The Magic Christian

In this important study of the meaning of the Grail, one of Europe's greatest esoteric philosophers discloses the pre-Christian and initiatic sources of this symbolic motif that is so central to Western mythology and culture. He demonstrates how the main features of the legend are from an older tradition analogous to the great heroic sagas and cycles of the North, and that the Grail itself is a symbol of initiation.

Bringing together as it does papers delivered at the 1986 and 1987 meetings of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas Pseudepigrapha Seminar, this collection takes as its theme the Testament of Job.

Though the Celtic civilization has long disappeared, lingering traces of their spirituality haunt Ireland and the surrounding land. Tantalizing snippets of faded manuscript pages, ancient stone carvings, and spells from the mystery-shrouded Druids have sparked the imagination of generations of modern seekers. In Celtic Spirituality, acclaimed translator Philip Freeman allows the voices of the Celts to speak once more.

Stories of poltergeists and their mischievous and sometimes violent actions–knocking, stone or chair throwing, moving objects with invisible hands, and slamming or opening doors–are a constant through the ages. What changes is how we interpret this activity. For our pagan ancestors this phenomenon was caused by helper spirits whose manifestations revealed their unhappiness with a household. The medieval Christian church demonized these once helpful spirits and held exorcisms to expel them from the houses they haunted–which proved effective less than half the time. The Age of Enlightenment cast these incidents as clever hoaxes, and many still believe this today. But poltergeist manifestations continue to appear and often defy attempts to debunk them as pranks. What then is behind this phenomenon?