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Browse currently available published categories.
African Religion
<p>Ultimately, we are all Africans. Studies of mitochondrial DNA have proven that all human beings are descended from a small population (less than a hundred individuals) that emerged from Africa about 60,000 years ago. The earliest written religious texts as well as the first documented monotheistic religion also developed in Africa. During the European dark ages, many ancient manuscripts were preserved in African libraries in places such as Ethiopia and Timbuctoo.</p><p>This section has texts on the traditional spirituality of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as their descendants in the New World.</p><p>Finding books about African religion and spiritual beliefs <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/faq.htm#public_domain">in the public domain</a> was not difficult. These books have a great amount of useful information on this topic, some of it written before colonialism destroyed or greatly modified aspects of traditional culture. The problem with these works is that they were for the large part written by Europeans with their particular biases and agendas. For this reason, we encourage you to 'read between the lines'.</p><p>The texts here are provided for scholarly purposes. They may contain racist characterizations, errors of interpretation, or misrepresentations of traditional culture. For instance, the term 'Kaffir', which is used in many of these texts to refer to the Xhosa (Nelson Mandela's tribe), is now considered derogatory.</p><p>This page also has texts and books with alternate views, primarily written by African-Americans, which, in our opinion, also deserve consideration.</p><p>Africa is home to a rich religious tradition. Refer to <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/egy/index.htm">Ancient Egypt</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/isl/index.htm">Islam</a>, and <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/chr/index.htm">Christianity</a>.</p>
african
The Age of Reason
<p>What if God doesn't exist? What if humanity is not the center of the universe? What if there is no absolute truth? Here are some texts by free-thinking pioneers of our era that address these questions.</p>
age-of-reason
Alchemy
<p>Although the alchemists' fundamental goal of elemental transmutation was flawed, on a deeper level the work of alchemy (cloaked in allegorical images) also represented the transformation of the soul. Modern science has accomplished the transmutation of elements using means that the alchemists never dreamed of. And there is still a small group of occult researchers who persist in trying to continue the work. The documents of alchemy make fascinating reading for historians of science and the esoteric.</p>
alchemy
Americana
<p>This page includes texts relating to uniquely American expressions of belief, as well as folklore and supersition, that don't fit into any other category.</p>
americana
Ancient Near East
Sacred Texts: Ancient Near East
ancient-near-east
Astrology and Sky Lore
<p>This page indexes resources related to the lore of the sky, and celestial objects, at sacred-texts, including Astrology and historical texts on Astronomy.</p>
astrology
Asian Traditional People
<p>This page links together resources at sacred-texts pertaining to traditional people of Asia, including Siberia and Southeast Asia.</p>
asia
Atlantis
Sacred Texts: Atlantis
atlantis
Australia
<p>Finding texts about Australian Aboriginal religion in the public domain was extremely difficult. There is a landslide of 19th and early 20th Century books and articles about American and African indigenous traditions, many treating the subject with sensitivity and great depth. Only a few Australian works from this period are available, and most of them are pretty vague on the details. Some of this can be attributed to the traditional tribal secrecy, which is maintained even to this day.</p><p>Please be mindful of the historical context in which these books were written. The obvious problem with these books is that they were written by White Australians during the early twentieth century. This material contains racist and sexist characterizations, inaccurate depictions of aboriginal life and misrepresentations of their spiritual practices. Some of these documents contain completely fictional material which was the invention of the author, and have no actual basis in aboriginal belief or traditions. Descriptions of some of the ceremonies in these documents or the naming of dead people may regrettably violate Aboriginal tabus. These texts are provided for scholarly purposes and should not be considered definitive material on Aboriginal culture, only as a starting point for discussion.</p><p>In short, we encourage you to 'read between the lines'.</p>
australia
Basque Folklore
Sacred Texts: Basque Folklore
basque
Baha'i
Sacred Texts: Baha
bahai
The Hypertext Bible
<p>The Bible is considered a sacred text by three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Many devout believers consider it to be the literal truth. Others treat it with great respect, but believe that it was written by human beings and, as such is a complex, often contradictory document.</p><p>Modern scholars believe that the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, was composed by four or five writers between 1000 to 400 BCE based on much older traditions. The New Testament was composed by a variety of writers between 60 to 110 CE. The contents of the New Testament were formalized by Athanasius of Alexandria in 367 CE, and finally canonized in 382 CE.</p><p>There are many disagreements about the order and composition of the Bible between various religions and sects, some of which are doctrinal in nature. The sequence of books in this hypertext should not be construed as endorsing any particular religion.</p><p>Important note: to view the Greek and Hebrew sections of this part of the site you must have <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/unicode.htm">Unicode</a> support correctly set up in your browser. Special instructions about getting Hebrew Unicode running properly can be found <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/bib/tan/font.htm">here</a>.</p><p>This page links together all of the Bible resources at sacred-texts. The <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/bib/index.htm#index">table below</a> has links to the following texts:</p>
bible
The Internet Book of Shadows
<p>This is a large (+9Mb) collection of articles related to Neo-Paganism which can be found archived at a number of FTP sites (for instance, <a href="ftp://ftp.lysator.liu.se/pub/religion/neopagan/BOS/">here</a> ). This is a collection of posts to bulletin boards from the late eighties to the mid nineties, essentially predating the modern Internet. According to a recent communication, the original editor of this archive was Durwydd mac Tara at PODS net. We acknowledge Durwydd's hard work to preserve this archive. For ease of access, we have converted this archive to HTML using a C program. There are a number of technical difficulties with this collection including runtogetherwords in many places, problems with the table of contents and huge inconsistencies in pagination; due to the volume of this material we have left these intact for now.</p><p>We have taken the liberty of removing about twenty-five articles which were too far 'off topic', posted elsewhere at this site, or had serious copyright issues. Three articles have been removed at the request of the authors. Other than the omitted articles we have made no attempt to alter any of the content.</p>
book-of-shadows
Buddhism
Buddhist texts at sacred-texts.com. Theravada, Mahayana, Tibetan, and other primary texts of Buddhism
buddhism
Celtic Folklore
<p>Some of these books and texts are translations of Celtic legends and sagas; others are retellings of the material, folklore, or literary works based on Celtic themes. During the 19th and early 20th Century there was a resurgence of interest in the folklore of Ireland, Wales and Scotland. This was reflected in a huge amount of literature based on the rich Celtic mythopoetic heritage, most of it very faithful to the original material, some in a more modern voice.</p><p>A good number of these files were originally scanned by Phillip Brown for his (now defunct) Celtic Folklore website. These are indicated by [PB].</p>
celtic
Christianity
Christian Texts at Sacred-Texts.com
christianity
The Classics
<p>This section contains texts from ancient Greece and Rome, primarily about Classical Pagan beliefs. However, any text which has survived from this period of antiquity is, by definition, a classic. Many of these texts were only saved from the flames of the dark ages in locations remote from Rome and Athens, such as the legendary city of Timbuktu in central Africa, Irish monastaries, and by Islamic scholars in centers of learning as Baghdad.</p>
classics
Comparative Religion, Mythology and Folklore
<p>This page provides resources at sacred-texts which compare two or more religions. This page also indexes comparative folklore and mythology, the study of the migration of story themes, and similar topics. Right now we are still building out this index.</p>
comparative
Confucianism and Traditional Chinese beliefs
Texts of Confucianism at sacred-texts.com
confucianism
The Genetic Code
Sacred Texts: Human Genome
dna
Earth Mysteries
<p>This part of the site has texts that deal with earth mysteries, such as ley lines, Atlantis, Feng Shui, and so on.</p>
earth-mysteries
Ancient Egypt
<p>The civilization of Ancient Egypt lasted longer than the entire span of what we have come to accept as 'recorded history': over three thousand years. During these millenia the Egyptians developed a multitude of gods and goddesses, as well as esoteric practices that we are still unravelling the meaning of. Besides this, Egypt was the source of the first true monothestic religion, under the pharaoh Akhenaton. This rich tradition was mostly unknown until the early nineteenth century, when the Egyptian language was finally deciphered.</p>
egyptian
England
<p>This section has texts about the folklore and legends of England and other resources at sacred-texts about the British Isles.</p>
england
Esoteric and Occult
<p>This page indexes resources at this site in the Western Esoteric tradition. There is much more related to this topic at this site, listed <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/eso/index.htm#_xrefs">below</a>.</p>
esoteric-occult
Evil
<p>It was as if Satan was walking the streets of New York... -- New York Firefighter, regarding 9/11/2001</p><p>Evil is, on one level, a cultural construct. The Easter Islanders believed that stealing, if successful, was virtuous. This was probably a social mechanism for redistributing scarce items on a small island. However some evils--war, genocide, and terrorism to name a few--are instantly recognizable as such. The issue of why an omniscient, all-powerful God would permit such horrors is one of the most difficult (and obvious) religious questions. This section of sacred-texts deals with this thorny issue.</p><p>Note that there aren't any sacred texts of Satanism per se at this site. Satanism as an organized religion is a very recent phenomena, and books about it are a long way from entering the public domain. Besides, to put a fine point on it, actual Satanists insist that they aren't evil.</p>
evil
Fortean Texts
<p>In the early twentieth century Charles Fort put together great quantities of exhaustively documented 'puzzling evidence.' This is data which science is unable or unwilling to explain, such rains of fish or blood, mysterious animals, or manufactured artifacts in deep strata. Fort collected numerous accounts of aerial phenomena prior to the invention of aviation, including huge cylinders and spheres in the sky. Many of these would today be considered <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/ufo/index.htm">UFOs</a>.</p><p>These etexts were scanned from the authoritative 1941 Thayer one-volume edition of Fort's works. The page numbering in each text reflects that edition. Copyrighted material in the Thayer edition (the introduction and index) has been omitted.</p>
fortean
Freemasonry
<p>The Internet has long been home to all kinds of sites about Freemasonry, pro and con. However, it has been hard to find reliable, vetted information on the web on this topic. This page has electronic editions of core texts on Freemasonry in the public domain, presented complete and unaltered.</p>
freemasonry
Gothic Texts
<p>Gothic refers to a Romantic literary style which can include supernatural aspects, particularly vampires. This is because many of these stories are set in locales with Gothic architecture. This page includes significant non-fiction and fiction books about vampires and related subjects.</p><p>Why cover this subject at sacred-texts? From Lord Byrons' literary circle to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, vampires and their kin have evolved into a modern mythology about the presence of <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/evil/index.htm">evil</a> in a world governed by science. Gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/aor/index.htm">age of reason</a>. These texts allow us to trace the evolution of this mythology.</p><p>Gothic literature shouldn't be confused with texts in the Gothic language, the earliest written Germanic language, which includes the Codex Argentius, a translation of parts of the New Testament. For more information, we recommend <a href="http://www.cs.tut.fi/~dla/gothic.html">Database of the Gothic Language</a> [External Site].</p>
gothic
Gnosticism and Hermetica
<p>This page indexes resources about Gnosticism, the Hermetica, and other related belief systems at sacred-texts.</p>
gnosticism
Grimoires
<p>The name "Grimoire" is derived from the word "Grammar". A grammar is a description of a set of symbols and how to combine them to create well-formed sentences. A Grimoire is, appropriately enough, a description of a set of magickal symbols and how to combine them properly. Most of the texts linked below are descriptions of traditional European ritual magick, which is based on Judeo-Christianity. Even though this must not be confused with neo-Paganism, many of the neo-Pagan traditions use similar rituals and techniques, albeit with a different (usually Celtic) vocabulary.</p><p>Note: These historical texts are presented for research and entertainment purposes only; we can't answer any questions about the material contained in them. Please refer to the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/faq.htm">sacred-texts FAQ</a> before sending any email about these texts.</p>
grimoires
Hinduism
Sacred Texts of Hinduism; complete translation of the Rig-Veda, transcribed Sanskrit Rig-Veda, Max Mullers
hinduism
I Ching
The I Ching at Sacred-texts.com
i-ching
Islam
Texts of Islam at sacred-texts.com
islam
Icelandic Lore
<p>This page indexes all of the content at sacred-texts related to Icelandic lore, including the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/index.htm#eddas">Eddas</a> and <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/index.htm#sagas">Sagas</a>. There are also <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/index.htm#retellings">modern retellings</a> of Northern lore.</p>
icelandic
Jainism
Jainism
jainism
Index of Journal Articles
<p>These files are articles excerpted from a number of scholarly (and not-so-scholarly) journals. Many of them have been edited more or less extensively to remove both the untranslated text that often accompanies the translation and the more specialized notes and comments. I have made the assumption that those who need to reference the in-depth philological discussions of these long-dead Victorian Orientalists will have access to the original source materials; please forgive me if I am mistaken.</p><p>There were for all intents and purposes no hard standards in transcription at the time that these were written (and there are still none today); I have done my best to represent the varied systems as closely as possible in order to facilitate the transition to unicode that I hope to see in the near future. A period directly before any letter represents a dot-under, a double quote represents a dot-over, and a forward slash (/) before a consonant represents an acute marking over it. For /S and /s, however, I have used Š and š. Acute, grave, and circumflex accents (over vowels) have been rendered directly in HTML, and line-over vowels (macrons) are also shown as circumflex. Where macrons and circumflexes appear together, macrons are shown before the letter that they modify or otherwise noted. The º mark before a vowel represents the 'short' (breve) diacritic; the same marking is also sometimes used in Tibetan transcriptions and in other places, but is not ambiguous. As of August 2002, I have begun the transition to unicode, so please let us know if there are any problems related to that.</p><p>Last updated December 15, 2003.</p>
journals
Judaism
Texts of Judaism at sacred-texts.com
judaism
Legends and Sagas
<p>This section of sacred-texts archives the rich literature of Sagas and Legends. These are mostly (but not all) from Northern Europe, and primarily based on legendary events and people from the Middle Ages. Many of these narratives are based on archetypal stories that date even further back in time.</p>
legends-sagas
Legendary Creatures
<p>Legendary creatures play important roles in many ancient texts. Sometimes they are symbols of the hermetic processes of alchemy; in other cases they crop up in antique accounts of natural history. No doubt, these beings haunt our dreams and nightmares to this day. These are some of the books on dragons, were-wolves, unicorns, mermaids, giants and other elusive creatures at this site.</p>
legendary-creatures
The Samaritans
<p>This ancient sect has close historical ties to the Jewish faith. However, they have an entirely separate set of traditions and customs which diverged from Judaism long ago, before it was codified and homogenized. For instance, they believe that only the Pentateuch is divinely inspired. Their language is still written using an archaic version of the Hebrew alphabet. The Samaritans, who were persecuted and shunned outsiders, are ironically best known because of a short parable in the New Testament in which a Samaritan does a good deed for a victim of a mugging ( <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/luk.htm#10:25">Luke 10:25</a> ). Today, about 300 Samaritans live in the West Bank in the vicinity of Nablus on Mount Gerizim, preserving their customs and language. For more information on the Samaritans, refer to <a href="http://www.the-samaritans.com/">http://www.the-samaritans.com</a>, who have graciously allowed sacred-texts to mirror these articles.</p>
samaritans
LGBT Texts
<p>This page indexes resources about LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) issues at sacred-texts. This page deals specifically with the subject of LGBT people in sacred texts. For an overview of the positions of various religions on this topic, including historical and current beliefs, refer to <a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/homosexu.htm">this page at the Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance site</a> [external site].</p><p>References to the scriptures are being used as the backbone of much of the heated discussion about gay people in a way that has not been seen since the Scopes evolution trial. It is thus crucial to examine the actual texts, and the context in which they were written. This page, which has taken months of research to write, provides all available scriptural quotes on this subject, with links into the full texts, also available at this site. Also included are the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/lgbt/index.htm#modern">complete text of several books on the subject</a>, scanned specially to provide background information for this page.</p>
lgbt
Miscellaneous
<p>This page indexes etexts which don't currently have a category at this site, are just plain uncategorizable, or deal with a wide range of religions, mythologies or folklore.</p><p>Several of these have been contributed by Eliza at at <a href="http://www.sacredspiral.com/">http://www.sacredspiral.com/</a> [External Site]. These are marked [EY].</p>
miscellaneous
Mormonism
Sacred Texts - Mormon Scriptures
mormonism
Mysticism
Sacred-Texts.com: Mysticism
mysticism
Native American Religions
<p>A long-standing problem with this section (and several others at this site relating to traditional peoples' spiritual beliefs) has been the lack of authoritative information. We are in the process of expanding this section by scanning public domain ethnographic accounts on specific Native American religious and spiritual practices. We are fortunate that there is a wealth of such material available, which makes it so much more puzzling why more of it is not on the Internet yet.</p><p>The study of Native Americans by anthroplogists has had its share of bad science and ethical problems. However, the texts we are in the process of scanning were written by 19th and 20th Century ethnographers who were known for their careful and respectful approach to the people they studied. These were scholars who lived for years with the people they studied, and obtained permission to transcribe their oral sacred literature.</p>
native-american
Necronomicon
<p>The Necronomicon originated as a fictional book in the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and grew into an extended literary in-joke as other horror writers organically added to the Cthulhu mythos. According to Lovecraft, it was written by Abdul Alhazred, 'a mad Arab poet of the Yemen', in 950 A.D. in Damascus. In many of the stories written by Lovecraft and his successors, merely reading or possessing the Necronomicon leads to insanity...or worse.</p>
necronomicon
New Thought
<p>The New Thought movement, which originated in the late 19th and early 20th century, has at its core a belief that a higher power pervades all existence, and that individuals can create their own reality via affirmations, meditation and prayer. Early New Thought groups emerged from a Christian Science background, and many New Thought writers refer back to the Bible as their foundation text. New Thought resembles in some respects New Age philosophy, although some New Thought groups dismiss a connection. This page includes some of the writings of this movement, as well as related and similar texts.</p>
new-thought
Wicca and Neo-Paganism
<p>Neopaganism covers a wide range of belief systems which have emerged in the past 50 years, primarily in the UK, Europe, and the United States. This includes the better known Wicca, which is a synthesis of traditions from the British Isles, as well as many less visible groups which draw inspiration from other parts of the world. Based on folk-lore, traditional spiritual practices, anthropology, and a synthesis of esoteric systems, Neopaganism does not have any sacred texts of the same vintage as other religions, although unverifiable claims have been made in a couple of cases (e.g. <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/pag/aradia/index.htm">Aradia</a>, and <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/index.htm">The Gardnerian Book of Shadows</a> ).</p><p>Rather, the books presented here are source texts of Neopaganism, and other books which deal with related topics. Many of these books contain outdated or speculative material, and some of the texts here are the product of the Renaissance witch hunters. As a whole, the books here are of historical importance rather than a roadmap to modern pagan practice, and shouldn't be construed as such. As always, we encourage readers to think critically.</p><p>Descriptions of contemporary Neopagan practice and beliefs can be found in the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/bos/index.htm">Internet Book of Shadows</a> section of this site.</p>
neopaganism-wicca
Nostradamus
Sacred Texts: The Prophecies of Nostradamus
nostradamus
Oahspe
<p>Oahspe is a book written in 1880 by an American dentist named John Ballou Newbrough [1828-1891]. He claimed that it was the result of automatic writing, dictated to him by spirits in a trance. In this trance he wrote the entire book on a very early typewriter (possibly the first such book ever written on a machine!). The spirits were very profilic; Oahspe is about four-fifths the size of the King James Bible, and more than twice the size of the Book of Mormon. Other texts archived at Sacred-texts authored via automatic writing during the 19th century include <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/chr/agjc/index.htm">the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ</a>, and <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/wmn/cws/index.htm">Clothed with the Sun</a>.</p><p>Oahspe appeared in the context of the Spiritualist movement, the Victorian predecessor of the "New Age" channelling and past life regressions. It has similarities to <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/the/sd/index.htm">Theosophy</a>, and, strangely enough, to the rumored science-fiction Scientology mythology (which, of course, has no relationship whatsoever to Oahspe or its adherents). Oahspe inspired a radically different set of spiritual beliefs, called Faithism which has a small following even today. The Faithists do not consider Oahspe the literal truth; instead they find inspiration in its many ethical and spiritual passages.</p>
oahspe
Pacific Islander Religions
Pacific Ocean Sacred Texts at www.sacred-texts.com
pacific
Paleolithic Cave Paintings
<p>For a larger image, click on each painting. Explanatory text: <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/nel/cavepeng.txt">English</a> <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/nel/cavepfrn.txt">French</a>.</p>
paleolithic
Parapsychology
<p>This page indexes resources at this site about parapsychology (the study of ESP), including telepathy, clairvoyance, and other psychic phenomena.</p>
parapsychology
Western Philosophy
<p>This section contains texts by the most important writers who have defined the philosophy of modern Western society. Texts here discuss ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and political philosophy. NOTE: most of these are large text files, which may take a while to download on a slow connection.</p>
philosophy
The Piri Reis Map
<p>The image of the Piri Rei's map was scanned from the frontpiece of a first edition of Hapgood's Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings. It is included here for non-profit archival and research purposes only.</p>
piri-reis-map
Prophecy and Divination
<p>What does the future hold? This is one of the big questions we'd all like answered. This page has links to resources at sacred-texts that relate to prophecy and divination.</p>
prophecy
Roma Folklore
<p>This page links together resources at sacred-texts about the folklore of the Roma people. Also known as 'Gypsies', the Roma are nomads who originated in India during the middle ages, and spread across a wide section of Eurasia, preserving a unique culture and language.</p><p>NOTE: The term Gypsy was applied to the Roma by outsiders, possibly in the mistaken belief that they were Egyptian in origin. Some people today take it to be pejorative, and at the very least its use is deprecated. Nevertheless, it is used widely in the literature, particularly the pre-1922 public domain books at this site, by scholars who cannot be construed as using it in a derogative sense. In new material at this site we use the term 'Roma' and leave the term 'Gypsy' in existing documents.</p>
roma
Sacred Books of the East Index
<p>The Sacred Books of the East (SBE) series, comprising fifty volumes, was issued by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It has translations of key sacred texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Islam. The series was edited by the famous linguist and scholar of comparative religion, Max Müller. He wrote three of the volumes, and collaborated on three others. The SBE has been designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works.</p><p>This series was the one of the inspirations for the sacred-texts website. As <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/sbe/index.htm#pubdomain">most of the SBE texts are in the public domain worldwide (and all of them in are public domain in the US)</a>, we have a long term project of converting the entire series to etexts. This page is a progress report on this project, and a way of centralizing known bibliographic information on the SBE.</p><p>As of September 2008, we have now reached a key milestone, completing and posting substantial etexts of all of the original 49 volumes of the SBE. This has been a ten-year project. The first volumes, the Upanishads (SBE 1 and 15), were originally scanned in 1997, two years before the inception of sacred-texts. All of these etexts, with the exception of volume 25, were prepared at sacred-texts, or by volunteers. At this point, future work on this project will involve bringing the older etexts up to current standards, and the completion of <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/sbe/sbe50/index.htm">SBE 50</a>, the General Index.</p><p>The difficulties of turning these books into etexts were enormous, and required great care and diligence. These volumes represent some of the most difficult work in the field of etext preparation. Two of the main problems are the use of italics in transliteration and the extensive footnotes. Optical character recognition (OCR) software can produce an approximate transcript of this specialized typography, but stock HTML cannot is not equipped to display it. We had to invent a software technology (STML, Sacred Texts Markup Language) to produce the HTML versions of these texts, in addition to proofing them.</p><p>The SBE texts suffer from the usual disease of Victorian scholarly texts; they are replete with extensive (and often superfluous) introductory matter and footnotes. The footnotes in a typical SBE volume can comprise from one-half to two-thirds of the bulk of the text. The scholarly apparatus is set in a smaller typeface and it proved very difficult to OCR and proofread.</p><p>However, there are compelling reasons to revisit these books. In some cases these are the only available translations of a particular text, or the principal reference version, or sourced from a rare manuscript. Case in point, nobody has attempted to retranslate the Satapatha Brahmana since Eggeling's comprehensive five-part SBE translation.</p><p>The original Oxford University Press printing was of very high quality. Not only is the typography exquisite, they were proofed to perfection; some have zero typographical errors, after thorough proofing using modern software.</p><p>Today these first editions are very rare. However, these books have been reprinted most notably by Dover Publications, and the Indian firm of Motilal Banarsidass.</p><p>A very few of the more important volumes have been reproduced by Dover publications. The Dover versions are inexpensive but very high quality trade paperbacks, with those almost indestructible Dover bindings. Unfortunately, some of the SBE reprints in the Dover line are now out of print; they are extensively available used, however.</p><p><a href="https://sacred-texts.com/sbe/index.htm#sbereprints">A list of available SBE reprints (mostly from Dover) is available here.</a></p><p>The Indian publishing firm of <a href="http://www.mlbd.com/">Motilal Banarsidass</a> has reprinted the entire set in hardcover (ISBN 8120801016). This is the version found at most large public and academic libraries. These are printed on substandard paper and the binding is often sloppy. Inverted signatures are not rare; and I have one which was bound with the cover upside down! They are however, cheap and available, particularly if purchased used.</p><p>The Banarsidass SBE lists for 9000 Rs or approximately US $200, with separate volumes priced at 200 Rs, or about US $4.50. I was quoted US $495.95 for the set if you order it direct from Motilal Banarsidass and have it shipped to the US. So that might be your best bet if you want the whole set. These are the prices listed on their website, and presumably reflect the retail price in India.</p><p>Be prepared to pay a lot more if you order the Motilal Banarsidass SBE set through a bookstore in the US. A US list price of US $2,250 is not unheard of! The books are not available through normal channels and must be shipped from India; the size of the set (as well as its specialized nature) makes it unreasonable for American or European distributors or bookstores to keep it in stock. Used sets have been listed from US $600 to US $1,250. Individual used volumes can run anywhere from US $10 up on the used book sites.</p><p>In spite of all these difficulties, the translations are uniformly of high quality and are essential for scholars of religion. For this reason, we feel that it is important that this material be published on the Internet.</p>
sacred-books-of-the-east
Sacred Sexuality
<p>The dominant world religions treat sexuality as (at best) a distraction from the spiritual path. On the other hand, some spiritual traditions integrate sexuality into their spiritual practice. Some regard sexuality as an integral part of life, a gift to be honored and enjoyed. This section contains classic texts which discuss the sacred nature of sexuality and affirm the positive aspects of sex. Some of these texts ( <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/tantra/index.htm">the Tantric</a> ) are esoteric and touch on the intersection of the spiritual and the physical. Others (such as the Kama Sutra material) are more rooted in the physical world.</p>
sacred-sexuality
Shakespeare
<p>Why include the works of Shakespeare at sacred-texts? The answer to this will be self-evident to some, and a mystery to others.</p><p>This site includes the works of several other dramatists, such as <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/cla/aesch/index.htm">Aeschylus</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/cla/soph/index.htm">Sophocles</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/cla/eurip/index.htm">Euripides</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/hin/sha/index.htm">Kalidasa</a>, the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/shi/npj/index.htm">Noh Plays</a> of Japan, and the Inca <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/nam/inca/oll/index.htm">Drama of Ollantay</a>. In common with Shakespeare, these great works of world literature illuminate the main themes of this site, as well as the human condition in general.</p>
shakespeare
Shamanism
<p>This section has texts about Shamanism and Animism. These are traditional belief systems which consider the entire universe to be alive and interconnected. Shamanism in practice is used to heal and enlighten, using ceremonials which can include rhythmic music, mind altering drugs and mythic journeys into the subconscious. There are also numerous descriptions of Shamanism and related topics in the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/nam/index.htm">Native American</a>, the <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/asia/index.htm">Traditional Asian</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/aus/index.htm">Australian</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/pac/index.htm">Pacific</a>, and <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/afr/index.htm">African</a> sections.</p>
shamanism
Shinto and Japanese Religions
<p>This section has <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/shi/index.htm#shinto">scriptures of the Shinto religion</a>, as well as <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/shi/index.htm#gen">other texts</a> that relate to the spirituality of Japan, which combines Shinto, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm">Buddhism</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/cfu/index.htm">Confucianism</a>, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/sha/index.htm">Animism</a> and other themes. There is also a collection of <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/shi/ainu/index.htm">Ainu Texts</a>.</p>
shinto
Symbols
<p>One of the key markers of intelligence is the ability to manipulate symbolic thought. Symbols are found in mythology and folklore worldwide, and here are some books at this site on this topic.</p>
symbolism
Sikhism
Sikhism
sikhism
Sub Rosa
<p>This section of sacred-texts contains resources related to secret societies, conspiracies, and hidden knowledge.</p>
sub-rosa
Swedenborg
<p>Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish philosopher and scientist who, at 56, had a spiritual awakening and wrote numerous books on his theological views and related topics. He advocated a version of Christianity where works count as much as faith, with the trinity existing in Jesus, instead of three separate entities. Swedenborg derived inspiration from dreams and visions, and claimed to be able to visit heaven and hell at will. His works were widely read after his death and highly regarded by poets, writers and mystics such as Blake, Baudelaire, Strindberg, Balzac, <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/index.htm">Yeats</a>, Jung, and William James.</p><p>The following electronic texts have been converted automatically for sacred-texts by a volunteer. Swedenborg's writings are indexed by paragraph number. Each of the texts have been arbitrarily separated into 50-paragraph files.</p>
swedenborg
Tantra
<p>These texts describe the esoteric teachings of Tantra, a belief system which originated in India, praticed by a small number of Hindus and Buddhists. Tantra has become a synonym in the West for unbridled sexuality; however sexuality per se is only one facet of this elaborate spiritual practice, as a representation of the union of the soul with the Goddess. Rather, this attitude reflects the spiritual vacuum of mainstream Western religions when it comes to sacred sexuality. A deep study of Tantra can take a lifetime, and is not for the undisciplined or the thrill-seeker.</p><p>Tantra does not advocate an epicurian or libertine philosophy. Quite the contrary, the practices which involve behavior which is regarded by conventional Hinduism as 'sinful' (such as eating meat, drinking alcohol, and having sexual union), normally requiring expatiatory behavior, are supposed to only be engaged in by spiritually advanced practicioners in the appropriate ritual context. A set of alternative practices are recommended by Tantra for general use (substituting sweets for meat, and praying and chanting for sexual union). (It should also be noted the Hindu concept which we describe here as sin is somewhat different than the Christian version).</p><p>Taken with these caveats, the assertion of Tantra that sexual energy can be harnessed to achieve union with the divine is fairly unique among world religions. The encounter with this school of thought by western occultists had a profound impact on the development of modern <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/pag/index.htm">Neo-paganism</a>.</p>
tantra
Taoism
Taoism
taoism
The Tarot
<p>The best known Tarot deck is the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0880796863/internetsacredte">Rider-Waite-Smith</a> deck. There are hundreds of others, but the images of the RWS Tarot are the ones which are instantly recognizable. This page has abundant detail about the history and significance of the RWS deck, as well as other texts about Tarot divination.</p>
tarot
Thelema Texts
<p>These are texts relating to the philosophy of Thelema, many of them written by the occultist Aleister Crowley who founded the organization A.'. A.'. (Argentium Astrum -- the Silver Star) as well as others by members of the OTO (Ordo Templi Orientis -- Order of the Eastern Temple) (founded by Theodor Reuss and Karl Kellner in 1895). These two organizations work together to promote Thelema.</p><p>The 'Class' is a OTO-assigned indication of the relative importance of the document. Some of the texts listed here are not available in electronic form for one reason or another; their descriptions have been left in the table for completeness.</p>
thelema
Theosophy
Sacred Texts: Theosophy
theosophy
Sacred Time
<p>This page has links to resources at sacred-texts related to time: chronology of sacred texts and religion, and information about calendrical systems used by major religions.</p><p>The above image is a whole-sky map of fluctuations in cosmic background radiation, basically the closest thing to a photograph of the big bang that we have.</p>
time
Sources of Lord of the Rings
<p>J.R.R. Tolkiens' Middle Earth did not come out of thin air. Tolkien, an academic linguist, drew on the following source materials to inspire his world-building exercise. The texts presented at this site are complete and in some cases in the original languages.</p>
tolkien
The UFO Files
Sacred Texts: UFOs
ufos
Utopia/Dystopia
<p>The dream of a golden age, first expressed by <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/index.htm">Hesiod</a>, and philosophical writings such as Plato's <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/cla/plato/rep/index.htm">Republic</a>, has become a recurring theme in literature. Many have attempted to define the ideal society. For some, the dream has turned into a nightmare, a dystopia. This page includes the best of these speculations.</p>
utopia
Women and Religion
<p>All of the major world religions deprecate women to some degree. This page archives texts which relate specifically to women and religion from a female perspective. This includes <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/wmn/index.htm#feminist">historic feminist texts</a> on the topic, texts about <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/wmn/index.htm#goddess">Goddess-oriented sprituality</a> and <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/wmn/index.htm#womenwarriors">Amazons</a>, as well as <a href="https://sacred-texts.com/wmn/index.htm#other">texts from otherwise male-dominated religions</a> in the same vein. As might be expected, there are far fewer of these than might be desired.</p>
women
Wisdom of the East
<p>This page spotlights the books in the series The Wisdom of the East, most of which were published in the first two decades of the twentieth century under the editorship of L. Cranmer-Byng and S.A. Kapadia. We are currently attempting a systematic inventory of the entire series.</p>
wisdom-of-the-east
Zoroastrianism
<p>Zoroastrianism, in spite of its small current number of adherents, has played a huge role in the study of comparative religion. Not only was it a cohort of the ancient Vedic Hinduism, but also had a huge influence on the development of Judaism and Christianity.</p><p>This part of the site has complete online editions of the Sacred Books of the East's Zoroastrian texts: the three volume Avesta series, as well as the five volume Pahlavi series.</p>
zoroastrianism