The Book of English Magic

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Each chapter contains a narrative that introduces you to the contemporary manifestations of the historic experience and then intersperses this with practical magical insights (for example, how to hunt for ley lines or the basics of magical numerology or the tarot) as well as extended interviews with practitioners in each field. These 'insights' will give you sufficient flavour of a practice for you to decide whether to investigate further. Periodically, after introducing the magical periods and areas, with illustrative potted biographies of significant figures, the authors relinquish the microphone, passing it to a ‘guest compere’, a contemporary scholar and/or practitioner of the type of magic being discussed. Through personal anecdote and academic findings, a practical, modern perspective is given to such arcane areas of magical practice as shamanism, wicca, druidry, alchemy, and so on, with ‘guest presenters’ ranging from the relatively unknown to those famous in their field. It is the experience that counts, allowing us direct connection with contemporary practical magical working. And the results range impressively from successfully selling premises by Druidic invocation to having ‘the metal of your consciousness’ totally transformed by Enochian magic.

It would have been a wonderful book even were it merely an historical account, but at each step the book does more – it invites the reader into the reality of magic in several ways. First are the many interviews with real people, who speak of their magical experience and work. These “open up” the book by providing windows into other lives; it is as though a druid and a shaman, an alchemist and a dowser came by for a cup of tea and sat talking at the kitchen table until late. And each of them is someone we’d be happy to have stay overnight, so we could resume our conversation in the morning. The two authors, who clearly (and wonderfully) represent different approaches, manage to serve up a delightfully well written, intellectually stimulating, un-put-down-able adventure into all things magical (from merry old England’s perspective). No stone of Albion remains unturned. They lead us (readers) into magical encounters wonderful and weird, and not only academically but practically too – offering wonderful ‘what to do now’ pointers and exercises into gaining our own magical experience. As you read through the many testimonies in this book, you will see people with serious academic accomplishments rub alongside people whose status in society may be ‘lowly’ but who are accomplished in their abilities to see things the rest of us do not or in giving some sort of ‘spiritual’ service to others. The respect of each for all and of all for each is in marked contrast to cultures that ‘look up to’ priests, rabbis or imams and leave their spiritual thinking at the door of the church, mosque or synagogue. Co-author Sir Richard Heygate runs a successful software company and has a special interest in alternative worlds. He is also co-author of Endangered Species. Tim continues his travels across America, until he somehow ends up trapped on an island on the outskirts of Faerie. He manages to escape the island with the help of Huon the Small, the first King of Faerie. Huon and Tim travel into the heart of Faerie. [23]

There is some good writing here, and the book is an entertaining read. Some of the chapters are excellent for beginners to the subjects, particularly the ones on the history of Enochian and other Renaissance magic, and the chapters that chart the influence of these early-modern ceremonial forms of magic into more recent magical history. John Dee was very interested in both Astrology and alchemy. A gifted magician he plunged into magic whole heartedly. His interest in magic would lead to an interest in angels. He was a favorite of the Elizabethan court. He would get together with a cohort who is clairvoyant who was able to decipher the Enochian language. They would later go off treasure hunting with his cohort Edward Kelley. Their treasure hunting exploits were not as successful as hoped. Edward Kelley ended up getting arrested. John Dee retired. In December 1997, a two-issue crossover with Hellblazer was published, with a script from the then current Hellblazer writer Paul Jenkins from a story written in collaboration with John Ney Rieber. The artwork was by artist Paul Lee. I am generally a fan of the authors and enjoyed the read, but found some parts of the book unhelpful - the 'Things To Do' section usually just suggests visiting the places mentioned or reading the books listed, and there are frequent inclusions by modern-day thinkers and practitioners that became a chore for me to read. Some accounts are too personal to the writer to mean much to me, and others seem a little boastful, but the biggest problem (in my edition at least) is that they are all printed with such a pale grey ink as to be barely legible!

The two issues showed Tim Hunter coming into possession of a time capsule that had been made by John Constantine as a child. The capsule contained all of Constantine's childhood innocence, placed there in one of his first acts of magic to rid himself of the perceived weakness. Tim attempts to return the box to its original owner, but Constantine wants nothing to do with it, until it falls into the hands of a demon called Kobal ("Master of the Infernal Theatre"). [42] Partly the Faerie storyline in Bindings was written to appease DC's desire for a "big" story to launch the new series with: Rieber's original starting point was to be the Summonings storyline instead, [6] introducing Tim's first girlfriend Molly O'Reilly and demonstrating the writer's desire that the stories should be about "a realm that has never been mapped by the Royal Geographic Society and never will be. People who've lost touch with the place call it 'Adolescence'". [16]

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The astonishing diversity and complexity of English magical disciplines are explored both comprehensively and accessibly, enabling the neophyte reader to work through the text swiftly and select an area of interest with ease. The more learned will find the book a useful summary of many aspects of magic that are not always covered in one source book, and it is up to date. Not much more could be asked of an introductory volume that, in fact, amounts to an encyclopaedia. The authors are to be congratulated on what is clearly a labour of love.’ Alexander J Betts, Albion Magazine Its name was Sbabadil in those days, and it was the place where the animal powers of Coast Salish legend chanted the world into being from a lump of mud Muskrat brought up from the bottom of the sea. A mile or so away, in the rundown suburb of Belltown, another hill standing up stark above the floodplain was the house of the old rain spirit Squlats, Stormwind’s grandmother, and one of the most moving scenes in the great Duwamish epic of Northwind and Stormwind took place there. I would have loved reading about Northwind and Stormwind if I’d had any way of finding out about the story in my childhood. Instead, I read about Gandalf, the Light Maze, King Arthur and the heroes of the Mabinogion. The book contains really beautiful illustrations such as these you may see on the cover, really giving the impression that it is an old grimoire.

Each section includes potted biographies and personal accounts by experts in the traditions covered. You may not go along with everything these luminaries claim, but it is interesting to read their stories alongside those of others. One of the lovely things about this book is that it seems to encourage the reader to take what interests or inspires them and ignore the rest. I was pleased to see that the unknown and uncelebrated, those who have been working out of the public eye are honoured, as well as the more famous faces. As Alan Richardson points out, “The real magicians I know ….have full-time jobs in the normal world, where their workmates know nothing about their “other” lives.” That said, I also spend most of my reading life inhabiting a world that is full of the magic that I don’t believe in in real life. The Book of English Magic promised to bring this all together, and talk about the history of practising magic in England while also looking at the literature in which it has flourished, topping it all off with some pointers for those looking to begin their own magical practice. I was in this for the first two promises, thinking that I could just ignore the third. That didn’t really work so well for me. Gaiman used the four issues to formally split the structure of the story and allow for a different artist to draw each issue: a b Gross, Peter( w)."The Closing, Part 3: Inner Child" The Books of Magic,no.75(August 2000).DC Comics.

The Arcana: The Books of Magic Annual was the sixth part of The Children's Crusade series, with artwork by Peter Gross. It introduced several characters created by Rieber that would be developed in the later ongoing series, such as Tim's biological father Tamlin, as well as starting off some of the ongoing book's storylines. The annual saw Neil Gaiman's first credit as "creative consultant" for The Books of Magic, a position which DC Comics paid him to carry out despite the fact that even when he did make comments on the script, he was told that it was too late for anything to be changed. [7]

The book is an unusual jigsaw puzzle: each chapter is a piece which can be understood on its own, but when all the pieces are fitted together they form a bigger, coherent picture. It shows that the English and their magical paths are like a patchwork quilt of different fabrics, forming a colourful and harmonious whole like an English field system seen from the air. English magic has not developed in isolation but has been enriched over the centuries by waves of incoming traditions, a demonstration of the English gift for absorbing new ideas from diverse sources. In consequence, English magic is full of those oddities, curiosities and eccentricities which are traditionally the hallmarks of England. Finally, the overall tone is measured, balanced, fair and thoughtful. There are even periodic health warnings against misunderstanding or misusing magical techniques or expecting too much or the wrong thing. a b c d e "Interview with John Ney Rieber". Serie Journalen. December 1, 1995. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008 . Retrieved April 28, 2008. Tanger and Tim head into Hell to rescue Molly and Crimple, who are being held by the strict governess Miss Vuall - the trainer of the multiple Mollies who are Sir Timothy Hunter's docile and dutiful companions. Sir Timothy, however, no longer needs the girls, as he has succeeded in releasing himself from Barbatos' control - only to be persuaded by a gang of dragons to become one of them because of his sadness and self-hatred. Molly and Crimple best Miss Vuall, and as Tim arrives the two children's love puts the finishing touches to her corner of Hell. Barbatos drags the children and the dragon Sir Timothy into another layer of Hell, where he attempts to salvage victory from defeat by trapping the two children in a fairy tale world where brave knights kill dragons. [18]If you read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, and wondered what the real history of English magic looked like, then this book is, quite simply, the answer. Not quite as glamorous as Clarke’s fictional world, or the magical England of Harry Potter, it is none the less a history resplendent with strangeness, eccentricity and curiosities. This book brings together the real stories those writing about fictional English magic have been drawing on all along. For anyone interested in the literary angle, it’s most informative read. Stuart Moore: To Dare For Moore". ComicsBulletin. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011 . Retrieved May 2, 2008. There were also three spin-off mini-series set in the Faerie realm, entitled The Books of Faerie. The first two volumes dealt with the rise to power of Titania and Auberon respectively, whilst the third documents the misadventures of Molly O'Reilly as she tried to come to terms with the curse placed upon her by Titania during the Girl in the Box storyline. There were also plans to create an ongoing The Books of Faerie series starring Molly O'Reilly, but these were eventually abandoned.