Showing results by narrator "Matthew Schmitz" in All Categories

Fifty-One Tales is a collection of fantasy short stories by Irish writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others.

When Dion Fortune wrote Aspects of Occultism, "occultism" was an umbrella word used to describe hidden lore, secret traditions, and arcane knowledge. Today, when the word "occult" is often confused for "cult," and all its negative aspects, Fortune's essays would be better referred to as "esoteric studies."

The Book of Lambspring is one of the few real-life cases of a centuries-old book on alchemy. Nicolas Barnaud was a French Protestant writer, physician and alchemist, from Crest, in Dauphiné, from which he took the name Delphinas. He was a member of the Monarchomaques. He is associated with a number of mysteries.

This book contains the record of a magical experiment relating to the invocation of an elemental, the thereafter of the Goddess or Force called Babalon, and the results thereof. An appendix contains some details of the method, published for the first time. The contents should be clear enough to those who are prepared for understanding, and a little study and effort should make it so for those who desire understanding. For the rest, each will no doubt interpret it in accord with his own predilections.

F. Lamplugh’s The Gnosis of the Light presents an esoteric “apocalypse” as a roadmap of initiation, in which salvation is not secured by belief alone but by awakening to an interior radiance that reorders the whole person. Moving through dense, emblematic visions and hierarchies, the work depicts the soul’s ascent from the world’s entanglements into a realm of intelligible Light, where names, powers, and ritual images function as stages of purification and recognition rather than mere mythology.

The Cloud of Unknowing (an anonymous 14th-century Christian mystical text often presented in modern editions with Evelyn Underhill’s introduction/editorial work) is a practical guide to contemplative prayer that teaches the seeker to move beyond discursive thinking and images in order to “know” God by love rather than intellect.

The Book of Revelation holds many secrets, and can be interpreted in many ways from an unlimited amount of perspectives.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media and narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The Madman: His Parables and Poems" by Kahlil Gibran is a poetic collection that delves into profound themes of identity, existence, and the nature of humanity, characteristic of Gibran's literary style in the early 20th century. This work reflects a philosophical exploration of the human condition through parables and poems, imbuing them with spiritual and metaphysical insights. Written during the early modern period, the book brings a unique blend of mystical thought and artistic expression.

Lamia is the English Romantic poet John Keats's lush, eerie tale of enchantment defeated by merciless rationality. Set in the world of ancient Greco-Roman myth, the poem tells the story of the serpent-spirit Lamia, who talks the god Hermes into transforming her into a beautiful woman so she can pursue her beloved, a handsome young man named Lycius. The couple is blissfully happy for a time—but their joy can't last. Icy reason, in the form of the philosopher Apollonius, at last punctures their shared dream.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media and narrated by Matthew Schmitz. Sanai's book, The Enclosed Garden of the Truth, a treatise on God and the seekers journey to Him, forms one part of three highly influential early Sufi works. The others being Attar's Conference of the Birds and Rumi's Masnavi. Sanai's work is considered to be the first to use poetry to express religious, spiritual and mystical ideas. Rumi acknowledges both Sanai and Attar as having a major influence on his own poetry and stated 'Attar is the soul and Sanai the two eyes'.

There are words spoken in the world, and then there are those whispered beyond it—words that do not merely inform but awaken. The Voice of the Silence is such a text, a sacred transmission from realms unseen, a guide for the soul that dares to walk the razor’s edge of enlightenment. It is not merely a book, but a portal—an esoteric key unlocking the path to self-transcendence. Written by Helena Blavatsky and drawn from the sacred wisdom of the East, this work calls to those who seek not mere knowledge, but direct experience of the divine.

Nostradamus’s The Prophecies presents hundreds of tightly compressed quatrains that fracture time and history into symbolic glimpses of upheaval, power, and ruin. The work avoids narrative order; instead it disperses images of kings, empires, celestial disturbances, plagues, and wars across a fog of allegory, where each vision feels suspended between history and imagination. The language is deliberately opaque—layered with astrological references, classical allusions, and oblique metaphors—forcing the listener to navigate a shifting terrain of potential meanings rather than fixed predictions.

Taylor frames the Orphic hymns as fragments of a primordial theology in which the gods are not personalities but cosmic powers, each hymn functioning as a precise invocation of a universal principle. His translation exposes an initiatory system built on purification, cosmic sympathy, and ascent through successive layers of divine order.

The Story of Aridæus is the most detailed and graphic Vision of Hades preserved to us from classical antiquity, and exceeds in interest even Plato’s Story of Er and Cicero’s Dream of Scipio, not to speak of the less known Visions of Krates and of Zosimus.

William Lilly (May 11, 1602–June 9, 1681), was a famed English astrologer and occultist during his time. Lilly was particularly adept at interpreting the astrological charts drawn up for horary questions, as this was his specialty. He caused much controversy in 1666 for allegedly predicting the Great Fire of London some 14 years before it happened. For this reason, many people believed that he may have started the fire, but there is no evidence to support these claims.

Enheduanna, also known as En-hedu-ana or Enheduana, is widely regarded as the world's first known author and poet, as well as one of the earliest recorded female figures in history. She lived in ancient Mesopotamia during the 23rd century BCE, and held the esteemed position of high priestess in the city of Ur, which was a thriving center of Sumerian civilization.

This book having worth enough in itself needs not my commendation, this author in his lifetime being an eminent physician and most able philosopher as the discourse itself can best testify. The author builds on good principles, so that his theory is as true as it is plausible; and I presume he aimed at nothing more, leaving all particulars and their application to the industry of his listeners. He is sometimes pleased to descend to examples, but to such only as are natural, and they indeed are good to teach but hard to imitate. We see not all that nature does.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media. The Book of Wonder is a collection of short stories by Lord Dunsany, published in 1912. It is a remarkable work that showcases Dunsany's imaginative storytelling and his mastery of creating vivid and fantastical worlds. The book consists of numerous individual tales, each offering a glimpse into a unique realm filled with magic, mythology, and mystery. Dunsany's prose is rich and lyrical, transporting listeners to extraordinary landscapes and introducing them to a variety of enchanting characters.

La Très Sainte Trinosophie, The Most Holy Trinosophia, or The Most Holy Threefold Wisdom, is a French esoteric book, allegedly authored by Alessandro Cagliostro or the Count of St. Germain.

Focusing on often-forgotten moments in history, Manley P. Hall proposes that there was a Great Plan put forth 1000 years before our nation’s founding. Humanistic and mystical organizations wished for the continent to be the location for an experiment in self-government and religious freedom. As one of the leading esoteric scholars of the 20th century, Hall offers an intriguing view of our past, discussing everything from the symbolism of the Great Seal of the US to the prophecy announced at George Washington’s birth.