The Ladder of Lights by William G. Gray, considered a classic in its field, is an outstanding study of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. ".....the most original commentary on basic Kabbalistic knowledge that I have read for God knows how many years." - Israel Regardie "......beautifully presented and set in excellent marching order.....For one new to the subject, this is a fine text and an exceptionally lucid introduction to a veiled and meditative lore which is still being enlarged from year to year." - Max Freedom Long (Huna Vistas)
1965-1967 ... As the New Age seemed to explode into being, everything spiritual had to be Eastern. Psychedelic artwork showed Glastonbury Tor overshadowed by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, or Stonehenge sending its energies up to Lord Krishna - imagery which William G. Gray summed up quite simply as "Balls." He was working hard to make sure that our weakened (or slumbering) Western Traditions would survive. Among his endeavours at the time was this guide to the inner and outer practicalities of ritual magic, which includes instruction on god-forms, words of power, magic circles, initiation, extension of consciousness and raising power through ritual. Previously unpublished, Working with Inner Light is the first new book by William G. Gray since the author's death in 1992. Written in the form of a journal or magical diary, it includes his original sketches, and forms a detailed course in modern Qabalistic magic which will be of immense value to esoteric students and practitioners working within the Western Mysteries today.
Emphasizes how the Qabalah actively influences the Western Mystery Tradition. Gray discusses the value of "nothing," the purpose of the cross, the tree of life, and path working. His work makes Qabalah accessible to the Westerner, presenting it as a way of working with the inner principles of life to reveal one's ultimate identity and activate it in one's everyday awareness.
In this extraordinary new collection by distinguished poet Christopher Howell, the opening poem presents us with a spiritual paradox that will echo throughout its pages. The speaker remembers an earlier time of happiness, freedom, and a certain innocence. The poem closes with: And if he remembers now he is in love, which is the soul’s condition, and alone because that is how we live. "How we live" is the book's major inquiry; its illustration, the poems' major achievement. How do we live, in our dailiness, in our loves, our private and global wars? And, in the face of unbearable grief, how can we live? Keats When Keats, at last beyond the curtain of love’s distraction, lay dying in his room on the Piazza di Spagna, the melody of the Bernini Fountain “filling him like flowers,” he held his breath like a coin, looked out into the moonlight and thought he saw snow. He did not suppose it was fever or the body’s weakness turning the mind. He thought, “England!” and there he was, secretly, for the rest of his improvidently short life: up to his neck in sleigh bells and the impossibly English cries of street venders, perfect and affectionate as his soul. For days the snow and statuary sang him so far beyond regret that if now you walk rancorless and alone there, in the piazza, the white shadow of his last words to Severn, “Don’t be frightened,” may enter you.
We live in patterns because we have to. They are inescapable. The Cosmos is a pattern. So are we. There are patterns of Spirit, Soul, Mind, and Body extending through all states of existence. We can find them readily enough anywhere. Our human bodies are a Magic Maze of patterns throughout their cellular structure.
Two children who live in a tree don't know what to do when beavers take their ladder, and after rescue comes at the hands of a friend, they find a way to return without worry.
The importance of the Tree of Life when looked at from its negative side will give the reader new perspective of the spiritual path. Ignorance of universal law can mean that when you think you are doing "good", you may actually be doing "evil". Consciousness is the key. This is an important book for students on any path.
“Tantalizing ... captivating ... provocative.”—Booklist Late in her twentieth year, Beatrice, who dreams of a life on the stage, is confronting a home life torn asunder. She mails a letter on the sly to her grandmother, a legendary actress long estranged from the family, sparking events that will change her life forever. Powerfully written and psychologically intricate, House Lights illuminates the corrosive power of family secrets and the redemptive struggle to find truth, forgiveness, and love.
