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Astrology,
Fine & Antiquarian
Reading Dante's Stars by Alison Cornish
£50.00
Published: Yale University Press, New Haven 2000
Condition: Fine, almost as new. Dust jacket unclipped, in protective plastic cover. Binding firm, pages clean and unmarked.
Astronomy is one of the most prominent and perplexing features of Dante’s Divine Comedy. In the final rhyme of the poem’s three parts, and in scores of descriptions and analogies, the stars are an intermediate goal and a constant point of reference for the spiritual journey the poem narrates. This book makes a sustained analysis of Dante’s use of astronomy, not only in terms of the precepts of medieval science but also in relation to specific moral, philosophical, and poetic problems laid out in each chapter.
For Dante, Alison Cornish says, the stars offer optical representations of invisible realities, from divine providence to the workings of the human soul. Dante’s often puzzling celestial figures call attention to the physical world as a scene of reading in which visible phenomena are subject to more than one explanation, Cornish contends. The poetry of Dante’s astronomy, as well as its difficulty, rests on this imperative of interpretation. Reading the stars, like reading literature, is an ethical undertaking fraught with risk, not just an exercise in technical understanding. Cornish’s book is the first guide to the astronomy of Dante’s masterpiece to encompass both ways of reading his work.
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Kurukulla: Goddess of Bewitchment by Verónica Rivas
out of stock - £120.00
Out of print hardback edition.
Condition: Fine - As New.
In Kurukulla: Goddess of Bewitchment – A Devotional Path to the Red Enchantress of Uddiyana, author Verónica Rivas combines academic research with personal experience to offer a theoretical-practical study of Kurukulla, the goddess in Hinduism related to desire, lust, magic, and witchcraft.
Many of these aspects were left aside, however, as her importance and popularity within Tantric Buddhism continued to grow. In Kurukulla, we have a goddess of tribal origins, initially venerated as a protector by various nomadic clans who related her to fertility and material affairs, yet also considered her dangerous and fearsome. Progressively, the goddess was incorporated into the Buddhist pantheon, and during this process, Kurukulla acquired different roles and lost others. Many practices were developed related to issues such as protection against animals and certain diseases, obtaining influential positions in society, love affairs, and even getting rid of one’s enemies.
Kurukulla: Goddess of Bewitchment offers a tantric perspective on a deity considered the goddess of eroticism, the mistress of enchantments and bewitchment, who uses desire as a weapon for transcendence. Practicing with Kurukulla allows us to reach our true nature by making our daily life, our fears and weaknesses, the very source of liberation.
The goddess of the red body represents the pure manifestation of intrinsic wisdom, the primordial energy that nourishes all realms of existence, as well as life and death as complementary opposites.
The rituals and devotionals presented in this book are intended to openly and freely establish a deep connection with the deity. They are shared in a simple and understandable way that will allow practitioners to integrate them into their life easily and completely.
Borough Satyr: The Life and Art of Austin Osman Spare (Edited by Robert Shehu-Ansell)
£120.00
Out of print hardback edition, limited to 961 hand-numbered copies only.
Borough Satyr: The Life and Art of Austin Osman Spare is the long awaited full colour introduction to the work of this astonishing London artist. Accompanying an exhibition at The Maas Gallery (15a Clifford Street, London, W1) the book contains a comprehensive collection of his art complemented by a biographical introduction, a checklist of his exhibitions and essays by those who knew Spare well throughout his life, including classic recollections from Hannen Swaffer, Clifford Bax, Kenneth and Steffi Grant, Hadyn Mackay, Ithell Colquhoun, John Smith and others. One of the key source texts for Phil Baker’s 2010 biography.
Earthstars: The Geometric Groundplan Underlaying London's Ancient Sacred Sites by C.E. Street
out of stock - £40.00
A remarkable book which explores London's spiritual dimensions from a visionary perspective. This book is an initiation into the Earth Mysteries. The Earthstars discovery reveals that London's sacred sites create a vast and complex geometric pattern on the landscape. A temple groundplan.
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