23 September 2009
Witch Bottles, Poppets and Mummified Cats
Folk Magic, White Witchcraft, and Cunning Spells
By Lily Moss

This was a very informative and entertaining presentation about witch bottles, witch balls, animal parts and shoes in walls as well as poppets. After Christina's usual introduction Lilly took the audience through a series of slides with photos of and information on folk magic artifacts.

It's commonly known that most witch bottles contain urine, but did you know why the glass and stone bottles that were used are called Bellarmine bottles? They're named after Robert_Bellarmine as the faces on the bottles are of grumpy old men, a visage that the cardinal was famous for.

Other curious facts that came up in the lecture included that the modern Christmas tree ornaments are the modern incarnation of Witch balls, see Witch ball. Not only have dried cats been found in the walls of houses along with old shoes, but in the Isle of Man it’s not unheard of to find a horse’s head.

The Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall, UK is a good place to find out more about Folk Magic Artifacts such as Poppets. In conclusion this was a fascinating lecture on a topic gets less attention in books and research than it deserves.

Went to the under-Globe recently and saw that the ceilings had a number of occult symbols drawn on them. Also the arrangement of the pillars in the room and statues made me think it was a temple of some kind. However, a chap who put on plays there assured me that it was just sacred geometry symbols painted on the ceiling and nothing more.

( Read more... )
Generation Hex – 3 word review summary and score:
"Vibrant spiritual test-pilots"
4/5

...The Book of Self Creation by Jacobus G. Swart. Wow, an amazing book for those looking for clear and concise exercises to build and enhance their spiritual practices. I'm only half way through and already I'm preparing a calendar of exercises to integrate these practices in to my daily life.

The study of Kabbalah for the sake of gaining knowledge is a fine pursuit in my opinion. However, all that will result is that the student will gain more knowledge. To gain an in-depth understanding of Kabbalah requires that study be combined with practice to transform the student’s life. Kabbalah is for living.

The Royal Institute
13 May 2009
“Grimoires and the Occult”
By Professor Owen Davies

A very interesting talk on grimoires and their role in the development of science. The speaker argued that the three eras of magic, religion and science are not consecutive but rather exist simultaneously. There were some very interesting and some amusing spells presented. The talk took the audience through from the middle ages to the modern day and showed how each of the three magic, religion and science changed their attitudes and influences towards each other.

The lecturer is doing his book launch in Treadwells bookshop on the 3rd of June 2009

Here are a couple of the questions that were answered:

Q1. How did grimoires enter Hoodoo, such as the 6th and 7th books of Moses?
A1. Cheap printing opened up grimoires and the occult to the masses. France was the centre of cheap grimoires and these spread to colonial France. Le Petit Albert found its way to French Caribbean where it is still very much revered.

Q2. How did the lecturer keep an interest in grimoires when they each have a similar pattern?
A2. Even a grimoire with the same name written in separate centuries will be very different to each other. The detail from one grimoire to the next varies quite a lot and this is what generates part of the interest.

Here are some of books I've been munching my way through in the past couple of months:

( Read more... )

..."Kabbalah: New Perspectives" by Professor Moshe Idel.

Wow, what a scholar! I've just finished one of his other books and am planning to read next his book on Abraham Abulafia (my favourite mystic of all time).

Having read a number of books over the past few years and only reviewed a few of them - "Kabbalah: New Perspectives" is one I'd like to attempt writing a review for. Professor Moshe Idel builds on and takes a new look at material by the late Gershom Scholem but he adds so much input of his own that my views and opinions on the scholarly research of Kabbalah are being revised by each chapter that I read. Perhaps this is just a reflection of my ignorance, however this has only inspired me to study more of his books and expand my own research even further.

In conclusion, my favourite authors on the topic of Kabbalah have now been revised as follows: Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Professor Moshe Idel, Professor Gershom Scholem and Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis.

It's a difficult year to sum up. Book learning-wise not much progress, life experience-wise a lot of prorgess. I've tried to take every opportunity going to find out more about myself and thus the world around me.

The Sword of Shannarah is not an easy talisman to wield but one that is necessary to grow through realizing self-truths. Another way to sum it up is:

"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon *I* have become stronger"

Just finished reading "Gentlemen of the Road" by Michael Chabon, also known as "Jews with Swords".

It's a superb story that is both very rich and entertaining packed in to only 196 or so pages. Highly recommend this entertaining book, it's like having rich chocolate mouse and then discovering the alcoholic kick as you're half-way through.

Re-reading parts of "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism by Geoffrey W. Dennis". This is my second favourite book to be stranded with on a desert island after Rabbi Kaplan's translation and commentary on Sefer Yetsirah.

Having recently had a month of High Holy Days, work, weekend, High Holy Day, work, weekend, High Holy Days, work, weekend and High Holy Days, work – this has highlighted what I refer to as “spiritual context switching”. Moving from a level of consciousness on one day that is quite different to the next day or even hour, back “up and down” again (so to speak). At the end of Shabbat it also feels like the week and its mundane concerns comes flooding back in.

Whilst Jewish religious practise is integrated in to day to day living (making it more of a way of life) there is still a division between the sacred and the mundane. Then again reading books like "Living in Divine Space" by Rabbi Ginsburgh show that it is possible to be in a state that is more spiritual awareness all the time regardless of whether the hour of the day is one that falls during a festival or not.

Sacred Monsters by Rabbi Natan Slifkin == Jewish Book of Monsters.

Excerpt from Product Description:

"...Unicorns, mermaids, dragons, and phoenixes may feel at home in fantasy literature, but references to these and other mysterious creatures go back much further in history. The Bible, Talmud, and Midrash refer to many such strange creatures. In this beautifully designed and richly illustrated book, Natan Slifkin, ...examines a host of mythic and not so mythic creatures from both their Torah descriptions and modern zoological research, giving us a new perspective on the interface between science, myth, and Torah thought..."

Right, it's all change at the moment. Changing jobs, company, marital status, flooring, furniture, house and exercise regime.

So in the period of change I will also be modfying my path of personal development. Until now my focus has been on gaining theoretical knowledge with the aim of applying it at some future point.

As Rabbi Hillel stated: "...He would also say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?..."

It's time to put theory in to practise.

Life seems to be very turbulent at the moment which is a good thing. It means that the challenges are coming hard and fast ensure that no stagnation can set in and that old patterns are having to break apart and reform in new and better ways.

That’s my way of saying that life has been busy and that I’m using this as an opportunity for personal growth. In "Practical Kabbalah: A Guide to Jewish Wisdom for Everyday Life" by Rabbi Laibl Wolf, he writes on pp6.:

"...The mystics of Kabbalah teach that just as the grape produces wine when pressed, and the olive produces oil when pounded, so should we, when challenged, come forth with wisdom. But wisdom requires that we approach life with faith, discipline, and an open mind...”

Des anyone know any good jokes about mystics, magicians, witches or occultists? I have yet to hear a single joke regarding esoteric circles and this looks like it could be a rich seam of humour.

Here is an interesting article about the Olympic torch, reposted from sinbadsilk.