A Commentary on the Cosmic Doctrine

[ecosophia]

For complicated reasons having to do with distributors, supply chains, changing publishers, et al., I have a pretty fair flurry of books coming out in the months immediately ahead. Here's one I'm especially delighted to announce.

Longtime readers will remember the monthly posts on the main blog discussing Dion Fortune's book The Cosmic Doctrine, the twentieth century's most important book of occult philosophy. I went through the text chapter by chapter, helping to clarify Fortune's sometimes obscure prose and providing context to help readers understand its concepts. I'm delighted to report that the whole commentary is now available for preorder in book form, and is scheduled for publication in March. Here's the blurb:

*******
A fascinating analysis of the most important work of occult philosophy in the 20th Century.

Dion Fortune’s The Cosmic Doctrine is a foundational text which has been required reading for students of the occult since it was first published in 1956. In it she attempts to explain the meaning and evolution of the cosmos from the first beginnings to our lives today.

However, The Cosmic Doctrine isn’t an easy book to read. It's conciseness makes it hard going, for every sentence requires close attention, but the challenge it offers to its readers goes well beyond this. In a phrase that has become famous in occult circles since its publication, The Cosmic Doctrine is intended to train the mind, not to inform it; it attempts to communicate to the reader an unfamiliar way of thinking, and so a great deal of patience and hard work are required to grasp what it has to say.

Some of the difficulties, however, can be smoothed out by reframing and rephrasing the ideas Fortune presents, and this is what this book aims to do.

John Michael Greer provides a learned and elucidating commentary on this classic text to allow students and teachers alike to more easily digest and understand this fantastic book.

*****
Interested? You can preorder a copy here if you're in the United States, and here anywhere else in the world.

Comments

Woo-hoo!

[(Anonymous)]

I was just wondering the other day where you were at with this one! Congratulations, good sir! Here's to hoping it sells out. I'll put this on my must-have list.

[transcriberb]

I look forward to reading this!

[liamq]

Very exciting news! I’ll certainly pick up a copy of whatever is coming out; and I’m very happy this particular book is published through Aeon, as I like what they’ve done with your work previously.

I don’t want to jump any guns here, but I’ve noticed that the second volume of the Dolmen Arch has been (mostly) sold out for a couple of months now. Hopefully the publisher will release a less expensive softcover soon!

[booklover1973]

Hello, JMG!

Is the original text of the Cosmic Doctrine included or is it just the commentary?

Another one on the wish list

[sea_spray]

Ohh thanks for this!

Would I need to buy a copy of the cosmic doctrine along side this or is the original text reproduced in your book too?

Thanks
Sea Spray

Cosmic Doctrine

[(Anonymous)]

As some one who followed along with the readings and found them to be very insightful and meaningful for my own view, I will be picking up this book ASAP!

I am curious, as there were some great discussions in the comments as we went along, did you incorporate any of the better comment points into the final product, or is this just the blog posts?

[escorcher]

This announcement on top of just rewatching 'Everything, Everywhere, All at Once' is quite a thing. I've still got tears in my eyes from that. Congratulations on the book launch and the timing feels dazzling to me.

btw 'Everything, Everywhere' is a full-on audio/visual creation in filmic form with a definite cosmic doctrine feel. It's the corner of the eye stuff meets the so large you normally miss it stuff. Divinely mundane, mundanely divine and all topped on a bagel. Things are so crazy right now the Oscars might get it right for once. Yum!

Re: Woo-hoo!

[ecosophia]

Thank you!

[ecosophia]

I'm glad to hear it.

[ecosophia]

I should have an announcement about that in a matter of weeks.

[ecosophia]

It's just the commentary. You'll need a copy of the original book -- either of the two available editions will do.

Re: Another one on the wish list

[ecosophia]

You'll need a copy of the original as well.

Re: Cosmic Doctrine

[ecosophia]

I edited the material lightly with an eye toward issues that commenters raised, but on the whole it's the blog posts. There are complicated copyright issues involved in printing other people's contributions to an internet forum. The good news is that all those comments are still available on my blog.

[ecosophia]

Delighted to hear it. I hope you're right about the timing!

[lukedodson]

Oh, awesome! I'm still working my way through CosDoc, so I look forward to getting a copy of this.

[kimberlysteele]

Cool!! This is amazing and I look forward to owning a copy!

[(Anonymous)]

That's very welcome news :-) I was asking myself for some time when and if this would be published. I am very much looking forward to reading your commentary on paper (which I will strongly prefer to a computer screen)!

As we are here and the topic is CosDoc and I just finished a meditation session on a paragraph - may I be so impudent to sneak in a little question? If not, I'll gladly come back next Monday...

I wondered if the "relative unmanifest" (e.g the Logos as seen from an inhabitant of its solar system) is just a question of (metaphorical?) size? After all, it's all the same stuff. Why can't "I" be conscious of it? Because it is too large and I can only see a little part of it, to little to make conclusions about the whole? To become conscious of the logos anyway would require to (a) rise to the same size or (b) to travel the whole being?

Greetings,
Nachtgurke

Y2K Non-Compliant

[francis_tucker]

Can you give any guidance on keywords to use to find DF's own later revision--the one that you prefer? Searching for "Revised Edition" keeps taking me to the Millennium Edition.

[kylec]

Same! Definitely need to revisit the Cos Doc once we finish with Levi.

[randomactsofkarmasc]

Thanks so much for this! CosDoc is an amazing book. Your blog posts were instrumental in my understanding and I look forward to getting your book.

[jprussell]

Wonderful news!

I had actually found the pre-order on Aeon's site when you linked to the Humoral Herbal and eagerly look forward to getting it, as I think I'll get a lot more out of the commentary now/in the near future than I did following along with the blog posts.

Logistical question: do you have a preference for folks ordering from the bookshop.org site or from the publisher directly? I assume you get slightly more of the sticker price in your pocket from bookshop, but I didn't know if you valued that or helping out publishers that do right by you more. I'd just like to support you in whatever way you most prefer as thanks for all that you do and how much your books have done for me.

Cheers,
Jeff

[ecosophia]

No, remember that in your current state you're only aware of things that belong to the solar system -- that is to say, the dreams of the Logos. You're not aware of the Logos and you're not aware of your own true self and your own Divine Spark, because those don't belong to the solar system -- they belong to the Cosmos. When you wake up to the Cosmic level you perceive your essential nature, the Divine Spark (aka guardian angel) that has been guiding you all along, and the Logos, and the solar system becomes a dream into which you can enter at will, should you choose.

Re: Y2K Non-Compliant

[ecosophia]

The revised edition is now out of copyright and so, as far as I know, nobody's keeping it in print. Ahem.

[ecosophia]

If you're in the US, I prefer that you order it from my Bookshop site, as linked above. That gets me quite a bit more income -- it roughly doubles the royalties -- and it also means that Ingram, the big book distribution firm that sponsors Bookshop, is more likely to carry my titles. If you're not in the US, I recommend going through the publisher. That way the benefits are equally shared. ;-)

[ecosophia]

You're welcome and thank you.

[ecosophia]

Delighted to hear it. I was very pleased with how it came out.

[ecosophia]

Very glad to hear this.

[stcathalexandria]

Ah that was my question as well. I want to you get the maximum benefit from your work. I only made it 25% through the book when you were posting previously and it's very helpful to see in the description it's meant to train the mind, not inform it. I missed that in intention the blog posts and was so confused and lost so just stopped participating.

[(Anonymous)]

This is fantastic! My copy of The Cosmic Doctrine just arrived last week, so this will be helpful.

Daily Practice Order, Nwyfre Suggestions, Prayer Suggestions, and Physical Culture

[jprussell]

Wow, I didn't realize the difference was so significant! I was already mostly ordering from Bookshop, but I'll make sure to prefer it even more strongly now.

[jpc_w]

Do you know if Bookshop plans to offer shipping to Canada any time soon?

[(Anonymous)]

I promptly ordered a copy. Thank you! It will go into my "monastery library" for the dark ages ahead.

Do you know by chance if it was printed on acid-free paper?

-Myriam

A World Full of Gods

[(Anonymous)]

Hi John,

I wasn't aware that the revised _and updated_ edition of your "A World Full of Gods" is also available for pre-order (finally) from Aeon Books! Publication expected in May.

I didn't read the first edition, so I am looking forward to this one. What did you change in this new edition?

Thanks,
Bucintoro

[ecosophia]

You'll have to contact them; I haven't heard anything.

[ecosophia]

Glad to hear it.

[ecosophia]

I don't happen to know that, and since I haven't yet gotten my author copies I can't open the book and check. I think that all of Aeon's books are on relatively low-acid paper -- they're certainly not yellowing at the speed of typical US paperbacks -- but beyond that I can't say.

Re: A World Full of Gods

[ecosophia]

You're looking ahead, I see. ;-) Yes, I'll be announcing that and some other books shortly.

The new edition has had a few of the arguments tightened up and one of them, my discussion of the ontological proof of God's existence aka Anselm's Fallacy, expanded considerably. More importantly, the new publisher has much better editorial standards and so this edition has had various mistakes removed and all the footnotes checked to be sure everything's properly lined up. In substance, though, it's basically the same book.

[ecosophia]

It's a very confusing book -- or it can be. I was a little hesitant at trying to march through it at a rate of one chapter a month, because many readers, perhaps most, need to take more time with it. Now that's a little easier!

Re: A World Full of Gods

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the clarification. I'll grab a copy for sure.

[kimberlysteele]

Woot! Just placed the pre-order.

Excellent!

[(Anonymous)]

It'll be the perfect birthday gift (to myself)!

Thanks a million, JMG!

Ron M

Re: Y2K Non-Compliant

[(Anonymous)]

That sounds like a golden opportunity for somebody like Aeon to republish the original CosDoc. If helpful, I was able to find a copy with the original dustjacket (with the galaxy on it) and I can forward a scan of that image.

- Cicada Grove

[(Anonymous)]

Awesome, glad to hear somebody else is doing a "monastery library" too!!

- Cicada Grove

[(Anonymous)]

Super duper news; I jumped on this one with all six feet.

- Cicada Grove

Re: Y2K Non-Compliant

[(Anonymous)]

For that matter, do you or any of the commentariat know which of the formats in the link is used for book printing by publishers?

Thanks,

- Cicada Grove

Re: Y2K Non-Compliant

[ecosophia]

It depends on what software the publisher uses for layout. Most publishers prefer manuscripts to be submitted as Word files, so someone would have to download the "full text" option, paste it into Word or a Word analogue such as OpenOffice (which is what I use), and then go through it line by line to find all the places where the OCR software bollixed things up.

[(Anonymous)]

John
Wonderful news, I’ve ordered my copy. I also note the Witch of Crisswell is also available to pre-order. That book is due to be published just before my birthday, so I’ll be making a birthday present request!
Kind regards Averagejoe

[(Anonymous)]

Yay!

Wonderful book

[joshyates1980]

I made a social media video to share on my outlets. I'm so happy about this book, thank you sir:

https://joshyates.blob.core.windows.net/joshyates/the_cosmic_doctrine.mp4

> I also wrote a quick Amazon review:
>
> I was very happy to find this book that was created from John Michael Greer,
> which majority of the text can be found on his blog. But, to bundle Mr.
> Greer's commentary into a book is very delightful. I highly recommend Mr.
> Greer's commentary work to all who not only desires another perspective
> of Dion's masterful channeled work of The Cosmic Doctrine, but to all who
> may struggle with Understanding Dion's explanation of the Cosmos and Solar
> Logos.
>
> I have read Dion's The Cosmic Doctrine work at minimum five times in the
> past two years. The Cosmic Doctrine is very dense material. Only those
> who can abstract the patterns of the Cosmos down to our Universe will be
> able to obtain their concentration and attention on this wisdom. As Above,
> So Below!
>
> Mr. Greer has dedicated and shared a lot of his contemplation from The
> Cosmic Doctrine to others. I much appreciate his time and effort. This
> was much needed for myself whereas I can hardly find anything on the internet
> of others who have discussed The Cosmic Doctrine other than amazon and
> goodreads reviews.