Showing 270 articles
The Mandate of Heaven
Author: Miha KosirJanuary 24, 2016
The world is changing fast and countries are like other living beings: being born, growing, and even dying. A good illustration of this could be seen at a well-prepared exhibition at the British Museum called Ming Dynasty: 50 years that changed China. The Ming Dynasty (1386 – 1644) was an interval of native Chinese rule [...]
Beauty in stone – the Greek Miracle
Author: Agostino DominiciJanuary 23, 2016
I have just learned that in the next few weeks the British Museum will be launching a major exhibition on Greek art – Beauty in the human form. Why is it that, despite the passage of twenty-five centuries, the beauty of Greek sculpture still commands so much attention? In what is sometimes called the Greek [...]
Revival of the Renaissance
Author: Yaron BarzilayJanuary 20, 2016
Philosophy is an approach to life, a search for a way to try to live a little bit better, a little bit truer, everyday. But by what moral standards should we judge our actions? There is a difference between being immoral, and being amoral. Amoral means that there is no recognition of right and wrong [...]
The Mask – a Sacro-Magical Art Form
Author: Agostino DominiciJanuary 13, 2016
The making and use of masks dates back several millennia. It is one of the most ancient and widespread art forms – one which has captured the imagination of countless people around the world. On a recent visit to Portobello Market in London, I found myself confronted by a remarkable display of antique Balinese masks. [...]
The Summer Solstice
Author: Matina KarastatiraDecember 27, 2015
The period between the 20th and the 22nd of June is the Summer Solstice. “Solstice” is Latin for “sun stands still”. In the Northern hemisphere the sun reaches its most northerly position and we experience the longest day and the shortest night. The summer solstice is often associated with change, nature and new beginnings, a [...]
The Hermetic message of Dante
Author: Agostino DominiciDecember 23, 2015
Dante Alighieri is very well known in the world of art and literature, but not many people are aware of the hermetic and occult teachings he purposely disseminated throughout his works. Despite current historical misconceptions, Dante’s time, the so-called “Middle Ages”, was a time of great spiritual vitality, in spite of its contradictions (such as [...]
Australian Aborigines
Author: Natalia LemaNovember 2, 2015
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, with an area of 7.6 million km2. It is a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world. Its aborigines arrived 40,000 – 60,000 years ago, probably travelers from Asia who had a great ability to adapt to new circumstances. Europeans came later on [...]
The Philosophical Beauty of Chinese Calligraphy
Author: Jim PangOctober 31, 2015
The word “calligraphy” is derived from a Greek word meaning beautiful writing. And in the East Chinese calligraphy (書法 – Shufa) is valued as “high art”. Throughout the history of China, leaders, scholars and people from all walks of life have practised calligraphy. Calligraphy and Tao The essence of calligraphy is to express the innermost [...]
Lost civilisation – myth or reality?
Author: Florimond KrinsOctober 31, 2015
It is a fact that mankind has lost and rediscovered knowledge in its short known history. Especially after the fall of a great civilisation such as the Egyptian ancient dynasties or the Roman Empire, we notice a decrease in the quality of life which is partly a result of the loss of a previously known [...]
Architecting the Invisible
Author: Kurush DordiOctober 24, 2015
When architects design a building in our times, they share the plan of a proposed building and get the client to approve its design, based on which the building is then taken up for construction. But how do you design a building when your client is divine, or in the invisible? In spite of magnificent [...]
A Classical Voyage: Music and Life
Author: Shraddha ShettyOctober 13, 2015
“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in the mirror. But you are the eternity, and you are the mirror.” – Kahlil Gibran The sunrise, or sunset of course, doesn’t care if we watch it or not. It will keep on being beautiful, whether we look at it, recognize it, or not. It follows that there [...]
The World of the Aztecs
Author: Elena LöberOctober 10, 2015
The Aztecs – or rather the “people from Aztlan”, a translation from the Nahuatl word ‘aztecatl’ – are largely still a mystery for us. Their strong and determined character, their practical sense and the value they ascribed to the strength of will enabled this people to develop a highly advanced culture and conquer vast parts [...]