Review of Promethea

Level of reading: I would suggest having three years of reading and experience under your belt before approaching you, but don't let me dictate you from not reading this series as soon as possible!

Promethea is a comic book series for the lover of magick and all things mythological and arcane.  Created from 1999 to 2005 by Alan Moore, J.H Williams III and Mick Gray I was glad to have the entire series available at my whim to soar straight through because there is no way that I could have waited for any length of time to see the whole series through as they were produced.

The artwork is so varied and detailed as well as being perfectly paced and laid out for the reader to interpret - there is never a dull moment!

Promethea takes you through the magickal journey of Sophie Bangs - an average American girl  living in a futuristic world who writes poetry which sees her enter into magickal realms and experiences.  The more that Sophie Bangs writes, the more she realises that she is tied into her heroic role as Promethea who must steer mankind in the right direction.  Throughout the book you are taught about aspects of the occult, tarot and how the tarot links in with the Hermetic Qabbalah as she walks the Qabbalistic Tree of Life.  It certainly helps to already know of characters from the real world such as Crowley, Austin Osman Spare or John Dee but it isn't vital.

This is an incredible series for anyone wanting to learn more about the Qabbalah from scratch as I personally found it hard to pick up like any other form of magick - the Qabbalistic Tree of Life is very complex!  I found that from here I was able to merge so many of the things that I had learnt throughout my magickal journey through the art of the comic book, which as Moore notes is the best way to learn and retain information..

I can safely say that Promethea is an incredible philosophical and magical learning experience, combining so many years of my own reading and training into five comics which aesthetically and theoretically blew me away.  This comic series only added to my learning and has provided me with great respect for Hermetic Qabbalah.  For your own information, the Hermetic Qabbalah  *"is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, Thelemic orders, mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and theFellowship of the Rosy Cross, and is a precursor to the Neopagan, Wiccan and New Age movements. The Hermetic Qabalah is the basis for Qliphothic Qabala as studied by left hand path orders, such as the Typhonian Order."

Apparently its writer Alan Moore - a ceremonial magician, had been criticised for pushing his own religious believes, though I think this is really a series for anyone - but certainly more for those who love magick.

A must read and well worth owning your own hardcopy of.

*Source: Wikipedia
First image from Pink Ray Gun
Second image from Elephant Eater

Back in the room... Entering my Saturn return

Well it's been a very long time indeed!  It feels as though so many things have been happening with my craft of late - it really has changed my life for the better: crafting, weaving my way through the world whilst making it better for myself and others.  I think that in a lot of ways, having this form of spirituality has really helped me to grow up by putting my values, love, health and sense of honor first.  I give more and also seem to get more than I need out of life.  I've been away for so long now having gone through a breakup after a three year relationship, sorting out the house, travelling for a month and then finally settling back down in olde Melbourne Town which hasn't come without great trials of course.

These trials have made me realise how important it is to work on my chakras, finding and recognising the blockages which have been making my relationships and expression so stifled.  I found a wonderful book 'The Essential Guide to Chakras' by Swami Saradananda which looks twee but very practically walks you through the function of each chakra, which signs indicate whether you're experiencing excessive or deficient energy in each chakra and even yoga poses for each chakra.  It also encourages you to create a diary to assess each chakra to work on a variety of areas in your life.  I highly recommend it, it's an easy book to digest.

This self assessment is also an important part of my life as I enter my Saturn return - life is throwing challenges at me and I need to cleanse myself, heal and start a lot of things from scratch to gauge what I really need in life as a person.  I've realise the importance of being your own role model and now live by a wonderful latin saying 'Casis tutissima virtus' - "virtue is the safest helmet" which allows me to take great responsibility for my actions.  It's now all about doing the honorable thing.

Now time for more stories....

)O( Elspeth.

The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells by Judika Illes

For: Intermediate learners

Why intermediate and not beginner?: The book does not have the standard disclaimer like so many others with the usual chapter of ‘No, we don’t worship the devil’ and only a very brief warning on not to hex thanks to the Threefold Law and the vow to Harm None.  This book makes a very small attempt on page 11 to make any such warnings and actually includes hexes within it as well as the use of ‘Devil Oil’ which I’m assuming is an old recipe.  There’s even a spell to get someone in your workplace to quit their job, which clearly goes against the Threefold Law.  As you know, I warn anyone and everyone NOT to do a love spell and this book is full of them!  Read my entry against hexes and love spells here.

This book would be very confusing for a beginner, and I would suggest that those in their second degree ought to read this, so that they have their experience behind them to discern between kind and (honestly) immoral spells.  It is suitable for those in their second degree wanting to expand their knowledge once you have the bones of writing a ritual, you can then refer to this book within the subject area you’re looking to resolve/cure/banish etc. 

Why is it worth getting?: This certainly is an interesting book.  With 1000 spells, the book isn’t large, but heavy!  It is a mish-mash of short, basic spells intertwined with more complex ones, all of which are easy to do.  Illes introduces us to all kinds of old-fashioned sounding spells, and sometimes it’s hard to tell whether she has just made some up or whether some of these are really tried and true from ancient Europe.  Despite my concerns about the hexes etc above, she does have some gorgeous short spells such as ‘Broken Heart Bath,’ ‘Easy Speedy (baby) Delivery,’ and even spells to reverse spells that you’ve cast and hex breaking – which I’ve never seen anywhere before.

Her introduction is marvellous as it takes you through a general history of Witchcraft, what magic is and the various cultural interpretations from past to present to give you an all-round concept of what magick means around the world & how it is put into context from the perspective of the Wiccan and the outsider.

There are remnances of old-fashioned Witchcraft, including old cures such as the following:

Iron Dental Health Spell

The following is a German recommendation to soothe a toothache.  Heat a horseshoe or other piece of iron until extremely hot.  Pour oil into the heated iron.  The rising fumes will allegedly ease the pain.  If it is safe to do so (there is no need to exchange toothache for a painful scald), bend over the fumes, exposing the tender spot.

All-in-all it is a marvellous book to have which you will spend years rifling through and discovering things in.  Certainly, I wouldn’t have it as my one and only spell book.  If you’re a beginner, start with these books before going anywhere else.

Judika has also written:

Encyclopedia of Spirits

The Dream Dictionary from A to Z

The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols

The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies

The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Hauntings

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures

The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays

Image from Amazon.com

'The World of the Witches' a fantastic publication

I found this incredibly detailed and well-researched book in The Book Grocer the other day (available in Melbourne and Canberra for about $12, and it's available on Amazon).

I have never seen such a detailed and thoroughly researched piece on witchcraft. It slays the wish-washy writings of others who skip and jump between assumptions made by some Christian groups to New Age beliefs without any research or authority.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"Julio Caro Baroja was a Spanish Basque anthropologist and historian who was best known for his enthnographic studies of Basque and Spanish traditional cultures and folklore. He was a nephew of the well-known novelist Pio Baroja, was a member of the Spanish Academy of History, and is well-known as the author of the classic ethnography of the Basques whose activities in witchcraft inspired the present work. Dr Baroja died in 1995."

This might lead you to believe that his studies are biased towards Basque history, but his research is so extensive, covering various epochs from the antiquity of witchcraft over several cultures, to 'The Renaissance Crisis' and 'The Enlightenment' and how the Craft was viewed within those particular periods of time in accordance with specific social mores.

It is so rich with information to the point where I can see about twenty years - at least - going into this incredible book which features a bevvy of information from all parts of the world whilst giving a non-Wiccan an honest overview of what Wicca is about and how it has been misinterpreted in the past.

Interesting snippets include (p.248 from the chapter Some Modern Interpretations of Witchcraft: The Views of Psychiatrists):
"In Spain, for instance, Charles II was convinced that he was bewitched, and nearly the whole society from the highest aristocrats to the lowest plebs in Madrid, accepted the idea and spread it about. The nature of the spells and the personality of the sorcerer remained obscure and anonymous. And those who tried to relieve the unfortunate king by exorcisms and other processes were later tried and condemned by the Inquisition."

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, between research for Beltane and this I will have my head buried in Baroja's book for the next few weeks - then read it all over again! --- May have to edit this. He comes through with possible inconsistencies so I'll get back to you on whether this is truly worth it... some slightly spiteful Roman Catholic undertones are coming through in here I believe so stay tuned...

Blessed be.

Three books to slowly introduce yourself to the Craft

If I could do it all over again (and I wouldn't have done it any other way) I would have bought these particular books in this order to introduce myself to the craft:

Scott Cunningham
'WICCA: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'
This is a fantastic starting point for anyone getting into witchcraft. His down-to-earth, simple language means that you're not left feeling overwhelmed by images and phrases that you've never heard of before which can turn some people off. He gives the reader practical ways to approach Wicca whilst providing subtle and intelligent arguments as to the place of Wicca within society.


Fiona Horne
'Witch'
I believe this was my first official Witch book when I was a teenager in the late 90s when witchcraft was 'in vogue' with Madonna singing 'Frozen' looking all spiritual and s**t... I loved that look!
This book runs over a great deal of what Scott Cunningham looks at, as Fiona often recommends his books and she also presents a relaxed approach to Wicca as to not make you run for the hills and hide like an explosion of information has just threatened to spill forth in 10 seconds! This book also includes interviews with other witches and their approach to the craft within Australia and provides some links for those wanting to reach out to covens.

.......once you have a FULL grasp of that, this book is HIGHLY recommended but you have to feel really confident. When I say 'confident' I would advise that you also research Gerald Gardener and wiccan publications before leaping into this (i.e: give it a minimum of 6 month's experience before leaping into this):

Silver Ravenwolf
'Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation'
This is an amazing book which Silver spent 2 years writing - as there were so many historical facts that she had to look up and bounce off people to make sure that they were correct. It's a visual feast of symbols and complex details down to which hour corresponds to which planet, et cetera, which is impossible if you're only just starting. It is otherwise an incredible book which you will spend years going through with extended detail on astral projection, divination...... I could go on!

The Power of Now - by Eckhardt Tolle, a book for everyone

This book is for everyone, of any religious background or creed. I have been reading it recently and nothing has cleared my head as beautifully as this piece.

I feel as though I'm advertising a lot of things on here for sale, but this book is a psychologically-cleansing experience which helps you to cognitivally look at your daily thought patterns and get you to push out negative thinking which restricts you from thinking in the NOW.

I'm very skeptical about these kinds of books usually, but Eckhardt's main schtick is similar to the buddhist theory of 'mindfulness' which reduces stress greatly in your life.

My life has changed dramatically since reading this book and I am able to eleviate so much stress from my life and get on with the journey rather than feeling frustrated about the destination and whether I'm getting there any time soon.

I grabbed a beautiful hard cover copy from Dymocks for $30 - small enough to put in a decent-sized handbag and as sweet as a prayer book.

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