"The New Encylopedia of the Occult" is a 550-page work by John Michael Greer, who seems to be a member of about a dozen secret societies and occult groups, including three Druid orders, the Freemasons and a hoodoo church (sic). Otherwise, Greer is mostly known from the peak oil scene.
People looking for sensational information about Satanism, black magick, vampires and similar stuff might be disappointed by Greer's encyclopedia. The author concentrates on "White" ritual magic, Hermetic cabala, astrology, Tarot and Neo-Paganism, with a few references to hoodoo. There are also entries on Theosophy and similar movements. You might actually find "The New Encyclopedia of the Occult" boring!
It *is* possible to find factual errors in a voluminous work written by one man - thus, on page 480, Greer seems to suggest that the United Lodge of Theosophists was a split from the Adyar society, when in fact it broke away from Tingley's group. Ouch. OK, I just had to point that out.
Otherwise, I'm pretty sure Greer has covered everything a neophyte or zelator needs to know about telesmetic imagery, tassomancy, the Sworn Book of Honorius, Shemhamphorash, Pentagrammaton, the Ogdoadic Tradition, Malkah be-Tarshishim ve-ad Ruachoth Schechalim, and other subjects that even the Ashtar Command didn't know existed.
Four stars. And please don't hex me.
No comments:
Post a Comment