I’m enormously pleased to announce the launch of my latest book, Children of Starry Heaven: The Ancient Greek Transcendental Tradition, which is being published by Cherry Hill Seminary in South Carolina.
For centuries, people in ancient Greek-speaking cultures sought to surpass the mortal human condition and enter into divinity. They set out on a quest to understand the hidden structure of the cosmos; and they looked for ways to have transcendent encounters with supernatural powers in a world in which the divine was an immanent reality.
These efforts developed into a rich and enduring tradition of belief and practice. I have called this the ancient Greek transcendental tradition. Other words could also be used to capture some of the aspects of this current, such as ‘mystical’, ‘magical’ and ‘esoteric’.
In later times, the tradition went on to have a profound influence on European and American religious and spiritual traditions – although that is another story.
In its own day, the ancient Greek transcendental tradition extended widely over time and space. It included both well-known philosophers and anonymous ordinary people whose names are lost to history. Expressions of the tradition ranged from the communes of Pythagoras to the mysteries of Eleusis and Isis; and from the world-denying Gnostics to the form of religious magic known as theurgy.
Until now, it has been difficult to find an accessible introduction to this unique and fascinating spiritual current. This book tells the story of the transcendental tradition in a concise and readable way, beginning with the early Orphic cults of archaic Greece and ending with the Hermetic and magical movements of the Christian era. It is written both for beginners without prior specialist knowledge and for people who may already be familiar with some aspects of the subject.
I am giving a livestreamed talk on the book on Thursday 19 November at 7pm GMT. Everyone is welcome to join using this link (and if you happen to be in Glastonbury, you can come in person – it’s at Becket’s Inn).
The book is on sale here:
