Showing results by author "Annie Besant" in All Categories

This is a collection of 18 essays on a variety of occult-themed topics, covering the full spectrum of classic esoteric and related subjects, which include Hermeticism, alchemy, magic, the Kabbalah, ancient wisdom and philosophy, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and spiritualism, by some of the most notable and prominent names in the history of those subjects.

The Ancient Wisdom is an insightful exploration and simplification of H. P. Blavatsky's The Secret Doctrine. It makes for an important contribution to that text. The various chapters cover the main theosophical topics found in her books.

We have often heard it said that thoughts are things, and there are many among us who are persuaded of the truth of this statement. Yet very few of us have any clear idea as to what kind of thing a thought is, and the object of this little book is to help us to conceive this.

Annie Besant lo cree personalmente, realmente cree que es posible materializar nuestros deseos, nuestros sueños, nuestras metas por el simple hecho de controlar nuestros pensamientos positivos. Dentro de cada uno de nosotros hay corrientes poderosísimas cuyo empleo correcto significará un avance en lo trascendente. Annie Besant -preclara expositora del ideal teosófico- enseña a través de estas páginas, a utilizar tales energías internas, para bien de uno mismo y de los demás.

In this small volume an attempt has been made to gather together the best and most reliable of the sets of ethical verses attributed to the Pythagoreans. Both Hall's translation from the Greek (1657), and Rowe's translation from the French of André Dacier (1707), have been used in reproducing the Golden Verses of Pythagoras, but Dacier's version has been almost exclusively followed, being clearer and more intelligible.

The Ancient Wisdom is a book by Anni Besant published in 1897 as per the dedication in the Leader of the undated first pressing. In this book Besant introduces and explains the physical plain, astral plane, mental plain and other planes of existence. This book is intended to place in the hands of the general listener an epitome of Theosophical Teachings, Sufficiently plain to serve the elementary student, and sufficiently full to lay a sound foundation for future knowledge.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women’s rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece dates to 1911, and she’s lecturing on Christ from an intellectual but still spiritual standpoint. She encourages us to engage in critical discussion regarding historical evidence, authenticity of records, and his nature and purpose. She also touches on the Buddha, Blavatsky, Gnosticism, the mysteries, the ascended masters, and so forth.

Annie Wood Besant (1847-1933) was a prominent Theosophist, women’s rights activist, writer, and orator. She was born in London into a middle-class family of Irish origin. She fought for the causes she thought were right, starting with freedom of thought, women’s rights, secularism (she was a leading member of the National Secular Society), birth control, Fabian socialism, and workers’ rights. Soon, she was earning a small weekly wage by writing a column for the National Reformer, the newspaper of the National Secular Society. She was also one of the leading figures in Theosophy.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This piece by her is a short, basic introduction to occultism through the eyes of Theosophy as well as the differences between the Occultist and the Mystic.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece, originally published in 1906, is an examination and comparison of the two principle types of yoga in India, the Hatha, for the body and the Raja for the mind.

This is a collection of 26 essays on a variety of theosophical, spiritual and esoteric subjects by some of the most notable and prominent names in the history of theosophy. Compiled specifically with the student in mind.

Annie Besant’s magnetic eloquence is brilliantly apparent in this volume of her writings and lectures on the spiritual life. The welfare of humanity and the world around us is our utmost concern, says Besant, and the primary tool of transformation is our own consciousness. Our inner life must change if outer conditions are to be improved. Besant illuminates the way with topics such as calmness of mind, devotion, knowledge, karma, reincarnation, and Divine Law. Quotes from poetry and the world’s scriptures provide additional inspiration.

I want to put before you, if I can in these three lectures, a certain view of the world, and of the way in which that world is guided and directed. As this meeting is a public meeting, there is one statement I think that I ought to make, which it would not be necessary to make, if it were composed of members of the Theosophical Society. It is important to remember that in the Theosophical Society we have no authority on matters of opinion.

The birth of liberation movements in the C19th saw a rise in fighting for the rights of workers. William Morris believed decries the belief “not that Commerce was made for man, but that man was made for Commerce”, with the profit motive that renders all work miserable when “It is right and necessary that all men should have work to do which shall be worth doing, and be of itself pleasant to do; and which should be done under such conditions as would make it neither over-wearisome nor over-anxious.”

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece dates to 1910, and she takes a philosophical examination of the mysteries of evil, as she puts it. She explains that there is a necessity for evil to exist, that it serves certain purposes, which she goes into detail about.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This is a lecture of hers from 1913, where she speaks about universal consciousness, spiritual unfolding and personal psychic progress.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece dates to 1913, and she's writing about the Ancient Mysteries as compared to the modern religions of the world. She also discusses the Great White Brotherhood, Initiation, the Rosicrucians, Madame Blavatsky, and other related topics.

More than 40 years prior to Bill Wilson creating the organization known as Alcoholics Anonymous, in 1892 noted spiritual author Annie Besant gave a lecture on the subject of alcoholism (published later that same year) and referred to drinking alcohol as "the alcoholic disease"! She, of course, approached the subject from a theosophical and thus spiritual standpoint. She briefly described her own history with alcohol as well as the physical and spiritual effects it has on the individual.

Prominent Theosophists Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater were pioneers in asserting that thoughts are, indeed, things. Originally released in 1901, Thought-Forms is a seminal work on what thoughts “look” like. It had an impact far beyond the circle of its primary audience and greatly influenced leading artists such as Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various theosophical publications of her day. This piece by her, from 1912, is a short, basic introduction to mysticism through the eyes of theosophy. She writes about mysticism within Christianity and the Western Mystery Tradition in general. It's also interesting to note that she mentions the Illuminati in this piece, but in a philosophical rather than historical context, which is unusual for the time period.