I read this comment and rejected it as a Kejawen (Javanese Sufi) believer. Then I realised that it is indeed profound, although not one that we should articulate.
My two favorite (living) esoteric artists are definitely José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal and Denis Forkas Kostromitin. We don't hear much about Denis these days (at least I dont) but Jose has been quite busy.....and I am thankful for that. The visual traditions that are linked to esoterica stretch far beyond the ordinary boundaries of culture. It is for this reason that I would never downgrade this kind of work by labeling it 'art' in the conventional sense. This work is so much more than that term implies in 2022. It is a living creative expression of the deepest mysteries of reality, which is unfortunately easily overlooked by both the religious and secular factions of society. The coarse materialist vapidity of popular culture and solipsistic reductionism of the universities preclude it. But having said that....we should still be thankful to live in a time where the freedom to explore such content can thrive unencumbered by the world's conventions. The ignorant villagers are not bullying us with their torches and pitchforks in the dead of night. In fact, no one actually cares what we do! It is a huge blessing in disguise. Thank you Anathema for publishing this material.
Right back at you David, your work is, in my humble opinion, among the most important produced nowadays and we should all be thankful that you keep busy exploring and presenting these topics and view the way you do. Benisons to you.
@@hermestrismagistos3145 Absolutely, yes, on early Fuchs and Bosschart for sure! I was only addressing living esoteric artists. If I was making a list of past esoterica it would be quite long...and quite varied....with Blake and Freher at the top of the list.
We are so blessed in this modern age to have so many people working hard at sharing some of these mysteries in a more digestable and accessible way, especially in the age of media and the power it has on our subconscious mind. Thanks for all you guys do, David, Gabriel, and of course the man Denis from Foolish Fish. Our community is better with yall in it.
This book is so exciting for those ofus who have found mysticism within the bible and christian iconography. I've been searching for a book like this, what a blessing to have this in print and such a huge debt wo owe to the author and anathema/ Theyve really outdone themselves with this one, such a gorgeous work of art.
They seem to come from somewhere more permanent. I think this is the result of seeing one's own (I speak for myself) culture's sacred iconography, whether they have been "permitted" to live in the open, or only in the deeper levels of society's consciousness as these have.
@@FoolishFishBooks Denis, is this book more so of a an actual illustrated survey/explication of the Ophite belief system of old or more of a “what if?” that belief system survived and influenced modern Christianity? Wasn’t sure what to make of the book description on-site. Thanks!
I will never really truly be able to express how grateful I am both to Jose Gabriel and to you for bringing this deeply, deeply important work into existence in the form it deserves.
This book is beyond beautiful and...I, too....ordered it! The leatherbound was pricey, but since I loved it so much and can afford it...sold! This did need a longer than normal video and you're also right on the clothbound version...it's an equally beautiful edition. Your channel has introduced me to so many glorious esoteric books and for that...my bank account says...uncle! Lol!
First! Thanks so much for the review. You introduced me to a lot of these books. If it weren't for you I would not have pre ordered this book a couple months ago. Thank you so much, Foolish Fish.
I was looking forward to this review with great anticipation. Having heard your words of praise and enthusiasm, Denis, allowed me to form a very good judgment about the IAO work. Another great review and another invaluable service that this channel provides to all those interested in the subject: congratulations, my dear FF! By the way: a) More than 40 years ago, the books of S. Aun Weor were responsible for moving me away from the path of Gnosticism, so I completely agree with what you said about him; b) the Ophite interpretation of what Gnosticism should be closely resembles the tantra take: all aspects of the universe, including those of the material world, are sacred in their essence and deserve our respect and reverence; c) the splendid art of José Gabriel Allegría Sabogal has always reminded me of William Blake's drawings: now it is clear that he is nourished by this source of inspiration, which seems to me even more excellent. All good for you and yours, Denis!
Your words go straight to my heart. And yes, this is the reason why Tantra has been a great source of inspiration in the absence of a tangible existing Gnostic "Uma" in the world.
It's impossible to give an accurate idea on video like this. The book has a presence that can't be described. studying each picture produces this vibration... it's truly incredible. I'm so glad you liked it too, @sacredmeow!
As someone who cast off the chains of Christianity after 30 years, this book was very welcomed to show another perspective. A great read with fantastic art. The blasphemy didn't hurt either. ;)
Yes, unfortunately that happens a lot. Sorry to hear that you've made such bad experiences with people. Some don't even try, I guess ... Are you doing better now? You don't ever relate to Christianity at all?
@@SolomonsWorks “They” being the key word here, denoting Man or organized religion. As I’m sure you’re well aware, Christ wouldn’t bought half of what “the Church” has been selling - Catholic or Protestant (more so Evangelicals) - for quite some time.
I am so happy to see that there is an established tradition that perfectly represents my thinking, I had not heard of the Ophites but this has become the first Occult book on my wishlist. Thank you Mr Fish
Jose Gabriel Alegría Sabogal must be some kind of incarcerated medieval artist magician! His work is mesmerizing! Wish I had a black metal band, I would commission his services for an epic album cover! 🤣
Your excitement over this one is palpable. I feel it too, ordered this book within minutes of finishing your review lol. Thank you! Edit: fixed the "thanks you" above and I must add an extra thank you because they are now sold out. Thank You!
Wonderful looking book ! The author's ideas seem very interesting. Thanks for the video (and congratulations again on getting over 100 000 subscribers, you deserve it). I don't really know much about Samael Aun Weor ; if you have a few minutes to explain, I'd love to know your opinion on him, thanks !
The guy was a cult leader (all the usual, controlling victims' sexuality, only those who submit fully to my ideas can be saved, etc.) who appropriated the word "gnosticism" to describe his ideas - which really had nothing to do with Gnosticism. The trouble is that now anyone looking to learn about Gnosticism sees his sick teaching coming up in the first Google search results page, and either decide that "Gnosticism isn't for them", or even worse, decide they like Weor's crap, and spread it further. Trying not to get wound up as I write this xD
@@FoolishFishBooks Thanks for the response. I've been really interested in Gnosticism for the past ten years & I've almost never encountered his name, lucky me !! I just got interested in alchemy at one point, then hermeticism, then gnosticism ; and I also started reading Philip K. Dick around the same time... Then I went directly to the primary sources (Nag Hammadi library, etc.) and the academic stuff. Ideas and words are constantly manipulated by bad people, it’s horribly annoying. Thankfully, people like you are extremely useful to avoid those guys ! I always feel a bit frustrated when I hear people misuse words like "gnosticism" and "gnosis". Some people will use them in any kind of context ; for example, as a pretentious synonym for ‘’knowledge’’ or in a cult… In those cases, the words will be used without any real ties to Valentinianism, Sethianism, etc. It also feels like some people will use "gnostic/gnosticism/gnosis" just to seem obscure and smart. Although those words can refer to a variety of different religious groups, those groups still had many similarities ; despite their faults, those words still have logic and are linked to a set of ideas. Thanks again et bon courage !
Brilliant unboxing video. I also just received my standard edition where I placed my order after watching your previous videos. The deluxe looks so stunning but I just couldn’t buy a “collectors” item in bonded leather that would fall apart in a few years. Unfortunate
Boom...amazing! Just uploading my review and was gonna pretend to be you and do the accent and all but didn't...hope you woulda found it funny though and not offensive :D You rock bro
the content of the book is not within my sphere of interest at all, but i'm just in absolute awe of the beauty of the book itself, as a physical object. the art is stunning too.
Omg I realized that many of the texts in the pictures are in Spanish, I understood evrything. Sadly I don't have the book, here the taxes to import are like $90 lol. Even then, Im saving to get one.
Have you heard of The Order of the Skeleton Key by Jeremy Christner? It is a devotional prayer book inspired by Ophite Gnosticism. I found it on miskatonic books and I thought you might like it.
Denise. From reading a review, If I'm correct the book has the view that the snake in eden is christ and Kundalini as the premise in the book, is that correct? That would match up with the esoteric views. I am just wondering, because something told me to get this book and I don't have a bunch of money to get all the nice books I would like.
Hi Mr Fish! Much love and heartfelt congratulations on 101K😉❤️❤️❤️ Tnx for another beautiful work of art and beauty One news: My esoteric library now has it's 1st english book: My sister asked me if I wanted anything as a gift, and I said Ars Notoria! Now I have volume B and not the first one😢😁 Wonder if it'll work And how I wish I could show you all my two beautiful hand bound books: one is a poem of Hafez Al-Din Shirazi, one of the greatest poets of Farsi, and the other one is a Qur'an ! Gifts as well of course. Another book that I am so proud of, is Molana's poems, which I guess is another one of the names that people have heard, and he was and still is considered as one of the greatest poets of all time that has been writing in Farsi. These two poets are great mystics and I ca totally agree with what you've said about being on an island, these are the kind of books that one would love to have if on a deserted island Talked so much. I am dreaming of becoming a member of your channel one day and joining your discord server, just need to be able to make some money in this country, which is a bit hard for us commoners 🥺
A (very) high quality paperback edition will be available in the next couple of months. The quality looks off the charts actually, with proper smythsewn binding and the highest grade of paper stock. I would definitely consider it if I were you (check out the Kickstarter for more details, expecting shipping September-ish)
Preordered from Anathema. Thank you Denis. I'm not a member yet but trust me, A Course In Miracles. I hope that the Christianity in IAO is as sublime 😊
Page 26, Paragraph four: "The Zoroastrian notion of a duo theistic cosmogony, where the world is the work of a wicked god, and the spirit must yearn for an unknown god, manifested in fire and light, is fully consistent with the rejection of the material world." is factually WRONG. Unfortunately José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal has not grasped the basics of Zoroastrianism and is propagating a false belief through his beautiful book. Unlike Manichaeism and Gnosticism, Zoroastrians *do* believe that the world is essentially *good* being the creation of the Wise Lord, Ahura Mazda. Furthermore, it is the duty of humans on earth to help Ahura Mazda rid the world from evil through good thoughts, good words & good deeds. It really makes me wonder if J.G.A Sabogal has got such a basic fact wrong, what else could be misrepresented in the book? This comment is not meant as a personal attack on the author and I wish him well in the future, but highlights the problem with self published and non-peered reviewed books that can unwittingly propagate fundamental errors and false understanding of the tenets of a religion.
good thoughts create good words, words inspire creative action, Thought exist outside the material realm, all that is good is not the material itself but its form and thought. the rejection of the material world is fully good. Xerces I , was Zoroastrian. -ism's only further reduce and falsify the meaning of what we cannot know which the book seems to draw towards
Thank you very much for pointing this out. Dualistic reductionism is precisely what I oppose throughout the book. I don't think it applies to Zoroastrianism, Christianity, or to the whole of Gnosticism for that matter. Zoroastrianism has often been outlined in the West as a quintessential form of dualism and the origin of monotheism. But this might be a problem of western scholarship in fact. (See: Raffaele Pettazzoni "The Formation of Monotheism" 1967; E.O.James, "Teach Yourself History of Religions" 1956). This problem (i.e. which parts of the created world are evil and which are good, pure/impure) is an ongoing discussion within the exegesis of many religions, that have changed over time. As such, I am talking of a notion and its interpretation, not defining a religion as a whole.
Oof! I don't know if I am alone in this, but the "limited number of copies" is an immediate pass for me. I absolutely hate that this has become the "thing to do" now with most of these publishers/authors. Which is a shame because I would love to own and read this work. Then the hundred-ish price tag is a bit steep. However, I can see its justification, given the art and quality. Just such a shame.
You're imagining a huge corporation who can just produce unlimited numbers of high quality objects like that and take the hit if they don't all sell. Anathema is just one guy. He made as many copies as he could afford. This is the case with most Occult publishers.
@@FoolishFishBooks I am fine with that but what about a PDF and or Paperback? A Print on Demand? Just frustrating. Of course, my take on it isn't worth the DNA that has made me. I don't see myself creating a publication company anytime soon. Just my one cent.
Hey man you are def entitled to your preferences, but they're just that. As well, things of value generally come with a cost, one way or another, you're as directly as you could be, contributing to the person who both designed, but pressed and handcrafted hundreds of pages of art and philosophy, how long do you think that took to learn? But yeah man let's just release a cheap price of shit piratable pdf because some guy on RU-vid prefers not to look up from his phone 🤳
I can understand how you feel about samael aun weor from an intellectual perspective, but have you tried to practice what he teaches? If not then there is an intellectual bias. Gnosis is not information. Information all depends on one's personal subjectivity. The Aquarian age is the age of Uranus. It is practical. The Piscean age was the age intellectual discourse, a mental gymnastics. Which was necessary. There will be no temples or discourses. Words will not suffice. Only those who experience will know each other. And, none of what Samael wrote in his books did he originate. Samael was a student Krumm Heller. The German. Feel free to ignore my comment.
Hey FF (and followers, including myself) - are we in danger in succumbing to "spriritual materialism"? (I first heard that term on another channel - but i can't find the channel again)
Just received my copy. Have not read it yet, but the quality is superb. I was rather surprised to discover it did not have a ribbon marker. I don't even want the book without a ribbon marker. Think I will donate it to the local charity shop. or maybe not.
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