Customer Reviews

Etheric Anatomy: The Three Selves and Astral Travel

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In this much anticipated volume, the late Grandmaster and teacher Victor Anderson discusses in detail astral phenomena and the psychic structure of the human being, including an introduction to the Three Selves, a foundational teaching of the Feri Tradition of Witchcraft.

The book itself is presented in three parts. Part one deals with the human energy bodies and related phenomena. Drawing from his vast experience with several indigenous shamanic practices, Victor delves into the metaphysics of the human energy field, and gives examples of the different layers of auric energy, including his personal understanding of colors commonly perceived in the aura.

Part two deals with astral travel and the Three Souls, contributed by Victor's wife Cora Anderson, author of "Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition". Here we are taught traditional Feri exercises, such as the Ha Prayer (used to raise energy), the Kala Rite (to clear energy blocks), and the Flower Prayer (to contact one's Personal God). Simple exercises to develop one's own etheric sight are presented, along with a discussion of some common ailments and their psychic causes. Further teachings include techniques to facilitate astral awareness and travel.

Part three is a collection of transcribed recordings made by Victor as far back as the late 1970's detailing his own astral experiences of a sexual nature. For the first time in print, here are described personal accounts of sexuality on the astral plane as experienced by the author. Victor offers a frank discussion of human sexuality, both physical and non-, presenting views quite progressive even today, but especially for the time in which they were originally recorded.

The information presented is sound and diverse. In true shaman's style, discussions of larger topics are often peppered with commentary and personal examples, making this more than just an information manual. It is the product of personal experience and as such is an invaluable tool to anyone who wishes to understand and experience deeper levels of consciousness, regardless of one's chosen spiritual path.

This is a must have for any Pagan, Witch, healer, or practicing occultist.

I bought this book hoping to reinforce and elaborate on what I have learned about triple souls, aligning them, and certainly hoping to learn more about kala. It is more of book of memoirs than a learning tool and I was sadly disappointed. I mean no disrespect to this book or the Andersons; I have much respect for them and wished I had the chance to have met them before they had passed. How lucky for their students to have learned under them. They certainly are wonderful people.

I certainly can't add much to Storm Faerywolf's review below, but I would like to add my voice in praise of this extraordinary volume.

The teachings herein strike me as so fundamental and so profoundly important that it is a mystery to me how other Craft authors, with the exception of other Feri and/or Reclaiming Witches like Thorn Coyle and Starhawk, have failed to grasp the vital role they play in any spiritual practice. This slim volume gives more food for thought than most Craft works ten times the size.

With beautiful prose, the author penetrates body and soul, and offers extraordinary insight into the etheric body and the aura, as well as very important insights into the marriage of sex and spirit, which "transcendant" spirituality often portrays as being exclusive one from the other.

Lovely and true, it is indeed a must have for any Witch, not to mention anyone who hopes to know the God within.

"Etheric Anatomy" is a book that should be required reading for any magical practitioner. This slim volume is full of valuable information for soul development and alignment - information that Witchcraft has largely been without, though other magical systems have stressed this type of knowledge for years.

If you are a Witch, get this book. If you are a Magickian, wanting information to complement Middle Pillar or HGA work, get this book. If you are a serious spiritual seeker, get this book.

Know Thyself.

Much as I hate to say anything bad about another Pagan author, esp one who is enshrined in such fame as this one, I was expecting great things from this book...
And didn't find them. Having the utmost respect for Starhawk and her teachings, I thought reading a book written by her mentor would teach me even more....

I don't know if it is because some people just don't have the gift of the written word....maybe Victor was better in person...
but i found nothing useful in this book, and very little even hinting at real Faery lore.
It was rambling, pretentious and full of hints about Hawaiian shamanic practices and a lot of focus on the joys of astral sex.

All in all, it's an interesting addition to my library of pagan tradition and history, but not a useful workbook.

Poet, mystic, and visionary are words often used to describe Victor H. Anderson. Ecstatic seeker, wise elder, grand high priest, and beloved witch would also be accurate. Victor and his wife Cora are the founders of the highly influential Feri tradition of Witchcraft. A mixture of Hawaiian mysticism, European folk magic, Pagan spirituality, and Wiccan theory, it is one hundred percent Witchcraft. In "Etheric Anatomy" one of the central teachings of Feri is presented in Victor's and Cora's own words, supplemented with an informative preface and a list of further books to explore.

Feri witchcraft teaches the theory of the tripartite self: each of us has three distinct spiritual bodies that together make up the human soul. This book explains the three parts of the soul, describing their composition and function, explaining them by drawing on a variety of spiritual and mystical traditions in a logical synthesis. Victor and Cora use poetic yet straightforward language. As you read the book it's easy to imagine you are sitting next to them on a porch gently rocking in rocking chairs as they talk to you. Cora and Victor speak like loving relatives sharing their knowledge; they do not talk down to their students or lecture as some nonfiction authors do. Their genuine, practical mysticism comes across clearly in what they say and teach.

Sensual experience is celebrated in Feri teachings rather than denigrated or rejected as a distraction as in some spiritual paths. Sexual expression, Victor and Cora assure us, exists on the spiritual planes and in fact is freely shared without the social stigma present on the physical plane. The book explores the topic of astral sex with honesty and tact. Astral work is an integral part of existence in the mundane world, complementing and enriching our regular lives rather than replacing them.

"Etheric Anatomy" is an engrossing glimpse into the core teachings of a vital spiritual path. Students of Feri will find a lot to consider in this book, and initiates of other spiritual paths will find ideas and inspiration that can help them deepen their own personal spiritual practice. Unfortunately Victor passed away in 2001 but his teachings live on, surviving in his wife Cora and the many initiates of the Feri tradition.