Table of Contents

Part I: Pre-Biblical Israel 1. Ascent Myth and Ritual in Ancient Egypt 2. Ascent Myth and Ritual in Ancient Babylon Part II: Ezekiel 3. The Vision of Ezekiel 4. Ezekiel and Apocalypse Part III: Hekhalot Literature 5. Ezekiel's Vision as Template for Mystical Ascent 6. The Chariots and the Throne: The Seven Palaces and Ursa Major Part IV: 7. Ecstatic Flight in Siberian Shamanism 8.Ecstatic Flight in Afro-Caribbean Ritual 9. Ecstatic Flight in Asian Ritual and Alchemy Part V: European Esotericism 10. Pico della Mirandola and the Christian Kabbala 11. The Sabbatian Movement, the Frankist Phenomenon, and Da'ath 12. The Initiatory System of the SRIA and the Golden Dawn 13. Aleister Crowley, Kenneth Grant, and Da'ath

Promotional Information

In an incredibly broad ranging study, Peter Levenda has discovered an important technology of consciousness that has been employed all over the world. It is reflected in the Hermetic axiom: "As Above, So Below."

About the Author

Peter Levenda is the author of The Secret Temple: Masons, Mysteries and the Founding of America (Continuum, 2009) and Unholy Alliance: A History of Nazi Involvement with the Occult (Continuum, 2002), which has appeared in 6 foreign-language editions.

Reviews

While a scholarly book this is also quite readable especially the latter sections which deal with 20th-century European occult societies.
*Catholic Herald, March 2009*

One of the most intelligent and deep digging comparative studies on the art of spiritual transformation.
*Acta Comparanda XXI FVG, 2010*

Independent scholar Levenda (Unholy Alliance: A History of Nazi Involvement with the Occult) has been studying and writing about occult history for more than a decade. Here, he looks deeply into the astrological/astronomical roots of the occult tradition as well as at the related theme of an adept's celestial ascent through seven stages. Central to the narrative are the North Pole Star (Polaris) and those stars around the pole that never set, in particular, the seven stars of the Big Dipper. This study is recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with strong religion collections.
*Alexandria, VA Library Journal*