun, 225.
CHAPTER XIL
The Sun and Moon stand still, 227—Elijah translated,
228—Jonah and the whale, 230—Christmas, 231—Epiphany,
232—Phallum worship, 232—Assumption, 234—Nativity,
234.

The Apocalypse Unsealed

Vigilant — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:59:33 +0000

The purpose of this book is to show that the Apocalypse is a manual of spiritual development and not, as conventionally interpreted, a cryptic history or prophecy. In the following pages the reader will find the complete solution of the Apocalyptic enigma, with ample proof of the correctness of that solution. As the subject dealt with in the work is, however, familiar to only a comparatively few special students of the sacred science, which to the many has ever been a sealed book, the exposition here given is put in the form of an elementary treatise. If it were written for the few, it would have been expanded to great bulk; but as it is intended for the many, the author has kept within the limits of a small volume, avoiding everything mystical, scholastic and controversial, using plain, concise language, and employing technical terms only when they are required by the nature of the subject.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Chapter I – The key of the Gnosis
Chapter II – The path of power
Chapter III – The riddles of „Revelation“
Chapter IV – The drama of self-conquest

The Holy Bible – King James Version

Vigilant — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:41:58 +0000

The Authorized King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Holy Bible begun in 1604 and completed in 1611 by the Church of England.

This was the third such official translation into English; the first having been the Great Bible commissioned by the Church of England in the reign of King Henry VIII, and the second having been the Bishop’s Bible of 1568. In January 1604, King James I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans, a faction within the Church of England.

James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its beliefs about an ordained clergy. The translation was by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text) series of the Greek texts. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, while the Apocrypha were translated from the Greek Septuagint (LXX), except for 2 Esdras, which was translated from the Latin Vulgate.

While the Authorized Version was meant to replace the Bishops’ Bible as the official version for readings in the Church of England, it was apparently (unlike the Great Bible) never specifically “authorized”, although it is commonly known as the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom. However, the King’s Printer issued no further editions of the Bishops’ Bible; so necessarily the Authorized Version supplanted it as the standard lectern Bible in parish church use in England. In the Book of Common Prayer (1662), the text of the Authorized Version replaced the text of the Great Bible — for Epistle and Gospel readings — and as such was “authorized” by Act of Parliament.In the United States, the Authorized Version is known as the King James Version. The earliest appearance in print of the phrase “authorized version”, to mean this particular version of the bible, was published in 1824. The phrase “King James version” first appeared in print in 1884.

Anacalypsis: An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil of the Saitic Isis

Vigilant — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:32:26 +0000

“Godfrey Higgins was convinced that a high civilization had flourished prior to all historical records. He believed that there had existed then a most ancient and universal religion from which all later creeds and doctrines sprang.” His research lasted over 20 years. “He attempted to establish the existence of a prehistoric universal religion and to trace its development into contemporary times. He believed this religion possessed accurate knowledge of universal and cosmic phenomena and held neither priesthood nor institution as intermediary in man’s communion with the Divine.” This highly sought after book is extremely rare. Two volumes.

Partial Contents

Probable Origin of Numbers and Letters; Etymology and its Use; Origin of the Adoration of the Bull, Phallic and Vernal Festivals; Age of the World; First God of the Ancients, The Sun, Metempsychosis, Moral Evil, Buddha, Genesis; The Sun the first object of Adoration of all Nations; Two Ancient Ethiopias, Great Black Nation in Asia, Hindoos and Egyptians similar; Ancient Persians, First Books of Genesis, Disingenuous conduct in the Translators of the Bible, Abraham acknowledged more than one God; Jewish Trinity; Ancient Jewish Cabala, Sephiroths and Emanations; Melchizedek, Zoroaster, Zendavesta, All ancient Religions astrological; Character of the Old Testament; Orphic and Mithraitic Trinity, Mithra, Opinions of Herodotus, Porphyry, Strabo, Julian, Times of Pythagoras and Zoroaster, The Vedas describe the Persian Religion; The word OM; The Christian Trinity, Its Origin, Philo’s Trinity of the Jews; Life of Cristna; Crucifixion of Cristna, Immaculate Conception, from the History of Pythagoras; Buddha the Sun in Taurus, as Cristna was the Sun in Aries, Names and Meaning of the word Buddha; Isaiah’s Prophecy known to the Egyptians and the Celts of Gaul, Mystical meaning of the Letter M, Oriental Astronomical Systems; Cross the meaning of it, Monograms of Christ and Osiris, Lama of Tibet, Indra crucified, Jesuits’ Account of Tibet; Hercules and Samson the same; Baal, Etymology of the world Bal; Yajna or Passover; Secret Doctrines, Bull-headed and Ram -headed Gods; Disputed Chapters of Matthew and Luke; Flood of Noah, Text of Genesis, Origin of the Delta of Egypt; Adoration of the Virgin and Child; Ionians, Argonauts, Linga and Yoni; The Lotus; The Loadstone, Helen Athena; Ship of Egypt and Greece; Aphrodite and Diana, Thales; Cassandra, Babylonian Mythos, Constantine and Helena, Astrology; Rome, Jewish Pentateuch; Judaism shown by Eusebius to be older than Abraham, Hellenism; Mount of Solomon, Mount of the Cabala, Mount Olympus; Religions of Afghans and Rajpouts; Arabians of India; Jews hate the Female Principle, Jews and Egyptians, Observations on the Jews; Origin of the Sanscrit; Amazons; Cyclopes, all Ancient History Fable or nigma, Freemasons in Mundore; Serpent of Genesis; Observations on Homer, the Iliad, and the neid; Fish Avatar, Fish Acrostic; Observations on Templars, Chair of St. Peter, Gospel of St. Joachim, Masons; Freemasons of York and India.