Alex Sumner's Blog, page 10

Pacts With Spirits – and How Not To Make Them

This is a Spiritual successor (!) to a blog post I wrote almost two years ago (Review: Angels of Wrath by Gordon Winterfield), in which I would like to focus specifically on the subject of making Pacts with Spirits, and … Continue reading →

“Self-Isolation in the Golden Dawn Tradition”

Coming soon: the third volume of “The Light Extended, a Golden Dawn Journal” will soon be published and features an article by myself entitled Self-Isolation in the Golden Dawn Tradition. It is essentially a memoir about how to run a … Continue reading →

Review: “The Divinatory Arts” by Papus

Papus (Gérard Anaclet Vincent Encausse, 1865 – 1916), was a leading figure of the French Occult scene at the turn of the 20th century. He authored “Tarot of the Bohemians,” and founded or co-founded the Martinist Order and the Order … Continue reading →

Abramelin Adventures: Magical Books

I would like to express my gratitude to Duke Magoth and his servant Hyrys for my latest Abramelin work with this square. It occurred to me that this is one of the few word-squares that a serious magician could use to further his or her own magical development – i.e. to research obscure magical lore. … … Continue reading →

Review: 44 Letters to Gustav Meyrink, by Alois Mailänder

Gustav Meyrink (1862-1932) is most famous as the writer of The Golem, as well as other occult novels. What is perhaps less well-known is the extent to which he was involved in real-life occultism. That he was in contact with … Continue reading →

‘Revival of the occult’: French youth turn to tarot, astrology during Covid-19

Young people in France are increasingly turning to tarot, astrology and other forms of esoterism, a trend that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent poll. Source: ‘Revival of the occult’: French youth turn to tarot, astrology during … Continue reading →

Alex Sumner’s answer to How and where could I start to practice Magick? (14 years old) – Quora

I am now an experienced Ceremonial Magician. However, when I was fourteen years old myself, I got turned on to the occult not through reading occult books per se, but through Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, and the fiction of … Continue reading →

Heretic of the Week: Dion Fortune

I don’t normally read Catholic Herald, which is why I’ve only just shared a year old story. Apparently, last month, Dion Fortune was the newspaper’s featured Heretic of the Week. I rather think they meant “hermetic” of the week, but … Continue reading →

Ode to a Young Aspirant, On Beginning the Abramelin Operation

(Tune: Che Sera Sera). When I started Abramelin,I asked my genius, “What will I be?Will I be powerful, mighty and rich?”“You’ll have to wait and see.K-C-H-G-A!The future’s not yours to see,Except with chapter one, square three –K-C-H-G-A!” Just a reminder … Continue reading →

Bring It Home: Bringing a Hawke’s Bay occult legend back to life

Rosie Dawson-Hewes’ charming Arts and Crafts home in sunny Havelock North has a mysterious history. Source: Bring It Home: Bringing a Hawke’s Bay occult legend back to life