Jacob Boehme (Western Esoteric Masters)

lots of letters and some of the best selections from boehme's larger work.also has full texts of his best shorter works ,which is good before these texts were scattered around in pamphlets and the internet ,

Good

Jacob Boehme, the humble shoemaker from Görlitz went on to inspire great poets such as William Blake. Boehme attracted criticism throughout his life from the religious establishment and posthumously from those who decried his lack of formal education. However the importance of his work should not be underestimated and in many ways his lack of formal education gives him a profound insight not found in many of his contemporaries. This book edited by Robin Waterfield offers excerpts from some of his main works and provides a means to learn about Boehme without the need to grapple with his more difficult works such as Aurora and The Way to Christ. Boehme was devoutly Christian and offers an esoteric interpretation of Christianity, preferring to focus on imitating Christ rather than arguing about theological issues. This book can still offer insight to Christians today and those generally interested in esotericism. Certainly worth reading and Waterfield's expertise on Boehme is invaluable to grasp the key themes.

There are excellent introductory chapters on Boehme's life, background, influences from the sacred sciences and alchemy, and Boehme's influence on others. These take the first 50 pages and are well worth reading. His influence was significant. He is a figure who cannot be ignored for that reason.Boehme's writings in this book include letters to friends and enquirers. The tone is quite earnest, revealing Boehme's care in formulating his ideas and the difficulties he had with church authorities who felt their intermediary power between man and God was being undermined. Sections of his alchemical work, "Signatura Rerum", are also included.Reading Boehme is not for the faint hearted. It is useful to have copies of C.G.Jung's "Alchemical Studies" and "Mysterium Coniunctionis" at hand, particularly his paper on "Paracelsus as a Spiritual Phenomenon." Without this aid, much of Boehme remains impenetrable, as we are no longer conversant with alchemy, and still less with alchemy as a metaphor for spiritual union.I was hoping to find a modern translation of Boehme's "The Supersensual Life", as this is not difficult to follow in its exploration of contemplative meditation leading to unitive experience. The one text I particularly wanted to read in a fresh version was not here.I shall continue persevering with overcoming my limitations in approaching Boehme.