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New Worlds October/November/December 2011 (Holiday Gift Guide) Issue

Download the PDF File version of the latest issue of Llewellyn's New Worlds Catalog

Home > Encyclopedia > Term: gnostic

Term: gnostic

DEFINITIONS

Gnosticism: A word derived from the Greek gnostikos, meaning one who has acquired gnosis or "knowledge" (literally, "one who knows"). Any of several Gnostic sects that flourished in the Mediterranean world during the time of Christ, particularly during the second and third centuries C.E. and for many centuries after. The two major branches of Gnosticism were Sethian or Jewish Gnosticism, and Valentinian or Christian Gnosticism.
source: The Essential Golden Dawn, by Chic Cicero & Sandra Tabatha

Gnostic: See gnosticism.

ARTICLES

Crowley's Gnostic Mass

The Gnostic Mass was written by Aleister Crowley while he was in Moscow in the year 1913. He had just been appointed the head of the British section of the O.T.O. He claimed that he was influenced by the Liturgy of St. Basil of the Russian Church. ...

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Reincarnation

The belief that souls of the dead are reborn in other bodies, human or animal; also called transmigration. Far and away the most common teaching on the afterlife in Western occult traditions� The rise of Christianity, with its insistence on eternal ...

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Carl Llewellyn Weschcke�Father of the New Age

The New Age has been defined as the "Name for a movement covering a wide variety of practices that were alternative to traditional Western practices, although many have become normative. Included concepts are holistic thinking, mysticism, ...

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Abracadabra

Some people have tried to associate the word with ancient Jewish mysticism and Kabalism. Typical examples say that it is derived from ab, ben, and ruach acadasch, words that respectively mean father, son, and Holy Spirit. Another supposed source is ...

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The History of the Golden Dawn

The story of the Golden Dawn, like that of any human organization, is replete with high points and low points�with human achievements and human failings. There is no need for us to try to whitewash or sugarcoat the faults of some of the individuals ...

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What is the Golden Dawn

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is an initiatory magical group that was founded in London in 1888. It is a society that is dedicated to philosophical, spiritual, and psychic evolution. The history lecture of the Order states that, "The Order ...

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The Central Teaching of Thelema

The central teaching of Thelema is that every soul is eternal, and possesses a "True Will" or essential purpose that is the law under which it lives. During each incarnation, the soul seeks to find and accomplish its true will. Any action in harmony ...

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New Age

A phrase adapted by certain occult writers to describe: A belief in a new level of consciousness coincident with the Aquarian Age. A social movement of diverse spiritual and political elements directed toward the transformation of individuals ...

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Magic of the Golden Dawn

The Golden Dawn system of magic was designed to teach its students both abstract esoteric concepts as well as the more practical applications of ceremonial magic, particularly Western Hermetic magic. Egyptian, Judeo-Christian, Greek, Gnostic, ...

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Restoring Romance with Astral Projection

Introduction. Our goal here is not so much formulaic as it a reminder of what romance and sexual interaction can be, as it was when “we were young and filled with anticipation for the great adventure that is Love’s Promise.” Even ...

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Building Empathy in These Tough Times

When I first came up with the idea of writing the book Spells for Tough Times, I did so because I knew people out there needed help. They may need help with their finances, they may need help with their families, they may need help with their health; whatever the topic, there are people in this world in need, and it seems we often tend to forget... read this article

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