The Secret Language of the Soul

by Hope, Jane

• ISBN13: 9780811818629
• ISBN10: 0811818624
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-12-01
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Llc

Summary

The latest in the Secret Language series, The Secret Language of the Soul is an inspiring survey of faith and ritual through the ages, from Native American vision quests to chakras, avatars, and archangels. Turning to all the major religious traditions as well as more obscure philosophies, author Jane Hope considers destiny, enlightenment, and salvation; the lives of spiritual figures; and esoteric ideas as diverse as Tantric meditation and spirit helpers. Original and ancient artworks depict some of the most profound and compelling images ever devised -- the Tibetan Wheel of Life; the Judaic seven-branched candlestick; the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus. In the tradition of Huston Smith's World Religions, this richly illustrated volume is an inviting universal guide to the realm of the divine.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	8	(6)
SOUL AND COSMOS	14	(32)
The World Soul	14	(2)
The Great Mother	16	(2)
The World Axis	18	(2)
Cycles of Time	20	(2)
Sacred Calendars	22	(2)
Sacred Skies	24	(2)
The World of Illusion	26	(2)
Illusion and Ego	28	(2)
Pantheons of the Gods	30	(2)
Balancing Heaven and Earth	32	(2)
Divination	34	(2)
Sacred Space	36	(2)
Directory:	38	(8)
Celestial Realms	38	(2)
Gods	40	(2)
Goddesses	42	(4)
BODY AND SOUL	46	(34)
The Soul in the Body	46	(2)
Chakras and Meridians	48	(2)
Male and Female	50	(2)
Sexual Energy	52	(2)
Pilgrimage	54	(2)
Sacred Dance	56	(2)
The Act of Prayer	58	(2)
The Way of the Warrior	60	(2)
Sacrifice	62	(2)
Sickness and Healing	64	(2)
Fear of Death	66	(2)
Confronting Death	68	(2)
Survival of the Soul	70	(2)
Directory:	72	(8)
Sex and Gender	72	(2)
Immortality	74	(2)
Forms of the Spirit	76	(4)
NATURE AND THE SOUL	80	(28)
The Sacred Earth	80	(2)
Spirits of Nature	82	(2)
The Living Landscape	84	(2)
Fertility	86	(2)
Lines of Force	88	(2)
Spirit of the Hunters	90	(2)
Dreamtime	92	(2)
Directory:	94	(14)
Air	94	(2)
Fire	96	(2)
Earth	98	(2)
Water	100	(2)
Sacred Animals	102	(6)
THE SPIRIT WORLD	108	(22)
Soul Realms	108	(2)
Spirit Helpers	110	(2)
Stealers of the Soul	112	(2)
Dreams and Visions	114	(2)
Communicating with the Gods	116	(2)
Turning-Points of the Year	118	(2)
Perilous Journeys	120	(2)
Directory:	122	(8)
Angels	122	(2)
Heaven	124	(2)
Hell	126	(4)
SOUL AND TRANSCENDENCE	130	(34)
Faith	130	(2)
The Defeat of Suffering	132	(2)
Penitence	134	(2)
Vision Quests	136	(2)
Toward Non-Attachment	138	(2)
Meditation	140	(2)
Prayer	142	(2)
Retreat	144	(2)
Ecstasy and Transformation	146	(2)
Teachers of Faith	148	(2)
The Path of Ritual	150	(2)
The Exceptional Life	152	(2)
Paradise	154	(2)
Enlightenment	156	(2)
Directory:	158	(6)
Sacred Figures	158	(2)
Miracles	160	(2)
Sacred Texts	162	(2)
Belief Systems of the World	164	(5)
Glossary	169	(1)
Index	170	(6)
Acknowledgments	176