Month: February 2012

I just finished my second Philip K. Dick novel in less than a month. The guy’s writing blows me away. It’s hard to believe he did most of his work in the 1950s and 60s. 

Also of note, something most critics have missed, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch* is in many ways, a story about two dueling magicians. An excellent examination of the kind of hubris and paranoia a magus can suffer when they feel beset by enemies.

*You think this obvious symbolism in the antagonist’s last name would be a clue.

The Hermetic Library Anthology Album – Magick, Music and Ritual 2 by The Hermetic Library

occultpunk:

The Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com has an overall vision of Archiving, Engaging and Encouraging the living Western Esoteric Tradition. I started the benefit anthology project to help promote newer works in the Western Esoteric Tradition to the audience of the Hermetic Library and beyond. The anthology project also further raises awareness about the corpus and culture of magick and ritual. 

This is the second issue from the Hermetic Library Anthology Project, and is being released on Imbolc in Winter 2012. I have 6 tracks by 6 artists this time around. This playlist starts strong with a track about moving from darkness into light, through an invocation and liberation of the divine feminine that is also a lament about loss, followed by a fantastic new cover of a Coil track. The playlist continues with a bright track but that is followed by some gritty and creepy noise to remind us that the light hasn’t fully returned. After that I, for my part, am glad of a reminder that the days are getting longer, so there is a final track which brings us back to the theme of returning mercy and light. Quite a nice playlist that works well with the season. 

I encourage you to check out the Hermetic Library at Hermetic.com, if you aren’t already familiar with it, as that’s the reason this project exists and may also offer inspiration to you. The site was started in 1996 and has ever since consistently been an extremely popular resource for students and researchers interested in the Western Esoteric Tradition. You may also wish to check out other posts at the Hermetic Library blog and the Twitter and Facebook reflections to see how the library engages people in a living Western Esoteric Tradition. 

Please join the Hermetic Library in promoting these artists who have contributed their work to this benefit anthology album project. All proceeds from album sales will support the library to help cover hosting costs and other expenses like materials acquisitions. 

(Source: http://bandcamp.com/)