“A lively new book.” —The Guardian
“Spine-chilling exposé.” —The Daily Mail
• Draws on firsthand accounts from Elvis’s wife, Priscilla, his friends and family, the Memphis Mafia, and his spiritual advisors
• Looks at key teachers who influenced him, including Yogananda, H. P. Blavatsky, and Manly P. Hall
• Examines Elvis’s efforts as a natural healer, the significance of his UFO encounters, and his telekinetic, psychic, and astral traveling abilities
Elvis Presley, the most successful solo artist in history and an emblematic cultural figure of the Western world, has been widely perceived as a conservative Southern Christian. However, the truth about the man has been missed.
Writer and researcher Miguel Conner reveals how Elvis was a profound mystic, occultist, and shaman. Beginning with the unusual circumstances of his birth—and his stillborn twin brother—Conner traces the diverse thread of mysticism that runs through Elvis Presley’s life, drawing on firsthand accounts from the people closest to him, including his wife, Priscilla, the Memphis Mafia, and his spiritual advisors. He shows how Elvis studied seminal 19th- and 20th-century occultists, including H. P. Blavatsky, Manly P. Hall, G. I. Gurdjieff, and P. D. Ouspensky, and was a devotee of Indian yogi Paramahansa Yogananda. Conner argues that Elvis was well-versed in the esoteric practices of sex magic, meditation, astrology, and numerology and had a deep familiarity with Kabbalah, Gnosticism, Theosophy, and Eastern traditions. He also reveals how Elvis was a natural healer, telekinetic, psychic, and astral traveler who had significant mystical experiences and UFO encounters.
Looking at the conspiratorial and paranormal aspects of Elvis’s life, the author explores the "Elvis visitations" that have occurred since the King’s death and the general high weirdness of his life. As Conner convincingly argues, Elvis was not just a one-of-a-kind rock-and-roller. He was the greatest magician America ever produced.
“Miguel knows how to peer into overlooked corners, unearth vital references, and follow trails of meaning that other historians are unaware even exist. In plumbing Elvis’s spiritual search, the author uncovers all of our own—and finally discovers why Elvis means so much.”
“This is the kind of book that shakes one to the core and gets one to see that things are not what they seem to be, especially with the King of rock ’n’ roll. Everything we thought we knew, we didn’t. The truth is way, way stranger.”
“Miguel takes the ever-impressive depth of esoteric knowledge and insight he’s known for and applies it to a pop culture cornucopia of unexpected threads spiraling out from the King himself. It’s easy to forget that the magical fabric of reality can be found in unexpected places, and what we have here is a grand, bedazzled, suit-shaped reminder. Hallelujah!”
“Miguel writes with sincerity balanced by a sense of humor and pop sensibilities balanced by knowledge of esoteric traditions. Even well-read Elvis fans will find surprises in this romp of an informative read about a man many Americans still call the King.”
