Book Review: The Heart of the Initiate: Feri Lessons, Second Edition,by Victor and Cora Anderson

"How the heart of the initiate thrills when the antique mysteries are written of. She or he recognizes the same great truth expressing itself in many forms, yet as one thing." ~Victor Anderson in a letter to a student, The Heart of the Initiate, Pg. 42

I have desired to read the Heart of the Initiate for a long time, ever since Karina made reference to a quote from it on a list I'm on in response to a question I asked. But it was very limited print, I think 300 copies, just for the Feri community of the time, and while I know several people with copies, they all live far from me and I've never had an opportunity to visit and read it. I was very please a few months ago to see an announcement from Harpy Press that they were publishing a second edition of the book. I immediately pre-ordered it and waited in expectation for it to arrive. I was not disappointed.

For those unfamiliar with Victor and Cora, they were amazing people, and co-founders along with Gwydion of what would become the Feri Tradition (by whatever spelling). The book is a gift from them to the Feri community. It is an amazing resource for seeker, student, and initiate alike, though it is very obviously aimed at students. It addresses many misconceptions and misunderstandings, and provides many insights I have not found elsewhere, whether from initiates in the tradition or books and writings produced by it. It is a blessing that a second edition has been published for a wider distribution.

The book is a collection of essays and letters mostly previously written, collected into one volume. It is not a large volume, only 78 pages, but it contains more lore and insight than most books four times its size. The forward by Jim Schuette states that tge book is a Valentine from Victor and Cora to you (the reader). It contains two sections.

These sections are prefaced by an essay by Victor entitled Some Pictish Views on the Old Religion. The essay discusses what is and what is not Craft, and specifically what is and isn't Feri.

The first section is made up of essays, commentaries on the tradition and elements of it, some written by Victor, some by Cora. There are no dates on any of them, so they may have been written specifically for the book. There are ten commentaries in this section.

The second section is a collection of letters to specific students, two from Cora and three from Victor. They touch on many different subjects.

The letters are followed by a prayer by Victor, first published in Witchcraft Digest Magazine in 1972 entitled Prayer for Beginning the New Path, prefaced by a short essay entitled A Prayer for the Craft Neophyte explaining the prayer and Victor's purpose in publishing it. This prayer serves as a fitting conclusion to the book.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

Book Review - Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition...

Last week I read Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition by Cora Anderson.  It contain both more and less information than I expected.  It covered some subjects that I was surprised it covered, and left out some things that I thought would be there.  It was very well written, and I recommend it to anyone interested in Feri Witchcraft.  It's now available on the Kindle (that's how I read it).  I found the part about fairy creatures very interesting, and the part about the spheres.  Some of the book was the same material in Etheric Anatomy: The Three Selves and Astral Travel, but most of it was new to me.  Overall, the book gave me a better perspective on the Feri Tradition, explaining some things that I didn't understand or didn't know.  Her rants were amusing.  She writes in a very down to earth manner that's easy to connect to.  You can almost hear her speaking through her writing.  I greatly enjoyed the book.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

Book Reviews - Evolutionary Witchcraft, Kissing the Limitless, the Chicken Qabalah...

A while ago, I finished reading both Evolutionary Witchcraft and Kissing the Limitless by T. Thorne Coyle.  Until recently Thorn taught Feri Witchcraft.

Evolutionary Witchcraft is basically a primer on Feri Witchcraft with a bunch of things specific to Thorne thrown in.  None of the material was new to me (except the parts specific to Thorn), but it gave me a new perspective, because Thorne comes at the Feri material from a different angle than the other sources and teachers I've had interaction with.  The book is well written and would be a good book for anyone interested in Feri but not having access to a Teacher.  It is written to let the solo practitioner have access to the non-initiarary Feri teachings.

Kissing the Limitless is more of a guide to mysticism (primarily pagan mysticism) in general.  Thorne makes an effort to make the book accessible to people of many traditions, though much of it is coloured by a Feri perspective (I don't consider this a bad thing).  Though it needs better editing, this book is also well written.  I enjoyed it more than Evolutionary Witchcraft, mostly because it was more imagery and lore than a howto.  It has three sections, represented by the Star Goddess, the Divine Twins, and the Peacock God, thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.  The first section talks about the Nothingness of the creator, the Great Zero, and coming to know this Limitless.  The second section talks about the duality of the Divine Twins, and the duality in our lives.  The third section talks about the Twins coming back together to form the Peacock God, creature of Self and Beauty, and about us bringing our dualities back into oneness within us.  It was a great book.

Yesterday, I finished reading the Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo Duquette.  It is a good summary of Qabalah (Kabbalah) from a Ceremonial Magic and pagan point of view.  It covers the basics, but leaves out a lot of things that I find important.  I'll name a few, and some personal preferences of mine.  The talk of the souls leaves out the Yechidah (this lack is mentioned in the introduction), which is the highest part of the soul, the Divine Spark, the piece of the Divine within us, the upper part of the Yod (he includes the Chiah and relates it to the whole of the Yod instead of the lower part of the Yod).  I rather like the discussion of the Yechidah.  :-)  In the discussion of the Sepher Yetzirah, I thought he simplified it a little too much.  I liked the Ten Command-Rants.  In the discussion of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph-Beth) he used the Western layout of the Hebrew letters on the Tree (of course!  This is from a Ceremonial Magic point of view, and they use that layout.); I prefer the Hebrew layout.  I like having the three Mothers be the three horizontal paths, laid out so fire is at the top, the air, then water.  I like Heh being the first path, connecting Kether and Cohkmah, breath from breath, and Vev (And) connecting Kether to Binah, creating the duality with the And.  I like Daleth and Gimel, the poor man and the rich man chasing after the poor man to give to him, being opposite one another.  Over all, it was a good book and worth the read.  There were some very humorous parts, and some very enlightening parts.  I'm glad I read it.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

The DustBunnies/MarchHares Big Damn Handout Volume I, Third Revision... (Feri Book)

This is a book of handouts about the Feri Tradition.  It's in its third revision.  I read most of the second revision back a while back and was improved. It contains a lot more information.  It had some parts that I couldn't relate to, especially the parts about Hestia, but over all, it's a useful book for anyone interested in Feri.

http://www.lulu.com/content/hardcover-book/the-dustbunnies-big-damn-handout-book/3023755

FFF
~Muninn's Kiss

Etheric Anatomy...

I just finished reading Etheric Anatomy: the Three Selves and Astral Travel by Victor and Cora Anderson.  Victor and Cora were the founders of Feri Witchcraft.  It's a very good book, if a little strange.  I'm glad I read it.

The first section is Victor's description of the three souls.  The second section is Cora's description of the three souls, the Ha Prayer and Kala, and of out-of-body experiences.  The final section is Victor's description of Astral sex.  That is the strange part.

The book gives the most detailed description of the three souls that I've ever read, whether in Feri or in Kabbalah.  It's a great description and one everyone should read.

FFF
~Muninn's Kiss