SourceA. E. in the Fairy-Faith
The poet A. E. supplies a visionary language for the Otherworld.
Celtic fairy traditionsLoading Lumitheca…
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Explore the ideas, beings and worlds in the books.
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Abdiel
The solitary seraph who refuses the rebellion and returns through hostile scorn.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
SourceAbraxas on Gnostic Gems
A cock-headed, serpent-legged figure interpreted through divine emanations.
Historical talisman traditions
Ace of Cups
A cloud-borne cup, water and a descending sacramental emblem give this Ace several symbolic layers.
Western Tarot symbolism
Ace of Pentacles
A cloud-borne pentacle raises a distinction between material prosperity and its benefit.
Western Tarot symbolism
Ace of Swords
A crowned sword represents force whose outcome is not uniformly favourable.
Western Tarot symbolism
Ace of Wands
A hand from a cloud presents the suit's single stout wand.
Western Tarot symbolism
Acheron in Dante’s Journey
The river where the arriving dead assemble for Charon’s crossing.
Dante, Inferno
Adam in Paradise Lost
The human host and questioner whose garden life receives angelic instruction.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
Adolphe Willette
Willette’s cover for Paul Delmet’s Nouvelles Chansons appears among the book’s French designs.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceAengus Óg
The youthful god associated with the enchanted palace of the Boyne.
Celtic fairy traditions
SourceAffirmation in Raja Yoga
Lesson-ending first-person statements restate the book's teachings as declarations of intention and identity.
Ramacharaka’s Raja Yoga exposition
Agnello’s Merged Form
A man and serpent lose their distinct outlines in the thieves’ ditch.
Dante, Inferno
SourceAlberigo and the Frozen Tears
The speaker who requests relief from the ice over his eyes but does not receive it.
Dante, Inferno
Albertus Magnus
The scholar whom Redgrove places in his alchemical history while questioning the authenticity of attributed alchemical works.
Medieval learning, Redgrove's historical account
Alchemy
The combination of philosophy, material experiment and spiritual interpretation discussed in Redgrove's Alchemy: Ancient and Modern.
Alchemy, H. Stanley Redgrove's historical account
Alessio of Lucca among the Flatterers
The recognised speaker who attributes his place in the second ditch to excessive flattery.
Dante, Inferno
Alichino and Calcabrina’s Quarrel
The failed pursuit that sends two guardians into their own sticky pool.
Dante, Inferno
Ama-terasu
The Sun Goddess whose presence illuminates the world in Davis's retelling of Japanese mythology.
Japanese mythology, Davis retellingAma-terasu's Retreat into the Cave
The mythic episode in which the Sun Goddess withdraws and an assembly of gods draws her back into the light.
Japanese mythology, Davis retelling
SourceAmenta
The Hidden Land divided into domains of posthumous life.
Egyptian funerary religion
SourceAnanda
The disciple who pleads for women’s admission and grieves at Buddha’s final departure.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
SourceAnimal Life on the Astral Plane
Leadbeater’s account of a short animal afterlife and gradual individualization.
Theosophical astral cosmologySourceAnkh
Egyptian sign of life interpreted as a talisman of creative continuity.
Historical talisman traditions
SourceAnnwn
A shadow realm reached through fairy lakes and ruled in different tales by named kings.
Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
SourceAnnwvyn in Pwyll’s Tale
The otherworld kingdom entered through an exchange of royal appearance and duty.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Antaeus, Bearer of the Travellers
The unfettered giant who lowers Dante and Virgil toward Cocytus.
Dante, Inferno
Antenora, the Second Frozen Round
The part of the ice where the encounter with Bocca leads to accusations of betrayal.
Dante, InfernoSourceAnubis
Guardian of the mummy and guide into the judgment hall.
Egyptian funerary religionSourceApparitions at the Time of Death
Reports of a dying person’s presence interpreted as a visit or a thought-form.
Theosophical astral cosmology
SourceAquarius in Baughan’s astrology
Baughan associates Aquarius with the legs and ankles and the colour sky blue.
Baughan’s historical astrologySourceArawn
The crowned king of Annwn whose white hounds meet Pwyll in the forest.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceArawn
The king of Annwvyn who exchanges kingdoms and appearances with Pwyll.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceArianrod
The mother who places conditions on Llew’s name, arms and marriage.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceAries in Baughan’s astrology
Baughan associates Aries with the head and face and the colour white.
Baughan’s historical astrology
Arjuna
The Pandava archer whose skill and moral hesitation make him central to the Mahabharata.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Art as Talisman in Yeats
The comparison between symbolic art and a talisman in Yeats’s introduction to A Book of Images.
W. B. Yeats’s introduction to W. T. Horton, A Book of Images (1898)SourceArthur in the Mabinogion
The courtly ruler whose household gathers the companions and quests of Guest’s Welsh romances.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceAshvins
The twin divine physicians whose gift of youth earns a place in the gods’ offerings.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Aspiration to Enfold All
The meditation on embracing all humanity and drawing it toward an ideal described in Thought-Forms.
Theosophy, Besant and Leadbeater
SourceAstral Body in Thought-Forms
The subtle desire-body through which the authors explain emotional forms and habits.
Theosophy, Besant and Leadbeater
SourceAstral Light in Lévi
The image-bearing medium through which Lévi explains visions and magical influence.
Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental MagicSourceAstral Plane
Theosophy’s intermediate world, divided by states of consciousness and matter.
Theosophical astral cosmologySourceAstral Vision
Claimed perception that sees an object’s interior and several sides at once.
Theosophical astral cosmology
Atalanta Fugiens
Maier’s alchemical emblem book brings engraved images, epigrams, prose and three-voice music into a single sequence.
Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens (1618)SourceAtomic Sensation
Chemical response is interpreted as rudimentary feeling and inclination in the supplied Raja Yoga text.
Ramacharaka’s Raja Yoga expositionSourceAtum
The self-emerging creator called Tum by Tirard, rising from primordial water in the Heliopolitan creation account.
Egyptian funerary religion
Aubrey Beardsley
The Modern Poster reproduces Beardsley’s Bodley Head design and his Avenue Theatre announcement.
Poster and book-cover design in The Modern Poster (1895)SourceAura
The layered luminous field described around living beings in Theosophy.
Theosophical astral cosmology
Ayodhya
The royal city whose ideal order is broken by Rama’s exile and restored by his return.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBa
The mobile aspect of the soul in Tirard’s account, pictured as a human-faced bird able to leave and return to the mummy.
Egyptian funerary religionSourceBagua Trigrams
Eight-line combinations used within the Pavitts’ account of Chinese talismans.
Historical talisman traditions
Baital
The corpse-animating, storytelling spirit who tests King Vikram in Burton's adaptation of the Baital tales.
Indian tale tradition, Burton adaptation
SourceBaku
The composite creature called upon to consume an evil dream.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingSourceBalarama
Krishna’s brother, associated in the collection with the serpent Shesha.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBanshee
A warning woman associated with family, mourning, and the dead.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceBaphomet in Lévi
The composite goat figure used to represent equilibrium and the Absolute.
Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic
Barbariccia Leads the Hooked Escort
The captain who restrains his own violent company long enough for questioning.
Dante, InfernoSourceBattle of the Fireflies
The glowing insects associated with returning Minamoto and Taira warriors.
Japanese legends, Davis retelling
Beatrice, Dante’s Heavenly Guide
The woman whose recognition leads through confession towards the celestial journey.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
SourceBeelzebub in Paradise Lost
The senior fallen counsellor who presents the scheme against the human world.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
Belacqua
The familiar spirit whose delayed repentance becomes a long wait beneath the rock.
Dante, Purgatory and ParadiseSourceBelial in Paradise Lost
The persuasive speaker whose graceful counsel disguises indolence.
John Milton, Paradise LostSourceBendigeid Vran
The giant king who becomes a bridge for his army and leaves a protective head behind.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 edition
Benkei
The powerful warrior and companion of Yoshitsune portrayed in Davis's cycle of heroic legends.
Japanese heroic legend, Davis retellingSourceBennu
Solar heron whose identification with the Greek phoenix is questioned.
Egyptian funerary religionSourceBenten
A figure associated with love, beauty, eloquence and island shrines in Davis.
Japanese legends, Davis retellingBernard, Dante’s Final Guide
The elder who directs Dante’s last attention towards Mary and the ultimate vision.
Dante, Purgatory and Paradise
Bertran de Born’s Speaking Head
The head-bearing speaker who explains his division through a division he claims to have caused.
Dante, InfernoSourceBes
Egyptian protective figure associated with merriment, children, and renewed youth.
Historical talisman traditionsSourceBhagiratha
The royal descendant whose persistence brings Ganga to his ancestors’ ashes.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBharata
The brother who refuses to profit from Rama’s exile and waits for his return.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBhima
The powerful Pandava whose rivalry with Duryodhana turns display towards violence.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBhishma
The royal elder whose obligations connect the rival houses of the Mahabharata.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBinah
Active Intelligence in Lévi’s symbolic scale, balanced by Wisdom and associated with the four Tarot threes.
Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental MagicSourceBirds of Rhiannon
Three birds whose song holds the surviving companions of Branwen’s story in an enchanted interval.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceBlodeuwedd
The woman made from flowers who becomes an owl after conspiring against Llew.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionBocca’s Refusal to Give His Name
The frozen speaker identified by another voice after resisting Dante’s demands.
Dante, InfernoSourceBodhisattva
The Buddha-elect whose long preparation joins sacrifice to the power to enlighten others.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBook of the Dead
A variable collection of funerary texts rather than a single fixed book.
Egyptian funerary religion
SourceBoston’s Angel in America
A guardian figure rejects obedience, tears away his robe and sceptre, and draws the other thirteen Angels into a collective refusal.
William Blake’s illuminated mythology in America: A ProphecySourceBrahma
The creative aspect of the divine, distinct in the collection from the absolute Brahman.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and CoomaraswamySourceBran’s Otherworld Voyage
An invitation carried by a silver branch draws Bran beyond ordinary Ireland.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceBranca Doria’s Apparently Living Body
The named example used to explain a body functioning above while its soul is already below.
Dante, InfernoSourceBranwen
The princess whose marriage alliance becomes the centre of a catastrophe between two islands.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceBridge from Hell to the World
The road made by Sin and Death across the abyss after the human fall.
John Milton, Paradise LostSourceBucca
A Cornish power that the survey distinguishes from ordinary fairies.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceBulla
A Roman amulet container worn as a sign and safeguard.
Historical talisman traditions
Buonconte da Montefeltro's Final Tear
A last invocation and tear decide the fate of a dying fighter in the poem.
Dante, PurgatorioSourceBush of Heaven
A tree-side resting place where a devout monk sleeps beyond his lifetime.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceBwbach
A household goblin who helps with work but can torment an unwelcome guest.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceCaduceus
Mercury’s serpent-entwined rod as an emblem of persuasion and reconciliation.
Historical talisman traditions
Caina, the First Frozen Round
The first division of the frozen circle, introduced through entangled family figures.
Dante, InfernoSourceCancer in Baughan’s astrology
Baughan associates Cancer with the breast and stomach and the colour green and russet brown.
Baughan’s historical astrologySourceCanna’s Stone
A stone chair used in a healing legend alongside the water of Canna’s well.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceCapricorn in Baughan’s astrology
Baughan associates Capricorn with the knees and hams and the colour black or dark brown.
Baughan’s historical astrologySourceCaridwen
The maker of an inspiration-cauldron whose intended gift is diverted to Gwion Bach.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceCaridwen’s Cauldron of Inspiration
The year-long preparation that concentrates its power into three drops.
The Mabinogion, Guest’s 1877 editionSourceCarn Cabal’s Returning Stone
A stone marked by Arthur’s dog that cannot be permanently removed from its heap.
Welsh folklore, Wirt SikesSourceCarnac in the Fairy-Faith
Breton megalithic landscape surrounded by living tales of korrigans.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceCartouche
The enclosing name-sign treated as a safeguard of personal identity.
Historical talisman traditions
SourceCasella
The beloved singer whom Dante tries, unsuccessfully, to embrace after death.
Dante, Purgatory and ParadiseSourceCastell Coch’s Eagle Guardians
Two great eagles guarding an iron chest beneath the castle in a treasure legend.
Welsh folklore, Wirt Sikes
Catalano and Loderingo
Two Bolognese friars who recall their joint appointment as arbiters in Florence.
Dante, Inferno
Cato at the Shore of Purgatory
The revered guardian who permits a living traveller to approach the mountain.
Dante, Purgatory and ParadiseSourceCausal Body
Vehicle of the higher self that persists across births in the Theosophical account.
Theosophical astral cosmology
Cavalcante’s Question about His Son
The grieving father who mistakes Dante’s tense and hesitation for news of death.
Dante, InfernoSourceCave of Cruachan
A named entrance associated with Sidhe visitors and Nera’s adventure.
Celtic fairy traditionsSourceCelestial River
The heavenly river separating Tanabata and Hikoboshi in Davis's star-lovers legend.
Japanese legends, Davis retelling
SourceCeltic Cross
Ten dealt positions form a cross and a four-card staff around a separately chosen representative card.
Western Tarot symbolism
Cerberus in the Third Circle
The three-throated guardian among the gluttonous souls beneath ceaseless cold rain.
Dante, Inferno
Ceres, Thetis and Alchemical Nurture
Maier pairs the nurture of Triptolemus and Achilles with the gradual strengthening of his philosophical stone.
Michael Maier, Atalanta Fugiens (1618)SourceChanna
The charioteer who explains the prince’s first encounters with suffering and accompanies his departure.
Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Chaos in Paradise Lost
The ruler of the unformed abyss who welcomes ruin as a recovery of lost territory.
John Milton, Paradise LostCharon, Dante’s Ferryman
The fiery-eyed boatman who gathers the dead at Acheron and objects to Dante’s living presence.
Dante, InfernoSourceChesed
Mercy in Lévi’s symbolic scale: benevolent strength expressed through the benefactions of the four Tarot fours.
Éliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic
Chidambaram
The sacred city associated in the collection with Shiva’s dance and the Golden Court.
Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Chiron among the Armed Centaurs
The centaur who notices the physical evidence that Dante is alive.
Dante, InfernoSourceChladni Figures in Thought-Forms
The patterned sound-plate and pendulum examples used as analogies in Besant and Leadbeater's account of thought-forms.
Theosophy, Besant and LeadbeaterSourceChochmah
Wisdom in Lévi’s symbolic scale, represented by four rivers and associated with the Tarot’s numbered twos.
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