Product Description

Learning Ritual Magic is a training manual for anyone serious about improving their magic based on the western mystery traditions, including tarot, ritual magic, Qabalah, and astrology. "What you get out of [magic] can be measured precisely by what you are willing to put into it—and time is the essential ingredient in successful magical training," the authors write. And just as no one expects to run a marathon or play a Bach violin concerto without sufficient training, so practitioners of the magical arts shouldn’t expect to work complex, powerful magical rituals without a solid grounding in the techniques of Hermetic high magic. By spending at least a half hour a day practicing the lessons found in Learning Ritual Magic, the solitary apprentice attains the proper groundwork and experience for working ritual magic.

Learning Ritual Magic provides lessons on meditation and a set of exercises designed to develop basic skills in imagination, will, memory, and self-knowledge, all of which are absolute fundamentals to magical attainment. While the authors discuss the essentials of magical theory, they focus on daily, basic perspectives rather than launching into details of advanced practice.

Designed for the solitary practitioner, Learning Ritual Magic concludes with a ceremony of self-initiation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #449543 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 271 pages

Review
This book will provide fascinating reading and education. Congratulations to the authors for a job well done. Excellent. -- Lee Prosser, Ghostvillage.com

About the Author
John Michael Greer, Clare Vaughn, and Earl King, Jr. founded a magical order in the Rosicrucian and Golden Dawn traditions, updated for modern times. Greer is the author of Paths of Wisdom: The Magical Cabala in the Western Tradition, Circles of Power: Ritual Magic in the Western Tradition, Earth Divination, Earth Magic: A Practical Guide to Geomancy, and Natural Magic: Potions and Powers from the Magical Garden. The authors live in Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews

EXTREMELY INTENSIVE PRACTICAL WORK, incredibly valuable!
THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THE BEST PURCHASES I HAVE MADE IN MY LIFE.
It is an incredibly in-depth and extensive introduction to practical magic, and is an invaluable tool to help develop the skills of meditation, concentration, observation, imagination, visualization, memory, and will power. Also, it is an excellent introduciton to tarot cards, Qabalah,number symbolism, the theory of the five elements (water-earth-fire-air-spirit) and an incredibly vast range of esoteric/occult philosophy... all of which intertwine and overlap, and mix in with the practical work. I am absolutely amazed at how much substance and depth has been packed into every chapter.

encountering magic can be difficult without a starting point or guide- the subtitle of this book says it all, it is a way for people to start on their own. Each chapter is organized in a very clear and straightforward stye, and each chapter is a lesson that you work on over two weeks (or more, if you have time constraints). The lessons develop on eachother, so the book takes about 9 months to finish... getting through it and doing all the exercises is, in itself, a great way to develop your willpower!

The rituals taught in this book are the Qabalistic Cross, the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, and the Middle Pillar exercise. These are rituals are all from the Golden Dawn tradition, and are basically meditation and visualzation exercises intended to develop your inner faculties. While the rituals are excellent, i find the real value of this book is the tarot exercises and work with the Tree of Life... while these are essential and fundamental aspects of occult philosophy/practice, it can be difficult to find an entry point into learning about them. The exercises in the book guide you through incredible exercises that provide an incredible practical way of learning about the tarot, Qabalah, number symbolism, and much more. there is also great emphasis on learning about your psyche and increasing body awareness.

I had also considered buying Kraig's "modern magick", and Newcombe's "21st Century hermetics", but decided against them when i compared them against this book. i am extremely happy with the decision! compared against the other two this book seems far more practical, and more likely to provide an intensive/thorough experience for people who want to develop their inner abilities.

I'm half way through this book now, and though i like to wait until i'm totally finished, i felt i should put up a review to help people who may be considering buying this book or others like it. i can gaurantee that the reason other people have not reviewed it yet is because it is a book you need to work with over a long period of time. this might scare people off, but ultimately what you get out of anything is proportional to the effort and time you put into it... i look back over the parts i have read again and again, and astonished that the book always reveals deeper layers of meaning with every read. definitely one of the best purchases of my life...

Great Way to Get Your Feet Wet
I highly recommend this book to those interested in exploring the Western Mystery Tradition. The authors start you out immediately with practical work that builds on itself. On top of that, you have mandatory reading from other occult works. After a few weeks, you will know if you are cut out for it and if you want to continue.

For me, it helped me build a daily routine in which I dedicated myself to the work. After four months, I felt competent to begin working on the Cicero's Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition without stumbling over the beginning exercises.

All in all, from personal experience, this is a great way to get started in your studies and practice.

Condition of my book
The book was delivered in good condition in a timely and orderly manner. I was very pleased.