Burnside Rare Books

[Nature Worship and Mystical Series] Ophiolatreia; Cultus Arborum; Fishes, Flowers, & Fire; The Masculine Cross; Mysteries of the Rosie Cross

[Jennings, Hargrave]; A. Reader [Pseudonym]

London: Privately Printed, 1889-1891.

First editions thus. Five anonymously published volumes from the "Nature Worship and Mystical Series," believed to have been authored by Hargrave Jennings. viii, 103; viii, 111, [1]; viii, 97, [2]; [viii], 100, [2]; vi, 134, [2] pp. Bound in contemporary brown cloth over half brown morocco tooled in gilt, top edge gilt, endpapers from binding cloth. Near Fine with light wear to covers and light toning and occasional foxing to contents. Front hinge of The Masculine Cross starting, light soiling to Ophiolatreia and Rosie Cross covers, small patch of sunning to Rosie Cross. A handsome set. The full titles are as follows:

- Ophiolatreia: An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the World, Enriched with Interesting Traditions, and a Full Description of the Celebrated Serpent Mounds & Temples, the Whole Forming an Exposition of One of the Phases of Phallic, or Sex Worship. (1889)

- Cultus Arborum: A Descriptive Account of Phallic Tree Worship with Illustrative Legends, Superstitions, Usages, &c., Exhibiting its Origin and Development Amongst the Eastern & Western Nations of the World from the Earliest to Modern Times; with a Bibliography of Works Upon and Referring to the Phallic Cultus. (1890)

- Fishes, Flowers, & Fire as Elements and Deities in the Phallic Faiths & Worship of the Ancient Religions of Greece, Babylon, Rome, India, &c. with Illustrative Myths and Legends. (1890)

- The Masculine Cross, or A History of Ancient and Modern Crosses and Their Connection with the Mysteries of Sex Worship; Also an Account of the Kindred Phases of Phallic Faiths and Practices. (1891)

- Mysteries of the Rosie Cross, or The History of That Curious Sect of the Middle Ages, Known as the Rosicrucians; with Examples of Their Pretensions and Claims as Set Forth in the Writings of Their Leaders and Disciples. (1891)

The nineteenth century occultist Hargrave Jennings was a leading authority on the Rosicrucians. His research into that fraternal order led him to study phallic worship in Europe and Asia, and he came to the conclusion that religious symbols developed from ancient sex and fertility rituals: "Religion is to be found alone with its justification and explanation in the relations of the sexes. There and therein only." The model for the mysterious doctor Ezra Jenkins in Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, Jennings corresponded with the African-American sex magician Paschal Beverly Randolph, and the two may have been members of the same secret society. Aleister Crowley dedicated his poem "The Disciples" to Jennings' memory. Item #140949230

Price: $4,800