A Retraction And Apology

One of the marks of a wise man is in his ability to not only recognize, but also take ownership of his errors, and the latter is my motivation in writing this post. 

Those who have read my first book, Crossed Keys, will recall that in my introduction of the first of its two Grimoires, The Black Dragon, I spoke very critically of what was until then the only extant English translation of this work - that of Robert Blanchard and The International Guild of Occult Sciences. 

While at the time I was wholly convinced that this criticism was fully justified, I have now come to understand that it was not. My poor valuation of the Guild's edition stemmed from the fact that after I'd been released from prison (where my own translation was actually completed) and finally had an opportunity to read Blanchard's version, I discovered many examples of what I assumed were significant errors in translation and in the seals as presented in his edition. 

At the time, having also had an opportunity to speak with some who presented themselves as well informed on the subject of IGOS and Mr. Blanchard who had advised me that his efforts to assure an accurate translation were minimal and that IGOS took no measures such as proofreading the works, I foolishly assumed that this was the case and that the "errors" upon which I'd hit were just that. Thus my harsh critique of this version in my own. 

Moving forward to the present day. A couple of weeks back I was contacted here on the blog by none other than Robert Blanchard. He had been unaware of my new translation, but had noticed my post not long ago mentioning my collection of IGOS' books. I subsequently emailed him and we've now exchanged replies several times, discussing future collaborations. 

Upon discussing my former concerns with Robert, he has explained many things to me, one of which is the origins of the aforementioned rumors of his poor skill in translation. It is also now clear that the reason his version of Black Dragon bears such differences from my own is that he worked from a different manuscript, to which I was not privy and which I wasnt aware existed. Indeed the manuscript from which his edition was borne is appended to the hardcover version of IGOS' book in its entirety, which I would have know had I ever been able to locate one. (the copy I read was a spiral bound reprint which did not contain the French)

I must therefore apologize to Mr Blanchard for my assumption, and the criticism to which it led. I also encourage one and all to stay tuned, as Mr. Blanchard has also shared with me that The International Guild of Occult Sciences has been reborn, and that we can all expect big things, including his recent translations of hitherto unpublished Grimoires, in the very near future. 

Contact Link Created

I've received a handful of comments on yesterday's and previous posts from readers looking to contact me. Rather than posting my email address where all the devilish spammers and marketers wishing to sell me high quality mexican pharmaceuticals, mail order brides and other such wonderful things, I've put up a button right there to the upper left of the blog which you can use to shoot me an email using the Contact Me form on my website.

Everyone who already has the email address can keep using it. Only ones I'd prefer not to have it are the Nigerian Royal Family who keep trying to convince me my services are needed in helping them move millions of dollars out of their country and all they need is my bank account info to make the transfer.

The Magus And The Witch, A Meeting Of The Winds

As I am quite certain that the title of this post has piqued the interest of my regular readers, let me jump right in and explain... While this blog has, since I began it, focused wholly on my work in the Grimoire Tradition and related fields, this post will delve into an area of Magick that has, until recently, been completely alien to me - Witchcraft. 

Although I have always made a point of gaining at least a basic knowledge of fields of Magick other than my own, for example Enochiana, Thelema, Conjure and many others, if for no other reason than to understand what I read on friends' blogs and in conversation with practitioners from these traditions, I had long dismissed "Witchcraft", never bothering to open a book or follow a blog. This is because I had, quite foolishly, grouped Witchcraft with the touchy-feely new age watered down wicca strains*.

Several months back I received an email from fellow author and practitioner Mark Alan Smith, after some of his readers discovered that a website template I'd used for my first draft of GrimoireMagick.org was the same as he'd used some time earlier when building his site for Primal Craft. Following that introductory email, Mark and I have stayed in contact and spent some time discussing parallels between his work and my own, and the fact that although we have both worked with Lucifer and Belial, (myself far, far less than he) the methodology of our practices are quite different, as are the peronas of the Gods as we know them. More importantly, for me at least, was the discovery that Mark's path, that of true Witchcraft, stands in stark contrast to that of the "McWiccan", and is wholly devoid of the aforementioned fluffy bunny magic.

Quite the contrary, in fact, as I learned after reading The Queen of Hell, The Red King and The Scorpion God. In fact I can report that, while entirely different from the Magick I know and love, the Primal Craft is fucking powerful.

Mark teaches that what he has rediscovered and has tapped into has its origins in the Magick of the Atlanteans - a very lofty claim indeed. Except that after only a brief foray into The Book of Belial, and the practices therein, it is one with which I cannot take issue.

I won't stand before you and insinuate that the little I have learned of this path is sufficient to convince me that Mark's Primal Witchcraft is in fact the source of all Magick or that it was that which our Atlantean forefathers practiced. The truth of the matter is that I have absolutely no idea of the source of this power or by what mechanisms it works. I know only what is available to all in Mark's trilogy, and that which he has spoken to me of. That basic understanding, however, was enough to prove to me that Mark is on to some seriously powerful stuff.






*Even as I write these words I can foresee the number of angry messages and comments it will engender

The Joys Of Magickal Craftsmanship

     A week or so ago I completed two custom pieces for readers, both Tables of Practice for use in Evocation, and as I found doing so to be quite a welcome break from my other projects and responsibilities, I decided to go ahead and make two more. 

     Pictured below are two full size (14" diameter, 2" height) hardwood Tables of Practice. (Or is it Table of Practices?) that I began on Sunday and which have been stained with a thick Mahogany finish (which is drying underneath an industrial fan as I write). 

     The design of the first Table is identical to one I made for a friend overseas last week. As he intends to use it in evocation of not only "angelic" spirits as per the usual Trithemius method but also of those planetary entities typically regarded as "demonic", I designed this table to be "neutral". That is to say, the sigils and regalia which adorn it are of the Planets, Astrological Powers and Elements themselves as they are - neutral - neither "good" nor "evil", holy or diabolical. 

     The second Table is true to the original, with the sole exception being that, as I always do, I have added the symbols of the Elements. It is my belief that omission of these symbols in Trithemius' version was an error, or perhaps oversight, and their inclusion lends a great deal of power to the whole. 

     Interested parties please feel free to email me, or leave a comment here with your own email address and I will respond.

Just For Fun

Black Magic Binds Adulteress to Paramour For Several Hours After Sex

Why Doesn't Your Magick Work?

I received an email today from a reader of this blog who has, over the past year, grown bitter and disillusioned by his "dreadful lack of any kind of success in magick". His plea for an answer he could accept moved me to share with him, and now with you all, a small portion of my forthcoming book which, as you'll see, is directly relevant to his question. With his permission, here is an excerpt from his message to me:

".....As much as I despise myself for feeling this way, when I read about others actually getting shit done magickally and getting results they want it has been making me angry or more jealous than angry. I know guys that achieve these spirit manifestations and get their wishes deserve it and I hate to feel harshly toward them but it just pisses me off. I've been doing my rituals for 2 years, daily. I mean I stick it out, even when I'm in a shitty mood or when I really dont feel like it I do my daily work anyway, even if I have to just get my rites in real quickly wherever I happen to be, like at work in the broom closets lol. It gets tedious, doing the same rites everyday, but I stick with it day after day hoping for success and wanting it but shit just doesnt happen for me......" 

My response to him was this. You're fucking up. You're going about this wrong and you're being handicapped by your belief that you need to perform a set of rites every day, day in and day out.  Look at your words to me. "Even when I'm in a shitty mood or really dont feel like it I do my daily work anyway....." Magick is not something you can fake, nor is the Will to succeed in it. If you are half-assing it, just going through the motions without any real "oomph" behind it because you're exhausted from daily life, stressed out or otherwise distracted by mundane life, you're not going to succeed. Period. You THINK you want to succeed, but you dont. At all.

From the Book of Abrasax: 

...The student then approached the Magus, and earnestly said, "Brother, As much as I want to learn, and as much I want to succeed, as much as I study and practice, why can I not advance? Why has my ascension become stagnant?" To which the Magus replied, "When you truly want to succeed, you will. You do not yet want it." Befuddled, the aspirant replied, "But I do! I do want it, I do want to be like you!". The Magus considered the aspirant briefly and then said "if this is true, if your desire is real and your want of this magical art is genuine, follow me".

 Leading his pupil to the banks of the Nile, the Magus instructed the student to enter therein and bathe, that he may be cleansed. Following his teacher's instruction, the aspirant did so, whereupon the Magus seized the back of his student's head and forced him underwater, holding him there and allowing him no room for escape. The student fought, kicking, his arms flying wildly about with the strength of a man in whom the instinct for survival has taken over, and though he was but a boy and physically diminutive, his efforts were rewarded when he succeeded, at the last moment before his lungs filled with water and took from him his life, in pushing the teacher from him, rising and taking a breath.

Now afloat, gasping to fill his aching lungs with the precious air he so fought for, the student attempts to stand, exhausted and utterly without energy, every muscle in his body protesting the intense exertion through which they had been put, his teacher comes to his side and lifts him to his feet. Bewildered at his teacher's having attempted to kill him only to thereafter help him, the aspirant nonetheless accepted his aid.

 Upon reaching the shore, the Magus asks of the aspirant, "In that moment, underwater, helpless and certain of your impending death, Why did you fight me? Why did you resist?" To which the young man replied, "I was near to death! "Why do you imagine I fought you, madman! My only thought was of my need for air, my only desire was a single breath!, I wanted to breathe!"

The Magus then smiled, and replied, "When your desire to succeed in your magical art is equal to your desire for that breath, you will have your success."