Isis Magic: Cultivating a Relationship with the Goddess of 10,000 Names enables the many women and men who are today exploring Goddess spirituality to build a relationship with the Divine Feminine by focusing their exploration through the worship of one of the most well-known and well-loved Goddesses of all time: the Egyptian Isis. Today, as in ancient times, Isis, known as the Goddess of Ten Thousand Names, can become for Her devotees the One Goddess Who is All Goddesses. Isis Magic begins with a well-researched and in-depth history of the nature and worship of Isis from Her ancient Egyptian origins to the modern day. In the first part of the book, readers discover the many faces of Isis, from Ancient Bird of Prey Goddess and Lady of Magic to Queen of the Mysteries and Savior. Readers will learn how Isis later became disguised as a Black Madonna, a historical Queen of Egypt, and even as an Alchemical Principle--as well as how Her true identity as a Goddess was retained in the inner teachings of secret societies. Finally, readers follow Isis into the 20th and 21st centuries as Her undisguised worship is revived, first by colorful personalities like Dion Fortune and influential groups such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and today by worldwide associations like the Fellowship of Isis. The book's second part applies this knowledge to a four-part spiritual journey to the heart of the Goddess. With each step, the reader enters a successively deeper stage of relationship with Isis. By participating in exercises, meditations, and powerful, beautifully written rituals, readers can initiate themselves into the magical religion of Isis and become, if they so desire, a dedicated priestess or priest. Written by M. Isidora Forrest, an ordained Priestess of Isis and Hermetic Adept, Isis Magic brings the worship of Isis to life. It is the perfect resource to aid the individual seeker, to inspire a circle, coven, or Iseum, or to serve as a program of spiritual growth and personal development for those called by Isis to be Her priestesses and priests.

"There was 'no god more present' than Dionysos: that is, out of all the ancient gods Dionysos was one of the few who people felt that they could reach out and touch" Chapter 4: A God of Many Forms Dionysos: Exciter to Frenzy is a phenomenal scholarly exploration of one of the most complex, liminal and paradoxical gods of the ancient world. In this journey through the realms of Dionysos, the author Vikki Bramshaw guides the reader through the mysterious world of the multifaceted Dionysos, revealing his hidden faces and forms, demonstrating his presence in different cultures, the growth cycles of nature, the establishment of theatre and even the ancient Greek calendar. The roots of the wine god Dionysos, like his vines, spread throughout the ancient world. From the Cretan Zagreus, to the Thracian Sabazios and the Egyptian Iachen, his stories permeated the myths and traditions of both the untamed wilderness and the culture of cities such as Athens. Joined by slaves and rulers, wild flesh-ripping Maenads and vegetarian Orphics, wine-makers and hunters, the thrice-born Dionysos danced his way through the challenges of rebirth and initiation, with the liberating ecstasy of trance and possession. The god Dionysos unites opposites, he is many-formed, dying yet eternal, chthonian and heavenly. His ancient myths, mystical symbols, pagan rites and incarnations represent a uniquely detailed and relevant perspective of the transformation he brings through prophecy and personal liberation which is still relevant today.

Presents a landmark study combining key specialists around the region with well-established international scholars, from a wide range of disciplines.

Giving Western literature and art many of its most enduring themes and archetypes, Greek mythology and the gods and goddesses at its core are a fundamental part of the popular imagination. At the heart of Greek mythology are exciting stories of drama, action, and adventure featuring gods and goddesses, who, while physically superior to humans, share many of their weaknesses. Readers will be introduced to the many figures once believed to populate Mount Olympus as well as related concepts and facts about the Greek mythological tradition.

The Drunken Silenus is a book that is as hard to categorize as it is to put down--an enlightening and mesmerizing blend of philosophy, history, and art criticism. Morgan Meis begins simply enough, with a painting by the Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens of the figure from Greek mythology who is mentor to Dionysus, god of wine and excess of every kind. We learn who this obscure, minor god is--why he must attend on the god who dies and must be re-born and educated all over again--and why Rubens depicted him not as a character out of a farce, but as one whose plight evokes pity and compassion. The narrative spirals out from there, taking in the history of Antwerp, bloody seventeenth-century religious wars, tales of Rubens's father's near-execution for sleeping with William of Orange's wife, Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy and the impossibility of there being any meaning to human life, and the destruction of all civilization by nefarious forces within ourselves. All of this is conveyed in language that crackles with intelligence, wit, and dark humor--a voice that at times sounds a bit tipsy and garrulous, but which ultimately asks us to confront the deepest questions of meaning, purpose, and hope in the face of death and tragedy.

The Greek myths are amongst the best stories ever told, passed down through millennia and inspiring writers and artists as varied as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, James Joyce and Walt Disney. They are embedded deeply in the traditions, tales and cultural DNA of the West. You'll fall in love with Zeus, marvel at the birth of Athena, wince at Cronus and Gaia's revenge on Ouranos, weep with King Midas and hunt with the beautiful and ferocious Artemis. Spellbinding, informative and moving, Stephen Fry's Mythos perfectly captures these stories for the modern age - in all their rich and deeply human relevance.