Nostalgia

"No disease is so full of variations, so changeable in symptoms, so made up out of ideas opposed to, nay, rather, at war with one another, as is the disease called Superstition. We must therefore fly from it, but in a safe way and to our own good - not like those who, running away from the attack of highwaymen, or wild beasts, or a fire, have entangled themselves in mazes leading to pitfalls and precipices. For thus some people, when running away from Superstition, fall headlong into atheism, both rugged and obstinate, and leap over that which lies between the two, namely, true Religion." - Plutarch     The so-called Pagans of the ancient world believed in a highest God above all creation, with the gods and lesser spiritual powers being manifestations of various aspects of His/Its Being, and the various cults as paths of spiritual power, moral development, and methods of both raising and grounding the true human being with the ultimate reality.

There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad. But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of me mind of Ilúvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony. And it came to pass that Ilúvatar called together all the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to them things greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the Ainur, so that they bowed before Ilúvatar and were silent. Then Ilúvatar said to them: 'Of the theme that ...

Yea, there is That which is the End-of-understanding, the "That" which thou must understand with the flower of the mind. For should’st thou turn thy mind inwards on It, and understand It as understanding “something,” thou shalt not understand It. For that there is a power of the mind’s prime that shineth forth in all directions, flashing with intellectual rays. Yet, in good sooth, thou should’st not strive with vehemence to understand that End-of-understanding, nor even with the wide-extended flame of wide-extended-mind that measures all things—except that End-of-under-standing only. Indeed, there is no need of strain in understanding this; but thou should’st have the vision of thy soul in purity, turned from aught else, so as to make thy mind empty of all things else, attentive to that End, in order that thou mayest learn that End-of-understanding; for It subsists beyond the mind.  - Chaldean Oracles The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao The name ...

   "I stood there quietly contemplating the clock tower, the low balcony and the tiny square. No one else was there, and it seemed as though time had stopped. Then a cat appeared and walked slowly and deliberately towards the balcony; it then stopped and lay down beneath it. A few moments later, I heard the sound of footsteps, and a man emerged from one of the narrow streets and came into the square; his presence there seemed to increase the stasis of the scene and he stood out  alone against his surroundings, seemingly isolated from them. As I stood there, I remembered another sight in the ancient city of Patan, near Kathmandu in Nepal, where there is also a square. The pagodas and palaces which enclose it have curved roofs which stand out against the blue sky and the snows of the Himalayas in the distance. The square is decorated with golden statues, and the buildings are covered with wood carvings representing scenes of love. When I was there, the courtyards an...

The Tree, the Serpent, and the Titans - from  The Hermetic Tradition by Julius Evola    One of the symbols that we encounter in diverse traditions remote in both time and space is that of the tree. Metaphysically, the tree expresses the universal force that spreads out in manifestation the same way that the plant energy spreads out from its invisible roots to the trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit. Consistently associated with the tree are on the one hand, ideas of immortality and supernatural consciousness, and on the other, symbols of mortal, destructive forces and frightening natures such as dragons, serpents, or demons. There also exists a whole cycle of mythological references to dramatic events in which the tree plays a central part and in whose allegory profound meanings are hidden. The biblical myth of the fall of Adam, among others, is well known. Let us highlight some of its variants, but not without first pointing out the universality of the symbolic...

View Part One here.    But the religious view is not the only one. As we have already shown above, this point of view is associated with a humanized and secularized variation on the "sacerdotal" (as opposed to "royal") tradition and is in no way superior to the other - the heroic - which has been affirmed in both Eastern and Western traditions and whose spirit is reflected in great measure by hermetism. One exegesis gives us, in fact, the "rod of Hermes" [footnote: In Athenagoras we find also an interference in the heroic cycle of Hercules; the one in which Rhea is bound by the "rope of Hercules"] as a symbol of the union of a son (Zeus) with his mother (Rhea, symbol of the universal force), whom he has won after killing the father and usurping his kingdom: this is the symbol of "philosophic incest" that we shall encounter in all of the hermetic literature. Hermes himself is, of course, the messenger of the gods, but he is also t...

The watery grave of tears. O you, field of wheat  Turn away no more.                                      The only representative of God on earth Why dost thou turn away? The starry floor,                                                        is the soul. - Meister Eckhart The watery shore Is Thine til the break of day. INTRODUCTION    This work has all of the defects that are needed to defeat time. Truly, I was forced to write it in this way. In accordance with prescribed limitations, but I have been permitted to reveal the Martial Initiation of A-Mor.    The whole of my creative work falls outside the boundaries of any literary theme; it is neither a poem, nor a novel, nor an essay of philosophy, rather ...

Here's an ode for you and I A chant and a love that never sway In the winter snow in the summer sun By the rising moon By the setting dawn By our will and misanthropy By the road left behind and what will be Through blood and tears And nights without measure Here's an ode for you and I A chant and a love that never sway In the winter snow in the summer sun By the rising moon By the setting dawn