Magick Matters

“With the Adepts: An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians” by Franz Hartmann

"The narrator of this delightful and instructive tale, written at the turn of the century, escapes to the magnificence of the Tyrolean Alps for a much-needed respite from the angst of his life. There, he encounters a dwarf who seems to understand the dilemmas that cloud his brain. The dwarf leads him to the Brothers of the Golden and Rosy Cross, where he commences monastic study. Hartmann writes poetically about the beauty of the Alps and skillfully weaves the actual beliefs and practices of the ancient Rosicrucians into a tale that includes magic and an alchemical laboratory, mind-reading dwarfs, and unexpected revelations."...>>

“Opening the Book of Lambspring” by Christopher Bradford

"The Book of Lambspring is a series of emblematic images through which the processes of Hermetic Alchemy are alluded to; it has proven completely impenetrable to the un-initiated, which has been the case for all of the true Alchemical texts. In this small manuscript, Christopher Bradford takes each of the emblems from The Book of Lambspring and speaks with them to reveal their meaning. The Alchemical wisdom held within will shine from it and enlighten the aspiring Alchemist, while hopefully leading the practiced Alchemist down well-trodden paths of wisdom."...>>

“Consult the Oracle: A Victorian Guide to Folklore and Fortune Telling” by Gabriel Nostradamus

“If you sing before breakfast you will cry before supper...' In their own words, what it meant for Victorians to dream of actors, April Fools, herrings or a railway ticket – why it was advised to throw a black snail by its horns over the left shoulder for good luck – and why it is essential to inform bees of a death in the family. “If one drops a knife, a woman is coming; a fork, a man is coming; a spoon, a fool.” Tappings on tables, questionable curatives, old wives' tales and whispers from beyond the grave – Victorians were fascinated by the supernatural. Consult the Oracle was where they might have turned...>>

“Cactus of Mystery: The Shamanic Powers of the Peruvian San Pedro Cactus” by Ross Heaven

"The history of San Pedro and its uses for healing, creativity, and conscious evolution: • Includes interviews with practicing San Pedro shamans on their rituals, cactus preparations, and teachings on how San Pedro heals the mind and body • Contains accounts from people who have been healed by San Pedro • Includes chapters by Eve Bruce, M.D., and David Luke, Ph.D., on San Pedro’s effects on psychic abilities and its similarities to and differences from ayahuasca San Pedro, the legendary cactus of vision, has been used by the shamans of Peru for at least 3,500 years. Referring to St. Peter, who holds the keys to Heaven, its name is suggestive of the plant’s visionary power to open the...>>

“The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East” by John M. Allegro (1974 revised ed)

"Where did God come from? What do the bible stories really tell us? Who or what was Jesus Christ? This book challenges everything we think we know about the nature of religion. The ancient fertility cult at the heart of Christianity. The living power of cultic rites and symbols. The sacred mushroom as the emblem and embodiment of divinity. The secret meaning of biblical myths. The language of religion that links us to our ancestors. The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross sets out John Allegro's quest through a family tree of languages to find the truth about where Christianity came from."...>>