Recently I had the pleasure and privilege to visit the New Alexandrian Library, which is run by the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel. I was in the area to present classes, but I also visited for the express purpose of seeing the library and donating some of the rare works that I've had in my possession. I am happy to say those works are now in the possession of the library, where they will be given the finest care and be available for anyone to access who visits the library. The library is a distinct possibility of where my books may go in the event of my death, but that will hopefully be a long, long time off.
The above picture is painting created by Dion Fortune. The NAL had three other paintings from her as well.
The ASW is still in the process of constructing the library, but it's pretty much finished and what I saw looked impressive. They also already have a good collection of rare books and its worth noting that they don't just collect books, but also magazines and periodicals. Most of my donation were issues of UK. Pagan and chaos magic magazines, but also issues of Konton Magazine, and some chap books by Michael Ford on Luciferian magical practices. I also donated my signed copy of Wilhelm Reich's Character Armor and the gallery copies of Kink Magic, because I know the library will preserve the books and magazines and also make sure people can access them (if only on the property). You can't easily find a lot of this material so having a library that is devoted to the preservation of writing on spiritual topics is essential.
This was a ceremonial chair from an 18th century esoteric order based in Germany.
They don't just have books in the library. I got to see ritual garb, a chair from an 18th century German Lodge and four paintings from Dion Fortune. Again these materials are being taken care of and preserved so that Pagans can see them and appreciate them. We need a place where this kind of preservation will occur, because it allows us to appreciate the magical heritage and foundation that informs the evolution of magic.
A Picture of the many bookshelves crammed with rare esoteric books. The books can be examined in the library, but are not available to borrow. (They do have a part of the library where you can borrow books, but most of the collection is rare books they are preserving).
I know I'll continue donating my collection to the library (at least part of it). At some point I want to donate copies of Immanion Press books to the library and I may actually go through and send them some of the out of print books we have for that specific purpose. Having a space such as this is something I want to support. Admittedly I won't be able to get to it easily, being on the other side of the country, but the fact that there is a library where esoteric works are valued and preserved is important for the Pagan community and something that all of us need to support.
This is a picture of part of my rare collection I donated to the library. I've gotten what I've needed from these magazines and books and want the library to preserve them. You can find all the pictures from my tour here.
Magical Experiments Radio: Interview about Shamanic Astrology with Erik Roth
Radio Interview: I was interviewed by Magick Radio Chicago about Pop Culture Magic. Here's the archived version.
Book Review: Magical Imagination by Nick Farrell
Magical Imagination is a substantial revision of Nick's book Magical Pathworking. I really liked Magical Pathworking and in my opinion Magical Imagination is even better. Having read both books its interesting for me to see Nick's journey in this work and how he has changed as a result. As to the book itself, I found that what I liked about it is that Nick explores pathworking from multiple perspectives and disciplines including archetypal/psychological, mythological, and most importantly through imagination. Nick treats imagination as a magical tool, which is a refreshing change of pace from how its often treated. This is a book that's applicable to a variety of magical paths and should be required reading.
Book Review: Adventures in Consciousness by Jane Roberts
The first half of this book a biographical excerpt of Jane Roberts life, which is interesting if you want to learn about the person behind Seth. I felt it gave me some useful context. However what really interested me was the second half of the book, where Roberts discusses aspect psychology and explores the topic of space/time and how a person's identity creates possibilities. Given that a lot of what she shares is similar to my own work on the topic, I wish I'd read this book years ago, but for anyone reading this book it'll provide some intriguing ideas to help you understand identity and space/time and how they fit together.
Book Review: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip
This was one of the first Fantasy books I ever read and reading it many years later, I'm still struck by the richness of the world and characters. The author is a master of her craft and if you enjoy fantasy or are intrigued by how metaphysical concepts show up in Fantasy this is a book worth reading. Every time I've revisited this book I've felt like I'm seeing a long lost friend and rediscovering the joy that fantasy books first brought me.
Book Review: Firebug by Lish McBride
Firebug is an interesting adventure as the main character and compatriots seek their freedom from their boss. The universe is set in our world and is somewhat similar to the Dresden Files universe, though the author does enough to distinguish her books from Jim Butcher's. I like her other books, but while I did enjoy this one, it just didn't grab me in the same way as her previous works. Part of the issue is that the main character mainly comes off as whiny and ineffective. I don't really care about her or the other characters. The pacing of the story is a bit of a slog, though it picks up a bit in the last 5 chapters.