Accidental Gods

Accidental Gods
Author: Anna Della Subin
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2021-12-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1250296889

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE, THE IRISH TIMES AND THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT A provocative history of men who were worshipped as gods that illuminates the connection between power and religion and the role of divinity in a secular age Ever since 1492, when Christopher Columbus made landfall in the New World and was hailed as a heavenly being, the accidental god has haunted the modern age. From Haile Selassie, acclaimed as the Living God in Jamaica, to Britain’s Prince Philip, who became the unlikely center of a new religion on a South Pacific island, men made divine—always men—have appeared on every continent. And because these deifications always emerge at moments of turbulence—civil wars, imperial conquest, revolutions—they have much to teach us. In a revelatory history spanning five centuries, a cast of surprising deities helps to shed light on the thorny questions of how our modern concept of “religion” was invented; why religion and politics are perpetually entangled in our supposedly secular age; and how the power to call someone divine has been used and abused by both oppressors and the oppressed. From nationalist uprisings in India to Nigerien spirit possession cults, Anna Della Subin explores how deification has been a means of defiance for colonized peoples. Conversely, we see how Columbus, Cortés, and other white explorers amplified stories of their godhood to justify their dominion over native peoples, setting into motion the currents of racism and exclusion that have plagued the New World ever since they touched its shores. At once deeply learned and delightfully antic, Accidental Gods offers an unusual keyhole through which to observe the creation of our modern world. It is that rare thing: a lyrical, entertaining work of ideas, one that marks the debut of a remarkable literary career.

A Time of Lost Gods

A Time of Lost Gods
Author: Emily Ng
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2020-05-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0520972635

Traversing visible and invisible realms, A Time of Lost Gods attends to profound rereadings of politics, religion, and madness in the cosmic accounts of spirit mediumship. Drawing on research across a temple, a psychiatric unit, and the home altars of spirit mediums in a rural county of China’s Central Plain, it asks: What ghostly forms emerge after the death of Mao and the so-called end of history? The story of religion in China since the market reforms of the late 1970s is often told through its destruction under Mao and relative flourishing thereafter. Here, those who engage in mediumship offer a different history of the present. They approach Mao’s reign not simply as an earthly secular rule, but an exceptional interval of divine sovereignty, after which the cosmos collapsed into chaos. Caught between a fading era and an ever-receding horizon, those “left behind” by labor outmigration refigure the evacuated hometown as an ethical-spiritual center to come, amidst a proliferation of madness-inducing spirits. Following pronouncements of China’s rise, and in the wake of what Chinese intellectuals termed semicolonialism, the stories here tell of spirit mediums, patients, and psychiatrists caught in a shared dilemma, in a time when gods have lost their way.

Fates & Monsters

Fates & Monsters
Author: S Cinders
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023-01-24
Genre:
ISBN:

There is a fine line between gods and monsters, and once I figure out what that is, you'll be the first to know. Shai, God of Destiny Imagine showing up at the pearly gates only to find out that your name isn't on the list. You know THE LIST. The one that either ensures fluffy white wings and pillowy clouds, or an eternity of fire and brimstone. Yeah, that list, and my name isn't on it. Thankfully, a leggy goddess shows up and saves my bacon. Only the job she has for me is a heck of a lot harder than what I'd bargained for. And that beautiful goddess, she seems to have a personal vendetta against me. It's almost as if we've met before, but that's crazy, isn't it? Brigid, the Goddess of Fertility It's just my luck that the god who caused my fall from glory just happens to be my brand new employee. Only he doesn't remember anything about our past, or his part in it. How can I remain impartial when half the time I want to knock his block off and the other half I am daydreaming about those steamy, err, library sessions? A god can't change his stripes, can he? Find out in this hilarious romantic comedy where two star crossed gods learn there are some things worth fighting for. Because if they fail... Well, let's just say their punishment is a fate far worse than anything Shai and Brigid could have imagined on their own. And they are pretty creative-especially with bedroom games.

Fates of Destiny

Fates of Destiny
Author: S Cinders
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-12-22
Genre:
ISBN:

After a massive falling out, Shai, the God of Destiny, and Brigid, the Goddess of Fertility, agree to stay the heck away from one another despite their insane chemistry. Only life can't be that simple, even for the gods. The fates have another plan for our star-crossed lovers, and it's a bumpy ride. When it's discovered that Shai and Brigid are responsible for the cluster-fork situation with the gods and goddesses inadvertently being dosed with destiny powder. They are taken before the Holy Counsel and sentenced to turn around the failing Suit's Division. With a handful of shady employees and no powers, it's not looking good. However, if they succeed, they will each be reinstated to their full power. But if they fail... Well, let's just say it's a fate far worse than anything Shai and Brigid could have imagined on their own. And they are pretty creative-especially with bedroom games. Our story features scenes of explicit naughtiness and some power exchange between our two gods.

Overthrowing the Old Gods

Overthrowing the Old Gods
Author: Don Webb
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2013-11-02
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 162055190X

New commentaries on Aleister Crowley’s Book of the Law reveal how it is connected to both Right- and Left-Hand Paths • Examines each line of the Book of the Law in the light of modern psychology, Egyptology, Gurdjieff’s teachings, and contemporary Left-Hand Path thought • Explores Crowley’s identification with the First Beast of Revelations as well as his adoption of the Loki archetype for becoming a vessel of love for all humanity • Recasts the Cairo Working as a text of personal sovereignty and a relevant tool for personal transformation • Includes commentary on the Book of the Law by Dr. Michael A. Aquino, who served as High Priest of the Temple of Set from 1975 to 1996 Received by Aleister Crowley in April 1904 in Cairo, Egypt, the Book of the Law is the most provocative record of magical working in several hundred years, affecting not only organizations directly associated with Crowley such as the Ordo Templi Orientis but also modern Wicca, Chaos Magic, and the Temple of Set. Boldly defying Crowley’s warning not to comment on the Book of the Law, Ipsissimus Don Webb provides in-depth interpretation from both Black and White Magical perspectives, including commentary from Dr. Michael A. Aquino, who served as High Priest of the Temple of Set from 1975 to 1996. Webb examines each line of the Book in the light of modern psychology, Egyptology, existentialism, and competing occult systems such as the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff and contemporary Left-Hand Path thought. Discarding the common image of Crowley formulated in a spiritually unsophisticated time when the devotee of the Left-Hand Path was dismissed as a selfish evil doer, Webb unveils a new side of Crowley based on his adoption of the Loki archetype and his aim to become a vessel of love for all humanity. In so doing, he shows how the Book of the Law is connected to both Right- and Left-Hand Paths and reveals how Crowley’s magical path of mastery over the self and Cosmos overthrew the gods of old religion, which had kept humanity asleep to dream the nightmare of history. Providing in-depth analysis of Crowley’s sources and his self-identification with the First Beast of Revelation from a profound esoteric perspective, Webb takes his views out of the Golden Dawn matrix within which he received the Book of the Law and radically recasts the Cairo Working as a text of personal sovereignty and a relevant tool for personal transformation.

The Changing of the Gods

The Changing of the Gods
Author: Anthony J. Miano
Publisher:
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2022-01-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781665547574

Until the end of the Trojan War, Hades, God of the Underworld, had avoided interfering in the affairs of his fellow gods and mortal men. Fed up with their destructive behavior, Hades sets on a journey that will rock Olympus to its core.

The Ghastly Greek Gods

The Ghastly Greek Gods
Author: T.R. Winters
Publisher: ZealAus Publishing
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1925888452

Do not read this beastly book! Do not read this horrible, untrue book! It's lies-all lies! Nothing you read in this book actually happened! It's been written without my consent, and it's just a vile attack on me and my colleagues! I am the greatest god that ever existed! I'm the CEO of Mount Olympus and the most dignified, elegant deity that ever lived! These stories are just worthless tripe spread by one of my jealous inferiors. And when I track down whoever it is that is profaning my holy name, by crikey mate, they're going to get it! I'm sure you completely understand why you need to destroy this foul piece of fabrication right now! Don't even open the cover! Biff it on the bonfire, chuck it down the dunny! Be quick, mate, I've been worshiped for thousands of years. I've worked hard at my career, and I'm blimmin' well not going to let some cheap lying tabloid take me down! Regards, Zeus CEO of Mount Olympus