literature not magic
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I bought this book for it's information on ancient magical grimoires such as the key of solomon thinking it would be facinating to find out where golden dawn and gerald gardner got their ideas from, being a literature student i thought it wouldn't be that heavy a read. It was, it was not informative either on the history and origins of the grimoires or for inspiration on any actually magical or ritual works.
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The usual Waite...Pompouse and uninformed
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A.Crowley had his sights set in the right direction every time he knocked A.E.Waite. Waite's terminology is outdated and his "Squaring of the Circle" being a "Mathematical Impossibility" shows Waite's lack of Magickal knowledge. Truly an unstudied fool.
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Decent, but updated
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Possible purchasers of this should actually consider the Book of Ceremonial Magic, since it is a revised an enlarged version of this.
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Informative, but quite droll (much like the author himself)
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The so-called "Book of Black Magic" is more or less a compendium of some of the more infamous medieval grimoires such as the Red Dragon, the Grimoire of Honorius, etc. The book is worth the price for the sheer ammount of knowledge contained within. The general occult public is sometimes hardpressed to gain access to medieval manuscripts and grimoires or is not willing to pay an exorbitant fee for copies form the Bristish Museum. Even then, one must contend with the Middle English dialect (although a company called IGOS sells translated copies of many noteworthy grimoires) and the occaisional swear, crack, or scorch mark on the document. It is for this reason that the "Book of Black Magic" is a worthy addition to your shelf. Although the information is presented lucidly and translated the reader must still contend with the horrible illustrations of Waite (a true disgrace to produce a book with such poorly drawn sigils and seals), not to mention his sheer verbosity. In effect it is a trade-off......we gain this pure compendium knowledge at the high price of reading the pompous (and often inane) outpourings of A.E. Waite. Had this book been written as a sheer compilation without the annoying commentaries by Mr. Waite it would have been a 10. If you can filter his footnotes (which are longer than the book) it is a most worthwhile experience.
--Maofas
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