Customer Reviews

The New Hermetics: 21st Century Magick for Illumination and Power

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must say that the New Hermetics is a really fantastic Book. It's a shame that some people seem to mistake simplifying the mysteries with being too basic or even confused. This book is anything but basic. It teaches you all the necessary steps to take on the inward journey to enlightenment in a clear and concise way. I recommend it completely. So many other books waste time with verbal mush and arbitrary non-essentials. The New Hermetics cuts through all that and just delivers the specific mental strategies for getting to transcendent consciousness and balancing your life along the way. This is the soul's journey, laid out in an easy to understand way. If anyone thinks these exercises are too basic, they are probably looking to create confusion and complexity for themselves, rather than real self-discovery.

The New Hermetics, by Jason Augustus Newcomb, describes a streamlined, "non-sectarian" training program in the basics of Western magic. It treats magic as a system of training the mind and placing it in contact with cosmic consciousness. You don't have to join a group, dress up in a funny costume, or learn to pronounce Hebrew words; you can, however, go to his website (newhermetics.com) and download free workbooks to go with the material, or buy CDs of the book's exercises. Since 90% of it is descriptions of magical exercises, it is a very fast read, but quite engaging. Newcombe describes the work simply, clearly, in small and manageable steps, accompanied by rather entertaining cartoon-like diagrams. My only complaint pertains to the system rather than to the book itself; having worked with some of the material, I find it a little too cerebral, something that is all "in the head" without being carried out in ritual and enacted symbol. Nevertheless, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in magic, the occult, and hermeticism.

I am changing my review for this book. When I first read it, I was wild about it. I still think it's good, but I have to take it from 5 stars down to 3.

First I should re-iterate what I still like about the book. It is a good complete system for personal magickal development if someone has a strong will and really takes to heart the importance of developing clear visualization. It has a good range of techniques. There are some interesting comments on theory.

There are, however, some mistakes that I can only assume come from a lack of attention to detail, such as when he translates "Malkah" as "bride". (Kallah is "bride." Malkah is "Queen," and there is a very big difference between the two titles, even though they both refer to Malkuth.) He de-emphasizes physical ritual, which I have decided I consider to be profoundly misguided.

I agree with a couple of other reviewers that the whole Leary 8-circuit correspondence seems to be bolted on. On the other hand, his emphasis of applied NLP techniques and practical goal-setting is inspired, in my opinion.

Overall, a serious occult student should read this book and others by Mr. Newcomb; he can really have a good effect on your personal practice. Someone who is looking for a solid program to really commit to should probably look elsewhere.

Along with Initiation into Hermetics and Disciple's Guide to Ritual Magick, "The New Hermetics" presents one of the finest guides to the practice of magic. Jason Newcomb's best known previous work (21st Century Mage: Bring the Divine Down to Earth) is a good book, but is far surpassed by the practicality, power, and elegance of "The New Hermetics". For the aspiring magician, Witch, or Hermetic, this is a can't-miss!

The best book on magick. Very practical and if you take it seriously it really works. The best results can be achieved in combination with the program on the CD. Beneath the casual style there is a well defined comprehensive system of spiritual development. No dogmas and unnecessary complications, straight to the essence of the very best of the Western Mystical tradition.

"The New Hermetics" is an incredible guide to changing one's life for the better. If you approach this book with an open mind and truly follow the exercises within, expect profound growth and change. Whether or not one has a prior background in the Western Mysteries, this book cuts to the chase and serves as a practical guide for truly experiencing the power that we all carry within ourselves.

Hermetic Philosophy was an ancient Egyptian form of wisdom that taught the novel concept that it was the mind that shaped reality. This concept was expanded to include the Rosicrucian brotherhood's ten levels of fruition, combined with modern mind-expanding techniques such as visualization in The New Hermetics: 21st Century Magick For Illumination And Power by writer and artist Jason Newcomb. Highly recommended to the attention of students wanting to develop the power of their minds and undergo initiation into the mysteries of consciousness, The New Hermetics is a welcome and impressively presented contribution to Metaphysical Studies reference collections and self-directed reading lists.

The best part of the book is it's clear understandability and the great synthesis of different paths and mental technologies. Though all of it is very simplistic and very basic. I have a large background in NLP and less knowledge of magic. I don't even bother with the NLP techniques he presents. There is better stuff out there. The magic techniques are very cut and dry and are more guided visualizations than anything else. What this book will be is the foundation resource for a better more advanced book in this techno-magic vein which is badly needed.

I have recently become interested in The New Hermetics and I found this book to be incredibly insightful. I am looking forward to picking it up again to pick up on the nuance that I may have missed on first reading.

This is an awesome book with great information needed to put into practice with standards and spiritual character built into the program. There are teachers available to teach one-to-one...which substantially increases the effectiveness of the program.