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Available February 2005
Geomancy
A Method of Divination
Franz Hartmann
Preface by
Edward Dunning
About the author
An Ibis Press Book
Over 10 black
and white illustrations
256 pp. • 5 ½ x 8 ½
ISBN: 0-89254-101-6
Paper, $14.95
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Geomancy, or “divining by means of the earth,” was originally carried out by scattering a handful of earth and interpreting the resulting patterns. Today the symbols are compiled by making four rows of dots on paper and noting whether the result is odd or even. Odd numbers give us one dot, even numbers, two. Each result is placed on top of the next to make up one geomantic figure. A complete geomantic reading consists of 15 figures. There are 16 geomantic symbols that correspond to planetary energies and zodiacal signs. The book explains the symbols, how to compile them, and how to read them. The three geomancy methods described herein are very simple but provide different levels of information. There’s the basic chart for beginners, an astrological method for more in-depth information, and an astronomical method for those more experienced in astrological symbolism. Included are 2,048 answers to 16 common questions and blank geomantic charts that you can photocopy to use for your divinations. Readers don’t need to know astrology to use this book, for Hartmann provides a basic astrological primer along with his instructions. This reprint of the 1913 edition text has been newly typeset and reorganized for easier comprehension. As such, it is sure to revive interest in a surprisingly little-known and overlooked divination method.
Franz Hartmann (1838–1912) was a Bavarian-American physician and occultist and was purported to be one of the co-founders of the O.T.O. He is the author of several books including With the Adepts (published by Ibis Press in 2003).
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The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy
Introduction and commentary by
Stephen Skinner
Based on the 1655 Translation by
Robert Turner
About the Author
An Ibis Press Book
256 pages • 6 x 9
Several black and
white illustrations
ISBN: 0-89254-100-8
Hardcover with jacket, $40.00
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This book is a milestone in Western magical practice. It was first translated into English in 1655 by Robert Turner. Often erroneously called a forgery, it is in fact six separate books in one, two of which are by Agrippa (1486-1535). One of them, Of Magical Ceremonies, is Agrippa’s clearest step-by-step formulation of how to perform an evocation, much more openly expressed than in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy. In addition, there is the key grimoire, Of the Magick of the Ancients, which clearly defines the different types of magic, focusing on the invocation of angels and of the Olympic spirits. The Heptameron by Peter de Abano is a complete, self-contained set of instructions for conjuration of spirits according to the day of the week. Also included is Villinganus’ work on the nature of spirits, illusions, prophecies, and miracles, and how they may be used. Two geomancies (one by Agrippa, and the other by Gerard of Cremona) complete the volume, which has been reset in modern type.
Stephen Skinner’s introduction places these works in their historical context and dispels the controversy regarding the book's authenticity. He has formatted the book to facilitate reader’s comprehension and has added commentary to explain some of the archaic as well as esoteric terms used in the texts. This hardcover edition, smythe sewn and printed on acid-free paper for durability, is sure to become a collector’s item
Stephen Skinner is an Australian whose long term interest has always been Western magic. He has written more than 20 books. With Francis King, he wrote the classic Techniques of High Magic and Nostradamus. During the 1970s, he was the driving force behind Askin Publishers, producing lovely collector's editions of a number of classic magical works such as The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy and Archidoxes of Magic, both re-released by Ibis Press. He also published the first reprint of Casaubon’s True and Faithful Relation in a quarter leather edition. Skinner's latest book, written with David Rankine, is The Practical Angel Magic of Dr. John Dee's Enochian Tables, published by Golden Hoard Press (www.goldenhoard.net). The Learn more about Stephen Skinner at www.sskinner.com. He lives near Singapore.
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Available
February 2005
A Call to Compassion
Bringing Buddhist Practices of the
Heart into the Soul of Psychology
Aura Glaser
About the author
Foreword by
Robert A. F. Thurman.
256 pp. • 6 x 9
ISBN 0-89254-116-4
Paper, $16.95
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| Aura Glaser wrote this book to address an area that is virtually neglected in the field of psychology—the value and importance of compassion. Other books exploring Buddhism and psychology have focused on what the Theravada school of Buddhism, which teaches personal liberation, can offer psychology. A Call to Compassion works with Mahayana Buddhism, where practitioners commit to the liberation of all sentient beings, and compassion is central to attaining that goal. In her fascinating and exceptionally clear and concise review of the work of Freud, Jung, and others, Glaser shows how psychology has been ambivalent about the subject of compassion, and therefore has developed no methodology for helping individuals cultivate this essential quality. As a remedy, Glaser introduces the Buddhist practice of the lojong, expressed in the text of The Seven Points of Mind Training, for developing love and compassion. She focuses on four major points: compassion for self; compassion for others; exchanging self and others; and no self and no other. She illustrates these with modern-day life examples, affirming that these points are indeed attainable. If we make the effort to contemplate, understand, and truly integrate these four essentials, we will have a sound basis for both psychological health and genuine transformation.
Aura Glaser holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, a M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the Center for Humanistic Studies, and a B.A. in Women's Studies from the University of Michigan. In the late 1970s, she traveled to India where she began to study and practice Tibetan Buddhism. One of the foremost students of Gehlek Rimpoche, she is a teacher and a co-founder of Jewel Heart, an international Buddhist organization.
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Available March 2005
The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt
William R. Cooper
About the Author
An Ibis Press
Western Mystery Tradition Series Book
104 pp. • 5 ½ x 8 ½
129 line illustrations
ISBN 0-89254-139-3
Paper, $10.95
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W. R. Cooper was one of the founders and Secretary of the society of Biblical Archaeology. He was a member of the Victoria Institute to which he presented The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt. Cooper’s focus is on the serpent myth and ideology in ancient Egypt and how this applies to the Ritual of the Dead. He supports his study with copious illustrations showing the two aspects of the serpent: as protector and destroyer. A group discussion with the themes of the serpent in history and myths of other cultures is in included in the appendix,as well as lists of names of serpents and serpent deites and their epithets applied in the Ritual of the Dead. Through this exploration of the serpent symbolism in ancient Egypt, we are also shown intimations of the coming Christian age.
William Ricketts Cooper (1843-1878) went from being a fabric designer to home Misionary and then amateur Egyptologist. He was one of the founders and the Secretary of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt was the first of his five books (Short History of Egyptian Obelisks, 1878, was his last). He is the translator of Lenormant’s Chaldean Magic, published by Weiser.
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Available April 2005
The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage with
The Book of Truth & The Sparkling Stone
Jan van Ruysbroeck
Translated by
C. A. Wynschenk Dom
Introduction by
Allan Armstrong
About the author
An Ibis Press
Western Mystery Tradition Series Book
320 pp. • 5 ½ x 8 ½
ISBN 0-89254-140-7
Paper, $16.95
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This volume contains three of Jan van Ruysbroeck’s best works: The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage; The Sparkling Stone; and The Book of Truth. These works are remarkable for their combination of lofty spiritual philosophy and robust common sense. In The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, he traces the gradual development of the soul, through the active life of Christian virtue, the interior life of contemplation, and the superessential life of union with God. The Sparkling Stone, he further elaborates some of the more difficult passages in The Adornment, and The Book of Truth was written as a refutation of the accusation that his work suppported a pantheistic and heretical view of the union of soul with God. St. Paul and St. Augustine were van Ruysbroeck’s primary influences, and he was driven to speak out on the mystical life in reaction to the rising of heretical sects in the lowlands of Belgium early in the 14th century that were preaching a quietism of “the most soul-destroying kind.” It is especially relevant for us to reinvestigate van Ruysbroeck's wisdom now.
Jan van Ruysbroeck (1273-1381) was born in the town from which he took his name, near Brussels. He was ordained in 1317 at St. Gudule where he remained 26 years before establishing a priory in Groenendael. He discovered intimation of divinity thorugh the loving contemplation of natural things. His extraordinary ability to give verbal and artistic expression to his soaring intuitions of eternity make his works timeless and valuable to the many generations that have followed him.
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