Magick Matters

04.03.2021

“The Privileged Divine Feminine in Kabbalah” by Moshe Idel

Magick Matters

"This volume addresses the complex topic of the preeminent status of the divine feminine power, to be referred also as Female, within the theosophical structures of many important Kabbalists, Sabbatean believers, and Hasidic masters. This privileged status is part of a much broader vision of the Female as stemming from a very high root within the divine world, then She was emanated and constitutes the tenth, lower divine power, and even in this lower state She is sometime conceived of governing this world and as equal to the divine Male. Finally, She is conceived of as returning to Her original place in special moments, the days of Sabbath, the Jewish Holidays or in the...>>

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04.03.2021

“Dance of the Ancient One” by Arnold Mindell

Magick Matters

"In his latest book, Mindell expands on his earlier concept of the processmind as he develops the notion of space–time dreaming or “dance of the ancient one” in his rigorous efforts toward the elucidation of a ToE (or theory of everything). Space–time dreaming weaves together essential spiritual concepts from the Eastern mystical tradition of the Tao and Wu Wei of Chinese philosophy, along with modern Western field and space theories in quantum physics such as gravity, space time, unified field theories, indeterminacy and entanglement. He draws upon personal field ideas (i.e., the unconscious), interpersonal social field and role theory from psychology and sociology, then adds concepts of intersubjectivity and entanglement from transpersonal and integral psychology. On...>>

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04.03.2021

“Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic Possession in the Middle Ages” by Nancy Mandeville Caciola

Magick Matters

"Trance states, prophesying, convulsions, fasting, and other physical manifestations were often regarded as signs that a person was seized by spirits. In a book that sets out the prehistory of the early modern European witch craze, Nancy Caciola shows how medieval people decided whom to venerate as a saint infused with the spirit of God and whom to avoid as a demoniac possessed of an unclean spirit. This process of discrimination, known as the discernment of spirits, was central to the religious culture of Western Europe between 1200 and 1500. Since the outward manifestations of benign and malign possession were indistinguishable, a highly ambiguous set of bodily features and behaviors were carefully scrutinized by observers....>>

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03.03.2021

“The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys” by James Fadiman

Magick Matters

"Psychedelics for spiritual, therapeutic, and problem-solving use • Presents practices for safe and successful psychedelic voyages, including the benefits of having a guide and how to be a guide • Reviews the value of psychedelics for healing and self-discovery as well as how LSD has facilitated scientific and technical problem-solving • Reveals how microdosing (ultr-low doeses) improve cognitive functioning, emotional balance, and physical stamina • This year 600,000 people in the U.S. alone will try LSD for the the first time, joining the 23 million who have already experimented with this substance Called “America’s wisest and most respected authority on psychedelics and their use,” James Fadiman has been involved with psychedelic research since the 1960s. In this guide to...>>

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03.03.2021

“Psychedelic Mysticism: Transforming Consciousness, Religious Experiences, and Voluntary Peasants in Postwar America” by Morgan Shipley

Magick Matters

"Concerned with scholarly, popular, and religious backdrops that understand the connection between psychedelics and mystical experiences to be devoid of moral concerns and ethical dimensions—a position supported empirically by the rise of acid fascism and psychedelic cults by the late 1960s—Psychedelic Mysticism: Transforming Consciousness, Religious Experiences, and Voluntary Peasants in Postwar America traces the development of sixties psychedelic mysticism from the deconditioned mind and perennial philosophy of Aldous Huxley, to the sacramental ethics of Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and Ralph Metzner, to the altruistic religiosity practiced by Stephen Gaskin and The Farm. Building directly off the pioneering psychedelic writing of Huxley, these psychedelic mystics understood the height of psychedelic consciousness as an existential awareness...>>

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