Ceremonial Magic & the Power of Evocation
by Joseph C. Lisiewski
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joseph C. LisiewskiIntroduction: Christopher S. Hyatt
Introduction: S. Jason Black
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-08-01
ISBN: 1561841978
Number of pages: 204
Publisher: New Falcon Publications
Book Reviews of Ceremonial Magic & the Power of Evocation
Book Review: Lisiewski's First, and a Stellar Start it is
Summary: 5 Stars
Dr. Lisiewski isn't out to make friends in the world of New Age and Esoterica. In this, his first volume, on the subject of evocation, he sets out to dispel not only the myths perpetuated around this basic magickal operation, but also condemns the "religious-izing" of the various esoteric orders. In Dr. Lisiewski's mind, magick is one thing, and the daily adorations and such, which he classifies as worship, entirely another. In his view, which he claims to have backed up by certain senior magickal celebrities, the various esoteric orders have focused on the latter, while neglecting the former. Lisiewski is a physicist, apparently, and what he is after is results, pure and simple. This book was written for those of a like mind.
Lisiewski more or less condemns all of the Orders out there, including, of course, the very ones in which his magical celebrity colleagues were major players, as being, essentially, a hodgepodge of systems which, alone, work perfectly fine, but assembled and combined become impotent. He condemns the New Age for its focus on making "magick" easy, convenient and pain free (and therefore ineffective), the equivalent of a TV dinner. He does, however, acknowledge that each individual needs a unique magical system of their own, and that no system right for one is completely right for another, and provides axioms to assist the aspiring magus in formulating his own effective magical system. Regardless of whether you agree with him (and I most strongly do not on several points), his arguments and perspectives are interesting and at least deserve a measure of respect.
The basic premise of Dr. Lisiewski (similar to that of Savedow, whose occult star is in dramatic decline, if it's even on the horizon anymore) is that the various magickal operations as prescribed by the old grimoires were indeed meant to be followed to the letter. To him, and to those who agree with him, not using the proper tools, drawing the proper circles and saying the proper words as prescribed would be like, say, baking a cake and using mud instead of flour, as it was easier to get access to. He's a purist, and, to his considerable credit, seems to find it incredulous that grimoires (most of which were essentially student notebooks, copied word for word much as notes from a physics lecture) would include deliberate "blinds", especially of such complicated varieties.
The instructions and methods in this book are remarkably simpler (though by no means simple) when compared to the Greater Key or the Lemegeton.
A fact that I found rather incongruous was his (brief) description of the process by which material rewards would come to the evoking magus. While much of the book is spent referring to these rewards, and a whole lot of it spent telling the reader not to deviate from the grimoires in any way, since they are meant to be taken literally, he then says that the rewards are, first, not anywhere near as grand as those promised in the tomes (so, not meant so literally after all) and, second, usually result in something even greater being taken away, as if in payment for services rendered by the spirits evoked. He also seems to have some disdain for the whole process of evocation for spiritual development, and relegates the process to one of getting stuff and getting things done, which will then contribute to ones spiritual advancement. To Lisiewski, doing the evocations and asking for stuff means you're advancing along the path of enlightenment.
While Lisiewski is the expert, I did find his interpretations of some points of the Heptamaron different from my own. For example, on the nature of the Spirits of the Air on Saturday, whose nature it is to: "sow discords, hatred, evil thoughts and cogitations;", Lisiewski states it is the nature of these spirits to increase cognitive function on the part of the Operator, whereas my own reading is that their nature is to sow negative thoughts and (calculated) paranoia on his behalf.
One matter to give one pause, however, is his "slingshot effect". Essentially, any evocation must be done, for all practical purposes, perfectly. There must be a perfectly full manifestation of the entity (yes, that's right - physically), a perfectly complete control established, as well as a perfect charge given to the spirit (not to mention perfect understanding of the principles of the operation itself) or there are consequences. Most of these aren't overly dramatic. However, "a long held, life-sustaining relationship is suddenly broken", and never replaced. Now, I, personally, don't have too many of these and, given how long it would take me to do anything "perfectly", I'd likely run through all of these and end up owing a few before I likely evoked anything to the standards which Dr. Lisiewski sets. Pity there are no practice rounds. Hence, I'm in no rush to put the things this book mentions into immediate practice.
Summary of Ceremonial Magic & the Power of Evocation
For centuries, the ceremonial evocation of spiritual beings has been Magic's darkest corner. Reputed to fulfil the Magician's material desires, evocation has been the topic of the most famous Grimoires - the Grammars of Magic. From the Sworn Book of Honorius the Magician, to the Greater Key of Solomon and the Goetia; from the Grand Grimoire, to the complete treatise of the Lemegeton, all give direct, yet difficult, directions to the individual desiring to have the 'good life' in the here-and-now. But the simplest of Grimoires, the Heptameron of Peter de Abano, has escaped the attention of modern Ceremonialists. Its simplicity and power in summoning the Aerial Spirits is second to none."Ceremonial Magic" lays bare the operation of the Heptameron. Its Magical Axioms, extensive Commentaries, copious notes, and personal instructions to the reader - all gained from Dr Lisiewski's forty-years of study and practice in Ceremonial Magic - make this a resource that no serious student of Magic can afford to be without. It is all here, as in no other Grimoire. Use its instructions and the world of evocation and personal gratification are well within your grasp!Wicca Books
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