An Esoteric Reader: Insights and Essays into Occult History and Philosophy, Highlighting Freemasonry, Mysticism, Rosicrucian Lore and Hermetic Qabalah

by Frater Achad, Éliphas Lévi, Karl Eckartshausen

This is a collection of 14 essays on a variety of occult-themed topics, covering the full spectrum of classic occultism and related subjects, but with a focus on the western mystery tradition within esotericism. The topics include Hermeticism, Ceremonial Magic, the Kabbalah, Ancient Wisdom and Philosophy, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry and Mysticism, by some of the most notable and prominent names in the history of those subjects.

This collection was compiled specifically with the student in mind. The contents include:

The Origin of Freemasonry by Robert Longfield
Magical Tradition and the Hermetic Qabalah by Eliphas Levi
The Spiritual Significance of Freemasonry by Silas H. Shepherd
Mysticism and Occultism by Arthur Edward Waite
The Cloud Upon the Sanctuary by Karl Eckartshausen
Kabbalah and the Origin of Freemasonry by Eliphas Levi
Emblematic Freemasonry, Building Guilds and Hermetic Schools by Arthur Edward Waite
Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies by Manly P. Hall
Essence of the Practical Qabalah by Frater Achad?
Universal Mysticism in Masonry by Edgar A. Russell
The Hermetic and Rosicrucian Mystery by Arthur Edward Waite
The Soul According to the Qabalah by C. De Leiningen
Death by William Wynn Westcott
Early Masonic Symbolism by Manly P. Hall

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Charles Robert Stansfeld Jones (1886-1950), aka Frater Achad, was an occultist and ceremonial magician. An early aspirant to A∴A∴ (the 20th to be admitted as a Probationer, in December 1909) who "claimed" the grade of Magister Templi as a Neophyte. He also became an O.T.O. initiate, serving as the principal organizer for that order in British Columbia. He worked under a variety of mottos and mantonyms, including V.I.O. (Unus in Omnibus, "One in All," as an A∴A∴ Probationer), O.I.V.V.I.O., V.I.O.O.I.V., Parzival (as an Adeptus Minor and O.T.O. Ninth Degree), and Tantalus Leucocephalus (as Tenth Degree O.T.O.), but he is best known under his Neophyte motto Achad (Hebrew "unity", אחד), which he used as a byline in his various published writings.