Palo Mayombe: The Garden of Blood and Bone

[Solanaceae]

Palo Mayombe: The Garden of Blood and Bone, by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold.

 

Anyone here read this book? I myself have not yet, but I would very much like to. Actually all his books interest me. I would like to know what you guys think.

[Horne]

I haven't read it but I really enjoyed his book Kiumbanda, I should re-read that one. I think most of what I've seen from Scarlet Imprint (the publisher) looks really impressive.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Horne

[Aurelian]

I've chatted with him and he certainly seems competent.  Keep in mind, however, that palo is a closed and initiatory tradition.  But no, I have not read his works and cannot comment on the legitimacy of the content, although he is rather well regarded in the occult community.  The palo people throw huge fucking bitchfits when these sort of works are released!  So there is that.

[Horne]

I just love to read about this stuff, I have no intention to pursue any activity in Palo Mayombe or Kiumbanda.

[Aurelian]

They do some really interesting stuff!  Yeah, have fun reading about it, nothing wrong with that.  I have extensive contact with people who practice palo and I will tell you that they can be very very scary people, which of course impresses me personally.  LoL!

[Horne]

I bet they are scary alright, I love this stuff, and this guy seems really well informed.

[Solanaceae]

I broke down and ordered The Garden of Blood and Bone, it may take awhile to get here, but when I read it I'll let you know what I think. I can hardly wait!

[Solanaceae]

As was expected, this is a very interesting and informative book. Practice wise, I think it would be more useful to people who have initiation or better knowledge of this tradition, however there is plenty of good information for any magick user. I would probably not recommend it to a beginner.

[Barsa]

thanks for the follow-up! what about it makes you say it's not recommended for a beginner? (out of curiosity for elaboration)

[Solanaceae]

thanks for the follow-up! what about it makes you say it's not recommended for a beginner? (out of curiosity for elaboration)

 

 

 

 

I apologize it has taken me this long to reply to you, Barsa. I was just going through my content and noticed this. It got buried I guess and I never noticed.

 

I didn't actually say it is not recommended for a beginner, I said I personally would not recommend it to a beginner. Actually it is recommended by many as a good representation of basics, the surface elements of Palo Mayombe, as it presents it in a unbiased way, and in english, from the perspective of someone on the 'inside'.

 

I this way, I think it would be usefull to anthropology students, or non-magick type people who wanted to know more about Palo Mayombe, without the sinister taint that is put upon it by the media, hollywood and most books on the subject.

 

That said, I think that it could potentially be dangerous to people who approach it from a direction of wanting to take the substantial, yet incomplete information this book does provide, and use it to attempt to piece a working system together. I realise this is a trap that could be stumbled into by anyone arrogent or ignorant enough to try it, however this is a folly I have observed most often in new practitioners , my newbie self included.

 

For this reason, I would not recommend this book to a new magick practitioner, perhaps I should have said, I would not recommend it to any magick user who was not prepared to approach it with respect, humility, and caution. Does this make sense?

Edited June 8, 2015 by Solanaceae

[Barsa]

Totally, thank you. And I see where you are coming from. Newbie me would have also done the 'piece it together and figure it out yourself' method.

[RoseRed]

And that is very, very common. We've all done it at some point.

 

And this is a perfect example of why sometimes, that's a really bad idea. The most important info that you need to know about the inner workings is withheld. It's like putting a puzzle together with the entire middle missing. The neophyte may not even realize that information is missing.

 

It's a good way to learn just enough to hurt yourself.

[RachelLizLear]

I have a book like that, called Voodoo and Hoodoo, the Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners, by Jim Haskins. Pretty informative, but more of an anthropological study-type book that leaves out important stuff for the workings. It gives the bare-bones of the working, but leaves out the important things, like the Loa, etc., so the lay-person would not be able to perform the works as described.

 

If someone were to use the book and piece it together, well....I feel bad for how their life may turn out after. I found this book in my Memaw's attic, too. Go figure.