The Secret Teachings of All Ages

STONES, METALS, AND GEMS

Prehistoric monuments—The tablets of the Law—The Holy Grail—The ages of the world—Talismanic jewels—Zodiacal and planetary stones and gems. 97

CEREMONIAL MAGIC AND SORCERY

The black magic of Egypt—Doctor Johannes Faustus—The Mephistopheles of the Grimoires Books of magic spells and instructions for summoning spirits.—The invocation of spirits—Pacts with demons—The symbolism of the pentagram. 101

THE ELEMENTS AND THEIR INHABITANTS

The Paracelsian Relating to Paracelsus (1493–1541), a Swiss-German physician and alchemist who classified the spirits of the four elements. theory of submundanes Spiritual beings or entities existing in realms beneath the visible world.—The orders of elemental beings—The Gnomes, Undines, Salamanders, and Sylphs—Demonology—The incubus A male demon believed to visit people in their sleep. and succubus A female demon believed to visit people in their sleep.—Vampirism. 105

HERMETIC PHARMACOLOGY, CHEMISTRY, AND THERAPEUTICS

The healing methods of Paracelsus—Palingenesis The alchemical process of resurrecting a plant or organism from its own ashes.—Hermetic theories concerning the cause of disease—Medicinal properties of herbs—The use of drugs in the Mysteries—The sect of the Assassins A medieval Middle Eastern order known for its secret activities and alleged use of mind-altering substances to induce visions.. 109

THE QABBALAH, THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF ISRAEL

The written and unwritten laws—The origin of the Qabbalistic Relating to the Qabbalah (also spelled Kabbalah), an ancient Jewish mystical and philosophical system for interpreting the divine. writings—Rabbi Simeon ben Jochai—The great Qabbalistic books—The divisions of the Qabbalistic system—The Sepher Yetzirah original: "Book of Formation"; one of the oldest and most important texts of Jewish mysticism.. 113

FUNDAMENTALS OF QABBALISTIC COSMOGONY

Ain Soph The Infinite; the divine source in Qabbalistic thought that exists beyond all form or human comprehension. and the Cosmic Egg—The Qabbalistic system of worlds—The Qabbalistic interpretation of Ezekiel's vision—The great image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream—The Grand Man original: "Adam Kadmon"; the first primordial emanation of the Divine, representing the universe in human form. of the universe—The fifty gates of life. 117

THE TREE OF THE SEPHIROTH

The thirty-two paths of wisdom—The Greater and the Lesser Face—Kircher's Sephirothic Tree A diagram of the ten Sephiroth (divine attributes) as arranged by the scholar Athanasius Kircher.—The mystery of Daath The "hidden" eleventh Sephirah, representing knowledge or the bridge between the higher and lower levels of consciousness.—The three pillars supporting the Sephirothic Tree—The four letters of the Sacred Name. 121