Category:
Secret Societies
£36.00
The Ancient Oriental Order of Ishmael, a para-Masonic system of thirty-six degrees, has a documented history and a unique ritual that has never been published. This book includes a brief biography of the four known heads of the Order, and a complete set of rituals. The rituals include the opening, closing, all thirty-six degrees, and the banquet toasts of the Order. Each degree includes an illustration of the jewel for the degree, with numerous illustrations and photographs to show other regalia and materials used to explain the degrees. An appendix documents letters between the members and the development and growth of the Order.
The Order was initially governed by Kenneth Mackenzie, who claimed to have received the degrees from a mysterious professor in France. When challenged, he claimed authority from an Arch Chancellor in Paris, a possibly fictional figure so elusive that letters from other members would be returned unopened. Mackenzie was initially very protective and secretive about the Order, though he published many references to Ishmael throughout the Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia. Upon Mackenzie's death, Major Francis George Irwin, one of the first members, assumed control, and he, in turn, passed it to John Yarker. The final known head of the Order was William Wynn Westcott.
Claiming descent from an older organisation, the Order of Ishmael is based on the story of Abraham and his family fleeing religious persecution from the city of Ur of the Chaldees and finding refuge with the sheik of a desert tribe. As Abraham gains their trust, they initiate him into an elemental priesthood and entrust him with the secrets of their Temple. Later rituals in the system recount the story of Ishmael and Hagar fleeing from Abraham's tents due to the jealousy of Abraham's wife Sarah, Isaac's efforts to deny Ishmael's inheritance, and the conflicts and reconciliation between Isaac's sons Jacob and Esau. The final nine degrees are philosophical orders of knighthood, exemplifying important biblical and world history figures.
£49.00
The earliest known Rosicrucian ritual system published for the first time.
The subject of this book is Johann Samuel Mund artist, alchemist and Free-mason and his own special interpretation of the Royal Art. It was in Frankfurt that Mund founded the Masonic Lodge known as the Bund der Treue und Wahrheit zu den 3 Rosenkreuzern Weiß, Roth und Gold (Union of Loyalty and Truth of the 3 Rosy Crosses, White, Red and Gold), for which he developed his own doctrine with its own rituals and teachings, which have fortunately come down to us in various manuscript archives.
In this book the authors provide the first complete overview of Mund's teachings, illustrated with the unique images and diagrams that he created specially for them. The authors also explore the conditions prevailing at the time the Lodge of the Union of Loyalty and Truth was founded, the influences that shaped it, and the impact it had upon the development of the High Degrees in the mid-18th century.
What is more, the book sheds light on a fascinating chapter in Masonic history, and one that has been relatively neglected to date, namely the connection between practical and philosophical alchemy on the one hand and dogmatic Freemasonry (at that time not yet fully developed) on the other.
This meticulously researched and richly illustrated volume is a joint production of Salier Verlag, Germany, and Lewis Masonic and contains all the relevant texts in both German and English. It is aimed both at academics specialising in the Enlightenment and the general reader with an interest in the history of ideas, alchemy and esotericism, as well as Freemasons who are eager to explore a fascinating and previously neglected chapter in the development of the Brotherhood.
1st Edition 2024 (bilingual edition in German and English)
Hard-cover binding in imitation leather with gold embossing, thread-stitched, two bookmarks (one Gold and one Rose coloured)
Colour throughout with numerous illustrations
544 pages, 17 x 24 cm
Only 500 Printed
£59.99
Standard hardback edition. First Edition, First Printing, Signed Copy.
130 years ago a French journalist convinced the Vatican that a secret Luciferian cult, hidden at the heart of Freemasonry, was plotting the birth of the Antichrist and the destruction of the Catholic Church.
These dastardly Masons took their marching orders from Satan himself—who appeared in the flesh to his Antipope Albert Pike, every Friday at three o’clock in the afternoon, in Charleston South Carolina.
This journalist’s name was Léo Taxil. It was the hoax of the century.
Secretly written by Taxil, Le Diable au XIXème Siècle is the purported witness account of the mysterious “Doctor Bataille.” Part travel journal and part investigative report, filled with satanic schemes and a rich cast of shady characters, it is a thrilling, lurid, and sensationalist read.
There has never been an English translation… until now.
£30.00
Hardback edition, limited to 500 copies.
John Yarker was a Victorian Occultist, Freemason and esoteric Truth Seeker, who is now somewhat revered by both esoteric Freemasons and Occultists alike. He was born in Cumbria, but moved to Manchester, where he spent the rest of his life, and authored countless articles, short papers, and books that now fetch large sums at book auctions. He also collected together a number of Masonic and Oriental Orders, and he was said to have been the lynchpin for the founding of the O.T.O., a move that secured his Occult status. Indeed, Yarker was a strong influence on Aleister Crowley, introducing him to the Ancient and Primitive Rite.
This work is the first extensive biography written of John Yarker's life, and explores his early life, his Masonic career, and his eclectic collection of Rites and Orders, which include the Society of Eight, the Sat B'hai, the Swedenborgian Rite, the Ancient and Primitive Rite, Martinism and the Adoptive Rite, to name but a few.
The book also presents an examination of his extensive works, and looks at his legacy, focusing especially upon his collection of Rites and Orders, some of which survive today and are still practiced. The work highlights documents and letters from Yarker that have never before been published, including letters that chart the early beginnings of the Operatives and the O.T.O. The work also presents a deep insight into Yarker's life and legacy, especially examining how Yarker is still celebrated in certain esoteric lineages that exist today.