City of the Sun: Heliopolis and the Causal Plane. A Travelogue of the Inner Order.
Los Lunas, NM: Desert Star Temple, 2012. First Edition - Hardcover. Hardcover. Glossy printed boards. Octavo. xxviii + 64pp. B/W Ills. & Diagrams. This hardcover edition limited to 150 copies. SIGNED by the author on a specially-made color bookplate tipped onto the inside front cover. The author, Frater Shiva, a senior member of "Solar Lodge," the 1960s US occult fraternity that drew many of its teachings from the works of Aleister Crowley, resigned his position as Grand Secretary General and his membership in the Lodge, and went on to explore the central teaching of Thelema, the formal, solitary, Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel. He describes "City of the Sun" as "a Travelogue of Heliopolis and the Causal Plane, that is, a tour of the Inner Order, being a detailed description of the grade of Dominus Liminis and the task of the Adeptus Minor. This book offers an examination of the nature of the Holy Guardian Angel and the methods used to invoke its 'Knowledge and Conversation'." The viewpoint of the text is informed by the author's own experience, and the concepts are supported by works such as "The Vision and the Voice," "The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage," and "The Rays and the Initiations." It has been further said of "City of the Sun" that it "inserts a rather powerful, but subtle, infusion of existentialism right into the heart of the Thelemic paradigm." From the collection of Clive Harper with his discreet book-label neatly tipped in at the rear. Harper is well- known as the bibliographer of Austin Osman Spare, for updating the Aleister Crowley bibliography in the 2011 Teitan Press collection of Gerald Yorke's writings, and as someone who has lent his expertise to numerous other publications. Print-on-demand type production values. Appears "as new", but for a hint of rubbing to covers - near Fine condition. (no dust jacket issued). Item #68206
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