The Russian North is an amazing, fabulous land. He is sung in our ancient songs, epics, traditions and legends. And not only in them. The most ancient myths of Greece tell about the distant northern side of Hyperborea, which lies near the coast of the cold Cronian Ocean. They told us that it was here, behind the harsh northeastern wind of Boreas, that there is a land where a wonderful tree with golden apples of eternal youth grows. At the foot of this tree, feeding its roots, a spring of living water gushes - the water of immortality. Here, for the golden apples of the maiden-birds of the Hesperides, the hero Hercules once went. In the far north, in Hyperborea, at Tartessa - "the city where the wonders of the whole world sleep until the time comes for them to be born and come out to mortals on earth", the golden boat of the Sun was waiting for Hercules. And this is not surprising, because Hyperborea is the birthplace of the solar Apollo and here, according to the ancient Greek myth, snow-white winged swan horses brought him here every summer.

Tracing the possible origins of the Magi's star, the author uses an ancient Roman coin as a starting point to investigate the possibility that the legendary star may in fact have been an eclipse of Jupiter and the star Aries.

2005 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) 1st Runner Up in Non-Fiction category! In ancient times, priests, poets, and astrologers studied the movements of the planets to understand the cycles of life. Mars, Venus, Neptune - the planets themselves are named after gods and goddesses of civilizations past. MythAstrology is a guide to understanding the expression of planetary energies through the signs of the zodiac. Explore the many myths that you may be living, their lessons, and their rewards and difficulties by discovering your own astrological mythology. All you need is a copy of your astrological birth chart and this book to form a complete astromythological profile of yourself and your friends and family. Deepen your understanding of ancient myth, modern astrology, and your own psyche.

Papus (1865-1916), lived during a period when an interest in mystery traditions peaked in Europe. This work is a translation of his resulting writings with an introduction that places Papus in a historical perspective. It also includes explanatory notes and supplementary material.

Secret societies in ancient Judaism -- "Esoteric", mysteries, and secrecy -- Esoteric as a social category -- The social organization of secrecy -- Initiation and graded revelation -- Other secret Jewish groups and traditions -- The social setting of esoteric tradition

An “absolutely magnificent” book (The New Republic)—the fruit of almost two decades of study—that traces the changes in Western attitudes toward death and dying from the earliest Christian times to the present day. A truly landmark study, The Hour of Our Death reveals a pattern of gradually developing evolutionary stages in our perceptions of life in relation to death, each stage representing a virtual redefinition of human nature. Starting at the very foundations of Western culture, the eminent historian Phillipe Ariès shows how, from Graeco-Roman times through the first ten centuries of the Common Era, death was too common to be frightening; each life was quietly subordinated to the community, which paid its respects and then moved on. Ariès identifies the first major shift in attitude with the turn of the eleventh century when a sense of individuality began to rise and with it, profound consequences: death no longer meant merely the weakening of community, but rather the destruction of self. Hence the growing fear of the afterlife, new conceptions of the Last Judgment, and the first attempts (by Masses and other rituals) to guarantee a better life in the next world. In the 1500s attention shifted from the demise of the self to that of the loved one (as family supplants community), and by the nineteenth century death comes to be viewed as simply a staging post toward reunion in the hereafter. Finally, Ariès shows why death has become such an unendurable truth in our own century—how it has been nearly banished from our daily lives—and points out what may be done to “re-tame” this secret terror. The richness of Ariès's source material and investigative work is breathtaking. While exploring everything from churches, religious rituals, and graveyards (with their often macabre headstones and monuments), to wills and testaments, love letters, literature, paintings, diaries, town plans, crime and sanitation reports, and grave robbing complaints, Aries ranges across Europe to Russia on the one hand and to England and America on the other. As he sorts out the tangled mysteries of our accumulated terrors and beliefs, we come to understand the history—indeed the pathology—of our intellectual and psychological tensions in the face of death.

The bestselling husband and wife team, artist Amy Zerner and author Monte Farber, bring fresh revelations and original psychological perceptions about each astrological sun sign in this beautifully illustrated guide. Their easy-to-understand descriptions of the distinctive attributes of the twelve zodiac signs will provide clear, penetrating and useful insights into your personality and those you care about. Farber offers an ancient history of astrology and its uses, setting the stage for an in-depth description of each sign. This book is packed with practical, compelling, and incisive information, including: * Positive Traits, Negative Traits * Likes, Dislikes & Secret Life * Attitudes Towards Money * Occupations, Leisure Interests * Romantic Pairings & Love Life * Behaviors/Abilities at Work and at Home * Personalities of Children * Parenting a Sun Sign