THE ARMS OF MORPHEUS

Somewhat surprisingly, given the length and detail of his visionary accounts, the question of Swedenborg’s place within the mystical tradition has yet to be fully explored. R W Emerson, in 1850, was the first to offer a positive comparison, in his Representative Men, but few other studies have since sought to understand the specific nature of Swedenborg’s visionary experiences and the manner by which they might be seen in a broader context.

The Arms of Morpheus, the 5th volume of the Journal of the Swedenborg Society, aims to redress this imbalance. Beginning with a seminal text by Czeslaw Milosz (a winner of the Nobel Prize), the following essays offer important comparisons between Swedenborg and Jacob Boehme, Swedenborg and Rudolf Steiner, Swedenborg and Madame Guyon, Swedenborg and the Kabbalah, Swedenborg and Paracelsus, Swedenborg and Ibn Arabi.

table of contents

Preface  Stephen McNeilly

1—Swedenborg the Mystic Czeslaw Milosz
2—Jacob Boehme, Swedenborg and their readers  Ariel Hessayon
3—Swedenborg, Rudolf Steiner and the Hypnagogic State  Gary Lachman
4—The Feminine Mysticism of Madame Guyon  Richard Lines
5—Swedenborg and the Kabbalah  Reuben Bell
6—Swedenborg and Paracelsus  James Wilson
7—Ibn ‘Arabi and Swedenborg José Antonio Antón Pacheco