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Archive for October 2018

1. Book Review: Wheels Within Wheels books 1-3

   If you are an occultist of any stripe, chances are you know what Chakras are. If you were interested in magic back in the 80’s and 90’s you definitely know what chakras are because they were covered in nearly every book on magic, witchcraft, Kabbalah, or occultism that was on the market, whether it made sense to cover them in the book or not. I still wonder if there was some kind of secret chakra tax-break for publishers in the 80’s. Unfortunately, what was written in those about chakras bore little resemblance to any teachings that originated in India. Like Karma, Tantra, and bland curry – the west put its own spin on it and never looked back to see if they got it right. Continue reading »

   

   October 25th 2018

   Posted by Jason Miller in Book reviews, History, Occult, Reviews, tantra

   Tags: chakras, Theosophy, Twisted Trunk

   1 comment »

2. What Theosophy did for us – I: Introduction

   This series is based on lectures I gave at Treadwells Bookshop of London in 2006, examining the Theosophical Society and its legacy on contemporary occulture.

   The Theosophical Society (TS) was the most influential of modern esoteric movements, not only for its role in shaping the contemporary occult subculture but in influencing the modern world as we know it. Over the course of this series of posts, I’ll be exploring different aspects of the Theosophical Society’s teachings and activities, and examining some of the more notable personalities associated with the Society, such as Annie Besant and Charles Webster Leadbeater. What I also want to attempt is to examine some of the beliefs which became associated with the Theosophical movement and place them in the context of wider currents stirring within the period. Continue reading »

   

   October 24th 2018

   Posted by Phil Hine in History, Occult

   Tags: nineteenth century, Orientalism, Theosophy

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3. Jottings: On Kubera, wealth and character

   I’ve been neglecting enfolding of late, as I’ve been absorbed in other writing projects that have diverted my attention (more of which, another time). It struck me recently though, that one way of getting back into a regular posting regime would be to try and write about some of the material I’ve been reading of late.

   Most recently, I’ve been doing some research on Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth. Google Kubera and you’ll see that he is indeed a popular Indian deity when it comes to petitioning the gods for matters of finance and money and there is an abundance of websites detailing Kubera’s mantras, yantras, and puja: even online pujaris willing to do Kubera Puja for you for a reasonable fee.

   You might expect then, for a god of wealth, there would be a corpus of material dealing with Kubera’s character and highlighting Kubera’s generosity and willingness to part with his treasures for the needy and the worthy. But no, it’s not that simple. Indeed, one might say that he has something of a reputation for being miserly. Some of the stories in which Kubera makes an appearance seem to me to indicate a tension in the relationship between wealth and the other major life-goals (Kama, Dharma, Moksha). Here are two sources which I think illustrate the complexity of Kubera and these tensions. Continue reading »

   

   October 12th 2018

   Posted by Phil Hine in tantra

   Tags: Ganesa, jottings, Kubera, reflections

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