Books published by Aeon Books Ltd

A comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of the magical Cabala, as practiced in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and most other contemporary Western occult traditions.Engaging and accessible, yet packed with material found in few other books, it illumines the Cabalist underpinnings of today's Hermetic magic as never before.From the fundamentals of Cabalistic philosophy, through a detailed examination of the Spheres and Paths of the Tree of Life, to the magical disciplines that bring the symbolism to life as a potent toolkit for self-knowledge and esoteric attainment, Paths of Wisdom is your guide to the principles and practices of the magical Cabala.

London has a unique series of churches built after the Great Fire of 1666, when most of the City of London was destroyed. Among these iconic churches are St Paul's, St Mary-le-Bow, St Bride's, St Clement Danes, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Mary-le-Strand, St George Bloomsbury and Christ Church Spitalfields. They remain today as outstanding landmarks that define their local cityscapes. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and his followers - Hawksmoor, Gibbs, Archer and James - these beautiful churches embody spiritual principles expressed through the conventions of Classical architecture. Underlying their outward, visible forms is sacred geometry, an ancient art that explores the invisible inner structure of the Cosmos and gives expression to it in physical form. In this book, Nigel Pennick explains the sacred geometry, spiritual symbols and emblems that make these churches among the most notable buildings of London.

Today, King's College Chapel is the iconic image of the City of Cambridge.The chapel was founded in 1446 by the mystically-inclined King Henry VI, known in his time as "the royal saint". The king gave his builders complete instructions for a magnificent chapel of cathedral dimensions, every part of which had a mystical and spiritual meaning. This "final flowering of the Great Work' was designed from the principles of sacred geometry, laid out and orientated by the ancient geomantic practice of the operative masons who built it.This book gives an historic overview of the chapel, and a summary of its construction, notable for its stunningly beautiful fan-vaulting and exceptional stained glass which still exists in its entirety. Although the chapel's original significance as a symbolic structure has been eroded over the centuries, it remains a place of wonder and reverence for countless thousands of visitors and those who watch on television the annual Christmas carol festival broadcast from there every year.

An illuminating guide to one of the greatest mysteries of Arthurian legend. The story of the Grail and those who seek it remains one of the most enduring myths known to the West.In this book the stories and legends are explored in depth and the ongoing spiritual Quest outlined by a world-renowned authority on the subject.Also included are a series of meditational exercises to help the seeker find his or her own way to the heart of the Grail.The companion volume, The Arthurian Tradition, was published by Aeon in 2011.

The myths and legends of King Arthur and his knights, of the enchanter Merlin, and of their quests and adventures, form one of the greatest cycles of stories ever composed. In this book the most important tales are explored in depth by one of the world's best known authorities on this subject. Also included are a series of meditational exercise to help the reader find his or her way to the heart of the Arthurian mysteries.

A valuable toolbox of concepts for exploring the relationship between consciousness and the paranormal.Using occultism to understand the paranormal sounds like diluting water or burying earth, but in this thoughtful and unusual book Duncan Barford draws on a deep familiarity with modern magick.Writing in an accessible and humorous style, Barford examines intriguing first-hand accounts of poltergeists, telepathy, communication with the dead, religious phenomena and astral projection. The essence of his unique exploration is that the paranormal does not happen only to special people and on rare occasions. In fact, to experience the paranormal we need simply turn our attention to the nature of our consciousness itself.

Lucid dreaming, astral projection, out-of-body experiences... There is much philosophical baggage implicit in these terms, but in this refreshing and humorous book Alan Guiden casts it all aside to present the most intelligible guide to 'traveling' outside the body that has yet appeared in print.

The book provides an introduction to mystical philosophy and the concept of inner development by looking at a number of its great schools. Mystics concur in saying that we are in some way "asleep" and must recognise this to awaken. A considerable attempt to identify the nature of this "sleep" is made in the earlier part of the book, with the particular help of the teaching of Gurdjieff. Also studied are ways of the past and present, including the Mystery Schools, Gnosticism, Alchemy, Zen, the Fourth Way, and the Way of the Sufi. It is also made apparent that the Way of Jesus, until it was overlaid by "Christianity", was once understood as one of these "waves" or teachings for the development of human being and consciousness. The resonance of this teaching with all other mystical teachings is a significant theme. The purpose of the book is to inspire the reader to ascend the "Stairway to the Stars"!

Have you ever wondered how you can bring greater depth and clarity to your Tarot readings? Have you struggled to understand just what exactly is going on in your card readings, and how the cards relate to the object of the reading?For the first time, this book shows how the professionals use secret techniques that take Tarot readings to new and exciting levels. It goes beyond the surface levels of the Tarot spread and explores the hidden depths. It explains how to decode those parts of a Tarot spread that seem to make no sense and how to break out of readings that seem to have become "e;stuck"e;. Using the power of the elemental symbolism of the cards, combined with numerological techniques, this book cracks the "e;celtic cross"e; spread wide open to reveal exciting new levels of insight.Paul Hughes-Barlow is a master Tarot reader and occultist. He has previously published The Tarot and the Magus. Catherine Chapman is a Tarot reader, author, student, business woman and mother.

This new reissue of Hands On, first published in 1994, will be welcomed by all complementary and alternative medical students and practitioners. It presents a concise approach to clinical examination in a practical and straightforward manner, and includes step-by-step illustrations of a variety of examination techniques together with checklists designed to help students and practitioners elicit clinical information from their patients quickly and efficiently.

More and more women are discovering that herbal remedies can provide natural and effective treatments for their health problems, particularly when orthodox methods fail to help.Herbal Therapy for Women provides a concise, intelligent introduction to herbs and herbalism. It explains how to prepare teas and tinctures from fresh or dried herbs, which herbs are suitable for healing each ailment, and how herbs can enhance each stage of a woman's life, from puberty to menopause.This is a reissue of the popular 1992 classic.

The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage is a 15th-century grimoire, or book of magic, that includes instructions on how an individual can make contact with their Holy Guardian Angel. Although the instructions may seem quite simple, few have managed to complete the operation - even the highly experienced occultist Aleister Crowley failed to do so.Over a six-month period in 1977, Ramsey Dukes attempted this Abramelin operation. The challenge was to adapt the ritual to twentieth century conditions, and The Abramelin Diaries is his record of the struggle and the outcome. Looking forward, the book offers practical advice for anyone wanting to attempt this notorious operation themselves. Looking back, the author comments on the operation's legacy: what happened after, how it changed - and continues to impact - him and his life.Is spiritual retirement still relevant today? Or is it just nostalgia for a simpler, more meaningful lifestyle? Why does technological empowerment threaten our sense of purpose? Many intriguing questions are raised as we read of one man's struggle to shape a simple, significant lifestyle routine from the chaos of normality.

Prisoner of Infinity examines modern-day accounts of UFOs, alien abductions, and psychism to uncover a century-long program of psychological fragmentation, collective indoctrination, and covert cultural, social, and mythic engineering.Whether it is the forces of God, government, aliens from outer (or inner) space, or the incalculable effects of childhood sexual trauma on the human psyche, premature contact with these forces compels us to create "crucial fictions." Such semi-coherent mythic narratives make partial sense out of our experience, but in the process turn us into the unreliable narrators of our own lives.Taking UFOS and the work of "experiencer" Whitley Strieber as its departure point, Prisoner of Infinity explores how beliefs are created and perceptions are managed in the face of the inexplicably complex forces of our existence. While keeping the question of a non-human and/or paranormal element open, the book maps how all-too-human agendas (such as the CIA's MK Ultra program) have co-opted the ancient psychological process of myth-making, giving rise to dissociative, dumbed-down Hollywood versions of reality. The New Age movement, UFOs, alien abductions, psychism, psychedelic mind expansion, Transhumanism, the Space Program - what if they are all productions devised by committee in dark rooms to serve social, political, and economic goals that are largely devoid of true substance or meaning? Through an exacting and enlivening process of social, cultural and psychological examination and excavation, Prisoner of Infinity uncovers the most deeply buried treasure of all. The original, uncredited author of all mystery and meaning: the human soul.

Learn the 42 Essential Principles of Tai Chi & Qi GongThis book is designed to teach the fundamentals that drive and underpin internal arts training at all levels and stages of development, not a form. Each of the 42 principles, portrayed as images and accompanied by brief explanations, are aimed at conveying how internal arts techniques function in ways that help you embed them and feel them come alive in your flesh - regardless of the specific systems, styles or forms you train.

How to use the psychic, mental and spiritual act of prayer as a means to achieve spiritual illumination.

A book permeated with faith and spiritual experience.Written after a lifelong study of the matter and based on experience, Meditation opens a new realm in human consciousness, to be appreciated by all those who believe that continuing spiritual and intellectual progress is needful to enrich our daily lives. 'Cosmic Clichés' open the widest of vistas for them.Apart from providing material for study, the inestimable value of the book lies in the way in which it treats the subject from every possible angle and from an interdenominational approach. In this way adherents of any religion or any philosophic system will not fail to find suitable themes and instructions.Initiatory teachings about the mind, its workings and possibilities; the origin and control of the thinking processes; human destiny and the true aim of life, are accompanied by a logical and scientific exposition of those exercises needed for the development of the meditative process.In brief, many will find Meditation the work for which they have been seeking and longing ever since they realized the necessity for taking their destiny into their own hands.

Carl Gustav Jung is one of the seminal figures in the history of depth psychology. An enormously influential and original thinker, Jung was for some time Freud's principal disciple, but he became more and more critical of the Freudian emphasis on repressed sexual tendencies and after the publication of "Symbols of Transformation" in 1912, Jung broke away from Freud to develop his own technique of 'analytical psychology'.

An engrossing portrait of this complex and enigmatic figure and his eclectic system of magick.Poet, Magician, Mountaineer, Polemicist and Pornographer, Aleister Crowley was the most famous, or infamous, name in twentieth century occultism. With his usual flair and style, Colin Wilson brings this complex and enigmatic figure to life and provides an engrossing portrait of the self-styled Great Beast, the man whom the contemporary press dubbed "The Wickedest Man in the World".The popular image of him as, in the words of Francis King, 'an insatiable sexual athlete, a pimp who lived on the immoral earnings of his girl-friends, and a junkie who daily took enough heroin to kill a roomful of people', has a basis in fact; but there were other, less obnoxious and despicable, aspects of this highly original character.Crowley's greatest legacy is his eclectic occult system: his Magick persists, a potent synthesis of Golden Dawn magic, oriental esoteric techniques, sexual magic, and the all-encompassing Law of Thelema with its two fundamental principles, 'Every man and woman is a star' and the notorious 'Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law'.

The book explains in the simplest way, but one which reaches into the ultimate depths of the human soul, all the problems dealing with modern and ancient occult philosophy and spiritual searching, as well as social and political conundrums of this and probably also future periods. Translated from the french by the noted hermeticist and mystic Mouni Sadhu.

Take the Next Step... Clear away the outdated clutter that has obscured the power and beauty of the Golden Dawn magical system and feel for yourself the difference these techniques can make in your life. Explore dozens of new rituals developed from the fragments and core documents of the greatest Magical Order in the Western world. Step out of the darkness and into the light of understanding.John Michael Greer writes in a lucid and entertaining manner, revealing previously unknown aspects of the magical rites of the Golden Dawn. Warm and engaging, Circles of Power revitalizes Western magic by removing the unnecessary rhetoric and obscure jargon. Everything is plainly and simply explained and all the information you need to begin working within this magical system is presented in a clear and concise manner. Filled with the fruits of personal experience and insights derived from in-depth research, Circles of Power is the next best thing to actually joining a Hermetic lodge.

When archaeologists dug up the hill of Cadbury in Somerset, the reputed site of King Arthur's Camelot, thousands of visitors came to watch. They never saw anything resembling the Camelot of romance. Yet they kept coming, year after year.Why does Arthur fascinate? In this book, the secretary of the Cadbury project (himself an authority on the legend) looks for an answer. Drawing on varied researches, and on the insight embodied in William Blake's symbol of the shadowy 'Giant Albion' behind Arthur, he plunges into the psychological depths that underlie the tale of the enchanted King, his city Camelot, his mysterious departure to Avalon, his promised return.The enquiry starts from the solid facts of Cadbury. But it opens vistas on a strange world of gods and mortals and immemorial yearnings. The same universal dream that created the legendary Arthur is shown reappearing through many centuries, inspiring many thinkers: Blake himself; Virgil, Confucius, Rousseau, Gandhi; even such supposed rationalists as Robert Owen and Lenin.All the paths converge on a central problem of the human condition, which, the author suggests, must be solved if mankind is to achieve a workable humanist philosophy. It turns out that Arthur remains startlingly relevant: that the prophecy of his return has a serious meaning.