Tag Archives: 2003

Images & Oracles of Austin Osman Spare

Images & Oracles of Austin Osman Spare by Kenneth Grant, the 2003 hardcover from Fulgur Limited, is part of the collection at the Reading Room. The only place that appears to have this still new in stock is JD Holmes, so the rare 1976 Weiser Books edition seems to have been joined in rareness by the 500 copies of the 2003 Fulgur reprint.

Kenneth Grant Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare from Fulgur Limited

“Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare concerns one of the most unusual artists of the twentieth century. Frequently compared with luminaries such as Aubrey Beardsley, Albrecht Dürer and William Blake, the eccentric genius Austin Osman Spare (1886–1956) was fêted as an Edwardian draughtsman of exceptional power and ability—but he quickly gained another reputation—that of a practising sorcerer.

His early relationship with an aged member of the Witch Cult influenced his entire life, leading him into the more obscure byways of the occult world. Such was his knowledge and ability that Aleister Crowley claimed him as a disciple, but Spare was not born to follow. He turned his back on worldly ambition—the ‘inferno of the normal’ as he called it—and devoted his remarkable gifts to trafficking with the denizens of other dimensions.

Spare’s highly individualistic system of sorcery is applicable to daily life. His magical deployment of art and sex in the service of self-realization may surprise or mystify, but for those who test his methods they will prove certain means of self-knowledge and consciousness expansion—doors opening on worlds of strange beauty.

Written by Kenneth Grant, Spare’s literary executor, Images and Oracles is here reprinted after nearly thirty years in response to an increasing interest in the artist and his philosophy. It contains a biographical essay that includes many personal recollections, a practical introduction to Spare’s unusual system of sorcery—and many excerpts from his final magical treatise: The Zoetic Grimoire of Zos.” — flap copy

Aristotle’s Children

Aristotle’s Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages by Richard E Rubenstein, a 2003 hardcover from Harcourt, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Richard E Rubenstein Aristotle's Children from Harcourt

“The astonishing story of revelation and transformation in the Middle Ages. When Aristotle’s lost works were translated and available once again, the medieval world was galvanized, the Church and the universities were forever changed, and the stage was set for the Renaissance.” — back cover


The Cult of Elvis

Fortean Times, Feb 2003 - The Cult of Elvis
Fortean Times, Feb 2003 – The Cult of Elvis, originally uploaded by John Bell.

 

“Why the King of Rock’n’Roll Died for Your Sins P42”

Elvis image credited to the First Church of Jesus Christ, Elvis

 

The Hermetic Library visual pool is a visual scavenger hunt for images of a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to submit your work for consideration as part of the visual pool, head over to the Hermetic Library visual pool or contact the librarian.

Gamaliel & Dance, Doll, Dance!

Gamaliel: The Diary of a Vampire & Dance, Doll, Dance by Kenneth Grant, the 2003 hardcover edition from Starfire Publishing, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Kenneth Grant's Gamaliel from Starfire Publishing

“The series of Nightside Narratives by Kenneth Grant continues with a further two tales. The first, Gamaliel: The Diary of a Vampire, presents the history of a woman, Vilma, who attempts to invoke unseen Intelligences but takes a wrong turn. She loses her way in the Gamaliel, the Qliphoth of Yesod, and eventually succumbs to vampiric possession. Her story unfolds as extracts from her Magical Diary, the editor of which makes a horrifying discovery as the Diary closes.

Dance, Doll, Dance! is an account of Tantric Sorcery. It centres upon the fatal emanations of an idol, bequeathed to the narrator of the tale. It becomes clear from a sinister pattern of events that the idol thrives on blood and sexual rites. The narrator is enmeshed in a nefarious web of intrigue and allure and his energies are vampirised, culminating in a cataclysmic sexual rite based on the Dakshina Kalika Yantra.

These two tales, like the others in this series, illumine the darkly obsessive forces that are erupting in our midst with all the violence of profound and massive psychoses. But, as demonstrated by these disturbing documents, it is possible to control such influences and to direct them towards the exploration of little-known and creatively fertile regions of consciousness.”

 

The Hermetic Library Reading Room is an imaginary and speculative future reification of the library in the physical world, a place to experience a cabinet of curiosities offering a confabulation of curation, context and community that engages, archives and encourages a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to contribute to the Hermetic Library Reading Room, consider supporting the library or contact the librarian.