Occult Philosophy

Here is a clear and lucid exposition of the Profane Mysteries, the Lesser or Lunar Mysteries, and the Greater or Solar Mysteries. These are presented in terms of 1) the popular ideas in occultism, such as the Solar Myth, the belief that the Anglo-Americans are the ten lost tribes of Israel, and the speculation that Shakespearean plays were written by Francis Bacon, 2) the established doctrines of an age-old esotericism, concerning such matters as transmutation or the elixir of life, adepts or Masters of Wisdom with miraculous powers, and man's destiny as charted through karma and reincarnation, and 3) the organization of all existence and experience on a Pythagorean basis of number, a Platonic structure of operational concepts, and an Aristotelian organization through functional or pragmatic logic. The history of occult origins and developments is given considerable detail, together with a thorough account of the various schools of thought and points of view. Bibliographical references are unusually full, and over 100 pages of glossary provides a complete orientation in both Western and Eastern terminology.