Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred

by Jeremy Naydler

Overview

In this guide to the cosmology of ancient Egypt, Jeremy Naydler recreates the experience of living in another time and place. Temple of the Cosmos explores Egypt's sacred geography and mythology; but more importantly, it reveals with unprecedented clarity an ancient consciousness in tune with the rhythms of the earth. The ancient Egyptians experienced their gods not as remote beings but rather as psychic and natural forces, transpersonal energies that played a part in everyday life. This direct experience of the gods shaped the Egyptian concepts of human development, healing, magic, and the soul's journey through the Underworld as described in the Books of the Dead. While building on the pioneering efforts of R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz and others, Temple of the Cosmos is much more than a recapitulation of previous theories of Egyptian spirituality. Rather, this book breaks new ground by placing the work of other Egyptologists in an original, magical context. The result is a brilliant reimagining of the Egyptian worldview and its sacred path of spiritual unfolding.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892815555
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	04/01/1996
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jeremy Naydler, Ph.D., is a philosopher who specializes in the religious life of ancient cultures. He is a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and author of Temple of the Cosmos, Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts, The Future of the Ancient World, and Goethe on Science. He lives in Oxford, England.

Table of Contents

The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred

Preface

1. A Metaphysical Landscape
2. Interpenetrating Worlds
3. Myths of Cosmogenesis
4. The Marking of Time
5. The Marriage of Myth and History
6. The Theology of Magic
7. The Practice of Magic
8. The Soul Incarnate
9. The Soul Discarnate
10. Orientating in the Underworld
11. The Travails of the Underworld
12. The End of the Underworld Journey

Epilogue

Notes

Illustration Credits

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"An ambitious and lucid interpretation of ancient Egyptian consciousness, especially with respect to the experience of the sacred. As such the book also sheds light on the wild and mysterious psychospiritual currents of our present time, including the Goddess re-emergence."

"A valuable and original work."

“A book that breaks new ground, a scholarly yet esoteric approach to an ancient culture and religion.”

“. . . not only evokes the atmosphere of the myths, but re-creates that all too rare relationship with them that enables us to understand what it means to be part of ongoing cosmic processes as sacred realities.”

“The reader experiences living issues rather than the cold reconstructions of a guide book.”

Editorial Reviews

The reader experiences living issues rather than the cold reconstructions of a guide book.

Temenos Academy Review Clement Salaman

A book that breaks new ground, a scholarly yet esoteric approach to an ancient culture and religion.

Critical Review

"A valuable and original work."

author of Serpent in the Sky John Anthony West

. . . not only evokes the atmosphere of the myths, but re-creates that all too rare relationship with them that enables us to understand what it means to be part of ongoing cosmic processes as sacred realities.

Sunrise: Theosophical Perspectives I. M. Oderberg

"An ambitious and lucid interpretation of ancient Egyptian consciousness, especially with respect to the experience of the sacred. As such the book also sheds light on the wild and mysterious psychospiritual currents of our present time, including the Goddess re-emergence."

Robert Masters

. . . not only evokes the atmosphere of the myths, but re-creates that all too rare relationship with them that enables us to understand what it means to be part of ongoing cosmic processes as sacred realities.

Sunrise: Theosophical Perspectives I. M. Oderberg

"A valuable and original work."

"An ambitious and lucid interpretation of ancient Egyptian consciousness, especially with respect to the experience of the sacred. As such the book also sheds light on the wild and mysterious psychospiritual currents of our present time, including the Goddess re-emergence."

“. . . not only evokes the atmosphere of the myths, but re-creates that all too rare relationship with them that enables us to understand what it means to be part of ongoing cosmic processes as sacred realities.”

“A book that breaks new ground, a scholarly yet esoteric approach to an ancient culture and religion.”

“The reader experiences living issues rather than the cold reconstructions of a guide book.

From the Publisher

The reader experiences living issues rather than the cold reconstructions of a guide book.

Clement Salaman

. . . not only evokes the atmosphere of the myths, but re-creates that all too rare relationship with them that enables us to understand what it means to be part of ongoing cosmic processes as sacred realities.

I. M. Oderberg

"A valuable and original work."

John Anthony West

Occasionally a book appears which is not only full of interesting facts but presents an inner meaning and significance of those facts, drawing the mind to an area of understanding which cannot be put into words. Jeremy Naydler's Temple of the Cosmos is such a book. . . .It is no coincidence that every aspect of the ancient Egyptian life upon which he touches discloses a similar quality.
—1997

Temenos Academic Reviews