Mystery Essays

This unique collection of material, drawing on esoteric sources produced through centuries, contains thought-provoking essays establishing how the body reveals the laws and principles operating throughout the universe. Eighteen chapters and lushly illustrated plates from early and rare mystical texts make this an essential part of any occultist's library.

Edgar-award winning author Dana Stabenow is best known for her Kate Shugak novels, but the unifying protagonist of almost all her writing - be it crime, fantasy, horror, or science fiction - is Alaska. This genre-spanning collection of 16 short stories features familiar characters like Kate and Jim, Liam and Wy, and Bill and Moses, but also ranges farther afield than many listeners will expect.

This is a collection of 21 essays on a variety of occult-themed topics, covering the full spectrum of classic esoteric and related subjects, which include Hermeticism, alchemy, magic, the Kabbalah, ancient wisdom and philosophy, the Tarot, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Theosophy, and spiritualism, by some of the most notable and prominent names in the history of those subjects.

Today’s leading voice of esotericism and the occult, Mitch Horowitz explores topics that evoke widespread misunderstanding, including the real history of secret societies, the wisdom of the Satanic, the relevance of Gnosticism, and connection between today’s spiritual culture and antiquity, including in areas of Hermeticism, deity worship, out-of-body experience, and magick. He demonstrates the occult roots of wide-ranging facets of modern culture, including politics, abstract art, mind-body healing, self-help, and scientific fields such as quantum physics and neuroplasticity.

In this thought-provoking, endlessly enlightening, and entertaining essay on the art of the novel, renowned author Milan Kundera suggests that "the curtain" represents a ready-made perception of the world that each of us has - a pre-interpreted world. The job of the novelist, he argues, is to rip through the curtain and reveal what it hides. Here an incomparable literary artist cleverly sketches out his personal view of the history and value of the novel in Western civilization.

In Sips of Truth, the illustrious thinker Valiant Thor (also known as the "Stranger at the Pentagon") discusses various aspects of the Bible and how the modern Westerner can benefit from a clear picture of their meaning.

Notable masonic and esoteric writer A. E. Waite left behind a treasure trove of writings and translations. Included here are some of his varied essays.

In this updated 2021 edition of The Entheological Paradigm, leading nondual entheogenic advocate, Martin W. Ball, presents a naturalistic, rational, and objective view on the nature of reality as seen through the lenses of DMT and 5-MeO-DMT when appreciated from a nondual perspective. In stark contrast to popularized views of psychedelic experience, Dr. Ball directly addresses the nature of reality and perception.

"Searingly honest, brilliant and disturbing. Brad Phillips peels back the skin and bone and stares right into the human soul." (Anthony Bourdain) Brad Phillips' collection of short stories adeptly walks a very thin line between taboo and propriety, with rigorous self-awareness and generosity. By confusing ideas around fiction and autobiography, Phillips writes with painful sincerity about shame, addiction, trauma, and the more troubling outreaches of sexual desire, with wit that is at odds with the subject matter. Brad Phillips is a well-known Canadian artist.

For years, L’Engle has been delighting and inspiring fans with her warm, eloquent prose, and inspirational poetry. She continues this tradition with a personal reflection of the mystery and majesty of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Bright Evening Star provides a glimpse into the life stories of this prolific author and her encounters with God. With a foreword by John Tesh, L’Engle invites us on a spiritual adventure that leads to hope, joy, and a closer relationship with Jesus.

The unifying factor of this collection is that, without exception, every author included here was in some way or another involved with or interested in the occult. In some cases, they were members of an occult organization, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Theosophical Society, or similar such groups. Others simply had a strong personal interest in the subject matter or practiced some form of the esoteric sciences in private.

Florence Farr was an actress, writer, and first-wave feminist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as an active member of the British occult community who regularly worked with her male counterparts in the fields of esoterica, being an initiate of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Collected here are seven of her magical essays: "Magic of a Symbol", "On the Play of the Image-Maker", "The Tetrad or Structure of the Mind", "Egyptian Use of Symbols", "The Philosophy Called Vedanta", "On the Kabbalah", and "The Rosicrucians and the Alchemists".