Grimoire of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) [Paperback]

Donald Tyson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2008 | Series: Necronomicon Series (Book 4)

On the heels of his widely successful trilogy of works honoring H. P. Lovecraft, Donald Tyson now unveils a true grimoire of ritual magic inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. The Grimoire of the Necronomicon is a practical system of ritual magic based on Lovecraft's mythology of the alien gods known as the Old Ones.

Fans of Lovecraft now have the opportunity to reliably and safely get in touch with the Old Ones and draw upon their power for spiritual and material advancement. Tyson expands upon the Old Ones' mythology and reintroduces these "monsters" in a new, magical context—explaining their true purpose for our planet. As a disciple, you choose one of the seven lords as a spiritual mentor, who will guide you toward personal transformation.

Grimoire of the Necronomicon features ritual forms and invocations for the daily and yearly rites of the Old Ones, individual rituals devoted to each of the seven major figures of the mythos, and most importantly, a grand ritual for personal attainment. The daily rituals provide an excellent system of esoteric training for individual practitioners. This grimoire also provides structure for an esoteric society—Order of the Old Ones—devoted to the group practice of this unique system of magic.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Donald Tyson is a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Early in life he was drawn to science by an intense fascination with astronomy, building a telescope by hand when he was eight.  He began university seeking a science degree, but became disillusioned with the aridity and futility of a mechanistic view of the universe and shifted his major to English.  After graduating with honors he has pursued a writing career.

Now he devotes his life to the attainment of a complete gnosis of the art of magic in theory and practice.  His purpose is to formulate an accessible system of personal training composed of East and West, past and present, that will help the individual discover the reason for one's existence and a way to fulfill it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; First Edition edition (August 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738713384
• ISBN-13: 978-0738713380
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Donald Tyson is a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Early in life he was drawn to science by an intense fascination with astronomy, building a telescope by hand when he was eight. He began university seeking a science degree, but became disillusioned with the aridity and futility of a mechanistic view of the universe and shifted his major to English. After graduating with honors he has pursued a writing career. Now he devotes his life to the attainment of a complete gnosis of the art of magic in theory and practice. His purpose is to formulate an accessible system of personal training composed of East and West, past and present, that will help the individual discover the reason for one's existence and a way to fulfill it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put Aside Your Prejuidice, September 30, 2008

By 

Brother MOLOCH 969 "MolochSorcery.com" (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grimoire of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) (Paperback)

The first thing you need to do is to set aside your prejudice about the Necronomicon and how it was a literary invention by Lovecraft for his stories. Donald Tyson has taken a story from the pulp fiction era by a littel konwn & highly unappreciated writer of his day and using his extensive knowledge in Ritual Magic, created a working, practical modern grimoire for those who are into the stories of Lovecraft.

If you like the Simon Necronomicon, you will like this Necronomicon WAY better! Now if you enjoyed the George Hay edition that was more true to the Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos, you'd definitely appreciate this book as more complete and succinct in both it's approach and philosophy.

Tyson has taken a popular story's literatry prop and turned it into a working grimoire based on the seven planets. This is not something that just anyone can create on all their own because there are a number of things that have to be taken into account when creating a working grimoire based on a fictional one. In other words you have to be talented to be able to do this and Don shows his talent.

What Tyson has done is take this grimoire and base it not only on his two previous works, "The Necronomicon" and "Alhazred" but also he has the full Lovecraftian Cthulhu Mythos behind it as well! (And that's something that Lavenda's Necrronomicon could NOT accomplish!)

You'll discover how to approach the working of this grimoire as a solo effort and as a group project. You are taught how to work with Nyarlathotep, Azatoth, Cthulhu, Shu-Biggurath, Yig, Yog Sothoth, and more. You are given information that does not conflict with the Mythos stories and you are shown how to draw the seals & sigils for each of these seven Elder Ones.

This is a fun grimoire. I have yet to do any practical workings with it however rest assured I will. Why? It's fun. So what if it's base don popular culture? The myths of the Greeks was based on their popular culture in their day. And besides, many people in ancient times did not believe their Gods actually existed but were simply stories told around campfires or on temple walls. But many worked with those Gods and got results.

Today the Grimoire of the Necronomicon will give you plenty of solid information on how to work with the Egregores of the various Elder Gods and the 12 Sons of Azathoth in productive and practical ways.

Just remember: "It's time to chuck out the laws of logic and reason and enter the mystical realms and practice Magic!" - Moloch

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting take...., July 9, 2008

By 

David Grant Mackenzie "Mac" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grimoire of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) (Paperback)

I was both excited and a bit cautious about this new text on the Necronomicon. I was intrigued by Mr. Tyson's novel, and subsequent version of the Necronomicon. There are so many out there that any new ones that happen upon the market are always taken with a grain of salt. And Mr. Tyson's is no exception. Now, this new text has me very interested in his attempt to facilitate a new fully workable system based upon Lovecraft's Mythos. Having been a practicing magician for over 30 years, I decided to purchase and read through his tome. I must say that at first glance, it is something that smacks of both horror pulp and legitimate document. I know that Mr. Tyson was attempting to create a system for anyone to "touch" these powers, and I think he may have hit up on something here. I have a bit of trouble with his sigils, as they do not speak to me, but that is one magicians tastes to anothers. I would work through the sigilization on my own to create something that evokes the qualities of the spirit in question. But that aside, I think that his designation of "lords" to the seven spheres is much akin to my own practice over the years and therefore gives me something to latch onto. I would think that anyone that has, or is currently working, with planetary magic will find something to experiment with, if not actually add to their practice. I haven't made it completely through this book, but so far I am seeing a workable attempt to reach and touch the powers of Lovecrafts Mythos. Many have attempted, but many have failed, or created something so outlandish and undoable to be relegated to the realm of fantasy. I know the irony of that statement, but this could possibly turn into a workable system of magical practice. I will revise this review after a complete study. Who knows, maybe this will be the tome that all Lovecraftians have been searching for. Time will tell.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing special, unfortunately, January 16, 2009

By 

Lux Aeterne (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grimoire of the Necronomicon (Necronomicon Series) (Paperback)

I was fairly disappointed by this book. I enjoyed Tyson's version of the necronomicon (not great, mind you, but a good attempt to include all the necessary elements), but this book really just seems like a way to capitalize on his success there. The system of magick is completely uninspired...basically on the same level as Buckland's guide to Witchcraft, but with more occult legitimacy. It is not well-fleshed out (made even worse by the fact that the magick system has no room for other systems in it and is meant to be used exclusively). If you want to have a magick system incorporating the old ones, you'd be much better off devising your own through traditional ceremonial magick or using chaos magick.

Another problem I had was with the conception of the old ones themselves. Nothing new here either, it is essentially just an altered form of gnosticism without the spiritual complexity that that belief system offers, even. The old ones are completely stripped of their otherworldliness and alien incomprehensibility, which is a crucial aspect in their continuing appeal.

All in all, nothing special here and, considering the high hopes a title like this would engender, it is disappointing. I almost gave it two stars, but the author's attempt is genuine and he at least does know proper elements of ritual magick...his approach just doesn't work in this particular context, unfortunately. As a system of magick of the old ones, especially in the spirt of Lovecraft, it fails.