Other Magical Saints and a Christian Reading list.
Michael about to Spear me in the shoulder…
Well the Cyprian Days are over, and while personal work and devotion continues for all serious Cyprianistas throughout the year, I think the occult community on the net is just about fatigued with St Cyprian. If only there were other magical Saints….
Oh wait! Today is Michaelmas! Feast of the Archangels! Angels are used in magic! Awesome!
SAINTS AND SORCERY
While we are on those armored fighting Saints, in a few days (using the Coptic calander) its the Feast of Saint Maurice, the leader of the Theban Legion that is said to be the guardian of the Spear of Longinus, which pierced the side of Christ and grants miraculous powers. Also called upon in wealth magic – I mean San Moritz is named after him, what more evidence do you need? Also, most images of Saint Maurice show him as a Black Man, looking for a Saint to support BLM? Saint Maurice is your guy…
Oh and lets not forget Joan of Arc. Apart from kicking ass, she is an awesome Saint of Witchcraft. Burned at the stake for it, friend of Gilles deRais, performed mysterious healings, devoted to the Black Virgin, etc.
Mary Magdeline is HUGELY important, and while she may not have Grimoires connected with her like Cyprian, I would wager that just as many folks spells and rituals invoke her. In my experience is an awesome figure for love and marriage magic. Wonderful for independent women, as she is the only woman in the New Testament not mentioned connected to a man. Equally great for men to invoke in relationships*, she was the devoted disciple/possibly wife or lover, of Jesus after all.
If there were no Saint Cyprian, we would probably all be talking about Saint Anthony as the saint of the Occult – he reveals whats hidden after all. He held such importance in the Congo that during the late 1600’s his cult, led by the powerful Nganga Kimpa Vita, caused him to be venerated higher than the Virgin or Christ himself.
Saint Sarah la Kali, who is either the Daughter of Jesus and Magdeline, a Priestess of Isis that welcomed the 3 Mary’s, a survival of Kali worship through the Roma peoples, or an Egyptian Maiden that helped the Mary’s of the Sea reach France… Or all of these and more if you understand her.
Saint Expedite, the patron Saint of getting shit done super fast.
Well…. there are a lot of Saints and many of them have spells and magic connected with them, either in the form of simple Novenas. or as profound and secret magical traditions. Cyprian is not alone as a magical saint.
CHRISTIAN READING FOR MYSTICS AND MAGICIANS
Last month I taught an Arcane Audio Class (open only to students of the Strategic Sorcery Course) on Christian Magic and have been promising them a reading list. Rather than just send it out to them, I thought it might be useful to post it here, since I did so much yammering about Christianity over the days of Cyprian. The books below are just a basic starter, a comprehensive list would be a book unto itself. I deliberately left out Grimoires that touch on Christianity because that would be nearly all of them.
BOOKS THAT ARE NOT MYSTICAL OR MAGICAL BUT PRESENT A VISION OF CHRISTIANITY THAT DOESNT MAKE YOU WANT TO THROW UP IN YOUR MOUTH…
A Different Christianity by Robin Amis – A great study about Eastern Orthodox practice and Theosis. Radically different than how most in the west view Christianity
Jesus’ Plan for a New World: The Sermon on the Mount Paperback –by Richard Rohr (Author), John Bookser Feister (Author) – Sounds like an Ominous Title, but this study on the Sermon on the Mount yields a smart and progressive vision of Christianity, not by some Occultist or Heretic, but by a Fransciscan Priest.
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint Paperback by Nadia Bolz-Weber If Thorn Coyle were a Lutheren she would be Nadia Bolz-Weber.
A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith by Brian D. McLaren Central to the Emerging Church movement McLaren has a vision of Christianity that is considered Heretical by many, but its the kind of thinking we need if Christianity is to grow and be relevant.
The Other Catholics: Remaking America’s Largest Religion by Julie Byrne A book about Independent Catholics and Wandering Bishops. Thats what I am, and sometimes I get questions about it, so heres a book…
BOOKS THAT WILL GIVE YOU A DIFFERENT AND DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES AND SCRIPTURE
Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt – Essential for understanding how Christianity relates to the Old Testament
Temple Theology: An Introduction Paperback by Margaret Barker This is the tip of an AMAZING Iceburg. Read everything she writes. Margaret Barker is probably my favorite Theologian.
Legends of the Bible Paperback by Louis Ginzberg Oodles of info on Angels and some of the unofficial stories and traditions that surround the scriptures.
BOOKS ON ESOTERIC AND GNOSTIC CHRISTIANITY
Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition by Richard Smoley – Nice Intro to some inner traditions of Christianity.
Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism, An anonymous book that is Esoteric enough to use the Marseilles Tarot as its framework and talk about the secret Chuch of John, but mainstream enough to have a forward by a Cardinal and to have been the bedside reading of Pope John Paul II.
The Gnostic Bible: Revised and Expanded Edition, by Willis Barnstone (Editor), Marvin Meyer (Editor) – Best intro to Gnosicism I can think of. There are SOOOO many books on this, but this gives some of the source material and places it in context.
Living Gnosticism: An Ancient Way of Knowing by Jordan Stratford – Check out how this whole Gnosticism thing plays out in modern life. Written by one of the priests of the Apostolic Johannite Church – a group whose crossover rate with magicians is probably somewhere between 80 and 90 %….
BOOKS ON CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM
Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from the Patristic Era with Commentary, by Olivier Clément Some foundation texts with commentary
The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality, by Carl McColman – Rather than provide books by Julian of Norwich, Meister Ekhart, and others I will just list this. Its a great launching point into the world of Christian Mysticism by a former Pagan Author turned Catholic.
Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints, and Sages, by Carl McColman Carl again, this is his new book. This one is about the lives of the Mystics. Also check out his Twitter feed.
What the Mystics Know: Seven Pathways to Your Deeper Self Hardcover by Richard Rohr. Nice Pithy meditations on what it means to be a Christian mystic.
BOOKS ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF MAGIC AND CHRISTIANITY
Trithemius and Magical Theology: A Chapter in the Controversy over Occult Studies in Early Modern Europe, by Noel L. Brann – Kind of dry, but important none -the-less. So many people do the Trithemian Angel work, but few I think understand its relation to the Church or the Theology of the day.
Spiritual and Demonic Magic: From Ficino to Campanella, by D.P. Walker – Excellent Study of Renaissance Era Magical thought.
Jesus the Magician: A renowned historian reveals how Jesus was viewed by people of his time by Morton Smith – This is THE book for many people, precisely because it de-Deifies Jesus and paints him as a Sorcerer. Good arguments.
Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints & Sages: A Guide to Asking for Protection, Wealth, Happiness, and Everything Else! by Judika Illes – Not specific to Christian Saints, but they do take up the majority of the book. Its a great jumping off point into the larger world of Saint Magic.
The Magus of Strovolos: The Extraordinary World of a Spiritual Healer by Kyriacos C. Markides – A nice look into the life and practices of a 20th Century Christian magician from Greece.
I will probably think of a dozen more books as soon as I post this, but this is good for now. Happy Michaelmas.
I will see you tomorrow with a post that has NOTHING to do with Christianity, but is all about Local Sorcery…
*Relationships, not acts of dominance. There are other spirits for that, and I am not here to judge, but if you think Magdeline is going to help you control someone, you will find out that you are wrong.
