Making Talismans Living Entities Of Power

| Wednesday, August 9, 2006 | |
Making Talismans Living Entities Of Power Cover

Book: Making Talismans Living Entities Of Power by Nick Farrell

This is a great book. While it is quite in depth, it is also great for beginners. I started out trying to gather bits and pieces of Information about the actual making of Talisman and found that many of the writers simply wrote very short sections without indepth detail as to how and why Talisman are made the way they are. The author thoroughly explains in this book how to create a Talisman from start to finish and how to 'charge' them. Great book on 'Making Talismans.'

Talismans and How They Work A talisman, amulet, or charm is any physical object that stores and radiates a magical energy to create change. A metallic disk, stone, wand, sword, pen, paper, or television remote control can be a talisman provided that it is dedicated toward a "magical purpose. The definition of magic, however, has successfully eluded occultists for centuries.

Aleister Crowley, a Golden Dawn adept, devised the most widely accepted definition of magic. He argued that magic is "the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will, but this is too wide a definition to be of much use. Crowley, himself, admitted that this definition implies that any willed act is magical. While turning on a light switch may be perceived as magical to someone who has not seen electricity, most would not define it as a magical act.

Another definition of magic, touted by more than one magical school of which I have been a member, is "the art of causing meaningful coincidences at will." This is equally unsatisfactory, though, since Magical Work does not always create coincidences that can be seen on the material plane.

While it is not entirely satisfactory either, my definition of magic is " the art and science of becoming a co-creator with a Supreme God. This is not to say that we can be co-equal with the Most High, but rather that we merge into Divinity and its purpose. Occultism teaches that everyone has unlimited potential. We stop becoming successful only when we forget that we are part of an infinite creator. This divine creator aspect of us is like a divine secret self; Jung called it the Higher Self. As this self is realized, we become more in tune with the Divine and have access to more of its powers.

The author not only gives the reader a plethora of different ideas to create Talisman, but goes on to teach the reader exactly what is needed so that the user can use the knowledge gained from this book to use outside sources to create other Talisman.

Great Book, highly recommended!

Nick Farrell (United Kingdom) has been a ceremonial magician since he was 17. Born in England and raised in New Zealand, he was initiated into Builders of the Adytum (BOTA), and is currently an initiate of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn and one of its branch orders, the Order of the Table Round. He now runs a temple in the tradition of Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, lectures and runs workshops throughout the world. He has contributed to Quest, Liongate, and Round Merlin's Table magazines and Chic and Tabatha Cicero's Hermetic Journal. He is currently working on books on magical psychology, earth magic and ritual magic. Nick has a career in news journalism and magazine writing. After more than 15 years working for daily and local newspapers, he is now a full time writer and editor, working for many UK computing and Internet magazines he also advises companies on media relations.

Buy Nick Farrell's book: Making Talismans Living Entities Of Power

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The Roots Of Voodoo

| Thursday, August 3, 2006 | |
The Roots Of Voodoo Cover The roots of Voodoo have been traced all the way back to Africa thousands of years ago. In his book, A Brief History of Voodoo: Slavery & the Survival of The African Gods, Mr. Andy Antippas gives an overview of this fascinating history. The Yoruba people of Southwestern and eastern Dahomey and Togo/Nigeria founded a great city called Ife. It is from the religious beliefs of Ife that Voodoo as we know it today has evolved.

In 1799, a slave uprising in Haiti brought the Free People of Color and their Voodoo religion. These people had no reason to believe that they could not come to this city and worship freely. The first Voodoo Queen in New Orleans was Sanite' DeDe, a young woman who bought her way to freedom, she would later be teacher and mentor to the most famous Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau! She would hold rituals in her courtyard on Dumaine (the same street Erzulie's is located) and Chartres Streets, just blocks away from the Cathedral.

The rhythmic beat of the drums could be heard in during mass! It was because of this that in 1817, the church decided that any religion that was not Catholic would not be allowed to practice within the city limits. Congo Square, now Armstrong Park was the location that the early Voudoun held their rituals. The Voodoo religion is based on one main supreme deity and several demi-gods called Loas. The Loas are much to Voodoo as the Saints are to Catholicism, each one serving a specific purpose. In the language of the Dahomey tribes, the word Voodoo means Gods or Spirits. The Dahomians believed that these spirits had the ability to enter the worshippers. This was believed to be a valuable experience, warding off illness and misfortune. It was in Congo Square where Voodoo became mixed With Other tribal religions of the slaves and with Native American traditions.

Voodoo in New Orleans had started to evolve becoming more indigenous to the city. Eventually, New Orleans Voodoo became immensely different from the purer form of Haitian Voodoo. Tales of Voodoo curses this mystical, spiritualistic religion spawned not only fear and hysteria to New Orleans, but shrouded the Crescent City in a veil of mysticism spilled over into our folklore for over one hundred years. The Voodoo hysteria of New Orleans lasted through the 1950's. It left behind a trail of folklore and legend of Voodoo Queens and Root Doctors who have become ingrained in the city's history.

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