- Continue Browsing
- Your Basket is Empty
Categories:
Ancient Civilizations,
Bestsellers
Mystery Cults in the Ancient World by Hugh Bowden
£14.99
A landmark study of ancient Greek and Roman cults, from the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis to the cults of Dionysus and Mithras. Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically re-enacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honour Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings.
These cults were an important part of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, but their actual practices were shrouded in secrecy, and much of what they were about has remained unclear until now. This is the first book to describe and explain all the major mystery cults of the ancient world, cult by cult, reconstructing the rituals and exploring their origins. It makes plentiful use of artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as ancient literature and epigraphy.
Greek painted pottery, Roman frescoes, inscribed gold tablets from Greek and South Italian tombs and the excavated sites of ancient religious sanctuaries all contribute to our understanding of ancient mystery cults. Making use of the most recent work on these cults, the book is also informed by crucial current work on the anthropology and cognitive science of religion. Not only is this clearly written book a significant contribution to the study of these cults, but it is also accessible to a general readership.
More than any other book on ancient religion, it allows the reader to understand what it was like to participate in these life-transforming religious events.
If you like this, you might also like:
PRE-SALE: Magick Without Tears by Aleister Crowley
£40.00 £50.00
***PRE-SALE OFFER***
We are offering a 20% DISCOUNT on all pre-orders made for this title until our copies have arrived from the publisher. The scheduled publication date is 20th May 2025.
New edition of Crowley's last book, which has been out of print from many years, with an introduction and notes by Alan Chapman. Edited by Duncan Barford and Alan Chapman.
Casebound in Windsor cloth with Smyth sewn binding, printed endpapers, head and tail bands and a ribbon marker.
Let Aleister explain everything in this collection of letters designed to answer the many questions a student might put to the old master.
For the first time this edition includes the complete set of 93 letters - unabridged, organised and annotated as originally intended.
'Magick Without Tears' is prefaced by a critical introduction to the life and work of Aleister Crowley that radically redefines our understanding of his place in the history of Western Esotericism.
The First Occult Tarot Deck by Robert M. Place
£39.99
The First Occult Tarot as Envisioned by Louis-Raphaël-Lucrèce de Fayolle, comte de Mellet, in 1781
Before Aleister Crowley, before Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith, before the Golden Dawn, before Papus, Éliphas Lévi, and Etteilla, the first author to describe an occult version of the Tarot was Louis-Raphaël-Lucrèce de Fayolle, comte de Mellet, writing in Antoine Court de Gébelin’s, 1781, eighth volume of his monumental encyclopedia, Monde primitif.
The comte de Mellet associated the Tarot’s trumps with the Classical Ages of Man: the Age of Gold, the Age of Silver, and the Age of Iron. He correlated the Trumps with the letters in the Hebrew alphabet, he described the minor suits in detail, and he provided the earliest discussion of a divination technique for the Tarot.
Major Arcana by Leonora Carrington
£30.00
The British-born artist Leonora Carrington (1917–2011) is one of the more fascinating figures to emerge from the Surrealist movement. As both a writer and painter, she was championed early by André Breton and joined the exiled Surrealists in New York, before settling in Mexico in 1943. The magical themes of Carrington’s otherworldly paintings are well-known, but the recent discovery of a suite of tarot designs she created for the Major Arcana was a revelation for scholars and fans of Carrington alike. Drawing inspiration from the Tarot of Marseille and the popular Waite-Smith deck, Carrington brings her own approach and style to this timeless subject, creating a series of iconic images. Executed on thick board, brightly coloured and squarish in format, Carrington’s Major Arcana shines with gold and silver leaf, exploring tarot themes through what Gabriel Weisz Carrington describes as a ‘surrealist object’.
This tantalising discovery, made by the curator Tere Arcq and scholar Susan Aberth, has placed greater emphasis upon the role of the tarot in Carrington’s creative life and has led to fresh research in this area. For this new edition of the Major Arcana deck, Susan Aberth and Tere Arcq have written an insightful essay that outlines Carrington’s life and provides an essential analysis of the divinatory meanings of each of the cards.
© 2025 Watkins Books. WATKINS MEDIA LIMITED. COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 9171151. COMPANY REGISTRATION ADDRESS: SHEPPERTON HOUSE UNIT 11, 89 SHEPPERTON ROAD, LONDON, ENGLAND, N1 3DF.
