I love books. My house is more like a library with a bedroom than a home with books. So I read lots of books. And the truth is, some of them are not very good. Okay, some of them are really bad. Some of them have me thinking, "Well, that's several hours I'll never have back again!" But when it comes to non-fiction books, there's an added dimension to this. Even if you think a book is not good, reading it and correcting errors in your mind proves you know more than the author. To my way of thinking that's a great thing. Every book you read either adds to the knowledge you possess or proves you have a great deal of knowledge already. So in reality, when it comes to occult and magick books,

I don't know who originally stated it (maybe one of my readers knows), but there's a statement running around the U.S. political blogosphere that "Republicans look for a leader while Democrats look for a consensus." Whether or not you agree or disagree with this description, it would seem that the organization of occult groups seems to fall into one of two major categories: Those that have a leader whom members follow and those that seek a consensus from all members. Each has benefits and negative aspects. I contend it's important to understand which format your magickal group, order, coven, etc. follows. By stressing the positive aspects and being aware of the potential negative aspects

Hermetic Virtues Hermetic Virtues is one of my favorite journals. The latest issue, Volume VI Number 2, continues their record of excellence. This issue begins with an article by Chic and Tabatha Cicero (You can pre-order the new edition of Israel Regardie's The Philosopher's Stone with the Cicero's incredibly valuable notes and additions now) on "Osiris in the Golden Dawn System."  There is a section, here, that's fascinating: …the Throne of Osiris—the Throne of the Spiritual Realm—is situated upon the Dais in the East of the Neophyte Hall, the place of "Light." Aaron Leitch has pointed out that this was exactly how the Egyptian Gnostics described the Spiritual Realm. In the

Over a decade ago I was feeling frustrated over seeing the way most Westerners thought about Tantra. If you're like most people, Tantra is "that sex stuff." Or perhaps you know a bit more about it and thought that it was all about sacred sexuality and extending periods of sexual bliss. In fact, Traditional Tantra consists of some of the oldest, continually practiced Pagan traditions in the world. To say that Tantra is just about sex is like saying Wicca is just about the Great Rite or that the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the worlds fastest production car, is just about its gas cap. [caption id="attachment_12594" align="aligncenter" width="504"] Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super SportPhotograph