Introduction to Magic, Volume III: Realizations of the Absolute Individual

Product Description
Authentic initiatic practices, rituals, and wisdom collected by the UR Group
• Explores esoteric practices for individual development, handed down from a primordial tradition and discernable in alchemy, Hermetism, religious doctrines, Tantra, Taoism, Buddhism, Vedanta, and the pagan mysteries of the West
• Reveals the ultimate magical goal of the “Absolute Individual,” the immortal and divine potential that requires rare gifts and extraordinary efforts for its realization
This volume, the third in the series, complements the first two, yet they are not strictly sequential, and their contents can be read in any order. Volume III, more than the others, bears the personal stamp of Julius Evola. In its pages you’ll discover that the “magic” of the UR Group has nothing to do with sorcery or superstition. It was their term for an active and affirmative attitude toward individual development handed down from a “primordial tradition” and discernible in alchemy, Hermetism, esoteric religious doctrines, indigenous practices, Tantra, Taoism, Buddhism, Vedanta, and the pagan mysteries of the West. Its goal was the “Absolute Individual,” the immortal and divine potential that requires rare gifts and extraordinary efforts for its realization.
However, there is incalculable value in this volume even for the less heroic. By studying the practices and realizations within, the reader will be liberated from conventional dogmas--religious, political, scientific, and psychological--and see with the clearer eye of realization.
Review
“Those who look to Julius Evola’s work for guidance have often wondered what practices Evola himself used to get in contact with Tradition. The answer lies in
Introduction to Magic, which represents the records left behind by the UR Group, the mysterious occult order that was the medium through which Evola first experienced the reality of Tradition and grasped its essence. Many of the themes and concepts which were to recur in Evola’s later work are already present in these documents. The great importance Evola attached to these volumes is attested by the belief of Evola’s biographer that the original manuscripts were the only belongings he took with him when he was forced to flee Rome in 1944. The fact that this work is finally available in its entirety to Anglophone readers, masterfully translated by Joscelyn Godwin, is therefore a great service to genuine spiritual seekers everywhere.” ―
John Morgan, former editor in chief of Arktos Media
“I am impressed by this fine translation of some of my old mentor Julius Evola’s works. I find that ‘Aristocracy and the Initiatic Ideal’ conveys very well the baron’s own beliefs and sentiments as to what it means today to be a true aristocrat among the ruins. Exceedingly insightful comments, as one would indeed expect. A truly excellent publication.” ―
Father Frank Gelli, author of Julius Evola: The Sufi of Rome
About the Author
JULIUS EVOLA was one of the foremost authorities on the world’s esoteric traditions. His other works available in English include
The Hermetic Tradition, The Yoga of Power, Revolt Against the Modern World, Eros and the Mysteries of Love, The Doctrine of Awakening, The Mystery of the Grail, Meditations on the Peaks, and
Men Among the Ruins.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From Chapter XII.5: Envoi
Now that the task the Ur Group set itself in--organizing this collection of essays--is virtually done, it is time to say a few words of farewell to those who have followed us up to now.
We have been addressing the few whom a higher vocation renders unsatisfied by the values and accomplishments of ordinary human life, in order to give them a sense of the paths, the truths, and the horizons of what is called the initiatic or the secret tradition. We have precisely drawn the frontier that separates these disciplines from the “spiritualist” and occultist forms, sources of m