Thracian Magic...Past and Present

Thracian Magic - Past & Present by Georgi Mishev
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thracians were the original inhabitants of Bulgaria. In fact Bulgaria used to be called Thrace and Thrace was an entity that embraced a vast quantity of land. The original Thracians lived in the mountains while people streamed in from further north to populate the area. The newcomers ended us adapting the Thracian religion and folk way.

The old Thracians revered the Goddess, who was called Hekate and her son the sun god. She gave birth to him and he became her lover. Sounds a lot like Wicca. The Yule time celebrates the birth of the god. It is a holiday that lasts 12 day. The book then proceeds to describe the yearly cycle according to the Thracians. Next is mayday and then holiday popping up in the summer an finally close to Halloween.

Many Bulgarian practices come from the Ancient Thracians and the acceptance of Christianity did not blot them out. THE Church tolerated them as they were part of the culture. I look at this book as a reference for general information. Most of the magical actions in here cannot be performed in this day and age owing to the fact that some of the actions require slaughtering an animal and/or creating a big fire. But they could be modified.

Magic is still practiced in Bulgaria. There are healers who still work and they their job is to heal and help people. Usually they are selected by an older healer and initiated, for women before they begin their period or after they have gone through menopause. Boys are selected before their first sexual encounter. Transference of bestowing of power is given by saliva or blowing on someone. To learn magic one must be selected and taught by a healer or magic worker and the it is a mystery tradition. To merely copy the magic will not be effective. Wo to those who perform ritual without knowing their real meaning. In Bulgaria sometimes the saints are summoned to perform healing and sometimes there is reference to the Ancient Gods.

There are dark magicians who work for their own gain and curse people as well. They are part of the community so they are not completely shunned. Yet the practice is looked down upon. Thracian magic was influenced by the surrounding culture and it influenced the surrounding cultures. if you wish to glimpse into an Ancient Culture this is a great book to read and the end is chocked full of resources, Get it for 6.99 on the kindle and you cannot go wrong.

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Into the Caverns of the Dark One

The Dark Lord: H.P. Lovecraft, Kenneth Grant, and the Typhonian Tradition in Magic by Peter Levenda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Peter Levenda has done an excellent job of bringing out the points of commonality between Crowley, Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant. It is a massive undertaking and the book is mind blowing. Writing from a detached observers stance Peter Levenda has me convinced that HP Lovecraft was psychically intuned to some astral realm like most of the great magicians were. The points of coincidence between Lovecraft's writing and Crowley's revelation are too much to be ignored.

Starting off with a discussion of Aleister Crowley's Thelema we learn that the world has experienced the aeon dedicated to different Egyptian Deities. According to Crowley we are in the age of Horus. The age of Horus corresponds to that of the child. This is where individual growth takes precedence over following what patriarchal authority tells us what to do. We write our own program so to speak. Horus's twin is Set, in a sense of speaking. According to Egyptology Horus kills Osiris, Horus's father and later on Horus avenges his fathers death. According to Crowley's schema and some other interpretation Set is the other side of Horus. In the old Egyptian myth the two of them get into a nasty fight and basically tear each other apart.

Set though is somewhat different from other Egyptian deities. He has no assigned animal and he is generally thought of as a god of the foreigners. He is the god of the desert wastes, of chaos and of very wanton sexuality. He is in a sense a dark lord. Now Crowley received his revelation in Egypt by a deity or guardian angel named Aiwas. Aiwas can can be compared to Set but the origins of the Dark Lord are going back even further. Kenneth Grant would say all the way back to Sumeria. A discussion ensues on the Sumerian origins with a focus on the yezidi's who Kenneth Grant has devoted a lot to in his works.The yezidis worship Melekh taus or the Peacock God. they believe that he is Satan and and that Satan in end will be redeemed. But are the origins of Melekh Taus really in Sumeria and where did the Sumerians come from. Peacock are not native to Sumeria but rather India.

Tantric Spirituality has made several contributions to Kabballah, Alchemy and Ceremonial Magic. After a long and complex discussion we see that the possible origins for Crowley's Scarlet Queen and the Lord Chaos might be an incarnation of Shiva. The Indian Goddess is colored Red and Shiva is a Lord of Hell and Chaos in the form that brings the most enlightenment to mankind. there is also the concept of Kundalini which rises to the base of our spine which then drops down the amrita or immortality. Of course this is symbolic of Shakti rising to Shiva.Or the serpent rising up. Remember the serpent from the Bible. He enlightens Eve by telling her to eat from the tree of knowledge.

Through out this discussion references to HP Lovecraft's works are brought up. Cthulhu being the most famous of the Old Ones is described as being dead but dreaming and when the stars are right he will arise and as a priest of the old ones he will rise up and open the gates to allow for the Old Ones return. The Old Ones were here before we were and they do have their human followers. In Tantric Operation which can be very sexual there is an importance of doing sex magic at a time when the stars are in the proper position. Phases of the moon determine the spiritual power of human body fluids. The Kundalini Serpent as well lies asleep and dreaming at the base of our spine. Also there are DNA particles of every animal encoded in our cells. Remember evolution.

One of the goals of sex magic is to create a magical child . This child could be a physical child or a spiritual child that is designed to carry out some magical task. By being in the right frame of mind and opening the right spiritual doorways one can bring in the essence of other beings into a physical child and thus bring about a sort of evolution. In HP Lovecraft's writing there is talk of mating with humans and the old ones. In Lovecraft's view the offspring are strange and deformed. Crowley and Grant sorrt of welcomed it and HP Lovecraft feared it.

The analysis will require some background in Kabballah, Ceremonial Magic. Lovecraft and Tantra. Even for someone versed in these it can get confusing. The book is chocked full of material and there were parts that needed to be reread. In the end we come up with a system of magic that Grant could understand and use that was consistent with his psyche. To the objective it may make no sense. Grant also believed that we did in fact open some of those gateways and the world was feeling the effects. Great book!

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WITCHA

Witcha: A Book Of Cunning by Nathaniel Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here comes a book about British Witchcraft coming from someone who has inherited a family tradition and has also at the same time investigated several other traditions across the British landscape. His approach is also down to earth and real. Yet at the same time you may have encountered these ideas before.
Witchcraft is about getting results plain and simple. If it works use it. Magic is not about therapy, transformation or transcendence. So whatever works you use. That means witches can work with Germanic runess, Judeo-Christian psalms all in the same working. One can also call upon the saints, pagan gods and even angels and demons all in the same working.
This work covers the working tools of the witch. Many are the same as Wicca and if you have studied British Witchcraft then you may have come across most of the tools. Of course a witch does not need to have tools as the power of the witch is generated within. The procedures for circle casting and consecrating your tools is simple and straight forward which is what I like about it.
Deosil casting are for building up the positive in our life while widdershins is for negative working. The author does not waste too much time with White and black magic . he feels as do I that it is a matter of personal viewpoint. Cursing is not forbidden as sometimes some people really deserve but he does warn that it can backfire if not worked correctly.
There is a full description of the Sabbats , Lord and Lady and other concepts that might dove tail well with Wicca save for the fat of terminology for the Sabbats and the symbolism for the Lord and Lady is a bit different. The lad gives us insight while the lord gives us strength to move things in our direction.
The author discusses places of power , pharie blood and spell craft. Certain places will have power based on ley lines and /or events that have had something significant happen there. Pharie blood could be a reference to witch blood meaning that only certain people have had the proper genetics to do magic. There is some speculation that faeries mated with humans and created witches of magic power. Witches have communed with faeries and the lord and lady are sometimes called the king and queen of faerie . they are also called the dame and devil. The male god is sometimes Odin or Loki or Cernunnos. The lady can be the Goddess Diana or the Goddess Hekate or the the Goddess Perchta.
The author does make a rather long reference to the runes and gives good explanation on how to use them. He gives an interesting poen that offers his interpretation on them, yet he never once shows you the actual runes. You have to look that up yourself I guess. Towards the end of the book the author give some great songs and invocations for rituals. These will be great towards forming your own tradition. Many of us will not have the opportunity to be initiated into a coven. That is ok not every witch was initiated by another witch and some traditions have your initiate yourself. Enjoyable book that is filled with information and great techniques for magic .


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Life of a Mad Sorcerer, Alhazred

Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon by Donald Tyson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I totally loved this book and for several reasons. First off the author has done his research on the Middle East. He put Alhazred's story back into it's proper context. The Mad Arab grew up and experienced his adventures in the Middle East so it is only proper that Egyptian Gods, Jinn, Ghoul's , Indian Thuggies and sultans play a part with the ever present spectre of the Old ones hidden in the background just outside of everyone's view.

The story starts off in Yemen when Alhazred, the kings poet , falls in love with Narissa, the King's daughter. They have an illicit affair that ends up with her getting pregnant. After they get caught the king of Yemen mutilates Alhazred's face, castrates him and leaves him to die in the Empty Quarter. But Alhazred is resourceful and he survives instead of dying. During his desert journey's he befriends a tribe of ghouls, makes friends with a female jinn and steals from caravans that which he needs in order oreto survive. After his tenure with the ghouls, who by the way die from poison, Alhazred wanders to the lost city of Irem or Ubar. Itn is there that he confronts a witch and learns the history of the old ones. After leaving the desert with numerous jewels he makes his way Egypt going through such cities as Bubastis, Babylon and Alexandria. It is in Egypt that he meets with Martala and makes enemies with Farri, s street thug.Farria and thugs follow Alhazred through Egypt and do not stop until he is killed for the first time. In Egypt he also steals a scroll to summon the Old ones which angers a group called the Order of the Sphinx. In a fight with this order he is infected with a poison that will kill him in days unless he finds the cure.

Months after his first death he wakes up in Alexandria, Egypt. In possession of what he needs he makes his way to Mesopotamia.It is there that he finds a garden paradise and tries to find the Well of Seraph in Vain hopes that this will rest his damaged body. His hopes are dashes. Constantly evading the Order of the Sphinx he travels with Thuggees to Damascus where he befriends a group of Necromancers in Damascus. But all is not well as the Caliph wishes to kill the Necromancers. In the end magic is not a salvation but always the good old fashion sword that comes to aid.

Through out his travels Alhazred is bothered in his dreams by Nyalathotep , the dark one. In this take we come across several deities from Cthulhu mythos. Like I mentioned earlier this one puts us in the Middle East. Yet it lacks the same imaginary frightfulness of Lovecraft's writing


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Flames of Promethean Freedom

Promethean Flame by Corvis Nocturnum
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You could say it all started with Lucifer or perhaps with Prometheus and I am quite sure that Loki had a hand in everything. These three of course were the prehistorical rebel gods. They never went along with the dictates of society and they always broke the mold. For this they were demonized. Lucifer was cast from Heaven and demoted to Hell. Prometheus felt sorry for mankind and gave them fire. He also offered a sacrifice to the gods that consisted of bone, fat and blood. For this he was punished. Loki was a bringer of Chaos and for that he was punished. Of course some people see Lucifer as the ruler of the world and the one who brought light to mankind.

Going from these rebels, author Corvis Nocturnum, treats us to a light biography of several free thinkers who dared to defy tradition. Starting off with Hassan Ibn Sabah who was the leader of the assassins. He formulated a system of thought that spoke of nothing being true and everything being permitted. Man made doctrine was false and meant to control man. The assassins would later link up with the Templars and teach them their arcane knowledge. This would make it's way to the Mason and the Illuminati. Let us not forget that the forefathers of the US were freemason who believed in creating a free society where the individual was allowed to pursue his own growth.

Other figure would include Nietzsche, Von List , Anton La Vey as well as a slew of Greek philosophers and other free thinkers. Many who have grown up in the Western Lands decry Christianity's hold on our psyche and how it has hobbled us and weakened us. It has blocked us from pursuing our own potential and has forced us into directing our energies into group or church related efforts.

Time has come to break free from that mental bondage and throw off the mental shackles. But doing so may not be easy. There are still dangers. The book was entertaining and easy to read. I could have used a work that went a bit more in depth. Cool as a starting point but someone who has read this previously will find nothing new. There were also several editing mistakes which detracts from the professionalism of the book.

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Chant a Nightwish Upon a Shooting Star

Once Upon A Nightwish by Mape Ollila
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first heard of Nightwish was on youtube while looking for Pagan themed music. The first song I came across was a song with Annette Olzson on vocals called "bye bye beautiful" I also thought the band was an all girls band until I took a second look. The next song I came across was "I wish I had an Angel" To b e honest I could not tell the difference between the two vocalists and hence liked them both. In fact Nightwish got better with each and every record. I have been hooked on every single album of theirs. Sad thing is that female vocalists keep leaving the band. I wonder why.

The book traces their beginning even before they became a band. Tuomas was a dreamy keyboard player who put together the whole thing. He loved Donald Duck and Disney Land and he writes his music in order to take you to another world. Empuu is the hyperactive guitar player who may have attention deficit disorder by the sound of things. Always energetic and yet alll overthe place and forgetting things.Sami was the bass player who partied too hard and Jukka was the drum player. Tarja the female singer was the bands figure head and the most fragile of all the band members.

All of the original members came from Kitee, Finland. At the time of Nightwish's birth the metal scene looked rather dismal and Finland never produced much by way of good musical bands. Nightwish changed all of that. All of them received their training from Plamen Dimov a Greek ,Bulgarian who emigrated to Finland. Tuamos was not only the creative force behind the band he is also the one who got it exposure. While touring with another band he let some music producer listen to the music and he liked . From their they made it into an Album called "Angels Fall First" it garnered a positive response even if it was still a bit rough..around the edges. They toured a lot of small places around Europe and the community of Kitee was instrumental in helping this band get off the ground. Ocean Born was their second effort. A totally new and improved sound and lots of new exposure. Wishmaster being the third took things to another level. Tuamas could be a taxing band leader. So taxing that he pushed Tarja until she cried. The Wishmaster tour also took them to South America where they would run into Marcelo, a somewhat devious promoter.
Things in the band have always been heavy. The book gives you glimpses behind the scenes of what rock band have to got through while traveling.Substandard living conditions, sometimes no showers, living on a bus for weeks on end and endless partying. The boys got crazy and Tarja being a classy girl was not cut out for such heavy antics. The business end of politics is often behind some of the disappointments as album releases and tours are always postponed or cancelled. Even at this stage there was tension between Tarja and the rest of the members. Part of it was that a refined woman cannot put up with excess party antics of uncouth males and number two touring is very stressful.

Later on when Tarja would marry Marcello and he became her manager. He would not only advocate for her needs but also interfere with the band business. He torpedoed deals by asking for too much money. Tarja also began thinking that she was doing the bands a favor by singing for them. In a sense it got to her head a bit. Thanks to her and Marcello they would cancel gigs and wwhole legs of a tour. Tarja hated touring. They would go on to make Century's Childe and then "Once" the album Once really broke through for them and it seems that Tarja and Marcello were holding things back.

In the end the band let her go and in Finland it generated major controversy. The book ends off with Nightwish looking for a replacement. End of review. At the end of it all they got Annette Olzson who lasted for two albums and then left mid tour of Imaginarium. Now it seems Floor Jansen is with them. I hope they can hold on to this one.

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Dark Side of the Pagan Peter Pan

The Child Thief by Brom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great book! The man is both a talented writer and an artist.He also has done his research in the pagan past of Europe and the result is a superb novel. The telling is not Disney like at all but rather a turn into a darker side of Peter Pan. Of , course these days Peter Pan is getting a bad wrap cinematically speaking. He seems to be the bad guy now and Captain Hook is the good guy. This holds true for this novel as well.

The story starts off with a young girl shivering in her bed, fear stricken over the abuse her step father is about to give to her. Then a shadow appears to save the day. but not only does the shadow save the young girl, but he also kills the stepfather. Of course after such a heroic rescue how could any any damsel refuse.

Next comes the real beginning of the story. Young Nick is on the run from some drug dealer who are renting a room from his grandmother's house. Nick's life is deteriorating around him as result. He is subjected to abuse and humiliation that leads to a permanent scarring of his arm. In revenge he steals a bunch of the drug dealers drugs and flees. In central park the dealers friends catch up with him and once again Pan comes to the rescue. He beats the tar out of the bad guys and leads Nick through the mist where they are assaulted by sluach. On the way through Nick realizes that not everyone who has traveled through the mist was lucky enough to make it alive. Once they make it to Devil Tree and meet the "Devil"( instead of lost boys). Nick realizes that Pan is recruiting fighters for a war against Flesh Eater. The daily regime is of hunting and martial arts training. Within the Devils there is Sekou, a warrior woman, Leroy, who is a bully and ultimate bad guy who brings down the devils. Nick has got to learn to get along with these 'Devils" despite his misgivings and find a way off the island.

The flesh eater are really adult pilgrims who landed on the Island. The Island is not Never Never Land but rather the mystical island of Avalon made famous from the King Arthur tales. This island is the last refuge of the fae. It is home to all sorts of mystical creatures. If children come when they are small they remain the same and never age. Adults become deformed into greyish skin and black haired being. The magic of fae does not agree with them. They are burning down the forest and brings a scourge upon the island.

So Peter is acting as a recruiter for the Lady of the Lake to fight against the flesh eaters. Pan himself is half fairy and half human. He knows who is mother is but not his father. When his human family find out that he is fae they abandon him to die in the woods. It is in the woods that he is befriended by a woodland fairy who teaches him how to hunt and kill wolves. Peter also learns that humans can never be trusted. This lesson is driven home when he plays with some boys in the village. Once the adults spot him they chase him into the forest and kill his friend. In fleeing these vicious humans Peter ends up going through the mists to Avalon.

In Avalon a whole new set of troubles begins. Peter is at once favored by Modron the lady of the lake who minds the sacred apple tree. Ulfger an elvish demigod legitimate heir of the horned god who lead the battle against the Flesh Eaters and drove them off , is immediately antagonistic towards Peter. This leads Peter to being banished to devil wood.

In the end Peter tries to ally all the fae forces of the island and bring down the flesh eaters. Treachery prevails and many devil are caught and killed. An atmosphere of the witch hunt prevails which takes the story to the streets of New York. If you enjoy dark tales and stories that involve European Pagan elements then this story is for you.

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