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The former home of notorious occultist Aleister Crowley – once dubbed ‘the wickedest man in the world’ – is set to be restored after its owners were given the green light to repair the fire-damaged building. Permission to build 10 holiday homes in the grounds of Boleskine House, which overlooks Loch Ness, has also been granted by the Highland Council.Continue Reading

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James Randi, a MacArthur award-winning magician who turned his formidable savvy to investigating claims of spoon bending, mind reading, fortunetelling, ghost whispering, water dowsing, faith healing, U.F.O. spotting and sundry varieties of bamboozlement, bunco, chicanery, flimflam, flummery, humbuggery, mountebankery, pettifoggery and out-and-out quacksalvery, as he quite often saw fit toContinue Reading

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By the time Page acquired Boleskine he had already become fascinated by Crowley, buying up Crowley-related ephemera that included private manuscripts, first editions of books, artwork, items of clothing and ceremonial vessels. Allegedly built on the site of a 10th Century Kirk (Scottish church) that according to legend “had beenContinue Reading

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Exciting news from Jerusalem Press: Featuring detailed notes transcribed by Frank Letchford from his advanced lessons in portraiture, [The Static Alignments] is an indispensable resource for anyone wishing to gain an intimate understanding of Spare’s work practice.Continue Reading

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A CARVED wooden box may contain the secrets which unlock some of the mysteries of a notorious Highland home. A man from Grimsby is appealing for information on the box which it is claimed was found under the floorboards of Boleskine House. The site, previously owned by the infamous occultistContinue Reading

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Manon Hedenborg White and [Henrik Bogdan] have signed a contract with Oxford University Press for an annotated edition of the magical diaries of Leah Hirsig (1883-1975). This will be the first academic, annotated, and complete edition of Hirsig’s magical diaries from the crucial period of 1923–1925, published together with a selection of contemporary letters.Continue Reading

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[Oscar Eckenstein] was the inventor of the modern crampon and the first to develop a shorter ice axe. Both of which made climbing ice dramatically more efficient and safer and though having evolved some, these are still in use today. Crowley and Eckenstein met in the late 1800’s and he immediately recognized the young Crowley’s potential as a climber and took him under his wing.  Like Crowley, he was an admirer of the works of Sir Richard Francis Burton who Crowley would later canonize a saint of the EGC.Continue Reading

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Legendary comic book artist and writer Savage Pencil discusses three Edwardian underground figures: Montague Summers, Austin Osman Spare and Louis Wain… From his ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Zoo’ series for Sounds in the 1970s, to designing artwork for the likes of Sonic Youth, Sunn O))), The Fall and Current 93, under the name Savage Pencil he has established a wild, hallucinatory style – a trip that’s equal parts hilarious and terrifying.Continue Reading

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‘The Magical Revival’ is currently being prepared for reprint, and will go to the printers next week. This is a straightforward reprint of the 2010 edition, and will appear in two formats: hardbound and softbound. This image shows the back, spine and front of the softbound edition. Continue Reading

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SIRIUS LIMITED ESOTERICA presents Hoodoo Pilot, a hardcover volume in 2 editions collecting 16 esoteric essays and 31 magical works of art by Gnostic writer and artist, Kyle Fite. With an Introduction by Michael Staley, Hoodoo Pilot covers a wide range of topics, including Freemasonry, Buddhism, the Typhonian Tradition of Kenneth Grant, the Voudon-Gnostic Tradition of Michael Bertiaux, the mystical artwork, philosophy and sorcery of Austin Osman Spare, and the work of William Blake. These themes and more are woven together in this limited edition collection.Continue Reading

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Jimmy Page has spent lockdown indexing his books, he said in a new BBC radio interview. Page spoke to Zoe Ball on July 22 to promote the release of “Scarlet,” a 1974 song he recorded with The Rolling Stones which will be released on their expanded edition of “Goats Head Soup.” Ball asked Page what he’s been doing during lockdown. “I’ve been going through, I’ve been sorting out and indexing my books. I’m actually in the countryside,” Page said.Continue Reading

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Three great strands of practice and belief run through human history – science, religion and magic. Over the last few centuries, magic – the idea that we have a connection with the universe, and that the universe responds to us – has developed a bad reputation. But it is still with us, as it has been for millennia, as Professor Chris Gosden shows in this extraordinarily bold and unprecedented history.Continue Reading

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Thanks to the new Google Arts & Culture tool Fabricius, anyone can interactively discover this fascinating language by means of three dedicated gateways: First, you can “Learn” about the language of ancient Egypt by following a short educational introduction in six easy steps. Secondly, Fabricius invites you to “Play” and translate your own words and messages into hieroglyphics ready to be shared with your friends and family.Continue Reading

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After decades of neglect, the British Surrealist and occultist Ithell Colquhoun’s unique vision and hermetic life have generated enormous interest amongst historians and practitioners of art and magic. In ‘Genius of the Fern loved Gully,’ the first in-depth biographical study of Colquhoun and her work, Amy Hale examines the magical and cultural confluences that shaped her imaginative life and artistic vision.Continue Reading