Western ceremonial magic is being worked today by many thousands of intelligent, serious persons, both individually and in groups, even as you read these words. It is fundamentally unchanged from the type of magic that was studied and taught during the Renaissance -- an amalgam of Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, Jewish, Teutonic and Celtic ritual practices.

In the late 19th century an English Rosicrucian society which is generally known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn refined and concentrated Renaissance occultism into a single, integrated system of magic. This group was not large and only survived as a living organization for a couple of decades. However, its secret system of magic was published by one of its members, Aleister Crowley, and then at a later date by Crowley's personal secretary, Israel Regardie. It has become the dominant system of magic being worked today in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking nations.

The purpose of Ritual Magic is to present the complete history of Western magic, with particular emphasis paid to the role of the Golden Dawn and its many off-shoot systems that presently exist. Other important systems of Western magic not connected with the Golden Dawn current, such as Druidism and Voudoun, are also treated.

The Golden Dawn is responsible for the structure of most modern esoteric Tarot decks, such as the Rider-Waite deck, the Crowley Thoth deck, and of course the Golden Dawn Tarot. It has shaped the form of the modern magical Kabbalah. It contains the system of Enochian magic that is most frequently used in the West. Modern witchcraft, or Wicca, employs a simplified type of Golden Dawn magic. In general it may be said that ninety percent of modern magic is derived from the Golden Dawn system.

In addition to presenting the complete history of Western magic, the book also examines the most important issues that face anyone who contemplates a serious study of the art: what exactly is magic? what can you expect magic to accomplish in your life? what are the unrealistic expectations about magic?

Systems of magic treated in depth include the Golden Dawn, Crowley's cult of Thelema, Anton LaVey's Church of Satan, Gerald Gardner's revival of Wicca, modern Druidism, Teutonic rune magic, the modern revival of Shamanism, and Voudoun.

This is an essential book for those who are studying some branch of Western magic, or are seriously considering its study, and want to know how it fits into the larger picture of ritual magic in the West.

ISBN: 0-87542-835-5. Price: $12.95 US. Llewellyn, 1992.