The Eleusinian Mysteries and Rites: Now Available!

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Most of the pagan mysteries are poorly described in literature. The Eleusinian Mysteries are perhaps the most well comprehended of the ancient traditions of the pagans, and this work describes both the greater and lesser mysteries, describing the usage of the ancient gods in literal but not immortal form, and some of the rituals surrounding initiation. The work has been fully illustrated as well, by Raven Feather Illustrations.

83 pages.

Apollonius of Tyana: Now Available!

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This fine book is a great look at the life and teachings of Apollonius- it is partly a critical work, sometimes querying the veracity of Philostratus and other ancient writers and figures, often using secondary works within its analysis- it also contains a full bibliography, although most of the listed texts are in German or French.

112 pages.

Hebrew Idolatry and Superstition: Now Available!

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This present book is a work mainly of religious history, seeking to categorize the various "idolatrous" practices of the ancient Hebrews, claiming most of them can be established to have had a prior origin, and that they therefore did not originate with Judaism. Some of the claims here are anthropologically outdated but many have been continuously confirmed (sacred groves and witchcraft definitely predate Judaism and probably came from interactions with other regional tribes, for example.) The number of individual stories involving witchery, totems, etc, are profuse, and the work is a great springboard for further study.

51 pages.

Atheism in Pagan Antiquity: Now Available!

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This nice little read is an academic work that deals with the concept of atheism (a variable one) among the philosophers and societies of ancient Greece, including after its subjugation by Rome. Various concepts such as irreligion and heresy were all lumped in under the concept, along with worship which was merely civically improper. Philosophers often levied such charges against one another, usually in a defamatory manner. It traces the conceptualization up into early Christianity and explores the Henotheistic concept of Judaism.

118 pages.

Epicurus: Now Available!

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This intermediate work is presumably the final creation series title I will edit; it is a combination of basic Epicurean philosophy, basic life story of the philosopher himself, and criticisms by him of his critics as well as theirs of him. It's well written, and at times humorous, Epicurus calling one of his rivals a "mollusk" comes to mind as being particularly funny against the backdrop of antiquity.

The philosophy is of course fleshed out somewhat here, being described for that critical and analytical purpose; the basic premise of living a simple life and avoiding fear of mortality is the basic twofold point of the path of Epicurus.

94 pages.

The Religion of Ancient Greece: Now Available!

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This little book is one of dozens of Creation Series titles made available in the early 20th century. I have edited about half a dozen prior; this one is definitely more academic even than the prior few, and delves at several points into the difference between Greek religion as conceived of in the then-recent past, and the then-modern period according to archaeology. Zeus here is just Zeus; not Jupiter, not an interchangeable deity from latter days as many modern voices believed.

It contains a fairly lengthy exposition on the major deities of Greek religion and their basic back-stories and is invaluable, potentially, to any pagan delving into the same.

43 pages.

The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria: Now Available!

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This work is one of the most dense entries in the esteemed "Creation Series"- a series which contains as well several other works I have edited. It is mostly linguistic, but is also a work of religious history, and dwells mostly on some of the more important spiritual figures within the Babylonian/Sumerian pantheon. We must of course recognize that it was written long before Gobekli Tepe was discovered so the human timeline then basically terminated with Sumeria.

It is wonderful that this book admits to the Sumerian-Babylonian backdrop of Judaism (and thence Christianity) even while it occasionally refers to Genesis specifically.

83 pages.

The Biography of Satan: Now Available!

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This work comes courtesy of the spiritualist movement of the mid and late 19th century. It is at once an academic work, a work of general demonology and Satan-lore, and a social tract aimed at the fire and brimstone preaching of its era. The elaborate synthesis of its sources and its authors' opinions make it an important work within the historical cycle of late pre-modern Christian philosophy.

For those interested in the occult, the practice of magick, and demonology in a stricter sense, this work is best seen as a refutation of some of the symbolism and meaning used by those involved in the same; if the basis is unsound the practice is unsound, and a great many practitioners continue in the delusion that brimstone-and-smoke filled hallways populated by leathery little creatures with Pluto-esque pitchforks are very much real, and that Satan is a historical notion as opposed to one adapted from paganism. I strongly suggest this work as well for anyone desiring to rid themselves of the fear or Hellfire, since it is meticulously debased here and more or less totally defeated.

112 pages.

Lore of the Unicorn: Now Available!

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This work is pure rationalism circa the early 20th century. Penned by Odell Shepard, it goes to great lengths in being as detailed as possible, not limiting itself by time period or region. Speaking of lore as separate as that of Africa and India, the tale of the unicorn (or alicorn) is rendered not simply to a misunderstood and real beast here, but takes on a wider symbology and meaning.

The most interesting component of Shepard's work here though is medicinal and related to medieval folklore; the unicorn horn (variously the horn of a rhinoceros or narwhal, and sometimes that of an antelope or even a chunk of petrified wood) was rumored in those days to sweat in the presence of any poison and to act as a souped-up sort of bezoar taken internally. The content is at times dense, and it draws on many primary sources both antiquated and then-modern.

216 pages.

Magic And Witchcraft: Now Available!

 

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This fine work is the culmination of a great deal of study by John Taylor in the middle of the 19th century. As with many works from the period, it both lambastes prior christian populations for their superstition while exonerating them partly on the basis that their interpretation of christian dogma was, first, misled by the authorities of their age and, second, that this was partly the fault of primordial pagan influence and the working of sorcery in late antiquity.

Its primary content is related to the burning times, both with regards to conceptions of Satan and of witches and witchcraft in general, but it also manages to provide a few older examples including the rites of the snake cults of the near east and the topic of the infamous shape-shifting Lamia. It blames King James and his "Daemonologie" and the Malleus Maleficarum for many tens of thousands of deaths.

77 pages.