Enochian
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I am looking to purchase a solid beginner's book that will teach the basics of Enochian. Any suggestions?
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There are none in print that I'd recommend that are really for beginners.
Of course, one reason is that Enochian isn't for beginners. It really should be taken up IMHO only after one is well-grounded in all main areas of ceremonial magick, extensively experienced in astral vision, etc.
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Ok well I'm not "experienced" as in terms of the A.'.A.'., but I have been practicing theurgy for almost 10 years; I believe I had previously posted the info on my background awhile ago. So let me rephrase, are there any suggestions for a well-written book on Enochian that anyone would recomend for starting to develop an understanding of it? I have previously read through what Dr. Regardie wrote in "The Golden Dawn," as well as researching John Dee himself (I wrote three essays on him in college).
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The Golden Dawn (the original, not the Door Stop Edition) is still one of the best. Crowley's Liber Chanokh is the most compact. Denning & Phillips' Vol. V gives an Aurum Solis perspective that has important technical things you can't easily find anyplace else and is an important "graduate level" work.
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@h3fall3n777 said
"I am looking to purchase a solid beginner's book that will teach the basics of Enochian. Any suggestions?"
If you're lucky, you can catch Lon DuQuette giving an Enochian workshop. (Actually, I was disappointed in the hands-on, audience participation Enochian ritual, but I'm sure it was as good a beginner's introduction as one could get. His lecture on the life of John Dee, though, is a hoot, and quite informative.) -
i would recomend both of Lon's books on the subject. His first one "enochian sex magick" was the first book on the subject i read that actually made it understandable and usable. avoid tyson like the plague.
as someone said however, without very good ability in scrying and astral work (or i suppose if your able to evoke to physical appearance you'd be ok) its kinda useless in my experience. I personally didn't find it as dangerous as everyone seems to (maybe b/c i DO expect my magick to actually work so there wasn't any suprise there) but I won't be using it again until I'm given the teachings of my Order on the subject.
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Good point, if you set your subconscious expectations of fear, failiure, or negativities, it will manifest those just as it would going the other way. The subconscious doesn't differentiate between good and evil.
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93,
In my opinion, I do agree that one should have a firm foundation with practical ceremonial magick, and the Qabalah/ Path workings, before attempting any real "Heavy" Enochian workings, such as Aether workings.
However, there is a fantastic "Beginners" book which I highly recommend, which I still believe is in print. It is "THE ENOCHIAN WORKBOOK" by Gerald and Betty Schueler.
Also, a great beginner book in general is Donald Michael Craig's "Modern Magick" It is non Thelemic, but does cover the Enochian tradition, as well as all important aspects of personal training from beginning to end.
After all of this, Commentaries on the Holy Books and other papers, as well as Liber 418, or the Vision and voice is highly recommended. Gems of the Equinox is great, but doesn't have all of the great footnotes from Israel Regardie, like the original Vision and Voice.
Start with the basics. The Enochian system is a highly complex system, and IMHO is where one will, after obtaining K&C with ones H.G.A., that the Aether workings, if properly performed, may just get one passed through from Adeptus Exemptus,(7)=[4], to that of Magister Templi. 8=3
There is a lot more to this, but in a nut shell, this is my structure that I have followed, and taught for years. (Excluding a lot of curriculum and study work, as well as practical applied work).
I hope this helps, and best wishes in your endeavors.
93 93/93.'.
Sincerely,
James
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IMHO...
The Schuelers are really the very top of my list of people I recommend folks stay away from. They are atrocious hotbeds of wrong information.
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93 Jim.
Can you elaborate on why you think this is so, in your honest opinion/perception?
93 93/93.'.
James
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93 All.
I know that Jim Eshelman is the Moderator of this forum, has written books, and is a wealth of information.
I was simply adding MY honest opinion in my personal workings and teachings.
Take it for what you will. I am not saying they (The Schuellers) are the greatest knowledge on Enochian magick...The title of the thread was related to a good "Beginners Book".
This is of course MY personal opinion.
As for basic work, I still recommend this book.
93 93/93.'.
James
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93 again all. Just a quote for reading...
The dangers of Enochian Magick have at certain times been blown out of all proportion, and at other times carelessly denigrated. On the other hand, several groups of the Golden Dawn, O.T.O. and A.'.A.'., refuse to practice Enochian Magick at all because they believe it is far too dangerous to meddle with. The truth lies in the middle of these two extremes. There are very real dangers associated with the practice of Enochian Magick. However, proper preparation can significantly reduce or eliminate these dangers. Is Enochian Magick completely safe to practice? No. Is it dangerous? Yes. Is it too dangerous? No; not if safeguards are used and one is properly prepared beforehand. It is like skydiving. Many people enjoy this sport every day without being harmed. But if a skydiver does not prepare himself or herself and the necessary equipment properly before a dive, the results can be devastating.
Probably the best-known danger is associated with the Enochian alphabet. A terrible potential is said to exist inherently in the letters of the Angelic alphabet, since you write out the name of a deity using the Angelic letters, and speak that name aloud but once, you could be visited by the deity in one form or another. Knowing the name of a deity (and this includes demons) establishes a psycho magnetic link between a magician and that deity. According to an ancient Egyptian text, "the life of a person is invested in his name." From the earliest days, humankind realized that the name of any living being had a subtle link with that being, and that by knowing a being’s name you could control it to some degree. Likewise, the general rule is that to control an Enochian deity or demon, one must know its name. Once the name is known the awareness itself produces a subtle link with that deity. This link is sufficient, in some cases, to either allow one to go to the deity or to allow the deity to come to oneself. Because of this, special banishing rituals have been devised to allow the link to be severed, when necessary. Special invoking rituals have also been devised to re-establish the link, when desired.
As a simple example, consider the demon Hate. Once you become familiar with the idea of hatred, with which the name Hate is associated, you will be capable of hatred yourself. In a sense, your mental concentration on the name and its meaning opens a subtle attraction to the emotion itself, and you open yourself up to the demon of Hate, who could possess you at almost any time. The degree of susceptibility to establishing such links is karmic, and varies with individuals. Obviously, as far as Enochian deities are concerned, we will be more susceptible to this danger the more we believe in their reality. Most people refuse to believe they are real, and this belief protects them. In order to practice Enochian Magick, you must accept the reality of its deities. This acceptance will increase your susceptibility to their influences, as well as their danger to you. It is an unavoidable situation, but awareness is the first step in protection.
The real danger with Enochian Magick is not that a monster will jump out at you. The real danger is that the practice of Enochian Magick—treading the path of the Great Work—will by its very nature precipitate much of your stored karma. Past karmic debts, known collectively as one’s "karmic burden," can naturally be worked off over many future lifetimes. When the Great Work is attempted, one of the results is the dissipation of one’s karmic burden. In effect, the karma that would normally take lifetimes to work out is worked out in this lifetime. Obviously this situation is not limited to Enochian Magick, but is true for all paths of the Great Work.
There are several safeguards a magician can use to reduce the dangers involved in the practice of Enochian Magick. The most obvious is to obtain knowledge. Know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Ignorant behavior, even when one’s motives are pure, usually ends in disaster. Another is to cultivate a sincere love for your fellow human beings—a true desire to help others. Compassion is a necessity for work in the higher Aethyrs, and without it you will be in very great danger indeed. Morality aside, it turns out those strong feelings of compassion and selfless love coat the aura with a protective shield that few demons can penetrate. Without compassion, the ego will quite often have fear for itself in some form or another. It turns out that fear attracts demons of the worst sort, and can be ruinous for many magickal operations. The magician must conduct his or her exercises without fear. Perfect love casts out fear, and though it may sound trite in today’s world, nevertheless it is true that love is the best and surest safeguard a magician can have.
93 93/93.'.
James
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@Shachdar8=3 said
"Can you elaborate on why you think this is so, in your honest opinion/perception?"
Well, first I'd have to go back through the books (one or two or which I think I still have around here). It would be a tedious job - more or less a page-by-page documentation of errors, or things made up without saying so, etc.
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93 Jim.
Fair enough response...
93 93/93.'.
James
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93 RifRaf,
I still stand by the answer I gave that for a "Beginners" book, I feel that the Enochian Workbook is a good book for beginners.
As far as the other book you mentioned, "Advanced Enochian Magick", I made no reference to IT at all!
As for the quote...That is exactly what I called it, "A Quote".
I have met the Schuelers, and worked with them in Ritual.
I happen to find them to be great people.
As for borrowed knowledge, I think most everyone does this...Including YOU.
You are on this forum. You obviously read books and borrow knowledge from them, and even work rituals which you may think are correct, but may very well not be.The Tarot deck (Art work) is great. I wouldn't use it for divination, but for visuals for Aethyrs, yes.
We can go on and on about this.
This is a matter of opinion.
It was an answer to an original question in this thread.Obviously there are those of you who haven't come into K&C with their H.G.A.
The Ego's running ramped. Responses to things I never even asked for.
Too funny.Thanks for starting my day off with a laugh RifRaf!!!
93 93/93.'.
James
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@Shachdar8=3 said
"I have met the Schuelers, and worked with them in Ritual."
Great people don't always write great books
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@Shachdar8=3 said
"Also, a great beginner book in general is Donald Michael Craig's "Modern Magick" It is non Thelemic, but does cover the Enochian tradition, as well as all important aspects of personal training from beginning to end"
I ordered Donald Kraig's 11 Lessons in the High Magickal Arts earlier this year purely on reader recommendations at Amazon.com. I regret to say that I was highly unimpressed by Kraig. The chapters seemed rather... fluffy and basic. I haven't read Kraig's Modern Magick and it's possible that the book is brilliant in comparison to 11 Lessons - but "possible" and "likely" are not the same ...
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Great book writers aren't always great people either.
I am not starting an argument...Just stating a point of personal opinion.
I have also worked with Lon Duquette... I think he is a great writer and a great person.I have worked with and will continue to work with many magicians. Thelemic, Enochian, etc.
As for the other comment of ego, and mine being a personal example of it, take a look at your own comment closely. (Rifraf)
I know this is a public forum...That is why I am discussing all of this.
93 93/93.'.
"Thou hast no right but to do thy will".
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93
Just making reference to all of the "Duquette" recommendations, and that I have a great deal of respect for him as a writer, a Brother, and a magician.
In the same context, I was, at a latter point, making a similar recommendation to the Scheulers.
And yes, you did allude to "Ego". As I did!
Anyways, I am done with the petty little b.s. that goes on in a single thread.
It is quite ridiculous, and if I may quote another person on this forum, it would be quite tedious to go any further than this.
<To the original person that posed the question in the thread>
I WISH YOU THE BEST ENDEAVORS IN YOUR ENOCHIAN RESEARCH.93 93/93.'.
In L.V.X. and N.O.X.
James
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93 Rif Raf,
I am not upset, nor have I been upset. See, this is one problem that people get through e-males, posts, etc. One never knows how to take what the other is trying to say.
Does this make sense?
Anyways, I appreciate all of the feedback and responses that I got about the Shuelers. It is just funny when asked why, people (other than yourself), cannot, or would not take the time to give any real reason as to why the "Enochian Workbook" is so "Bad" for a "Beginner".
I know that there are revisions that need to be made to the tablets, etc.
However, it is the same system the Golden Dawn had used.
I also disagree with most all traditional elemental directions, and how the pentagrams are drawn. I could go on and on about the "Bad" things in regard to the Shuelers work. But, for a BEGINNER, I think it has the basic fundamentals needed to at least give one an overview of the whole system and at least get started.There are other books that have similar information.
(LBRP), YOGA, GRP, GRH, etc. Some more "Thelemic", like Lon's books.This was simply a recommendation.
I am in no way upset.93 93/93.'.
James