Quick Time Press – förlag

The The Emerald Tablet of Hermes & Kybalion compose two pillars of Hermetic thought. Combined here in one volume, these two works share true wisdom with those ready to receive it. “When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to fill them with wisdom.”

The Kybalion was first published anonymously in 1908 by “The Three Initiates.” The true authorship of the work is unknown, although theories suggest it was written entirely or in part by William Walker Atkinson.

Atkinson was a prolific writer and supported the New Thought movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries. New Thought included the belief that our realities can be manifested by mental effort, which is also suggested in Hermetic principles. Scholars point to similarities in style and content between The Kybalion and Atkinson’s own The Arcane Teachings as evidence that he was one (or all) of “The Three Initiates.”

The Kybalion provides an introduction to the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus—Hermes “the Thrice-Greatest.” This “Master of Masters” is said in The Kybalion to have lived 300 years on Earth, and believed by some to be the founder of both astrology and alchemy (precursors to astronomy and chemistry, respectively). Hermes Trismegistus was deified after his death as Toth by the ancient Egyptians, and Hermes by the Greeks. In both pantheons, this man-turned-god was considered a symbol of great wisdom.

The Kybalion's explanation of Hermetic teachings are claimed to have been passed down orally for centuries, eventually reaching “The Three Initiates.” The fundamental Hermetic traditions presented in The Kybalion consist of seven “working principles”: Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender. Within these seven principles is true wisdom, tied to no particular place and no particular religion. It is the “sacred flame” kept lit by a chosen few used to “re-light the lesser lamps of the outside world when the light of truth grew dim…” In short, these are the truths of the universe, regardless of era or creed.

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes is a short, ancient text attributed to Hermes Trismegistus himself. Unlike The Kybalion, which aims to provide some explanation and instruction, the brief Emerald Tablet has been puzzling and fascinating scholars for over 1,000 years.

Consisting of a mere 14 stanzas, the Emerald Tablet is said to contain the secrets of prima materia—the foundational material of the universe. The Emerald Tablet and its teaching influenced freemasonry and philosophy throughout history. The text of the tablet has been translated and commented on by a variety of scholars, including Sir Isaac Newton who was inspired by its teachings throughout his life and work.

The earliest known version of the text comes from an Arabic work written between the 6th and 8th centuries by Balinas. He claimed to have found the tablet hidden in a vault beneath a statue of Hermes. Another story claims the tablet was written by Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve. And yet another says the tablet was uncovered and then reburied by Alexander the Great.

The source and material of the physical tablet is unknown. It was reported to be a rectangular green stone, with text in raised bas-relief rather than engraved. Some even claim there never was a physical tablet at all, although several accounts claim it was on display in Egypt in 330 BCE. Whatever its origins and history, the work was first introduced to the West in the 12th century through Latin translations. Since then, this cryptic text has been translated and re-translated, pored-over and analyzed by philosophers, historians, and theologians alike.

This 17th century treatise on demonology, written by the respected theologian, Catholic priest, and exorcist, Rev. Father Sinistrari, examines a particular class of spirits known as the incubus and succubus. These minor demons crave sex and often attack their victims while they sleep. Though incubus and succubus are considered less dangerous than possessing demons, they can be relentless in pursuit of their desire and grow violent when resisted.

Demoniality advances novel theories about occult biology, claiming demons can reanimate corpses to have sex and impregnate victims with demonic seed to produce offspring who are "tall, hardy, bold and wicked." An expert on witchcraft and sexual sin, Rev. Father Sinistrari included sections on related phenomena, including: bestiality, necrophilia, demonic pacts, witchcraft, witches' marks, devil worship and magical beings such as fauns, centaurs and elves.

Father Sinistrari was a learned Franciscan Friar who used deductive reasoning to examine the characteristics of the spirit world. For example, do demons have mass? He concludes they do, but determines they are porous-allowing for their supernatural feats of passing through objects and appearing from nowhere. He also classified the demonic spirits by their actions, explaining that some seek out corrupt pacts with witches or wizards, while others are parasitic and indiscriminately attack the innocent.

As a primer on demonic behavior, Demonality is extremely detailed. Father Sinistrari was schooled in the sciences of the time, including herbalism, alchemy, elements, humors and the symptoms of witchcraft-even serving as an advisor to the notorious Inquisition. Because of this, he focuses on diagnoses and remedies to expel the pests, using his alchemical knowledge to devise herbal formulas for countering a demon's specific elemental nature. These elaborate herbal recipes are similar to the elixirs found in a magician's grimoire or a witch's book of shadows.

The title of the book is a play on the word bestiality, which conveys Father Sinistrari's belief that copulating with demons is, similarly, a sinful act and a crime. But while incubus and succubus are spirits doing evil deeds, Father Sinistrari is not dismissive of their salvation. He advances the theological argument that these minor demons have souls, and can be saved from damnation. He distinguishes them from the more vulgar type that tend to possess humans in terrifying displays. As proof, he shows how this latter class of demon greatly fears religious relics, while incubus and succubus do not object when in their presence: clear evidence, according to Sinistrari, that they are not damned, but are likely in limbo.

As a prominent exorcist of his time, Father Sinistrari encountered victims of demonic activity on a regular basis. Many of the afflicted were, ironically, nuns and priests in the service of God or people under their care. In one story, a young maiden of noble birth is romantically pursued by a spirit that, out of frustration with her chastity, finally attacks her. Another story involves a nun who disappeared to her cell where two voices are heard along with groaning and the creaking of her bed. A rival nun drilled a hole through the partition to see an attractive young man lying with her sister who mysteriously disappeared when the two were confronted.

References to demonic attack were carved into stone four thousand years ago long before Jesus Christ, the greatest exorcist of them all, walked the earth. As Christianity took hold, encounters with these entities were often laid out in moral terms. Father Sinistrari took a different approach: applying reason to understand this curious phenomenon along with theology, history and science. The result is this interesting treatise.

Atomic Power With God Thru Fasting and Prayer is a short work by the spirited evangelist Franklin Hall. The book describes how prayer during extended fasts can heal the body and soul, and bring practitioners greater spiritual power to exalt and glorify Jesus Christ.

Franklin Hall was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, in 1909. Hall's father died when Franklin was only twelve, leaving him distraught with both his loss and the responsibility of supporting his mother and five younger siblings. During these hard times, he looked to the local Pentecostal church for guidance. The church became a major influence on the lives of the young Hall children and their widowed mother, who remarried the reverend soon after.

Hall began his own traveling ministry during the Great Depression. But he didn't become well known among evangelicals until the release of his first book, Atomic Power With God Thru Fasting and Prayer, in 1946.

In the book, Hall described his own introduction to fasting and prayer through friendship with a Oklahoma family advocating the practice in 1932. He fasted and prayed with them in anticipation of a large revival-and at the ensuing event, "scores of people were healed of all types of afflictions."

He became convinced of the power of fasting and began to preach its efficacy as he traveled. In 1946, a group of "Holy Ghost people" began a long session of prayer and fasting, lasting between ten and forty days. According to Hall, they experienced a great spiritual awakening. Some even found healing of physical ailments during the fast. As word of the event spread, Hall found that there was heavy demand for more information about the power of fasting and prayer.

Later that same year, Hall wrote Atomic Power. The book explores how fasting intensifies prayer by "[bringing] unity and [filling] us with the glory of God." Through the combination of these two acts, he believed one could enhance their "spiritual appetites" and curtail their hunger, sex, and greed appetites-thereby uncovering their "spiritual atomic power with God that lies available to every Christian."

Hall acknowledged that fasting and prayer were not new. Beyond the multiple examples from the Bible, and specifically from the life of Christ, he cited the fasting and prayer of Native Americans and Muslims who abstained from food as a regular part of their devotional exercises.

In addition to the why of fasting, the book explained how one should fast. A complete fast, Hall wrote, should last from the time hunger leaves to the time hunger returns-usually 21 to 40 days. Water should be consumed in abundance to clean out the stomach and intestines of waste. And when it's time to break the fast, Hall provided a detailed breakdown of what to eat and when.

Atomic Power brought success and notoriety to Hall, who continued to travel across the country evangelizing to crowds of up to 5,000 people. Immediately after Atomic Power, he published The Fasting Prayer in 1947 and Glorified Fasting: The ABC of Fasting in 1948. He published a total of 17 books during his lifetime. Hall and his wife, Helen, founded the Hall Deliverance Foundation in the mid-1950s. This alliance of churches and ministries followed Hall's teachings for fasting and prayer. The couple also started Miracle Word, a ministry newsletter that had 24,000 subscribers worldwide at its peak. Some other evangelists and Pentecostals did not agree with Hall's teachings. Still, fasting had staunch believers through the 1950s and beyond, including some notable evangelists like Gordon Lindsay, William Branham, and Orval Jaggers. Hall's work has now been inspiring Christians to explore the benefits of fasting on their physical and spiritual health for over 70 years.