There’s been a veritable multi-trickle of good stuff seeping into the PO Box recently. I’m very pleased to see so many good books being published, and more people should know about it. Therefore, ta-daa… The must-read list of right now!
Aki Cederberg: Journeys In the Kali Yuga – A Pilgrimage From Esoteric India to Pagan Europe (Destiny Books 2017)
Aki is my dear friend and also a contributor to The Fenris Wolf over the years. Aki’s stories about his own pilgrimages and processes are amazing in this kind of chapter format. Now these pieces and many more have been brought together into a totality of a great spiritual adventure. And also contextualised by looking at similarities between Hindu and Nordic pagan cultures. It’s a fascinating read that truly sets associative anthropology/mythology muscles in action. And it makes me want to travel even more.
ORDER JOURNEYS IN THE KALI YUGA HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Journeys-Kali-Yuga-Pilgrimage-Esoteric/dp/1620556790
Hereward Tilton & Merlin Cox (eds): Touch Me Not – A Most Rare Compendium of the Whole Magical Art (Fulgur 2017)
This is a real mindblower of a book. It contains a facsimile of an old grimoire from the early 19th century, and based in turn on medieval and 18th century German “Höllenzwang” books. Yes, it’s all about demons and infernal forces, to be commanded mainly in the pursuit of hidden treasures (seemingly a corner stone of the German mythological psyche). But although the bits and pieces of text are fascinating (and I’m sure some die-hards will probably try the efficacy of the supposed magic) I’m mainly loving this book because of the illustrations. The mix between figurative skill and a wonderful sense of infernal imagination becomes almost timeless. It ties in with weird medieval Christian fantasies as well as with surrealism (sort of 150 years ahead) as well as with William Blake as well as… You get the picture: it’s amazing stuff! This is the perfect coffee table book for any home owner with demonic inclinations. These creatures apparently exist. At least in the minds of their creators. And now also in the readers’ minds. Thank God.
ORDER TOUCH ME NOT RIGHT HERE:
https://fulgur.co.uk/books/edited-by-hereward-tilton-and-merlin-cox/touch-not/?v=f003c44deab6
Ithell Colquhoun: Taro As Colour (Fulgur 2018)
British surrealist Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) worked with many different media and expressions (also including writing) during her fascinating career. Gradually her art merged with esoteric and magical ideas. One of her projects was to manifest a tarot deck, and this book contains the plates in beautiful reproduction. Originally these were painted on enamel and exhibited together in 1977. The images look a bit like Indian Tattwa paintings that have been blown up, or Rorschach patterns. Included in the book is also Colquhoun’s essay about the images and ideas, as well as an essay by scholar Amy Hale. It’s a wonderful insight into the mind of an important artist who, together with Leonora Carrington, constitutes the main female axis of British surrealism. A lovely book!
ORDER TARO AS COLOUR RIGHT HERE:
https://fulgur.co.uk/books/ithell-colquhoun/taro-as-colour/?v=f003c44deab6
A nice little portrait film on Ithell C can be watched HERE:
Rain al-Alim: Jinn Sorcery (Scarlet Imprint 2018)
Another beautiful Scarlet Imprint tome! Their most recent title Jinn Sorcery is about… That’s right: Jinn Sorcery. With chapter titles like Conjuring Jinn for Dream Revelation, Al-Mandal: Techniques of Scrying, Jinn Workings and Evocation Rites, Summoning the Personal Qareen, and The Seven Jinn Evictions, we are here knee-deep in old school magic. It seems Scarlet Imprint are hell-bent on providing us with post-apocalyptic magical tools (a very intelligent idea), and this one is, on the surface, for those with an Arabic slant (the source material in the books stems mainly from Egypt and Morocco). But magic is, as we so well know, region- and timeless, so this collection would be useable for anyone anywhere with an inclination for the poetic grimoire-magic of yesteryear; thus hopefully catapulting it forwards into the future. Nice and cozy evening reading together with a stiff – please forgive me! – Jinn & Tonic.
ORDER JINN SORCERY RIGHT HERE:
https://scarletimprint.com/publications/jinn-sorcery
Send me more things to mention/write about… Books, records, movies, what have you: Carl Abrahamsson, PO Box 8105, SE-104 20 Stockholm, Sweden. Thank you.
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