This book assumes you have some grounding in basic magical practices. It would be a good to have some idea of what the Hebrew alphabet has to do with the Qabalah, and how it works with gematria, or better yet, have an idea of what gematria is. It would also be a good idea to know a little about thought forms, a touch of Magic Squares, advanced mantras, and maybe some basics in the 9 Gates.
From these foundations David Rankine takes us a step further, exposing us to some "out of the box" thinking on these particular essentials to basic magic practice, and gives us something to ponder and possibly incorporate into our own practices. He also includes some "found" techniques he has devised from his own ponderings and practices, and he explains those rather well.
Some topics of interest include The Prime Quabalah, The Kalas, The Mantra of Becoming, Magickal Ingestion, Magick Squares and so much more.
Note that if you do not understand the material discussed here, it is because this book is not a basic primer, and you are not at fault. This can get to be very deep, covering some more advanced material and concepts that knowledgeable practitioners will understand. I found this to be refreshing, and a bit challenging, as there was material here that went beyond my own basic knowledge. I love a book that can teach me something new, or send me out looking for the basics so I can kick my own working knowledge up a notch. Mr. Rankine did an excellent job of explaining the concepts he is suggesting, and included illustrations for much of what he discusses, and but for a few places where I had no working knowledge of what he was discussing, I did follow most of what he wrote. And after a
bit of backtracking and research, the material I was not familiar with did fall into place. The mark of a good teacher is his ability to make the unfamiliar understandable, and Mr. Rankine succeeded.
If you are looking for new material for your own practice, if you are looking at what other working magicians are doing and are interested in some new concepts and ideas; if you want to challenge yourself with some new aspects to the magickal practices, then this book will definitely give you something to chew on. Again, this is not a magic 101 book, but is intended for those who have gone beyond that. This book is a wondrous look at another man's discoveries and practices. boudica
I found this book after purchasing another book by this author which was written in co-junction with Stephen Skinner and thought ok, this sounds interesting, but it is probably going to be just another rehash of ceremonial magick techniques.
It arrived and boy was I wrong!
This book is packed full of interesting and new techniques for magick. Some drawing from older traditions, some completely devised by the author and a friend.
Thelemites should be given this book is a high priority read. The system of English Gematria presented in this book makes for an interesting system to work on Liber Al and other topics related to Thelema. It presents a completely different system from those already available based around prime numbers and anyone interested in gematria will find it a great system to work and play with.
But beware. This is not a book for beginners, this is an advanced manual of practical magick. It is not a book about magickal theory, it is a book of practical magick. It assumes knowledge of the basic techniques and concepts associated with magick, without putting anyone on a tower. Down to earth, valuable ideas, which will hopefully spark a new generation of practical magickians to start thinking and creating more like this.
