Gothic Grimoire [Paperback]

Let me tell you, this book is an exception and I cannot recommend it highly enough!! It was quite refreshing to see Lewellyn publishing something insightful and informative again, rather than re-hashing the same old topics cloaked in the latest "pantheon du jour."

Konstantinos' frank, descriptive writing style is one that is easy to relate to, both for the novice Witch and for those like myself who have been on this path long before the "Charmed" sect decided it would be fun to dabble in. And how nice to know that someone actually cracks open the "old school" tomes like Franz Bardon, Dion Fortune and RJ Stewart to bring that wisdom to the fore of modern Witchcraft practice.

Too often, today's Witchcraft authors leave out the whys and wherefores of how the circle is cast, how a condenser is created and how energies can be directed and transformed. There's been too much glossing over of such important elements of the art, science and practicum of magick....its a wonder any modern students of the Old Ways are getting anything from ritual and spell work at all.

But let me tell you, as a woman who has been working with paganism for nearly two decades, this book is different. Not only is it is very apparent that the author has indeed tried to "walk his talk" in his spiritual path (another
thing often lost on the newer generation of Witches), it's obvious that through intense study, trial-and-error and thoughtful practice he has actually gleaned the knowledge he espouses. What a concept!! To teach from serious first-hand experience rather than spouting rote diatribes!!

Any real Witch would know that Gardner, Sanders, Buckland and Valiente started from deeper roots of knowledge, and so too has this author. What a wonderful way to show how very important it is that the foundations of magickal practice not be glossed
over in haste.

By giving readers clues, hints and homework rather than blatantly
dictating his findings, the author encourages the reader to experiment and explore their magickal abilities until they find the core of truth within themselves. Not to mention his ground-breaking ideas of reconciling Dark Magicks.....a long time coming brother! Amen!

Readers of both this book and the companion, "Nocturnal Witchcraft," are in for a rare treat...an excellent writer and teacher.

Here's the Konstantinos recipe: take a dash of every "Wiccan" (i.e. Roman Catholic/Norse/Celtic) Solstice, Equinox, and cross-quarter festival, throw in some unrelated mumbo-jumbo about the Sumerians and Akkadians, sprinkle with some Hinduism, dump it all over some poorly grasped Greek philosophy and post-humanist Hebrew kabbalism and irrelevant jabber about the tarot, then puree it with pop psychology, add an extra fifty pages of filler and wide margins, call it "Nocturnal" something-or-other, and sell it for fifteen bucks or more per copy. Repeat every year or two. Laugh all the way to the bank.

Only once crediting a source, Konstantinos throws this same mess together every couple of years, but hangs it on a slightly different framework each time. Anything written by this charlatan is about as intellectually challenging as a piece of soggy zwieback. (Why FOUR "elements" instead of the Chinese FIVE elements? Because that wouldn't jibe with all of the nearly identical drivel published by other Llewellyn writers? Who knows?)

If you absolutely feel compelled to own a book by this huckster, look for a used copy for a dime (or better yet, get a free throw-away).