PROBLEMS OF MYSTICISM AND ITS SYMBOLISM
Book Details + Condition: Samuel Weiser Inc (New York), 1970. First (modern) Edition. Very scarce. By Dr. Herbert Silberer (Of Vienna). Hardcover. 451 pages. Silberer compares and contrasts various mystical and occult beliefs through the lens of psychological analysis to review its relationship, and comments on the validity of the occult. This work is one of the first attempts to use psychoanalysis to analyze and interpret the relationship between the occult and mystical practices, due to its growing popularity of the occult during the turn of the century. "Problems of Mysticism and Its Symbolism" was Silberer's magnum opus. Taking as his starting point a Rosicrucian text known as the Parabola Allegory, an alchemical writing with many parallels to the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, he explores the ability of Freudian analysis to interpret it. Having conducted a detailed Freudian interpretation of the allegory Silberer then compares this method to the wider symbolic methods of alchemy, hermeticism, Rosicrucianism and other mystical traditions and texts such as Kundalini Yoga, the Bhagavad Gita and the writings of English mystic Jane Leade. In very good condition, with firm binding; specks of lightening/discoloration on boards; stamp and bookplate on inside front board; clean interior.
