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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
It's hard, I think, to rate a book like that. It's not a work of fiction, there are no objective rules by which to judge it and, therefore, it's not something that you can grade. It is, however, a fascinating read which entwines psychology and philosophy with the occult. And it's quite an easy read at that; not pretentious at all and written in such a manner that pretty much anyone will be able to just pick it up and understand it and be able to practice the technices menioned therein.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Had no idea what to expect, there are points and exercises that can be useful and helpful to ones outlook on life. Although alot of the terms go over my head or I'm not open enough however it's still an interesting read !
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
The actions and rituals described can be intense at times. In a way you want to know more drawn further in to the whys? And hows? Of the practises described, reader descrestion advised.
The book is a bundle of two smaller books, The Liber Null and the Psychonaut.
The first one is nothing but a bunch of gibberish. Lots of unfunded affirmations pepper with made up words to make it sound deep and important. It’s no different than any other made up system of tough such as Scientology with is Thetans and its Lord Xenu.
At least in two different occasion it makes claims that are easily verifiable to be false. For example:
This affirmation by the author is pure nonsense. Firewalking is very well understood by basic science and you can test the principle at home and educate your small children at the same time by simple taking two plastic cups, one empty and one filled with water. If you put a burning match or the flame of a lighter to the bottom of the empty one, it will burn immediately creating a hole on the cup, but if you do the same with the one that has water on it, nothing will happen because a large part of the heat will be transferred to the water so the bottom of the cup will not burn unless the water grows hot enough. This happens because water is a much better conductor of heat than air, so it can absorb a larger amount of it, that is why it is used as a refrigeration means in things like cars (radiator) or computers (liquid cooling).
In the feet, blood accomplished the exact same thing, allowing you to briefly walk on hot coals. Now, if you stand in the coals for a couple of seconds without moving, you will burn because the blood will no be able to absorb enough heat.
The second book has some interesting insight on biology and psychology and some general good advice. For example:
The author it is surprisingly reasonable and down to earth about what he expects to get from his “magical” pursuits:
He also explains and denounces the more common technics used to manipulate people by governments, cults, religions, etc. advising the reader to be on the look out for them and to denounce them and ridicule them.
This book was not what I was expecting at all. I was looking for a set of practical experiments and a compilation of insight on things like synchronicity. There is very little of it on the book and a whole bunch of general gibberish.
The first one is nothing but a bunch of gibberish. Lots of unfunded affirmations pepper with made up words to make it sound deep and important. It’s no different than any other made up system of tough such as Scientology with is Thetans and its Lord Xenu.
At least in two different occasion it makes claims that are easily verifiable to be false. For example:
Lévitation (which includes the ability to walk on water and fire, as well as in the air, or at fantastic rates across the earth) is accomplished by supporting the body's weight with these aetheric force lines. In the case of firewalking, the force is used to repel the heat and flames.
This affirmation by the author is pure nonsense. Firewalking is very well understood by basic science and you can test the principle at home and educate your small children at the same time by simple taking two plastic cups, one empty and one filled with water. If you put a burning match or the flame of a lighter to the bottom of the empty one, it will burn immediately creating a hole on the cup, but if you do the same with the one that has water on it, nothing will happen because a large part of the heat will be transferred to the water so the bottom of the cup will not burn unless the water grows hot enough. This happens because water is a much better conductor of heat than air, so it can absorb a larger amount of it, that is why it is used as a refrigeration means in things like cars (radiator) or computers (liquid cooling).
In the feet, blood accomplished the exact same thing, allowing you to briefly walk on hot coals. Now, if you stand in the coals for a couple of seconds without moving, you will burn because the blood will no be able to absorb enough heat.
The second book has some interesting insight on biology and psychology and some general good advice. For example:
Developing an ego is like building a castle against reality. It provides some defense and a sense of purpose, but the larger it is, the more it invites attack, and, ultimately, it must crumble. There is a further problem. All fortresses are also prisons. Because our beliefs imply a rejection of their opposites they severely restrict our freedom.
The author it is surprisingly reasonable and down to earth about what he expects to get from his “magical” pursuits:
MAGICAL, MYSTICAL, AND religious enterprises seek to fulfill five basic human needs, which can be identified as follows:
To provide techniques of Emotional Engineering.
To give life a sense of Meaning.
To provide some means of Intercession or Intervention.
To supply an explanation of Death.
To formulate a Social Structure or Cult.
He also explains and denounces the more common technics used to manipulate people by governments, cults, religions, etc. advising the reader to be on the look out for them and to denounce them and ridicule them.
People are not persuaded into belief intellectually. They are persuaded to perform religious acts in childhood or while under stress. Afterward they develop or accept the rationalizations and opinions that go with it. To convert a man to anarchism, persuade him to throw a bomb for various romantic emotional reasons. He will subsequently have to adjust his beliefs to justify what he has done. .... At first only the smallest and most inconsequential obediences will be demanded. These force the rationalization that one is in fact loyal to whatever one is giving one's obedience to. This loyalty is but a stepping stone to greater acts of submission, usually of one's intelligence, wallet, and sexual favors…
The activities of cults would seem to presuppose a high degree of cynicism among their leaders. This is rarely so. Most have swallowed their own lies and deceptions totally, or else rationalized them in terms of an even higher cause. As a result, their burning obsession equips them with a certain charisma which puts fire in their eyes and inflames their speech. And what is the end result of all this cultish activity? Commercialism or a Police Raid.
…
Attempts to use the various tricks of the teacher enumerated in this section will be immediately spotted and ridiculed.
This book was not what I was expecting at all. I was looking for a set of practical experiments and a compilation of insight on things like synchronicity. There is very little of it on the book and a whole bunch of general gibberish.
fast-paced
I like how practical this book is. The first few pages are the most straightforward meditation and dreaming guide I can imagine (Liber MMM). Next is a pretty self-consistent and reasonable real life magic system that probably gets results even if you think it’s purely psychological. Psychology is pretty dang powerful tho. On the other hand, Western occultism seems pretty sex-obsessed, and this book is no exception.
Overall, I like this book as an initial guide and reference for a magical worldview and system to serve as scaffolding while you figure out what works best for you and what aspects you’d like to swap out. Main idea is to treat your beliefs and worldview as tools that you can swap out and improve and suits you.
Overall, I like this book as an initial guide and reference for a magical worldview and system to serve as scaffolding while you figure out what works best for you and what aspects you’d like to swap out. Main idea is to treat your beliefs and worldview as tools that you can swap out and improve and suits you.
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
This book is a great primer on principles of chaos magic and provides actual instruction in addition to general principles. There are points where the author goes off on unnecessary tangents but it is still a worthwhile read.
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
Couldn't really ask for a better introduction to the concepts of chaos magick and modern esotericism. The first half, Liber Null, focuses on the practice of chaos magick while the second half, Psychonaut, offers a more in depth historical background of esoteric practices and animism.
Check this one out for sure!
Check this one out for sure!
fast-paced
This is the perfect guide for anyone looking to go insane and possibly get arrested. Definitely one of the funniest books on the occult, especially the levitation section. Great resource for anyone interested in modern implementations of weird fiction.