Leo Schaya was perhaps the most masterful interpreter of Jewish esoterism in the light of perennialist wisdom. In this essay, Schaya offers many keys to understanding the function of the prophet Elijah (or Elias) within Jewish mystical tradition, but then Schaya expands this, still using traditional Jewish sources, to encompass a universal function for Elijah. This mysterious prophet seems to have a function that should apply to all traditional peoples, namely reinvigorating the esoteric dimensions within their respective traditions in times of need. These times of need are particularly acute as the world lurches through its modern paroxysms toward the end of this cycle of time.

The Shield of Achilles was god-fashioned for a god-man in the dawn of the age of Iron. It symbolizes, just as Achilles himself personifies, a reversal of the "downward drift of history to degeneration," a remnant of an earlier, primodial state of purity and integral wholeness. The hero and his shield show us material and man caught between two ages and natures: "It was as though for a moment the river of time flowed back on itself in brief eddies, caught up in memories of its source."

Lord Northbourne discusses extensively the various symbolic meanings of the cross, explaining how it simultaneously represents several aspects of Christian doctrine and philosophia perennis. Each of these corresponds to a unique perspective from which the symbol can be approached. Northbourne also expounds upon the necessity to present the cross under certain conditions if its symbolic intergrity is to be maintained and observes how these conditions have sometimes been forsaken in the name of aesthetic value.

It is often believed that the mythology of "primitive" peoples represents nothing more than an early effort to explain the universe rationally and is meant to be taken literally. Therefore, attention is shifted away from myth in favor of more highly developed forms of scientific investigation. This understanding, which assumes in modern man an evolutionary superiority, overlooks the symbolic message contained within the myths of such cultures. A similar form of rationalistic attack is often conducted against religious doctrine, and has contributed to such the virtual dissapearance of the metaphysicial and intellectual heritage within Christianity. Gai Eaton discusses these and other instances in which failure to comprehend the depth of a spiritual reality leads to its dismissal as irrelevant or absurd.

René Guénon finds in Hinduism, Greek mythology and in Judaism instances of the "World Egg", which symbolizes the cosmos in a state which preceded its unfolding as well as the center of the cosmos in its present state. Its contents are the same as those symbolically contained by the heart, which Guénon demonstrates by relating the World Egg to the primordial Avatar.

The author states that "the primary object of [this essay] is to present the Indian Flood Legend as a special case of the Patriarchal Voyage (pitryâna), and at the same time in coherent and intelligible relation with other fundamental conceptions of Vedic cosmology and eschatology. Some analogies with other traditional aspects of the Flood Legend are incidentally noted." Coomaraswamy explains various doctrines regarding time in Hindu tradition as well as the symbolism of the movement through states of being, creation, avataras, salvation, and reincarnation.

In referring back to an earlier essay, "The Heart and the Cave," René Guénon explores the mutual relationship between the universal symbols of the mountain and the cave in various traditions. He suggests that the mountain ("the spiritual center" or "Absolute Reality") can also be represented by an upward-pointing triangle, and that the cave ("manifestation") can be represented by a downward-pointing triangle. He goes on to describe the many ways in which the two triangles (and thus the "mountain" and the "cave") can interact in geometric space. For example, the upward-pointing triangle can have the downward-pointing triangle contained within it, or outside and below it, and so on. These geometrical relationships recall, for Guénon, a multitude of relationships in sacred space that represent the meeting of divine realities and their earthly manifestations.

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy reveals the symbolism of archery that underlies this seemingly mundane sport. He describes its original function in initiation ceremonies of disciples, across a number of traditions, as they dedicated themselves to their spiritual paths. The author sums up the essay with the observations that "one sees how in a traditional society every necessary activity can be also the Way, and that in such a society there is nothing profane; a condition the reverse of that to be seen in secular societies, where there is nothing sacred. We see that even a "sport" may also be a yoga, and [that] the active and contemplative lives, outer and inner man can be unified in a single act of being in which both selves cooperate."

Guenon offers a linguistic introduction to the symbolism of the cave, the heart and the mountain as they function as spiritual metaphor. He describes the heart and the cave as "the place of the 'second birth'" because its eternal movement inward suggests the beginning of development. He continues on to explore the paradoxical nature of existence, which encourages the unity between opposites. Specifically, Guenon examines the example of this paradox in the etymological roots of the words heart, cave and mountain as they exist in various languages. This article is meant as an introduction to a deeper exploration of the symbolic nature of these images.

Ananda Coomaraswamy relates a variety of myths concerning Khwaja Khadir in both Indian and Persian stories which he traces back to the more ancient traditions from the Koran; the Elijah, Alexander, St. George and Gilgamesh legend; and to Sumeria and the Rig Vedas. “Khizr [i.e. Khadir] is at home in both worlds, the dark and the light, but above all master of the flowing River of Life in the Land of Darkness: he is at once the guardian and genius of vegetation and of the Water of Life, and corresponds to Soma and Gandharva in Vedic mythology, and in many respects to Varuna himself.”

René Guénon explores the hierarchical assumption of symbols over rites in the context of spiritual expression. He suggests that symbols are permanent representations of rites and that rites are symbols that are actions “performed in time”. He uses the example of the sign of the cross to suggest that this gesture is a symbol expressed in bodily movement. While symbols are represented in their figure, rites are represented by a performance, but both of these take place on a transcendent plane that is beyond human creation or the origin of the mind and serve to communicate “with the higher states of being.”

Despite the changing style of art, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy defends the universality and consistency of iconography and symbolism. Coomaraswamy discusses instances in art where a deified woman offers her milk to a supplicant. This motif signifies an adoption and therefore a deification of the recipient, specifically in the case of the Virgin Mary and St. Bernard. These examples are paralleled with other iconographic motifs that represent the attainment of the highest spiritual station—“adoption” to divine filiation, and thus to deification. In order to understand the greater spiritual meanings of these symbols in art, one must have knowledge beyond the evolving styles of art so that the picture can be transcended and meaning can be discovered in its greater context of spiritual lessons.

This article considers the ways in which seemingly unrelated animals and ideas are connected in the views and magic of the Oglala Sioux. Their attention to such things as whirlwind, cocoons and bison factor into their use of magic and protective powers by the association understood to be between them. Just as the cocoon is a protective covering for the caterpillar as it is gradually receiving the power of wind and flight, so the Oglala use the power of whirlwind to inflict confusion on their enemies for the sake of obtaining victory. Joseph Epes Brown examines the symbolism of several animals, such as the elk and spider, and includes some illustrations taken from traditional Oglala drawings. He concludes with the observation that the linking of everyday creatures and phenomena with supernatural realities account for the strong sense of the sacred that is a central characteristic of traditional Indian lifeways.

Patrick A. Moore's essay "Quinque Prudentes Virgines" ("Five Wise Virgins") is an exegesis of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). Moore explores the symbolism of this enigmatic parable and, making much use of the thinking of St. Thomas Aquinas and others, he comes to the conclusion that the purpose of the story is to express "ingathering…concentration, the perfection of virtue, and the return to the Edenic state or the Earthly Paradise." It is Moore's contention that such perfection of the individual brings about "identification with the Eternal and Unique Word of God," thus true mystical union.

Burckhardt comments on the symbolic importance of the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which first appeared in a medieval manuscript. He compares this image side-by-side with a drawing of the mandala of Vaikuntha, the home of the Hindu god, Vishnu. Also comparing relevant scriptural texts, Bruckhardt is more interested in the objective comparison of the two images/texts than in drawing conclusions as to why and how such similarities came into existence.

Rupert Gleadow writes to the editor in regard to a previously published correspondence by Mr. R. Bolton. Gleadow claims that Bolton does not recognize both the historical and character analysis perspectives on the zodiac. In the second letter, John M. Addey comments on Dr. Hans Bandmann’s letter in the autumn issue. Addey points out that Bandmann is incorrect in fixing the “heaven of the signs” as the locus of the heavenly archetypes, pointing out that the latter are necessarily beyond any fixed assignment in the realm of space and time.

According to Dr Bandmann “Mr Bolton obviously confuses zodiacal signs with zodiacal constellations”, Dr Bandmann then continues to outline the sun and stars in their location and symbolism, especially according to the Ptolomaic world view. He states that it should be “clearly understood that this heaven of the zodiacal signs is the place of heavenly prototypes or archetypes.

Burckhardt begins his article with an interesting comparison of the Virgin Mary’s intelligence, which he considers the highest possible for humans with the seven sciences, which he claims are an “expression of so many faculties of the soul”. He continues to address these sciences and classifies them as grammar, logic, and rhetoric, as the first three, and arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy respectively. Apparently these seven sciences, which do not of course fit the term of science as used today, are represented by the seven planets. Other correlations related to these sciences include their relation to numbers, as well as their representation on the door of Chartres Cathedral.

Burckhardt examines the history and symbolism of the chess-board of its pieces. From its roots in India through its passages into Persia and into Europe the chess-board is both a military stratagem and a symbol of space and the universe, as well as a symbol of the nature of the soul and the relationship between will and fate.