“New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought” by Wouter J. Hanegraaff

"Recent years have seen a spectacular rise of the New Age movement and an ever-increasing interest in its beliefs and manifestations. This fascinating work presents the first-ever comprehensive analysis of New Age Religion and its historical backgrounds, thus providing the reader with a means of orientation in the bewildering variety of the movement. Making extensive use of primary sources, the author thematically analyses New Age beliefs from the perspective of the study of religions. While looking at the historical backgrounds of the movement, he convincingly argues that its foundations were laid by so-called western esoteric traditions during the Renaissance. Hanegraaff finally shows how the modern New Age movement emerged from the increasing secularization of those...>>

“Mouches Volantes. Eye Floaters as Shining Structure of Consciousness” by Floco Tausin

"Floco Tausin tells the story about his time of learning with spiritual teacher and seer Nestor, taking place in the hilly region of Emmental, Switzerland. The mystic teachings focus on the widely known but underestimated dots and strands floating in our field of vision, known as eye floaters or mouches volantes. Whereas in ophthalmology, floaters are considered a harmless vitreous opacity, the author gradually learns to see them and reveals the first emergence of the shining structure formed by our consciousness. Mouches Volantes explores the topic of eye floaters in a much wider sense than the usual medical explanations. It merges scientific research, esoteric philosophy and practical consciousness development, and observes the spiritual meaning...>>

“Merlin: Knowledge and Power through the Ages ” by Stephen Knight

"Merlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend, has been a source of enduring fascination for centuries. In this authoritative, entertaining, and generously illustrated book, Stephen Knight traces the myth of Merlin back to its earliest roots in the early Welsh figure of Myrddin. He then follows Merlin as he is imagined and reimagined through centuries of literature and art, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose immensely popular History of the Kings of Britain (1138) transmitted the story of Merlin to Europe at large. He covers French and German as well as Anglophone elements of the myth and brings the story up to the present with discussions of a globalized Merlin who finds his way into...>>

“Heaven on Earth: Temples, Ritual, and Cosmic Symbolism in the Ancient World” edited by Deena Ragavan

"The volume is the result of the eighth Annual University of Chicago Oriental Institute Seminar, held on March 2-3, 2012. Seventeen speakers, from both the US and abroad, examined the interconnections between temples, ritual, and cosmology from a variety of regional specializations and theoretical perspectives. The seminar revisited a classic topic, one with a long history among scholars of the ancient world: the cosmic symbolism of sacred architecture. Archaeologists, art historians, and philologists working not only in the ancient Near East, but also Mesoamerica, Greece, South Asia, and China, re-evaluated the significance of this topic across the ancient world."...>>

“The Book of Witchy Wellbeing: Rituals, recipes, and spells for sacred self-care” by Cerridwen Greenleaf

"A practical and enchanting handbook for creating personal magic and wellness, filled with healing spells, intentions, rituals, and recipes—the essentials of witchy self-care and wisdom. Nowadays, it is all too easy to feel overwhelmed, uneasy, and often in need of essential self-care and enchantment. The Book of Witchy Wellbeing is a book for these times, offering tried and true spells, rituals, recipes, and meditations to help get your life to the next level of wellness. Cerridwen Greenleaf shares easy-to-do practices informed by her decades of implementing the power of intention-setting in her life, from setting up your wellness altar to healing movements, affirmations, and crystals, as well as healthy and nurturing recipes for magical teas...>>