Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: prophecies, Traditions and Occult Revelations

New
Paperback
2010
$17.96

Atlantis has held a perennial place in the collective imagination of humanity from ancient Greece onward. Many of the great minds of the occult and esoteric world wrote at length on their theories of Atlantis--about its high culture, its possible location, its ultimate demise, and their predictions of a return to Atlantean enlightenment or the downfall of modern society. Beginning with a review of the rationalist writings on Atlantis--those that use geographic and geologic data to validate their theories--renowned scholar Joscelyn Godwin then analyzes and compares writings on Atlantis from many of the great occultists and esotericists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Fabre d'Olivet, G. I. Gurdjieff, Guido von List, Julius Evola, Edgar Cayce, Dion Fortune, and Rene Guenon, whose writings often stem from deeper, metaphysical sources, such as sacred texts, prophecy, or paranormal communication. Seeking to unravel and explain the histories and interpretations of Atlantis and its kindred myths of Lemuria and Mu, the author shows how these different views go hand-in-hand with the concept of cyclical history, such as the Vedic system of the four Yugas, the Mayan calendar with its 2012 end-date, the theosophical system of root races, and the precession of the equinoxes. Venturing broader and deeper than any other book on Atlantis, this study also covers reincarnation, human evolution or devolution, the origins of race, and catastrophe theory.

Synopsis

Atlantis has held a perennial place in the collective imagination of humanity from ancient Greece onward. Many of the great minds of the occult and esoteric world wrote at length on their theories of Atlantis--about its high culture, its possible location, its ultimate demise, and their predictions of a return to Atlantean enlightenment or the downfall of modern society. Beginning with a review of the rationalist writings on Atlantis--those that use geographic and geologic data to validate their theories--renowned scholar Joscelyn Godwin then analyzes and compares writings on Atlantis from many of the great occultists and esotericists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Fabre d'Olivet, G. I. Gurdjieff, Guido von List, Julius Evola, Edgar Cayce, Dion Fortune, and Rene Guenon, whose writings often stem from deeper, metaphysical sources, such as sacred texts, prophecy, or paranormal communication. Seeking to unravel and explain the histories and interpretations of Atlantis and its kindred myths of Lemuria and Mu, the author shows how these different views go hand-in-hand with the concept of cyclical history, such as the Vedic system of the four Yugas, the Mayan calendar with its 2012 end-date, the theosophical system of root races, and the precession of the equinoxes. Venturing broader and deeper than any other book on Atlantis, this study also covers reincarnation, human evolution or devolution, the origins of race, and catastrophe theory.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 448
Publisher: Inner Traditions International
Published: 01 Dec 2010
ISBN 10: 1594772622
ISBN 13: 9781594772627

Media Reviews

Scholarly, meticulously researched, and superbly presented. Joscelyn Godwin has produced a wonderful book that will delight and impress all those who seek `Atlantis,' be it a myth or reality. I urge you to read it! * Robert Bauval, author of The Orion Mystery and Egypt Code *
In this important book Joscelyn Godwin has accomplished the nearly impossible, masterfully summarizing and synthesizing widely disparate approaches to the perennial question of Atlantis. Much more than a catalog of possible Atlantis locations, occult Atlantology is finally accorded the importance it deserves, including a cogent analysis of esoteric cycles of time, the Four World Ages, the Yuga Cycle, and the Precession of the Equinoxes, placing Atlantis in a larger temporal context. This is a must-read for anyone who wishes to truly understand the Atlantis debate. * Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D., author of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders and The Parapsychology Revolution *
As absorbing as it is erudite, both comprehensive and profound, essential as a reference work, and quintessential to grasp the depth and breadth of a grievously misunderstood, perennially fascinating, and perhaps critical subject, Atlantis and the Cycles of Time is a unique work: the `compleat' Atlantis. * John Anthony West, author of Serpent in the Sky: The High Wisdom of Ancient Egypt *
From the sublime to the ludicrous, from the poetic to the simply mad, Joscelyn Godwin gives us a chart of the many versions of Atlantis (with all their `glaring lack of consensus') that will last us till the lost continent rises again. Truly Godwin is the Master of Atlantis. * Peter Lamborn Wilson, coauthor of Atlantis Manifesto and Green Hermeticism: Alchemy & Ecology *
Godwin pulls together the many disparate topics associated with the myth of Atlantis from a number of sources and presents them in a well-organized, scholarly work. For serious students of history or anthropology only. * Susan Flaherty, Library Journal, January 2011 *
Atlantis and the Cycles of Time is one of the most extensive examinations of the Atlantis story and the themes it embodies ever published. Godwin's knowledge of esotericism, occultism and mysticism is encyclopedic and his ability to elucidate the strangest and most obscure cosmology is breathtaking. From the inners and outs of Blavatsky's Root Races to the quirky views of Germanic Atlantology it is all here in mind blowing detail. * Living Traditions Magazine, January 2011 *
. . . an excellent work that gives us one of the first academic examinations of the theory of Atlantis throughout history. It is objective and critical, but sympathetic, and a truly challenging and stimulating read. * Robert Black, New Dawn Magazine, February 2011 *
. . . reveals a fascinating story of the way in which the Atlantis myth has permeated almost every strand of mystical thinking in the West from the occultists of revolutionary France to the New Agers of Modern California. * John Rimmer, Magonia Blog, February 2011 *
. . . Joscelyn Godwin. . .the eminent scholar of esotericism examines the continuing fascination of this myth and the surprising effect it has had on the Western world's intellectual history. * Modern Mythology & The Eyeless Owl, April 2011 *
Much has been written about the lost continents of Atlantis and Lemuria from an occult perspective as well from a rationalist view based on geographic and geological data, but these perspectives have not really been synthesized into a coherent whole. Scholar, translator and music professor Dr. Joscelyn Godwin applies his talents to reconciling the two. * New Dawn Magazine, May 2011 *
The depth and breadth of the presentation amazed, and pleased, me. . . It should earn a place in your library. * Michael Gleason, Independent Reviewer, August 2011 *
Godwin has produced a very useful resource for anyone interested in the myriad ideas about Atlantis. * Choice Reviews Online, November 2011 *
Intelligent and written in a readable style that moves at a good pace, Atlantis and the Cycles of Time is a compelling exploration of the topic. * The Beacon Magazine *
...this is a richly rewarding and illuminating work of scholarship, a chronicle of modern Western essays in what Henry Corbin called `hierohistory'. * Temenos Academy, January 2013 *

Author Bio

Educated at Cambridge and Cornell, Joscelyn Godwin, Ph.D., is a professor of music at Colgate University and the author, editor, and translator of more than 30 books, including Athanasius Kircher's Theatre of the World. Known for his translations of the works of Fabre d'Olivet and Julius Evola as well as Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, he lives in Hamilton, New York.