The Cathars And Reincarnation

The Cathars & Reincarnation

"This book is the factual record of a woman who, through dreams and impressions in waking consciousness, remembers her life in the thirteenth century. As a story of reincarnation it is unique because in reading it we are not depending on the honesty or suggestibility of the person providing the evidence. What she says can be proved. The author of this book is a doctor of medicine, a psychiatrist, trained to distinguish between fantasy and reality and endowed with a sceptical nature. In investigating this case he played no active psychiatric role but limited himself to acting as an amateur historian to check up the patient's statements. This he did with great care. It involved consultation with authorities of international repute. This woman was a heretic, a Cathar, in the Midi of France in the thirteenth century. To the British public of today little enough is known of this heresy. Twenty-five years ago our knowledge of Catharism was infinitesimal. Yet at this time, as a schoolgirl, the subject of this book was able to recall in writing items of Catharism as yet unknown to the savants. She was also able to place accurately in their family and social relationships people who were by no means historical characters, who do not appear in the text books, but who we can ultimately trace by going back to the records of the Inquisition. For example, the central character in her recollections had a sister. The writer began his researches kowing only her Christian name. He has now pinpointed the very day, more than seven hundred years ago, when she appeared before the Inquisition. He has also discovered the names of her family, and collaborators. The reader will see how remarkably the author's findings coincide with what was revealed to this patient. What happened to a small circle in the Languedoc seven centuries ago was remembered and recorded by and English schoolgirl in her early teens."--front flap.

The Lost Teachings of the Cathars

A deep-dive into the history, culture, and legacy of the medieval Christian dualist movement, Catharism—as seen in popular novels by Dan Brown and Kate Mosse Centuries after the brutal slaughter of the Cathars by papally endorsed Northern French forces, and their suppression by the Inquisition, the medieval Cathars continue to exert a powerful influence on both popular culture and spiritual seekers. Yet few people know anything of the beliefs of the Cathars beyond vague notions that they believed in reincarnation, were vegetarians, were somehow Gnostic, and had some relation to Mary Magdalene. The Lost Teachings of the Cathars explores the history of this Christian dualist movement between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, offering a sympathetic yet critical examination of its beliefs and practices. In addition to investigating the Cathars’ origin, their relationship to Gnosticism, and their possible survival of the Inquisition, author Andrew Philip Smith also addresses theories and figures from the Cathars’ recent past. Eccentric esotericists initiated a neo-Cathar revival in the Languedoc which inspired the philosopher Simone Weil. The German Otto Rahn—the real-life Indiana Jones—believed that the Cathars were protectors of the Holy Grail and received support from Heinrich Himmler. Meanwhile, English psychiatrist Arthur Guirdham became convinced that he and a circle of patients had all been Cathars in previous lives. Tourists flock to the Languedoc to visit Cathar country. Bestsellers such as Kate Mosse’ timeslip novel Labyrinth continue to fascinate readers. But what did the Cathars really believe and practice?

The Cathars and Reincarnation