Customer Reviews

The Ritual Magic Workbook: A Practical Course of Self-Initiation

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is indeed an excellent _workbook_, but to get the full value you do need to not only do the work but read all of the books required for each chapter. And therein lies a challenge because nearly half of them are out of print. Information given in the required books is _not_ repeated in the workbook so if you do not have the listed texts you are going to barely skim the surface of her lessons. The book requires around 68 other books to be read and studied to get the full value of the course. That said and full warning of it now given, it is an excellent introduction to Ritual Magic. Two of the required books are out in revised editions with new titles; Alan Richardson's Mystical Kabllah is to be found in his Magical Gateways and J. H. Brennan's Experimental Magic is now Magick for Beginners. Be prepared to haunt used book sources and do a lot of serious study and practice. You get out of this what you put into it.

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki's "Ritual Magic Workbook" is a must have for beginners and experts alike. Dolores is the Director of Studies of a modern day Mystery School teaching the wisdom of the Western Mysteries. Her rich practical knowledge and insight are made available here for the student who for whatever reason chooses not to undertake the formal tuition of a Mystery School. The beginner can expect to be taken through an in-depth one year curriculum consisting of personal spiritual development and invaluable insight into the construction of a personal temple. The creation of a magical temple is invaluable to the work of a ceremonial magician. In such a temple, the aspirant may expect to be challenged to grow and stimulated to unfold the magical and spiritual potential that lies within. Dolores also points out that one day this temple will no longer be necessary for it will have become "the Temple not made by hands" the total internalization of the physical temple into the subtle bodies of the intiate. The expert may expect further insights from a recognized authority in the esoteric community. One of the many innovations offered by the author is the use of the "Temple Floor Cloth" for those practioners unable to set aside a room for a Temple. The "Temple Floor Cloth" can be set down for the ritual and taken up so that the room can be returned to more mundane use. The author gives practical advice on creative visualization and means of raising power from the Qabalistic tradition to the tradition of the Craft. How to behave in temple and what initiation truly means are fully explained. Readers may work as solo practioners or follow her suggested guidelines towards forming a ritual group that may one day work as a Lodge of the Mysteries. A rich course of study is presented along with a suggested reading list for future study. Rituals to consecrate and seal the Temple on the various subtle levels are given as well as how to align your Temple to three traditions of your personal choice. Seasonal rituals take the practioner through the magical year and much variety is given so that the practioner can experience the various paths of the egyptian, the greek, the craft etc. How to make and use talismans is clearly explained. If you only read one book on the occult and the Western Mysteries, read this book. It will ground you in the all important foundations that will allow you to practice safely and effectively. Expect to be changed for the better!

I take exception to much of the previous review ("Housewife's Magic"). It's important to read the title and understand that it's a workbook, and the word "work" describes the intent of the book very well. The central theme here is preparation for magic, by working. The cleaning, the building, the readings, the attention to the details of the magical implements ... they all serve the purpose of focusing energy/concentration and achieving the discipline needed to effect change through will. You've utterly missed the point if you think these are just a bunch of mundane details and are unimportant. They're the meat of the book, they ARE the real magic, and the heart of the discipline being taught here. The "followers of other magical paths" can bypass all that and skip to the sensation-seeking, but why bother with a book like this if you believe it's only the rituals themselves that matter?

I enjoyed it for the detail about the making of the implements and the temple. So it's practical, as described, but a fuller self-initiation requires several other books and thus the suggested readings at the ends of each chapter.

If you want to put your hands to meditative use so you are well-grounded for further explorations, then this is a marvelous introductory book.

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is obviously a skilled and knowledgeable master of her craft. Her teachings are useful and comprehensive and I am sure many readers will find this book most inspiring.

However, I did not find what I was looking for when I bought the book mainly because of it's title. It describes rituals for the classic post Golden Dawn way only. Witchcraft of the more domestic sort could also be ritualized using this book, but that's pretty much it. Followers of all other magical paths, such as Thelema, Chaos Magic, Grimoiric Magic and wilder sorts of witchcraft will find this book restrictive and conservative to the point of being hardly usable. According to it, their magic can't possibly work anyway, though it most definitely does.

Another grudge I have with this book is that it does not clearly distinguish between more and less important lessons. Endless pages are spent detailing mundane topics such as how to physically clean a ritual room and giving very specific instructions on the construction of less important ritual tools such as candleholders. I missed a lot of "This is but a suggestion and being stuck here shouldn't stop you from going on with the important part." sentences.

Rituals are rather shallow and never go beyond the intensity of an average Holy Mass - which is understandable as this book is an introduction. They are also lengthy and invocations use to be so long they can hardly be learned by heart and spoken "deep from the heart". It seems the rituals in this book do not aim to cause much of the change Ashcroft-Nowicki knows magic is, but rather form a ritual base for the spiritualist quasi-religion she teaches. Which is not everything ritual magic can be - not at all, folks.

If I was as bound to my path as Ashcroft-Nowicki is to hers, I'd have given this book one star. If I followed the same path she does, I'd have given it four.

The Ritual Magic Workbook is a great tool for both solitary and covener alike. An easy to follow workbook with exercises and additional reading, it is a years worth of study in itself. Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki not only instructs, she inspires the student to take a deep look at their motives for exploring the occult.

I have the original version of the book printed in 1986, so I'm not sure if the newer version is exactly the same or not. However, what I want to say is, if you have the book and some aspects of it don't connect with you, or you can't think how to implement all of the suggestions in the book, don't despair. Keep the book and every so often, when drawn to do so, dip back into it and see which sections attract you. Ritual magic is not something that is easy to understand and in my personal experience, timing is everything. As I say, I bought the book in the 1980s and it is only now, 22 years later that I can say that I am beginning to understand the importance of the information in the book.

A valuable reference tool for anyone interested in ritual magic.

Written by a true master.

This book is a great book for anyone who wants to explore ritual magick, but doesn't know where to start. However, creating the temple and gathering the supplies necessary to follow this book to the letter would take a huge amount of money and time. I think the best thing I got out of it was the costume ideas. I decided that most of the costumes would be great for mystery plays at any ceremony, regardless of tradition.

This book does give valuable insights, but I find the practical part very hard to actually carry out. Is magic restricted to people who can afford to use a room only for temple purposes? The part on how to make a temple floorcloth to use instead of a physical room is, in my opinion, not thorough enough, and not supported throughout the book. And the suggested reading is very hard to get hold of. The general observations seem to give more freedom as to how rituals can be carried out, and I somewhat miss that in the practical part. I find the book useful as a source for ideas and inspiration, and for the magical insights in general.

I found this book very, very useful and very down to earth, so will reccommend it to anyone who is interested in magic: you will get inspired by the author's style and her dry sense of humour and you will want to challenge yourself : that is if you are really intersted and this isnt just a temporary blip!
Dolores gives the basics and gets the reader to think carefully before he launches himself into persuing any ambitions and any dreams, but the way she weaves her way through the hard work and the committment is what really got to me, and i personally started thinking of making my first robe and i can tell you now that sawing is certainly one of my fortes! However, the fruit of the effort and the hard work is really making feel that persistance and hard graft is all part and parcel of training as a magician. I am very glad that i discovered this book, and i am sure that many people will agree with me, whether now or in the future, it doesnt really matter.

Good i love the book but i would like to know if you do really need the temple because it takes up to much room in my bedroom.