Kirjahaku

This publication includes the first English translation of the 1310 biography of Hasan-i-Sabah by Rashid al-Din: The Biography of Our Master (Sar-Guzasht-i-Sayyidna)Hasan-i-Sabah was born in northern Persia around 1050 and died in 1124. He was an Ismaili missionary (or dai) who founded the Nizari Ismailis after the usurpation of the Fatimid Imamate by the military dictator of Egypt. It may be said that Hasan founded and operated the world's most successful mystical secret society, while building a political territory in which to maintain his independence. The small empire he created would be home to him, his followers, and their descendants for 166 years.Today, under the leadership of the Aga Khan, the Nizari Ismailis are one of the preeminent Muslim sects in the world, numbering some twenty million members in twenty-five countries.The medieval Nizaris were also known as Assassins or Hashishim. They became embedded in European consciousness because of their contact with the Knights Templar, and other Crusaders and visitors to the Near East. Several Europeans reported back with strange (and largely false) tales of the Assassins. In the fourteenth century, they were widely popularized by the famed Venetian traveler and writer Marco Polo in The Travels of Marco Polo. He added a whole new level of myth in his account of the sect (included in this volume along with extensive commentary).Of greatest interest is the idea that the Assassins were the spiritual initiators of the Knights Templar. If this is true, Hasan-i-Sabah would be in part responsible for the European Renaissance that would reclaim the spiritual centrality of the Hermetic writings and the Gnostic/Esoteric trends that continue to this day.Essential reading for an understanding of modern esoteric secret societies and today's headlines coming from the Middle East. Includes 9 maps.

A thousand years ago Christian battled Muslim for possession of a strip of land upon which both their religions were founded. These Crusades changed the course of Western history, but less known is the fact that they also were the meeting ground for two legendary secret societies: The Knights Templar and their Muslim counterparts, the Assassins. In The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven, occult scholar and secret society member James Wasserman provides compelling evidence that the interaction of the Knights Templar and the Assassins in the Holy Land transformed the Templars from the Pope's private army into a true occult society, from which they would sow the seeds of the Renaissance and the Western Mystery Tradition. Both orders were destroyed as heretical some seven hundred years ago, but Templar survivors are believed to have carried the secret teachings of the East into an occult underground, from which sprang both Rosicrucianism and Masonry. Assassin survivors, known as Nizari Ismailis, flourish to this day under the spiritual leadership of the Aga Khan. Wasserman strips the myths from both groups and penetrates to the heart of their enlightened beliefs and rigorous practices, delivering the most probing picture yet of these holy warriors.

A beautifully illustrated lexicon of the major symbology of the great esoteric traditions. Symbol, in the esoteric sense, is not to be confused with allegory; symbolic images are the alphabet of the "theory of correspondences" that underlies all the Mystery traditions of the West. This theory recognises the interdependent relationship of all things and provides, for example, the basis of the belief that the position of the stars in the heavens will influence our thought, emotion and perception. It, also, explains how the alchemist's work with base metals will result in a transformation of his own consciousness. In "The Mystery Traditions", James Wasserman offers a full-colour lexicon of occult imagery drawn from the Kabbalah and tarot as well as the traditions of magic, alchemy and astrology, accompanied by commentary on each image's significance and the wisdom teachings from which it derives. In this new edition, he, also, looks at the pivotal role played by secret societies in safeguarding and transmitting these teachings and presents rarely seen artefacts of these societies.Among the splendid offerings in this collection are all 22 paintings of the mediaeval, alchemical masterpiece, Splendor Solis, in full colour and works by significant artists and esoteric thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Fludd, Austin Osman Spare, Harry Smith, Manly P Hall and Raymond Lull. This book provides an excellent introduction to the timeless and hidden dimensions of occult practice. An extensive bibliography of classical occult works also complements this unique collection. This is a revised and expanded edition of "Art and Symbols of the Occult".

In this daring expos by a survivor of a unique era in the New York occult scene, James Wasserman, a longtime proponent of the teachings of Aleister Crowley, brings us into a world of candlelit temples, burning incense, and sonorous invocations. The author also shares an intimate look at the New York Underground of the 1970s and introduces us to the company of such avant-garde luminaries as Alejandro Jodorowsky, Harry Smith, and Angus MacLise. A stone's throw away from the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol's Factory, William Burroughs' "bunker," and the legendary Chelsea Hotel was a scene far more esoteric than perhaps even they could have imagined. When James Wasserman joined the O.T.O. in 1976, there were fewer than a dozen members. Today the Order numbers over 4,000 members in 50 countries and has been responsible for a series of ground-breaking publications of Crowley's works. The author founded New York City's TAHUTI Lodge in 1979. He chronicles its early history and provides a window into the heyday of the Manhattan esoteric community. He also breaks his decades of silence concerning one of the most seminal events in the development of the modern Thelemic movement -- detailing his role in the 1976 magical battle between Marcelo Motta and Grady McMurtry. Long slandered for his effort to heal the temporary breach between the Orders of A.'.A.'. and O.T.O., James Wasserman sets the record straight. And, he meticulously chronicles the copyright contest over the Crowley literary estate--of which he was an important participant. This is also a saga with a very human tableau filled with tender romance, passionate friendships, an abiding spiritual hunger, danger, passion, and ecstasy. It also explores several hidden magical byways including the rituals of Voodoo, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism. Finally we are given a bird's eye view of the 1960s hippie culture and its excesses of sex and drugs, and rock n roll--along with the personal transformations and penalties such a lifestyle brought forth. Reconstructed from personal memories, magical diaries, multiple interviews, court transcripts, witness depositions, trial evidence, and extensive correspondence, this book elucidates a hitherto misreported and ill-understood nexus of modern magical history. It also shares tales of a mythical moment in American life as seen through the eyes of an enthusiastic participant in the hip culture of the day.

The spiritual heart of many esoteric societies, the Temple of Solomon was located on top of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a site venerated by the three great monotheistic religions as the intersection of Divine and human. Built by King Solomon at the peak of ancient Israel's power, the Temple of Solomon housed the golden Ark of the Covenant in its Holy of Holies, a sacred chamber where one could communicate directly with God. Centuries after the temple's destruction, the Temple Mount was used as the headquarters for the Knights Templar during the Crusades and countless legends have come down through the centuries about the secrets they may have uncovered there, including discovery of the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. Richly illustrated with biblical and Masonic illustrations, photographs and ancient and modern paintings - many from rare archives - this book explores the Temple of Solomon in the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament and Apocryphal writings as well as its role in the founding of Freemasonry, the legends of the Knights Templar, the doctrines of the Kabbalah and Muhammad's visionary journey from the Temple Mount through the heavens. Seeking to understand the powerful desire of many religions and secret societies to re-create the temple through ritual and prayer, James Wasserman explains why it was built, the magical forces King Solomon may have used in its creation, what its destruction meant for Jews and Christians alike and why the Knights Templar as well as several modern secret societies named their orders after it. Detailing the sacred architecture of this perfectly proportioned mystical edifice through words and art, the author reveals the Temple of Solomon as the affirmation of God's presence in human affairs, the spiritual root of Western culture and an important monument to the Divine nearly forgotten in today's secular times but sorely needed to bridge the divide between our ancient past and our spiritual future. . Examines the Temple of Solomon in the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, and Apocryphal writings . Explores its role in the founding of Freemasonry, the legends of the Knights Templar, the doctrines of the Kabbalah and the teachings of Islam . Explains the sacred nature of the Temple Mount--the site of the Temple of Solomon--and the secrets that may still be hidden there . Richly illustrated, including many photos and images from rare archives A comprehensive and lavishly illustrated book about the history of the Temple of Solomon from a historical and cultural perspective and drawing on many Old Testament books and other historical sources. The significance of the Temple is present in esoteric and secret societies, for instance as an archetype in the rites of Freemasonry, the legends of the Knights Templar and in the teachings of the Kabbalah and Islam. The author proposes that the Temple represents the affirmation of God's presence in human affairs as well as being the spiritual root of Western culture. This is surely the definitive work on the subject. David Lorimer, The Scientific and Medical Network UK