Akashiel Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Queen of hell, The red king and The Scorpion god by Mark Alan Smith. Very good books though anything in the Scorpion God and most of the red king is a bit beyond me...I'm getting there though. They're often described as traditional witchcraft in other reviews though I dont know how the author learned his craft, and it seems more like his own personal gnosis. Good stuff though Queen of hell: Bound in green silk and embossed with what Mark calls the crown of Hecate in gold the book certainly looks impressive.The spells are beautifully written and work well in my experience. Not exactly for the faint of heart, as it does contain some relatively dark stuff like "the sacred rite of the waters of the moon" where a toad is sacrificed as part of the rite. The mythology presented in the book is interesting though does not exactly match with the greek myths of Hecate and should probably be taken with a grain of salt. And...not sure what else to say, I suck at reviewing books. I'll leave the other two for some other time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Having read through at least two of the three, I feel that the author is most decidedly in cahoots with "something". The waymarks and signals suggest he's had contact with an order I belong to, and his presentation of the material is consistent with it. If you read through a preview or some such and find you resonate with them, I'd strongly suggest picking them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archabyss Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I've read the authors work in articles and essays before I read the Queen of Hell, to my mind his work came across better in those than the book. The book whilst having glimpses of his work with his Goddess, was written up to much in words to sound impressive and grimoire stylee rather than have the primal impact of his essays. Now I haven't read the other two and really I have no intention of doing so but personally I would suggest that people seek out his other works and maybe if it's still up his website before reading this trilogy to see if it is something you are interested in. Interesting you mention that his mythology doesn't match traditional mythology which it doesn't, it has nodding greeting to some of it but other than that the best way I can describe it is that he seems to use a media chaote's perspective on it, ie only use what fits. It's not even proper paradigm shifting but an ad hoc I'll read one. Whilst I do believe he has a very strong relationship with something, personally I am not sure it is Hecate. And from my knowledge slight as it may be I don't find it resonates with Her at all, similar but quite one sided. Just my two pennies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruby Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 (edited) Giving this a quick bump for any other members to comment on...especially The Scorpion God if anyone has read/worked through that book Any thoughts on these books? I've never read them or anything from this author, but after a dream last night-it has me chasing info. today and I came across this trilogy. Edited May 3, 2016 by Anara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nera Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 I've read The Queen of Hell. I have a lot of respect for Mark Allan Smith. I contacted him a few years ago and asked about an issue I had (I was going throug a very hard time) and he was very kind to help me with it. He really walks the talk.I have made a pact with Hecate and She was very quick to help me.If you feel the call, why not start to work with one of these books? You can always contact the author via email. He said himself that he is easy to find :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruby Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Ok, thank you for the thoughts, Nera! I will do a little more research and perhaps some divination and see what direction that takes me. I checked out his website and see he produces some pretty intense working grimoires, so it is not something I would jump into quickly. Aside from that, I have my hands full with another grimoire I've been working through at the moment. I will say it does appear this author certainly does walk his talk and is quite genuine in his approach, which automatically gives someone a bit of instant credibility, in my opinion. It's nice to know he's accessible as well to answer any questions about his books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreeje Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 'The Scorpion God' is meant to be worked last after having gone through the the rites within the first two books. The two books before it are set up to open within ones self gateways which makes the rites in third book accessible. The Scorpion God is, in a nutshell, working through ancient Spirits of a raw primal nature. Working through the rite of each Spirit basically opens you up to them and their nature, and if their test for you is passed, you are attuned to their essence. Sort of an "initiation" with each Spirit. Also, as with any rituals designed to bond one with a Spirit, part of that essence is left within you. With that said, jumping straight to this volume without working through the first two wouldn't be the best idea, as these are very hot Spirits. The rites in the first two books, aside from the opening of spiritual gateways, also prepares you mentally, physically and spiritually for working with the Spirits of the Scorpion God. As for Mark's presentation of Hecate in his books not being true to what was written about Her by the Greeks, that's a hard topic to really present. As Hecate was presented quite differently in the latter years of the Ancient Greek writings (what has survived at least) than She was from what survives of the older writings of Greece and also the Chaldeans. Also, as with any ancient civilization, the depictions of the various Gods changed with the God of the ruler at any given time; stories and perceptions were changed depending on the belief of who ever ruled. And in really Ancient Greece, when it was a series of city states, each region viewed things differently as well. A quick overview would is that in the latter days, Hecate was viewed as a minor Diety who ruled over magic, the dead and crossroads. Earlier representations put Her as a Titan who retained Her power over the Empyrian, Cthonic and Earth realms. The Chaleans even put Her as a source of the World Soul. Differing views as they changed through the ages. Not to mention that Hecate wasn't a Spirit native to Greece originally. That's the problem with looking a ancient cultures, we only have a portion of the info left about them, and even what we have changes as time went on with said culture. It's best to get a basic understanding about the Gods and Goddesses, and if interested to Perdue further then work with the Spirit themselves. But back the the Trident Trilogy. The main purpose and goal of the books isn't one of spell work, or rituals aimed at fulfilling material wants and desires. The rituals are set up and layed out as a process of spiritually evolving the soul. And such a journey, as they are in most cultures through the ages and around the world, is a deep and reflective one which also has its dangers. The dangers lie in the fact that in deep personal soul exploration some have a tendency to not be able to accept what they see, especially about themselves, and it can cause mental turmoil. But, then again, this is true with many paths. This path in particular is also full of various test and trials, but designed to strengthen, and also to remove anything which is counter productive to the work at hand. The books also deal a lot with Spirits of the Goetia and Grimorium Verum. Which, like researching ancient gods, has a different view that the grimoires. But like the writings of ancient cultures, the info from old sources on specific demons of the grimoires is scant. Take Surgat from the Grimoirum Verum, "opens all locks" isn't much to go on. But Mark, having worked extensively with Surgat, expands a whole lot on this Spirit's abilities and nature. These are just some of my views based on my workings through his books. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I get emails on this topic quite often, I'm used to it:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lissu Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 I browsed through the authors web page, however it seems the first two books aren't available anymore, instead he has set up a condensed pdf version if you purchase the two newest books. Not 100% sure how I feel about that, going by the comments here. I feel like I'd have loved to read and work through the first two to really benefit from the more advanced ones. Guess I've missed out on this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akashiel Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 Just thought I'd mention that the first two books have a new 500 copy release coming up on march 7th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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