Would I still give the Ritual Magic Manual three stars?

Last night, on one of the Golden Dawn Facebook groups, David Griffin's book, The Ritual Magic Manual, came up during a discussion. I had reviewed this book back in March 2009 when I was doing the "page view" sites (basically, you wrote articles and got paid by the number of page views that the article generated). The review ended up on three sites---it was one of my test articles to see what site was getting the most traffic, and was giving out the best payment.


At the time, I gave The Ritual Magic Manual "two or three stars." If the sites would have required a solid decision (like Amazon does), at the time, I would have given it three stars (rounding up). David Griffin promptly took issue with the fact that I reviewed his book. Being an out of print book, he thought that it should not be reviewed. Why did I review it? Well, David Griffin started to brag that it was selling for a thousand dollars in the used market, which in my mind made it "review worthy."


A question came up last night that prompted this post today. Someone asked how the printing and binding quality of the book was. Honestly, I seen worse, and I have seen better. It was basically the average for the time period. The pages are stitched---looks like machine work. I didn't use my copy a whole lot, having came from a Temple culture that required you to memorize the rituals that you were doing---but I think that the book would have held up to the abuse of daily use.


Is it worth a thousand dollars? Hell, no. But then again, I have never seen an out of print occult book that I thought was worth a thousand. I do know that following the occasional eBay auction and the listings on Amazon that I have never see a copy move for that price. And personally, no one has offered me loads of money to part with my copy....which makes me believe that the true market value is much lower than the thousand dollars I see in the listings.


If you really want a copy of the book, just ask David Griffin. A few years ago, someone scanned the book into a PDF, and Griffin will give a copy of it to anyone that asks him for it. (I do not know who made the PDF, but I know that it was not Griffin---it is a scan, not a conversion from the original files.)


[If anyone wants to read the original review, it is archived on my inactive book review blog---the sites that the review was originally on have dropped off the internet.]


So would I still give it three stars? Probably not. Today, it would probably be two stars---I honestly do not agree with the premise of the book, and was taught that swapping godforms multiple times during a ritual to be dangerous. I still believe that you should memorize the rituals you are using, and should be able to work out the variations on your own.


Of course, you do not need to take my opinion on this book. Griffin will give a copy of the PDF to anyone who asks for it.


And just so you know, Griffin as a writer, does not benefit one dime from the used sales of his book---so do not think that you are somehow robbing him by not buying an used copy of the book.

Book Review--Immersion Mastery (Zack Jezek)

Immersion Mastery by Zack Jezek was a hard book for me to finish. I abandoned it several times since starting to read it in November. I only finished it though sheer force of will.

One of my problems with the book is sheer amount of bragging that the author engages in; he is proud of the fact that he became a Reiki master and Mayan shaman at age ten, and that he is also a NLP master and a professional skate boarder. Jezek wrote this book at the ripe old age of nineteen. Yes, this book brought back flashbacks from earlier in my esoteric career, for I acquired a high degree far too young and said some damn stupid things earlier in my life believing that I actually knew what I was talking about. Maybe Jezek will be different, but I personally find my earliest writings as an esoteric leader and teacher to be almost physically painful to read.

While I agree with Jazek's opinion that his generation are the leaders of the future, I do not necessarily agree with him that his generation is any more unique than any previous generation. Sure, they have their own set of brand-new problems which young adults have never seen before, but a lot of generations have been able to say that statement.

So is there anything worthwhile in this book? And will it appeal to teen and twenty-somethings?

Yes, it will appeal to his own generation who will believe that they are somehow special and that their problems and disadvantages are actually assets and special abilities. And yes, I do believe that attention and compulsive disorders can be assets--history is full of famous people who today would be labeled ADHD/ADD and/or OCD. In fact, I would probably be labeled with an attention disorder if I would have went though high school five years later than I did (ADHD was just being a bad kid when I was in school)--not that I will ever be famous, yet these things are a daily part of my own life to a certain extent. But Jezek lays it on so thick, it is like a commercial to remain immature forever.

And maybe the book does have some worthwhile stuff in it. But it is buried deep in feel good talk aimed at making teen and twenty-somethings believe that they are perfectly ok just the way that they are. I am not sure Jezek is going to feel the same way when he is forty.

As for esoteric techniques talked about in this book (after all, I review esoteric and New Age books), there is a version of the "grounding as a tree" mediation, some game console based mental reprogramming techniques, a watered down version of the immersion method (my regular readers will know this better as magical boot camp or power week), and a hint of the chaos magic technique of interchangeable personalities. But they are all so caked in happy talk that quite honestly, I can't imagine anyone over the age of thirty being able to tolerate this book; or for that matter, any parent that has been exposed to the techniques in a different setting. And there are better sources for each and every one of the exercise and techniques, or at least better written ones (Jezek is far away from being a good writer).

I am giving this a weak two stars out of five.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book though a Goodreads First Reads drawing.]

Book development is sooo ssslllloooow

It took forever for this book to reach print.

[File this post under: Morgan's mind is that of a lunatic without a real sense of direction.]

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I couldn't wait to talk about this book, Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls by the Golden Dawn Community, until after the official announcement, then I wandered off and talked about gardening and expensive herbs instead...which made sense to some people, but not to others.

Truth of the matter is that I might (not) have adult ADHD, wanted to get as much gardening done before the heat wave started, have a lovely wife who was tired of looking at the weeds (and is unwilling to allow me to figure out how to utilize them for magical purposes because they are not pretty weeds); and most importantly, I had already spent a year NOT talking about this project (outside of the occasional vague comment that all of a sudden makes sense to those people who were not in the loop) and adding to my stock of ebooks seemed more important (because multiple pen-names means lots of work).

[Is that the longest sentence that I have ever wrote on this blog? Probably not...but it is pretty long, isn't it?]

Yeah, I had already spent a year being silent about this upcoming book. And people claim that I can't keep a secret--hehe--and that the Golden Dawn community can't either--hehe.

And I came into the process very late, so this book was in the pipeline for several years.

A few years ago, Person H (who may or may not want to admit to who they are) came up with an idea for a joint Golden Dawn community building book, centered around the Flying Rolls.

(The Flying Rolls, for those who have not spent hours reading them and/or studying the history of the original Golden Dawn Order, were documents passed hand-to-hand among the original actual Adept Minors [as opposed to the nominal "in name only" Adept Minors who existed before the Vault of the Adepts and the 5=6 initiation ritual was developed]. Think of the Flying Rolls as a stop-gap lesson system issued in the form of a circular chain letter. Some of the Flying Rolls are were just a few sentences; others are longer; none of them are well-constructed by literary standards. The Flying Rolls are the "oral tradition" of the original Golden Dawn; some of them originally were given as actual lectures in lodge. The term, Flying Roll, actually comes from the Bible, from the book of Zechariah.)

[Zechariah 5:1-4 Once again I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a scroll was flying. [[The angel]] said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll: twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in length." He said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the surface of the whole land. For [heretofore] anyone who steals has been absolved of such a curse; and everyone who swears [falsely] has absolved of such a curse. I have taken it out [the curse]--the word of HASHEM, Master of Legions--and it shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely in My Name, and it shall lodge within his house and annihilate it, with its wood and stones." *Stone edition of the Tanach*]

(The size of the scroll is the same size as the Sanctuary doorway. This is an interesting section to study considering the amount of oath-breaking allegations that has been placed on the Order's doorstep. Anyways, back to the story at hand...)

Person H went to a few publishers, including the biggest, with their idea, and was soundly rejected by all. So the idea was placed on the back burner (at this stage, the ebook market does not function well at all, so that is not an option either).

(I also abandoned certain projects for the lack of publishing support...)

Now, over the last few years, given the abandonment of the publishing of GD material by the bigger publishers, a set of small publishers have arose to focus on the small Golden Dawn readership (less than a thousand? who knows?). And Person H finally had one of them agree to help them get this project done.

(...but in my case, I chose the self-published route of ebooks instead.)

At this point, the project becomes very interesting. As a book, just a clean version of the Flying Rolls that were double-checked with original copies would be of value to the GD community (because the King version were suspected to be corrupt and incomplete), but the inclusion of commentary by the entire Golden Dawn community would be a welcome insight in how the community actually operated and thought.

When one looks at the range of the people involved in making commentaries in this book, Commentaries on the Golden Dawn Flying Rolls by the Golden Dawn Community, you see all the major groups (and one minor group) were involved.

The contributors to this book include: Frater A.M., Frater AR, Deanna Bonds, Christopher Bradford, Chic Cicero, Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Ian Cowburn, Morgan Drake Eckstein, Nick Farrell, Paola Farrell, Lauren Gardner, Jayne Gibson, Frater Goya, VH Frater IOV, Aaron Leitch, Liza Llewellyn, Joseph Max, Frater Philomancer, VH Soror QQDAM, Samuel Scarborough, Eric V. Sisco, Rachael Walker, Sam Webster, Harry Wendrich, Peregrin Wildoak, Frater Yechidah, Frater YShY.

The author list also provides proof that a large part of the Golden Dawn community are actually in communication with one another, all the major voices (and one minor voice) are involved. This project was a "word-of-mouth" project, people became involved as the chain letter spread. Given there are only thirty-six Flying Rolls (from the original Order), at a certain point all the Rolls had commenters and the chain letter stopped. Pickings were slim by the time I got involved (my group is minor and unimportant located on the outskirts of what is Golden Dawn, and I am a minor voice in the GD community on the very edge of the grapevine), but ironically I ended up able to grab the Flying Roll I most wanted to talk about (some Goddess likes me).

[Some of my statements over the years are all of a sudden going to make sense because what I wrote about is important to how the BIORC thinks about certain matters.]

One of the difficulties involved in a project like this is the bookkeeping nightmare of dividing up royalties among the writers. The solution in this case was for all the writers to donate their royalties to a commonly agreed upon charity--the Golden Dawn Legal Defense Fund. In fact...

(Yes, none of the writers, except the controllers of the Legal Defense Fund receive a dime of profit from this book. And the Legal Defense Fund is only a threat to people who believe that they are going to end up in court arguing over who rightfully should control the entirety of the Golden Dawn tradition. If you do not believe that you are going to end up in court, why not help those who made sure that we can all use the GD name recoup their legal expenses.)

...I am considering a project that would end up with the projects going to a charity (but the charity would involve homeless cats because I am that dude).

And I am positive it was a year ago when I turned in my commentary...

(I remember that it was right around the same time that someone told me that it was perfectly ok for my reputation to be destroyed because I did not belong to a certain Order [by someone high enough in that Order that it has to be official policy to destroy the reputation of outsiders], and people wonder why I do not trust certain people [who make claims that they like everyone, and are not out to destroy us...but one of your lieutenants says otherwise]; I had been busy defending the reputation of another writer, silly me.)

...but I am too lazy to dig though my sent emails.

The book is going to reveal how widely different the approaches to the Golden Dawn system are in the modern Golden Dawn community. While I only read a partial proof (it will be awhile before I can afford a copy...the reason I am taking time off from university is to repair my business and restore its income levels), I did find another commentary on a different Flying Roll that completely disagreed with mine. And that is ok. (I have joked that my commentary was written by a lunatic in crayon on the back of a cereal box while out of the special brownies--hey, I live in Colorado; I can eat the special brownies.) And there are certain Flying Rolls that I would have treated completely differently in a commentary, but it is all good because the book is about making you actually think about the Golden Dawn system.

Anyways, yes, this book has been a long time in coming out. The traditional publishing process is so slow. And the very nature of this project just dragged it out even longer.

But I think that we will all agree that the book was worth the wait.

God Attacks! (Goodreads Giveaway)

I just noticed that J.R. Kiefer's book, God Attacks, has a Goodreads First Reads contest that is ending tomorrow (in 25 hours from the time this post is being written). What does this book have to do with Wicca and Golden Dawn? Absolutely nothing, other than the fact that I think that the book would be interesting to my regular readership. (The first chapter has a toy that is a prophet...and yes, it is a little strange.)

I am slowly reading an e-copy of this book. And I do mean slowly. Eventually, I will finish it--and probably review it here.

So if you are a member of Goodreads, you might want to slip over there before midnight (mountain time) June 10th, 2013 and click on the contest entry. (Contest is open to USA, GB and CA.)

Made the Hot 500 in the Yahoo Contributor Network in April 2013

Yes, I took a screen shot of this because I was excited.  

And this is how I imagine that other people will feel about it.

So, I made the Top 500 in April 2013 on the Yahoo Contributor Network--for having a really big audience on Yahoo Voices (formerly Associated Content). What does this really mean? Probably nothing at all. Or that the audiences are really small. Or perhaps that my small payment for pageviews were in the top 500--in which case, it is just proof that even the best writers are starving artists--or not, depending on the clout level (levels nine and ten get paid more than clout level eight). Still I thought that I would say something because I do not remember the last time that I advertised my work on Yahoo Voices.

Coincidence or road sign?

Is that a skunk on Big Ape's head?!

One of the quirks that many occultists seem to pick up is the reading of coincidences as road signs. Or maybe it is just me that has picked up this particular habit. Now, I am not as bad as some of the people who have taken the Oath of the Abyss--but I do have my moments.

My latest example of "Is it just a coincidence? Or is it a road sign?" is a skunk on the head.

As many of my friends know, my wife points out that my hair is thinning. My response tends to be that I am going to buy myself a Shatner. My wife is not sure if I am being serious or not...we will just have to see, won't we?

Nevertheless, the joke carries further out than that. Recently, I have been engaged in drawing some ape and monkey pictures for a pagan/Wiccan friendly children book series.

(Yes, I am confused about how I qualified for this one exactly--I think that it is because I seemed to have a little spare time and some colored pencils...or at least, that is the theory today.)

Now, I decided that Big Ape, the father of Little Ape (the school bully), was going to be suffering from Ape Pattern Baldness and be covering it up with a skunk. I did not inform my co-creator of this decision--it is a surprise...like most of my ideas for the artwork.

So where does the coincidence kick in?

Well, I started to read a book that I plan on reviewing, God Attacks by J. R. Kiefer. In one of the opening pages of the book, he mentions a picture where one of the subjects appears to have a skunk on his head.

Yes, it is probably a coincidence and nothing more serious than that. At least, it was not as shocking as the time, I wrote about a character speaking with the voice of a cricket, and then read a translation of Homer's Iliad only to discover that the old men talk with the voices of crickets.

[Update: July 2013: Due to differences in sales expectations and business philosophy, in early July 2013, I ceased to be involved in the Turtle Monkey project.]

No free editing from me

Bottom of the Sigillum Dei Aemeth.

Sometimes I am surprised at the stuff that I have to state that I thought was perfectly obvivous. Such as the following statement:

I do not provide free editing services.

The reason that I find myself having to say this is the fact that someone last month decided to cloud-source the error finding portion of an edit job (for their second edition--yes, I am talking about that one), and is now saying that their book cannot be that problematic because no one provided them with a long list of errors.

In my case, I mentioned an error I found a couple nights before...I was looking though the book to see what the author said about something (I am researching a book of my own) and spotted the error, so it was fresh in my mind. But that was not good enourgh for this person.

I am guessing that the author thinks that I should have spent a couple of days locating all the errors for him.

I am sure that those people who are paying me to edit stuff would have been thrilled to have me help this person for free.

If I am editing something, I am getting something out of the job--an hourly rate, a job fee, an exchange of labor, a percentage of the gross, an expensive book, or maybe a couple of plants or chickens. I do not edit for free.

The same goes for my writing, photography, and artwork. I have bills to pay, therefore I must charge for my time and energy. (And yes, I also charge for spellwork and divination.)

Now, some people will note that I still do first-reads and book reviews. Plus they will note that I do some volunteer writing.

In the case of first-reads, I am a first reader because I like the author and are friends with them (and like their books)...there is also a darn good chance that they are also one of my first-readers.

In the case of book reviews, a copy of the reviews end up on a blog with ads in the sidebar--therefore they are not completely free of monetary income. Futhermore, I recieve the books for free. (I used to pay for books that I reviewed; but now that I am established reviewer, I don't have to do that as anyone who looks at my coffee table can see--I have a couple dozen free books on it waiting for review.)

And in the case of my volunteer work, yes, I am donating work. But it is also advertising for myself, and I earn on the backend (such as Bad Monkey--the collected 2011 Hearthstone articles by Morgan Drake Eckstein). Plus if I had cash to spare--which I don't (thanks student loan debt)--I would be donating folding green energy to these organizations. (Yes, that includes the Legal Defense Fund.)

Of course, we all know that charging for my time and energy makes me a villian. But then again, everyone who flips burgers for a living is also a villian. At least, I enjoy what I am doing for a living.

Why I do not reveal my pennames

The cause of more problems than you can imagine.

The other day in the comment section, someone asked me if I am writing under a pen-name...because they could not find anything under "Morgan Eckstein."

(Of course, the following post assumes that they were not on Amazon--the reason I have nothing on Amazon is a whole another post.)

The short answer is Yes, I write under a pen-name. Actually, I write under several pen-names.

In fact, Morgan Eckstein/Morgan Drake Eckstein is a pen-name.

(Let the trolls of flame war cry havoc and fraud as they proclaim that only people using their real names are allowed to comment, write and blog about all matters esoteric.)

Now, for the long answer--feel free to wander off if you already know this information or simply do not care.

There are several reasons why I use several pen-names, and generally keep knowledge about the specifics out of general circulation.

The original reason that I started using a pen-name was that one of my relatives was concerned that people might learn that I was a writer--writing was considered to be generally a sin, especially if you chose to write anything other than Christian literature. (And given the fact that I have been Wiccan all my life--well, one can see the problem with that one.) Especially wrong was any writing focused on Wicca, paganism, and other esoteric matters.

At a certain point, I did start writing about such matters. Plus opening asking questions of people in order to write such material. Given the fact that this behavior was unacceptable, I needed a pen-name. I chose to use the "Dion Fortune" option--my choosen pen-name for such matters is a variation of my Golden Dawn motto. (Well, actually my second motto, but that is another story for another time.)

The second reason that I decided to dodge behind a pen-name, or a dozen, was the fact that the first genre that I realized that writer had to be getting paid for was erotica. And not one of those clean vanilla types either; no, this was one of the types that Paypal tried to eliminate in 2012. I will be coming back to this one in a few moments.

Third, my writing models (mentors) in general, all used pen-names. One of my writing friends uses four pen-names because she writes in four different genres. The more varied your writing is, or the more rapid that you write, the more pen-names one tends to have...or at least, that seem true of the writers that I have used as my models for how to be a writer.

Now, up to this point, these reasons have been in play for years. I started writing erotica in 1984. I first used Morgan Drake Eckstein as an alias (pen-name) in 1992. In fact, given the fact that I have used Morgan to introduce myself for twenty years, some people do not know the name that I was born with. Nor do they actually care.

But there are some people who do--failing to notice that I only use my birth name to fill out government paperwork.

And this brings me to my fourth reason for concealing most of my pen-names.

Witch wars, trolls and the Golden Dawn.

Last year, I ended up reviewing a book that some of the players in Golden Dawn took a major dislike too. It does not matter if they were right or wrong, nor does the correctness of the other side matter either. What matters is the tactics used in what I refer to as "The Great Book Burning of 2012."

Basically, instead of just giving one-star reviews to the offending book or two, the one side decided to give one star reviews to the offending author's entire body of work. Yes, the entire career of this writer was dragged though the mud.

And if you thought there was any merit in this book(s), then your reputation was also dragged though the mud. At one point, I was called a Neo-Nazi...I imagine that my long-dead Jewish ancestors were not particularly happy at that point.

As I have said, it does not matter if one side was right or not--what matters is that the entire product line, the entire life work of an author was downgraded during this argument...

...because if they used the tactic once, they are sure to use the same nuclear option again.

And in my case, it is only a matter of time before I do something that they do not like. Such as write erotica--this particular group has dragged out the sexual misdeeds and rumors about several of the people they do not like. In fact, I am surprised that they have not gotten up on their soap box to yell that I should not be writing erotica already. By the way, this is a group that only calls me a Golden Dawn leader when I have done something they do not like.

Therefore, I am refusing to issue a list of my pen-names to the general public. In fact, not even the members of my lodge actually know my pen-names. And all simply because some people feel that it is ok to destory other people's reputations.

The cherry on top was the fact that one of the parties involved in the issuing of one-star reviews actually came out and told me that it was ok to destory my reputation because I did not belong to their Order--so much of the GD oaths applying to the entire tradition and its membership.

Does the decision to keep my pen-names private cost me money? Probably. But given the fact that I am still seeing fallout from the Great Book Burning, and knowing a couple of future GD writers also making the same decision, it seems to be the right decision to make at this time. In the future, we are going to see a lot of GD writers refuse to reveal their real names, Order afflications, and the other pen-names they use, to protect their income and reputations.

Sometimes the cover alone tells me what my goddaughter is going to do

Destiny Rewritten--Kathryn Fitzmaurice--my goddaughter is so going to steal this book from me. 

There are some books that I just need to see the front cover and read a couple of pages to know that they are so going to be "liberated" the instant that I turn my back. Like this book, Destiny Rewritten (by Kathryn Fitzmaurice), which I recieved a proof copy of in today's mail. Given this cover, I can so picture my god-daughter walking out the front door with it held up high as spoils of war while saying, "It is mine now, old man."

Of course, this is why I am not terribly concerned by the pile of review books on my coffee table. After I get done reading them, they are not going to be there long. I am not sure how the HarperCollins PR people feel about my god-daughter promptly grabbing the book from me the instant that I am done reading it for the review, but I am sure that they have no say in the matter as far as my god-daughter is concerned.

And hats off to the HarperCollins people for putting an illustrated mailing label on this one. It is nice to know that this book needed to be opened immediately, so that my god-daughter could liberate it from me. Obviously, the HarperCollins PR department is used to dealing with reviewers who recieve lots of books in the mail.

Yes, I love the cover illustration. It reminds me of one of the used book stores that I used to spend a lot of money in (and probably will again as soon as my income starts to recover). And I am just waiting to hear what the mother of my god-daughter has to say about the cover...I have a private bet going on this one.

Anonymous comments are not proof

One of the things that I have been thinking about lately is how much weight one should place on blog and forum comments made by anonymous people. And by "anonymous," I mean people who either openly post as an anonymous (and perhaps unregistered) user, as well as those who use a handle such as "the Golden Dawn avenger"--a handle that actually tells you only that the person behind the handle has a big ego.

There are two reasons why I have been thinking about this.

One, I am in the process of setting up a blog to collect all the book reviews that I have done in various places. I have needed to do this for awhile. It has become more urgent, due to the fact that I am starting to recieve books from some GoodReads drawings that I recently entered (I have recieved the first two books today).

Do I allow comments on the Book Review blog? Or do I just refuse to allow comments through? And does it matter either way? (Please note that my book reviews were called into question earlier this year...by anonymous and faceless people.)

The other reason I have been thinking about anonymous comments is watching the comments being made on one of my blog posts on this very blog. There has been one person who has been pointing out dirt about Robert Zink--provided that you place any stock in comments that direct you to other comments made on another blog by anonymous people.

Personally, I do not need to hear anonymous comments about Zink to have an opinion of the man. After all, I had internet dealings with the man (we are not favorite people of each other); plus, I have done some "exit counseling" with some of his former membership--enourgh to know that I am definitely not suited to be one of his students.

The same holds true of several other people in the Golden Dawn community. Between the grapevine and my own interactions with people, I have a really good idea of who is what type of lunatic without having to read anonymous comments about them. And I am sure that they feel the same way about me--we all know that I am a lunatic with a soapbox.

And honestly, I find that the way that anonymous comments are presented as "proof" painful to watch because of the double standard that is applied to them. Simply put, an anonymous comment is considered to be proof when it supports your stated conclusion, but is considered a falsehood when it does not support your argument. If it is undermining your competition, an anonymous comment is proof and perfectly acceptable because people need to be able to present evidence without fear. But the same comment is it attacks your position must be coming from the political sock puppet of your enemy and is a complete lie, therefore anonymous comments should never be considered proof that you too are special type of lunatic.

Of course, most proof in the occult community tends to be treated the same way. Scholars have a double standard applied to them (if they support your argument, they are a good scholar; if not, they are a fraud who should be kicked out of the academy). Business practices and recruiting techniques are ok when you use them, but fraud when other people use them. A simple statement of a claim of ancient knowledge is accepted point blank by one group's membership while the same type of claims are considered lies when made by another group.

It is enourgh to make one want to declare that everyone is a liar and a fraud. And far more simple too. Of course, I have gotten to the stage where I am just starting to ignore any comment that is made by someone that I do not personally know. But let's be honest, being called a neo-nazi and told outright that it is ok for others to destory one's reputation because you do not belong to the one real Golden Dawn makes one dislike anyone who stands behind "anonymous" or "enemy of all false GD Orders" and calls you names.

So do not expect me to accept blog and forum comments presented by anonymous posters of proof of anything. After all, I know enourgh people who are posting using their real names that I do not need to see evidence that is untraceable. You would not accept my statements as proof if I hid my identity, so why should I trust you when you do the same?

Are hardcover occult books worth the cost?

Hmm, I am a little slow some days--I still not be able to figure out who said what.

One of the latest bits of news is that the ROGD is almost out of signed hardbound copies of Pat Zalewski's Golden Dawn Rituals and Commentaries. The few remaining copies are currently for sale through the HOGD site.

This got me thinking about something--are hardcover occult books really worth the cost?

In this case of this particular book, I brought a signed hardcover shortly after they came out. I picked my favorite number (the sum of the traditional planets). For me, it was worth the cost. I brought a copy of the previous edition from Pat years ago. It is a book that I consult quite often; it is also a book that I have inflicted bits and pieces of onto my fellow and lady lodge members. Given the amount of use that I have gotten out of the previous edition, I figured that spending some extra money on a hardcover copy was well worth it.

My friends who are familiar with my magical practices can tell what books that I use; they are the books held together with packing tape, or which have fallen out of their covers with the pages now residing in three-ring binders. The exceptions are the books that I own in hardcover...and even they show some wear and tear if they are among the books that I actually use. There is a red hardcover that I own that is blackish with fingerprints.

777 and Other KBL Works (Crowley), Golden Dawn (Llewellyn edition--has been replaced twice), Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia, Modern Magic (the old edition--Kraig), a couple of reference books by Scott Cunningham, a couple of books by Pat Zalewski, and a book by the Ciceros: all of these are taped and falling apart. There are a few others.

On the other hand, I have got some books that show absolutely no wear and tear at all.

"This book is in mint condition. How long have you had it?"
"Since it came out. Karen special-ordered it for me."
"Huh. So in ten years, you have opened it how many times?"
"About two dozen. It is a pretty useless book."
"Yes, I can tell--it is still in mint condition. Still you could probably sell it."
"I will, once I find someone who is willing to submit to highway robbery."

Of course, that is the potential problem with hardcover occult books. Especially those from unknown writers or source books you have never actually seen. You could end up with an expensive hardcover that is good only for weighing down papers that you are gluing together (an actual use of heavy hardcover books in my house).

But overall, I will admit that hardcover editions--the limited editions, that is--tend to hold their value, at least from a collector's viewpoint. And occasionally, even one of the useless ones will leap up in value--provided that you can locate the right buyer--making the investment worthwhile. If you can actually use them, it is a bonus (though in all fairness, you should never use a copy that you brought solely for investment purposes--use of a book wrecks its resale value).

777 Book of Correspondences

This is my 777th blog post, so today I chose to talk about (drum roll please)...777.

777 is Aleister Crowley's expanded and modified version of the Golden Dawn document known as The Book of Correspondences. Just like the guide sheet for the creation of Godforms seems to have been restricted to the office of Hierophant, the Book of Correspondence seems to been restricted to the office of Praemonstrator. This is not to say that other members did not know of its existence. Parts of it was spoon-fed to the students of the system in the Knowledge Lectures of the various Grades. By the time that one was an Adept Minor, one had a large part of the Book of Correspondences available to them. Inside the Order, one could assemble the known parts that were circulated among the Knowledge Lectures, and add to it, making a personal copy of the document (much like the members of BOTA end up with a Book of Numbers--think Sepher Sephiroth). Or at least, that is the way I understand the extent of its circulation among the Order.

Crowley was most likely working from Allen Bennett's personal copy. Today, most ceremonial magicians own a copy issued though Weiser. I brought my copy back in September 1994; it is now held together with packing tape. I filled a couple of hardbound journals with some additional material that I mapped to the paths of the Tree of Life.

777 was not the first set of correspondences to be published. Agrippa and several magical calendars predate Crowley's publication, as do some materials focused on astrology. But I will admit that for organization, Crowley is the winner.

In recent times, there have been several books that have expanded the possibilities of information to be included in one's personal copy of the Book of Correspondences. These include The Magician's Companion: A Practical Encyclopdic Guide to Magical & Religious Symbolism (Bill Whitcomb) and The Magician's Tables: A Complete Book of Correspondences (Alan Richardson).

The best expansion of 777 (at this time) is Stephen Skinner's The Complete Magician's Tables. Not all the tables in Skinner's work agree with Crowley's--but that is ok. And I love randomly googling names from his Uniform Timeline.

Needless to say, my favorite version is my own. I think most working magicians and witches would say the same. After all, it is the version that corresponds exactly with the associations that I use in my own personal magical workings.

Good luck with your meat fight!



One of my favorite scenes from Dharma and Greg.

Ok, I have hit the point where I firmly suspect that I am going to be blacklisted because I refuse to see that Nick Farrell was only bad-mouthing one particular group that claims AO descent in the introduction to King Over the Water: Samuel Mathers and the Golden Dawn. Furthermore, I refuse to retract my good review of the book.

Let me be clear, I have personnally seen other groups doing this...aka in living memory and within the last decade. The trademark did not stop this from happening; it merely removed it from public view. Some of these leaders were bad. And just because your group is good today, it does not mean that it will be good tommorrow. Therefore, I see the need for the warning, and I have serious doubts that it was only referring to one particular group. And no, I do not believe that descent from the original Order, or communication with Secret Chiefs, automatically makes you good guys.

I am not interested in your proof that you are real and your leader pure---let me be clear---I have personnally been buried by people claiming descent from the AO; I have also been burned by people claiming to be communicating with the Secret Chiefs (Third Order). I do not need to see Farrell's proof that people have abused the vaccuum that a lack of information has generated---I have experienced the abuse first hand.

I may not only have a Crowley in my woodpile; I may also have a Mathers in my woodpile. I have been told that my lineage traces through Mathers. Of course, because I am not a member of the trademarked organization, therefore I am no longer AO.

When you demand that Farrell apologizes to everyone in the AO community, am I one of the people he is supposed to apologize to? No. Because I am not a card-carrying member of the trademarked Order.

Therefore, forgive me...and go ahead blacklist me...because I am just as AO as the rest of you (according to some of the people who I have dealt with) and I do not see the need for Farrell to apologize to me (because of abuse by people who claimed to be AO).

Good luck with your meat fight!

Would bribes create more favorable reviews?

One of the things that I have been asked during the current internet boilover is if I get paid to do book reviews.

The answer is No.

And if I was paid, I would have to admit to it---that is the law where I am living.

As it is, I have to disclose if I was given a copy (electronic or physical) of the item that I am reviewing.

(By the way, the only things I have to disclose are monetary involvements---I do not have to disclose anything else, including how many dogs or cats that the writer has.)

And it turns out that giving me a free copy does not guarantee a better review.

Would giving me money guarantee a better review? I don't know. Maybe. I am not even sure if it would move the items to earlier in the review line.

Open letter to those who have items in my review box: If you would like me not to review your book now that I am about to go on a black-list, email me through the address that you sent me the electronic copy through. If you do not care about the fact that I am about to be black-listed, then do nothing. I promise to get around to reviewing your material...sooner or later...please remember that I am a non-traditional college student doing his Senior Seminar in History this semester; for some reason, I think that final paper comes first before reviews--Silly me.

And the internet boils over (Flaming Book Review edition)

Satan Kitty is annoyed that we must talk about things other than him.

I was not going to blog about this...but the members of the HOGD/AO want an answer, so here I am blogging about the internet boiling over.

(For those who do not know about today's meltdown, David Griffin has allegedly ordered his members to quit buying Nick Farrell's books, and to give Farrell's books extreme negative reviews on Amazon; and Farrell has allegedly bad-mouthed the only people who have ever called themselves Alpha and Omega.)

The question that is forcing me to address today's meltdown is: Why did I not address Nick Farrell alleged bad-mouthing Griffin's HOGD/AO Order in my antacid review?

Now, this question should have came up before this point. But the only comment I got about the review before today was a remark from one of my friends that I could not spell (antiacid, antacid--what's the difference?!). I might have gotten a comment or two on Facebook, but I do not remember them...because they did not question why I said the things that I said about King Over the Water: Samuel Mathers and the Golden Dawn in my review of the book.

In fact, I was expecting the internet to boil over the first week of March...it didn't. It made me suspect that the only people reading my review were crickets. It made me suspect that the only people to read Farrell's book were the reviewers.

Now, my unpleasant answer to the question---I did address it. Maybe, just maybe, I was too subtle about it.

Here is where I addressed the alleged bad-mouthing of the current AO.

The biggest problem with this book quite honestly is that those people who need to read it the most will ignore it because their superiors will tell them that it is just a pack of lies and a political ax job meant to destroy Mathers and their superiors' reputations. And they will believe their superiors. Farrell tries to address this issue by pointing out some of the things that dishonest Orders have done in the past. I would love to say that the offenses he lists are isolated events, but they remind me of the laundry list of crap that I have seen in the various esoteric groups that I have been involved in.

Wow. It looks like I am really good at predicting the future...I am not.

Get your Golden Dawn brand antacids here! Just $9.99 a bottle.

It is now time to take an antacid and step into the Way-Back Machine---mind the flaming dog poop.
The year is 1989. And I am trying to locate anyone working the Golden Dawn system of magic here in Denver Colorado. There are three lodges operating here. (Actually four, but I am unaware of the fourth lodge at this point.) All three lodges claim to be Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. And one is really loud about the fact that they are descended from the original Alpha and Omega.

It turns out that the loud-mouth is the worst behaved of the lot. I am fortunate that the leader (the sole person who really has power in the group) takes one look at me and decides that I am too poor to be worth his time. Yes, too poor. Years later, I had the opportunity to talk to some former members of the group in question after the group exploded into flames, and they had horror stories worse than mine. (For the record, I have been in a lot of bad groups and had lots of horror stories already about bad leaders.)

I also got to see their rituals, thanks to the fact that for some reason I was declared someone responsible. (How that happened I still don't know.) And honestly, the rituals looked like they came out of Regardie's book. It is safe to presume that the loud-mouth lodge had no actual lineage to the original GD/AO.

Interestingly enourgh, the lodge that might have had the best lineage, and which rituals actually looked like the AOs, chose to bury the fact that they ever had a lineage...occasionally, one would hear a horror story about the group that they sprung from. (Technically, they were a schism group...and we all know that schism are never correct in leaving their Mother Order.)

So here we have a bunch of AO problems of the type that Farrell is referring to and Griffin is not even in the community yet (or at least not as a visible member from where I was standing). This misbehavior was well BEFORE Griffin took out the trademark for the HOGD/AO name.

Therefore, I was not completely convinced that Farrell was talking the current AO. Honestly, if you wait long enourgh, the players will change, but the misbehavior will still be the same. In my experience, the worst leaders mimic Mathers and claim descent from him and his branch of the tradition. There was a thrity year period that a whole bunch of misbehavior was carried out under the banner of being from Mathers' spiritual lineage. And Farrell could have been talking about any of them...he did not mention Griffin's modern AO by name.

(One hopes that Griffin is different...but seriously, threats of lawyers, bad book reviews, and piracy?! One should not have to resort to such threats---one's actions and service to their community should be the only proof one needs.)

And honestly, someday Griffin is going to die and a whole bunch of Orders are going to spring up claiming to descend from his AO, and I am betting that some of them are going to be bad apples. Because of that, I would rather see the warning than ignore the past crimes of groups that spent thirty years claiming descent from Mathers before Griffin even showed up on the scene. Because the warning was needed thirty years ago, twenty years ago, and someday will again be needed.

So there is your answer: I am not completely sure that Farrell was talking about Griffin's Order because there were others claiming descent from the AO long before him, and they were bad evil leaders, and someday others (after Griffin is dead and buried) will claim descent from the AO to justify their misbehavior. Better a warning misread today than none at all.

Impressionism and the GD color scales

King Over the Water by Nick Farrell.

The Book of the Concourse of the Watchtowers by Sandra Tabatha Cicero.

The other day, I was reminded that there are some soon-to-be-released books that are on my shopping list (well, after I managed to crawl out of the monetary hole that I have fallen into). Both Nick Farrell and Sandra Tabatha Cicero posted possible covers for their respective books (I say "possible" because I know how things change at the last moment in publishing).

Looking at the covers, I realized something---our required color scale work in Adept Minor (5=6) was not possible previous to 1841. Or at least, not in the form and style that we do it today.

Don't believe me? Think about how you did your color scale studies. Were there tubes of paint involved? If there were tubes of paint involved, then you are using a post 1841 method. Or did you use watercolors of straight from the pans of a box? In which case, your method of study could not have developed before 1832. The idea of using watercolors from a box only dates to 1766; before that point, watercolors were sold in lumps that had to be hand-grated before using.

The ability to do color studies while sitting in your living room is a product of the Victorian Age. Before the improvements to watercolor paints by Henry Newton and William Winsor in 1832, only professional artists worked with paints. Amateurs did not start to paint until Newton & Winsor developed the methods of creating watercolor paints that could be used directly from the box. Queen Victoria helped lead a national passion for amateur painting.

Paint tubes were invented by an America, John Goffe Rand, in 1841. Rand's invention was a technological leap for the artworld. Rand would tell his son that without his invention that "There would have been no Cezanne, no Monet, no Sisley or Pissaro; nothing of what the journalists were later to call Impressionism." I would go one step further and say that there would be no required color scale work in Adept Minor if he hadn't invented the paint tube.

Please remember that I am not saying that color was not important in magic previous to the Victorian Age (Agrippa is enourgh proof of the importance of color in magical work among our magical ancestors). What I am saying is that the creation of color scales studies and flashing tablets were much harder before that point, and were unlikely to have been an important part of the esoteric lesson plan---at least among amateur artists.

Westcott mentions that there is an older color scale that were used in the ancient Vault of the Adepts. Exactly what this older color scale looked like is hard to say for sure; the Adept Major ritual doesn't develop the idea enourgh to get a clear look at it without some knowledge of art history. There are also alchemical formulas that are actually about making pigments. So while there is definitely color scales involved in the older magical systems, they were placed much higher in the estoteric Grade system.

One of the things that Nick and I have disagreed over (publically on the internet if you want to go looking---I can't remember what Golden Dawn forum it was on) is the importance of Moina Mathers in the creation of the modern Vault of the Adepts and the modern color scales. My logic tends to be: if I needed a crash course in color theory to understand the color scales and its development into the Vault, then an artist had to be involved. My best bet is Moina Mathers, who was trained as an artist. Nick says that Samuel (MacGregor) Mathers and Westcott could be the ones that brought it in---I am not sure if he was implying that the color scales were built up by a previous esoteric group prior to their founding of the Golden Dawn or if it was invented by them (Nick will reply in the comment section about that one).

One thing that would be helpful to determine which one of us is right would be knowledge about whether Westcott or Samuel Mathers were amateur artists before meeting Moina. If they only started working with the complicated color scales after meeting Moina, then I am inclined to continue crediting Moina---after all, she is the one that was responsible for painting the first RR et AC Vault of the Adepts. I am hoping that one or both of these upcoming books reveals some evidence that would make the answer to this question clearer. Knowing the source authority would clear up some questions that I have about the color scales...beyond how much credit to give to Moina.

But while I am unsure about the source authority for our color scale work, I am positive that it is definitely an esoteric development of the Victorian Age. Before that date, the color scales were much simplier, and applied in a different manner when it came to magical workings. This fact affects a lot of stuff that we do and study today---a cascade effect---including the Tarot and the making of magical talismans.

And just in case, you are wondering, the modern Victorian Age color scales is something that I am not willing to abandon, no matter how wrong they are according to the older esoteric material. I may not be good at alchemy, but I am a fair hand with a paintbrush. For maximum outrage, just remember I use the modern color scales with the Elder Futhark (the Norse Runes).

Are your book reviewers clones?

Given the few books that come out in my chosen field, I tend to check out the new ones as soon as they become available...or at least, I check out their sales page immediately; even through at the moment, I have no money to buy books. Nevertheless, I do find some interesting reading.

Like tonight, I checked out the Amazon page for a book that just came out---no name mentioned---and noticed that it had already gotten four five-star reviews. Actually, there was only four reviews all together. And they were glowing reviews. And all dated December 6th. Get the picture?

Now, as a scholar and a writer, I found myself curious about what other books these people were buying. After all, maybe I can sell them something. Upon looking at the other reviews that they have done, I rapidly realized that I will not be selling these readers any books. I had gotten the picture.

Each of them had brought a baby clothing item, a baseball book, and this new occult book. By the way, the baseball book is the exact same book. And these are the only three reviews that these four people have done. Get the picture?

So this book is selling to a very specific audience, one who has a new baby, only read baseball books written by a fan of the Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy, and who thinks this new occult book is the bees' knees. Get the picture?

I get the picture. If the writer who wrote the book is reading this, I would like to inform you that your audience consists of clones. I am not sure how big that audience is...but good for you for cornering that market. As for your book, not being a clone and having a long list of books that I cannot afford to buy already...well, I think I will take a pass on this one. After all, I am not a cloned baseball loving sheep baby-making machine. I hope that you get the picture.

(And if one of my readers have spotted the book that I am talking about and would like to propose a different theory, please feel free to leave it in the comment section. Please remember that I suspect that this writer will be googling themselves to see what type of press they are getting---bear that in mind before naming the author or the book. I am not sure that we want to give buzz to a book that only clones are reading.)

One Lone Nut in a Mixed Bowl of Nuts

I mentioned briefly in a previous blog post that Pat Zalewski wrote his latest Golden Dawn book, Alchemy and the Golden Dawn, for a single student. (Maybe "student" is the wrong term, maybe "friend" would be a better label---I am just not sure.) Then I got mail. It happens.

Yes, Zalewski wrote his alchemy book with a single student in mind. It is not just marketing hype. There is actually a student out there who was responsible for this book being written. A single student.

Hathoor Temple had a saying that even a Neophyte could function as a Secret Chief. I think that aphorism is related to my father theory that all it takes is one "bad" neighbor to start mowing their lawn and putting in a flower beds to get an entire neighborhood to fix itself up. Or maybe not.

All I know is that I have seen changes in the esoteric community before that could be traced back to a single member of the community.

Should we thank this student or condemn them? I am not sure. Time will tell.

So why hasn't this student weighed in with their opinion of the book? (Really?! I am surprised that someone asked this question.) It is the height of brilliance that this student has kept their mouth shut about their involvement. If it was you, would you admit to it?

I know that there are people just dying to know who this person is---just so that they can use this person's inexperience against them. You know that they are going to get a mailbox full of invites from groups and teachers worse than Pat's once their identity is figured out. "Gee, if you needed Pat's book, then my group is just perfect for you also."

Besides, one of the facts that is oath bound is the identity of the tradition's membership. If this person does not want to admit that they were involved, they do not have to. Even when you are a known member of the tradition, you do not have to tell all about your memberships. Personally, there are a couple of groups that I held memberships in that I would never publically admit to---though in all fairness, the groups would prefer me not to mention being a member either.

And yes, I actually know the student in question. It is a small tradition.

And no, I am not responsible for guiding this person to better teachers, friends and groups. They are free to associate with whoever they want to. Just like they are free to read whatever they want to. It is their time, energy and money; they can spend it however they want to.

They are a lone nut in the big bowl of mixed nuts that is the Golden Dawn community.

Now that I have answered my mail about this, I still have one more comment to make.

David Griffin mentioned in a comment to the blog post in question that he wished that Pat would have just gave this person the manuscript and left it unpublished. But let's be honest, David. No one forced you to read the book; you could have saved your money and time. Other people have reviewed the book without reading it---you could have done the same.

And seriously, I am not sure that it is your duty to protect the whole Golden Dawn tradition. People get exactly the type of instruction that they are ready for. It is part of being human. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "It is all a matter of life experience." Sometimes people need to experience certain teachings and people, so that they can grow.

Putrefaction is an ugly, smelly, disgusting process. But it is necessary. Trying to avoid it, just slows down the acquistion of...well, the important stuff. Take for instance, my compost pile. It is ugly, it is smelly (sometimes), and there are bugs, worms and noisy birds that fed there. I am sure that my neighbors are not fond of my compost pile. Yet I need to have it if I ever hope to restore the soil of my garden without having to use expensive (and ultimately toxic) fertilizer every year.

Pat Zalewski's book serves a purpose. Eventually, its readers will move onto a better understanding of alchemy; it is a necessary way-station in their alchemical understanding. Trust the process, and take comfort in the fact that people get exactly the type of teachers they need to match their level of development. Embrace the putrefaction.

Schizoid Golden Dawn Book Market

Warning: This is one of those posts where if you know that I have a tendency to make you upset, then you are better off reading something else. Especially if my nasty habit of looking at Golden Dawn as a marketplace annoys the bejeezus out of you. I suggest you go read Harry Potter or the True Blood series---after all, I don't want anyone to die of a seizure just because I am a happy little cynic and they don't understand my sense of humor.

Today, during a moment of boredom, I was cruising around the interent looking at book reviews of occult books. It is something writers do---we go looking for the most bizzarre criticisms and book reviews that we can find.

This pasttime got me to thinking about certain aspects of the Golden Dawn book market. Basically, the fact that it is the most schizoid book market that I know of.

On one hand, the reader wants new material. But...and it is a big but...it has to be OLD material.

A few years ago, a publisher saw a snippet of some material that I was kicking around writing. They were interested in seeing the completed project...clear up to the point that they learned that the material was developed within living memory.

Then they were no longer interested.

One of the sad truths about the Golden Dawn book market is that only material by dead, famous Adepts sells. And given how small the market is, that is really sad.

(Before anyone attempts to tell me that occult writers are making big bucks---remember I am in the business, I seen actual figures of copies sold and how little royalty was paid out. No occult writer, especially a Golden Dawn writer, is making real money writing about the occult. Maybe the New Age writers are, but not Golden Dawn writers. And don't use Donald Michael Kraig as part of your argument, he is not actually a Golden Dawn writer.)

But the Golden Dawn market is schizoid. If you do somehow get your hands on something old, you are yelled at for breaking oaths of secrecy.

So on one hand, anything that you came up with on your own is viewed as worthless. In fact, if you do come up with something on your own, hordes of people will come out of the woodwork to proclaim that it is not really Golden Dawn material, and furthermore that you are not a real initiate of the Golden Dawn to begin with.

And on the other hand, if you publish something old, you are lynched for breaking secrecy.

Given the schizoid nature of the book market, it is amazing that any new Golden Dawn books ever come out.

And yes, I believe that this is a problem. Not only does it ensure that almost all Golden Dawn books are rehashes of previously published material, it ensures that all Golden Dawn writers are hated, and that people don't know enourgh to avoid some of the most un-Golden Dawn-like Orders. It is like a bad hostage situation.

And this hostage situation is enforced, nay encouraged, by some Golden Dawn leaders. And sock puppets. And generally nasty human beings. And all of them have an ax to grind and someone's back to stick it into.

The saddest part is that I know that a horde of angry readers is coming for me. And before you ask: No, I am not going to publish any secret documents. I am the type of writer who gets bad-mouthed for developing opinions of his own.

Quite honestly, someone should go to Third Order and get them to make an official rule banning all writers from the system from this point on. That way, no writer would ever think about becoming interested in writing about Golden Dawn---it would save some poor writers some time and energy. And it would allow the various groups to go back to being the pure monopolies of esoteric wisdom that they want to be. Sounds like a win-win for everyone, doesn't it?

(That last comment is not necessarily directed at who you think it is directed to. I have met a dozen leaders over the years who claimed Third Order contact---which is one of the reasons that I am skeptical of all Third Order claims. I have yet to see any such claim not prove to be false and a merely ploy by a bad leader to lift people's wallets and control their minds. But one can hope that the next claim is different, right? Someone please prove this happy little cynic wrong.)

And if you did not see the humor in this post, it is your fault for not listening to my warning in the first place---I told you to go read something else.

What are QDBR Quick and Dirty Book Reviews?

I have decided to do a new form of book reviews (new for me, that is) on my blogs: Quick and Dirty. They will not be the longest or best reviews I have ever done; but considering that occasionally I obtain new books and do not currently have time to do longer or more detailed reviews, it is the best that I can hope for (sometimes).

Typically, they will be based on a quick (and perhaps partial) reading of the book in question. They definitely will not be based on a deep reading of the book. Think of the quick and dirty book reviews as a first impression of the book.

As they are based on my first impression of a book, I do reserve the right to change my opinion of the book later when I have more time to really examine it. (Actually, I reserve that right with my regular book reviews.)

They will also be short reviews unlike the ones that I post on the article and content sites (such as Associated Content). Being posted to my own personal blog means that I do not have to get them across the 400 word mark.

I will probably expand the idea to other media later. I will also try to post the Quick and Dirty reviews on the blog must suitable for them. For instance, on this blog, it will primarily be occult and magical book reviews.

Anyways, that is what I plan on starting to do. Enjoy. Or not.

(Curiously enourgh, after coming up with this idea---I really have a book I want to review, but I really need to do homework tonight and do not have time to finish the book, not alone do a proper review---my Facebook Fortune Cookie of the day said "A feather in hand is better than a bird in the air.")