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78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inner Temple of Witchcraft, April 16, 2005
This review is from: The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development (Penczak Temple Series) (Paperback)
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When buying books, most of us look for new material, some thing missing from other books. We look for information on magick, deities, and spells on a deeper level but, we are always left some what empty handed. We look for something fresh and something deeper. We seek for a book that aids us in a deeper soul search. Well, searching within is exactly what this book is about, hence the tile, The Inner Temple of Witchcraft.
Unlike most beginner books on Witchcraft, this book does not focus on spells, tools, or celebrating the wheel of the year (Sabbats). It is all to often that student of the Craft go straight to traditional spellwork without understanding how or why it works. The author insists that students who have not experienced energy or psychic powers, the "foundation stones or magick", will have a less profound experience in ritual. Instead this book focuses on the journey within, psychic development, meditation, and magick.
The book starts out with four introductory chapters that gives basic definitions of the word "witch", such as the healer and walker between worlds. It describes Witchcraft as an art, science, and spirituality and describes the ancient history and modern traditions of Witchcraft. The rest of the book is divided into 13 lessons along with exercises, meditations, and homework to go along with "a year and a day" study course. Lesson topics include meditation, ancient philosophy, magickal theory, protection, astral projection, light, energy anatomy (chakras, auras, etc.), spirit guides, and healing.
In my opinion, The Inner Temple of Witchcraft is an extraordinary text. Christopher Penczak's eclectic approach and personal experience makes this book a pleasure to read. When reading a book on Witchcraft, what's better than one written by an experienced minister and practitioner of the Craft.
5 out of 5 magick wands!
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52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A solid foundation, August 16, 2003
This review is from: The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development (Penczak Temple Series) (Paperback)
For me, this book filled in a lot of gaps in all the other Wicca/magic 101 books. Those books would say "meditate on...", "raise power", "visualize your intent" without actually telling you HOW to do any of those things. Perhaps I'm just stupid, but none of those things are natural to me. Then I found "The Inner Temple of Witchcraft" and my questions got answered. This book makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who can't figure out what it really is to "visualize your intent" right off the bat. It eases you into a meditative practice, visualization, affirmations, healing, chakra work, etc. He presents the skills as progressive lessons so the format is easy to follow. All the other magic 101 books say that magical skill comes with practice, but once again, this book is much more useful. Instead of just saying that you should practice, Penczak actually lists homework at the end of each lesson. Personally, this was exactly the beginner book I needed, one that sets up a solid foundation before rushing right into spells and Sabbat rituals.
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41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
WitchCraft Basics, June 15, 2003
This review is from: The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development (Penczak Temple Series) (Paperback)
I think Mr. Penczak sums up this book in these lines "For me, witchcraft is the building of sacred space, in myself, my life, and my environment.... I wanted to help others find their own sacred space, their own inner temple. The information and exercises would build up to that experience."
The book and the companion CD's focus on this building of sacred space through meditation and working from the basic foundations of witchcraft.
The book approaches Magick as a science. The chapters approach the topics as lessons, with exercises to explore the lessons and what is learned.
I found the book to be an in depth study of some of the basics of witchcraft. Topics include learning to work with energy, working on the astral planes, developing a good meditative state, positive affirmations of self development, and many more that can lead a person on the path of being an actual practitioner of witchcraft. This is a working book, not just a study of the topic.
The book is well laid out. Mr. Penczak follows through on the topics, has references for recommended reading, a good bibliography and covers the basics as well as some more progressive material.
This would be a good book for those who would like to explore witchcraft more deeply and need a guide to show them the way.
There is also a 4 CD set of meditations as a companion to this book. Using the background of the book, the CD's set up an easy way to work with the material in the book without having to open the book to reference it during the mediations.
Mr. Penczak's voice is perfect as far as I am concerned, it does not grate on you nor does it lull you into sleep. The light melodic fill is just that, filler for the spaces between words and does not distract from the words.
I found the material covered to be good for meditation and it works well with the material in the book. If you find the book to be what you are looking for, the CD's are a good addition.
I enjoyed the entire presentation, and Mr. Penczak gives us some very well based and solid material. boudica
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