Travis Simpkins: Grail Quest

Showing posts with label Grail Quest. Show all posts

Thursday, February 27, 2025

G.R.S. Mead. Pistis Sophia. Gnosticism. Occult. Theosophical Society. Quest Society. by Travis Simpkins

G.R.S. Mead. Hermeticism. Gnosticism. Occult. Theosophical Society. Quest Society. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

G.R.S. Mead

George Robert Stow Mead

(1863 - 1933)

Historian, Writer and Translator

Member of the

Theosophical Society

Founder of the

Quest Society

by Travis Simpkins

G.R.S. Mead

For more info, please visit:

theosophical.org

G.R.S. Mead. Pistis Sophia. Gnosticism. Occult. Theosophical Society. Quest Society. by Travis Simpkins

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

G.R.S. Mead. Hermeticism. Gnosticism. Occult. Theosophical Society. Quest Society. by Travis Simpkins

Portrait Sketch of

G.R.S. Mead

George Robert Stow Mead

(1863 - 1933)

Historian, Writer and Translator

Member of the

Theosophical Society

Founder of the

Quest Society

by Travis Simpkins

G.R.S. Mead

For more info, please visit:

theosophical.org

G.R.S. Mead. Hermeticism. Gnosticism. Occult. Theosophical Society. Quest Society. by Travis Simpkins

Saturday, February 10, 2024

The Ceremony of the Grail. John Michael Greer. Holy Grail. Freemasonry

I'm enjoying "The Ceremony of the Grail" by John Michael Greer.

Delve into Ancient Mysteries with Some of Freemasonry's Most Guarded Secrets

The Holy Grail. The medieval stories of Merlin. The ancient Greek Mysteries. Discover the connection between them all with this phenomenal book by 32nd-degree Freemason and celebrated author John Michael Greer. He uses careful research to fit together seemingly unrelated traditions and topics, drawing on translated texts and published documents that, until recently, were jealously guarded. A must-read for anyone interested in occult Freemasonry and the Grail mysteries, this book provides answers that have eluded seekers for centuries.

Using the earliest surviving Masonic ritual texts as well as pioneering insights and writings by Jessie Weston, William Morris, and other renowned scholars, this book reconstructs the Grail ritual and provides guidelines for performing it. Greer also presents Freemasonry's origins, full translations of pivotal essays, and fascinating history from megalithic to modern times. The Ceremony of the Grailpieces together a puzzle that has captivated practitioners throughout the ages.

https://amzn.to/48hsviO

Sunday, November 28, 2021

The Sword and the Grail. Andrew Sinclair. Holy Grail. Knights Templar in America

I'm currently enjoying "The Sword and the Grail" by Andrew Sinclair. It is a well written text, focused on Prince Henry Sinclair and the Templars in America subject matter.

The discovery of a tombstone built by his ancestors set Andrew Sinclair on a trail that was to lead to major reassessments, not only of our understanding of the discovery of America, but also of the origins of the Freemasons and their role in world history.
Based on stunning new archaeological evidence, both in the US and in the UK, The Sword and the Grail details the part played by the Order of the Knights of the Templar-here proved to be the true antecedents of the Freemasons-in the discovery of America. As they fled the authorities who wished them destroyed, some of the outlawed Templars carried their treasure to St. Clair Castle, where the knights' relics are still buried. The tomb of their St. Clair Grand Master, with the grail carved on his stone, lies in Rosslyn, the core chapel of the Masonic movement. With the help of the sea skills and wealth of the Templars, the St. Clair Grand Master tried to found a new Jerusalem in the New World, landing with 300 colonists, first in what is now Nova Scotia and then in New England, more than 90 years before Columbus.

Monday, November 8, 2021

The Grail. From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol. Roger Sherman Loomis

I'm enjoying "The Grail: From Celtic Myth to Christian Symbol" by Roger Sherman Loomis...

The medieval legend of the Grail, a tale about the search for supreme mystical experience, has never ceased to intrigue writers and scholars by its wildly variegated forms: the settings have ranged from Britain to the Punjab to the Temple of Zeus at Dodona; the Grail itself has been described as the chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper, a stone with miraculous youth-preserving virtues, a vessel containing a man's head swimming in blood; the Grail has been kept in a castle by a beautiful damsel, seen floating through the air in Arthur's palace, and used as a talisman in the East to distinguish the chaste from the unchaste. In his classic exploration of the obscurities and contradictions in the major versions of this legend, Roger Sherman Loomis shows how the Grail, once a Celtic vessel of plenty, evolved into the Christian Grail with miraculous powers. Loomis bases his argument on historical examples involving the major motifs and characters in the legends, beginning with the Arthurian legend recounted in the 1180 French poem by Chrtien de Troyes. The principal texts fall into two classes: those that relate the adventures of the knights in King Arthur's time and those that account for the Grail's removal from the Holy Land to Britain. Written with verve and wit, Loomis's book builds suspense as he proceeds from one puzzle to the next in revealing the meaning behind the Grail and its legends.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

"Parzival" by Wolfram von Eschenbach. A Medieval Knight's Quest for The Holy Grail.

Parzival

by Wolfram von Eschenbach

Penguin Classics

Brief Review by Travis Simpkins

"'Upon my word, you are Parzival!' said she of the red lips, 'Your name means 'Pierce-through-the-heart.'" With these words, the great hero of Wolfram von Eschenbach's early 13th Century romance makes his first appearance by name.

Full of chivalry, jousting, kings, queens, Templar Knights and the quest for the all-powerful "Gral", the text of Parzival is still enlivened and entertaining 800 years after it was composed. One of the early romances to feature King Arthur and the Holy Grail, the story is one of conquest, reverence and spiritual redemption. However, the key story elements pertaining to the "Gral" are what maintain the text's relevance and importance for Grail scholars.

The Holy Grail is one of the world's great mysteries, a source of eternal captivation, and the symbolic object is an ever-present undercurrent in the narrative. As stated in translator A.T. Hatto's foreword: "The Grail of medieval romance has the function of indicating a goal worth striving for or preserving, and in content at least a modicum of sanctity."

Descriptions of the Holy Grail, tended by virginal maidens, are luminous: "The Gral was the very fruit of bliss, a cornucopia of the sweets of this world and such that is scarcely fell short of what they tell us of the Heavenly Kingdom." Though desired by all, the Grail cannot be taken by force, for "no man can win the Gral other than one who is acknowledged in Heaven as destined for it." It is interesting to note that Wolfram's "Gral" in Parzival is never described as a chalice… but is a stone of bountiful power that is not destined for the worthy hero until he asks the compassionate question of it's long-suffering King: "What ails you?"

Being one of the great Classics of the medieval period Arthurian Romances, a storyline synopsis of Parzival would serve little purpose here… but for those interested in the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail, the epic poem is both a rich source and required reading.