Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred

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Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, 1996 - 310 pages
In this guide to the cosmology of ancient Egypt, Jeremy Naydler recreates the experience of living in another time and place. Temple of the Cosmos explores Egypt's sacred geography and mythology; but more importantly, it reveals with unprecedented clarity an ancient consciousness in tune with the rhythms of the earth. The ancient Egyptians experienced their gods not as remote beings but rather as psychic and natural forces, transpersonal energies that played a part in everyday life. This direct experience of the gods shaped the Egyptian concepts of human development, healing, magic, and the soul's journey through the Underworld as described in the Books of the Dead. While building on the pioneering efforts of R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz and others, Temple of the Cosmos is much more than a recapitulation of previous theories of Egyptian spirituality. Rather, this book breaks new ground by placing the work of other Egyptologists in an original, magical context. The result is a brilliant reimagining of the Egyptian worldview and its sacred path of spiritual unfolding.

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Contents

A METAPHYSICAL LANDSCAPE
1
INTERPENETRATING WORLDS
11
MYTHS OF COSMOGENESIS
32
THE MARKING OF TIME
59
THE MARRIAGE OF MYTH AND HISTORY
91
THE THEOLOGY OF MAGIC
121
THE PRACTICE OF MAGIC
147
THE SOUL INCARNATE
175
ORIENTATING IN THE UNDERWORLD
213
THE TRAVAILS OF THE UNDERWORLD
237
THE END OF THE UNDERWORLD JOURNEY
261
EPILOGUE
282
NOTES
287
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
302
INDEX
304
Copyright

THE SOUL DISCARNATE
193

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About the author (1996)

Jeremy Naydler, Ph.D., is a philosopher who specializes in the religious life of ancient cultures. He is a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and author of Temple of the Cosmos, Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts, The Future of the Ancient World, and Goethe on Science. He lives in Oxford, England.

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