Tag Archives: magical fraternity

A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema

A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema by Hermetic Library fellow Colin Campbell, the 2008 hardcover limited to 418 copies from Teitan Press, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Colin Campbell Richard Kaczynski A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema from Teitan Press

“‘The Holy Books of Thelema,’ is the collective name given to the group of inspired texts received by Aleister Crowley between the years 1904 and 1911. These texts lie at the very heart of the teachings of his magical fraternity, the A∴ A∴, and consequently have been the subject of intense study and commentary by Crowley himself, and also by many of his students.

A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema is an important new tool for those engaged in the study of these beautiful and enigmatic books. It comprises a survey of every word in these texts, along with a brief quotation to give the context in which each word is used, and the location in which it appears.

On the most basic level A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema serves as a convenient reference guide or index to the contents of The Holy Books. More importantly, it provides a level of access to the basic elements of the structure and composition of the texts that no conventional reading would afford. Key words and their frequencies of use become apparent, broader usage patterns are revealed, and the identification of particular phraseologies and idioms is simplified. The new paths of exploration that it opens for those with knowledge of the Kabbalah and Gematria are too numerous to list.

The Concordance includes an Introduction by the compiler, Colin D. Campbell, a student and teacher of the Thelemic, Kabbalistic, and Enochian magickal systems, and a Foreword by Crowley biographer and scholar, Dr. Richard Kaczynski.”

 

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.

The Brotherhood of Light and Darkness

The Brotherhood of Light and Darkness by Jason Augustus Newcomb, the 2007 hardcover from New Hermetics Press, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Jason Augustus Newcomb's The Brotherhood of Light and Darkness

“Alexander Sebastian is an armchair occult enthusiast who lack much direction in life, but his world is turned upside down when his police detective brother-in=law asks him to help identify some magical symbols scrawled at a gruesome, ritualistic homicide. The crime is so horrific that it almost seems the killer might be some sort of demonic creature.

Alex quickly becomes obsessed with the crime, wondering who could be practicing black magick right in his hometown of Arlington, Massachusetts. He decides to find out and is quickly drawn into the underground modern magick scene. He encounters a cast array of odd characters—an obese, narcissistic, drug peddling adept, a beautiful, coke-snorting, sex magick dominatrix, an insanely jealous Freemason who pontificates with a lisp, and many others. But is one of them a killer? Or is one of them a demonic conjurer?

To find out more, Alex joins the A∴R∴T∴, an international magical fraternity with a sinister reputation, discovering that the murder victim was a member of this group. He soon begins to have unusually vivid and peculiar dreams, and terrifying encounters with what appears to be the world of the supernatural. He can’t tell whether these experiences are magical attacks from the killer, or just the product of his overactive imagination. As he tried to separate fact from fiction, and find out who is responsible for murder, Alex also discovers the beginning of his personal spiritual journey into the world of magical awakening.

This story is drawn largely from Newcomb’s own personal experiences over the past twenty years actively participating in the modern magical community. It comes out of his real life encounters with secret magical fraternities and the unique, eccentric people that populate this sub-cultuer. Fans of Harry Potter or the DaVinci Code will discover what the world of magick and secret societies really looks like when you’re personally involved. It reveals the world of the unknown as it truly exists, with an insider’s view of the real world of Witches, Wizards, Rosicrucians and magical creatures.”

 

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.