The creation of the universe and the nature of humanity as taught by the Ancient Wisdom. An abridgement of the original 1500 page work, The Secret Doctrine. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) was born of a noble family in Russia. She became a student of metaphysical lore, and traveled to many lands, including Tibet, in search of hidden knowledge. In the 1870s she went to New York and, with Col. Henry S. Olcott and others, formed the Theosophical Society.

• Examines newer spiritual “systems” of the modern era, from spiritism and theosophy, to parapsychic research and anthroposophism, to psychoanalysis and the Church of Satan • Compares these newer spiritual “systems” to the traditional spiritual path of the ancients and exposes the misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and occult dangers lurking in their practices • Also examines important modern figures such as Nietzsche, Aleister Crowley, Rudolf Steiner, Dostoevsky, Freud, Jung, Gurdjieff, Krishnamurti, and Anton LaVey Written two years before his most prominent book Revolt Against the Modern World, Julius Evola’s The Fall of Spirituality was originally published in Italian as Maschera e volto dello spiritualismo contemporaneo (The Mask and Face of Contemporary Spiritualism). In it, the Baron critiques the spiritual schools, cults, philosophies, and mystical teachers of the 20th century--from spiritism and theosophy, to parapsychic research and anthroposophism, to psychoanalysis and the Church of Satan--comparing these newer spiritual “systems” to the traditional spiritual path of the ancients and exposing the misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and occult dangers lurking in their practices. Examining important modern figures such as Nietzsche, Aleister Crowley, Rudolf Steiner, Dostoevsky, Freud, Jung, Gurdjieff, Krishnamurti, and Anton LaVey, the author contends that their aspirations to power are limited to a focus on concerns of the mundane world. They are thereby blind to the existence of a supernatural reality that offers individuals transmutation from the fallen human personality into a semigod-like status--a status attainable only by those who can master the rigors demanded of initiates on the traditionalist path. Offering an essential guidebook for serious spiritual seekers looking for a more profound metaphysical discipline than those of the spiritual schools of the modern era, Evola also provides contrasting insights from the age-old path of initiation and high magic.