This guy is next on my lawsuit KILL list!
David Griffin
work in magic this way! Why, my "Ritual Magic Manual" is equal to or
greater than Aliester Crowley's "Magick in Theory and Practice!"
Crowley's work is good enough but it is out dated and dead like the
master himself.
I am publishing this foolscap on this forum so that the Occult
Community can make an informed decision and understand why he too is
going to find himself in court for confusing the public and tarnishing
the Golden Dawn(r) name:
Book Review:
The Ritual Magic Manual, by David Griffin
Recently, a colleague lent me a copy of a brand new hardcover text
entitled The Ritual Magic Manual: A Complete Course in Practical
Magick, by David Griffin, for the purpose of review. I have to admit
that I didn't quite know what to expect. It was an extremely thick
volume, the page number coming to the dubious total of 666. The
material inside seemed to be typical Golden Dawn procedure, yet the
price was set at $49. My interest was piqued, however, as I read the
beginning of the forward. In the very first paragraph, she describes
Mr. Griffin as a "magical genius" who is "truly and undeniably capable
of staring into and surviving the fires of the gods while not going
blind." Indeed! He possesses "such enormous raw talent that only a
holy fanaticism indeed could contain such sacred and hungry wantonness
for the wildest, most unexplored and deepest of mysteries."
I knew I had to read this book. I had to see this magickal genius for
myself. What new and innovative material could be locked within the
words and beautiful color plates of this pricey tome? How deep were
the mysteries to which David Griffin alone had access? As a mage and a
scholar, I simply had to know.
The book's sheer size (i.e.- the time I might have to dedicate to the
project) intimidated me at first, but that quickly drained away. Most
of the material was genuinely good; its only flaw being that I had
seen most of it before. I searched for the innovative genius, but only
found excerpts from books already present on my shelf. (I found out
later that this was truer than I first suspected.) It explained the
Grade Signs, Pentagrams and Hexagrams, Lesser Banishing Rituals,
Middle Pillar, Analysis of Keyword, Rose Cross, Greater Pentagram and
Hexagram Rituals, and a Eucharist Ceremony. Of course, I had all of
these in Regardie's The Golden Dawn (Llewellyn) which retails for less
than $30, and contains much more comprehensive info besides.
Matters seemed to go downhill when I reached chapters two through
five. It was, in fact, striking to behold. Chapter Two: Elemental
Magic contained no less than 66 pages of the greater pentagram ritual
repeated- at full length!- 10 times. That allowed for a greater
invocation and greater banishing ritual for each of the four Elements,
plus two supreme rituals (also invoking and banishing). The only thing
that changes between each repeat is the proper pentagrams, names,
colors, etc.
Chapter Three: Planetary Magic was similar. It contained 144 pages of
the greater hexagram ritual repeated 18 times; an invocation and
banishing for seven planets, the two supreme rituals, and an extra two
based upon the Seal of Truth.
Chapter Four: Zodiacal Magic revealed 141 pages of the greater
pentagram ritual (again) repeated 26 times. That was two for each of
the twelve Signs, plus the two supreme versions.
Finally, Chapter Five: Sephirothic Magic contained a scant 116 pages
of such repetition, this time offering the greater hexagram ritual
(again) 22 times. Ten Spheres, invoking and banishing, and the two
supreme versions.
The bulk of the remainder of these chapters (i.e.- the text
introducing and explaining each ritual) was largely cut and paste as
well. It took Mr. Griffin a total of 454 pages to relate material
which has, many times in the past, been outlined from between twenty
to fifty pages. I was suddenly "supremely" unamused by the author's
attempts to reach 666 pages, and a fifty-dollar price tag.
Of course, it would be unfair to end the review here, as Mr. Griffin
does, indeed, offer some new material. For instance, he mentions the
Sidereal Zodiac a few times; which is at least unique. However, the
rest struck me as largely unimaginative. For instance, his Invocation
of the Highest Divine Force (Ch. 2) is a combination of the Middle
Pillar and the exercise of godform assumption. That's not useless by
any means; however, it's not what I would expect from one who had
stared into the fire of the gods.
Some of his further ideas stood out in particular. It is perhaps here
that I found Mr. Griffin's true innovation. For instance, he informs
us that the use of incense smoke in evocation is actually a "blind".
He also has us replace the "dark mirror" of Kraig and Runyon with an
actual reflective mirror. The LBRP and other banishings, we learn,
will "discharge" magickal tools and talismans! Therefore, our
Elemental banishing tools should be consecrated via the Hexagram, and
our Planetary tools with the Pentagram. Thus, when you banish
pentagrams, you're using a hexagram tool that can not be banished
thereby, and vice versa. One is never to use the Lotus Wand to banish.
This, I'm afraid, seems to be almost the extent of Griffin's "magical
genius".
Eventually, I came to the chapter and appendixes concerning Enochian
Magic. This is the specific reason I was asked to review the book, and
so I have decided to focus upon it somewhat apart from the above. Like
the rest of his work, there was little to be found that could be
labeled as "bad". For the most part, it struck me as an adaptation of
Pat Zalewski's Golden Dawn Enochian Magic. Like Mr. Zalewski, the
author focused upon certain marginally obscure (which, in Pat's time,
were absolutely obscure) tables given to Dee by the Angels. He (Mr.
Griffin) then added correspondences to each square of the tables in
patterns loosely based upon Golden Dawn procedure. He illustrates each
of these tables in color plates.
He also did some work on the Angelic Keys- such as adding
pronunciations for all of the words. I disagree with some few of his
phonetic results, and have not done any research on comparing the rest
with my own notes. Regardless, the bottom line is that students must
consider all sources, and finally decide for themselves. I do admit
that there were some post-Golden Dawn Temples that took their
pronunciations a bit far. However, it is also true that Angelic was
never a spoken language, and pronunciation differences matter little.
Therefore, I can only judge for myself on such a matter as this.
His applications of the Keys, on the other hand, seemed less than
useful. It is no secret that I have never been impressed with Mathers'
system of applying the Keys to the Watchtowers. I am even less
impressed, therefore, with Mr. Griffin's attempt to apply them to the
Angels of the Zodiac and Planets. For the latter, he adapts the 49
Angels of the Bonorum- assigning the 48 Keys to Them by repeating the
last Key twice.
There was also an attempt to color code the Seal of Truth according to
Planetary scale. Of course, this ignores the Angels' instructions to
Dee on the matter ("…we have no respect of colors"), but I could look
past this in the name of experimentation. What bothered me more was
the fact that the colors did not seem to have anything to do with the
arrangements of Planetary Names on the Seal. The Only colors that were
not actually arbitrary were those of the inner-heptagon (and the
corresponding lines of the heptagram itself). These were based upon
the scheme of the RR et AC Vault of the Adepti. The only problem is
that the small heptagon on the Seal of Truth is positioned point
downward, while the walls of the Vault of the Adepti fashion a
heptagon positioned "point upward" (or east). Therefore, the sides of
the small heptagon do not line up with the walls of the Vault if you
place the Seal on the altar facing east. Mr. Griffin's innovation here
is to invert the Seal of Truth upon the altar.
Finally, I should once again mention the author's discussions of the
Sidereal Zodiac. The rear cover flap of the book proclaims: "In the
most significant breakthrough… David Griffin has herein achieved a
brilliant new synthesis of Enochian and Astrological Magic." I can't
help but to agree with the significance of this new synthesis (on
pages 635-639), especially since I published the material originally
in the Spring 1998 issue of Eschaton Publishing's Terminal Journal.
The essay is entitled A Discourse on the Enochian Watchtowers. The
curious reader can obtain back issues from
http://www.eschatonbooks.com/ The text itself can be found archived
(and discussed!) at the Enochian-L mailing list:
http://www.hollyfeld.org/heaven/elists/enochian-l.phtml Also, for
easier reference, it can be read on my own homepage
http://members.aol.com/kheph777 Unfortunately, you will not find any
of these sources in the bibliography of Mr. Griffin's book.
In conclusion, I simply can not recommend that one buy this new
publication. At best, you might want to skim it at the bookstore if
you happen to find one there- as it is an extremely curious work.
Aaron Leitch (Khephera)
4 / 22 / 99
THIS GUY IS TOAST!
--David Griffin
Frater G.I.A.F.
I posted the section below earlier this week. I just wanted to repost
it and let Khephera know that I did enjoy his sections in David
Griffins book but I do wonder why you have not stopped David Griffin
from using your materials knowing that he did not create them, but
again.. that is is own special talent, unoriginality.
Fr. G.I.A.F.
At a recent book signing and lecture in the bay area, I asked Lon Milo
DuQuette what he thought of "The Ritual Magic Manual," by David
Griffin and he said it was a gifted book.
Belonging to both Thelemic Golden Dawn Temple, I took that as a good
sign. So I picked it up. Being a busy person who is involved in many
activities besides just my magikal studies, I appreciated this book.
Appreciated the fact that if you tear out the duplicated rituals that
comprise the manual, (That is the entire sections where just a single
planetary word has been changed but the text hasn't) you have an easy
to read pamphlet that rivals anything that the Jehovah's Witnesses put
out. And frankly, and their watchtower is probably more potent than
his anyway.
Frater G.I.A.F.
Chic
costs less than Griffins, is more powerful and is a better book.
Here is a review on how wonderful the book is by the publisher:
Llewellyn was the company that republished the original books on the
Golden Dawn after they had been ignored for over a quarter of a
century. We have always thought that the Golden Dawn was important.
That's why I'm glad we can present Self-Initiation into the Golden
Dawn Tradition by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. It offers the most
comprehensive and scientific system for studying the Golden Dawn
tradition ever published.
With this book, you have everything necessary to initiate yourself
through the outer grades of the Golden Dawn, from Neophyte through
Portal a total of six initiation ceremonies. These rituals are
specially designed for the solitary practitioner, but they can be
adapted for groups of two or more magicians. Each grade initiation is
followed by a comprehensive Knowledge Lecture for you to study and
absorb. Each chapter provides an examination at the end, so you can
test your grasp of the material and check the answers in the back of
the book.
The Knowledge Lectures are expanded with more in-depth information
than has ever been published in one place before. You will learn other
rituals, divination, and more as you move through the Grades. Never
before have the teachings of the Golden Dawn been so readily
available. You can learn it all when you get Self-Initiation into the
Golden Dawn Tradition.
Chic
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 05:30:46 GMT, David Griffin
<davidg...@golden-dawn.com> wrote: