Paralibrum.
Independent reviews of bibliophile occulture.
'ARCANUM' by Daniel Yates
Arcanum is a book almost entirely made up of images, of stunning macro-lens photographs taken by the highly talented Daniel Yates. Arcanum is also an assassin, as it perfectly understands the sequence of experiences it needs to take us on: From allowing us entrance, to slowing us down, to stilling our gaze, to drawing us in, to showing us a glimpse of the threshold its images can be, to finally pointing into the darkness beyond by means of its illuminating titles and chapters.
‘Dark Star Rising’ by Gary Lachman
While Lachman has deep-dived before into little known occultist tenets informing various political movements in history as a contrarian underground ontology of sorts, Dark Star Rising is rather different. It essays to render some rhyme and reason regarding an incumbent president of the United States (…): Donald Trump. Lachman (…) adopts a markedly phenomenological approach, opting for a reserved and sober analysis encompassing both Trump and his vast right-wing supporter base as well as their shared spiritual fundamentals.
‘The Book of Gates’ by McCarthy, Sheppard, Littlejohn (ed.)
This book comes highly recommended to anyone interested in ancient Egyptian thought and magical history. It is an open invitation to work in the Duat in magical service. (…) However, the book should come with a warning label to proceed at your own risk and with care, as its journey is called the Path of Hercules for a reason. You will find it to be a rich magical and mystical source if you dare to awaken the Ma'ati within.
‘The Gnostics and their Remains’ by C.W. King
Let’s start by bluntly acknowledging that this is not a good introductory book on the topic of Gnosticism. It is, however, a valuable book if one wants to deepen their knowledge of the subject. And it is certainly an interesting document for its historiography and for taking a closer look not only at the Gnostics, but at their physical artefacts: the magical gemstones, commonly known as Abraxas.
‘Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult’ by R.B. Spence
Very few researchers (…) of Hermeticism and Western Esotericism are likely to be familiar with the fact that at the end of the 19th century i.e. at the peak of the Victorian era, there was a publicly known occult organisation that was classified by the security authorities of the time as a most alarming hotbed of political terrorism, separatism and high treason.
‘The Book of the New Sun’ by Gene Wolfe
Here is a short, sharp look into the world of Severian the Torturer. We will examine nothing, but one of its most fascinating creatures and the particular magical elixir prepared from it. As we will see, the mythical alzabo holds several significant lessons in store for us as spirit-workers.
'Decad of Intelligence' by Ithell Colquhoun
In 2017 FULGUR published a set of 10 outstanding spirit-doorways, residing on the crossroads of art and magical practice. Their breathtaking book 'Decad of Intelligence' is a beast so rare and precious, it actually is not a book at all. It is the kind of object you will not want to place on a shelf, but to allow it to breathe in your temple.
‘The Testament of Cyprian the Mage’ by Jake Stratton-Kent
This fine double volume is an expedition into the ancestral blood-ties of the famous sorcerer-saint. To embark on it is to encounter Cyprian the Mage. Not only as the hero of an ancient polemic against the last surviving pagans, but more importantly as an ever present inner contact, a powerful spirit in its own right.
‘Fearless at Work’ by Michael Carroll
Fearless at Work actually isn't a book about work. It's a book about cowardice. The kind of cowardice most of us comfortably have forgotten about, and to aid that process we conveniantly began to call it everyday life. It's the cowardice that masks itself as numb acceptance or bitter withdrawal, as grudging tolerance or thick-skinned suffering.
‘The First Years of the Fraternitas Saturni’ by Volker Lechler
Just like the previous release, Mr.Lechler’s new book on The First Years of the Fraternitas Saturni will be of timeless value to future magicians and occult researchers. Without ever being judgemental or subjectively coloured in perspective the book continues to dismantle many of the myths of our tradition, which we allowed to turn cold and into false orthodoxy.
'Heinrich Tränker' by Volker Lechler
How do you review a book that begins to dismantle the myths of an entire tradition? A tradition that depends so much on the numinous, the ill-defined such as Western Ritual Magic. A tradition that was only able to develop in the absence of books like this.
‘Magic of the North-Gate’ by Josephine McCarthy
Josephine McCarthy is offering us a book that is empowering us to work in union with the forces of Malkuth - not to exploit or escape from them. It is offering a practical path to earn the privilege of growing our own magical roots into the physical matter we are made of. A book that is the ultimate antagonism to any magical escapism you might have come across in new age occulture.
