Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Review and recommend pagan, spiritual, Wicca, & witchcraft books.
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corvidus
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Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by corvidus »

Hello Everyone! I am very interested in esoteric philosophies, and I know a few of you are as well. After all, you opened this thread ;)

After talking with Samikcha about the subject, we've decided we're starting a book club. If any of you are interested in joining, this is the thread to be. No need to sign up or check in regularly or exchange emails or information -- heck, you don't even need to read the posts -- as we all have busy lives.

It's the intention of this book club to provide an outlet for ideas and to share thoughts and opinions on whichever magick/occult/esoteric book or essay we are reading. The best part? You don't even need to agree with what the author is writing about, as we all have different opinions based on our experiences in life! While discussion of the topic is encouraged, the ultimate goal of this book club is aimed at the broadening of intellectual thinking, and a better understanding of the Self and the World around us.

As such, the books we're going to be choosing from are those of Natural Philosophy, Occult Philosophy and anything which pertains to this endeavor (after this first one, there are a few more to choose from that we've talked about; which will probably be put to a vote in the future).

Now, with that out of the way, onto the thickly meaty-bits.

The first book we've chosen is by Austin Osman Spare (an English artist and occultist), and is titled: The Book of Pleasure (Self-Love): The Psychology of Ecstasy. Lucky for us, this book is available for free here, courtesy of Sacred-Texts.com (it's my goal to only read books freely available).

Before I finish, a word about The Book of Pleasure itself. Spare wrote the book in the year 1913 while in a state of ecstatic trance known as automatic writing (which should add a new dimension to this work on the Psychology of Ecstasy). This particular work covers many aspects of Spare's mystical and magickal ideas and special theories, pertaining to the love of Self, Ecstacy, and etc.


So! If you're still reading and interested in joining, all you need to do is... start reading! But maybe also post here letting us know you've started, so we can remind you if you disappear on us. Other than that, there is no deadline for posting your review/thoughts/etc, and no rules or regulations to what you wish to post (other than the rules and regulations of EUTMF). Free thinking is encouraged!


::coolglasses::
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SpiritTalker
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by SpiritTalker »

Spooky... Just yesterday I heard of Spare for the first time, in a reference as an artist.

Hmm...I took a look at the opening text. Sort of opinionated, isn't he.? And Kia...? Well, in for a penny... :D
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corvidus
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by corvidus »

Haha it's philosphy, of course it's opinionated :)
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corvidus
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by corvidus »

From the chapter "The Consumer of Religion"
Ecstasy for any length of time is difficult to obtain, and laboured heavily for.
I can easily agree with this. Thinking back to my first seated meditations, there were always the moments of agitation. I would easiky call it one of the labours of Hercules -- learning how to meditate.
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SpiritTalker
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by SpiritTalker »

And yet the effort was like staring out the window in a boring class. Before you know it, classmates are pushing desks around, gathering their books and shuffling out the door, and you have no idea where the 50 minutes went to.
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samikcha
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by samikcha »

Okay O am so sorry Corvidus I asked you a list of books and I decided to read "the book of Pleasure " but could not even get past few pages because I could not get it. After that I got caught up with interviews and I know that's a lame excuse but then I read a bit of Rumi. So he says that when a woman and a man join in whether in love and hate , there is always a resultant in the spirit world. So is that even true??

love love love:*
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samikcha
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by samikcha »

From this book " the book of pleasure"- woman is said to be a form of belief .I am wondering is it because during that time woman was like a fixed concept related to birth, hearth and home, grace, etc???

love love love:*
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corvidus
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Re: Esoteric Philosophy Book Club!

Post by corvidus »

samikcha wrote:From this book " the book of pleasure"- woman is said to be a form of belief.
hmm, I can't remember this part! would you mind quoting the passage you're thinking of?
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