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Yakṣiṇīs appear in Brahmanical, Jain, and Buddhist texts and iconography. They inhabit lakes, rivers, forests, and in particular, trees. They are said to be beautiful, but dangerous. Humans can form relationships with them (as sisters, wives, or mothers), but they are jealous lovers, particularly if a man takes a human wife. They often feature in tantric magic as bringers of wealth, power, or secret knowledge.
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It is perhaps not surprising to discover that the British Museum, founded in the eighteenth century at the former mansion of the Duke of Montagu, has more than its fair share of ghosts.
Continue reading »Go on any pagan or occult forum or social media platform, and at some point, inevitably, someone will assert that contemporary Witchcraft was, more or less, “made up” by Gerald Gardner. This was the conclusion drawn by Ronald Hutton in his 1999 book, Triumph of the Moon. Over the last two decades though, the story has changed, thanks largely to Philip Heselton’s careful investigation of the New Forest Coven in his books, In Search of the New Forest Coven and Witchfather. Thanks to Heselton, many of the members of this bohemian group have been identified, in particular, ‘Dafo’, Gardner’s friend, lover, and magical partner for 15 years.
Continue reading »Mike Magee, my friend, teacher, and publishing collaborator passed away in the early hours of 11 August 2024.
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With a two-part lecture series on the left-hand path later this month at Treadwells Bookshop 25 July and 8 August, I thought I’d share some personal observations on my previous identification with the LHP.
Continue reading »Continuing my review of Professor Madhu Khanna’s new edited volume of essays, Studies on Tantra in Bengal and Eastern India (Springer 2022). The first part of the review is here.
Continue reading »Some years ago, I was approached by representatives of a major marketing company who wanted to explore the possibilities of using direct magical techniques to promote a product. I cannot discuss this in more depth, as I signed a non-disclosure agreement. Suffice to say, I did not agree with what they wanted to do, and we parted ways on good terms. I did get some material benefit out of the affair. They rang my boss (I was working for a b2b media company at the time) and asked for a reference. My boss, alarmed at the idea that I was being head-hunted by another company, decided to reward me for my work with a present – a state-of-the-art (for 2000 anyway) laptop. I still have it.
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New from professor Madhu Khanna is her edited collection Studies on Tantra in Bengal and Eastern India (Springer 2022). This collection brings together both established and emerging scholars in its focus on tantric influences across a region encompassing the states of Assam, Bihar, Bengal, and Nepal. This is a rich field for exploration, as Madhu Khanna points out in her introduction. The diverse religious currents of the region, ranging from Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism to Tantric Śākta streams coexisted and cross-fertilized each other. The essays in this collection demonstrate the myriad ways in which adaptations and dialogue between religious traditions influenced and shaped Śākta tantra in Bengal.
Professor Khanna was one of the first contemporary scholars to produce a comprehensive examination of Srikula with her Ph.D dissertation – The Concept and Liturgy of the Śricakra Based on Śivānanda’s Trilogy (Oxford University, 1986) – and her publications include Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity (1994), Rta, The Cosmic Order (2004), and Asian Perspectives on the World’s Religions After September 11 edited with Arvind Sharma (2013). She is a former director of the Centre for the Study of Comparative Religion and Civilizations, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, co-creator of the Centre for Indic and Agamic Studies in Asia (CIASA) and a founding member of the Tantra Foundation, New Delhi. A review of the compendium of tantric ritual manuals she edited in 2014, Śāktapramodaḥ of Deva Nandan Singh can be found here.
Continue reading »In a recent essay, I posed the question – How do we learn to be magicians? Is it simply a matter of reading books, studying with a teacher, doing practices, and taking on particular beliefs and attitudes? My answer was to reflect on my early dive into the world of the occult in which I introduced the term reflexivity. In this post, I will discuss the concept of reflexivity and propose that it should be accepted as a core occult practice.
Continue reading »Words have Power.
Imagine a setting. You’re in a restaurant or a café perhaps, enjoying a quiet conversation with friends. Suddenly a stranger walks up to your table and without any opening or introduction, begins to offer a commentary on some conversational topic. You’d be slightly taken aback. Alarmed even. Who is this complete stranger who has suddenly, for no apparent reason, taken it upon themselves to intrude into a private conversation?
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