General Update Time!

Alright literary world;

It's time for a little bit of an update- I'm quite excited for the next three months, that happy period of time where summer winds down towards Halloween, AKA the greatest holiday of the year. After Halloween, there's nothing to look forward to until spring except stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving and Yule.

I have four works that I am definitively working on during this period; two herbal works (another government circular by the author of "Weeds as Medicine" and the South Sea Herbal) which will require illustration are on the docket, along with a short alchemical tract and the current work I am editing; "Secrets of Black Arts!" which is similar to other travelers booklets from the late 19th century and into the 1920s- these short works were part historical and part titillating grotesquery. Don't worry, those won't be the only works I release over this period; I have a half dozen others ready to format but I am not sure which of them will be completed- along with, I hope, the beginnings of SIH two.

That's about all. Don't dog-ear your books.

The Biography of Satan: Now Available!

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This work comes courtesy of the spiritualist movement of the mid and late 19th century. It is at once an academic work, a work of general demonology and Satan-lore, and a social tract aimed at the fire and brimstone preaching of its era. The elaborate synthesis of its sources and its authors' opinions make it an important work within the historical cycle of late pre-modern Christian philosophy.

For those interested in the occult, the practice of magick, and demonology in a stricter sense, this work is best seen as a refutation of some of the symbolism and meaning used by those involved in the same; if the basis is unsound the practice is unsound, and a great many practitioners continue in the delusion that brimstone-and-smoke filled hallways populated by leathery little creatures with Pluto-esque pitchforks are very much real, and that Satan is a historical notion as opposed to one adapted from paganism. I strongly suggest this work as well for anyone desiring to rid themselves of the fear or Hellfire, since it is meticulously debased here and more or less totally defeated.

112 pages.

An Explanation of the Natural Philosophers' Tincture: Now Available!

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This manuscript concerns the chemical components of alchemy more than the actual crafting of any sorcerers' stone or elixir itself; indeed, it is the general recipe for the precursor materials needed to work the great work itself. The formula is fairly explicit but most of the secondary content used to "prove" the point is religious in nature and heavily metaphorical. Overall, a fine alchemical work of note, from one of the less well known figures within the period. It is slightly similar to some of Hollandus' work.

37 pages.

1900 Or: The Last President Now Available

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This short work of political fiction (that to my knowledge hasn't been released in a new edition in over a century!) was crafted by Ingersoll Lockwood; a largely forgotten literary figure who has now come back into public notice for the apparent predictive qualities of his works both fictional and otherwise. Writing about religious, political, and fantasy topics alike, I can't deny this specific booklet was an interesting read for the story alone.

It's a work of political intrigue; but I am only interested in its prophetic component for the purposes of this blog and my edition of the work- for example, that it lists a "Pence" in the fictional cabinet of this last president, and presumes the rise of socialists and anarchists and others in the wake of a populist, working-class revolt against wall street and corporations.

It's a slightly disturbing work solely because it overlaps with the modern era so fully.

43 pages.

Folklore, Cryptozoology, and Mythology Books for Sale

The following is a continuously edited list of books about folklore, cryptids, and mythology which I have edited and released. All links are to Amazon, where I have self published my works.

THE BOOK OF WEREWOLVES
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A fine work by Baring-Gould on lycanthropes, cannibalism, and berserkers. 

LORE OF THE UNICORN
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Shepard's great work on the history, symbolism, and legend of the unicorn.

THE MAGIC OF THE HORSE SHOE
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An interesting folkloric look at the use of horse shoes, salt, and animals in superstition.

DRAGONS AND DRAGON LORE
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An extremely good look at Chinese, Hindu, and European dragon lore.

THE BOOK OF HALLOWEEN
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A good compilation of history and folklore related to Halloween and its prior counterparts.

MAGIC OF THE MIDDLE AGES
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A good look at the witch trials, cryptids, and ritual magick by Rydberg.

MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, WITCHCRAFT, AND MIRACLES
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A nice work by Putnam on spirits, Salem, mesmerism, and other related paranormal topics from a dedicated spiritualist perspective.

ANIMISM THE SEED OF RELIGION
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An interesting booklet categorizing the evolution of folklore and spiritual systems.

GHOSTLY PHENOMENA
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A collection of ghostly reports by the author and others, with some opinions about psychic and spiritual phenomena like mediums and automatic writing.

WERWOLVES
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A lengthy work containing dozens of folk tales on the topic of lycanthropes.

FLOWER LORE
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An excellent work showing the use of flowers in folklore and religious myth.

SCOTTISH FOLKLORE
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A collection of stories from the authors' childhood in Scotland, some with a religious or cryptozoological bent.

THE DWARFS OF MOUNT ATLAS
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A short work dealing with reports of pygmies with magical properties in mountains central Morocco.

ANCIENT CURES, CHARMS, AND USAGES OF IRELAND
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A rabidly pro-Irish nationalist text that contains spooky stories, proverbs, herbal remedies, and more.

SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT ANIMALS
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A mixture of stories, poetry, and more, regarding animals often in supernaturalmanners, as well as some cryptids.

CELTIC RELIGION
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A short work on the basics of the Celtic religion including the Druids.

CELTIC MYTHOLOGY
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A somewhat linguistic work on Celtic spiritual systems.

APPARITIONS GHOSTS HOBGOBLINS AND HAUNTED HOUSES
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An obtusely titled but excellent series of short tales involving various paranormal misidentifications and hoaxes.

SIGNS, OMENS, AND SUPERSTITIONS
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A compilation of divination, simple folklore, good and bad luck charms, and much more.

MAGIC AND MYSTERY
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A skeptics' look at homeopathy, fairies, and various superstitions.

THE VEIL OF ISIS
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A lengthy expose on the Druids, Isis worship, Phallism and folklore from ancient and then-modern times.

THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY OF SHAKESPEARE
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A short work detailing the history of fairy lore as applied to Shakespeares' works.

THE POWER OF GEMS AND CHARMS
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A laundry list of charms, talismans, and good luck symbols, and their usages.

A BOOK OF GIANTS
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A work on giants in mythology from the Norse, Homer, the middle ages, and more.

THE SUPERNATURAL IN ROMANTIC FICTION
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A very dense compilation of folklore, including Arthurian and ancient as well as then-modern.

POEMS OF PAGANISM
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A compilation of poetry with a pagan twist. Mostly romantic and quasi-folkloric.

BIRDS IN LEGEND AND FOLKLORE
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A long work compiling centuries of avian folklore from a hundred or more cultures.

POPULAR HOME REMEDIES AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS
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A dense collection of superstition, some derived from Hohmans' "Pow Wows" and the "Egyptian Secrets" of Albertus Magnus.

FOLKLORE, SUPERSTITION, AND CHARMS
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A compilation of material from dozens of sources covering folk rites, hexes, talismans, folklore about luck and prognostication, and more.

SYMBOLIC MYTHOLOGY
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A work on symbol usage in religion and spiritual systems, including lore about animals, pillars, rings, etc.

IN GHOSTLY JAPAN
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A collection of folk tales, mythology, and proverbs from pre-modern Japanese culture.

A WORLD OF WONDERS
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A compilation of folklore and myth ranging from alchemy to lycanthropy, from astrology to pseudoscience.

POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS OF THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND
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A compilation of Scottish ghost stories, cryptozoology, and superstitions.

ENGLISH FOLKLORE
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A collection of folk tales and superstitions, plus ghost stories and more, from peasant England.

FAIRIES
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A slightly romanticist compilation of poetry and prose involving fairies, but also elves and other such beings.

BEGINNINGS: OR GLIMPSES OF VANISHED CIVILIZATIONS
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A collection of lore from Greece, Rome, Egypt, Vedic writings, and the work of Donnelly, heavily related to Atlantis and seeking to describe the origins of civilization.

CONTENTIONS WITH GOD
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A compilation of mostly humorous examples of people suing the Jewish god or complaining of contradictions in Torah and similar law.

AMERICAN INDIAN FREEMASONRY
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A short booklet relating some native myths and their spiritual overlap with Masonic concepts.

ENGLISH FAIRY TALES
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A work containing an anthropological dissertation on fairy folklore and etymology, plus some classic fairy tales.

FISHES OF FANCY
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A compilation of aquatic folklore, from fishes and crabs to dolphins and more.

JEWISH FOLKLORE IN THE MIDDLE AGES
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A short work by Moses Gaster. One part short folk tales, one part analysis of the same.

CISTERCIAN LEGENDS OF THE 13TH CENTURY
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A fine collection of Cistercian folk tales ranging from the pedestrian to the supernatural.

CURIOSITIES OF OLDEN TIMES
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A large collection of interesting and strange folklore, by Sabine Baring-Gould.

HISTORIC GHOSTS AND GHOST HUNTERS
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A compilation of spirits and ghosts in folklore. Strange stories.

Vril; the Power of the Coming Race: Now Available!

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This interesting piece of science fiction literature from the middle of the 19th century is a bizarre fusion of modernism and sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Akin to any comparable Atlantis-and-Agartha style work, it's written well enough to be entertaining, and is actually a very good fiction read; but its importance, for occultism, is far greater than its fictional impact.

The author himself was assuredly connected to the spiritual- Blavatsky apparently was familiar with this work, and like other utopian novels it went on to directly inform the spiritualism and new agery of the next half century. This is not surprising, Bulwer-Lytton's various works also influenced the rise of Victorian gothic works. For those into subterranean fiction, it's a must-read. For those interested in the works that influenced 20th century occultism, even more so.

182 pages.

Apologies for the Hours-Long Image Issue: Photobucket Has Lost Their Minds

You may have noticed that the side images linking to the literary categories were messed up for half the day- thankfully I noticed this during my usual nightly "check the blog out of habit" run. Photobucket's geniuses of marketing have decided to charge money for third party embedding. Now, the idea of paying a few bucks to use a site for embedding wouldn't be a problem- sounds reasonable, hosting all that stuff costs money. As I clicked through to solve the problem by paying my due, I figured they had set up one of those sliding scale style services where the handful of images I have there would cost a few bucks a month at most- after all, photobucket would never consider extorting large sums from people who only use the site on rare occasions, unless they have a hell of a lot stored there, right?

399 bucks a year. 30 bucks for each image I actually need to embed.

Let me ask you this, photobucket staff- are you nuts? Did you take crack recently? You know how many red bulls I can drink with 399 dollars? Funnier still; I could pay for your third party embedding scam, but, why do that when I can just use another site altogether?

Any business owners, bloggers, etc, who require embedding can simply use this site, among others- you don't have to pay a cent, you can embed freely, and you don't need to register jack shit.

Short Update Re: Ebooks

It's time for a short announcement for several important pieces of information for my readers here.

1. I have transferred the files and information for the last 20ish works I have released to kdp. Soon they will be available on kindle as ebooks. I tend to drag my heels for months at a time on such things (because I myself do not like ebooks and tablets, I want physical copies of literary works) and then do them in spurts like this. This includes works like "The Piasa", "The Roman Index of Forbidden Books", and "Is the Devil a Myth?" among others.

2. Soon I will add links for both paperback and ebook copies to the category lists. For a few titles there will be no ebook because kindle's platform has slightly different terms of service from Createspace for paperback works.

3. I have obtained a dozen new works to work on; some titles on alchemy, a few psychic works, and some mesmerism and other pseudoscience.

4. The tenth category will soon be added; "Folklore, Mythology, and Cryptozoology." A new "Mysticism and Spirituality" category will absorb some works from other categories and replace the folk magic category.

Funeral Customs: Now Available!

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This extremely interesting work is sadly little-known despite its scope; several thousand years of human history and a dozen or so cultures, with all funerary rites they're associated with- from the memento mori and then-modern practices back through embalming, interring, or burning corpses.

The greatest part of this work is its general mention of the slow (or occasionally mono-generational) process of change over time as applied to funeral customs. Nowhere is this as intrinsic as with the black death and the necessity of abandoning more elaborate and single-member graves and services in favor of mass burial, water burial, and expedited blessings.

238 pages.

The Joy of Obtaining New Source Materials

In the last 72 hours a number of things have happened that ought to vastly improve the nature of the work I am doing. I have acquired a brand new gaming laptop (programs like open office run instantaneously with almost no loading time at all on this baby... so does Minecraft!) as well as a bunch of literary source materials- a pair of new herbals, an old text compiling all of the four works of Geber (or pseudo Geber) on alchemy, and a few other odds and ends including a couple of grimoires I hadn't somehow obtained before.

Then to celebrate the occult birth of our country so many years ago, I got a copy of the Lesser Keys; I intend to cross-reference this vaguely critical, academic variant with other source materials as research, although I intend to release both the Ars Goetia alone and the Lesser Keys (Goetia, Theurgia Goetia, Paulina, Almadel, omitting the Notoria/Nova) as non-critical and simply inexpensive editions; trust me I am aware the world needs such a release!

Much work is to be done; happy work, culminating in I hope the 130th edition before Halloween.

General Update For July

As of right now I am juggling several good projects; Puckle's "Funeral Customs" is first on the list, rapidly approaching completion, and will be available probably within a week, indeed possibly two or three more days if I continue editing at the rate I have been for some time.

I have obtained several new works that fit within the herbal and homeopathic category; I still have the South Sea Herbal to work on as well, so that makes three more entries within that category for the fairly near future; one is a longer work, the South Sea Herbal is rather short, and another that is about 60 pages in length, a simple hand guide to some herbal species.

The tenth category to be added to this blog (specifically for cryptids and folklore) will be made subsequent to the next title being finished that will fit into the same category. I may eliminate the folk magic category and create a new one specifically for mysticism which requires shuffling a few titles around as well- into that category will go works like the Sepher Bahir, along with a few works currently in the Divination category which are more spiritual as opposed to some of the routine fortune-telling titles.

Over the coming months I hope to return to works of divination and, once the South Sea Herbal is illustrated and released, it will finally be time to unleash a stand-alone variant of the Ars Goetia on the world and, after that, a version of the Lesser Keys of Solomon; the most famous of all grimoires.