Tag Archives: fabre d’olivet

The Secret Lore of Music

The Secret Lore of Music: The Hidden Power of Orpheus by Hermetic Library figure Fabre d’Olivet, translated by Hermetic Library fellow Joscelyn Godwin, a new 1997 edition of Music Explained as Science and Art paperback from Inner Traditions, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Fabre d'Olivet Joscelyn Godwin The Secret Lore of Music from Inner Traditions

“Ever since Pythagoras demonstrated the mathematical basis of music and its profound effect ont he soul, the Western esoteric tradition has been deeply involved with the science and art of tone. Fabre d’Olivet (1767–1825) was the first to restate Pythagoras’s ideas in modern terms and to show the way for music to regain its spiritual heritage. He calls for a complete reevaluation of its nature and purpose. Fearless in his criticism of modern trivialization of music, d’Olivet recalls its ancient glory in China, Egypt, and Greece. He shows that music is sacred art rooted in the same principles as the universe itself and that it is intimately connected with the destiny of humankind.” — 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.

Atlantis and the Cycles of Time

Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations by Joscelyn Godwin, the 2011 softcover edition from Inner Traditions, which arrived courtesy of the author, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Joscelyn Godwin's Atlantis and the Cycles of Time from Inner Traditions

“Atlantis has held a perennial place in the collective imagination of humanity from ancient Greece onward. Many of the great minds of the occult and esoteric world wrote at length on their theories of Atlantis—about its high culture, its possible location, its ultimate demise, and their predictions of a return to Atlantean enlightenment or the downfall of modern society.

Beginning with a review of the rationalist writings on Atlantis—those that use geographic and geologic data to validate their theories—renowned scholar Joscelyn Godwin then analyzes and compares writings on Atlantis from many of the great occultists and esotericists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Fabre d’Olivet, G. I. Gurdjieff, Guido von List, Julius Evola, Edgar Cayce, Dion Fortune, and René Guénon, whose writings often stem from deeper, metaphysical sources, such as sacred texts, prophecy, or paranormal communication. Seeking to unravel and explain the histories and interpretations of Atlantis and its kindred myths of Lemuria and Mu, the author shows how these different views go hand-in-hand with the concept of cyclical history, such as the Vedic system of the four Yugas, the Mayan calendar with its 2012 end-date, the theosophical system of root races, and the precession of the equinoxes. Venturing broader and deeper than any other book on Atlantis, this study also covers reincarnation, human evolution or devolution, the origins of race, and catastrophe theory.”

 

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.