Reverse Ritual

Religious ritual is often seen as a way of bringing divine influences down into the material world. In this profound and stimulating work, Rudolf Steiner and Friedrich Benesch introduce the idea of "reverse ritual"--a way that each of us can raise our souls to the spiritual realm. In this process, the everyday world becomes a portal through which we can enter the dimension of the sacred. Here, each of us can be a "priest," and each of our actions can be a cosmic, ritual act. This stimulating collection of writings on spiritual communion of humanity includes two further lectures by Steiner that show how this process can engage our social lives. Also included are two additional essays as appendices: "Sacramental and Spiritual Communion" by Dietrich Asten and "Human Encounters and Karma" by Athys Floride. The introduction by Christopher Schaefer brings these ideas into focus for modern seekers. Contents: Part One: "The Spiritual Communion of Humanity" (5 lectures from GA 219) Part Two: "Preparing for the Sixth Epoch" Part Three: Commentaries by Friedrich Benesch Appendices: Selections from Dietrich Asten: "Spiritual and Sacramental Communion" & Athys Floride: "Human Encounters and Karma."

"Perception of the idea within the actual is the true communion of the human being" --Goethe Religious ritual is often seen as a way of bringing divine influences down into the material world. In this profound and stimulating work, Rudolf Steiner and Friedrich Benesch introduce the idea of "reverse ritual" --a way that each of us can raise our souls to the spiritual realm. In this process, the everyday world becomes a portal through which we can enter the dimension of the sacred. Here, each of us can be a "priest," and each of our actions can be a cosmic, ritual act. This stimulating collection of writings on spiritual communion of humanity includes two further lectures by Steiner that show how this process can engage our social lives. Also included are two additional essays as appendices: "Sacramental and Spiritual Communion" by Dietrich Asten and "Human Encounters and Karma" by Athys Floride. The introduction by Christopher Schaefer brings these ideas into focus for modern seekers.

Volume two of Theorizing Rituals mainly consists of an annotated bibliography of more than 400 items covering those books, edited volumes and essays that are considered most relevant for the field of ritual theory. Instead of proposing yet another theory of ritual, the bibliography is a comprehensive monument documenting four decades of theorizing rituals.

Almost immediately after learning yet another devastating family secret, fifteen-year-old Jennifer awakens in a universe transformed by werearachnid sorcery, in which weredragons are long extinct, and she must try to find a way to change everything back.

75 years since its first release, a true modern rarity and historical keystone in occult fiction and cinematic pop culture returns. Shrouded in the same brand of mystery and contradiction that forms its tangled plot, Ritual is commonly recognised by cult cinema fanatics as the original seed that spawned the towering movie enigma, The Wicker Man. A police officer is requested to investigate the presumed murder of a child in an obscure rural village. During his short stay, he is subjected to a spectacle of psychological trickery, sexual seduction and ancient practices and rituals.

The biological and neurological capacity to symbolize, and the products of behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural, linguistic, and technological uses of symbols (symbolism), are fundamental to every aspect of human life. The Oxford Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution explores the origins of our characteristically human abilities - our ability to speak, create images, play music, and read and write. The book investigates how symbolization evolved in human evolution and how symbolism is expressed across the various areas of human life. The field is intrinsically interdisciplinary - considering findings from fossil studies, scientific research from primatology, developmental psychology, and of course linguistics. Written by world leading experts, thirty-eight topical chapters are grouped into six thematic parts that respectively focus on epistemological, psychological, anthropological, ethological, linguistic, and social-technological aspects of human symbolic evolution. The handbook presents an in-depth but comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the of the state of the art in the science of human symbolic evolution. This work will be of interest to academics and students active in all fields contributing to the study of human evolution.

Wind In The Attic is one of the most moving and compelling personal accounts of growing up Pagan. This book helps people discover new social and magickal systems coined by the author, systems like the wheel of truths, social evolutionism and more. With detailed personal accounts, practical understanding of Chaos and Elven High Magick, and with easy to follow instructions, Wind In The Attic is one of the most revealing books on the Market.

Years after the end of Apartheid South Africa remains racially polarized and socially divided. In this context pilgrimage and travelling rituals serve to help those who often find themselves at the bottom end of the social ladder to make sense of their world. This book describes a South Africa that is made up of a number of different fragmented worlds. The focus is on the Zion Christian Church, one of the largest religious movements in southern Africa, and a good example of indigenized African Christianity. Pilgrimage plays an important role in reintegrating some of those fragmented worlds into something approaching wholeness. This book tells the story of how the enduring ritual of pilgrimage is transforming African religion, along with the lives of ordinary South Africans.

This small but interdisciplinary collection on ritual originally published between 1974 and 1998, draws together research by leading academics in the area of anthropology, sociology, history and religion and provides a focused approach to the study of ritual in human society. Comprised of 4 volumes, the collection offers a diverse study of how ritual plays a vital role in a variety of circumstances, including: Industrial society; Diasporas; Reproduction; Society; Death and bereavement. This academically stimulating set provides a uniquely interdisciplinary look at an area of study currently regaining prominence. It brings back into print a selection of previously unavailable titles, which will still be of interest to academics today, as at their time of publication. It will provide a must-have resource for academics and students seeking to better understand the use of ritual from a wide selection of areas. The collection will appeal to not only those working in the area of anthropology, but also history, sociology and religion.

Originally published in 1974, Ritual in Industrial Society is based on several years’ research including interviews and observations into the importance of ritual in industrial society within modern Britain. The book addresses how identity and meaning for people of all occupations and social classes can be derived through rituals and provides an expansive and diverse examination of how rituals are used in society, including in birth, marriage and death. The book offers an examination into the use of symbolic action in the body to articulate experiences which words cannot adequately handle and suggests that this enables modern men and women to overcome the mind-body splits which characterise modern technological society. In addition to this, the book examines ritual as a tool for articulating and sharing religious experiences, a point often overlooked by more intellectual approaches to religion in sociology. In addition to this, the book covers an exploration into ritual in social groups and how this is used to develop a sense of belonging among members. The book will be of interest to sociologists as well as academics of religion and theology, social workers and psychotherapists.