Showing results by narrator "Matthew Schmitz" in All Categories

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. THE DEFINITIVE FLAT EARTH DOCUMENT! The unabridged and enhanced 2nd edition of Zetetic Astronomy, formulated in the 19th century by Samuel Rowbotham, presents a flat-earth cosmology grounded in direct sensory observation rather than theoretical abstraction.

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."

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.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The Gods of Pegana is the first book by Anglo-Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, published on a commission basis in 1905. The book is a series of short stories linked by Dunsany's invented pantheon of deities who dwell in Pegana, and was a huge influence on authors such as Lovecraft and Tolkien. This is one of my favorite works of weird fantasy fiction by Lord Dunsany, and is a masterful cosmological piece of indulgent prose that actually contains some sublime wisdom between the lines.

"The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine is a widely reproduced alchemical book attributed to Basil Valentine. It was first published in 1599 by Johann Thölde who is likely the book's true author. It is presented as a sequence of alchemical operations encoded allegorically in words, to which images have been added. The first Basil Valentine book to discuss the keys is Ein kurtz summarischer Tractat, von dem grossen Stein der Uralten ("A Short Summary Tract: Of the great stone of the ancients"), 1599.

Sane Occultism is a refreshing, no-nonsense look at esotericism, being at the same time an excellent introduction to the subject and a book that will give even the experienced practitioner much to think about. Dion Fortune was a British occultist, ceremonial magician, novelist and author. She was a co-founder of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organization that promoted philosophies which she claimed had been taught to her by spiritual entities known as the Ascended Masters.

Heralding from the famed Emerald Tablet, Mead examines the phrase, As Above So Below, and primarily as it pertains to Theosophy.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. Meditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations in Koine Greek as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. It is possible that large portions of the work were written at Sirmium, where he spent much time planning military campaigns from 170 to 180.

The Mirror of Alchemy is a short alchemical manual, known in Latin as Speculum Alchemiae. Translated in 1597, it was only the second alchemical text printed in the English language. Long ascribed to Roger Bacon, the work is more likely the product of an anonymous author who wrote between the thirteenth and the fifteenth centuries.

Herbert Silberer’s Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts (1917) explores the deeper meanings behind alchemical texts, Rosicrucian allegories, and mystical traditions, arguing that these works are not simply about chemical experiments but are symbolic accounts of inner transformation. Using both Freudian psychoanalysis and spiritual interpretation, Silberer demonstrates how myths, dreams, and esoteric emblems express unconscious drives as well as higher religious aspirations.

In an age where stories flicker across screens in dazzling speed, there is a special kind of magic in returning to the deep, quiet enchantments of old. The Red Fairy Book, first compiled by Andrew Lang in 1890, offers us not merely fairy tales but a tapestry of cultural memory—woven from the folklore of Norse skalds, French peasants, Russian woodsmen, and the fireside storytellers of Iceland and Japan. These are not the softened tales of modern retellings; they shimmer with peril and wonder, cruelty and kindness, cunning and grace.

Gitanjali is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, for its English translation, Song Offerings, making him the first non-European and the first Asian & the only Indian to receive this honour. It is part of the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.

This English prose version of the Ramayana is told in a story form capturing the true and authentic spirit of the original Sanskrit and which makes it easy and enjoyable to listen to. The Ramayana is one of the greatest epics of ancient literature, a monumental work that has transcended the boundaries of time and culture to become a story cherished across generations and geographies. Composed by the sage Valmiki, it is not just a tale of heroism and divine adventure, but a profound reflection on the complexities of dharma, the power of devotion, and the triumph of good over evil.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The tales you are about to listen to are older than cities. Older than memory. They come from a land where the sun was a god, the river a lifeblood, and every stone held a secret. In Ancient Egyptian Legends, M. A. Murray gathered the fragments of a long-vanished world and gave them voice again—stories once carved in temple walls, whispered by priests, or preserved in faded papyrus scrolls.

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.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. This is the voice of the Aeon, the word that reshapes the path of the initiated. The Book of the Law is not merely a text—it is a transmission, a cipher of the cosmos, a revelation dictated beyond the veil of mortal understanding. It speaks in symbols, in silence, in fire and force. It does not beg to be understood; it demands to be lived.

The Turba Philosophorum, also known as Assembly of the Philosophers, is one of the oldest European alchemy texts, translated from the Arabic, like the Picatrix. It is considered to have been written c. 900 A.D.

Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893-August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Swinburne. As a poet, Smith is grouped with the West Coast Romantics alongside Joaquin Miller, Sterling, and Nora May French and remembered as "The Last of the Great Romantics" and "The Bard of Auburn".

One of the best-known Arthurian stories—adapted many times into verse, prose, games, and film. It recounts an adventure undertaken by King Arthur’s famous nephew, Sir Gawain, who is brave and the model of knightly grace. When a mysterious knight in green armor issues a challenge to the Round Table, the gallant Gawain volunteers to do battle for his king, beginning an adventure that explores chivalric tradition, loyalty, and the virtue of forgiveness, as well as alchemical symbolism and the psychological process of individuation.