Magick Matters

“The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook” by Ward Farnsworth

"About 2,500 years ago, Plato wrote a set of dialogues that depict Socrates in conversation. The way Socrates asks questions, and the reasons why, amount to a whole way of thinking. This is the Socratic method―one of humanity’s great achievements. More than a technique, the method is an ethic of patience, inquiry, humility, and doubt. It is an aid to better thinking, and a remedy for bad habits of mind, whether in law, politics, the classroom, or tackling life’s big questions at the kitchen table. Drawing on hundreds of quotations, this book explains what the Socratic method is and how to use it. Chapters include Socratic Ethics, Ignorance, Testing Principles, and Socrates and the Stoics....>>

“Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook” edited by Thomas Cleary

"The “three treasures” of human life—vitality, energy, and spirit—are envisioned in Taoist thought as the source of creativity, capability, and intelligence. This comprehensive anthology traces the teachings on these three treasures through the long history of Taoism, highlighting the quintessential works on their practical application for mental and physical well-being. Along with brief selections from the classic sources of Taoism by Lao Tzu and Chang-tzu, the book presents a rich selection of tales and sayings from Taoist literature, as well as a broad range of writings from the Complete Reality school, including essays and commentary from such figures as Lü Yen, Chang Po-tuan, and Liu I-ming."...>>

“The Tao of Immortality: The Four Healing Arts and the Nine Levels of Alchemy” by Mantak Chia and William U. Wei

"A comprehensive guide to the core practices of the Universal Healing Tao System and the advanced esoteric practices of Inner Alchemy • Explains each of the nine levels of Inner Alchemy and their more than 240 formulas • Explores the Four Healing Arts for transformation of the emotional body, physical body, energy body, and spiritual body • Provides simplified versions of core Universal Healing Tao practices to more easily integrate the system into your daily life • Shows how these exercises were designed to increase longevity and ensure the survival of consciousness beyond death Explaining the evolution and core of the Universal Healing Tao system, Master Mantak Chia and William U. Wei offer a condensed approach to the Inner...>>

“Qi Vampirism: Background and Beginning Training In Taoist Energy Absorption Meditation” by Fa-Shih Hern-Heng

"This booklet is an introductory training guide, to advanced Taoist alchemy and meditation. It is not an exhaustive work documenting the history of the practice, nor is it filled with stories or anecdotes. It follows in the tradition of some of my teachers who have published training booklets to introduced students to practices, teach them a bit about the practices and how to begin them. This work will discuss the scientific quantification of what some call "Qi Vampirism," and will furthermore go into how and why the practice is engaged in within Taoism. Finally, it will give the interested party a way to contact the author for interactive correspondence training, if they find themselves seriously...>>

“Sorcery In Poitou: Two Satanic Essays: Gilles de Rais and Felicen Rops” by Joris-Karl Huysmans

"The first notable literary advocate of the Satanist, alchemist and child-killer Gilles de Rais remains J-K Huysmans, famous for his novel A Rebours and its quintessential decadent, Des Esseintes. Huysmans' later novel La-Bas (1891), a virtual apology for Satanism, is threaded by a version of the de Rais story as narrated by the book's protagonist, Durtal. Punctuated by the author's own poetic interventions, this account depicts de Rais as an arch-decadent beset by demonic visions and ravening sexual manias — "the 15th century Des Esseintes". A most intriguing "sequel" to this examination of evil is now provided by the first ever English translation of Huysmans' pamphlet Sorcery in Poitou (La Sorcellerie En Poitou, also...>>