by: Father SebastiaanAvailable at Red Wheel/Weiser Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Synopsis:
Since the dawn of civilization, the vampire has danced through the dreams and nightmares of every culture, expressed in folklore, literature, and art. Today, this fascination resonates in pop-culture through hit television shows, movies, and bestselling books.
In Vampyre Magick, Father Sebastiaan reveals the hidden rituals and spells of the Living Vampires. This companion volume to Sebastiaan’s Vampyre Sanguinomicon, is intended for initiates of the Stigoii Vii, but will appeal to any scholar of magickal arts, The Golden Dawn, or other Western Mystery Traditions.
I'm surprised at the gamut of emotions this book took me on, for a nonfiction piece. I was excited to get the book, then I couldn't believe he was serious, thought he was awesome and a few times a complete loon. I will try to give a honest review, but truly you have to decide for yourself. I'm not even fully sure of my opinion yet, so I'll just have to pick something.
It talks about being a vampyre in a more spiritual sense. It's not about immortality or any of the other vampire myths. It's about energizing yourself and having willing hosts. Blood is not often used, and Father Sebastiaan says to draw real blood there has to be such a commitment from the host that it's just not practical. The person would have to be quarantined for about 10 years before you could even draw from them, including lots of testing to make sure their blood is safe. So they generally stick with feasting on the life force of willing hosts. Can't stress that part enough, WILLING hosts. I love that he put so much detail and precautions in this book.
He does talk about immortality, but it's more about being able to leave this mortal coil and ascend to a fully spiritual level. Take this quote:
Vampyres of the Strigoi Vii Tradition see Themselves as part of a movement which promotes spiritual and philosophical evolution, which is deeply rooted in the soul, not just a specific singular religion or paradigm. Once Awakened there is no turning back; the Current is alive within the individual."There is so much deep magick in this book, that I'm not even sure I believe in it. But that's a big part of what made this book so much fun. That and Father Sebastiaan's passion for the subject and the intelligent way he presents it.
Will I be practicing vampyre magick? Probably not, but the book was fascinating to read. So I should probably go with that for my stars.
How interesting. I believe people can feed from each other's energy, I wonder if that would be a bit vampiric...
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you, I might not been sinking fangs into this, but it sounds like a book I might read ;-)
It's never a waste of time to learn a new perspective. Thanks for stopping by! :)
DeleteI used to babysit vampiric children. Even when they were on their best behavior I was completely drained after watching them in a way I was not after watching other children or even large groups of kids. They were sweet kids and I know they didn't know what they were doing but the bone-deep exhaustion I felt only after watching them was just not normal. Maybe I'll check this book out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. As I said in the review, he stresses "willing hosts" and not the "emotional vampires" that we all have in our lives. That's a whole different thing and I don't think those people are doing it intentionally...they just don't realize how hard they are to be around. lol - I think I watched those kids too. :)
DeleteI have known/know people who have left me feeling drained of energy, no matter how raised I was at the beginning of our visit. I don't know if they were aware of it, but it was a certain reality for me.
ReplyDelete