The silence that enfolds something kept unsaid points to the unsayable. By being wrapped in silence, what is arcane (kept hidden) comes to participate in what is esoteric (by its nature inexpressible). The secret becomes a symbol of the mystery, participating in what it points to, by the way in which it points to it.
Earl King, Jr., Having and Keeping Secrets: Some Words About Silence and The Hermetic Art of Secrecy
Rather, what may seem to be mystification is a way of making that information symbolic because it is hidden. Because it is hidden, it cannot be explained. Because it cannot be said, it stands in for, or acts as a pointer to, the unsayable. We map the extra, tacit, inarticulable dimension into the ordinary realm by the use of secrets. Or: the secret is the diagonal that allows the third, inarticulate dimension to be mapped into the plane, the domain of words.
Earl King, Jr., Having and Keeping Secrets: Some Words About Silence and The Hermetic Art of Secrecy
A thing is not esoteric because it is secret or kept hidden. It is esoteric because its existence is in some sense unmanifest, private, and by its very nature not available for examination from the outside: it is only available to participation, not, ultimately, merely to examination. In other words, the realm of the esoteric is, before anything else, the realm of consciousness, of experience.
Earl King, Jr., Having and Keeping Secrets: Some Words About Silence and The Hermetic Art of Secrecy
Interested in writing for Hermetic Library? Now you can!
I am announcing an open and rolling call for you to pitch ideas for submissions to Hermetic Library’s blog, site, private publication for subscription Patrons, or, possibly-maybe-once-and-future, journal!
(If you want to post to the Hrmtc Underground BBS or submit something to the wild & wooly Zine instead, go ahead! There’s no formal submissions process for either of those. What I’m describing here is specifically for publishing to the blog, site, and/or journal.)
I recently created an online form which you can use to submit a pitch for your submission idea. I’d mentioned it in a couple of places, and have it linked on the website and in the sidebar of the library blog, but wanted to make sure I more formally announce it to you here.
You’re probably already familiar with the library and the blog, but if not you should be sure to get an idea of what the library is all about before making a pitch. Consider taking a gander at the submissions guidelines for the Anthology Journal for some general idea of what I thought submissions to that might have looked like. Now that I’m thinking about it, there’s also the contributors’ guidelines in the Caduceus archive you can consider as well.
But, once you’ve got an idea that you feel is right for the library audience, you’re ready to start. You should pitch your idea for a submission!
What happens next, you ask? What’s the process of moving from making a pitch, developing a submission, compensating you, and, finally, publishing your work for the public audience of the library to read? Well, I’m so excited you asked! Let me tell you!
The Pitch
When a pitch comes in, what I plan on doing is posting it to a private forum for my Patrons. I’ll do that to give them a chance to let me know what they think, and if they’re interested in reading the proposed submission. I’ll take their feedback into consideration on whether to accept or reject the pitch, and move forward with the idea as a submission.
If the pitch idea is not accepted, I’ll suggest whether or not to revise the submission for another try. Optionally, the author may consider posting the submission as topic for Discussion on the BBS.
If the pitch is accepted, then I’ll ask the author to submit the article, review or story for consideration.
The Submission
When a submission comes in, what I plan on doing is posting it to a private forum for my Patrons. I’ll do that to give them a chance to let me know what they think about the various merits of the submission. I’ll take their feedback into consideration on whether to accept or reject the pitch, and move forward with compensation for the author and then posting the submission to one of Hermetic Library’s projects.
If the submission is not accepted, I’ll suggest whether or not to revise the submission for another try. Optionally, the author may consider posting to their work as a topic for Discussion on the BBS, or submitting to the Hermetic Library Zine instead.
If the submission is accepted, I’ll move forward with compensating the author. Once I’ve successfully compensated the author for their work, I will then post the the article, review or story for the public to read one of the variety of places I publish.
Compensation
For submissions that are accepted for publication, I happily offer thanks. I’m also delighted to send you a gratis download code for any one of the released anthology albums.
For work accepted through this process, I am currently able to offer an honorarium of up to $50 per successful submission, supported by my generous Patrons.
For established reviewers, I am happy to see about getting a reviewer’s copy sent to you in advance.
Finally, if there’s something else you’ve got in mind, or an idea I’ve not mentioned, let me know!
Rights to Publish
As part of this submission process, creators affirmatively agree to non-exclusively release the information in their pitch for private sharing with those involved in the process in perpetuity.
If an eventual submission is accepted, authors and creators, of course, retain copyright on their work. They will merely affirmatively agree to release their submission non-exclusively for use by the library, granting rights to publicly present the work in perpetuity.
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, do get in touch. Also, if the process seems daunting or there’s some aspect of it that creates difficulty for you in some way, let me know so we can find a way forward that works better for you. Finally, if you’re thinking of something that doesn’t seem to fit what I’ve described here, get in touch and let me know what you’re thinking so we can figure out whether and how we can consider your cool out-of-the-box idea. Go ahead and use the form and fill out as much as you can and I’ll get back to you, or contact me directly.
Current contact information should always be up on Hermetic Library, so you can reach me via email or post.
I look forward to hearing from you, so pitch your idea today! (Besides, you read this far, right? You might as well follow through with a pitch too!)
Updated 5jan2019: Revised to better reflect the current process, and increased available honorarium. The most current information on this will be on the actual form to pitch an idea itself.
Clavis Journal, Vol 3: Cipher and Stone from Ouroboros Press and Three Hands Press, due in September, but available for pre-order, in standard and deluxe editions, may be of interest.
“At 216 pages, the new volume of Clavis features an outstanding grouping of authors and image-makers. Articles in this issue include ‘Our Lady Babalon and Her Cup of Fornications” by Gordan Djurdjevic, and esoteric astrologer Austin Coppock’s paean to dark and baneful starlight, “Death From Above”. Three adepts of the German magical order Fraternitas Saturni give voice to the magisterial arcanum of Saturn in the article ‘Listening to the Voice of Silence’. We are pleased to include ‘Rite of the Graal Evolute’, a previously unpublished ritual and art by the late English magus and scholar Andrew D. Chumbley. Gemma Gary invokes Bucca, the Cornish Witch-God in image, rite and magical exposition; Robert Hull examines the Qabalah of Quantum Physics in ‘Unity and Division’. Michael Howard explores the role of the first artificer of metal in ‘Masonic Mysteries of Tubal-Cain’, and Henrik Bogdan considers the esoteric role of Secrecy, the very flower of the Occult itself, in occult orders. In addition, we are also pleased to include rare occult texts relating to cheiromancy, witchcraft and the lore and magic of Mandragora – the Shrieking Root of the sorcerers.
CLAVIS 2 journal features haunting and provocative visuals from many contemporary artists imaging the esoteric: by Benjamin Vierling, Madeline von Foerster, Richard Kirk, Carolyn Hamilton-Giles, Tom Allen, Hagen von Tulien, Jamie Sweetman, Billy Davis, John Kleckner, Carlos Melgoza, Joseph Uccello, Raven Ebner, Brigid Marlin, Timo Ketola, Ilyas Phaizulline, José Luis Rodríguez Guerra, and many more.”
Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, No. 26, Vol. 3., Vernal Equinox 2014, is available and may be of interest.
Odin by J.S. Kupperman, cover art
“What can be said about the Gods that has not already been said or written? Humanity’s oldest surviving writings are about Gods and heroes. We haven’t stopped writing about them, telling stories about them, or otherwise being engaged with them, ever since. The presence of the Gods in magic and theurgy has been, until very recently, ubiquitous. And today, after the spread of monothesim for some 3,000 years, we begin to see a revival of old ways combined with new traditions dedicated to Gods that have sometimes not seen steady worship in hundreds of years.
This issue of the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition is dedicated to the eternal Gods, may they forever raise us to their presence!” [via]
Abraxas: Issue 5, edited by Christina Oakley Harrington and Robert Ansell, from Fulgur, is due to release on March 20th, 2014, in limited paperback and even more limited hardback editions, which includes many new works that will certainly be of interest, including a contribution by K Lenore Siner, who you may recogonize from her participation in the Hermetic Library visual pool.
“Abraxas Issue #5 offers 180 large format pages of essays, poetry, interviews and art.
Printed using state-of-the-art offset lithography to our usual high standard, contributions for Abraxas #5 include an interview by Pam Grossman with Greek artist, Panos Tsagaris; an analysis of Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas by Silvia Urbini, a visual interpretation of the Dionysian mysteries by Arrington de Dionyso; a substantial essay from Shasha Chaitow on the grandfather of esoteric art, Joséphin Péladan; an introduction to the art of Michael Bertiaux by Ariock Van de Voorde; reminiscences by Caroline Wise of her friend Olivia Robertson (1917-2013), and much more…
CONTENTS
Editorial, Christina Oakley Harrington
Olivia Robertson: A Visionary Life, Caroline Wise
A Brief History of the Use of Spirits in European Occultism, Stephanie Spoto
Mycology, Madeline Cass
De Vermis in Se, Max Razdow
John Augustus Knapp: Modern Master of Occult Illustration, Ken Henson
Marrasio’s Masque, translation by Merlin Cox, illustrated by Gromyko Semper
Black and White & Gold All Over: An Interview with Panos Tsagaris, Pam Grossman
Musings on Breath, David Blank
The (Not Entirely) Lost ‘Art of the Apothecary’: Abramelin Oil and Ancient Perfumery, Ioannis Marathakis
Blind Love, K Lenore Siner
Victor Brauner at the Crossroads of Magic and Chance, Jon Graham
La Villa dei Misteri, Arrington de Dionyso
Esoteric City: Theological Hermeneutics in Plato’s Republic, Edward Butler, with photography by SF Said
Sonnet, Comte de Saint-Germain, translated by Sebastian Hayes
Nihilalia: In conversation with Bea Kwan Lim, Randall Morris
A Brief History of Witchcraft: Inquisitors & Witches, Ian Pyper
Games of Fate: Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne, Plate 23a, Silvia Urbini
Oversoul, Joanna Pallaris
Hidden in Plain Sight: Joséphin Péladan’s Religion of Art, Sasha Chaitow
Bené-Satan, Sasha Chaitow
Isis and Taweret with tomb of Hafiz, Adela Leibowitz
Meeting Le Maître: An Introduction to the Art of Michael Bertiaux, Ariock Van de Voorde
Antinous and Glykon: The Gods of Good Hair in Late Antique Anatolia, P. Sufenas Virius Lupus” [via]
“Graeco-Egyptian Alchemy in Byzantium” is a paper by Michèle Mertens which may be of interest [HT David Pecotic]. You can gander at this short paper via the University of Liége’s Open Access portal. But this is an excerpt from The Occult Sciences in Byzantium edited by Paul Magdalino and Maria Mavroud, which full volume may be of further interest. Joel T Walker reviews the entire volume in Aestimatio 5 if you want a survey of the papers within the book, and there is a limited preview via Google Books as well.
“The main concern of this paper will be with the problems raised by the reception of ancient alchemy in Byzantium. After a brief introduction, I will start from the study of a pre-Byzantine author, Zosimos of Panopolis, and deal with the following questions: How, from a purely material viewpoint, were Zosimos’ writings handed down during the Byzantine period? Did Byzantine alchemists have access to his works and did they resort to them? Was Zosimos known outside the alchemical Corpus; in other words, did Graeco-Egyptian alchemists exert any kind of influence outside strictly alchemical circles? When and how was the alchemical Corpus put together? In a more general way, what evidence do we have, whether in the Corpus itself or in non-alchemical literature, that alchemy was practised in Byzantium? Answers (or at least partial answers) to these questions should help us to understand and define to some extent the place held by the ‘sacred art’ in Byzantium.
It is now universally accepted that alchemy came into being in Graeco-Roman Egypt around the beginning of our era and that it originated from the combination of several factors, the most remarkable of which are (1) the practices of Egyptian goldsmiths and workers in metals who experimented with alloys and knew how to dye metals in order to simulate gold; (2) the theory about the fundamental unity of matter, according to which all substances are composed of a primitive matter and owe their specific differences to the presence of different qualities imposed upon this matter; (3) the idea that the aim of any technique must be the mimesis of nature; (4) the doctrine of universal sympathy, which held that all elements of the cosmos are connected by occult links of sympathy and antipathy which explain all the combinations and separations of the bodies. The encounter of these different trends of thought brought about the idea that transmutation ought to be possible, all the more so with the addition of mystical daydreams influenced by gnostic and hermetic currents and favoured by the decline of Greek rationalism.” (205-206)
“Before 500 A.D., alchemy appears to be a rather marginal activity, as suggested by the absence of evidence outside the alchemical Corpus. In the sixth century, references to alchemy become increasingly numerous in Byzantine literature, but some suspicion can be perceived with regard to the sacred art, a suspicion reinforced by the schemes of swindlers. From the seventh century onwards, alchemy seems to have been perfectly well integrated into the official learning, judging by the vogue it apparently enjoyed under Heraclius. The evidence of the Marcianus (10th or 11th c.), the sumptuous decoration of which suggests that it must have been made for a high-ranking person, points in the same direction.” (228)
Silk Milk Spool #4, with the theme “Alchemy & Hermaphordites”, the 2010 issue from Oryelle Defenestrate-Bascule’s Inspiralink Mulimedia Press, with 70 contributors and a companion DVD, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.
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.
Abraxas Issue 1 [also], International Journal of Esoteric Studies, the Autumn Equinox 2009 standard issue from Fulgur, is part of the collection at the Reading Room. It appears, as of this writing, there is at least one copy of this still available through J D Holmes.
This was the inaugural issue for this new journal, and had contributions from Daniel A Schulke, Stephen Grasso, Stuart Inman, Francesco Parisi, Edward Gauntlett, James Butler, Sarah Penicka-Smith, Zachary Cox, Allyson Shaw, John Callow, Ellie Hughes, Phil Hine, Naagrom, Rebecca Beattie Stephen J Clarke, Lily Moss, Roberto Migliussi, Dolorosa, and Aleister Crowley.
“Nearly twelve years ago, while reading the typescripts for Zos Speaks! I found myself absorbed by plans between Austin Spare and Kenneth Grant to launch an esoteric magazine in the early 1950s. It was to be ‘essentially a coterie of adepts’ affirmed Spare, and ‘a work of art as a production’ with ‘the best typography and reproduction of drawings.’ This seemed to me such an excellent proposition that it was easy to become inspired, but the practical challenges against starting such a lavish venture in the late 1990s were daunting.” — Robert Ansell [via]
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.