LibraryThing Author:
T Polyphilus

T Polyphilus is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.

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Surrealist Women: An International Anthology by Penelope Rosemont

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The Teaching of Buddha by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai

101 Chess Problems for Beginners by Fred Reinfeld

Relating: An Astrological Guide to Living With Others on a Small Planet by Liz Greene

The Filth by Grant Morrison

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Friends: 666777, Aequinoctium, barbelo, circusavatar, frater_vep, jasonpettus, Kikhos_ba-Midhbar, Micko, Phevos, rcc, sekhet_maat, sphinxie, ThomasCWilliams, yuugen

Interesting libraries: AnarchoHermetica, AsYouKnow_Bob, BarkingMatt, elenchus, Seti_Scarabeus

LibraryThing authors: Isaac Bonewits (ibonewits), T Polyphilus (paradoxosalpha), Gerald del Campo (solis93)

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Member: paradoxosalpha

CollectionsYour library (2,373), Currently reading (7), To read (35), Favorites (20), Boxed (412), Borrowed (3), Read but unowned (47), Wishlist (27), All collections (2,448)

Reviews128 reviews

Tagsoccult (523), christianity (226), medieval (183), thelema (180), au br (142), freemasonry (126), science fiction (123), graphic novel (119), au st (118), antiquity (117) — see all tags

Cloudstag cloud, author cloud

GroupsChicagoans, Cthulhu Mythos, Erotica, Freemasonry, Happy Heathens, Pynchon Pandæmonium, The Chapel of the Abyss, The Rabble Discuss Cabell: James Branch Cabell &c, The Weird Tradition, Thelema — show all groups , Theosophy

Favorite authorsApuleius, James Branch Cabell, Italo Calvino, Giacomo Casanova, Henry Corbin, Aleister Crowley, Joscelyn Godwin, Robert Irwin, Anna Bonus Kingsford, R. A. Lafferty, Jean-Francois Lyotard, David Madsen, Friedrich Nietzsche, Marguerite Porete, Thomas Pynchon, Algernon Charles Swinburne (Shared favorites)

Favorite bookstoresAlchemy Arts, Amaranth Books, Bookman's Alley, Chicago Rare Book Center, Comix Revolution, Myopic Books, Quest Book Shop, Quimby's Bookstore, Seminary Co-op Bookstore, The Gallery Bookstore, The Occult Bookstore

Favorite librariesEvanston Public Library - Main Library, Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library, J.R. Ritman Library - Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Newberry Library, Ordo Templi Orientis U.S. Grand Lodge Library, University of Texas Libaries - Harry Ransom Center

About meI am not an Atheist in your sense of the word: your doctrine is too coarse for any known blasphemy to shame it.
I am not an Atheist in your sense of the word: fancy a Priest let loose on Society!
As long as men and women shall bury their own perfect natures in fear, guilt, and shame--I am against Atheism, and for the Mysteries.
Every "rational enlightenment" has engendered new superstitions.

ABSURDUM EST UT CREDAM, SED CREDO QUIA ABSURDUS SUM.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

About my library"A fool may buy all the books in the world, and they will be in his library; but he will be able to read only those that he deserves to." --Vivekananda

Most volumes in my library are unlikely to circulate, and are more apt to crucify.

Some unusual tags defined:
au st and sb st indicate books whose authors and subjects (respectively) are saints of the Gnostic Catholic Church.
19c gd is the 19th-century manifestation of the Golden Dawn magical order, while neo-gd includes its putative successors and revivals in the 20th and 21st centuries.
While kabbalah is the Jewish mystical tradition beginning in the Middle Ages, cabala is its Christian esoteric derivatives from the Renaissance onward, and qabalah is the heuristic, non-doctrinal "hermetic qabalah" of 20th and 21st century occultists.

Homepagehttp://hermetic.com/dionysos/main2.htm

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Real nameT Polyphilus

LocationAdocentyn

Emailparadoxosalphayahoo.com

Account typepublic, lifetime

Connection NewsConnection News

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/paradoxosalpha (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/paradoxosalpha (library)

Common KnowledgeSeries (194), Awards (130), Characters (1419), Places (538)

Member sinceNov 17, 2006

Currently readingSpiritual Body and Celestial Earth by Henry Corbin
Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon
The Book of the Law by (Aleister Crowley)
The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism by Robert Coles
Celestial Ship of the North by E. Valentia Straiton
show all (7)

Most recent activity

paradoxosalpha added:
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

paradoxosalpha added:
V. by Thomas Pynchon

paradoxosalpha added:
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

paradoxosalpha added:
Reincarnation: The Cycle of Necessity by Manly Palmer Hall

paradoxosalpha added:
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Red Sepulchre by Mike Carey

paradoxosalpha added:
Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen by Lesley Hazleton

On Page 1, right after the Life of Volney biosketch, you will find Jefferson's translation of the Invocation: "Hail solitary ruins, holy sepulchres and silent walls! you I invoke; to you I address my prayer." This passes my so-called Acid Test or Point #4. Note that in the preceeding pages, denominated in Roman numerals, the publisher reprints three versions of the Invocation, thus to point out the elegance of what was then referred to as the "Paris Translation" or the "Barlow Translation"--this before Jefferson's involvement in the project came to light. The side-by-side comparison in the Publisher's Preface of these three translations of the Invocation can be a source of confusion. The key is: read the Invocation on Page 1. That is the translation by Thomas Jefferson. Many thanks for your comment which prompted me to more thoroughly describe the opening pages of this edition! AZB, TCW

posted by ThomasCWilliams at 12:13 am (EST) on Oct 2, 2009

Your red-cover 1950 Truth Seeker edition of Volney's "Ruins of Empires" very much IS a copy of the Jefferson-Barlow translation. I own twelve copies myself. Most come with a sturdy nylon wrapper and strong binding. I consider it one of the best Jefferson editions of the last century. And yes, after reading several references to Dupuis' "Origin of all Religion" in both Volney and Jefferson I finally hunted down a Dodo Press edition--what a great book and enjoyable read! Thanks for accepting my friends invitation and, by the way, All Zee Best, TCW

posted by ThomasCWilliams at 10:31 pm (EST) on Oct 1, 2009

FYI vis a vis HPB, etc.
Archaic History of the Human Race as Recorded in The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky 1934 - Paperback (Oct 15, 2004) by H. P. Blavatsky and Gertrude W. Van Pelt; Amazon: Buy new: $16.95 $13.22
17 Used & new from $9.96

posted by Naren559 at 5:56 pm (EST) on Sep 24, 2009

I apologize for not responding earlier - I didn't realize how long its been since I signed in. I first read the Sayers version in high school and Mandelbaum in college in the mid-80's. I can't say that I have a preferred version as I think I didn't grasp my first read (lack of maturity). I finally obtained a Longfellow and look forward to finishing it. Have you a preferred translator? 93

posted by Phevos at 9:22 pm (EST) on Sep 22, 2009

Well, the Cabell group is now set up, here: http://www.librarything.com/groups/thera... . Please join unless you don’t want to and spread the word if you know anyone else who might be interested.
I mean to add a photo of the author or a Cabell-related image, but so far have produced only error codes. Also, there is some sort of textual glitch that Forbids the used of the word ‘style’ in Group Descriptions (I know this sounds too weird to be true, but ‘tis so), and in the last paragraph of the Group Description where you see the words ‘forbidden forbidden’ please substitute ‘style.’

posted by Crypto-Willobie at 9:01 pm (EST) on Aug 15, 2009

It'll be a while till I get to Smirt & co especially as I currently lack the first volume of the trilogy-- but I'll get there. The JBC Society (1965-1993?) called it self The Fellowship of the Silver Stallion for its first three years. I tend toward The Rabble myself but will go with the votes when I set it up. Either way I think we should make it '(NameName): James Branch Cabell' or some such, so that people searching 'Cabell' in groups would find it.

posted by Crypto-Willobie at 10:36 am (EST) on Aug 15, 2009

It's not very good. Of course it also depends on what other sources you have available for the Rudolfine court. But, as an example: he compares the liberal attitude of Prague under Rudolf II towards its jewish inhabitants to the expulsion of jews from Spain in 1492 - which is sort of valid I guess. But he then blames that expulsion on emperor Charles V - the guy hadn't even been born yet...

posted by BarkingMatt at 12:25 pm (EST) on Aug 4, 2009

I get lost in your reviews! I have to exert some discipline and avoid the library proper until my chores are done. But just from the reviews, found several titles for my wish list. I really appreciate the time you've taken to post your notes here: can only assume they were written for yourself independently of LT.

posted by elenchus at 11:02 pm (EST) on Jul 1, 2009

Hello Tau Paradoxosalpha:

Thanks for your reply, and I appreciate your comments. An apostolic tradition of the transmission of gnosis does not seem so oxymoronic when one studies Pre-Nicean Christianity, prior to the ascendancy of the more prosaic, so-called orthodox Christianity. As I'm sure you are aware, analogues of this kind of transmission of gnosis is present in other traditions such as Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and the Hellenistic ancient mystery religions, which all rely upon a mentor-student relationship and certain initiatic rituals.

Now that you mention it, though, I have been a bit surprised by claims of apostolic succession by some Thelemite associates of mine. I have to ask a sincere question: Why would this be a point of concern or a mark of legitimacy to a bishop who traces his or her lineage of gnosis to non-Christian or pre-Christian sources (i.e., the teachings of Master To Mega Therion, Aiwass the Minister of Hoor-paar-kraat, Svecchachara etc. etc.)?

Personally, I feel the transmission of gnosis is more about opening one's consciousness to the true nature of reality and our alienated predicament, than the "laying on of hands." Consequently, I tend to take a fairly universal view of the matter, in which true gnosis may be manifest in any number of traditions, cultures and time periods; rising and falling continuously like the alchemical serpent as an interior, revelatory and salvific agency of Light.

Thanks once a gain for your comments!

Best regards,
Aequinoctium
Founder, Gnostic Society of San Antonio
(HOGD 2=9)

posted by Aequinoctium at 2:16 am (EST) on May 2, 2009

Hello Tau Paradoxosalpha:

I wish to express my appreciation for the information you provided on your website at http://www.hermetic.com/dionysos/phylo.h... entitled "Phylogeny of Modern Gnosticism." I am the founder and organizer of the Gnostic Society of San Antonio, Texas, a philosophical discussion group which examines the Gnostic Tradition in both its ancient and modern manifestations. We are an ecumenical group with Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Thelemic and Hermetic Gnostic members. Your "phylogenetic" diagram and comments concerning the interconnections and origins of the various modern Gnostic movements was extremely helpful in untangling this facinating story for us. Thank you for your contributions to this field of study.

Best regards,
Aequinoctium
Founder, Gnostic Society of San Antonio
(HOGD 2=9)

posted by Aequinoctium at 12:46 am (EST) on May 1, 2009

I can't quite agree with the high rating you gave Four Freedoms, but thanks for the exposition on Fourierism -- it explains a lot that puzzled me about the book.

posted by MuseofIre at 7:07 pm (EST) on Apr 13, 2009

paragoric
Cold is the ogre which drives all beautiful things into hiding. Below the surface of a frost-bound (you know it well) garden there lurk hidden bulbs which are only biding their time to burst forth in a riot of laughing color (unless the gardner has planted them upsidedown)[you again] but shivering nature dare not put forth her flowers till the ogre has gone. Not otherwise does cold supress love. A man in an open cart on any spring night may continue to be in love, but love is not the emotion uppermost in his bosom. It shrinks within him and waits for better times.

posted by Porius at 12:29 am (EST) on Dec 22, 2008

hello again
the less paradoxosalpha,he.

posted by Porius at 2:24 am (EST) on Dec 16, 2008

hello
maybe the fool will understand as many as he deserves to?!

posted by Porius at 1:28 am (EST) on Dec 15, 2008

Couldn't remember if I ever thanked you for the cover upload of Richard Tierney's "The Winds of Zarr". Anyway, thank you.

posted by SRHarbin at 10:16 am (EST) on Jun 14, 2008

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LibraryThing Author:T Polyphilus