#anathema publishing

[polyphanes]

Thoughts and Cautions about Litwa's "Hermetica I"

As I’ve referenced countless times on my blog in the past when talking about the classical Hermetic texts, Litwa’s Hermetica II is a fantastic resource for lots of the lesser-read ones among them, especially the Stobaean Fragments but also plenty of other texts that aren’t the Corpus Hermeticum, Asclepius, Armenian Definitions, or the Nag Hammadi Hermetica; it’s a treasure trove of so much that I…

[lostalter]

Jose Gabriel Alegría Sabogal

[arcane-offerings]

G. McCaughry, ed.,Pillars: The Scalding of Sapientia (Montréal, QC: Anathema Publishing Ltd, 2018). Standard Edition. Limited to 611 copies (589/611). 205 pages. https://www.ebay.com/itm/254715233639

[blackthornwren]

The Devil's role is a complex one; by default it generates doubt and fear, leading us to question everything we hold dear and believe in. Those things encompass the nature of being, the omnipotence of a god or gods, the causality of interdependency between ourselves and them, but mostly how to gauge our virtues and vices by clear and licit boundaries. Every day we ask at some point if the Devil was a necessary fiction borne of an autocratic dualistic monotheism?

Shani Oates, The Devil’s Supper, pg. 62

[astranemus]

The Earthen Vessel contains the Holy Fire, the body eternally re-created moment-by-moment, the night of the senses transformed into nocturnal grandeur, ineffable grace and terror, the sacramental perfume permeates the flesh!

Craig Williams, Entering the Desert

[skepticaloccultist]

The Devil’s Supper

"The Devil's Supper" Shani Oates

The devil's history is a forking path, one that has wend its way from times of yore through a maze of cultural conditioning, folkloric interpretation and whole cloth fabrication. The Devil has been many things to many people and fits a service of ideas across a span of time now into millennia.

Shani Oates is a well known author of contemporary traditional witchcraft and the Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain, that path of traditional witchcraft that finds its origins in the writings and teachings of the late Robert Cochrane. Her previous works have given considerable shape to contemporary craft practices, and her insight into the practicalities of craft practice is immeasurable.

Her latest, "The Devil's Supper", is a superb journey through the narratives that have shaped our modern idea of the Devil and his role in society, theology, and witchcraft. Oates' gives us a tour of the fables and legends, from the Mesopotamian through the Graeco-Roman, into the middle ages of Europe, it is a tale of manipulation, speculation and theological propaganda.

In the Devil's Supper Oates provides a context for the slow shaping and reshaping of this figure "The Devil" and those accused of worshipping and having relations with this being. From a "being of the air" to the eventual physical materialization in the form of succubi and incubi the Devil and his supposed followers come from a long narrative of theological suppression, historic revisionism and cultural appropriation.

There is in the work a particularly British perspective, a line being drawn so directly from the ancient past to the English countryside, which makes sense given its author is a leading figure of a well respected British tradition. It treads concepts laid out by previous authors, and gives the reader an astoundingly detailed and compact history - each chapter could nearly be expanded into its own volume.

The volume itself is another spectacular binding by Anathema. A shimmering slightly metallic looking cloth black cover with a devilish impression to the front board and silver lettering to the spine. Rich cadmium red endpapers with a fabric texture highlight the similarly deep red ink highlights used throughout the design.

The pages are of a vellum-like smooth, just slightly off-white, paper and the entire work is heavily illustrated throughout in historic black & white images, woodcuts, and etchings as well as beautiful illustrations by artist Lupe Vasconcelos. It is a wonderful design top to bottom, for which Anathema should be commended. (Though I must ask, why no index? Such a wonderful bibliography and no index leaves an, albeit tiny, blemish on this otherwise perfect volume.)

Shani Oates is herself part of a living current of traditional British Witchcraft and will, I am sure, continue to add to the dialog and development of Craft practice. "The Devil's Supper" is a delightful romp through the historiography of that figure who has haunted European thought for centuries - the Devil.

Find a copy of The Devil's Supper here:

"The Devil's Supper" Shani Oates

[portionsofeternity]

Entering the Desert is one of the most visually pleasing and well formatted books I've ever held. The cloth standard edition is a pearl of simplicity infused with elegant detail. On aesthetics alone, it is my favorite looking book.

I've made a first read of the text and I definitely recommend anyone who is interested to make their purchase, as it is ideal for those who are making early forays into esotericism or are looking to deepen their current practice. Craig Williams LAc does an excellent job of distilling from traditional teachings the essential disciplines of mind and body that act as the stable foundation of any inner practice; a foundation I think is quite lacking in most individuals, myself included, and a foundation that requires consistent work and commitment.

This text is a precious key, and I'm incredibly grateful that Craig has written it, and that Anathema Publishing Ltd. has done such an excellent job in bringing it to publication, with this title as well as others. These are the people holding the torches in the darkness, and for them I have nothing but gratitude. Wonderful work.

[arcane-offerings]

Gabriel McCaughry, (h)Auroræ (Montréal: Anathema Publishing Ltd., 2018) Standard Hardcover Edition. Illustrated by José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal. Limited to 700 hand-numbered copies (457/700). https://www.ebay.com/itm/254770135603