What are you reading at the moment?

Discussion on literature other than by the Star of Azazel.
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Nefastos
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Nefastos »

Utthavat wrote: Mon Sep 12, 2022 8:55 pmCould you give some insight on the book/or books that you regard as original material of Zohar?

Blavatsky, like her contemporary authors, enjoyed making distinctive comments about origins of esoteric and mythological subjects. The comment should be read in that light, wherein it comes to mean that there are different cultural sources for Zohar, which is quite clear for the reader of our own age. As far as I know, nothing close to Chaldean Book of Numbers has been unearthed since Blavatsky's time, but it's still a myth and one fabulous "missing link" of esoteric doctrines. By which I don't mean that such couldn't exist & be found at some point – let's remember the Qumran findings &c. In case you are not familiar with Reigle & Reigle's Blavatsky's Secret Books, I recommend that work if you are interested in these subjects. (It's available also in Finnish, Blavatskyn salaiset kirjat, but I haven't checked if the translation is better than the usual theosophical translations to Finnish, which are often horrible.)
Faust: "Lo contempla. / Ei muove in tortuosa spire / e s'avvicina lento alla nostra volta. / Oh! se non erro, / orme di foco imprime al suol!"
Utthavat
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Utthavat »

Nefastos wrote: Tue Sep 13, 2022 10:27 am
– let's remember the Qumran findings &c. In case you are not familiar with Reigle & Reigle's Blavatsky's Secret Books, I recommend that work if you are interested in these subjects.

I'll take a look, thank you.
Asuradūta
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Asuradūta »

Time to break my absence from the main forum.

I'm almost finished with Bailey's A Treatise on White Magic. I was slightly hesitant at first due to the "textbookish" style of the writing, but after easing into it the book has been a fairly flowing read.

I have also been concurrently reading Pekka Ervast's Kristus Meissä and the current work of fiction I have been reading is an omnibus(?) of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.

After finishing the books by Bailey and Ervast, I will be moving on Jung's The Red Book .
Asuradūta
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Asuradūta »

And on the subject of Bailey: the copy I have of A Treatise on Cosmic Fire (paperback, eighteenth printing) seems to be missing a section of 23 pages (547-570). It's nothing that I probably couldn't find online in .pdf-format, but I'm curious if others who have the book might have noticed something similar?
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Smaragd
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Smaragd »

Asuradūta wrote: Tue Jan 24, 2023 12:30 pm and the current work of fiction I have been reading is an omnibus(?) of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.
Have you recognized a favourite amongst Poe's short stories?

I'm also reading an anthology of short stories, this time a modern one with a cavalcade of writers. Planning on writing more about it later so I dare not name it yet.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
Asuradūta
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Asuradūta »

Smaragd wrote: Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:32 pm
Asuradūta wrote: Tue Jan 24, 2023 12:30 pm and the current work of fiction I have been reading is an omnibus(?) of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories.
Have you recognized a favourite amongst Poe's short stories?
I haven't read the book very far as of yet nor have I read much Poe previously in general, but from what I can tell from the adaptations I've seen, I do enjoy the stories of The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher.
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Nebenkheperu
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Nebenkheperu »

Am currently reading the key works of Ervast and rereading the entire corpus of Blavatsky.
Nowadays I seldom read fiction, but just finished the Books of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. I would say that this is high spiritual philosophy, deep insights into human nature and even Theosophy/Qabalah under the guise of science-fantasy. Really unique wisdom literature...uses constant allegory & allusions to myths while creating its own. Highly recommended reading. 8-)
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Asuradūta
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Asuradūta »

Finished reading the last two appendices of The Red Book yesterday, need to have a look at the reading circle thread concerning the book.

At the moment I am reading the Finnish translation of Sangharakshita's Wisdom Beyond Words: The Buddhist Vision of Ultimate Reality.
Asuradūta
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Asuradūta »

Started reading Menneisyyden varjo today, also thought about finishing reading the appendices at the end LotR :)
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Smaragd
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Re: What are you reading at the moment?

Post by Smaragd »

Asuradūta wrote: Tue Jan 24, 2023 3:37 pm I do enjoy the stories of The Masque of the Red Death--
Amidst the modern horror anthologies I took a peak back to Poe and read this one. This could be the effect of being acquinted with Poe's work on a vaster scale, but it was quite a contrast to the modern writers most of which seem to lump together different ideas and the story is more or less a murky ball of slime often reflecting the writer's personality as they identify as 'writers'. This is a way too cruel judgement based on just a one short story from a writer, but by the contrast of this idea, Poe's work seems to take more distance from the 'writer personality' and the aim is more clearly to transfer some worthy idea to the readers. A flash of this could be seen in some peculiar events that whisper strange things similar to the silent voices of a cold and starry nightsky. What is behind the air filling the robes of the Red Death or what powers of nature navigate the eye of the storm of my favourite Poe work thus far MS. Found in a Bottle.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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