Practical Sigil Magic: Creating Personal Symbols for Success (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)

Customer Reviews:

Better all around, than others I've read........2005-01-13

This was the first of a few books on Sigils and Chaos magic, that i had read. It is far easier to read and work through than those b peter Carrol, and I have had some success with the performance and charging of sigils. Just be aware of thet fact thet you need to be specific about what you " wish for " you just might get it with a twist If you leave things vague.

No Substitutions.......2004-06-18

Practical Sigil Magic by Frater U.D. is a book for people interested in achieving results. It is forthright, intelligently presented and does not meander from its objective.

All in all, the book is rather scarce, and expensive. However, upon acquisition one quickly discovers that it is very much worth whatever the price tag that accompanied it. The rich fullness of information contained within its pages is not to be found on the web.

With that in mind, upon reading the book and putting its teachings into practice, it becomes quite obvious why PSM is so sought after, and why it is unlikely that it will ever be reprinted - it was never intended for the eyes of the masses; indeed, giving this book to the unprepared would be closely equivalent to giving handgrenades to toddlers.

If you are seeking a book that will supply you with a small but very versatile range of relatively simple but exceedingly potent techniques, showing you how to quickly and easily access and alter both your own innermost being and the fabric of your local reality field, look no further. Practical Sigil Magic delivers completely.

As for obtaining a copy of PSM, watch eBay for it. Practical Sigil Magic has gone for as little as $65 for a good clean copy (moon waning, well after full), and for greater than $250 when the moon is waxing to full.

Understanding that, if you are serious about acquiring power and knowledge, you will get yourself a copy of this book. It is indispensable.

Just Wonderful.......2004-01-05

This book is superb, and it is a travesty that something so groundbreaking is out of print. Frater U.D. has performed a great service in making Austin Osman Spare's works comprehensible to the average magickal practitioner, such as myself. All one needs for this type of magick is a pen and paper, as well as the desire to perform a five-second ritual to implant one's wish into one's subconscious. And I haven't even mentioned the fascinating Alphabet of Desire! It is fair to say that this publication has changed my entire way of thinking about magick and mental processes. Believe me, in case of fire, this book is what I would save first.

Theory And Practice Of Sigil Magic.......2000-06-04

If you're new to the subject Practical Sigil Magic is a good place to start. If you already know how to do sigil magic you'll probably find this book redundant. On second thought, you might find a few ideas here that you never thought of before (this author has a habit of doing that). Good, clear information. The book should have been called Sigil Magic for Dummies.

Sanctum And Sigil (World of Darkness (White Wolf Hardcover))

Average customer rating:

A must Guide to Awakened Society
A LITTLE TOO DRY...
A great book, though a little dry

Sanctum And Sigil (World of Darkness (White Wolf Hardcover))
Brian Campbell , Gary Glass , and Bill Maxwell
Manufacturer: White Wolf Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Legacies: The Sublime (Mage the Awakening)
Tome of Watchtowers (Mage)
Guardians of the Veil (Mage the Awakening)
Boston Unveiled (Mage the Awakening)
Secrets of The Ruined Temple (Mage the Awakening)

ASIN: 1588464202

Customer Reviews:

A must Guide to Awakened Society.......2007-05-22

This book is indispensible in understanding not only the place where Mages dwell (their sancti) but in understanding their political culture and society. It is written well and clearly and concisely to help you understand these two main topics.

Prologue is the obligatory introductory fiction that describes the book. The book is then divided into 4 chapters. One covers Awakened politics; two covers sanctums and defenses for the places that Mages call home; three discusses cults and various antagonists including the Seers of the Throne and the Banishers. Finally chapter four is for storytellers to help them understand how to introduce Mage politics and sample cabals to help players model theirs.

Overall this book is more a tool and reference book for Mage storytellers, its not ideally suited for players (look at Tome of Mysteries and Tome of the Watchtowers for that). However, it is ideal in helping to craft and fleshout a good story or chronicle that is set in awakened society. It is beautifully illustrated and the rules for helping build sancti are well done.

A LITTLE TOO DRY..........2007-04-30

As the previous reviewer noted, SIGIL AND SANCTUM can be pretty dry. It is a supplement for MAGE: THE AWAKENING and deals with the laws and practices of Awakened society. At times it reads as interesting as the corporis jure of most countries. The main sections are on the rights and duties of cabals to Mages in general, Consilia laws, courtly etiquette, sanctum security, etc. It's hard to imagine getting much use out of this unless it's important to the ST to create an illusion that his/her NPC's have an historical, detailed tradition that the PCs must follow in order to fit in. Otherwise, it seems like overly involved information that either will never come up or could be invented on the fly as need arises. It's about as banal as finding out whether Mages prefer Wheaties or Cheerios for breakfast. Of course, some people will need precisely this kind of book for a specific scenario they have in mind. More power to ya, buddy, but it seems like an awfully small niche. Plus, you could choke on the number of specialized, narrow-use merits introduced. There's a merit for sanctum security, with dots distributed between locks, doors, walls, windows, etc.

The most interesting part of the book is on the structure of Seers of the Throne pylons and Banisher cults. Now this is interesting, but it seemed unrelated to the rest of the theme. Very interesting stuff and very useful as potential antagonists. So even if you don't like the first part of the book, maybe you'll like the second.

A great book, though a little dry.......2006-09-18

This supplement for Mage the Awakening is an excellent resource for understanding the dynamics of Concilium politics, the various roles and makeups of cabals, how Banisher cults work/what they do, and how some of the Seers of the Throne are organized.

It gives quite a few suggestions for bonuses for cabal symbols and also suggests how you can decide what your sigil and name will be.

However, you do have to sort of slog through this book. It's not very easy reading- the whole tone is very intellectual and a bit on the dry side, so you do have to sort of try to pay attention. Despite that, though, I highly recommend this book for either players or storytellers.

Average customer rating:

A fascinating and worthy addition to new age and modern-day magic shelves
Excellant!
Space Time Magic - and then some
Magickal applications of quantum mechanics
Space/Time, not for beginners

Space/time Magic
Taylor Ellwood
Manufacturer: Immanion Press/Megalithica Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1904853269

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating and worthy addition to new age and modern-day magic shelves.......2007-07-10

Space/Time Magic is a metaphysical studies guide to taking control of the complex probabilities of one's life. Chapters describe how to use sigils to manifest multiple probabilities; how to use the DNA spiral to explore space/time; writing as a divination practice; how to use technology to enhance space/time workings; and much more. Space/Time Magic literally lives up to its title in its study of mystical practices that affect the four dimensions, and its down-to-earth terminology makes in accessible to readers of all backgrounds. "In magic, particularly results magic, there is a tendency to expect that the result will occur now. This tendency is dangerous, showing as it does that you've fallen into the brainwashing of linear time. No result can be measured as occurring at a specific moment of time, and to try to limit magic in such a manner is ultimately to emasculate your workings. Everything, and this includes magic, happens in its own time." A fascinating and worthy addition to new age and modern-day magic shelves, featuring step-by-step exercises after each chapter.

Excellant!.......2007-04-18

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author provides theories from different points of view to explain how the magic works and lots and lots of practical exercises. He details what he has done and how it has turned out, but encourages the reader to take what he has done and build on it. He provided ideas that I would not have thought of; practices that can easily be added to anyone's daily routine. And he can write! I have purchased a few books from other authors in this genre and not all can.

Space Time Magic - and then some.......2007-02-20

(Before the review - a disclaimer. I do know the author.)

The book essentially has three themes to it:
1) Magic involving time and space/time such as retroactive magic, time manipulation, divination, and soforth.
2) Concepts and activities that involve our space, time, and space/time ideas, activites, and interpretations.
3) The direct, practacal application of #1 and #2 and how the author did them, often with detailed information.

Therefore Space/Time Magic is probably best thought of as "Space/Time Magic, Space/Time Concepts, and A Whole Lot of Other Stuff." The amount of useful ideas-per-page is extremely high and the repetition of common (or just plain over-repeated information) is extremely low. This is a book that takes difficult concepts, and shows how to apply them, often with direct author's testimony.

However, the book does suffer from times of loosing focus, or introducing techniques that may be useful for space/time work, but aren't as relevant as, say, other elements of the book. This doesn't reduce its usefullness, but it can be distracting.

Space/Time Magic is a book of experimental magic. There's no repetitive correspondence tables or things you've seen before. Though you can apply the work and ideas with surprising ease, its not Magic 101 despite its friendliness.

Magickal applications of quantum mechanics.......2006-11-18

Quantum mechanics is well and truly in the public consciousness these days, largely due to the success of the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" This movie opened the eyes of viewers to the incredible possibilities available. The obvious question those viewers should have asked themselves is how they could go about taking full advantage of the possibilities.

Quantum mechanics provides an explanation for much of what is experienced while practicing magick, in particular that pertaining to the non-linearity of time. Many of the ancients viewed time as circular, while quantum mechanics assigns probabilities to various events.

Taylor takes the reader into a quantum world, where time is non-linear, and retroactive magick is possible. The concept of retroactive magick is fascinating. Taylor deals with the importance of perception defining our reality, and presents this as one of the keys to successful retroactive magick. This to me is probably the most exciting portion of the book as just about everyone has daydreamed about how they would have done things differently with the benefit of hindsight. The possibility of revisiting the past is truly exciting.

As with "Pop Culture Magic," I certainly don't accept everything that Taylor writes in this book. His ideas however, are intriguing, and certainly merit further investigation. Readers will certainly be able to adapt Taylor's ideas into their own paradigms. Taylor's message is an exhortation to leave the confines of the mainstream and experiment, and it is a message well worth sharing.

Space/Time, not for beginners.......2006-05-06

I'm with Lupa, I know Taylor from our many conversations and his posts on his blog.

I've allways been interested in space/time magick since about 2001 and ever since reading Taylor Ellwood's Space/Time magick I think I've found someone who has come to very similar conclusions.

However, I would like to put a side warning that this book is definately not for people who are used to the pop-wicca books that are mostly just regurgitated from some source like Raymond buckland or even Aleister Crowley. These ideas are very advanced, assuming that the person already knows most of the fundimentals of magick, however for some though, these other ideas could be manipulated and 'simplified' for most people.

I think though, the most of what I got out of this was a refreshingin of my own (what I call) reality warping experiments, and made me remember to think nonlinearly when working magick and when working space/time magick.

Definately recomend for others.

Average customer rating:

Where's the sigils?
Avoid.
Disappointing
SIGILS MADE SIMPLE
Poor, poor trees

Basic Sigil Magic
Phillip Cooper
Manufacturer: Weiser Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1578632072

Book Description

Basic Sigil Magic is about sigils; making them yourself. It is the hottest topic in magic today because every beginning magician wants to learn about them. The essential part of manifesting magical acts is communicating your conscious intentions to your subconscious mind, which will in turn put you on the path toward realizing your goals. The most effective way to communicate with your subconscious is via symbols, or, more specifically, sigils. Cooper shows how to create sigils and use simple rituals to charge them with power. He teaches you the importance of using color and the seven planetary energies to enhance the power of your sigils. Cooper's presentation is solidly founded in the basics of magical practice, from clearing your psyche, to setting up an appropriate environment, to designing your rituals, and performing the ritual itself. Bibliography. Index. Illustrated.

Customer Reviews:

Where's the sigils?.......2004-12-26

Of 110 pages in my edition, only 9 pages offer clear sigil info; Cooper admits he's lifted that info from another author -- and it was info I already had from a class I was taking. I had hoped this book would elaborate on class material.
The rest of the +100 pages seem irrelevant to the title: a mix of derision against other beliefs, and explanations for basic wicca (magick etc), visualization, and chakra info which can be found in hundreds of other books. The hundreds of other books, however, will also likely give better foundations for these concepts, and without having to wade through Cooper's ranting and railing. Out of the thousands of books I've read or owned, this is 1 of only 3 books which I will throw out.
I wish I had known of Cooper's other titles before I considered this book -- unfortunately, I relied too heavily on the misleading number of explanatory drawings to make this purchase. Do some research on this author before you buy.

Avoid........2004-01-06

I expected at least a bit of useful information from this book.. and it was totally useless to me. The author spent the all but a few lines merely summarizing modern metaphysical practice and his opinions on the matter. When he did finally get to the point of the book, it was pitiful.

Disappointing.......2003-08-26

I picked up a copy of this book because I was looking for another method of working magick and I`ve had an interest in sigils for awhile now. When I read this book I was highly disappointed with how the author basically says that anyone who believes in Karma or some other type of fate is just wrong. The author never gives a logical reason as to why he thinks the philosophy of Karma is wrong, but rather just says it`s wrong. The author also has a tendency to ramble on and on about how magick is created from the subconscious rather than mentioning at all the other idea of sending out energy to the universe to cause change in your life. I give this book 2 stars because if you have no knowledge of sigils at all you may find some useful information here. However, if you do have knowledge of sigils or if you are part of a religion that believes in Karma I wouldn`t waste my money on this book. You`ll just get angry with the author and want to throw this bok out the window.

SIGILS MADE SIMPLE.......2003-06-29

What makes magick work, is the ability to communicate our intentions to our subconscious mind and the most effective way of doing this is via symbols or sigils. This book explains the significance of sigils, how to create them and how to charge them with psychic power. The work is divided in two parts: The Psybermancer and The Psybernomicon. The first deals with the basics of magick, critical self-analysis, magical preliminaries including the altar and equipment, rituals and formulas, the creation of sigils and a discussion of inhibitory an excitatory gnosis. The author provides extensive information on whirling gnosis and charging methods for the sigils. Chapter Six: The Master Ritual includes pieces on words of power, the use of sound and the colors of magick. The Psybernomicon examines the concept of color in magick in detail, including white, red, black orange, green, blue, yellow and silver, and the last chapter provides magical techniques and exercises. The book concludes with a bibliography and index. I found it to be quite an enjoyable read with simple instructions and sound advice.

Poor, poor trees.......2003-06-18

I picked this book up by accident, I'd ordered Practical Sigil Magic by Frater U.D., but this one had come in instead. I thought, what the hell, and bought it anyway. I now wish I hadn't.

The book is broken up into two parts 'The Psybermancer' and 'The Psybernomicon', it's unclear why. It's also unclear why the author spells magick with a 'c' in the title, then switches to 'ck' throughout the rest of the book. I'm not particularly bothered by which spelling is used, only that it be consistent.

After throwing out the mind - without giving a decent explaination as to why (pg. 15) and denying the power of emotions and their useful place in your life (pg. 16-17), Cooper then decides to do away with karma as well (pg. 17).

Before you can master the effects of your mind, you need to understand it, and in doing so, yourself. Take the example of emotions given (pg. 17) he suggests that 'each time you find that you are being negative, stop, remind yourself that your thinking will effect the outcome.' Denying how you think and feel will only surpress these thoughts and emotions until you burst, which can far more disasterous. He offers no real solutions to fears or doubts, just suggests you push it down a little deeper. He does away with karma, denouncing it as a useless concept, but doesn't seem to have a firm grasp of what it means, then decides to fabricate his own debt-system, calling it 'The Great Law of Tenfold Return'.

Copper's preference of Spare over Crowley seems not to have any real foundation, a common thread throughout this book. While I don't necessarily disagree, I would like to see an explaination given. The only quote by Crowley cited is secondhand, coming from a book by another author - it looks as though he's not even bothered to read Crowley before forming this opinion. There is no mention of Crowley in the bibliography.

The concepts presented in this book are barely even a rehashing of everything that's already been established much more effectively by other authors, and in more depth. The only new concepts he presents are baseless and useless.

Customer Reviews:

Good 301 book.......2006-12-30

I'll admit that when I first heard of this book, I was really skeptical. When it was published, I didn't know Taylor, and I remember the calls that he was a sellout, a poser and an idiot. That a book based on popular culture and especially the "Buffy Summoning" was just a stupid, fluffy concept. I refrained from commenting because I hadn't read the book, but to me it sounded interesting since at its core, Chaos magick uses the same concept.

Now I've read this book and I think it deserves an honored place next to "Oven Ready Chaos". For those of you who aren't familiar with that book, it is considered to be a seminal work of Chaos Magick.

I will state this from the outset, this is not a book for a novice magickian. It is a book that it dense with information and it makes HUGE assumptions as to the reader's experience level and knowledge. This is a text that pretty much requires that the reader be very familiar with their own magickal system and that they have multiple years of experience casting spells and manifesting their desires.

Taylor takes the reader from that starting point and begins showing them how their magickal works can be even better by using pop icons in their workings. The primary concept in this book is that if magick is affected by the amount of people believing in it, then it can be made even MORE effective by using symbols and icons that masses of people ALREADY believe in, like Pop Culture icons. Using a figure like Wolverine from the X-Men for the cynical Ronin figure in a working for warriors would be even more effective since Wolverine himself has such a fan following and their belief has already charged the idea of Wolverine that you will be using. Heck, to listen to many scholars this is exactly how the Gods were created, a pop culture icon given enough power and belief so that it goes really good.

He explores this concept as well as the benefits and pitfalls of working with this kind of energy. He also shares some personal works and examples throughout. Just about every mass media method of communication is listed, with a few exceptions. While television, music and movies are all put together in one chapter, it is still noted that it is possible to work with those entities coming from that media outlet. I think I also just realized why he gives those such a brief treatment; the fact that icons coming from those outlets pass by in a flash and by the time one really learns the icon well enough to work with it, the attention of the culture as a whole has moved on to other things.

There are some things I had a problem with, and it is not the material itself.

His delivery is pretty dry throughout. This is partly because of his background in academia, which tends not to like descriptive and imagination stirring phrases. The tone, while sounding arrogant, actually isn't. It is the tone one generally has when they are very experienced in an aspect of life and is trying to transmit that professional competence to an audience.

The anime part of the book, where he is taking specific anime series and using them to illustrate his point, uses series that are popular, but may not be known to the reader. One example of this is he goes into great detail comparing the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion to the Kaballah (which honestly I believe it is based on in the first place). Throughout that section he makes a basic assumption that the reader is as familiar with the series as he is, so he doesn't explain things to those who may not know what happens in the series. Readers would have to watch the entire series and the movie just to make sense of that section of the book. He does this again and again in the video game section as well, and you can see hints of it in other areas. So while the concepts are solid magickal work, these sections I feel could lose the reader.

I'm going to give this book 4 stars out of 5 ultimately. The somewhat limited appeal, the assumption of knowledge in the latter chapters and the tone conspired to reduce the score from the 4 1/2 I wanted to give it. But still, this is a HUGELY needed work, and anyone who is involved in the Esoteric, Magick, Discordianism, Pop Culture, Chaos workings or even standard Ceremonial magickians or Witches would be well advised to read this book, if for no other reason than to understand this important core concept.

I know I'll be recommending it to many many others. Taylor, my hat is off to you my friend. Well done.

Pioneering adventures on the magickal vanguard.......2006-11-18

It is said that there is nothing new under the sun. This is certainly true for most magickal / esoteric texts which merely rehash pioneering writings. They may look fresh and exciting at first glance, but at the end of the day, they are a part of the homogenized mainsteam.

While many people in the magickal community will begin their training in a particular tradition, there will always be those who will incorporate experimentation. But how many of the experimenters actually take the effort to see how far the rabbit hole goes, and whether it opens into a magickal wonderland?

By definition, there can be no cutting edge in contemporary magick. A cutting edge can be precisely defined. Those blazing a path in contemporary magick utilize a fluid approach.

I consider Taylor to be one of those brave individuals on the vanguard of modern magick. His approach is very different to mine and I certainly don't agree with everything he says. But that is the very point of his writing - to challenge and inspire. In this regard, Taylor's book succeeds admirably.

There are many high energy opportunities for practicing unorthodox magick, such as tapping into sporting events, sci-fi conferences, and the fan base of various music and movie stars. Following Taylor's lead, I envisage many budding young magickians never letting another such opportunity slide.

Magick for Geeks.......2006-07-19

I don't have anything against Taylor. I'm sure he's a really nice guy who gets some very interesting experiences out of his magickal practice. This book has a fantastic cover and title (one quite similar to Grant Morrison's fantastic article in Disinformation's Book of Lies), and as shallow as it may sound, I bought my copy largely on that basis. Somehow I thought it would have some manner of useful information for my attempts to create magickal entities through pop media, the process of fame and cultural meme generation via magick, or some sort of insight into why these pop culture heroes gain the power they do. Be forewarned, reader. This book has very little to offer in that regard.

You might argue that I shouldn't review a book poorly because it fails to meet my abnormally high expectations. The problem is that this book can be effectively summed up in a nice 5000 word in-depth article, and doesn't need 150 pages AT ALL. We invest magickal power in celebrity, and Star Wars is for Americans as The Odyssey was for the ancient Greeks-- a story that helps us define our reality. Thus, you can worship Buffy just as effectively as you can worship Neptune, and achieve equally potent results. Well DUH!

In other words, not only is the book overly long for the contributions it makes to the Art, but I personally consider it to be fairly obvious to anyone with any understanding of magickal theory. I'm by no means any sort of Grand Magus or Enlightened Being; I'm just another traveller along the path. Perhaps I'm just missing the point. We all already knew that most people in this culture worship the gods Money, Sex, and Television, and that you can do good magick by working with those memes. Do we really need to spend $12 to learn that you can also worship the lesser gods of Cher and Magic: The Gathering?

Now that I've torn down the book, I'd like to add something back to the pile. I gave this book two stars instead of one for a reason: I have friends who I would heartily recommend the book to. I am not someone who gains great personal meaning from Pop Culture. I'll watch Anime and enjoy it. I like shows like Star Trek and Firefly. I think Cowboy Bebop is some of the best television ever to be aired. I'm a great lover of art of all kinds. I like to play Dungeons and Dragons every once in a while. But that's the distinction-- I am a consumer of Pop Culture and never a fan. I'm not geek enough to use this book properly.

This is a book that would be perfect for anyone who dresses up and goes to cons (conventions for you geekspeak illiterates). I have quite a few friends and acquaintances who I would point in this direction if they ever mentioned an interest in 'real magic'. They are classic geeks, and proud of it. I think they could get a lot out of this book, and really open up their world by following the exercises given.

However, I see no compelling reason to use Pop iconography in my practice. I like the history attached to the old gods. I like the past sacrifices and celebrations made in their names. I enjoy the process of researching the ancient beliefs, and I enjoy creating appropriate modern ceremonies to call on them. I think they add an element of seriousness and old power to my work. If Ganesha doesn't do it for you he doesn't do it for you-- go with what you respond to above all else.

I'm not particularly even a stickler for the ancient stuff myself. I like Jungian Archetypes. Probablistic physics has a special place in my heart-- it made it possible for my scientific mind to shut up long enough to comprehend the world of imagination and myth as something real. I groove on the concept that our decisions are made before we ever arrive on this planet just as easily as I believe that the universe readily bends to the demands of the Will. But why should I give Star Trek any more power by worshipping it?

What I'm saying is that I'm damn well not gonna engage in fanboy geekfests as part of my spiritual practice, and so this book is useless to me. If you already geek out pretty heavily, then this book could help you get more out of the whole thing. In my experience, fans are often as messed up and ineffectual people as some of the most tripped out megalomaniacs you could ever find in organized magickal groups, but whatever floats your boat-- it's not really any worse, for all that.

Insane Ideas No.21 TV-cultre based godforms have as much power as the lwa! .......2005-11-03

The above should tell you all you need to know. I was hugely dissappointed with this book. It's all sub-standard, rehashing of ideas done with more verve and poetry elsewhere by the like of Grant Morrison. Avoid.

Bridging Between Genres.......2005-07-25

Taylor Ellwood's Pop Culture Magick can best be seen as a transitional book taking one from the world of fantasy to the real magick that exists behind every doorway and in every shadow of our world. Popular culture may not be popular among many of today's occultists (with the exception of some of the Chaotes), but if Carl Jung was right, and humankind does play out its rite of passage in dreams - or even if Kenneth Grant is right, and literary workmanship is the result of transdimensional communication - popular culture can then be said to have evolved from the archetypal images implanted into our thoughts. It is our ultimate play of inspiration like Shakespeare's portrayal of the Faerie Folk in Neil Gaiman's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Most of those that get into the occult do so from various other mediums, whether it is comic books, role-playing games, or paranormal television shows. Most also struggle when first entering the occult scene because of the voluminous amounts of texts and practices required to make any real progress. Many give up on the occult not long after due to frustration.

Ellwood's book presents the occult framed by the modern images of popular culture, including those aforementioned comic books and role-playing games. If ever there was a book that eased the transition from fantasy to reality, this would be it.

This isn't to say that Pop Culture Magick is a beginner's book. Though Taylor Ellwood tries to keep the mumbo-jumbo down, and makes each and every exercise as simplistic as possible, there are a few assumption made that will force the novice to look elsewhere for additional material. This book, however, was never meant to be the end all. It was specifically meant to show individuals how to incorporate pop culture into there own current occult work, and Ellwood opens up many pathways for the user to accomplish this feat.

The most intriguing chapter of Pop Culture Magick has Ellwood dissecting anime cartoons with a hair-splitting scapel. He manages to inform the reader of all the occult and spiritual dogmatism present in anime, and goes at great length to examine the similarities between Neon Genesis Evangelion and the Kabbalah. Quite fascinating indeed.

Pop Culture Magick is a book of ideas. No, scratch that... a book of new ideas; and a refreshing change from the regurgitated techniques and information spilling out of many current publications.

Uncaged: Faces of Sigil (Planescape Accessory)

Average customer rating:

My Favorit Sigil Book
Great Accesory! Kylie rules
THE PLANESCAPE BOOK THAT DESERVES SEVERAL SEQUELS!
Do you know the factions in planescape?
Best Planescape book around (so far!)

Uncaged: Faces of Sigil (Planescape Accessory)
Tsr
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

A Player's Primer to the Outlands (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons/AD&D/Planescape Audio CD Accessory)
Tales from the Infinite Staircase (AD&D/Planescape Adventure)
The Great Modron March (AD&D/Planescape)
Planes of Chaos (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition: Planescape, Campaign Expansion/2603)
In the Abyss (AD&D/Planescape)

ASIN: 0786903856

Customer Reviews:

My Favorit Sigil Book.......2007-10-06

What I like about this book is that it is all Char development. Every NPC in the book is linked to every other NPC in the book. I think its useful for DM cause it gives 40+ NPC of all lvl that the PC can more realisticly meet. Cause com on how many Faction high ups will give the pcs at low lvl the time of day? Where this book gives you the common fock who really keep the city of door interesting and on its feet.

Great Accesory! Kylie rules.......1999-08-15

I really enjoyed this accesory. All the charachters are fleshed out and belivable. Its added a lot to my planescape campaign.

THE PLANESCAPE BOOK THAT DESERVES SEVERAL SEQUELS!.......1999-01-20

This book is alot of fun to read! Instead of just giving game information on the NPCs (Non-Player characters), the reader is also given an idea of each character's believable personality and story. These guys aren't cardboard cut-outs. Before long, the reader starts to feel like they're actual people who live next-door!

The best part is that each characters' story is connected to each other in some sort of indirect network.

TSR did a good job in making a living, breathing book. Not only is this a game reference book, but a well-crafted story book too!

This book also has strong connections to FACTION WAR and IN THE CAGE: A GUIDE TO SIGIL. It also has some connections to the other Planescape products.

Do you know the factions in planescape?.......1998-11-12

In this book you can see people in Sigil that think in very strange forms. people that think in your factions and they living for something.

Best Planescape book around (so far!).......1998-05-20

If you like Planescape, you'll love "Faces". It's certainly my favourite PS release to date; the forty-plus characters described are all incredibly original, detailed and exciting; the artwork's fantastic; and -- the real reason I love this book to pieces -- each character's intricately linked to the others, creating a great web of intrigue and deceit. And that's _exactly_ how I see Sigil. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Welcome to the hidden side of the Western Tradition. The use of the Mandala
Important Information
Conjure Demons
Intriguing, but not great
Advice/Help

The Grimoire of Armadel

Manufacturer: Weiser Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0877288399

Customer Reviews:

Welcome to the hidden side of the Western Tradition. The use of the Mandala.......2006-09-18

Many working occultists view this work as beautiful, but shallow. I think I can show that the truth lies a little deeper than that.

First of all, Mathers only worked on the most useful texts when resurrecting works of the past. Why then would he have spent so much time on this volume? Why would he have held this piece in such high regard, when so many other manuscripts remained outside the reach of the average occultist?

A piece of the answer lies in the heavily veiled sex magic couched in the ambiguous descriptions of "The Visions".
I direct you to the vision of Gimela, for case in point:
"The Beholding of the Serpent that tempted Eve."

The Visions make up a large part of the content of the text in this piece. These visions are revealed by virtue of the proper use of the seals, and are described in detail. That makes this a rare manuscript on the act of Mandela Meditations in the Western Tradition, and the oldest recorded use of "Path Working" we have. This inovation (path working) is often credited to the Golden Dawn. Clearly this is a mistake. This book suddenly becomes much more ground-breaking, when viewed in its historical context. I will grant you, the Christian bent of the text puts the tradition at a relatively later date than the Goetia, and many of the works attributed to Solomon.

Another facet of this literary gem is the spirito-historical context. Almost every spirit mentioned in the text is put in context with Biblical personalities that the reader would be familiar with. For example:

"Gabriel, the spirit that did teach the Prophet Elijah the Mysteries of Divinity..."

It is an exhaustive laundry list of "who did what" from the Fall to the Crucifixion.

As for the actual evocation and banishing portion that gets so much flack, hey, you can find the same format in dozens of other books, but do yourself a favor and don't throw the baby out with the bath-water. Anyone exploring the rich tradition of Western Occultism should give this volume a good look.

Important Information.......2006-04-14

This is a good to great text for those who wish to understand angels better. The person who wrote the introduction, William Keith, seems to not like the text that he is introducing very much. He seems to want to condemn Mathers' translation more than give it a place of legitimacy. As for those who are interested in demons, the information given concerning demons is paltry: six pages of 79 are dedicated to demons. The rest are all about various angels. A useful text for those already grounded in reliable magical technique.

Conjure Demons.......2004-10-28

I am a long time occult, a Z=5 adept of the Golden Dawn and Corresponding Associate and Brother of the American O.T.O. I have a large collection of grimoires and this is one of the best. Simple conjurations for a number of demons in one neat and compact volume. At 79 pages, I read this in one two hour sitting. These occult grimoires of very high quality really improve the individual who takes them seriously on a number of levels: intellectual, spiritual, emotional, health and ambition. Why trash an expensive book and waste your money? Why not take it seriously and better yourself? This lately in my life has been one of the few books as an advanced practitioner I got something out of. The conjurations do work, but that doesn't mean they will always be successful. S.L. Mathers is an expert on the subject and easily one of the best sources the aspirant can learn from. Yes, it does borrow from Christianity. Christians are all over, especially in America. If you are going to be an occultist you cannot be very hostile towards ChristianS themselves; you might end up literally with no friends whatsoever. This IS NOT satanism! Mathers was not a satanist nor am I. This actually blows away satanism hands down.

Intriguing, but not great.......2003-02-20

Graphically, the Grimoire of Armadel remains one of my favorites of the genre. Shifting off between simple geometric figures, little crossy bits, and flowing curves, the sigils for the spirits are really quite nice to look at.

The spirits themselves are fairly diverse, often having two sets of functions (a more sorcerous function, and one set more appropriate for the aspiring Christian mystic). As far as diversity of function, they approach the Goetia on many fronts, though are often aimed at more fantastic results (except for the archangels at the front, which don't, in my opinion, have much practical value).

And if you want to break your mind like a rough-hewn block of chalk, then the translations of the untranslatable latin that forms the collection of odd mystical writings towards the back of the book will entertain for hours.

However (and you knew a 'however' was coming), I do have the gripe that it's simply not as impressive as the Goetia. Except for the orations at the beginning, it provides few instructions or diagrams for the setup of the ritual. Perhaps Armadel was a minimalist (a true rarity within this particular strain of occult literature), but more often than not he's just a bit unclear.

Also, there are a few figures listed in the table of contents which do not appear anywhere in the book, and the figure of 'The Operation of Uriel Seraphim' is stuck in there with absolutely no explanatory notes.

So, if you want a detailed instructional book, the Grimoire of Armadel surely ain't the way to go. If you like cryptic things, I'd sure as hell go for it. And if all you're looking for is a catalog of spirits, it's pretty decent as they go.

Advice/Help.......2002-08-15

This book can help you to understand spirit/demon evocation. Simple as that.

This helps you to understand the principles of these beings and guides you to invoke therir power to you.
Short, but helpful, this is a must for the beginner-advanced magician, but also well-rounded for the non-denominational invocational magician or no matter what your preferences are, this book is still a must for your collection of texts and a great addition to your library of related matter.

My advice is to get this book if you are interested in this subject at all and should be read fully before invoking spirits.

If this doesn't suit you, i suggest the Goetia in conjunction with this, or seperately a book called "Goetic Evocation: A Magician's Workbook".

This book goes along with this subject and is very helpful to even the most advanced magician, mainly due to it's addition of the rarely seen "Testament Of Solomon" along with this book.

Sigil
Average customer rating:

Hit or Miss, but worth a shot...

uneven

Yum! I could eat with a spoon...or my hands...

Skip it

Good stuff, more please.
Sigil
Jan Kafka
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0595201075

Book Description

Here be dragons.

Or rather, centaurs, wizards, vampires, elves and comely mortal men pledging troth to other mortal (and immortal) men. Here be sigils and soul swords and Shakespeare himself. Sorcery indeed.

Here be nine original tales of men and magic from nine writers about to make their own mark in the realm of fantasy and science fiction.

Customer Reviews:

Hit or Miss, but worth a shot..........2007-07-02

... if you can get your hands on it perhaps a bit cheaper. I didn't hate it, but I was disappointed overall that the quality of the stories were literally all over the board--truly inspired to achingly derivative, wonderfully charming to oh-god-my-eyes-are-bleeding bad. I bought this so I could enjoy some original m/m fiction away from my computer and to support m/m writers that are using this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. I don't regret buying it, but I would advise anyone who is considering buying the book to first think about what else they could do with the money they would spend on it.

uneven.......2005-08-17

Usually I avoid buying anthologies and I cannot say this book convinced me I am wrong.

First of all two of the stories are horror and not fantasy, not even dark fantasy. The sense of an anthology is to regroup the same genre and even if you disagree with this the cover states this book be a collection of queer fantasy short stories.

No one of the tales is a real hit: Wizard's Moon is fairly interesting but needs more polishing; Candleglow is about the same only a bit confused by the richness of events. Persephone Ascending has enormous potential but suffer under the ovious restraint of space and in fact we are told the author is working to expand it.
Once Upon a Time, Messenger, Centauri and Midnight Confession are interesting but severely flawed.

I do not wish to be misunderstood: these attempts are not unworthy, they have their merit and are better written than many novels around: simply they are not worth all the money the book costs.

Yum! I could eat with a spoon...or my hands..........2004-09-18

Being of an alternative bent myself, I was looking forward to this anthology. I was pleased to find homosexual fiction that was not only the usual pornography without plot, but combined with my favorite genre, fantasy.

My faves, in ascending order:

Once Upon A Time. A charming fairy tale with a bit of wit and wry humor that reminded me of Shrek.

Candleglow. A Jane Austen tale if told by Oscar Wilde. Delightfully Regency.

Persephone Ascending. This should indeed be a full-length novel. Ms. Searls writing style is that of a cheerfully demented Jules Verne. That's a good thing.

Skip it.......2003-08-25

I had high hopes for this book, since I often read yaoi and slash fanfiction online. However, I couldn't even get through this anthology due to cliched plots that have been done much better online (slaves, fantasy, etc), and just overall low-quality writing. Some of the short stories even disgusted me, and I don't usually consider myself squeamish when it comes to yaoi/slash. This was a good idea and a noble attempt, but it only brings out the worst in slash fanfiction :(.

Good stuff, more please........2003-02-15

I'm not usually a fan of anthologies, but I had this one thrust on me by a writer friend who knew that I enjoyed fantasy/sci-fi, and that the subject matter of the stories was of personal interest to me. Overall, I would recommend this, though some stories clicked more than others, as I suppose is true with most things of this nature.

The most enjoyable reads were "Wizard's Moon," and "Candleglow" with definite reread potential on the latter. I don't think it's a coincidence that these two stories were written by the editors who put together the anthology. They seemed the most professional, the characters the most engaging.

Honorable mention to "Midnight Confession" because it felt real (if I had to hazard a guess, pen names aside, I'd say this was the only male author among the crew) and touched on issues that took it to a higher level than simple pleasure reading.

I had a hard time wrapping myself around the novel-sized cast presented in "Persephone Ascending" but the setting was fun, if a little reminiscent of Final Fantasy.

"Centauri" and "In the Dark" needed a little more development to feel like complete stories.

"Messenger" on the other hand was longer than it needed to be, and I didn't find the narrator a memorable character. Still, the concept of the fox-god lover was fun.

"Once Upon a Time" started out slow but picked up once Alex was introduced. A decent, casual read, though some of the humor felt forced at times.

I'm not big on contemporary fiction, but "Temporary Gifts" was a well done piece, that acknowledges that monsters in the woods aren't what horror is really about.

As I said, all in all, I would recommend this anthology, but I'm not going to give it a five stars for two reasons. First because the majority of the male characters didn't ring true to me as a male reader, and I realize that oddly enough I may not be the target audience, but most of these guys honestly didn't feel very manly. Second because most of the stories glossed over the fact that being gay means being different and not quite fitting in... always a powerful theme that deserves exploring.

Secret Signs, Symbols & Sigils
Average customer rating:
Secret Signs, Symbols & Sigils
Nigel Pennick
Manufacturer: Capall Bann Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1898307555

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