The Gnostic 4: Including Alan Moore on the Occult Paperback – December 6, 2011

I have all three previous issues of The Gnostic and this is by far the best, which is saying something because I didn't think they'd ever top  The Gnostic 3: Featuring Jung and the Red Book  with its great coverage of Jung's Red Book.So what's so great The Gnostic 4? There is a 20-page Gnostic-fueled analysis of Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece BLOOD MERIDIAN Or the Evening Redness in the West. In addition to the article, you get 4 pages of notes that contain some hidden gems as well.You'll also find a brief 4-page article subtitled "The Zero-Point Field and the Pleroma" that connects quantum physics to Gnostic cosmology by way of a discussion of consciousness and the best argument for the importance of microtubules in the human brain that I've seen.There is an illuminating Gurdjieff-influenced interpretation of the Gospel of Thomas by founder and editor of The Gnostic, Andrew Phillip Smith. Though this was previously published in one of his books, said book is long out of print, so this slightly revised version is a treat indeed. As a wonderful bonus, his entire preferred translation of the Gospel of Thomas is included at the beginning of the article. You can never have too many copies of this prized Gnostic document."The Gnosis of Light" re-publishes the introduction, notes and complete translation of the Untitled Apocalypse from the Codex Brucianus of Rev. F. Lamplugh's 1918 The Gnosis of Light. According to Wikipedia, "this is a gnostic manuscript acquired by the British Museum. In 1769, James Bruce purchased the codex in Upper Egypt."In the back of The Gnostic 4, you'll find smart reviews of books covering everything from Jung to Jesus to Atlantis to the Divine Feminine.There are other articles as well, but I would be remiss if I didn't also mention Alan Moore's scathing critique ("Fossil Angels") of the contemporary occult scene. It is of the typical Moore style: brilliant, encompassing and wicked.If you are curious about the wide range of topics to which Gnosticism is both directly and indirectly related, The Gnostic 4 provides varying perspectives through which you can see those interconnections.Highly recommended.

My own spiritual home is in the East -- nothing speaks to my soul like the living wisdom of India. But when I look for contemporary magazines/journals intelligently addressing spiritual issues from a Western perspective, I'm dismayed by how little I find. "The Gnostic," a journal published in Ireland, helps fill this void. Its contributors by and large write from the perspective of the early Christian community -- a time in history before orthodoxy put an end to free thought in that religion.I've thoroughly enjoyed every issue of "The Gnostic" so far, and sincerely hope there will be many issues to come.

Great thought provoking magazine. I have 3 & 4 and will buying the first two. Great contributors. Its a keeper.