The truth behind ancient myths and the return of the celestial conditions for a Golden Age of peace and abundance • Reveals the events preserved in myth that launched humanity into 12,000 years of struggle, selfishness, and false beliefs • Explores how we can initiate a new Golden Age through ancient Egyptian teachings on the creative power of our imaginations • Explains how our world system of economics, which benefits a few at the expense of the many, arose as a reaction to global catastrophe in prehistory Since the beginning of recorded history humanity has been in a continuous struggle over land and resources. It continues today despite the abundance we have created through scientific innovation and technology. Why such a struggle for resources exists has never been explained. Neither has the human drive to own, accumulate, and hoard. Edward Malkowski reveals that the answer lies in recognizing the reality behind humanity’s earliest myths. He shows that the opportunity is at hand to transcend these inherited selfish traits and return to a Golden Age of peace and abundance. Malkowski explores the hidden meaning behind stories such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Plato’s Atlantis, and myths of a new sky and a new sun, of great floods and the death of the gods, and of the preceding Golden Age. He connects these myths to a real extinction event that occurred 12,000 years ago. He explains how the survivors--our ancestors--were catapulted from utopia into a world of scarcity, scarring the collective mind of humanity and initiating the struggle for resources in an attempt to regain our lost paradise. He shows how our world system of economics, focused on ownership and based on the false belief of separateness--benefitting a few at the expense of the many--arose as a reaction to this catastrophe. Drawing on the pre-catastrophe teachings preserved by the ancient Egyptians, Malkowski reveals that we are returning to a celestial configuration parallel to that of the past Golden Age. Through our collective DNA memory and the creative power of our imaginations, we can end our 12,000-year quest to regain paradise lost and launch a new Golden Age of unity, abundance, and equality for all humanity.

For all their pride in seeing this world clearly, the thinkers and artists of the English Renaissance were also fascinated by magic and the occult. The three greatest playwrights of the period devoted major plays (The Tempest, Doctor Faustus, The Alchemist) to magic, Francis Bacon often referred to it, and it was ever-present in the visual arts. In Renaissance Magic and the Return of the Golden Age John S. Mebane reevaluates the significance of occult philosophy in Renaissance thought and literature, constructing the most detailed historical context for his subject yet attempted.

A medieval saga with political intrigue reminiscent of Game of Thrones, The Golden Age is an epic graphic novel duology from Roxanne Moreil and Cyril Pedrosa about utopia and revolution. In the kingdom of Lantrevers, suffering is a way of life—unless you’re a member of the ruling class. Princess Tilda plans to change all that. As the rightful heir of late King Ronan, Tilda wants to deliver her people from famine and strife. But on the eve of her coronation, her younger brother, backed by a cabal of power-hungry lords, usurps her throne and casts her into exile. Now Tilda is on the run. With the help of her last remaining allies, Tankred and Bertil, she travels in secret through the hinterland of her kingdom. Wherever she goes, the common folk whisper of a legendary bygone era when all men lived freely. There are those who want to return to this golden age—at any cost. In the midst of revolution, how can Tilda reclaim her throne?

"This book investigates the various ways that ancient Greek and Roman authors envisioned the end of the world and the role they gave to global catastrophes, both past and future, in shaping human history"--

In classical mythology Astraea, the goddess of justice, chastity, and truth, was the last of the immortals to leave Earth with the decline of the ages. Her return was to signal the dawn of a new Golden Age. This myth not only survived the Christian Middle Ages but also became a commonplace in the Renaissance when courtly poets praised their patrons and princes by claiming that Astraea guided them. The literary cult of Astraea persisted in the sixteenth century as writers saw in Elizabeth I of England the imperial Astraea who would lead mankind to peace through universal rule. This and other late flowerings of the Astraea myth should not be taken as the final phases of her history. Frederick A. de Armas documents in this book what may well be the last great rebirth of Astraea, one that is probably of greater political, religious, and literary significance than others previously described by historians and literary critics. The Return of Astraea focuses on the seventeenth-century Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and analyzes the deity's presence in thirteen of his plays, including his masterpiece, La Vida es Sueho. Her popularity in this period is partially attributed to political motives, reflecting the aspirations and fears of the Spanish monarch Philip IV. In this broad study, grounded on such diverse fields as astrology, iconography, history, mythology, and philosophy, de Armas explains that Astraea adopts many guises in Calderón's dramas. Ranging from the Kabbalah to Platonic thought and from satires on Olivares to cosmogonic myths, he analyzes and reinterprets Calderón's theater from a wide range of perspectives centered on the playwright's utilization of the myth of Astraea. The book thus represents a new view of Calderón's dramaturgy and also documents the popularity and significance of this astral-imperial myth during the Spanish Golden Age.

Following the epic cliffhanger in volume one, The Golden Age Book 2 concludes this exciting, medieval graphic novel duology. Tilda began her journey wanting to free her people from the iron fist of the ruling class—but she has lost her way. Obsessed with reclaiming her stolen throne, she forces her army to continue waging a futile war without pay or food. She has become what she hated: a heartless ruler. And the threat of rebellion begins to boil. To save Tilda from herself, Tankred forges a secret alliance with Hellier, the leader of the populous revolution. With their help, Tilda could win the war. But she’d have to give her power back to her people. Will Tilda realize the error of her ways and help her people be truly free? Or will the kingdom burn?

Chronicles the history of blues music from its emergence in the early 1900s through the twentieth century, and describes the musical accomplishments of Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, B.B. King, and others. Includes an audio CD.