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Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson


Leesa

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I have it too, but I haven't paid too much attention to it. On the email list that I'm on, someone there mentioned that most of the book was actually taken from The Witches Gospel by Charles Bowness.

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What do you all think of this book? Is it a good read? I've had it for quite a while now but have yet to actually pick it up and read it...

 

Leesa

 

Funny, I actually have borrowed this book from a friend. It seems very Cabbalistic/Ceremonial in nature...I'm only about a third of the way in though...So far I've found that it is an easy read.. I liked the way the author's written, but only because I find it comical when he is writing in a serious tone!! lol...I've found some juicy bits, but I'm certainly going to read this with a grain of salt!! Let me know how you find it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There is a bit of discussion about this book here. I have read it and have kept it on my bookshelves, because it is better than the usual wiccan fare one finds. I borrow bits from it, and I what I don't need (i.e. ceremonial stuff) I dismiss.

 

I have three of his fiction offerings on the shelf, too - as yet unread. Might pick them up in 2008 and see if he's any good.

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  • 1 year later...

have just bought this book (Mastering W/craft, Huson) for the 'mwhahahahaha' factor! i also bought The Flaming Circle by Artisson and some of the Crooked Path journals. im not sure what made me go on a book buying spree, but at least I have lots of reading for the weekend...

 

having the book review forum is ready handy btw! :coffee: viks

 

 

What do you all think of this book? Is it a good read? I've had it for quite a while now but have yet to actually pick it up and read it... Leesa
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I downloaded it for free yesterday. Not sure if I can put a link in here, but if anyone messages me I'll give you the link. There's quite a lot of other witchcraft/magic books as well. Need to sort through them to avoid the overly wicca ones though. I also got the golden bough from the same site.

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yep the review said there were a few bits in there which were leaning towards ceremonial, which is very not me :bored: well i'll see and blog a review after i've read it!

 

It was a good book for me when I was wiccan. It still is a good reference book for me, I just omit invoking gods, blessed be and so mote it be...cough. I do like Chapter 6 for blasting and blighting.
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I downloaded it for free yesterday. Not sure if I can put a link in here, but if anyone messages me I'll give you the link.

 

Please note that Paul Huson is chasing down those sites that provide his book for free, as it is in breach of his copyright. You can read about his woes in this regard at his website, here.

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I downloaded it for free yesterday. Not sure if I can put a link in here, but if anyone messages me I'll give you the link.

 

*** Please DO NOT supply this link if it is in breach of any copyright laws. Traditional Witch website does not condone this. Thankyou ***

Edited by Tana
typo
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... Those books arrived today... 'flaming circle' is lovely and thick, and I cant wait to read it! The 'mastering witchcraft' one has lots of sigils inside which reminds me a bit of 'magic:occult primer' by david conway, hehe. Cant wait to read em (especially flaming circle).

 

give me 48 hours and i'll do a review, lol :coffee:

 

 

have just bought this book (Mastering W/craft, Huson) for the 'mwhahahahaha' factor! i also bought The Flaming Circle by Artisson and some of the Crooked Path journals. im not sure what made me go on a book buying spree, but at least I have lots of reading for the weekend...

 

having the book review forum is ready handy btw! viks

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like some parts of this book but overall i didn't really enjoy it too much. Really i don't feel the need to even use the word Christian in a Witchcraft book (with a few exceptions). The part about reading the lord's prayer backwards is one example. I do like the symbolism of it (freeing urself from the confines of ur previous religion, if u were christian before reading it that is), but i feel its unneccecary. I don't think Witchcraft has to justify or compare itself to any other religion, belief, or system of doing things. It exists perfectly well on its own merits.

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I like some parts of this book but overall i didn't really enjoy it too much. Really i don't feel the need to even use the word Christian in a Witchcraft book (with a few exceptions). The part about reading the lord's prayer backwards is one example. I do like the symbolism of it (freeing urself from the confines of ur previous religion, if u were christian before reading it that is), but i feel its unneccecary. I don't think Witchcraft has to justify or compare itself to any other religion, belief, or system of doing things. It exists perfectly well on its own merits.

 

Yes, I felt the same... However, some of the spells were interesting and has some good information if you just wipe the wiccan rituals off.

 

Lusete

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  • 5 months later...

I stumbled upon this book this week and devoured it in one evening. I don't understand how i've never come across this book before as it was wrote in 1970, Strip back the ceremonial tripe, it gives some good witching techiques. I notice to some similiarties to an old craft coven that i once worked with.

 

The book is dark, lucious and though some say he's wiccan, he's from the original wicca pre 1970's, not the new age fluff and cat litter contents thats been branded about the last 20 years or so.

 

Love the Luciferian witch lore with the watchers and the nephelim stricks a cord with me.

 

I recommend to anyone this is a good and interesting read and can give some interesting points to think about.

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Okay - just got this book this a.m.

 

Having an interest in Elder Gods, I like the blurb in the front re same. Also, as I work with gods, I like the way he connects one's emotional feelings to the use of magic. I also like the "deconditioing" of saying the Lord's Prayer backwards (can't pronounce it, though, lol).

 

I think this is a great book for someone starting out (as it explains how and why and where to start - something so many books don't do), who wants a practical way of working with a bit of explanation that can fit into most, if not all, paths.

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Hi Michelle

 

We got this wyrd thing going on with our book intake!

 

You mentioned to read the pillars of tubal cain and i'd just ordered it that morning, now the mastering witchcraft book....... bizzare!

 

Great minds as they say..... or is it our gods guides us to these books!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I agree with most of the posts here. This book was much more impressive back in "the old days" when there wasn't much available on the Craft that wasn't mainstream Wiccan. It has a decent core, but there is a lot of Ceremonial influence.

 

I have always had a soft spot for it simply based on how upset it made all the airy-faery-fluffy-bunny people since it starts right out with some Luciferian lore and having you say "The Lord's Prayer" backwards... heh... it got all their fluffy knickers in a twist back in the day. On top of that he works with Vassago, and we all know that Goetic "demon" summoning stuff is not only scary, but EEEvil... *wink*

 

He has a couple of other books on Herbalism and the Tarot, but I haven't been able to read them yet. I just purchased Mastering Herbalism recently, just haven't gotten around to it. One of his Tarot books (I believe he has a couple) is called "The Devil's Picturebook" again, he starts right out with attitude, I respect that.

 

If nothing else, it is a good read, and the kind of stuff I try to support when I can.

 

-Frey

 

 

I stumbled upon this book this week and devoured it in one evening. I don't understand how i've never come across this book before as it was wrote in 1970, Strip back the ceremonial tripe, it gives some good witching techiques. I notice to some similiarties to an old craft coven that i once worked with.

 

The book is dark, lucious and though some say he's wiccan, he's from the original wicca pre 1970's, not the new age fluff and cat litter contents thats been branded about the last 20 years or so.

 

Love the Luciferian witch lore with the watchers and the nephelim stricks a cord with me.

 

I recommend to anyone this is a good and interesting read and can give some interesting points to think about.

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  • 2 weeks later...
What do you all think of this book? Is it a good read? I've had it for quite a while now but have yet to actually pick it up and read it...

 

Leesa

 

You've probably long since picked it up and read it by now! But I think that parts of it are particularly workable, I do tend to read to get the bare bones of something, then "meat it up" in my own style.

So for that sort of thing, it is pretty good, but as with all books, some parts are good, some are pretty silly sounding.

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  • 1 year later...

I spontaneously picked this book up a short while ago. It is actually quite interesting on a number of levels. If you can ignore the "must do this" and "have to do that", it is filled with lots of basic witching techniques (mentioned in an earlier post). Yes, it is quite ceremonially based, but his sense of humour is in tact. I especially liked his chaotic encouragement towards invoking celebrities or fictional characters in place of gods and goddesses. If he can see his way to that, then I kinda like him. Being completely honest, I have not read a lot of books on witchcraft compared to many others on this forum, and I have not had a lot of opportunity to read things written in the 60s/70s. I must say that this man's open attitude surprised me for some reason- I can't even really say why. It is an entertaining read, and it feels like a window into a point in recent witchy history that I'd not otherwise have considered.

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I enjoyed this book for the most when I read it.. I had another book by him called 'The devils picturebook' which was fairly decent.. I read MW over a pint one night and did like his style, he comes across as a genuine no bullshit kinda guy and serious about what he does..but yet it must be said at the end of the day it is another how to be a witch book, in an authors image.. I enjoyed it purely for it's retro value..

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I think I already posted on this thread, but I really liked this book. I find that regarding the craft he delved into a lot of things that mainstream books miss, including the Zohar, the Nephelim, the Watchers, etc. I have a feeling this fellow may have written his book with more information hidden within it than is immediately obvious (one of those "let those with eyes to see, see" things). I agreed very much with his blurb : "... our preesent-day witch magic is decadent. A patch-work quilt of historical odds and ends, religious flotsam and jetsam, but containing in the midst of that welter of confusing symbolism enough of the old secrets to make the processes work if properly pursued. The methods nowadays may seem to some childish, hit and miss compared with the original starry wisdom..." I don't know how he, personally, meant the phrase "starry wisdom" but I do know that in some paths it's more than just an expression. I have a feeling that to one who is, say, more neo-pagan they could take the book as that and use it as that, but that if one looks between the lines there is more than one thing said and it's up to the reader to try it and then if the magician has the predeliction of a certain thing, they would see it differently. To some that would be irrelevant if they are not interested in a specific path or way of working, but I certainly don't consider this book neo-pagan, but I do think that it could hide as such and possibly on purpose. (But that's only my opinion, lol, I've never met the author.)

 

M

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