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Another book review--High Magick
High Magick: A Guide to the Spiritual Practices That Saved my Life on Death Row
Damien Echols
Sounds True, Boulder Co, 2018
9781683641346
For centuries ceremonial or ritual magic has been the confined to the upper ranges of society. The books describing the practices were expensive in the era before printing and dangerous to own for centuries after because of religious suspicion of magic. Only recently have texts describing the mental exercises that constitute ritual magic become available in mass market editions and in forms written for the average reader.
However High Magick is not an ordinary rehashing of information available in other sources. Damien Echols spent over 18 years on death row in Arkansas state prisons and taught himself magic from books. He credits his practices with keeping him alive as his appeals slowly made their way through the system. He presents magic as a practical way to link with universal spirit and to shield oneself from negative energy. Needless to say, a cell in death row is probably the most negative environment society has.
The information in High Magick can be found in many other books. However the sheer passion of the author seems to lend a different dimension to his instructions.
The material includes instruction in mental focus and visualization as well as basic meditation, the four-fold breath and methods of raising energy. Echols includes clear step by step instructions for the middle pillar exercise, the Qabalistic cross and the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram. Comments on his life and experiences and general advice are interspersed with more traditional instruction. This is not an impersonal guide to an esoteric subject; it is a personal introduction both to the art and to its results.
Damien Echols
Sounds True, Boulder Co, 2018
9781683641346
For centuries ceremonial or ritual magic has been the confined to the upper ranges of society. The books describing the practices were expensive in the era before printing and dangerous to own for centuries after because of religious suspicion of magic. Only recently have texts describing the mental exercises that constitute ritual magic become available in mass market editions and in forms written for the average reader.
However High Magick is not an ordinary rehashing of information available in other sources. Damien Echols spent over 18 years on death row in Arkansas state prisons and taught himself magic from books. He credits his practices with keeping him alive as his appeals slowly made their way through the system. He presents magic as a practical way to link with universal spirit and to shield oneself from negative energy. Needless to say, a cell in death row is probably the most negative environment society has.
The information in High Magick can be found in many other books. However the sheer passion of the author seems to lend a different dimension to his instructions.
The material includes instruction in mental focus and visualization as well as basic meditation, the four-fold breath and methods of raising energy. Echols includes clear step by step instructions for the middle pillar exercise, the Qabalistic cross and the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram. Comments on his life and experiences and general advice are interspersed with more traditional instruction. This is not an impersonal guide to an esoteric subject; it is a personal introduction both to the art and to its results.