The Initiate: Journal of Traditional Studies – Issue 2

In his editorial David J. Wingfield expressed his hopes that ‘The Initiate’ would become a forum to discuss the nature of tradition in a quasi-academic context. Well I think he is on the right path and I certainly found all the articles to be both fascinating and thought provoking.

Vedic Veersa: Exploring the Vedic Tradition by Patrick Boch – Here is the first in what is promised to be a series of articles based mainly on the Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is one of the most important Vedic scriptures.

Egyptian Visions of Decay by Sergio Knipe – An intriguing look at Egypt and it’s ancient narratives in terms of the cyclical history theory.

Neo-Monasticism by Robert Bullen – A fascinating piece on various monastic traditions from some of the very earliest to modern neo monastic communities such as Taize and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s seminary.

Love and Knowledge on the Field of Spiritual Combat: A Comparison of the Sufi Teachings of Frithjof Schuon and Javad Nurbakhsh by Charles Upton

Witchcraft: Mythology and Reality by David Griffiths – An amazing and recommended article looking at the history and theories surrounding the history of witchcraft.

The Witches’ Coven by Julius Evola – Translated by Sergio Knipe this article by Julius Evola (born May 19, 1898 – died June 11, 1974) describes his meeting with Gerald Gardner and his thoughts regarding Wicca.

The journal then has a six page ‘Letters to the Editor’ section followed by book and music reviews including ‘The Path of Cinnabar’ by Julius Evola, ‘Christianity and the Doctrine of Non-Dualism’ by A Monk of the West, ‘Remembering in a World of Forgetting: Thoughts on Tradition and Postmodernism’ by William Stoddart and ‘The Last Jew In Whitechapel’ by Ephraim Kohan.

The journal is well laid out with some great illustrations which just add to the quality of the articles inside, making The Initiate a book I would recommend to anyone interested in traditional studies.

Arktos Publishing
Paperback (25 Oct 2010)
132 Pages
RRP: £10.00