Occult Books - Revision history

Ywhateley: /* Eastern Religious and Mystical Manuals */

2022-08-15T20:36:59Z

‎Eastern Religious and Mystical Manuals

Ywhateley: Categorization.

2022-07-16T08:42:42Z

Categorization.

Ywhateley: /* Book of the Dead */

2022-07-16T08:39:29Z

‎Book of the Dead

Ywhateley: Categorization.

2022-07-16T06:41:04Z

Categorization.

Ywhateley: Details added.

2022-04-08T14:36:30Z

Details added.

Ywhateley: /* Unsorted Theosophical and Spiritualist Treatises */

2022-04-08T14:33:49Z

‎Unsorted Theosophical and Spiritualist Treatises

Ywhateley: Wiki Links.

2022-04-08T14:31:08Z

Wiki Links.

Ywhateley: Formatting.

2020-02-22T18:23:45Z

Formatting.

Show changes

Ywhateley: /* Kabbala */

2020-02-20T21:34:33Z

‎Kabbala

Ywhateley: /* The Apocryphal Book of Tobit */

2018-12-17T05:52:25Z

‎The Apocryphal Book of Tobit

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:36, 15 August 2022
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		+	===Sibylline Oracles===
		+	''Sibylline Oracles'' (AKA "Oracula Sibyllina", and sometimes "pseudo-Sibylline Oracles"), ascribed to the Sibyls, unknown provenance but the oldest parts at least (Books 3-5) possibly predate the 5th Century AD, apparently written by Jewish Alexandrians (Books 1-2 might have also have had a Jewish origin, adapted to early Christian purposes.)

		+	A collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen books and eight fragments of Sibylline Oracles survive, in an edition of the 6th or 7th century AD. They are not to be confused with the original ''Sibylline Books'' of the ancient Etruscans and Romans; instead, the text is an "odd pastiche" of Hellenistic and Roman mythology interspersed with Jewish, Gnostic and early Christian legend. The Sibylline Oracles are a valuable source for information about classical mythology and early first millennium Gnostic, Hellenistic Jewish and Christian beliefs. Some apocalyptic passages scattered throughout seem to foreshadow themes of the Book of Revelation and other apocalyptic literature. The oracles have undergone extensive editing, re-writing, and redaction as they came to be exploited in wider circles.

		+
		+	===Sibylline Books===
		+	''The Sibylline Books'' (AKA "Libri Sibyllini"), in Latin, by Amalthaea of Cumae, c. 6th century BCE
		+
		+	A compilation of prophecies of the Cumaean sibyl Amalthaea, who offered these books for sale to Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, last of the seven kings of Rome. The books were consulted at momentous crises through the history of the Republic and the Empire. Only fragments have survived, the rest being lost or deliberately destroyed: the sibyl burned the first six books after Lucius Tarquinius Superbus refused to pay her price; Tarquinius then purchased the last three at the full original price, and had them preserved in a sacred vault beneath the Capitoline temple of Jupiter, but these last three disappeared in a suspicious fire after the last known consultation of the books in 363 CE.
		+
		+	Some supposedly genuine Sibylline verses are preserved in the ''Book of Marvels or Memorabilia of Phlegon of Tralles'' (2nd century AD). These represent an oracle, or a combination of two oracles, of seventy hexameters in all. They report the birth of an androgyne, and prescribe a long list of rituals and offerings to the gods. Their authenticity has been questioned. Other supposedly genuine Sibylline verses are preserved in the ''Sibylline Oracles'', but scholars believe that these verses only assumed their known form in the 5th Century CE as the work of later authors, and do not represent authentic Sibylline verses.
		+
		+
		+	===Book of Marvels===
		+	''Memorabilia of Phlegon of Tralles'', written in Greek by Phlegon of Tralles in the 2nd Century CE.
		+
		+	Some supposedly genuine Sibylline verses are preserved in the Book of Marvels or Memorabilia of Phlegon of Tralles (2nd century CE). These represent an oracle, or a combination of two oracles, of seventy hexameters in all. They report the birth of an androgyne, and prescribe a long list of rituals and offerings to the gods.[citation needed] Their authenticity has been questioned.

	== Parapsychology and Spiritualism ==		== Parapsychology and Spiritualism ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:42, 16 July 2022
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−	~~[[Category:Mythos:Tomes]]~~
	[[Category:Mythos:Tomes:NonMythos]]		[[Category:Mythos:Tomes:NonMythos]]

@@ Line 342: / Line 342: @@
 === Book of the Dead ===
-''Book of the Dead'' by E.A. Wallis Budge (1909/etc., English)
+''Egyptian Book of the Dead'' (AKA '''Book of the dead''', ''The Book of Coming Forth by Day or Spells for Going Forth by Day'', ''Egyptian Book of Life''), English translation with commentary by E.A. Wallis Budge (1909/etc., English); the book was originally compiled 4000 years ago in the Twelfth Dynasty, from concepts originating as early as the Third Dynasty a few centuries before.
-A translation and study of the Egyptian Book of the Dead from hieroglyphs into English.  ''The Book of the Dead'' was intended to assist the deceased in the afterlife and comprised a collection of hymns, spells and instructions to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife.
+The title, coined in the 9th century by Christian commenters on the text, is applied to a famous English translation and study of the hieroglyphic ''Book of Coming Forth by Day or Spells for Going Forth by Day'', a tome collecting spells, instructions and hymns to allow the deceased to pass through obstacles in the afterlife, providing assurance of a happy afterlife in world much like the one that is being left behind, through precise detail of what to expect after death along the journey through the passage of the night of death into the light of the next world, with all of the knowledge required to successfully navigate the perils and obstacles of death and reach this Earth-like paradise of the world beyond.
 === Fragment of a Graeco-Egyptian Work upon Magic ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:41, 16 July 2022
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	[[Category:Mythos:Tomes]]		[[Category:Mythos:Tomes]]
		+	[[Category:Mythos:Tomes:NonMythos]]

@@ Line 1,133: / Line 1,133: @@
 === Outline of Modern Occultism ===
 ''An Outline of Modern Occultism'' by Cyril Scott (1935, English)
@@ Line 1,139: / Line 1,143: @@
 == Unsorted Theosophical and Spiritualist Treatises ==
 TO_DO:  the following books could use some brief descriptions and context for how they can be useful in a Lovecraftian story; once detailed, they can be moved to an appropriate section above.
 === Principles of Nature ===
@@ Line 1,145: / Line 1,148: @@
 In which the "Poughkeepsie Seer" writes his "Harmonial Philosophy" revealed to him by [[Galen]] and [[Swedenborg]], prophesying a social revolution followed by a new dispensation to mankind.
 === The Coming Christ ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:33, 8 April 2022
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	== Unsorted Theosophical and Spiritualist Treatises ==		== Unsorted Theosophical and Spiritualist Treatises ==
		+	TO_DO: the following books could use some brief descriptions and context for how they can be useful in a Lovecraftian story; once detailed, they can be moved to an appropriate section above.
		+

	=== Principles of Nature ===		=== Principles of Nature ===

@@ Line 1,144: / Line 1,144: @@
 In which the "Poughkeepsie Seer" writes his "Harmonial Philosophy" revealed to him by [[Galen]] and [[Swedenborg]], prophesying a social revolution followed by a new dispensation to mankind.
 === The Coming Christ ===
@@ Line 1,230: / Line 1,234: @@
 by A. Student
-=== The Summa Theologica ===
+=== The Book of Dzyan ===
-The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas
+'[[The_Book_of_Dzyan_(non-fiction)|The Book of Dzyan]]'
-by Thomas Aquinas
+by [[Helena Blavatsky]]
 === The Law of Mind in Action ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:34, 20 February 2020
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	An esoteric theosophy of rabbinical origin based on the Hebrew scriptures and developed between the 7th and 18th centuries. See ''[[Occult Books#Zohar\|The Zohar]]'' for the most important text on the Kabbala.		An esoteric theosophy of rabbinical origin based on the Hebrew scriptures and developed between the 7th and 18th centuries. See ''[[Occult Books#Zohar\|The Zohar]]'' for the most important text on the Kabbala.

		+
		+
		+	===Pistis Sophia===
		+	''Pistis Sophia'' ("Faith-Wisdom"), Anonymous (sometimes dated to 300-400CE; Coptic language)
		+
		+	A Gnostic text describing the teachings of a resurrected Jesus Christ to an early Christian assembly including his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Martha. In this text, the risen Jesus had spent eleven years speaking with his disciples, teaching them only the lower mysteries. After eleven years, he receives his true garment and is able to reveal the higher mysteries revered by this group. The prized mysteries relate to complex cosmologies and knowledge necessary for the soul to reach the highest divine realms. Much of the first two books of the manuscript are dedicated to outlining the myth of the fall and restoration of the figure known as Pistis Sophia, in particular giving detailed parallels between her prayers of repentance and particular Psalms and Odes of Solomon; although in many Gnostic texts and systems Sophia is a major female divinity, in ''Pistis Sophia'' she originates and dwells outside of the divine realm. Her fall and redemption parallel that found in versions of the Sophia myth such as that in the [[Occult_Books#Apocryphon_of_John\|Apocryphon of John]], but the actions all take place in the material aeons, and she can only be restored to her place in the thirteenth aeon, outside the Kingdom of Light.
		+
		+
		+
		+	===Apocryphon of John===
		+	''The Secret Book of John'', also called the ''Apocryphon of John'' or ''The Secret Revelation of John''; attributed to St. John (~180CE; originally Greek followed by Coptic language translations)
		+
		+	Contemporary description: "an indescribable number of secret and illegitimate writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish people, who are ignorant of the true scriptures...." The Apocryphon, set in the framing device of a revelation delivered by the resurrected Christ to John the son of Zebedee, contains some of the most extensive detailing of classic dualistic Gnostic mythology that has survived; as one of the principal texts of the Nag Hammadi library, it is an essential text of study for anyone interested in Gnosticism.
		+
		+
		+	The text begins with John describing his own state of grief and bewilderment after Christ's crucifixion. The Savior then appears, takes various forms, and after banishing John's fears, provides the following cosmological narrative.
		+
		+	The highest divine principle is the Monad. The Monad is described as a "monarchy with nothing above it". He is supreme, absolute, eternal, infinite, perfect, holy and self-sufficient. However, his transcendent ineffability is also emphasized. He is neither quantifiable nor can his qualities ever truly be described. The Monad exists in inconceivable perfection.
		+
		+	The Monad produces from his thought a feminine/androgenous divine entity or principle named Barbelo, described as "the first thought", and the "image" of the Monad. While Barbelo is always referred to as a 'she', she is also described as both the primordial mother and father, also regarded as "the first man" and described in various terms of androgyny.
		+
		+	She is the first of a class of beings referred to as the Aeons, and an exchange between herself and the Monad brings the other Aeons into being. Additionally, the properties of Light and Mind are born from the Monad's reflection on Barbelo. Light is synonymous with Christ, also called "Christ the Autogenes". The Light and the Mind engage in further creative activity, aided by and glorifying the superior principles of Barbelo and the Monad. Together, they bring forth further Aeons and powers.
		+
		+	Eventually, one of the Aeons, Sophia "of the Epinoia", disrupts the harmony of these processes by engaging in creative activity without the participation or consent of the Spirit of the Monad and without the aid of a male consort. The creative power of her thought produces an entity named Yaltabaoth, who is the first of a series of incomplete, demonic entities called the Archons.
		+
		+	Yaltabaoth, whose character is malevolent and arrogant, also has a grotesque form. His head is that of a lion while he possesses a serpentine body. Recognizing the deformed, imperfect nature of her offspring, Sophia attempts to conceal it somewhere where the other Aeons will not discover it. The act of hiding Yaltabaoth also has the result that Yaltabaoth himself remains ignorant of the upper world and the other Aeons.
		+
		+	Despite the fact that Yaltabaoth possesses only a single parent and was created without the consent of the Spirit of the Monad, he is powerful enough to mimic the creative processes of the superior Aeons. He creates a whole host of other Archons, each of whom share his own basically deficient character, and creates a world for them to inhabit. This world is fundamentally inferior to the world above. It is fashioned out of darkness, but animated by light stolen from Sophia. The result is a world that is neither "light nor dark" but is instead "dim". In his arrogance and ignorance, Yaltabaoth declares himself the sole and jealous God of this realm. Recognizing the imperfection of Yaltabaoth and his counterfeit world, Sophia repents. In forgiveness of her error, the Spirit of the Monad assists the other Aeons and powers in an attempt to redeem Sophia and her bastard creation. During this process Yaltabaoth and his angels hear the voice of the Monad's Spirit. While they are terrified by the voice, its echo leaves a trace of an image of the Spirit on the "waters" that form the roof of their realm. Hoping to harness this power for themselves, they attempt to create a copy of this image. The end result of this process is the first human man, Adam.
		+
		+	Recognizing an opportunity to retrieve the light imprisoned in the darkness of Yaltabaoth and his world, Sophia and agents of the higher order, referred to variously as the 'plenoria' or the 'Epinoia', and later as the 'pleroma', devise a scheme. They trick Yaltabaoth into blowing his own spiritual essence into Adam. This simultaneously animates Adam and empties Yaltabaoth of the portion of his being derived from Sophia.
		+
		+	Seeing the luminosity, intelligence and general superiority of the now animate Adam, Yaltabaoth and the Archons regret their creation and do their best to imprison or dispose of him. Failing to do so, they then attempt to neutralize him by placing him in the Garden of Eden. In this narrative, the Garden of Eden is a false paradise where the fruit of the trees is sin, lust, ignorance, confinement and death. While they give Adam access to the tree of Life, they conceal the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. According to this narrative, the Tree of Knowledge actually represents the penetration of the positive forces of the higher world and the Epinoia into Yaltabaoth's realm.
		+
		+	At this point in the narrative, Christ reveals to John that it was he who caused Adam to consume the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Additionally, it is revealed that Eve is a helper sent by agents of the higher order to help liberate the light imprisoned in Yaltabaoth's creation and in Adam. She is created when Yaltabaoth attempts to draw the light out of Adam. This results in the creation of the female body. When Adam perceives her, he sees a reflection of his own essence and is freed from the bewitching power of Yaltabaoth.
		+
		+	The narrative then details Yaltabaoth's attempts to regain control over the essence of Light. His primary scheme is to initiate the activity of human reproduction, by which he hopes to create new human bodies inhabited by a counterfeit spirit. This counterfeit spirit allows Yaltabaoth and his agents to deceive the human race, keeping them in ignorance of their true nature, and is the primary means by which Yaltabaoth keeps humanity in subjugation. It is the source of all earthly evil and confusion, and causes people to die "not having found truth and without knowing the God of truth". Following this revelation, the narrative then takes the form of a series of questions and answers between John and the Savior. These address a number of subjects, but are largely soteriological in nature. John asks Christ who is eligible for salvation, and Christ responds with the answer that those who come in contact with the true Spirit will receive salvation, while those who are dominated by the counterfeit spirit will receive damnation. Christ also reveals his own role as a liberating agent of the higher realm, in this context. Christ, who describes himself as the "remembrance of the Pronoia" and "the remembrance of the pleroma", brings light into the darkness of Yaltabaoth's prison. Here, he rouses the prisoners to wakefulness and remembrance. Those who receive and are woken by Christ's revelation are raised up and "sealed… in the light of the water with five seals". They are thus spared from death and damnation. This aspect of Christ's role is elaborated on more fully by Nag Hammadi Codex III, whereas it is omitted from the Berlin Codex.
		+
		+	This concludes Christ's message. Finally, the savior states that anyone who shares these revelations for personal profit will be cursed. The Nag Hammadi Codex III version of the text ends with the prayer, "Jesus Christ, Amen".

	=== Zohar ===		=== Zohar ===

@@ Line 305: / Line 305: @@
 Before the 1952 discovery of Aramaic and Hebrew fragments of Tobit among the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave at Qumran, scholars believed Tobit was not included in the Jewish canon because of late authorship, estimated to 100 AD. Qumran fragments of the text, which were copied between 100 BC to 25 AD, evidence a much earlier origin than previously thought. These fragments evidence authorship no later than the 2nd century BC and, likely, contemporary with the date ascribed, by modern scholars, to the final compilation of the Book of Daniel, which did attain canonical status.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Tobit Wikipedia]
 The book tells the story of Tobit, a righteous Israelite living in Nineveh, who falls into a series of misfortunes, including blindness, ultimately driving him to wish for death.  At the same time, a young woman, Sarah of Media, is troubled by the demon of lust [[Demon#Asmodeus|Asmodeus]], who kidnaps and kills every one of Sarah's suitors on their wedding night before the marriage can be completed, driving her, too, to wish for death.  Much of the book then follows Tobit's son Tobiah, who is sent on a mission by his father to collect some property held in Media.  Along the way, Tobiah meets the angel [[Angel#Raphael|Raphael]] in disguise, who helps Tobiah by offering advice and guidance along the way.  Ultimately, with Raphael's help, Tobiah meets Sarah and is able to obtain potions that repel Asmodeus, who is then pursued into Egypt and exorcised and bound; Tobiah returns to Media, marries Sarah, gathers his father's property, and returns home to Nineveh to cure his father's blindness, with all the characters living happily ever after.
 === Egyptian Magic ===