Weiser Classics

"If you really want to learn the basic principles of practical alchemy, Frater Albertus' Alchemist's Handbook is literally is worth its weight in gold."-from the foreword by Israel Regardie, author of The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic OrderThe Alchemist's Handbook has long been considered a modern-day classic on the actual practice of alchemy since its first publication in 1960. The book still stands as a groundbreaking work presenting in clear, concise language a practical manual of working knowledge that was formerly handed down only under oath of secrecy.The scope of alchemical work is to provide both a means to synthesize all the other sciences and the necessary training of the intellectual and spiritual faculties. "Hermetic philosophy, with its practical arcanum," writes Frater Albertus, "repeats itself over and over again in the ancient axiom 'As above, so below. As below, so above.'"The Alchemist's Handbook discusses in detail:•The basic fundamental principles of alchemy.•A guide to the formation of an inexpensive home laboratory with illustrations of the necessary equipment.•Step-by-step instructions for the work of the Lesser Circulation, the alchemical transformation within the plant kingdom. "The teachings of Frater Albertus are part of a lineage that traces back to Rosicrucian sources and much earlier and The Alchemist's Handbook is still the best introduction to that lineage. If you feel the call of Alchemy and want real information on the subject, this is definitely the book you will want to read, reread, and read again. It may just turn out to be the book that changes your life."-From the foreword by Robert Allen Bartlett, author of Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical AlchemyFirst published by Weiser Books in 1974, this new Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Robert Allen Bartlett, author of Real Alchemy.

"Those of us who use the word witch with all of the pride and fortification that it offers us do so thanks to Gardner's lucid, liberating vision."-Pam Grossman, author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power Often called the father of modern witchcraft, Gerald Gardner's life and works were ground-breaking in opening the door for the modern revival of Wicca and neo-paganism. The Meaning of Witchcraft (originally published in 1959) was the first sympathetic book written from the point of view of a practicing witch. "The foundation of magical beliefs," Gardner wrote, "of which witchcraft is a form, is that unseen Powers exist, and that by performing the right sort of ritual, these Powers can be contacted and either forced or persuaded to assist one in some way. People believed this in the Stone Age, and they believe it, consciously or not, today. It is now well known that most superstition is, in fact, broken-down ritual. The meaning of witchcraft is to be found not in strange religious theories about God and Satan but in the deepest levels of the human mind, the collective unconscious, and the earliest developments of human society."The Meaning of Witchcraft is an enduring and invaluable source book for witches today. This Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Pam Grossman, author of Waking the Witch. In it, Grossman revisits the historical role and mixed legacy that Gardner has played in the revival of witchcraft and magic in modern times.

A concise and poetic rendering that conveys the essence and depth of this perennial classic of yoga. "This beautiful, poetic rendition of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras was gathered from Mukunda's lifetime of abiding in the good company of the saints and sages of the Great Tradition. We can rely upon the fact that these words come from his own authentic experience of love and life and of Yoga. Please enjoy this gift of poetry from Mukunda and embrace the beauty of your life every day." -Mark Whitwell, author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of Intimate Connection Patanjali is to yoga what the Buddha is to Buddhism. His yoga sutras-literally "the path to transcendence"-are a means to profound self-realization and are considered the spiritual and philosophical root of the yoga tradition in its various forms. This concise, poetic rendering of the classic Yoga Sutra text conveys both the essence and depth of the yoga tradition. Mukunda Stiles had a lifelong devotion to the spiritual practice of yoga. Here, he shares Patanjali's essential work with precision and insight. He also includes a succinct line-for-line commentary, as well as word-by-word Sanskrit-to-English translation.

The essential work on the practice of chaos magic, one of the fastest growing areas of Western occultism. The practice of chaos magic is clearly outlined here by Peter Carroll. His approach combines methods from shamanism, paganism, and chaos science. The book includes a selection of extremely powerful rituals and exercises for committed occultists with instructions that lead the reader through new concepts and practices. This new Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Ronald Hutton, author of The Triumph of the Moon.

A groundbreaking work that offers deep insights and astrological techniques for bringing the future to light. Predictive Astrology shows the reader how to use Time Maps to approach to the fate of the transits, and includes new methods for calibrating and filtering progressions, returns of all kinds, eclipses, and planetary areas. By combining these techniques, you can reveal the future and put various aspects of your life into perspective. Offering many new techniques and concepts, this classic groundbreaking work (first published in 1976) is finding a new and growing audience. The book brings predictive astrology into a world of its own.

Recipes, rituals, and practices for getting rid of negative energy. Everyone, at one time or another, has met an individual who appears to be surrounded by negativity, or has visited a place that seems imbued with "bad vibrations." Removing these negative vibrations is what spiritual cleansing is all about. Magic practitioner Draja Mickaharic offers simple and effective solutions drawn from every ethnic group and spiritual practice. Spiritual Cleansing shows readers how to: • Use incense and flowers to clear the air after arguments • Protect yourself from negative energy while you sleep • Cleanse a previous tenant's vibrations from your house or apartment • Use cleansing baths for luck, love, and financial improvement • Counteract the evil eye Spiritual Cleansing is an essential guide for anyone who wants to keep their life and their environment spiritually clean and protected.

A friendly and practical guide to spellcasting from one of today's most trusted and beloved teachers of witchcraft. Practical, inspirational, and comprehensive, Pure Magic is a useful tool and resource for beginners and experienced devotees of the magical arts. Here in one majestic volume is a basic introduction to magic; a psychic glossary; a primer on the four elements, colors, and magical supplies (including minerals and botanicals); and a compendium of spells for any situation you may face. With Judika Illes as your guide, you will learn how to enhance your psychic power, cleanse your aura, protect yourself from malevolent powers, and create and use a wide variety of spells. There are spells for marriage, fertility, pregnancy prevention, babies and children, money, healing, and transitioning to the next life. These are spells that will help make life easier, more productive, and stress-free.

Saturn's darker persona is recognized universally in myth and fairytale. In this classic astrology text, renowned astrologer and Jungian analyst Liz Greene offers a fresh perspective on how to handle the influence of this much-maligned astrological symbol. In Saturn, Greene shows us how the frustrating experiences connected to this planet can be turned into opportunities for greater insight and meaning in our lives. Saturn, she says, symbolizes a psychic process-one that allows us to utilize the experience of pain for self-discovery and a more fulfilling and complete life. Greene retraces Saturn's character through sign, house, aspect, and synastry in a brilliant analysis that reveals his other face: that of the initiator who, for the price of our honesty with ourselves, offers us greater consciousness, self-understanding, and, eventually, freedom.

An accessible, in-depth exploration of the runes as a living spiritual tradition. Diana Paxson has distilled her many years of experience working with the runes into this essential source book. Readers will learn the historical meaning of each individual rune and its use and meaning now, in contemporary culture. But, Paxson reveals, the real power of the runes comes from internalizing them and using their symbols as sources of wisdom and power. At the end of each chapter are rituals and spells for all levels of ability that aim to help internalize the attributions, meanings, symbolism, and use of the runes. Everything regarding runes is covered in this definitive workbook, from the history of runes and how to make your own rune sets, to how to work with them on a psychic, spiritual, and magical level.

The classic guide to living a spiritual life rooted in Celtic antiquity and revived to meet the challenges of contemporary life. Druidry offers people a path of harmony through reconnection with the green Earth. The Druidry Handbook is the first hands-on manual of traditional British druid practice that explores the Sun Path of seasonal celebration, the Moon Path of meditation, and the Earth Path of living in harmony with nature as tools for crafting an Earth-honoring life here and now. From ritual and meditation to nature awareness and ecological action, John Michael Greer opens the door to a spirituality rooted in the living Earth. Featuring a mix of philosophy, rituals, spiritual practice, and lifestyle issues, The Druidry Handbook is an essential guide for those seriously interested in practicing a traditional form of druidry. It offers equal value to eclectics and solitary practitioners eager to incorporate more Earth-based spirituality into their own belief system.

A new, updated edition of the essential guide to the practice of the runes as a magical tool for spiritual development. In Futhark, rune master Edred Thorsson reinitiates us into our heritage, explaining the mysteries of a profound system of thought and practice that underlies our developing Western culture. Futhark covers both the spiritual heritage of ancient runic lore and the practical steps we can take to draw on rune power. This complete book of rune instruction includes rune history and lore, its basis in metaphysical thought and mysticism, complete definitions of the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark, and the etymology, phonetic value, and interpretation of each rune. The reader will learn how to perform chants and rituals using runic energy, how to sign and send runes, and how to practice runic meditation. The author's presentation of this powerful system is lucid and profound, and provides a valuable tool for spiritual transformation and self-development.

An herbal magick grimoire of philtres, elixirs, essential oils, incense, and formulas with dozens of recipes from a trusted author. Herbs have been used for medicine, magic, and ritual for centuries. The ancient arts of herbal alchemy and herbal magick combine the healing and energizing effects of herbs (roots, leaves, flowers, resins, and essential oils) with the cycles of the natural world-the astrological movement of the stars and planets, and the cycles of the earth's seasons. In this easy-to-use compendium of herbs and their energy associations, master herbalist and magick practitioner Karen Harrison offers formulas anyone can use to obtain courage, creativity, lasting health, prosperity, and enhanced psychic and spiritual powers. Harrison shows how to select herbs based on their astrological associations as well as their medicinal properties. With a materia magica of more than 150 herbs and a multitude of recipes, readers will learn how to blend incense, ceremonial oils, bath salts, herbal amulets, fluid condensers, and herbal philtres and how to use them in meditation, ritual, or energy work.

A Weiser Classics edition of this occult classic-celebrating its 90th publishing anniversary-includes a new introduction by Mary K. Greer and other new material. After finding herself the subject of a powerful psychic attack in the 1930s, famed British occultist Dion Fortune wrote this detailed instruction manual on protecting oneself from paranormal attack. This classic psychic self-defense guide explains how to understand the signs of a psychic attack, vampirism, hauntings, and methods of defense. Everything you need to know about the methods, motives, and physical aspects of a psychic attack and how to overcome it is here, along with a look at the role psychic elements play in mental illness and how to recognize them. This is one of the best guides to detection and defense against psychic attack from one of the leading occult writers of the twentieth century.

An in-depth but highly readable account of Pluto in the natal chart and how Pluto aspects can affect childhood, adulthood, and life in general. Pluto's energy is extremely potent and powerful. Within Astrology, it is considered to be a "generational planet" as it influences both individuals and entire generations. The planet governs our compulsive behavior, all those things we know we shouldn't do but feel compelled to do anyway. It also represents the hidden dimension of our emotional lives, all the parts of ourselves that we'd rather bury in our subconscious and not reveal to others. In “Healing Pluto Problems”, Donna Cunningham explains how Pluto functions in the birth chart and shows how Plutonian problems can manifest. Cunningham presents her material with warmth and compassion, without avoiding the tough lessons that Pluto has to offer. Cunningham addresses such topics as: • Guilt, resentment, and fear • Emotional secrets and their contribution to self-isolation • Incest, abuse, and domestic violence • Pluto and the need for power and control • The psychology of being a victim • Death and transformation • The consequences of avoiding grief Interested not only in diagnosing Pluto problems, Cunningham also gives us tools for healing those problems-affirmations, flower remedies, exercises for working with the chakras-and shows us how to use Pluto transits for growth.

The Classic Guide to Thelema, Aleister Crowley's Spiritual System of Ritual Magick This is the perfect introductory text for readers who wonder what the works-rather than the myth-of Aleister Crowley are all about. DuQuette begins by dispatching some of the myths that have surrounded Crowley's life and legend. He then explores the practice of rituals themselves, unpacking Crowley's often opaque writing and offering his own commentary. Step by step, and in plain English, he presents a course of study with examples of rituals and explanations of their significance. DuQuette also includes a survey of many of Crowley's original works with an extensive bibliography and endnotes.

A richly detailed in-depth look at "fixed stars" and their role in affecting astrological predictions. Here, celebrated astrologer Bernadette Brady melds modern techniques with Egyptian and early Greek procedures and mythology so astrologers can apply these techniques to modern chart interpretation. Her methods open a window on the fixed stars, revealing how a major star in a person's chart indicates the stage of life in which it is active, and how it reveals the person's life journey through the mythology that the star represents. The book includes: • Paran Maps and Star Phases for over sixty stars • New insights into the natal use of fixed stars, as well as their use in mundane astrology • Extensive appendices of Heliacal Rising and Acronychal Setting graphs and tables to help astrologers find rising or setting dates for any given location • A listing of 176 stars with their 21st-century Ptolemaic processed positions versus their commonly-considered positions. Originally published by Weiser Books in 1999, this new Weiser Classics edition is newly typeset and redesigned. It includes a new foreword by Chloe Margherita, a practicing astrologer with an in-depth appreciation of the fixed stars.

An introduction to the spiritual source of the beliefs and practices that have so profoundly shaped African American religious traditions.Most of the Africans who were enslaved and brought to the Americas were from the Yoruba nation of West Africa, an ancient and vast civilization. In the diaspora caused by the slave trade, the guiding concepts of the Yoruba spiritual tradition took root in Haiti, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States.In this accessible introduction, Baba Ifa Karade provides an overview of the Yoruba tradition and its influence in the West. He describes the sixteen Orisha, or spirit gods, and shows us how to work with divination, use the energy centers of the body to internalize the teachings of Yoruba, and create a sacred place of worship. The book also includes prayers, dances, songs, offerings, and sacrifices to honor the Orisha.

An occult classic and a Dion Fortune bestseller of strongly growing interest. Fortune was one of the first to bring this "secret tradition" to a wider audience with her clear and comprehensive exploration of the Qabalah tradition. The Mystical Qabalah remains a classic in its clarity, linking the broad elements of Jewish traditional thought-probably going back to the Babylonian captivity and beyond-with both Eastern and Western philosophy and later Christian insights. The Qabalah could be described as a confidential Judaic explanation of the paradox of "the Many and the One"-the complexity and diversity within a monotheistic unity. Whereas the Old Testament outlines the social and psychological development of a tightly knit "chosen group" culture, the supplementary Qabalah provides a detailed plan of the infrastructure behind the creative evolutionary process.The Mystical Qabalah devotes a chapter to each of the ten schematic "God-names," the qualities or Sephiroth which focus on the principal archetypes behind evolving human activity: the Spiritual Source; the principles of Force and Form; Love and Justice; the Integrative principle or the Christ Force; Aesthetics and Logic; the dynamics of the Psyche; and, finally, the Manifestation of life on Earth in a physical body.

An essential companion to one of the most popular and influential tarot decks, the Thoth Tarot, created by Lady Frieda Harris and Aleister Crowley, now featuring new high-quality reproductions of the cards. The seventy-eight cards of the Thoth Tarot were painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from famed occult scholar Aleister Crowley. The result is a magnificent art deco work rich in Egyptian symbolism, alchemy, and magic, and which contains kabalistic and astrological attributions. Tarot: Mirror of the Soul provides an accessible guide to the Crowley/Harris Thoth Tarot. It explores different ways of working with the cards, guiding your inner exploration, sometimes pointing the way when handling daily situations or making difficult decisions. Author Gerd Ziegler has studied and practiced humanistic and spiritual therapy in depth. First published by Weiser Books in 1988, Tarot: Mirror of the Soul remains a widely respected classic on the interpretation of the Crowley/Harris Thoth Tarot. This Weiser Classics edition features new high-quality reproductions of the original cards as well as an in-depth appreciation of the deck's meaning and relevance by Diane Champigny.