Review: The Book of the Magi
Pretty soon occultists all accross the western world will be heading into their (or their parents) garages and attics and tearing open sealed boxes of Christmas decorations, frantically searching for a Nativity scene from which they can nab the statues of the Three Wise Men. Why? Because the moment you finish reading “A Book Of The Magi: Lore, Prayers, & Spellcraft of the Three Holy Kings” by Dr. Alexander Cummins, you will want to add them to your altar and get right to work.
More than any other figures, even more than St Cyprian, the Magi represent a spiritual power with one foot in Christendom and one foot outside of it. This not only speaks, as the church would tell you, to the universality of Christianity but to the ability of these three kings to interface with magic from anywhere. At 120 pages the book is short, but is packed with history, folk tradition, and magic. You will find everything from short folk prayers for healing and strength, to grimoire traditions focused on the magi, to a recipe for Three Kings Cake.
Ken Wilbur once said the “Academic religion is the killing jar of spirit”, but while Dr. Cummins is an academic, his text is FULL of spirit. His reverence for his subject and his experience as a Sorcerer come through on every page. In this text the good doctor uses his research skills, and not only exposes the threads of a hidden tradition, but demonstrates how to interweave them with spirit and innovation.