Lions, Wounds, and the Royal Bed: Gawan, Lancelot, and Arthur as Archetypal Saviors of the Mystery Traditions

By John Knight Lundwall. An in depth study of the relationship between the Arthur legend and the Oedipus / Christ Mystery traditions. The key features examined in all three traditiions is the image of the guardian lion and the royal bed.

Time, Dharma, and Consciousness: Compassion and Mythic Cosmology in the Wer-Auld

By John Knight Lundwall. The concepts of time, dharma, and consciousness are examined in the context of Buddhist teaching and tradition.

The Four Ascents to Immortality: A Preliminary Investigation into the Cosmology of Black Elk's Vision

By John Knight Lundwall. A study of the connections Black Elk's Great Vision has with the ancient mystery systems and cosmogonic myth.

Avalokiteshvara as Scintilla of the World

An introductory excerpt to the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara.

Life and Theology of Orpheus

An introduction to the historical figure and religion of Orpheus, with a translation given by Thomas Taylor. Taylor was a British Neo-Platonist classicist whose views on Orphism are slightly outside the main academic model, coinciding closer to a theosophist worldview.

The Sacred Power of the World: Dogon Cosmology as the Prototypical Heirocentric Universe

A study of the Dogon myth and ritual, drawing cosmological connections from the world of antiquity.

Maya and the Matrix: Reloading the Cosmic Dream

By Craig Titley: A comparative analysis between the Matrix films and the Hindu concept of maya.

The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies

An excerpt on the Ancient Mysteries from Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall. Here Hall explains some of the most basic precepts and introductory origins of the Mystery religions.

The Efficacy of the 'Scapegoat Mechanism'

Sacrifice has been called the pinnacle of the ritual act, completely giving something over to the god or gods that are served by the culture. The cultures that practice the sacrificial act all have different reasons for it, varying greatly in regards to their worldviews. There has been a search since the study of myth and ritual began to be able to come up with the ‘skeleton key’ that explains the why of the sacrifice. Rene Girard is a recent theorist attempting to explain sacrifice.

Heart, Fire, and Sky: Creation and Renewal in the Cosmic Soul

The Mexica's New Fire Ritual is part of a grand cosmological understanding which incorporates the macrocosm and the microcosm. The rite itself was an exchange of life giving fluids from each realm in an act of cosmic circulation of soul.

Waters of Initiation in the Ramayana

A brief introduction to the idea that the Ramayana can be seen as a a ritualistic initiation process, as Rama begins his quest and his endowment of kingship at bodies of water, itself a symbol of creative transformation and initiation.

Chess: Sacred Geometry & Mystery

Chess is an ancient game which some scholars have attributed to Egypt and yet others to ancient China. As a whole the game of chess is a physical, philosophical, and cosmological allegory. The board is composed of 64 squares alternating...