Francios Rabelais (c. 1494-1553), a Franciscan monk who also qualified as a Bachelor of Medicine, was at the centre of the humanist movement and had absorbed a vast amount of learning. Gargantua and Pantagruel parodies everyone from eminent classical authors and schoolmen to Rabelais's own acquaintances. But the brilliance of the book lies not mere...more

In 1922, just four years after the war to end all wars, an unknown Austrian then living in Bavaria planned a pamphlet to be called Settling Accounts. In it he intended to attack the ineffectiveness of the dominant political parties in Germany which were opposed to the new National Socialists (Nazis). In November 1923, Adolf Hitler was jailed for th...more

First published in 1888, The Secret Doctrine is still recognized as an authentic sourcebook in the spiritual teachings of Theosophy. From her wide studies and travels, Madame Blavatsky wrote an in-depth study of Divine Wisdom, drawing on science, religion, and philosophy to probe the dual evolution of spirit and matter and the nature of the human b...more

When Biblical scholar Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages, he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. For almost 1500 years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were influenced by the cultural, theological and po...more

Aleister Crowley was a blustery coward, an arrogant, misogynistic racist with fascist leanings, and a callous user, as often threatened by his sexuality as he claimed to be liberated by it. But he was also a groundbreaking poet and an iconoclastic visionary whose literary and cultural legacies extend far beyond the limits of his reputation. This co...more

Gnosticism's Christian form grew to prominence in the 2nd century A.D. Ultimately denounced as heretical by the early church, Gnosticism proposed a revealed knowledge of God ("gnosis" meaning "knowledge" in Greek), held as a secret tradition of the apostles. In The Gnostic Gospels, author Elaine Pagels suggests that Christianity could have develope...more

The Secret Tradition in Goetia, including the rites and mysteries of Goetic therugy, sorcery and infernal necromancy. Completely illustrated with the original magical figures. Partial Contents: Antiquity of Magical Rituals; Rituals of Transcendental Magic; Composite Rituals; Key of Solomon; Lesser Key of Solomon; Rituals of Black Magic; Complete G...more