The Ravener

The Ravener & Others: Six John Dee & Edward Kelley Occult Mysteries by Donald Tyson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Normally I am not one for fiction much less detective stories where crimes are solved. But when I heard that Donald Tyson wrote 6 short story mysteries that was published by Avalonia I knew I had to buy it and read it. I have no regrets. The stories have a lot going for them. They are easy to read, creative and downright enjoyable. I advise everyone to buy this book.

This is also the first book written by Donald Tyson for Avalonia publications. Normally he writes books on Western Magic and he is considered a foremost expert on the subject. Some of the subjects he has written about are Demonology,Enochian Vision Magic and Cthullhu mythos. By the way this is the first book by Donald Tyson that I have read.

The stories center on two main characters who were in fact real people. So this could be called “Historical Fiction” John Dee was Queen Elizabeth’s court astrology and conjurer. She relied upon John Dee for a good many things. Edward Kelly was John Dee’s Clairvoyant. Kelly was the one who could see the spirits and communicate with them. This team came up with the Enochian language and alphabet which is used widely by magickians to this this day.

The six stories are detective stories these two solve mysteries, sometimes with the help of spirits. Mind you Edward Kelley does not like working with spirits as he feels they do not always have our best interests at heart. Spirits are not exactly cooperative either. Some of the crimes they solve involve a woman acting raving mad in reaction to a family curse. One of the forefather who was a trader from England massacred an entire African village. Another story involves the murder a a wealthy farmers son. He is a sacrifice to being from the Cthulllhu mythos. Mention is made of the book “Al Azif” and the Sorcerer “Al Hazared” They solve haunting, ghostly murders , find stolen scrying stones. In one story Edward Kelly raises the dead and his witchy mother in law gives him a “familiar “gift. The gift is something that comes in handy but at the same time it is something that Edward Kelly dreads.

The last story “The Ravener” is not about birds and to be quite honest would be a perfect story line and setting for a horror move or a Predator movie. Needless to say the queen and her hunting party get trapped in some forbidden woods and have an encounter with some very small people and their guardian beast. I won’t divulge anymore details you will have to read the book yourself.


View all my reviews

Norse Shaminism

Seidr: The Gate Is Open by Katie Gerrard

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Avalonia Publication have went and did it again. They produced a fine masterpiece on shamanistic practices of the Norse. Katie Gerrard has spent at least a decade developing her technique and methodology to enter into the other world. She has tried what she has written about in her own group and she has also learned from other groups as well. Katie is very knowledgeable of Shamanistic method and it shows in this definitive text. The book is steeped with references to old texts and sagas of the norse. If the Norse or Shamanism is your thing then this a great book to get.

Contained in the book are rituals written down step by step. Included in these steps are cleansing the area, casting your protective barrier, techniques for raising energy (chants, dancing etc) When to make offering and when to close the ritual and evaluate. Most of the rituals are geared toward the group but they can be modified for both smaller groups and individual practice. But be forewarned going deep into a trance and traveling to Aesir or Helheim alone with out experience and training may be dangerous.

For a group of people there is the master of ceremonies, the person running the ritual. Maybe 1-2 people acting as channels to receive the message of the deities. When contact is made people should ask questions of the deities and they will get an answer that they hopefully will understand. Around the group there are maybe 4-5 overseers depending on the groups size. They make sure that everyone is doing ok. Sometimes if someone goes to deep it will be their job to revive them.

In addition to rituals the book covers some techniques on shape shifting which involves shaping the Hugr into a certain shape to perform a task. The definition of a Seidr seem rather muddled or obscure. To some it means prophesying while to others it was sorcery. Seidr workers have used their magic in the Sagas to create storms, confuse their opponents and to due astral battle. Seidr working was by and large thought to be unmanly as men were supposed to be drawn to combat. It was supposed to be a woman's thing but there are instances of men doing Seidr. It should be noted that men did use rune craft and Galdr.

Ancient Norse Shamanistic techniques in addition to indigenous techniques that developed learned from the Sami and Lapp people from Finland. Such techniques as the raised platform etc are parallel. They may have also learned some techniques from the ancient Greeks with one exception. In the Greek world a male would interpret the results of the female prophecy in the Norse world the women were allowed to speak directly.
Much of the Ancient practices are lost so modern Seidr worker are piecing things together.

Inspiration for modern Sedr reconstruction comes from an examination of Sami, Lapp and Siberian Shamans. Michael Harner who developed a universal Shamanism is used quite extensively as well.Lastly voodoo techniques are culled as well. The author gives manyb rituals that not only involve traveling to other realms and shape shifting but also rituals for connecting with ancestors and possession. The rituals do not have to be followed rigidly in fact the author urges the reader to tweek things as needed. Over all excellent book.




View all my reviews

Pagan Prayer...All Hail the Gods

A Pagan Ritual Prayer Book by Ceisiwr Serith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This little red book is an excellent book, especially if you are new to Neo-Paganism. I shall say that the book is very powerful and it changed me on a couple of levels, but this is not the time or place to get into that. Kind of got to think what is more powerful life changing tool prayer or magic? I am tending to think prayer because the Gods are way more powerful then we are.

The book has prayers to a variety of deities from a variety of pantheons. Most of the concentration seems to be on Greek Deities and Celtic Deities. There is a fair number of prayers dedicated to some Egyptian Deities but they missed my favorite of all, Bastet. There were a few thrown in the mix for Marduk and Inanna for good measure. Nothing was really dedicated to Canaanite Gods and Goddesses. Kind of a bummer I would like to see them represented as well. To be fair though prayers to Aphrodite, Haphestus and the Storm God could be modified for Ashera, Baal and Astarte. But hey no problem most Neo-Pagans are down with the Norse, Celtic and Greco-Roman Deities which this book has plenty of. Beside deities there are also prayers to the various land, air, water, home and other spirits. Heck there are even prayers to the ancestors. I hope I did not leave anybody out.

What makes it great is that it gives the reader a structure for creating a ritual. Most pagan will know the cleansing, calling quarters and casting the circle. There are also specific prayers for the Sabbats. There are prayers thanking the deities for the food , asking for what we need. Just about every area is covered. Before I go I must mention that at the books beginning it tells how to write a prayer. It gives the bare bones skeleton, poetics schemes, rhyme schemes. Making a prayer nice and pretty is important never mind about that coming from the heart stuff these are the Gods we are talking about, Make it nice. This book get five stars out of five.




View all my reviews

The Spiral Dance

The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess by Starhawk

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book by far is the most influential book on Witchcraft to date. I would venture that every Pagan has a copy. Which is one reason why I hesitated to read it. It is highly feminist which was something I was not looking for. History and archaeology show that most of man's history was patriarchal. Man was in charge, he wanted to control the womb thus control the future. I must say that there were matriarchal societies in the Mediterranean. This was not the norm for all over the world. Her first chapter gives over a history that most society with exceptions with matriarchal and worshiped the goddess.After all she was the one who gave birth. The earth or the womb of the planet was where we returned to when we died in order to be reborn. She basically recycles or restates Margarette Murry's thesis albeit with simpler words. Her mythos, which she readily states is just that mythos meant to convey a truth. It is not fact per se. This too me is a strong point in the book. The use of mythos used as a tool to get the witch into a proper frame of mind.

According to Starhawk and Murray, life in Europe and all over the world was matriarchal. Everything was peaceful and fine with absolutely no violence. Men hunted and magic was discovered by dancing in circle and visualizing success in the hunt, as drawn by pictures in caves. This gave the hunters better success. As humankind grew older they domesticated animals and became farmer. Their rituals became agricultural and fertility oriented. They developed rituals for the solstices and equinoxes. Then came the Indoeuropean invaders from the east. As they stormed across Europe they brought with them a militaristic way of life and worship of male warlike gods. The original inhabitants fled to the hills and stayed hidden. They would have their rituals in secret. In time there would be some intermarriage between the conquerors and the conquered. The conquered people became known as faeries or Pixies after the people name thee Picts.

A complimentary mythos which I have never seen written anywhere else before was penned by Starhawk. Miria the star goddess is the primal creator she sees her reflection and falls in love with it and decides to create an other. The others starts out close and then slowly moves away. First he is the God of the hunt and then god of the crops. His intention is to reunite with the stargoddess. Miria has many connections. Marian is the sea goddess in Robert grave's work " White Goddess" There are a few other connections as well.

Leaving aside the myths and pseudo history this book has some great practical information for the beginning witch or magician. There are a gazillion exercises for both covens and solitaries to use. The range is from meditation, trancework, rituals, spells and group bonding exercises. These alone make the book very valuable to the beginner. Starhawk also traces her own development she started of like most of us reading books and doing it from there. She formed her own group , The Compost Coven. As leader she really got into the leadership role and sort of hogged it all. But she learned and grew out of it. She then went on to learn the Feri tradition from Victor and Cora Andersen. This is her primary model of spirituality. Starhawk would later found the Reclaiming movement.

There are several views of magic. Several magicians put forward the view that magic is causing a change in reality in accordance with ones will. Dion Fortune posited that magic is altering consciousness at will. Starhawk subscribes to Dion Fortune's view of magic. In the spell section and through out the book she gives techniques on raising energy and directing towards a magical goal. She gives techniques on making poppets and how to charge them. Starhawk is realistic about what magic can do. It will will not work miracles for you. Magic has limitations. Limitations are based on how much energy is required to reach a goal. Other energy currents which may hinder the reaching of a goal. Magic used as a transformation agent which forces our evolution seems to be the most realistic and effective magic.

Witchcraft is also about making things work for you. Tweeking it to meet your individual and group needs. Practical down to Earth leaving no room for a central or absolute authority to come in and tell you how to do things. Most witches work in covens or circles. These small groups are intimate, cozy, nourishing and involved. Witchcraft is not a passive religion. Gaining access to the divine is based on reaching states of ecstasy to alter your consciousness. Speaking of the mind Starhawk uses a modified Freudian/Jungian view of things. There is the Talking Mind which is our everyday conscious, the younger mind or our unconscious and Deep mind which functions as our higher self or connection to the divine. Accessing the deep mind via the unconscious mind is what magic is about.

The view of witchcraft is one of a transformational model. We transform our selves, our environment and our world.Starhawk is a staunch feminist and environmentalist. She uses her magic to change the situation. This comes through as she traces through the autobiographical elements of her life. The beginning witch or just the casual reader should enjoy reading this book. If you wish to go further I would advise reading the back and delve into the bibliography and suggested reading.




View all my reviews

Big Blue Book

Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have read count less Wicca 101 books, yet no one should pass through their basic Wicca education without having read Raymond Buckland's classic. Originally written back in 1986 this book foresees the needs of many beginner Wiccans more adequately then what is being cranked out today. Some of his info is dated and there are more complete instructions else in other beginners books of this magnitude but I still learned a lot.

Raymond Buckland was trained and initiated in Britain by Gerald Gardner himself and then he brought it over to the states. He quotes the standard line that it was the God and Goddess who created the planet and it's inhabitants. All goddess names are just label for the goddess herself in her many different aspects. Same goes for the god. Behind the Goddess and God is the concept of the all that is, an unnameable and unidentifiable source of everything. Buckland aptly states that the paradigm of the God and Goddess are ways of seeing the reality and cosmos and that other ways of viewing reality are just as valid. He does believe that the ancients in one form or another believed in a Goddess/God concept. Some examples would be found in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the European religions. But he is also respectful enough of different beliefs to state that there were differences to this as well.

The year is divided into two parts. The Spring and summer are belonging to the goddess and are dedicated to harvesting and crops. The Winter when the crops no longer grow and the animals hibernate belongs to the horned God. Funny I also thought the reverse. But hey Wicca has no central authority and is thus open to much interpretation and reinterpretation. buckland does not maintain that Wicca was around in it's present form many millenia ago but he does subscribe to concepts being present.

The book is thorough and I learned a lot. Of course there is the usual on circle casting, calling quarters and the well outlined rituals that are well scripted out and this includes not only the sabbats but also new and full moon rites. The book includes tons of information on divination, herbs, channeling, secret alphabets and magic. These lessons alone can be taken by the non wiccan and/or non witch and used independently. The book also gives different traditions of Wicca which allows the newbie to choose which to go to or at least peruse the options. Great adanvatage You do not have to be a witch too practice magic. Such people are called magicians.

The book has some drawbacks, however. Raymond Buckland has a habit of quoting, well of course, Raymond Buckland. Peppered quite profusely through out the book are quotes and sayings from his other works which he published. I would say he is a bit full of himself. He also pulls from some of his other paradigms which he call Seax Wicca and uses that as gospel. Seax Wicca is something that Raymond himself has to admit he came up with himself. Some of the instructions on Talismans, especially the seals of Solomon could benefit from more thorough instructions. I have read other magic books that I would consult for this matter. Another drawbacks and this would depend on your point of view are the couple of pictures that show nudity, especially included in the initiation section. Definitely not suitable for children or teens. If you are a parent with children you might not want to leave this lying around.

Other than that great book.




View all my reviews

The Book Dwarves

Root, Stone and Bone: Honoring Andvari and the Vaettir of Money by Galina Krasskova

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I have enjoyed previous works written by Galina Krasskova immensely. I might have enjoyed this one a little bit more had it been cheaper or longer. If I pay $16.00 for a book it should be at least 150 pages or longer. If it is 57 pages worth or reading material then it should bee priced at no more than $10. That being said there is not a whole lot of information about Andvari. There might be on or two references to him in surviving Norse Lore. What follows is mostly unverified personal gnosis of interactions between andvari and those who work with him. I have nothing against UPG's but hey if you are going to right a book get more experiences down. Or if there is not enough material on one dwarf then gather information on several other living being in Norse lore and write about them.



Andvari is a dwarf, of the race Duegar, which may not be human friendly but Andvari is human friendly. He lives beneath a mountain mining ore and making exquisite jewelery. The only story that he is mentioned in involves Loki the trickster God. Loki apparently steals from Andvari and Andvari does not so much as utter a complaint. He does warn Loki that the ring is cursed. I guess Loki did not listen. Loki was also involved with being the God Father top Narvi, Andvari's son. In an alternate telling Loki, a jotun, is seeking a nice wedding gift for Sygyn, foster daughter of Njord the sea god. He gets a ring and nice Jewelry after acting as the dwarf's wife a for a bit. They have children together.



Andvari is a dwarf yet some of the dedications to him call him a god. I never knew that a dwarf could be a god. I guess I have a bit to learn. Andvari is all about owning up to what is your your whether it be personal difficulties or issues. Andvari is also about earning money justly and spending it appropriately and not wasting it. Andvari is anti hoarding. This little known dwarf also wants you to put in quality performance on your job and earn your money rightly.



The book which is a smaller than most magazines would have benefitted from more personal stories. Out side of that it was concise information that readily got the point across. There are some great references in the back. Due to shortness of content I would not advise buying this book.





View all my reviews

The Octavo : Grimoire of the Round World

The Octavo: A Sorcerer-Scientist's Grimoire by Peter J. Carroll

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ever world has a secret grimoire that contains the magical secrets of the world. For the Disc world, Terry Pratchett’s creation, that Grimoire is called the Octavo. Thus far Earth’s or should I say roundworld’s grimoire is yet to be be discovered. In Discworld it is buried and guarded. Roundworld’s Grimoire has only been revealed in fractured or fragmented form.

Roundworld is much different from Discworld in many ways. To name but a few, Discworld rests on the back of a turtle and is supported by 4 elephants. The Roundworld is of course a round sphere but more on that later. In Discworld the speed of light is slower and there is less causality. That makes magic more effective and more relied upon. What follows is a definite scientific grimoire that is loaded with mathematical and scientific equations along with rituals of Chaos magic.

Chaos magic is hard to define. You have to read up on it. Every Chaos magian will have a different definition of what Chaos magic is. Peter J. Carrol is a foremost Chaos magician.
His view of the universe and the gods is clear concise and understandable. The physics and science part went way over my head. I think on a deeper level the two are interconnected. I tend to think that most magicians are not too mathematically minded.

I managed to jot down a few notes, perhaps several. The first chapter dealt with the developement of magic and the mental mapping of the world. The first map was the Shamanistic and it was no more than the sky above perhaps no deeper than the first few feet of Earth. Their vision went perhaps to the next valley over. Their magic which affected the crops was simple yet effective.

The Greco Pagans had better maps ones that we would call psychology. It was a map of the inner realms or the mind. They had their mystery schools and developed and grew along with the agricultural stuff. But too many schools of thought were hard to manage so in the age of empires came about monotheism. This allowed the physical map to expand at the expense of the psychological map. Everything was monochrome good and evil. The fourth era was atheism.. This gave us a map of an awesome universe. Believing in Gods or a God became more and more difficult. The fifth era a burgeoning of magical thought divorced from religion.

Our universe is made up of three level. The first level is the microcosm which is obvious. The next is the Midocosm which is our level of things and lastly the macrocosm which is the heavens above. Our previous maps of the universe and its creation were wholly inaccurate. It is neither, flat, round or ever expanding. Rather it is in the shape of a hyper sphere. The entire universe is made up of hyperspheres that are spinning. Some in the same direction and some in the opposite. The ones that spin in the opposite direction manage to cling together. The book contains eight spells.
The author includes Chaos versions of banishing rituals and it’s view of the Gods. by the way it may be of interest to note that the author poses forward that the Gods are all imaginary but are effective tools for magic. The universe contains certain amount of randomness that can be alter and manipulated. Don’t expect miracles magic takes time on round world. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is the appendix which tells how to invoke different imaginary deities in the enochian and other languages. Enjoy the Chaos it is liberating.




View all my reviews