THE BOOK OF PLEASURE:
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ECSTASY
By Austin Osman Spare, (With Michael Staley)
Publisher London: Jerusalem Press, 2011.
Limited to 900 hand-numbered copies.
Price: $89.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
First published in 1913, this magical book is resplendent with full page symbolist illustrations that represent some of the artist's most corrosive and beautiful draughtsmanship. It is also festooned with examples of his automatic drawings and sigils, this work has established Spare as a formidable and unique figure in twentieth century western magic.
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This edition reprints all the graphics and half-tone illustrations from a particularly fresh and well printed copy of the first edition. We have also located an original art work from the book and will include a new reproduction for inclusion in this edition. Furthermore, a frontispiece in color features a reworked version of one of the original illustrations.
Also, featuring an evocative introduction by Alan Moore, and an illustrated analytical magical essay by Michael Staley.
The Zos and the Kia, collective unconscious, Cosmic Mind - however we formulate it, this gnosis is at the heart of Spare's work from its articulation in The Book of Pleasure, to its development throughout his subsequent work.
- Michael Staley (from his essay)
Spare's book is one of pleasure. It speaks of the joy and the accomplishment that are the natural right of any soul unburdened by the world's imprinted intellectual architectures and emotive double-binds ... It is impossible to recommend this work too highly, so read on. Pleasure yourselves.
Alan Moore (from his introduction)
THE AUTHENTIC RED DRAGON
(LE VÉRITABLE DRAGON ROUGE)
[WITH ]THE BLACK HEN (LA POULE NOIRE)
Translated from the French Edition of 1521
Translated by Joshua A. Wentworth,
With an Introduction by Silens Manus.
Publisher: Teitan Press; 1st, Limited edition (2011)
Price: US $48.95
Le Véritable Dragon Rouge, or as it is more commonly known, Le Dragon Rouge (The Red Dragon) is one of the most notorious of the little books of black magic known as grimoires. This Teitan Press publication includes a complete facsimile of the earliest known edition - a French printing that is dated 1521 (although it was probably actually published in the early 1800s) - along with a complete English translation by Joshua A. Wentworth. It is prefaced with a thoughtful and sometimes humorous Introduction by Silens Manus.
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The text of Le Dragon Rouge is typical of grimoires of the time, and is clearly related to the Grand Grimoire. Its anonymous author claims that the work is derived from the wisdom of the legendary King Solomon, and then sets down instructions for the creation of a number of magical implements: blasting rod (wand), talisman and magic circle, that are to be used to summon the demon "Lucifugé Rofocale," who is then bound over to serve the sorcerer. In the process a great many sub-demons are named, and their attributes listed. This is followed by a series of magic spells or recipes for various purposes; from making oneself invisible, to winning the affections of another, to the cure of various common ailments. The book ends with a chart of lucky and unlucky days and a short version of the treasure-finding text known as La Poule Noire (The Black Hen). Le Dragon Rouge was very popular in early nineteenth century France, going through a number of clandestine and semi-clandestine printings, and is still said to be one of the most highly revered magic texts in certain Voodoo circles in Haiti.
The book is a hardcover, small octavo sized (7 1/4" x 5 1/4") 208pp. Sewn, printed on acid-free paper. Bound in heavy black cloth with a gilt dragon design on the front cover, and gilt title to the spine. Red "coffin silk" endpapers. Rubricated titles and frontispieces, black and white illustrations. ISBN: 978-0-933429-21-5. Edition limited to 800 numbered copies. Price: US $48.95
ALEISTER CROWLEY, THE GOLDEN DAWN AND BUDDHISM:
REMINISCENCES AND WRITINGS OF GERALD YORKE.
Edited by Keith Richmond, with contributions by David Tibet, Timothy d'Arch Smith and Clive Harper.
Edition limited to 930 numbered copies.
Colour frontispiece by Austin Osman Spare, and 16 pages of black and white illustrations.
Hardcover. Octavo (9 x 6 inches, approx 23.5 x 15.2cm), 344pp. Bound in fine black cloth, with gilt titling etc to the spine, crest in gilt to upper board. Sewn, printed on acid-free paper. Illustrated dustjacket. $54.50
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
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Aleister Crowley, The Golden Dawn and Buddhism comprises a series of 20 essays by Gerald Joseph Yorke, set down over a thirty-year time-span. For four years, from 1928 onwards, Gerald Yorke was one of Aleister Crowley’s closest associates, studying with him, acting as his agent, working on his publications, and participating in his magical ceremonies. During that time he also investigated the path of the mystic through a series of “magical retirements” in the course of which he invoked his “Holy Guardian Angel” whilst tramping alone across the deserts of North Africa, and practiced yoga and meditation in the solitude of a cave on the Welsh coast. When he and Crowley fell out in 1932, Yorke set out for China, where he travelled, studied Buddhism, and worked as a Reuter’s correspondent for some three years. On his return to England he resumed contact with Crowley, but as a friend rather than a follower, and after Crowley’s death in 1947 Yorke was one of the handful of people who laboured to preserve the legacy of “The Beast.” In the process he assembled one of the most significant collections of Crowleyana and occult-related books and documents in the world and remained fascinated by the subject, even though on a personal level he had rejected the occult in favour of Buddhism. Immensely knowledgeable, he gave freely of his time and thought, and was instrumental in the publication of many of the most important works of his times on the occult, yoga and Buddhism.
Gerald Yorke’s interests are reflected in the essays and lectures which are published together here for the first time. Most of these pieces were groundbreaking: his short memoir of Crowley was the first sympathetic biographical piece of any length to be published after The Beast’s death, and his essay on Crowley’s O.T.O. and sexual occultism is the first clear account of the subject in the English language. His essays on ritual magic are unique in their matter-of-factness and sanity, and his writings on the Golden Dawn arguably mark the beginnings of historical research into that group. He also wrote knowledgeably on subjects such as Yoga, Tantra, Mantra and Zen at a time long before they had become common terms in the West.
Above all, Yorke’s essays offer a rare blend of straightforward scholarship and genuine first-hand experience. He had known Crowley as few others, and had learned directly from him the principals and practice of magic. Gerald Yorke sifted through a vast archive of then-unpublished Golden Dawn material, and was acquainted with a number of former associates of the Order; he had also studied and practiced yoga, meditation, and aspects of the tantras at a level unimaginable to most Western practitioners of his time. And he wrote on all of these topics with his characteristic wit and good humour.
The essays are accompanied by a biographical Introduction by Keith Richmond, a Reminiscence by Timothy d’Arch Smith, and a revised version of Yorke’s Crowley Bibliography by Clive Harper. The book concludes with a lengthy Interview with Gerald Yorke by David Tibet, undertaken shortly before Yorke’s death in 1983.
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