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'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''<br>
[[File:WIZARDS - Mythical Monsters and other works.jpg|right|240px|thumb|Books by Wizards Bookshelf]]
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''<br>
'''Wizards Bookshelf''' was a publishing house operated by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] scholar Richard Robb. The company was founded in Minneapolis in 1972, and later moved to San Diego, California. It continued producing books until 2006[?].  
'''Antiracism''' has been defined as ...............
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
'''This article is intended to provide a basis for (1) individual study of how to become antiracist as an element of spiritual self-transformation; or (2) group work to establish a culture of antiracism.'''
[[File:Stop Racism Black And White Hands.png|right|230px|thumb]]
In its initial form, this course of study specifically explores the means by which White Americans can learn to join with Black Americans in achieving a society that is just, equitable, and compassionate. In the future the topic may be expanded to cover race relations of other groups, in other nations, and the concept of intersectionality. We also hope to add articles on other aspects of social justice within the context of  [[Theosophy]].


== Theosophical Society and Race ==
== The Secret Doctrine Reference Series ==


The [[Theosophical Society]] and its successor organizations in the United States cannot been exempted from criticism that they lack a fully antiracist perspective, even though the intention to avoid distinction by race was declared early in the history of the [[Theosophical Movement]].
=== History of the series ===


=== First Object ===
Mr. Robb wrote about the beginnings of Wizards Bookshelf in ''Sunrise'' in November 1975:
<blockquote>
''The Secret Doctrine'' was written for the Western world to stem the tide of abject materialism. No messenger made his appearance in glowing aura to impress the multitude and, if he had, he would probably have been completely ignored. Instead, we have a book designed to gain acceptance in the minds of thinking men for many long years to come. The form and content of the S.D. is such that the student is constantly referred to the thoughts and ideas of hundreds of authors, all of whom are generally tending in the same direction.


In 1890, the [[Objects of the Theosophical Society#First Object|First Object]] of the [[Theosophical Society]] took its present form: '''"To form the nucleus of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or colour."''' The [[Theosophical Society in America]] has done a good job in eliminating distinctions within our Society based on creed and sex, and caste is irrelevant in the United States. However, Theosophists have mostly edged away from consideration of race and color in writings, lectures, and activities, with much more emphasis placed on study of comparative religions and on interfaith activities.
Some people have claimed that the 750 and more books cited are merely proofs. But what are proofs? If these references are by sheer weight of numbers designed to force people to believe the validity of the teachings developed in the S.D., then surely the exposition could have been far more explicit and detailed, thus removing from the mind of the inquirer any chance of doubt. But this is not the case. As stated in the Preface, there is simply not room enough to explain the complete scheme of nature in two volumes. It would take a thousand volumes. Moreover, the ideas expressed are often obscure to the Western mind, because we have no background. Background in these areas is best supplied by the very sources that are used, and the reader will discover that there are perhaps 40 or 50 out of the 750+ books referred to that are mentioned with regularity.
When I first became interested in The Secret Doctrine, an interest that was fostered by happenstance — an encounter with a copy of The Mahatma Letters in a small bookstore in New Orleans — I felt the work was utterly impossible, that there was little chance that I would ever be able to understand it. However, I found parts so interesting that I continued to read. Whole paragraphs passed without the least bit of comprehension, but occasionally a page really made sense to me.


=== Attitudes toward racism ===
That was in 1965. Several people told me that the S.D. could not be read per se, but used only as a sort of dictionary or reference work. Be that as it may, I started and read the entire two volumes all the way through. When I had finished, two things were uppermost in my mind: first, that I was utterly ignorant; and secondly, that my education had left me totally unprepared for the study of The Secret Doctrine. Here was a range of knowledge that required effort and scholarly endeavor, books that I had never heard of before, whole subject areas that were foreign to me. As it turned out, I really was motivated to begin my education over again. And in so doing I set out to find some of the books quoted or referred to in the S.D. Of course, these were rather scarce and I didn't locate them immediately. However, after a time I discovered a copy of ''The Source of Measures'' on a used book list and sent away for it. The parts of [[J. Ralston Skinner|Skinner's]] treatise that I did understand were an absolute revelation to me. "Why," I thought, "hadn't the Masons made a point of preserving this text, so rare and valuable as it is?" Inquiries of local Masons indicated that they possessed little knowledge of the subject matter. At length, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving the text of ''The Source of Measures'', regardless of cost or its public acceptance. Some day, somewhere, there would be men who would fasten upon these ideas. Though utterly unacquainted with the publishing industry, I did finally succeed in reprinting 535 copies. Response to advertisements was nonexistent. However, a few copies were sold, and I was encouraged to the extent that I considered a second title — ''The Book of Enoch''. Since then the list of titles has steadily grown.


Racism has usually been regarded by Theosophists as a social evil to be opposed, along with violence, vivisection,  and capital punishment. The "victims of racism" were assisted in small initiatives by the [[Theosophical Order of Service]] but no comprehensive consideration of or action against racism in society was ever undertaken in any of the major branches of the [[Theosophical Movement]]. Study of the [[Root-Race|Root Races]] described in Theosophical literature led to unfortunate generalizations about people of African, Aborigine, and other "Lemurian" descent that reinforced attitudes of racial superiority among some White members.
Thus the "Secret Doctrine Reference Series" (published by Wizards Bookshelf) came into being. It is fundamentally designed to guarantee future generations access to the ideas contained in the already rare and difficult-to-obtain titles of past centuries. These works, if hard to find today, will be impossible to locate a hundred years from now.
There are many whose spiritual longing and philosophical inquiry are too sacred to be exposed among strangers or even among friends who they suspect may have entirely different views. The fact is, it is the written word that allows the student the privacy of his own thoughts, that gives rise to the most profound aspirations and the most intuitive insights It is literature, then due to its impersonal character, its relative permanence and its very silence, that has motivated us.
</blockquote>


Theosophists in India and Sri Lanka worked diligently for decades to change laws and societal attitudes, to uplift the dalit (scheduled) caste, and to raise the value of native culture, but nothing equivalent ever happened in the United States. At least three lodges of the [[American Theosophical Society]] were designated as "colored," showing that the First Object phrase "without distinction of race" was not being embraced.
Richard Robb wrote of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's]] work '''[[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]''':
<blockquote>
''The Secret Doctrine'' is a timeless synthesis of philosophy, science, religion, history and metaphysics; its bibliography of over 1,000 books and journals draws upon many languages, and it has been called the most abstruse work in English.<ref>Richard Robb email to Michael Conlin. October 29, 2023. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> 
</blockquote>


== Antiracism as culture and self-transformation ==
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
| [[File:Wizards_Bookshelf_MEC_set.jpg|400px|center|thumb|SD Reference Series with Blavatsky books. Owned by Michael Conlin]]
|}
=== List of titles in the series ===


Resmaa Menakem has said that White people must begin developing a '''culture of antiracism''' that will be transmitted to future generations. Aspiring antiracists should commit themselves to at least three years of study and group work to begin developing that culture.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/thestream/2020/06/ally-black-lives-matter-movement-200608205806750.html "How can you be an ally to the Black Lives Matter Movement?"] discussion on Al Jazeera. Jun 8, 2020.</ref> Whites have to educate themselves in the history and language and actions and fabric of racism before they can hope to begin leading antiracist lives.
* '''''The Divine Pymander of Hermes''''' translated from Arabic by John Everard.
* '''''The Virgin of the World: Hermes''''' translated by Dr. Anna Kingsford.
* '''''The Book of Enoch the Prophet''''' translated from Ethiopie by Richard Laurence.
* '''''Esoteric Budhism''''' by A.P. Sinnett. 1885 edition with annotations.
* '''''The Origin & Significance of the Gt Pyramid''''' by C. Staniland Wake.
* '''''The Eleusinian & Bacchic Mysteries''''' translated by Thomas Taylor, notes by Alex Wilder.
* '''''The Chaldean Account of Genesis''''' translated from Cuneiform tablets by George Smith.
* '''''Sacred Mysteries Among the Mayas & Quiches''''' by Augustus LePleongeon.
* '''''The Theosophist: Volume I''''' edited by H.P. Blavatsky. 320p.
* '''''On the Mysteries: Iamblichus''''' translated by Thomas Taylor.
* '''''The Desatir''''' (1818) translated by Mulla Firuz bin Kaus.
* '''''The Pythagorean Triangle''''' by George Oliver.
* '''''Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian Mystery in the Source of Measures, + index & notes''''' by J. Ralston Skinner.
* '''''The Gnostics & Their Remains''''' by Charles W. King.
* '''''Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients Demonstrated''''' by Samson Arnold Mackay. Revised 2nd edition 1826.
* '''''The Zohar (Bereshith)''''' translated by Nurho de Manhar
* '''''Theon of Smyrna: Mathematics Useful for Understanding Plato''''' translated by Robert & Deborah Lawlor.
* '''''Surya Siddhanta (Hindu astronomy)''''' translated by E. Burgess & W.D. Whitney.
* '''''New Platonism & Alchemy''''' by Dr. Alexander Wilder.
* '''''The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac''''' by T. Subba Row.
* '''''Plato: Cratylus, Phaedo, Parmenides, Timaeus, & Critius''''' translated by Thomas Taylor. (1793 edition, reset).
* '''''Ancient Fragments of the Egyptian Phoenician, etc.''''' translated by I.P. Cory. 1832 edition.
* '''''Posthumous Humanity''''' by Adolphe D'Assier translated by Henry S. Olcott.
* '''''The Anugita''''' translated by K.T. Telang.
* '''''Mythical Monsters''''' by Charles Gould.
* '''''Life & Teachings of Paracelsus''''' by Dr. Franz Hartmann.
* '''''The Qabbalah''''' by Isaac Myer, intro by H.P. Blavatsky.
* '''''Sepher Yetzireh''''' translated by W. W. Westcott.
* '''''Sod, the Sun of Man''''' by S.F. Dunlap.


Antiracism in a Theosophical context should be integrated into a holistic practice that includes [[study]], [[meditation]], and [[service]] for spiritual self-transformation. White American Theosophists, like other White Americans, should learn to identify and avoid racist thoughts, words, and actions toward the goal of creating a true brotherhood of humankind.
== Other books published ==


== Terminology ==
* '''''Astronomy & Astrology of the Babylonians''''' by A.H. Sayce.
 
* '''''Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on H.P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine'''''.
For a glossary, see [https://www.bing.com/search?q=anti-racism%20glossary&form=MY01F6&filters=lite:%22.VHJpdmlhQ2Fyb3VzZWxeQU5USV9SQUNJU01fRU4tVVNfMV5QT0xF%22&crslsl=0&efirst=1 this website].
* '''''The Lost Fragments of Proclus''''' translated by Thomas Taylor.
 
* '''''The Books of Kiu-Te in the Tibetan Buddhist Tantras''''' by David Reigle.
== Resources for those aspiring to be antiracists ==
* '''''H.P. Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine''''' by Max Heindel.
 
This is just a sampling of the materials that are available on these subjects.
 
=== Bibliographies ===
* [https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/uprootingracismbibliography.pdf "Bibliography on Racism"] by Paul Kivel at RacialEquityTools.org. Extensive list of books published before 2002 on race, racism, crime, violence, class, religion, gender, and other intersectionalities.
 
 
=== Websites and social media ===
 
* Danielle Coke at [https://www.instagram.com/ohhappydani/?hl=en  @ohhappydani] on Instagram and [https://twitter.com/ohhappydani?lang=en @ohhappydani] on Twitter. Artist posts upbeat art on support, allyship, and activism.
 
=== History of race relations ===
 
** [https://time.com/5864302/teaching-current-events-history/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=history&utm_content=20200717&xid=newsletter-history&et_rid=33348893 xx]
 
===Antiracism ===
 
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzuOlyyQlug "How to Be an Antiracist"] by Ibrahm X. Kendi.
 
* [https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/07/16/race-black-friend-racism-george-floyd-injustice-column/5442278002/ "Don't Let your anti-racist passion die: Advice from your one Black friend"] by Kelli Williams.  
 
===White fragility ===
 
* ''White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism'' by Robin Diangelo. Boston: Beacon Press, 2018. A White diversity trainer's advice to White people.
 
=== Allyship ===
 
* [https://guidetoallyship.com/ Guide to Allyship] by Amelie Lamont.
* [https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/thestream/2020/06/ally-black-lives-matter-movement-200608205806750.html "How can you be an ally to the Black Lives Matter Movement?"] discussion on Al Jazeera. Jun 8, 2020.
 
=== Colorism ===
 
=== Popular culture ===
 
* ''Good Hair'' – Chris Rock documentary exploring "the way hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationship, and self-esteem of the black community" that is simultaneously hilarious, truthful, and poignant.
 
=== Global perspectives ===
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJZdeSqfFY
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/03/africa/colorism-documentary-africa/index.html
Colorism
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/20/australia/australia-indigenous-language-rights-intl-hnk/index.html


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
<references/>
<references/>


[[Category:Reading lists|Antiracism]]
[[Category:Publishing companies|Wizards Bookshelf]]
[[Category:Courses of study and action]|Antiracism]

Latest revision as of 16:23, 26 April 2024

Books by Wizards Bookshelf

Wizards Bookshelf was a publishing house operated by Blavatsky scholar Richard Robb. The company was founded in Minneapolis in 1972, and later moved to San Diego, California. It continued producing books until 2006[?].

The Secret Doctrine Reference Series

History of the series

Mr. Robb wrote about the beginnings of Wizards Bookshelf in Sunrise in November 1975:

The Secret Doctrine was written for the Western world to stem the tide of abject materialism. No messenger made his appearance in glowing aura to impress the multitude and, if he had, he would probably have been completely ignored. Instead, we have a book designed to gain acceptance in the minds of thinking men for many long years to come. The form and content of the S.D. is such that the student is constantly referred to the thoughts and ideas of hundreds of authors, all of whom are generally tending in the same direction.

Some people have claimed that the 750 and more books cited are merely proofs. But what are proofs? If these references are by sheer weight of numbers designed to force people to believe the validity of the teachings developed in the S.D., then surely the exposition could have been far more explicit and detailed, thus removing from the mind of the inquirer any chance of doubt. But this is not the case. As stated in the Preface, there is simply not room enough to explain the complete scheme of nature in two volumes. It would take a thousand volumes. Moreover, the ideas expressed are often obscure to the Western mind, because we have no background. Background in these areas is best supplied by the very sources that are used, and the reader will discover that there are perhaps 40 or 50 out of the 750+ books referred to that are mentioned with regularity. When I first became interested in The Secret Doctrine, an interest that was fostered by happenstance — an encounter with a copy of The Mahatma Letters in a small bookstore in New Orleans — I felt the work was utterly impossible, that there was little chance that I would ever be able to understand it. However, I found parts so interesting that I continued to read. Whole paragraphs passed without the least bit of comprehension, but occasionally a page really made sense to me.

That was in 1965. Several people told me that the S.D. could not be read per se, but used only as a sort of dictionary or reference work. Be that as it may, I started and read the entire two volumes all the way through. When I had finished, two things were uppermost in my mind: first, that I was utterly ignorant; and secondly, that my education had left me totally unprepared for the study of The Secret Doctrine. Here was a range of knowledge that required effort and scholarly endeavor, books that I had never heard of before, whole subject areas that were foreign to me. As it turned out, I really was motivated to begin my education over again. And in so doing I set out to find some of the books quoted or referred to in the S.D. Of course, these were rather scarce and I didn't locate them immediately. However, after a time I discovered a copy of The Source of Measures on a used book list and sent away for it. The parts of Skinner's treatise that I did understand were an absolute revelation to me. "Why," I thought, "hadn't the Masons made a point of preserving this text, so rare and valuable as it is?" Inquiries of local Masons indicated that they possessed little knowledge of the subject matter. At length, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving the text of The Source of Measures, regardless of cost or its public acceptance. Some day, somewhere, there would be men who would fasten upon these ideas. Though utterly unacquainted with the publishing industry, I did finally succeed in reprinting 535 copies. Response to advertisements was nonexistent. However, a few copies were sold, and I was encouraged to the extent that I considered a second title — The Book of Enoch. Since then the list of titles has steadily grown.

Thus the "Secret Doctrine Reference Series" (published by Wizards Bookshelf) came into being. It is fundamentally designed to guarantee future generations access to the ideas contained in the already rare and difficult-to-obtain titles of past centuries. These works, if hard to find today, will be impossible to locate a hundred years from now. There are many whose spiritual longing and philosophical inquiry are too sacred to be exposed among strangers or even among friends who they suspect may have entirely different views. The fact is, it is the written word that allows the student the privacy of his own thoughts, that gives rise to the most profound aspirations and the most intuitive insights It is literature, then due to its impersonal character, its relative permanence and its very silence, that has motivated us.

Richard Robb wrote of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's work The Secret Doctrine:

The Secret Doctrine is a timeless synthesis of philosophy, science, religion, history and metaphysics; its bibliography of over 1,000 books and journals draws upon many languages, and it has been called the most abstruse work in English.[1]

SD Reference Series with Blavatsky books. Owned by Michael Conlin

List of titles in the series

  • The Divine Pymander of Hermes translated from Arabic by John Everard.
  • The Virgin of the World: Hermes translated by Dr. Anna Kingsford.
  • The Book of Enoch the Prophet translated from Ethiopie by Richard Laurence.
  • Esoteric Budhism by A.P. Sinnett. 1885 edition with annotations.
  • The Origin & Significance of the Gt Pyramid by C. Staniland Wake.
  • The Eleusinian & Bacchic Mysteries translated by Thomas Taylor, notes by Alex Wilder.
  • The Chaldean Account of Genesis translated from Cuneiform tablets by George Smith.
  • Sacred Mysteries Among the Mayas & Quiches by Augustus LePleongeon.
  • The Theosophist: Volume I edited by H.P. Blavatsky. 320p.
  • On the Mysteries: Iamblichus translated by Thomas Taylor.
  • The Desatir (1818) translated by Mulla Firuz bin Kaus.
  • The Pythagorean Triangle by George Oliver.
  • Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian Mystery in the Source of Measures, + index & notes by J. Ralston Skinner.
  • The Gnostics & Their Remains by Charles W. King.
  • Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients Demonstrated by Samson Arnold Mackay. Revised 2nd edition 1826.
  • The Zohar (Bereshith) translated by Nurho de Manhar
  • Theon of Smyrna: Mathematics Useful for Understanding Plato translated by Robert & Deborah Lawlor.
  • Surya Siddhanta (Hindu astronomy) translated by E. Burgess & W.D. Whitney.
  • New Platonism & Alchemy by Dr. Alexander Wilder.
  • The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac by T. Subba Row.
  • Plato: Cratylus, Phaedo, Parmenides, Timaeus, & Critius translated by Thomas Taylor. (1793 edition, reset).
  • Ancient Fragments of the Egyptian Phoenician, etc. translated by I.P. Cory. 1832 edition.
  • Posthumous Humanity by Adolphe D'Assier translated by Henry S. Olcott.
  • The Anugita translated by K.T. Telang.
  • Mythical Monsters by Charles Gould.
  • Life & Teachings of Paracelsus by Dr. Franz Hartmann.
  • The Qabbalah by Isaac Myer, intro by H.P. Blavatsky.
  • Sepher Yetzireh translated by W. W. Westcott.
  • Sod, the Sun of Man by S.F. Dunlap.

Other books published

  • Astronomy & Astrology of the Babylonians by A.H. Sayce.
  • Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on H.P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine.
  • The Lost Fragments of Proclus translated by Thomas Taylor.
  • The Books of Kiu-Te in the Tibetan Buddhist Tantras by David Reigle.
  • H.P. Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine by Max Heindel.

Notes

  1. Richard Robb email to Michael Conlin. October 29, 2023. Theosophical Society in America Archives.