Showing results by narrator "Matthew Schmitz" in All Categories

For long I have been spending much of my time in a world of great beauty of thought and purity of feeling, created by the devotion and intelligence of one of the many theosophical fraternities of the ancient world. They called themselves disciples of Thrice-greatest Hermes, and sometimes spoke of their faith as the Religion of the Mind. They were prior to and contemporary with the origins and earliest centuries of Christianity, and they lived in Egypt.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The Story of Aridæus is the most detailed and graphic Vision of Hades preserved to us from classical antiquity, and exceeds in interest even Plato’s Story of Er and Cicero’s Dream of Scipio, not to speak of the less known Visions of Krates and of Zosimus. It brings to a striking conclusion the instructive treatise of Plutarch, the Greek title of which may be rendered, On the Delay of the Deity in Punishing the Wicked or On the Delay of Divine Justice."

William Lilly (May 11, 1602–June 9, 1681), was a famed English astrologer and occultist during his time. Lilly was particularly adept at interpreting the astrological charts drawn up for horary questions, as this was his specialty. He caused much controversy in 1666 for allegedly predicting the Great Fire of London some 14 years before it happened. For this reason, many people believed that he may have started the fire, but there is no evidence to support these claims.

This book having worth enough in itself needs not my commendation, this author in his lifetime being an eminent physician and most able philosopher as the discourse itself can best testify. The author builds on good principles, so that his theory is as true as it is plausible; and I presume he aimed at nothing more, leaving all particulars and their application to the industry of his listeners. He is sometimes pleased to descend to examples, but to such only as are natural, and they indeed are good to teach but hard to imitate. We see not all that nature does.

From the author of the landmark Secret Teachings of All Ages comes two classic works on the mysterious origins and unique mission of America: The Secret Destiny of America and America’s Assignment with Destiny. Focusing on often-forgotten moments in history, Manley P. Hall proposes that there was a Great Plan put forth one thousand years before our nation’s founding: humanistic and mystical organizations wished for the continent to be the location for an experiment in self-government and religious freedom.

The Star-Treader and Other Poems - Clark Ashton Smith. Clark Ashton Smith was a poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories. It is for these stories, and his literary friendship with H. P. Lovecraft from 1922 until Lovecraft's death in 1937, that he is mainly remembered today. With Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, also a friend and correspondent, Smith remains one of the most famous contributors to the pulp magazine Weird Tales. This early volume of Clark Ashton Smith's poetry was published when he was only nineteen years old."

Dated to the late 18th century, the book is divided into 12 sections representing the 12 zodiacal signs. The veiled content is said to refer to an allegorical initiation, detailing many Kabbalistic, alchemical, and masonic mysteries.

This lecture The Larger Consciousness was delivered at the 12th annual convention of the Indian section of the Theosophical society, held at Benares in December 1902. This year we are going to study together a subject of vital importance to the thoughtful, to the earnest, to those who desire to serve humanity, to those who wish to help the race forward in its evolution.

Five fantastical tales from the mind of H. P. Lovecraft that center around a theme of illicit substances: some used to transcend the veil of reality, some used to keep one's sanity in check. All of the stories are quite psychedelic and unreal, quite mystical, and quite frightening. So, turn off the lights, get lit, and come with us on this long strange trip. Stories include Azathoth, Dagon, Ex Oblivione, Celephais, and Hypnos.

The Sibylline Oracles - Prophecies of the Ancient World. The Sibylline Oracles are a collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen books and eight fragments of Sibylline Oracles survive, in an edition of the 6th or 7th century AD.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The Donum Dei, "the most precious gift of God" is an important early alchemical work. with a famous series of 12 illustrations. Ascribe the work to Georgius Aurach de Argentina [sometimes Anrach] and date it to 1475. There are versions in Latin, German, French, and Italian, and one in English in the British Library.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. This is a compendium of theories of the shape of the Earth, along with a great deal of Earth mystery lore. The Book of Earths includes many unusual theories, including Columbus' idea that the Earth is literally pear-shaped, modern theories that the Earth was originally tetrahedral, and so on.

A weaver by trade and a mystic by nature, the 15-century poet Kabir created timeless works of enlightenment that combine the philosophies of Sufism, Hinduism, and the Kabbala. Expressed in imagery drawn from common life and the universal experience, Kabir's poems possess an appealing simplicity. This collection of 100 songs reflects nearly every aspect of the mystic's thought and emotions: ecstasy and despair, tranquil beatitude and fervid illumination, and moments of intimate love.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. This was a key work of 17th-century alchemy. It was written in Latin by Jean d'Espagnet as Enchiridion Physicae Restitutae, and the first edition was issued at Paris in 1623. A number of editions were issued over the next decades, and it was included in a number of alchemical compendia. An English translation, translated by Elias Ashmole, was printed in 1650 in Arthur Dee's Fasciculus Chemicus: Or Chymical Collections.

The Book of Revelation holds many secrets, and can be interpreted in many ways from an unlimited amount of perspectives.

The Book of Lambspring is one of the few real-life cases of a centuries-old book on alchemy. Nicolas Barnaud was a French Protestant writer, physician and alchemist, from Crest, in Dauphiné, from which he took the name Delphinas. He was a member of the Monarchomaques. He is associated with a number of mysteries.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. This is a collection of five alchemical tracts written by one of the most famous alchemists who was said to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone. In these writings Paracelsus attempts to educate the reader about the nature of the Philosopher's Stone and the scientific principles from which we can be assured of its existence and understand how it works. Like all alchemical tracts, the language is very cryptic and allegorical so as to be unintelligible to the unworthy.

The Six Keys of Eudoxus is a short but important manuscript within alchemy. Ascribed to an ancient philosopher, it dates to the Renaissance and describes a simplistic set of methods by which alkahest and the philosopher's stone can be made.

These writings are attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, an ancient Egyptian sage, the founder of all arts and sciences, both mundane and spiritual. Rather than being an actual person, Hermes is the Egyptian personification of the "Gnostic Revealer." Hymns of Hermes examines Hermetic ecstatic hymns, which are songs of a poetic nature used to describe the Gnosis of Hermetic attainment and the ecstatic personal experience of the divine.

Frank Hamel's Human Animals (published in 1915) is an infamous and classic treatise on the mythology and the evidence of hybrid humans. This was one of the first popular works on cryptozoology, and a primer for those interested in the many stories and accounts of lycanthropy and other strange evolutionary paradoxes.