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An Introduction to Ritual Magic
Each chapter is supplemented and expanded by a companion chapter on the same subject by Gareth Knight. In Dion Fortune's day the conventions of occult secrecy prevented her from being too explicit on the practical details of magic, except in works of fiction. These veils of secrecy having now been rolled back, Gareth Knight has taken the opportunity to fill in much practical information that Dion Fortune might well have included had she been writing today. In short, in this unique collaboration of two magical practitioners and teachers we are presented with a valuable and up-to-date text on the practice of ritual or ceremonial magic "as it is". That is to say, as a practical, spiritual and psychic discipline, far removed from the lurid superstition and speculation that are the hallmark of its treatment in sensational journalism and channels of popular entertainment.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
178 people want to read
About the author
Dion Fortune
136 books464 followersViolet Mary Firth Evans (better known as Dion Fortune), was a British occultist and author. Her pseudonym was inspired by her family motto "Deo, non fortuna" (Latin for "by God, not fate").
From 1919 she began writing a number of novels and short stories that explored various aspects of magic and mysticism, including The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, and The Secrets of Dr. Taverner. This latter is a collection of short stories based on her experiences with Theodore Moriarty. Two of her novels, The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic, became influential within the religion of Wicca, especially upon Doreen Valiente.
Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine, meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism; The Mystical Qabalah, an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah; and Psychic Self Defence, a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries.
From 1919 she began writing a number of novels and short stories that explored various aspects of magic and mysticism, including The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, and The Secrets of Dr. Taverner. This latter is a collection of short stories based on her experiences with Theodore Moriarty. Two of her novels, The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic, became influential within the religion of Wicca, especially upon Doreen Valiente.
Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine, meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism; The Mystical Qabalah, an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah; and Psychic Self Defence, a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 22, 2023
This is a solid overview of the role of visualization as a tool in magic and methods to train that skill. It is a bit more explicitly Christian then I personally would like but it’s a solid starting point.
April 1, 2016
Perhaps one of the best places to start off with in the book world of ritual magic would be Dion Fortune. She founded the Society of Inner Light and has a background in psychoanalysis. Her work explains the mechanics of magic and manages to remain down to earth. Gareth Knight is a student or at least someone who is strongly influenced by Dion Fortune.
This following book is co written by both and yet it was not. Garett Knight collected article that Dion Fortune wrote for her magazine, compiled them and then wrote Jos own chapter on the subject. I must say that it was easier to understand Dion Fortune than it was Gareth Knight. This is a surprise cause usually the older is harder to understand than the newer.
The book tackles a variety of subjects. Such topics are : types of mind working, Mind training, use of ritual,initiation, astral forms etc.
Some salient points that jump out are the importance of the mind in doing occult operTions, The mind must be trained to pick up psychic sparks and perceive entities. The mind must be slowly trained to do these things. Remember magic is the art of changing consiousness at will. Dion is mind over matter just like I am. The sephirot of the quabalistic tree is the core of all western occultist. Moreover ritual has basic structure but the symbols change from
Pantheon to pantheon. Different sephirot can balance each other out.
Over all great book. Filled with information and easy to read. Thumbs up,
This following book is co written by both and yet it was not. Garett Knight collected article that Dion Fortune wrote for her magazine, compiled them and then wrote Jos own chapter on the subject. I must say that it was easier to understand Dion Fortune than it was Gareth Knight. This is a surprise cause usually the older is harder to understand than the newer.
The book tackles a variety of subjects. Such topics are : types of mind working, Mind training, use of ritual,initiation, astral forms etc.
Some salient points that jump out are the importance of the mind in doing occult operTions, The mind must be trained to pick up psychic sparks and perceive entities. The mind must be slowly trained to do these things. Remember magic is the art of changing consiousness at will. Dion is mind over matter just like I am. The sephirot of the quabalistic tree is the core of all western occultist. Moreover ritual has basic structure but the symbols change from
Pantheon to pantheon. Different sephirot can balance each other out.
Over all great book. Filled with information and easy to read. Thumbs up,
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews