{"title":"Books by Ronnie Pontiac","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781644117200","title":"The Magic of the Orphic Hymns","description":"\u003cb\u003eRecaptures the magical vitality of the original Orphic Hymns.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As famous Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino wrote, “No magic is more powerful than that of the Orphic Hymns.” These legendary \u003ci\u003eteletai\u003c\/i\u003e of Orpheus were not simply “hymns”—they were initiatic poems for meditation and ritual, magical, and ceremonial use, each one addressed to a specific deity, such as Athena or Zeus, or a virtue, such as Love, Justice, and Equality. Yet despite the mystical concepts underlying them, the original hymns were formulaic, creating an obstacle for translators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Recapturing the magical vitality that inspired mystery cults through the ages, Tamra Lucid and Ronnie Pontiac present new versions of the \u003ci\u003eteletai\u003c\/i\u003e that include important esoteric details and correspondences about the being or deity to which each hymn is addressed. The authors also include a new version of a lost hymn to Number and messages that were inscribed on golden leaves meant to be passports for the dead, reinventions that preserve the original magical intent and mysticism of the \u003ci\u003eteletai\u003c\/i\u003e. The authors provide a complete historical survey, based on the latest research, of the obscure origins and evolution of the Orpheus myth, revealing a profound influence at the heart of Western esotericism as well as on countercultures throughout Western history. Revealing the power of the individual hymns to attune the reader to the sacred presence of the Orphic Mysteries and the higher order of nature, the authors also show how, taken together, the Orphic Hymns are a book of hours or a calendar of life, addressing every event, from birth to death, and walking us through all the experiences of human existence as necessary and holy.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302623162741,"sku":"9781644117200","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781644117200_b24d3b0b-f55e-4988-8306-d3d488c413aa.jpg?v=1786024164"},{"product_id":"9781644115589","title":"American Metaphysical Religion","description":"Most Americans believe the United States was founded by pious Christians. However, as Ronnie Pontiac reveals, from the very beginning America was a vibrant blend of beliefs from all four corners of the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Based on the latest research, with the assistance of leading scholars, this in-depth exploration of four centuries of American occult and spiritual history looks at everything from colonial-era alchemists, astrologers, and early spiritual collectives to Edgar Cayce, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, and St. Germain on Mount Shasta. Pontiac shows that Rosicrucians were among the first settlers from England and explores how young women of the Shaker community fell into trances and gave messages from the dead. He details the spiritual influence of African slaves, the work of mystical abolitionists, and how Native Americans and Latinx people played a large role in the shaping of contemporary spirituality and healing practices.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The author looks at well-known figures such as Manly P. Hall and lesser known esoteric luminaries such as the Pagan Pilgrim, Tom Morton. He examines the Aquarian Gospel, the Sekhmet Revival, \u003ci\u003eA Course in Miracles\u003c\/i\u003e, the School of Ageless Wisdom, and mediumship in the early 20th century. He explores the profound influence of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore in Los Angeles and looks at the evolution of female roles in spirituality across the centuries. He also examines the right wing of American metaphysics from the Silver Legion to QAnon.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Revealing the diverse streams that run through America’s metaphysical landscape, Pontiac offers an encyclopedic examination of occult teachers, esotericists, and spiritual collectives almost no one has heard of, but who were profoundly influential.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312713740661,"sku":"9781644115589","price":26.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781644115589_15d91b21-fa74-4c36-9144-8da75b8123d8.jpg?v=1786025014"},{"product_id":"9798888500354","title":"The Rosicrucian Counterculture","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA cultural exploration of the esoteric movement and its historical impact and legacy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExamines the Rosicrucian involvement of figures like Rene Descartes, Robert Fludd, John Dee, Elias Ashmole, and the alchemist pirate Prince Rupert of the Rhine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTraces the saga of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, and his countercultural successors Frederick and Elizabeth, who triggered the Thirty Years’ War\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShows how Rosicrucianism inspired the English Revolution and explores the Rosicrucianism of John Winthrop the Younger, Connecticut’s founder\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Since the appearance of Rosicrucian manuscripts in 17th-century Germany, historians have questioned the authorship, intent, and significance of this esoteric movement.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Rosicrucianism was an underground movement whose influence in the early-modern period continues to the present. Ronnie Pontiac traces their origin, looking at the esoteric culture around Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and his court, including figures like John Dee, Tycho Brahe, and Rabbi Loew, the legendary creator of the Golem of Prague. Despite occultists’ fascination with Rudolf’s successors, Frederick and Elizabeth, at the start of the Thirty Years’ War—and Rosicrucian efforts to make Frederick the first Protestant Holy Roman Emperor—the esoteric renaissance in Bohemia was short-lived. However, this wasn’t the end of Rosicrucianism as its influence spread far beyond the Holy Roman Empire. Pontiac explores the movement’s impact on Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution, as well as individuals such as Robert Fludd, Rene Descartes, Elias Ashmole, Moritz the Learned, Paracelsus, and William Shakespeare. He then details the movement’s arrival in the New World, including the Rosicrucianism of Connecticut’s alchemist governor, John Winthrop the Younger, and what Cotton Mather thought of it. Looking to the present, Pontiac shows how both pop culture and the modern psychedelic counterculture are informed by Rosicrucian ideas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This book provides important historical context for the origin, development, and spread of the Rosicrucian movement and modern Western occultism in general, showing how the invisible society’s countercultural ideals remain alive today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369606361461,"sku":"9798888500354","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9798888500354_47e053d6-e9a1-427f-9961-59d67bce847a.jpg?v=1786032834"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-ronnie-pontiac.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}