Books published by Rubedo Press

Straddling the two lands of Upper and Lower Egypt, Hermopolis-the City of Hermes-marks the ancient and future capital of Middle Egypt. In this book, Dr. Nasser presents a much-needed introduction to the history and territory of Hermopolis, as well as the values that emanated from this cosmic city to shape our thinking throughout the ages. In particular, Nasser traces the Hermetic concepts of humanism, idealism, utopianism, and fraternity, and argues that these ideals inspire our dreams for a better world.Presented as a philosophy of hope, the influence of Hermeticism runs like a river through Egyptian, Hellenic, Sü, Renaissance, and Romantic territories, before branching into the delta of twentieth century philosophical and psychological thought. Drawing on her experience as a practicing psychiatrist, Nasser shows how the existential pioneers of the last century not only acknowledged their debt to their Hermetic past, but also spoke to the emergence of a new Self capable of exploring and integrating its multiplicities.The principle of eternal renewal based on deep historical foundations also guides the author's own project of creating the New Hermopolis in Egypt today. While the intangible heritage of Hermopolis transcends its local territory, its legacy cannot be revived if its foundations are not studied, explored, and developed. In the ¿nal chapter of this book, Nasser describes her own path of physically reviving this centre in the spirit of its past while simultaneously forging it in the vision of an integral future. Like the lotus that bears the newborn sun, New Hermopolis emerges as a cultural, ecological, and intellectual centre with the potential to breathe new life into its land and the wider world.

Translated into English for the very first time, the Hermetic Recreations is a uniquely lucid masterwork of French Hermetic philosophy. Set down in an anonymous hand at the turn of the Nineteenth Century, it provides critical insights into the operative arts of the western alchemical tradition. Illuminating both the traditional mediaeval practices which it inherited, and those of the Parisian alchemical revival which it would influence, this rare text forms an important bridge between alchemical epochs.Although the identity of the author remains a mystery, the text appears to have been composed sometime between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Preserved in the manuscript collection of Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, it was first brought to the attention of Bernard Husson by his friend, Eugène Canseliet (1899-1982), the French alchemist and only direct student of Fulcanelli. This eventually resulted in the first publication of Les Récréations hermétiques in 1964. Gilles Pasquier published a corrected edition in 1992, also in French, which included the Scholium or commentary. The text of the Scholium is a particularly revealing addition, for it presents 150 Hermetic "aphorisms" encapsulating the core principles of the alchemical process.Both texts, which clearly form a single work, are presented here in a handsome dual language edition, in French and in English, with copious scholarly annotations by Christer Böke, John Koopmans, Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, and Aaron Cheak.A limited edition hardback version of this work, in a limited print run of 222 copies, is available exclusively through Rubedo Press.

Translated into English for the very first time, THE BASILIAN APHORISMS present eighteen alchemical canons designed for deep meditation upon the thrice-great Hermetic mystery: Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt.

IN THIS BOOK, sixteen authors encourage the modern academy to remember that portals to enchantment can be found in its hallowed halls, and indeed must be found, if education is to nourish and inspire both heart and mind, if it is to lead future generations of students out of the cave of policy-led bureaucratisation and financially-led consumerism into the creative freedom of their own souls. Our authors offer resistance to the domination of education 'by belief in the facts revealed solely by mandated standards and standardized testing' through an appeal to the imagination as primary and foundational, the source of connection to self, others, and world.Enchantment catches us when we least expect it, not only through our thoughts, but through feelings, sensations, intuitions and instincts-and as Peter Abbs reminded us nearly forty years ago, if we want to promote 'wholeness of being' as an educational ideal then our schools and academies must embrace the full spectrum of human ways of knowing, in order to bring new, integrated perspectives to our conflicted world.TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroductionAbout the ContributorsPART ONERe-enchanting the Institution1. Patrick CurryThe Enchantment of Learning and the Fate of our Times2. Simon WilsonClutching the Wheel of St. Catherine; or a Visit to an Enchanted College3. Linden WestRe-Enchanting the Academy: Popular Education and the Search for Soul in the Modern Academy4. Eduard HeyningNot to Explain the World but to Sing it: Panpsychism and the AcademyPART TWORe-enchanting the Curriculum5. Angela VossDelectare, Docere, Movere: Soul-learning, Reflexivity and the Third Classroom6. Robert BowieStepping into Sacred Texts: How the Jesuits Taught me to Read the Bible7. Lisa McLoughlinEnchanted Engineering: Reintegrating the Roots8. Julia MooreOn the Margins of the Academy: Séances, Sitter Groups and AcademicsPART THREERe-enchanting the Mind9. Anita KlujberThe Salutogenic Imagination10. Judith WayEnrichment and Enchantment: The Poetic Heritage of the Western Esoteric Tradition11. Becca TarnasThe Fantastic Imagination12. Paul StevensEngaging the Non-linguistic MindPART FOURRe-enchanting Nature & Body13. Chara & Joan ArmonToward Re-Enchantment: Cultivating Nature Connection and Reverence through Experiential Learning14. Laura Formenti & Silvia LuraschiHow do you Breathe? Duoethnography as a Means to Re-embody Research in the Academy15. Laura ShannonWomen with Wings: Right-brain Consciousness and the Learning Process16. Sonia OverallThe Walking Dead; or Why Psychogeography Matters

Messenger, trickster, psychopomp, Mercury's myriad forms belie a genuinely complex character. And yet to most modern astrologers he remains a relatively one-dimensional figure. Caton's Hermetic triptych is designed to ground you in the actual observation of Mercury as a living planetary phenomenon, and to bring the lessons of this planetary divinity back to the world of applied astrology.Hermetica Triptycha is the first-ever comprehensive and integral treatment of Mercury's retrogrades, with a one hundred and twenty-five year ephemeris to track the sequential pattern of the planet Mercury's backward trickster medicine dance as it cycles through: three repeated degrees over forty days, three signs of one elemental triplicity each year, the four elements every six to seven years, twelve elemental returns over seventy-nine years. With additional analysis, lessons, and exercises including: the magical power of the image derived from Mercury's cycle as a visible "star", the philosophical, psycho-spiritual and practical ramifications of our views and attitudes toward Mercury retrograde, and individual chapters for using each of the four cycles of Mercury's retrogrades to facilitate personal growth, psycho-spiritual transformation, and real-world magic.