otherhorde's reviews
123 reviews

William Walker Atkinson knows what he is talking about.
The man is attributed as the likely author of the Kyballion so there is something to be expected from him. I would say he delivers for the most part, the content is said in language that today comes across as easily accessible and straight forward.

His lessons on subconscious and conscious control are ahead of there time and great for either spiritual or psychological insight. It is pretty amazing to read about the mind being plastic in a book from over 100 years ago, which shows how far science is behind the spiritual world.

The negatives come when you look at the time this was written, Raja Yoga is a collection of lessons published in a periodical between 1905 and 1906. Some of the language has aged poorly, namely his focus on “the race” and how it is superior to both animals and “savages”

So yeah great book, but has some very dated language and opinions mixed in with a lot of very progressive ideas.

Moonchild slaps!!
Its riveting, and leaves you wanting more. Exegetic fiction at its best, like a precursor to Illuminatus, or Valis. For anyone looking to get a dense primer on magick principles this holds up.

Crowley is a funny old bird thats for sure, and definitely thought highly of himself. The hightened reality autobiographical nature of this shows his opinion on many peers, with his enemies, allies, and influences all having allegory or reference.

Like any Crowley dont expect to get everything out of it on a first pass, but if you are looking for a bitching tale of magick and subterfuge that also has lectures on how to influence the 4th dimension in your day to day, this book is for you!!

Its a great book, easy read, and a nice primer for untold Canadian history.

Unfortunately in keeping the information accessible and short, it is just that a primer.

Doors to Perception is an interesting account, but would not amount to much without Heaven and Hell.

Huxley’s thoughts on the importance on hallucinogenic research are intriguing and very interesting. His remarks on classic art and religious iconography really were the most interesting parts of this work to me though, and I found the appendixes far more interesting than the major bodies

Its surprisingly funny, especially for being 150 odd years old.

Walden is a call to action, and a good one at that, if it is bragging its bragging with the express purpose of saying that all that was done could be done by any reader. Thoreau’s rule of thumb that rent for a year could afford you a life of independence seems to still be a reasonable idea, while the exact budgeting and methods he lays out may not be as useful today they are reasonable guides. It is important to note that he is not advocating independence from community, help, friendship, and family bit rather an independence from a system built on its own back.

The Economy is the portion of this work that should be standard reading, the opinions stated and the issues faced still hold weight in hyper consumerism as they did in the 1800’s.

All in all it is a classic for a reason, Walden is a delight to read that uses humour, charm, and heart to persuade the reader towards its arguments that life is for the taking.

If you read it and loved it, listen to “Knock Knock” by SMOG

The passion paradox is a great resource for anyone either hoping for or in the process of making a change. It offers plentiful advice and case studies of both positive and detrimental passions, with an interesting through line dealing with the nature of success and addiction. I found a lot of the primers to be very insightful and the recommended further reading seem interesting as well.

I was pleasantly surprised with many of the directions this book went which ranged from Pursig’s definition of Quality all the way to the value of weekly contemplation of mortality.

In short, if the pandemic has inspired a change in how you see yourself or your place in the world, this may be a helpful book

The journey of the Bardo is an insight not just into death but into living a life that is prepared for an inevitable conclusion. While the realms mentioned should be seen as possible states to incarnate into, they also represent the ways we punish and/or hinder ourselves in daily life.

The included commentary on the work offers much insight that makes this edition more accessible especially to western readers

Look PKD just gets it, you are whats standing in your way. Radio Free Albemuth is a gnostic blast, a bit less thrilling then some of the other major works in the “trilogy” but definitely a needed piece to the puzzle. Dick’s warnings about enslavement and media propaganda being its tool are pretty valid especially when you look at the Amazon adaptation of his work (which sort of mirrors the conclusion of this work).

Its really important to note though that its a hopeful look, this has to be reality for us to make it any better. Change has to happen here, rewards have to be in this world and life. Paradise doesnt matter if its ethereal, thats why the churches get to take so much and destroy so much. So maybe read some PKD, and some anarchist theory and start making the world beautiful again

3 stars because its technically incomplete, and a further translation of the Lesser Key appears to have been the intent.

So the Goetia is a pretty interesting work that on first looks seams to be a catalogue of unholy entities. Getting deeper into it though it would appear to be a labeling and mapping of an earlier (earliest?) version of something akin to Jungs “collective unconscious”.

Crowley’s introduction states that these entities are names given to parts of the subconscious and that the ritual and language used is in effect an accessing and cataloguing of our own internal functions. While this may seem heady it does fit with other similar modes of thinking (i.e. the Qabalah is a thought computer).

The Goetia to me seems best as a supplemental resource to be used in comparison with other readings, and practices.