Review courtesy of Living Traditions magazine:
At the Crossroads has been released in various editions including
eight hundred cloth bound editions and sixty four in goatskin. While
Scarlet Imprint is releasing many of their books in ebook format (pdf
only), I recommend this one in hardback as it is superbly presently,
profusely illustrated with many images in colour and simply beautiful to
hold and read. There is no paperback edition of this book due to its
versized format.
The concept of the crossroads is pregnant with
meaning; in traditional cultures the boundaries of a culture marked the
line between safety and danger, outside the boundary was where witches,
sorcerers, trolls and wild spirits lived;it was the world of the
untamed. Where two boundaries crossed creating a crossroads this was
considered a place of immense power and danger, prisoners and criminals
were hung at the crossroads and it was considered the location for
evoking the devil himself during the medieval period. In pre-Christian
times where leylines crossed was a major point of power and such
connections covered the whole of England and can also found in many
other countries.
At the same time at the interface of cultures is the
crossroads where creativity looms. There is so many exciting
developments at that nebulous line where one culture meets and
intermingles from another, whether we consider Mithraism or Gnosticism
or even the hybrid cunning traditions which resulted from Christian and
Pagan contact the results are challenging and significant. There is
always a fine line between organic contact and syncretism, isolationism
and appreciating where traditions touch, merge and create a
living culture of magic and sorcery. These essays explore traditions at
the crossroads and offer many traditions that we may not at first even
consider.
Folk traditions and the Solomonic Revival opens this
work by exploring the connections between the worldview of the
grimoires and various forms of traditional African magical practise.
Gone is the psychological view of modern magic which reduced the gods to
complexes and archetypes and advocated is a return to the old ways of
appreciating the spirits as they really are. It is not a matter of
cultural misappropriation but being open to going beyond the narrow
blinkers of the Western Mystery Tradition which is sadly locked
primarily within the outdated Golden Dawn worldview. By examining folk
traditions we can appreciate a new way of practicing magic which will
open a new world or us.
The article on necromancy is a real eye opener.
Necromancy is a subject too often ignored in western magic and relegated
to being part of spiritualism which is seen as somehow less value as an
occult practise. The reality is that necromancy was an intricate part
of all the pre-Christian traditions and for that reason alone we should
reappraise its value and use. Since the grimoire tradition had its
ultimate origin in the Hellenistic traditions necromancy was of far
greatest significance than many modern magicians locked in the
Kabbalistic headset have noticed. Historically the spirits of the dead
became demonised and replaced with hierarchies of fallen angels, demons
and forces of evil and destruction.
At the Crossroads continues examining specific
traditions as Ifa and offering a truly engrossing essay on the history
of the Ju Ju discussing all manner of Voudoun, Witchcraft, Santeria and
Goetia. There is so much in this volume that is hard to discuss it all,
there is lots of coverage of diverse traditions ranging from Santeria to
Grimoire magick and a deep understanding of the intersection between
traditions especially the new evolving understanding of the
relationships between the Goetia, Hellenistic sorcery and African
Tradition religions. At the Crossroads is also interspersed with superb
poetry.
www.livingtraditions-magazine.com
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