Tag Archives: 1989

Blake, Jung, and the Collective Unconscious

Blake, Jung, and the Collective Unconscious: The Conflict Between Reason and Imagination by June Singer, introduced by M Esther Harding part of the Jung on the Hudson book series, a 2000 paperback from Nicholas-Hays, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Amusingly, I also have a previous version of this same book, which I purchased on a separate occasion, but that has a different, more provocative, title and from another publisher: The Unholy Bible: Blake, Jung, and the Collective Unconscious by June Singer, introduced by M Esther Harding, a 1986 paperback from Sigo Press, is also part of the collection at the Reading Room.

“More than ever, the time is ripe for June Singer’s penetrating commentary on William Blake’s work. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. For even the most devout literary scholars and art historians, much of Blake’s mystical visions and writing are perplexing. With his pen and brush, he gave birth to mythological figures and fantastic metaphors. Singer shows us that Blake was actually tapping into the collective unconscious and giving form and voice to primordial psychological energies, or archetypes, that he experienced in his inner and outer world. Blake’s writing and art was his personal dialogue between God and his own inner self—a reconciliation of duality—in which we can find clues to contemporary issues.

In the 18th century, Blake was a pioneer in finding, nurturing, and celebrating his personal connection with the divine, a search that still appeals to people who are coming to terms with the contemporary struggle between science and spirituality—the conflict between reality and imagination. With clarity and wisdom, Singer examines the images and words in each plate of Blake’s work, applying in her analysis the concepts that C. G. Jung advanced in his psychological theories. There is no more perfect lens with which to look at Blake’s work than that of Jung’s concept of the archetypes, the process of individuation, and the mysterium coniunctionis, in which consciousness and the unconscious are united.

This edition includes a new preface by Jung [sic!] Springer and a reproduction of 24 pages from Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” — back cover

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent: Sex and Politics in Early Christianity by Elaine Pagels, the 1989 paperback edition from Vintage Books, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

“How did the early Christians come to believe that sex was inherently sinful? When did the Fall of Adam become synonymous with the fall of all humanity? What turned Christianity from a dissident sect that championed the integrity of the individual and the idea of free will into the bulwark of a new imperial order—with the central belief that human beings cannot choose not to sin? In this provocative masterpiece of historical scholarship Elaine Pagels re-creates the controversies that racked the early church as it confronted the riddles of sexuality, freedom, and sin as embodied in the story of Genesis. And she shows what was once heresy came to shape our own attitudes toward the body and the soul.” — back cover

The Gnostic Gospels

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels, the 1989 paperback from Vintage Books, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

“In 1945 an Egyptian peasant unearthed what proved to be the Gnostic Gospels, the sacred books of one of the earliest Christian sects. This landmark study, a winner of both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, draws on those texts to illuminate the world of the first Christians and to examine the different ways in which both Gnostics and the orthodox constructed God, Christ, and the Church. Did Jesus literally rise from the dead? Was there only one God, and could He be both Father and Mother? Whose version of Christianity came down to us and why did it prevail? Brilliant, provocative, and stunning in its implications, The Gnostic Gospels is a radical yet accessible reconsideration of the origins of the Christian faith.” — back cover

Arjuna in the Mahabharata

Arjuna in the Mahabharata: Where Krishna Is, There Is Victory by Ruth Cecily Katz, a 1989 hardcover in the Studies in Comparative Religion series edited by Frederick M Denny from University of South Carolina Press, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

“This book is a thorough study of the great Indian hero, the Achilles of India, Arjuna, as portayed in the epic poem Mahabharata, including its world famous subsection, the Bhagavadgita. Attempting to portray Arjuna as ‘a Hindu, involved in Hindu culture, might see or have seen him on the basis of the epic as passed down through the centuries more or less in its current form,’ the discussion focuses in turn on three ‘levels’ of Arjuna’s character, tracing their ebb and flow throughout the text: Arjuna’s semi-divine heroism; his humanization in the face of debilitating dilemmas; and his transcendence of the human condition by way of devotion to the god Krishna. In consideration of earlier and contemporary scholarship regarding the Indian epic tradition, in particular the respective works Georges Dumézil and Madeleine Biardeau, this study locates the Mahabharata, and Arjuna with it, in the context of two thousand years of Indian religious texts, from the Vedas to the Puranas. More broadly, Arjuna is compared with Indo-European/Semitic heroes from outside the Indian tradition, such as Achilles himself, Gilgamesh, Rustam, Cuchulainn and, finally, Jesus. The complete Mahabharata story is retold for the reader’s convenience as the discussion proceeds. An appendix on the names (epithets) of Arjuna concludes the study.” — back cover

Ishtar Rising

Ishtar Rising: Or, Why the Goddess Went to Hell and What to Expect Now That She’s Returning by Robert Anton Wilson, cover painting by Sallie Ann Glassman, cover and book design by James Wasserman’s Studio 31, the 1989 first edition from Falcon Press / Golden Dawn Publications, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Although this is the first edition of Ishtar Rising, the book was actually and originally published by Playboy Press in 1974 as The Book of the Breast.

“Psychologist, novelist and former Playboy editor Robert Anton Wilson takes you on [a] journey through esoterica and erotica, explaining why Eve in the Bible and Eris in Greek myth were both involved with nefarious apples … why the Great Goddess of the ancients went to Hell, and why most of us go to Hell in our dreams occasionally … why female pacifists baring their breast in front of the Pentagon were unconsciously repeating an ancient religious ritual … why celibates have burned so many ‘witches’ … and more!”— back cover

The Hermetic Library Reading Room is an imaginary and speculative future reification of the library in the physical world, a place to experience a cabinet of curiosities offering a confabulation of curation, context and community that engages, archives and encourages a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to contribute to the Hermetic Library Reading Room, consider supporting the library or contact the librarian.

The Legacy of the Beast

The Legacy of the Beast: The Life, Work, and Influence of Aleister Crowley by Gerald Suster, with foreword by Francis X King, the 1989 paperback from Samuel Weiser, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

“Tracing the roots of Crowley’s ideas and demonstrating their enduring relevance, Gerald Suster has produced a much-needed reappraisal of the ‘Great Beast’ and his continuing influence, as well as fascinating exposition of a supremely practical spiritual discipline.

Casting a critical but sympathetic eye over Crowley’s writings, the author reveals a man of enormous and original intellectual gifts, whose contributions to the understanding of the occult sciences are matched only by his daring experiments in the development of human consciousness. Crowley’s own magical system encompassed Buddhism, ritual magic, the Qabalah, Yoga, the Tarot and Taoism, though its most original element derived from the personal revelations Crowley received in Cairo in 1904 and which formed the basis of his most important work—and perhaps the most important occult work of the century—The Book of the Law.”

The Golden Dawn

The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites & Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order by Israel Regardie, in Llewellyn’s Golden Dawn series, the 1989 sixth edition paperback from Llewellyn Publications, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Apparently I purchased this on Dec 5, 1990, from Seattle’s old Astrology Et Al when it was on University Ave, according to the original receipt that is still bookmarking the LBRP. It’s extremely amusing to think about how long I dithered over finally making what was, at the time, a rather costly $19.95 purchase given what I’ve paid for other various volumes since … but, at the time, I recall it was quite a commitment. And, in case you hadn’t noticed before, check out the epilogue written back in 1986 by Hermetic Library fellow Sam Webster.

“AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL OCCULTISM

The Original Account of the Teaching, Rites and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as revealed by Israel Regardie, with further revision, expansion, and additional notes by Israel Regardie, Cris Monnastre, and others. A comprehensive index has been supplied by noted occultist David Godwin for this new edition.

Originally published in four volumes of some 1200 pages, this 6th Revised and Enlarged Edition has been reset in half the pages (retaining the original pagination in marginal notation for reference) for greater ease of use.

Corrections of errors in the original editions have been made, with further revision and additional text and notes by actual practitioners of the Golden Dawn system of magick, with an introduction by the only student ever accepted for personal training by Regardie.

The Golden Dawn, once a secret order, was one of the most prestigious groups flourishing at the turn of the century. Membership included such notables as W. B. Yeats, Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, Lady Frieda Harris, Brodie Innes, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, A. E. Waite, Evelyn Underhill and W. Wynn Westcott. Its influence on 20th century spiritual science has been enormous!

Today there are independent lodges practicing the Golden Dawn system of Magick all over the world, and the Knowledge Lectures included in this book are fundamental to nearly all aspects of Western Esotericism.

Also included are Initiation Ceremonies, important rituals for consecration and invocation, methods of meditation and magical working based on the Enochian Tablets, studies in the Tarot, and the system of Qabalistic Correspondences that unite the world’s religions and magical traditions into a comprehensive and practical whole.

This volume is designed as a study and practice curriculum suited to both group and private practice. Meditation upon, and following with the Active Imagination, the Initiation Ceremonies are fully experiential without need of participation in group or lodge.

The Golden Dawn, a system for perfecting the raw material that is humanity; a system for awakening the consciousness within and uniting with that of the universe itself.”

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Faint gibbering heard from somewhere near the restricted stacks