Customer Reviews
Best training guide out there! - By: Ms. L. Roberts, 04 Apr 2008 
This book is great if you want to learn high magick, magick of the golden dawn. I have been working through it, so far only got past chapter two, this is because i've been doing the lessons. The stuffin this book is great, lessons on how to be water etc. I 'm glad it isn't another initiation book. To me its all to easy to kid your self your a grade when you haven't done the work. I very honest book.
Seems writers can't win this days if you right about initiated people-they moan & if you say you can't initiated some by a book, then people moan. Which is sound sense no one can initiated you by a book. If you want that kind of thing theres plenty of sites on the web that will be happy to rip you off.
However if you are like me & can't find a genuine teacher/group, & you are want to putin hard work to learn, then this book is for you. As long as you follow the lessons, take your time, you will get alot out of this book.
An introduction not to be taken too seriously - By: born-again-atheist, 05 Jul 2006 
Kraig is a really inadequate teacher.
He says that initiation is not important, & can be replaced with persistent repetition of rituals, but I would argue - from reading other books written by Regardie, Fortune & C.G.Jung - that formal initiation, together with the order/grades system, is CENTRAL to the Golden Dawn tradition. Regardie goes intogreat depth about the intricate symbolism to be foundin the initiation ceremonies of the original temples, all of which was designed to produce reactionsin the Aspirant or individual magicians close to the phenomenon of rebirth.
The same can be achieved through very formalised SELF-initiation (as the Ciceros teach), but not through simple repetition of the same mediocre rituals.
The best piece of advice Kraig gives is to read other booksin conjunction with his, giving many suggestionsin the bibliographies at the end of each chapter.
Tres formidable - By: C. J. Allen, 07 Apr 2006 Just thought I'd mention how much I got out of this book & how valuable I feel it can be for the practicing magician.
After searching the bookshelves for a year & struggling to find techniques & theory about magick I was finally fortunate enough to come across this book. It totally goes against the grain of most occult literature.
It saved me years of research as the book covers loads of very powerful techniques, explaining formulas & practicesin clearly defined lessons.
I wondered what the catch was when I bought it. By that time I was already used to being given the hype (and lots of of bullshit) without any substance.
I found it better than any of the Golden Dawn books at teaching about the Golden Dawn! Not to mention how neatly it explains the Qabalah. It also gives methods & explanations on western paganism, tantra, & some of the more advanced aspects of occultism.
There is so much dross that gets passed off as occult literature......when you find something like this you wonder why certain publishers can't do a better job of producing quality books - surely it's not that hard?
Let DMK be your guide in magick - By: A. G. Hamer, 08 Feb 2006 If your new to Magick, this book is your very best choice. It’s writtenin a personable, easy-going, & comforting style. The writer takes you by the hand & becomes your friend & personal guide to a new & magickal land. With him you encounter magickal spells, elemental forces, archangels & has discussions about the nature of God & the meaning of the Tree of Life. The book is based on an original mail-order course on Ceremonial Magick. This might explain why the chapters are always succinct & structured, with just enough examples & anecdotes thrownin to keep the subject matter alive. There are not many books out there that cover such a vast subjectin such an accessible & bite-size format.
The descriptions of the complicated Golden Dawn rituals are wonderfully clear, & make them easy to carry out. This is practical & powerful advice, from someone who not only preaches but actually practices magick. This book is not to be finishedin one sitting. It will accompany you for years to come on your path to magickal mastery. It goes from the LBRP to Crowleyan-style invocations straight on to actual sex magick rituals.
Despite the subject matter, the tone always remains light & cheerful. Nothing for ‘goths’ here. There’s also no mention of Chaos Magic. For some European readers, these might be turnoffs, because it’s obvious that there also some darker sides to the occult, & why gloss these over? If your main interest isin the Tarot, then this book is also not for you. The particular deck that is recommended for use with this book (the Golden Dawn deck illustrated by Robert Wang) is not the ideal choice for doing readings.
On the other hand, the bibliographical references are superb, & provide a real starting point for magicians of all levels for serious magickal studies. This book will lead the field for years to come.
Superb introduction to ritual magick - By: I have a brain, 18 Nov 2004 This book is excellent. If you are looking for a magick-for-dummies type book this is the one for you. It's the perfect starting point for the serious would-be magician. It covers the basicsin many areas & provides suggestions for further reading on the individual subjects. And unlike many books that do this, not all of them are from the same publisher! That must be magick.
