A comprehensive study of the major occult writings on Atlantis
- Fully examines the many occult teachings on Atlantis, including those
from G. I. Gurdjieff, Madame Blavatsky, Julius Evola, Edgar Cayce, Fabre
d'Olivet, and Dion Fortune
- Shows how these writings correlate with the concept of cyclical
history, such as the Mayan calendar and 2012, the Age of Aquarius, and
the four Yugas
- By a renowned scholar, author, editor, and translator of more than 30
books
Atlantis has held a perennial place in the collective imagination of
humanity from ancient Greece onward. Many of the great minds of the
occult and esoteric world wrote at length on their theories of
Atlantis--about its high culture, its possible location, its ultimate
demise, and their predictions of a return to Atlantean enlightenment or
the downfall of modern society.
Beginning with a review of the rationalist writings on Atlantis--those
that use geographic and geologic data to validate their
theories--renowned scholar Joscelyn Godwin then analyzes and compares
writings on Atlantis from many of the great occultists and esotericists
of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Fabre d'Olivet, G. I.
Gurdjieff, Guido von List, Julius Evola, Edgar Cayce, Dion Fortune, and
René Guénon, whose writings often stem from deeper, metaphysical
sources, such as sacred texts, prophecy, or paranormal communication.
Seeking to unravel and explain the histories and interpretations of
Atlantis and its kindred myths of Lemuria and Mu, the author shows how
these different views go hand-in-hand with the concept of cyclical
history, such as the Vedic system of the four Yugas, the Mayan calendar
with its 2012 end-date, the theosophical system of root races, and the
precession of the equinoxes. Venturing broader and deeper than any other
book on Atlantis, this study also covers reincarnation, human evolution
or devolution, the origins of race, and catastrophe theory.
