The Wizard's Quill

Lux Haeresis

2011-10-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Once again, the wonderful folk (Daniel Schulke) at Xoanon have been perpetrating their own particular brand of Spare-ist confusion, this time resulting in the lovely shimmering gray LUX HAERESIS. If you go to the source, you may be able to find a copy for $100 plus shipping.
Like its forebears, this is no easy read, as the author loves writing in strange words. Something charming in "the Focus of Life" and "The Logomachy of ZOS", it is a habit that can get tedious when handled by lesser people. The late Andrew Chumbley was a master, where it comes across as a mask to hide the light from the unworthy, but for lesser mortals like Pharaon and others, it can come across as derivative and childish. Schulke treads a middle zone, sometimes getting it right, and sometimes appearing pretentious.
However, language aside, Schulke continues a very valuable tradition, that of the Cultus Sabbatai, which is more of a successor to Austin Spare than the late Kenneth Grant ever was with his qlippothic typhonian OTO - largely an exercise in turgidity.
There are few people out there who cater to intelligent adults, and Cultus Sabbatai is about the only one that I'm aware of (Clearly, I dont get invited to the right sort of parties). The rest are either PC or reactionaries with the mindset of rebellious teenagers.
My greatest regret is that Cultus Sabbatai is a closed order, so you can look but not touch (i.e., read, but not participate).

Unfortunately I cant recommend this book as a practical guide, anymore than I could the works of Austin Spare, due to the language barrier. However, it is a worthy grimoire, few indeed of which are being published these days. If you enjoy well-made books that are classics, and have the money available for this kind of purchase, I recommend buying a copy today, before it sells out and prices start escalating. Contact the publisher at the snailmail address they use, and take it from there, or find a good bookseller (they recommend Field's books in SF or Caduceus in the UK, both of whom I would also recommend) and pay a little more.

In rank, I'd place this after Azoetia and Viridarium Umbris, but before Ars Philtron which appeared somewhat clumsy by comparison (if more practical).

Book Piracy

2011-07-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

In response to a comment on "Satyr's Sermon" below, I tried but failed to leave a comment in reply. I'll have to work that out later. But here is my reply:

"Anonymous said... how do you come to terms with the fact that these kind of books are now being pirated as pdf versions?"

Mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I generously support the publishers by buying these quite expensive books whenever possible. However, there is a problem when I want to read a book that is unavailable except at exorbitant prices - like "Qutub" was until a couple of years ago. I was grateful to stumble across a pdf, then went to some trouble to convert this to text and rebind, matching the upside-down and back-to-fronting needed to sew into signatures. By the time I was finished, I think this could be covered under "derivative works" use, but I figured nobody would mind as the publishers werent being put out (the book was out of print, so they werent losing a dime) and this was only for my personal use. When the new edition came out, I bought a copy for $100 or so.

Although I had some issues with Scarlet Imprint coming out with second editions of limited runs on a regular basis, I think they have solved the issue since - providing hardbacks for book afficionados, but with a cheaper paperback version for those who are purely interested in the text.

That to me could be applied to the general schism between the wealthy and poor; the poor are accommodated with basic necessities, while the rich get exclusive versions with a few extra knobs and whistles thrown in.

In short, pirating is OK in my opinion, so long as it does not interfere with the legitimate interests of the creator of the works. If you're not going to buy the work, because you cant, then it is pseudo-legitimate to obtain a crappy copy for personal use. However, if you can reasonably afford to purchase the product from the creator, one is obliged to do so or forego the privilege.

Legally, of course, corporations can and do patent the use of turmeric and other things they never created. I'm talking morally here, not legally. And the publishers I'm talking about here, in the main, are moral people who understand the issue.

A side issue is that some corporations like the OTO consider some books to reveal "their" secrets (although they did not write the rituals on which these are based). If someone writes something they have a right to restrict its distribution. If they inherit it, I personally feel not.

ARARITA

2010-10-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

A detailed breakdown of the Star Sapphire ritual, this is not a book for the novice. Detailed associations are drawn to the Tree of Life and the Tarot. The author, 'a Traveller in Darkness', ascribes the ritual to the general arena of 'crossing the abyss', giving large amounts of space to describing why that is so. For my taste, perhaps a little too much so, but then, to write a book about a one-page ritual, its necessarily going to go into a lot of detail.

Nevertheless, this book does what far too few others do: delve into the technical details of HOW the ritual works. It's not sufficient to say that a certain ritual is a "banishing" ritual, one should explain how it banishes, and, in fact, exactly what banishing is. How the material on the page is designed to affect the operator and why. Anyone attending a catholic mass, for example, comes out transformed, refreshed (depending on the skill of the priest), and that is because various elements in the mass were designed to create specific effects on the mind (perhaps also on reality, but as we cant know reality except through the mind, its irrelevant - if the mind has been changed, everything has been changed).

Anyone looking to put this ritual into practice is given specific recommendations as to how to perform it, whereas Crowley only gave veiled hints. These practical elements may go beyond what Crowley himself intended and performed, but they certainly appear congruent with Crowley's intentions, and if they do go beyond Crowley, I would suggest that the author has done a valuable service.

I concur with the author that various groups that claim to have inherited from Crowley may beg to differ, but if that us their position, the answer would be to develop their own expansion.

Blocked in genuine gold on purple cloth, this limited edition (250) book will also look somewhat grand on the shelf, all the more because its not draped in some crappy dustjacket that cant be thrown away because it would halve the value in years to come. Not for children.
8/10

Brother Curwen, Brother Crowley

2010-10-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

A new book by the Teitan press, BCBC is an account of correspondence between Netherwood Crowley and a 50-yr-old Jewish Furrier who had some experience of his own under his belt. Like many, Curwen had read many books, but wanted to 'see some magic' as it were, so he wrote to Crowley: "I want someone to show me practical magic.."
After a life of reading and some instruction in the Vama Marga under an Indian Swami, he was anxious to see whether it was all a waste of time. Being Jewish was bad enough, but to demand Crowley to perform his profession in front of him had expected results. Nevertheless, Curwen managed to maintain a fairly long and somewhat friendly (if testy at times) relationship with Crowley by massaging his ego at times, by hinting at hidden knowledge of his own, and by either appearing or being a dupe to Crowley's moneygrubbing. Hard to tell on the latter. He paid some money to find out Crowley's "supreme secret" of ingesting sperm, but paid in installments, and refused to pay after the first, when he had been told what it was. Of course, Crowley felt gypped. But so too did Curwen, not considering the secret worth the first installment.

For anyone wishing to see what was probably a typical interaction between Crowley and a 'seeker', and to get further insights into Crowley's character and what he was or was not able to show to Curwen as an example of his magickal skill, this is an interesting book. It didnt take long to decide where this went in my library: right next to "the progradior correspondence" and "magickal diaries of Aleister Crowley".

A good read, fairly easy, enjoyable. Three stars out of Five.

Disclaimer

2010-04-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

I'm now including affiliate links on my blog, and adding them to some old posts. Most posts on this blog will not have them, simply because they are uncommon books. Dont feel any pressure to use the links; they are more for your benefit than mine. But yes, I will financially benefit of you buy via the link. I'm not going to recommend anything just to make cash though.

Datura

2010-03-17T01:49:00.002-07:00

Well, Scarlet Imprint is making another bid for my pocketbook; they are releasing: "Datura, An anthology of esoteric poesis". On the plus side, its only forty UK quid, which of course means more than that dollars, but on the downside, its a book of poetry, not my usual cup of tea. I'll have to think carefully if this is where I break my Scarlet Imprint collection. Maybe they will have more info up on their website soon.

New Fulgur Title: "Dearest Vera"

2010-02-25T22:51:00.001-08:00

JDHolmes has just announced a prepub. offer on the new book coming from Fulgur, "Dearest Vera", a selection of letters sent by Austin Spare to Vera Wainwright, a pupil/friend of his.
I always like reading these kind of letters, as they are very informative into the everyday mind of people we may know only by the works that they presented themselves to us by. A previous collection of Spare's Correspondence, with Ken Grant, painted, to me, a picture of a young turk desperate to pick Spare's mind, to inherit his legacy. As this book was published by Ken Grant, he clearly didnt see it that way. Spare, I feel, had forgotten most of what he had done (such as the original meaning (if any) of his "alphabet of desire), and was constantly fobbing Ken off with promises of "soon", and "later". I also purchased a collection of "the Progradior correspondence" from Teitan Press for the same reason.
Even better was to hold in my hands a letter written from Vera Wainwright to Spare, which was included in a book I purchased, along with one of the famous "signatures" - cancelled checks, signed by Spare. It did seem somewhat voyeuristic, however, to read what was obviously private correspondence, like reading an open letter on Spare's kitchen table.

Some resources for the discerning reader

2010-02-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

Publishers
Ouroboros Press
Caduceus Books
Scarlet Imprint
Hell Fire Books
Fulgur Books
Mandrake of Oxford

Bookstores
Wieser Antiquarian
Treadwells
Field's Books (SF)

Wikis
occult.pbwiki.com/

The Satyr's Sermon

2010-01-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

The Satyr's Sermon came out late last year, and I recently obtained a copy; a small volume, the size of a larger tarot pack, it is a replica of an earlier once-off by Andrew Chumbley - Alogos - and as such, was expected to delight. The expectation was fulfilled.
The text is essentially a set of aphorisms, accompanied by Chumbley's excellent calligraphy. The style, as all his work, is derivative in part from Austin Spare, and in the Wizard's opinion, is the only person to come close. Another author who attempts something similar is Michael Fords Luciferian Witchcraft, but it comes off as cheap and tacky in comparison. The Satyr's Sermon is the genuine article, and is a collector's dream. As a collector, bibliophile, one who is erotically attracted to the heft of a fine book and lured by the smell of fresh Morocco, I can only say that the knowledge that this book will never appear as a mass-market paperback adds to the allure - such sacred words deserve to be respected, not stuffed into a jacket pocket on the way to the barbers. As one who respects the contents of the book, I wish that it weren't priced so hideously that poverty-stricken acolytes had to give up eating for a week to purchase it (later, presumably, a month). As a mortal grateful for the crumbs that existence throws at us to enliven our brief time, I fall down in admiration and gratitude.

Summary: Price per word; hideous. Value; beyond price.

Thorn in the Flesh

2009-12-07T01:17:00.000-08:00

A new book tumbled in through the mail slot last week - "Thorn in the Flesh", a compendium of notes etc. from Rosaleen Norton. Roie, as she was known, was a rather interesting bohemian Character from Sydney, Australia, who was an occult artist. Because Australia is somewhat backward and conservative, she frequently got into trouble with the obscenity laws. I suppose I should modify that last sentence my noting that most countries were backward in those days.
I was rather hoping to see some new pictures by her, but the very few included were not all that good. For those who want to see her pictures, I would rather recommend "the Art of Rosaleen Norton", or even "Pan's Daughter" by Neville Drury.

However what this book does add, is a lot of material about what Roie actually thought, her occult system. Largely, this seems to center on a dualism between humanity and the inhuman entities that accompany us, which was, according to her, ruled by a planetary spirit, Pan. So quite an interesting book, in that regard. Unfortunately, any notes that mentioned the actual magical rituals that she used were not published, out of a desire to keep these secret. And what is left is rather disjointed, so I dont think anyone will be using her system anytime soon... that is, unless there are any of her coven left in Oz, and they join one.

Bookwise, its a fairly plain hardcover, as is typical of the Teitan Press, but they are doing some good work in fleshing out some of the characters of the last century - Jack Parsons, Progradior, etc.

The Red Goddess

2009-04-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

The first book out of Scarlet Imprint; quite a wonderful book in most ways; and here it is as it arrived from Scarlet Imprint: including Rose Petals!

What your scrivener is doing in his spare time

2009-03-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

Last month I went to Pantheacon at San Jose; but the program didnt seem to be up to much, so I didnt register or attend as such; just checked out Field's books in the vendors area, and found that Qutub has just been reprinted. If anyone isnt aware of this, its one of Andrew Chumbley's first books, printed by Xoanon, and was selling in excess of $600, and so totally out of the reach of people of normal means.

Scarlet Imprint

2009-02-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

My friends at Scarlet Imprint are blogging about re-releasing their "Howlings"; which is to be commended from a literary availability point of view, but I cant help feeling a little offended, as I set aside quite a hefty sum for what I thought would be a limited release sure to appreciate in price.

I'm very divided on this. One the one hand, I understand the desire of those who missed getting a copy to have one themselves, and also the desire of Scarlet Imprint to meet this demand, from both a mission and a financial standpoint. On the other, Scarlet Imprint are financed primarily by a band of dedicated bibliophiles, able and willing to part with large amounts of dosh to support their activities. If, for example, Scarlet Imprint were in the mass market, I wouldnt care how many they printed. Its the element of betrayal of their sponsors by diluting their investments that I have a problem with.

The solution would be for Scarlet Imprint to make their wonderful books available first to the connoisseur, at a price, and then to reissue it in mass market paperback, which will not mess with the price appreciation of their luxury editions.

Another solution, is to release their luxury editions in the first instance as larger editions, say, 1000 copies. This will say clearly upfront just how things stand, and their purchasers will know that the editions arent really as rare as they are making them appear. For example, the latest blog comment says:
"There are some very limited and desirable books imminent."

Limited; but will be reprinted every year as long as demand lasts?

Personally, I prefer the paperback edition option. That way they can cater to both the bibliophiles who support them, and to the occultists who want the books, but who cant afford the pricier versions.

Blown Away by Coniunctio, a book of Pleasure

2009-01-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

Oryelle Defenestre Bascule, in coniunction with Fulgur books, has created probably THE most impressive tome of the past quarter century. Indeed, it is hard to find a comparison until you go back to the grimoires of AOS.

Oryelle's enlightened conceptions and inspired graphicks, are married with spellbinding bookbinding arts of Robert Ansell at Fulgurifick.

As the pages are divided, for the sake of Art, cosmic pairs are separated, until, when the pages are reunited, phallus is once again reunited with its natural home, and in the secret places between the closed pages, the archetypal figures unite in inky bliss. But this is merely the first layer; first perusal is but the first caress in a long term relationship which I intend to develop with these pages. The symbolism is intense, and looks like it will take some time to tease it out. European, Egyptian and Indian deities romp through its pages, spreading thelemic and spareific good news in every direction. There is even a chance for the reader to remove a chaperone on tracing paper (parchment) to allow for a fuller union that may end one's own universe. I have not yet chanced it.

Having splodged the extra few quid, I was rewarded with the quarter-bound version, together with hand-drawn signature; black slipcase, and some wonderful red and silver-inked marblings. If you intend to buy only one new book this Aeon, I heartily recommend this book of pleasure.

Rip off your robe, pull out your acolyte, and imitate the wonderful inkings for your next ritual in the dark. Oh frabjous day, Caloo Calay!

Solomon's Clavis

2009-01-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

Another book I was pleased to receive lately, was Solomon's Clavis from the Society for Esoteric Endeavor in England. The Society produces marvellous new prints of old works, some of which are facsimiles of manuscripts, as indeed this work is. The original manuscript is a a copy by Frederick Hockley of a Ms. by Ebenezer Sibley.

The book describes the manufacture of Talismans on Vellum, and indeed these Talismans have been used on the front cover of the books themselves, with a varied selection of different talismans on each copy of the book (One each). For example, one may be a protection against Slavery, another for "secret love". The Talisman "To render a military life happy" may still find use in this age, as when the book was written.

The actual text is a facsimile of Hockley's handwriting, and can be difficult to read (although its fairly legible).

The book is wonderfully bound in sheepskin leather, which has, so I notice, a distinct barnyard aroma, albeit not at all strong or unpleasant. Overall, the standard of production of the book is remarkable, particularily given that the edition is restricted to only 144 copies.

All in all, a rather typical, if rare and scarce version, of a typical grimoire, including talismans, invocations, incenses, skin of virgin kids (as in goats), and all the rest. Different from Mather's "the Key of Solomon".

Picatrix 2 finally here!

2009-01-20T01:08:00.000-08:00

My Christmas present this year came in the form of a black volume, smelling richly of leather. Volume 1 of the first English translation of the famous Picatrix came out in 2002; and since then I have been lustfully awaiting volume 2. William Kiesel had produced a marvellous book, but part two was to come later. Oft-promised publication of volume 2 kept being delayed, until finally, at the end of last year, my patience was rewarded. Volume 2 is identically bound to Volume 1 (I have the black leather edn.), and the marbled endpapers are identical - pretty good going, considering the time lag. The price is not that different from volume 1 either, at $130. If the price escalates like volume I (as it goes out of print), I would suggest buying a copy sooner rather than later.

Part II contains Books 3 & 4; and largely contain information relating to the planetary spirits; talismans and so forth, but the content is so wide and varied that it is difficult to describe in the confines of a blog. Descriptions are given of how to invoke spirits, and include the use of incenses, colors, stones, together with the necessary invocations. The book also includes incidental notes describing magical practises from pagan Mesopotamia, with for example, the properties of various plants.

Not having taken the time to call up the various spirits, I cant vouch for the efficacy of the contents yet, but the Picatrix is immensely important historically, because it represents the hermetic knowledge that existed in the Arab medieval world (The work is atrributed to pseudo Al-Majriti), and was compiled from 224 books written by "Ancient sages". Essentially, it was the Encyclopedia of its day, containing most of what was considered important, including Astrology, Philosopy, Magic and Science. Like most Arab works of importance, it re-entered Europe after the dark ages, helping to cause the renaissance and the flowering of the early universities. Alphonso the Wise translated it into Spanish in the 1200's, and despite the possession of it ensuring a speedy trip to the stake, copies were secreted among the best libraries of the day. Members of the Di Medici court read it; including Pico Mirandola and Ficino; and Agrippa of Nettesheim in Northern Europe also possessed a copy, no doubt using it as the source of much of his 3 books on occult philosophy. Casanova was led to trial on charges of possession of a copy of the Picatrix. Despite this illustrious history and centrality to European Occultism (and hence to the European Scientific tradition), it has remained quite rare to this day. The Ouroboros Press publication has made it available to English readers for the first time, and was released in a limited edition of about a thousand copies. Simply purchasing this book as a piece of History is worth the price. As an example of the bookbinder's art, it is doubly worth that. And who knows! You may even be led to the location of hidden treasures if you handle the spirits carefully, and recoup your costs!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picatrix

The Wizard's Quill begins!

2009-01-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

In the tower, the Wizard goes to his bookshelf, pulls down a dusty tome, blows a cloud of dust off, then places the book on his stand, opens the page, and begins to read...

You go to a secondhand bookshop, look for the metaphysical section (if the have one), and pull down a book entitled "practical" {withcraft, spellmaking, candleburning, tarot-reading, crystalhealing...}, and are immediately confronted within the curling paper covers, some sentimental tripe about floating rose petals in your bathwater to attract a lover. Somehow, the reality doesnt match the idealized image. You will never learn how to turn your next door neighbour into a toad at this rate. Yet there are indeed good occult books, on every topic, and at every level, if only you know where to look, and what to look for, and are (sometimes) prepared to pay a little, or even a lot, more.

There are genuine antiques, selling for thousands of dollars, available through specialist dealers; and there are rarities from the 20th century selling for hundreds; and there has been an explosion of new, limited edition leatherbound books, published in the last decade. I have discovered many of these hidden gems, and will be sharing my finds with you in these pages, yellowed with age, as I scribble with quill on these pages....