World Famous Comics: Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult
Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult
From: The Disinformation Company Publisher: The Disinformation Company Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Format: Bargain Price Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 352 Publication Date: October 01, 2008 Studio: The Disinformation Company
Product Description: Disinformations "wicked warlock" Richard Metzger gathers an unprecedented cabal of modern occultists, magicians and forward thinkers in Book of Lies. Whereas past Disinformation volumes like "You Are Being Lied To," "Everything You Know is Wrong" and "Abuse Your Illusions" focused on secrets and lies from the mainstream media, government and other establishment institutions to rethink what a political science book could look like, "Book of Lies" redefines occult anthologies, packaging and presenting a huge array of magical essays for a pop culture audience.
- Terence McKenna asks if we can contact "aliens" with the smokable drug DMTthe answer may surprise you!
- The Executable Dreamtime by Mark Pesce explores the relationship between spellcasting and computer programming.
- Comics genius Grant Morrisons Pop Magic! Explains how YOU can become a practicing magician!
- Memento Mori: (Remember You Must Die) by Paul Laffoley examines the growing fascination with death in our culture and describes "Thanatonic" energy.
- Artist Joe Coleman on the occult aspects of his work in Joe is in the Details.
- Are You Illuminated? by Phil Hine takes the novice magician thru the stages of Initiation and beyond
- Daniel Pinchbecks psychedelic and magical experiences recounted in an extended excerpt from Breaking Open the Head
- Chapel of Extreme Experience author John Geiger on the harrowing psychic explorations of William Burroughs and Brion Gysin
- Calling Cthulhu: Techgnosis author Erik Davis on H. P. Lovecraft
- The Road to Excess sheds some light on a spooky little known incident in the life of Timothy Leary
- Robert Anton Wilson on the similarities between Crowley and Leary
- Tim Maroneys beginners guide to Aleister Crowley
- Genesis P-Orridges personal memories of his magical education under William Burroughs and Brion Gysin (an instant classic!) and his essay on British occult artist Austin Osman Spare
- Donald Tysons The Enochian Apocalypse. Were the seeds of the end of the world sown in the Elizabethan era?
- The Crying of Liber 49, Richard Metzgers essay on rocket scientist and occultist Jack Parsons
- Julius Evola on Occult War
- Cameron: The Wormwood Star by Brian Butler tellsfor the first time everof the life and times of Jack Parsons "Scarlet Woman," witch and Beatnik artist Marjorie Cameron
- Magical Blitzkrieg: Tracy Twyman and Peter Levenda on Nazis and the Occult
- Did fallen angels mate with humankind during the time of Noah? Boyd Rice on The Book of Enoch, one of the "forgotten books" of the Bible.
- Allen Greenfields Secret History of Witchcraft goes to the "roots" of Wicca and modern paganism. They might not be as deep as you think!
- Nevill Drury on Australian witch, Rosaleen Norton
- Michael Moynihan conducts a fireside chat with the Black Pope of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey
- Season of the Witch by Gary Lachman examines the dark side of hippie and the "Age of Aquarius"
LIES! ALL LIES! Yet they're so good! ^ After collecting a lot of modern books on magick, I've decided to purchase a book for "psyching" myself up to enter what I call "the mage mindzone". This book is the kind I was looking for. Disinformation's Book of Lies gives me a lot of inspiration I need when it comes to my lifestyle. This is good, so deviously good. Five out of five fireballs.
Book of Lies ^ It was not what I expected. It had one good article on the occult. It made me feel like I was on target. But the rest of a disappointment. Some good history, which I did like. If you are looking for confirmation about the occult, it does not have enough of that. Mostly opinions of others.
Extremely Eye-Opening and Insightful ^ This book, although just a collection of essays, is a must-read for anyone seriously interested in the occult. The information is extremely helpful and the numerous biographies of distinguished persons such as Jack Parsons and Ida Craddock are inspiring.
Serious ^ It's rare to find such a clear-thinking, practical guide. This one is great for finding out a little about everything and leaving with your head still screwed on straight. Loved the frightening writeup on DPT.
Quite the Shock ^ Because I consider it my duty to buy any book with the words "Magick" or "Occult" in the title, I picked this one up against my better judgement. On the whole, my initial fears were that this would be cartoonish, poorly written and obtuse. Even the name, cribbed from one of Aleister Crowley's works, worried me. That being said, I am very lucky that I purchased this book anyway.
Richard Metzger, the compiler and editor of this collection, has done the occult world a great service by bringing together this series of articles and publishing them in one soft cover. Containing the works of authors such as William S. Burroughs, Aleister Crowley, Anton LaVey, Timothy Leary, Donald Tyson and Robert Anton Wilson, this collection isn't any sort of theoretical discussion of magic. What you'll find here instead is a series of examples from fairly famous people who have actually practiced magic.
Many people who've been practicing or living magically for some time will still have a lot to learn from this book, just as I did. The examples are eye-opening in some cases, and at the very least thought-provoking in others. I often found myself saying "Wow... I've never thought of doing it THAT way."
My only real objection is the heavy emphasis on the use of illegal and illicit drugs. I understand that the use of these substances has been linked very closely with the occult, especially in the United States, but the way this book seems to promote the use of these substances upsets me. Still, there are enough examples of magic without drugs to satisfy my tastes.
All in all the book is very well put together, with a lot of detail, good editing and nice illustrations and pictures. I whole-heartedly recommend it to students of magic from intermediate to advanced. Beginner's might want to get a little more grounding before experimenting with some of these ideas, though. Good luck!
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