Showing posts with label gnosticism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gnosticism. Show all posts

The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail, the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life Review

The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail, the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life
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The authors ignore respected sources that apply very directly to their work, and the various observations regarding the serpent icon, meaning and myth.
By not including Marija Gimbutas various archeolgical books ("The Language of the Goddess: Unearthing the Hidden Symbols of Western Civilization" for one), nor Barbara G. Walker's "The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects" as well as "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" Serpent Grail authors rob their arguments of strong investigators of relevant subject matter. Further, they do not seem to know of Jeremy Narby's "Cosmic Serpent" which offers much insight into an intriguing indigenous and shamanic interpretaion of serpent, life force, and what we call DNA.
Worse, in my opinion all too often the authors ramble on and in sudden "deus ex machina" fashion include "And so it is obvious that...."
What follows is a conclusion unsupported by reasoned presentation based on facts. Rather, a string of events, and suppositions are offered, and quickly summed up as clearly proving whatever the authors are selling.
I wanted this book to be so much better than it is. I think it a shame Gimbutas and Walker are not included as their work is so very relevant to this book and its premises. Further, with more rigorous scholarship and intellectual discipline the case the authors are making would be much better served.

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The truth has been buried for hundreds of years beneath myth, symbolism, and propaganda—but it finally comes to light in these pages and can no longer be denied. This is the story of an extraordinary journey of discovery that uncovers the existence of a serpent-worshipping cult that thrived throughout the world in ancient times and whose influences have permeated all the major religions. The cult's central rite involved mixing together snake blood and venom in a ceremonial bowl, forging a powerful healing elixir—and the evidence shows that this ritual holds the key to solving such enigmatic mysteries as the Holy Grail, Elixir of Life, Philosopher's Stone, and the lost city of Atlantis. It's nothing less than a radical reinterpretation of world history.

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A Dictionary of Gnosticism Review

A Dictionary of Gnosticism
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This book is a terrific reference for anyone interested in religion, mysticism, esoterica, ancient history and any form of Gnosis from ancient to modern. Though it would appear at first glance to be a basic dictionary of words rarely used and seldom contemplated in the average everyday world, it is a storehouse of clues to the origins of Western esoterica and literary fancy. Take "AEEIOUO," an entry on page 5. Reminiscent of the Caterpillar's song in Lewis Carol's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" it is also the (Greek) vowels chanted repetitively in certain forms of magic derived from Gnostic texts ... a little online cross-research explains that according to the Nag Hammadi, Aeeiouo is the shape of the Self Begotten Soul. (In Greek, Alice happens to mean "truthful.")
The Nag Hammadi codices are outlined beginning on page 168 where it is explained that the "tractates in the codices are in Coptic, but scholars believe they were originally composed in Greek."
What's a "tractate"? Look it up on page 247 where you can also brush up on the word "transcendence" contrasted with "immanence" on page 124.
A Dictionary of Gnosticism will help you comprehend Plato's Timaeus from which the concept of the "demiurge" originates, as well as modern film concepts. The 1999 movie "The Matrix" is explained on page 156 where "archon" equivalent characters (agents) govern reality "on behalf of the entity that created the world". The demiurge in Gnosticism is compared to the machines in the Matrix.
Try Googling all that! It is wonderful to have this handy Gnostic dictionary at one's fingertips as a quick reference for looking up some of the more obscure terms of Gnosis ("direct spiritual experience") - but it also helps in grasping much of what more mainstream literature and contemporary media have been trying to tell us all along. The truth is in between the lines ... or in the process of "inverse exegesis." Make up your "Nous" or mind and avoid the "interdict" if you are a heretic. Explore Pistis Sophia. Use this quick reference manual of Gnostic terms as a springboard for further inquiry. Ablanathanalba.


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A Dictionary of Gnosticism is a scholarly yet accessible guide that covers the people, mythology, movements, scripture, and technical terms related to this pre-Christian Western religion. It contains nearly 1700 entries, from Aachiaram, an angel in the Secret Book of John to Zostrianos, a third-century Gnostic text, and is a reliable reference for the Nag Hammadi library and other Gnostic texts. An introduction explains who the Gnostics were and provides a whirlwind tour through the history of this captivating movement.

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Seth, God of Confusion: A Study of His Role in Egyptian Mythology and Religion (Ancient Near East) Review

Seth, God of Confusion: A Study of His Role in Egyptian Mythology and Religion (Ancient Near East)
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Overall, the author provides an excellent profile of the god Seth (or Set) and His place in the Egyptian pantheon. Discussed in detail is the symbology contained in the story of Seth's conflict with Horus, including Seth's homosexual rape of the child Horus, Seth's relationship to Isis, Osiris, and Nepthys, and His special position as a god of foreigners. In this latter area, Seth's relation to, and possible derivation from imported Semetic deities is covered thoroughly.
A main theme of this monograph is Seth's shifting place in the Egyptian pantheon of deities. Throughout ancient Egypt's long history, Seth was alternatively honored and despised, depending on the changing dominance of different religious, political, and social currents. Eventually, as Egypt came increasingly under the domination of foreigners, Seth, the god associated with foreigners and foreign things, became thoroughly demonized in the popular mind, and may well have been the prototype for the Christian Satan.
My only real criticism of this study, and this is only personal, is the highly specialized academic tone of the writing, along with the frequent inclusion of long untranslated quotations from German and French authors. The monograph is obviously written for the specialist in Egyptology rather than for the general reader. The untranslated quotations will, of course, pose no difficulty for readers who are fluent in both German and French.
I give the book a four star rating, only denying the fifth star for the reason metioned in the above paragraph.

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