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: The Star Crossed Serpent II: The Clan of Tubal Cain: The Legecy Continues: Shani Oates (1998-Present)

I have been reading The Star Crossed Serpent II by Shani Oates over the last month or so and just finished it. I wasn't sure whet to expect as far as form or content, as I haven't yet gotten or read Volume I. If it's anything like this one, I need to order a copy soon.

I received my copy of TSCSII on July 20th (2012) and opened it immediately, reading through the table of contents and reading the introduction and first essay during lunch that day. The book is a collection of ten essays, with an introduction by W Wagner and an epilogue by Robin the Dart. All ten essays relate to different subjects pertinant to the Clan of Tubal Cain, and relate Shani's understanding and view on the subjects. The essays are well written, and, while not forming a direct narrative or argument as a collection, inter relate and provide a very interesting and thought provoking tapestry of subjects and ideas. I started the book July 20th and finished it August 28th. Well worth the read, and not a book to read in one sitting. I recommend trying to read each essay in one sitting and allowing time to mill them over before moving to the next. There were things in the essays I swould stand up and shout amen to, and things I thought, well, I completely disagree with that, but, agree or disagree, relate to or not relate to, I was glad I read each essay and they gave me much to think about.

The introduction is entitled The Ring Troth of Cain and is a dialogue by W Wagner between Odhin and Thor concerning Cain, Thor cursing him and Odhin blessing him in response.

The ten essays follow it.

1) The first essay about the Archer's Song, I had already read in the Cauldron previously, so nothing new there. It was a pleasure to reread, however.

2) A lot of interesting tidbits in Brimstone and Treacle. The abject and advesarial distinctions, roles, and themes throughout essay were very thought provoking. The Sussux graveyard and church discussion with the North was very interesting, of what we call Potter's field, the north end, being the Devil's own, and of the Devil entering the church through the north door. The discussion of the Devil through time was bringing to mind Russell (he's a good friend of my Medeival History professor) and so was delighted to find a quote from him in the text. He's a favourite author of mine. The distinction between "witches" swearing allegiance to the Devil and cunningmen calling on the Trinity to force the Devil to serve, to do similar things was very interesting. And her closing paragraph leaves you thinking, how do I view things?

One thing in particular stood out:

"Valiente shares with us her local knowledge of eccentric customs, particularly of the speculatory aboriginal race of small dark forest dwellers frequently associated with Ashdown Forest and Romany activity until well into the 19th century and whose 'clanish' behaviour (in the sense of closed families) was treated with fear and suspicion." ~The Star Crossed Serpent II, pg. 30

Reading that and the following sentences and paragraphs, I could not help but think of Victor Anderson, (Grand Master of Feri for anyone unfamiliar with the name), and his "small dark people", who he described as the original practicers of the Feri (or Faery or Fairy) faith and Pictish Witchcraft (which Victor used to describe what he practiced and taught, which became Feri), and said he was directly descended from. He, himself, was quite small and dark complected. These "small dark people" are a foundational "myth" of Feri that has been criticised along with Murray's work. Yet we find it here in local folklore.

By far, I think this was my favourite essay, and I think the best in the book, though The Poisoned Chalice is the best written.

3) A lot of interesting material in Faith of the Wise, some new to me, some familiar. It shows an evolution of belief and practice in Cochrane that isn't evident in just the letters and articles, while pulling all of those in, giving them context. Very good and thought provoking essay.

4) The Stang was a very interesting essay investigating the Stanton and the World Tree, and trees and poles related to the feminine rather than phalic. I found how Shani related the God on the Tree with Shiva and his Shakti. Very interesting chapter, and the best after Treacle and Brimstone. The one part I did disagree with was Shani's assertion that Chokmah in the Tree of Life is feminine and Binah is masculine in relation to each other.

5) The Fourth Nail was an interesting essay. I expected it to relate to the ever heated nail in Romani legend, but it was a different idea entirely, though I can relate it to that legend. The chapter discusses the three faces of Hecate, and of Fate, and the fourth hidden face, the three nails of space and the fourth nail, time. Much more focused on science than the previous essays, the essay makes parallels between science, myth, and Clan of Tubal Cain lore. Cert interesting chapter indeed.

6) Dark Aegipan and Pale Leukothea investigates Pan as All, and as light and dark Twins, and the transition of Pan from All to a fool-like character in late folk lore. With my interest in Pan over the last year and my Feri background, it was a very enjoyable chapter to read, hitting on some points I've been looking at, and bringing my attention to others I hadn't previously seen. Very well written and very thought provoking. Definitely one of my favourites in the book.

7) Cain and Craft Diversity discusses the constellations known as Bootes (the Ploughman) and the Plough (Ursa Minor) which Shani relates as Cain, connecting the Cain legends to the progress of the constellation through the sky, and how it relates to Clan of Tubal Cain lore. another interesting essay.

8) Cain, Clanship and the Egregore digs much more deeply into the Clan of Tubal Cain, looking primarily at what clanship and suzerainty mean, both in history and in the Clan itself, and why the craft has been and is a threat to the established order based on sovereignty instead of suzerainty.

9) Patterns of Transformation: the Alchemy of Being is a discussion of alchemy in relation to spiritual progression. I honestly don't know what to say about this essay. It feels more like notes and brainstorming to me than an essay, though that could just be how it feels to me. I couldn't follow it the way I did the others. Interesting information and connections in it, though. The one place I questioned it was Shani's placement of earth, air, water, fire connected to the four worlds in Kabbalah, whereas my teaching and exerience has all four in the first world, and water (mem), then air (aleph), then fire (shin).

10) The Poison Chalice was a good ending essay for the book, I think. Not a summary or conclusion per se, but a good way to conclude a well crafted collection of essays. I'm not quite sure whet to say about the essay. While I like some of the other essays better because of content and where they took me, this was by far the best written and best crafted. It's a work of art honestly. It deals with the Graal, in progression to a chalise containing the sacrement, and on to a poisoned chalice, the cup that Fate presents. It discusses the mysteries both from the ascetic denial and the escatic indulgence side, showing the goal of both for the mystic, coming back around to the philosopher's stone of the alchemy chapter, and showing the poisoned chalice as the goal of all the proceeding essays. I think the beauty and power, the things that spoke the most to me, were in whet wasn't said, in where I was led beyond the words and beyond the pages.

The book ended with an epilogue by Robin the Dart discussing the witch 'Law' Cochrane outlined. This epilogue forms a context for the essays in the book, an afterthought that creates a framework to look back at the essays.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

Book Review: Mysticism: Initiation and Dream by Andrew D. Chumbley

"Dreams are journeys, explorations of the interior infinite, starry heavens within.  Dark mysteries, exquisite and dreadful, await penetration.  Going to sleep is a new awakening..." ~Siegel, 1980

Most of my experience with Chumbley's writing has been his more veiled works, the ritual poetry of Azoetia, and the mystic poetry of Qutub.  When I first picked up these volumes, it was gibberish.  I read them and read them and got nothing out of them  I decided they were fine for Cultus Sabbati but meaningless to those not initiated in the tradition.  I  put them aside and went to other books.  A few years later, with more experience with several streams and more knowledge, I picked them back up, and very little didn't make perfect sense to me.  I had just been missing a few Keys the first time around.  But, Keys or no Keys, understanding or no understanding, Azoetia and Qutub are completely different beasts from Chumbley's essays that are found in Mysticism: Initiation and Dream.

For those unfamiliar with Chumbley, he was born in 1967 in England, and only lived to be 37.  He was an initiate into a form of Essex and Welsh witchcraft, and was the Magister of Cultus Sabbati, a collection of several traditions that came together for mutual benefit, and was involved in several non-witchcraft traditions.  He was pursuing a doctorate in religion focusing on dream incubation rituals at the time of his death.  Only a small portion of his writings have been publicly published.

This book, Mysticism: Initiation and Dream, is a set of some of his undergraduate essays that laid the foundation for his doctorate work, and reveals a fair amount about his practice that can be applied to any esoteric tradition regardless of origin.  It is masterfully written, in scholastic language, not in the symbolic and veiled language of Azoetia and Qutub.  While some words and terms might be difficult for some readers, the grammar and feel is very accessible to most readers.  It was worth the money and the time to read it.

The book is published by Three Hands Press in the UK, and is the first of three such volumes of Chumbley's essays on the subject(s).  I purchased the book through J.D. Holmes, a North American distributer for Three Hands Press.  He was a pleasure to order from, communicated personally with me about the order, and was quick to answer my questions.  I purchased it for $56.95, plus shipping, which is very reasonable for books by Chumbley, though a bit expensive for a book only 51 pages long.  But those 51 pages were packed with far more than you've get from most books five times its length and it was well worth the money.

The book consists of five essays, the fifth being the conclusion based on the other four.  These are, The Universality of the Dream, Preliminary Thoughts and Methodology, Dream Reification, Oneiric Rarefaction, and Conclusion.  At the end is a bibliography of cited works, containing a four and a half page list of fifty-four books he cited in the essays.  These books are from very diverse sources, in several languages, and about traditions and writings in many parts of the world.  They would be a joy to collect and read themselves.  This being a scholarly work written in a university setting, the large number of reputable sources isn't much of a surprise, but compared to many occult and witchcraft books, that many sources for 36 pages of text is impressive.

"We all dream; it is a mystery in which all humankind participates.  I realize this is an assumption, but it is one that I have no qualms in asserting as fact: the dream is an experiential universal for humanity." ~Andrew D. Chumbley, Mysticism: Initiation and Dream, Pg. 11

In the first essay, The Universality of the Dream, the Particularity of Interpretation, Chumbley looks at exactly that, that dreams are common to all people, so the mysteries they impart aren't limited to a group or tradition, they are available to all people.  He proposes that dreams possess secrets that spawn all religions and traditions.  This short essay is an introduction to the subject of the book.

"We might say that the dream tranforms the dreamer; that it possesses the ability to 'initiate', to bestow new meaning, to motivate new beginnings (Latin: initium - beginning), to permit our entrance (literally 'en-trance'; Latin: inire init - to go in) to new orders of relation between ourselves and the 'other'." ~Andrew D. Chumbley, Mysticism: Initiation and Dream, Pg. 13

In the second essay, Considerations: Preliminary Thoughts and Methodology, Chumbley discusses what mysticism and initiation are, and how they relate to various ancient dream accounts.  The essay is basically defining terms and creating a framework for discussion in the later chapters.

"'Dream-books' are collations of dreams and their interpretations.  It has been asserted by Peter Lambourn Wilson (in his seminal study of Sufic and Taoist initiatic dreaming entitled 'Shower of Stars", 1996) that 'the dream-book may be the most ancient unbroken continuous literary genre on Earth'.  Indeed, Wilson goes on to say that certain dream interpretations are common to interpreters as historically distinct as Artemidorus (second century AD.), Ibn Sirin (33 A.H.), and Marie Laveau (a nineteenth-century New Orleans Voodooist)." ~Andrew D. Chumbley, Mysticism: Initiation and Dream, Pg. 23-24

In the third essay, Dream-reification: The Initiatic Dream as Author, Symbologist, Composer and Prophet, Chumbley looks at eight dream-books from the last 3000 years several continents and compares and discusses them.  Basically, a dream-book is where dreams are recorded, then compared with events following them to find patterns and meanings.  The heart of the discussion in my opinion is dream informs belief, practice, and ritual, not the other way around, that religions and traditions are born out of dreams and dream analysis and interpretation.

"In a sense we might symbolize the process of oneriric spiritualisation as a 'siderealisation' - a translation of the flesh to the stars - back to the domain of the Gudean goddess, back to the domain of the primordial smaragdine book.  Such a symbolism seems apt indeed if we consider briefly the role of 'stars' in esoteric dream praxis." ~Andrew D. Chumbley, Mysticism: Initiation and Dream, Pg. 40

In the fourth essay, Oneiric Rarefaction: The Way of Ascent, Chumbley discusses the use of star meditations, and dream rooms for initiating a common dream or type of dream.  He discusses dream-incubation, the process of encouraging those common dreams to form, but within traditions and for the traditionless, dreams as teachers and initiators.  Basically, from passive dreaming, letting the dream inform, and the formation of religion, belief, and practice, this chapter discusses active dreaming, what some call lucid dreaming, the tradition or practitioner calling forth the dream.

In the Conclusion, Chumbley apologizes for the shortcomings in the essays, then summarizes them with a brief discussion of reification (descent, the bringing into existence from a dream), and rarefaction (ascent, the taking of the physical and translating it into dream) as the dual action of the dreamer.

My summaries above are very brief and don't give any of the meat or conclusions, just a taste of the subject matter. This book is one I'd recommend above most others and is well worth the expense and time.  May those needing it be able to obtain a copy.  I highly recommend it.

FFF,
~Muninn's Kiss

Tomes of Lore, Grimoires of Wisdom

Off and on over the last few years, I've posted book reviews and book related posts on various blogs.  They have always been mixed in with my other posts, just as my poetry often was.  A little over a year ago, I moved my poetry posting to Muninn's Laughter, to have it all in one place.  I've now done so with my esoteric book related posts as well.  I have imported the posts I have of that nature from both Blogger and LiveJournal, and plan to post more reviews and book related posts in the future.  The new blog is Tomes of Lore, Grimoires of Wisdom.

For reference, here are my blogs and webpages:

Across the Abyss (General):
http://muninnskiss.grimr.org (Blogger)
http://muninnskiss.wordpress.com (WordPress - Mirror of Blogger)
http://muninnskiss.livejournal.com (LiveJournal - Try to post everything here)
http://muninnskiss.tumblr.com (Tumblr - Miscellaneous)
http://tradwitch.com/component/option,com_myblog/blogger,muninnskiss/Itemid,38/ (Blog on The Traditionalist Witches Companion)

Muninns's Laughter ( Esoteric Poetry):
http://muninnslaughter.grimr.org (Blogger)
http://muninnslaughter.wordpress.com (WordPress - Mirror of Blogger)
http://muninnslaughter.tumblr.com (Tumblr - Mirror of Blogger)
http://hellopoetry.com/-muninns-kiss/ (Hello Poetry - Mirror of Blogger)

Tomes of Lore, Grimoires of Wisdom (Esoteric Books):
http://tomesoflore.grimr.org (Blogger)
http://grimoiresofwisdom.wordpress.com (WordPress - Mirror of Blogger)

Social:
http://www.facebook.com/muninnskiss (Facebook)
http://twitter.com/muninnskiss (Twitter)

Grimr:
http://www.grimr.org (Homepage)
http://www.facebook.com/Grimr.org (Facebook)
http://www.despoena.org (Home of Arcadian Mysteries)

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