Caught in a Twist-er: Five Books That Influenced Me

(Part the Third of an ongoing correspondence between myself and the confidently salacious Miss Twist, this one dealing with a lighter issue: five books that affected our magic - or us, though it's arguably the same thing.)

The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho. I know this is one of those best-selling New Age type books, but it really is everything a spiritual allegory should be. It follows the journey of a young Spanish shepherd in his quest to find the Egyptian Pyramids and the treasure they contain. Along the way he experiences prophetic dreams, and is given wise advice. As he travels from Spain to Africa and then to Egypt, he meets wise women, thieves, humble workers, and the Biblical King of Salem, Melchizedek. He finally encounters the Alchemist himself in an Egyptian Oasis-settlement, and the Alchemist teaches him the true language of the world: the language of the "Personal Legend".



Each individual person has a "Personal Legend", the story explains, and this is the dream they must follow. It was the shepherd's dream to see the pyramids and find treasure, and he can only be truly happy if he is doing that thing. The dream of writers is to write; it is mentioned throughout the story that it is the Personal Legend of many Muslims to visit Mecca before they die. If you follow your Personal Legend, the universe conspires to help you on your quest, and you will attain peace, happiness and fulfillment.

I originally picked the book up because of my love of alchemical texts, and I'd heard that the book was a best-seller. I held off for a little because I was weary of the thing: I expected it to be another useless book like "The Secret", but when I saw it for four dollars at my local second-hand bookshop I decided to pick it up regardless. While it contained less alchemical references than I would normally have liked, it struck me as a powerful metaphor for inner alchemical transmutation - the best I have ever read. The story itself is amazing, and quite short - I read it in a few hours. The Alchemist is pure, honest, and filled with wisdom. It is the one "New Age" book that does not deserve to be kept on the New Age rack: it is much too good for that.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. Words alone fail to describe this trilogy. I count it as one book because the entire thing is collected and reads just like one book: the 'three volumes' are just three parts to a whole, instead of one book and two sequels.

Like I said: I cannot describe this book. Any description I give it would be ultimately unable to do it any justice. Nevertheless, I will try. Take the greatest conspiracy theories of the past thousand years and put them in a blender. Add the mystery surrounding John Dillinger, a hundred pages of raw smut, the esoteric I Ching, the secrets at the heart of Atlantis, the 1960's hippie movement and the 1950's beat movement, as much 1960's rock-and-roll as you can fit in, a giant yellow submarine, the dread writings of H.P. Lovecraft, and the Apocalyptic writings of William S. Burroughs. Blend until you cannot tell one from the other.



Pour the concoction into a long, distorted, multicolored glass. Then add the extensive and often self-contradictory mythology of the Discordian movement. Then add some more. Then some more. Add a few drops of Crowley, the Golden Dawn, and the A.A. - remember, Crowley is strong, so a few drops is enough to colour the entire drink. Garnish with as much LSD as you can find, and a pinch of insane numerology.

This book made Chaos Magic cool, and it was written before Chaos Magic was even invented. It's aim was to give Discordianism a strong mythology, and it more than certainly does that. At over a thousand pages long, some might find it hard to swallow, and it is definitely a 'love-it/hate-it' book: some people find it nothing more than trash posing as literature, some find it to be the greatest book they've ever read, and some find it to be an absurd mixture of both. It is, however, always thought-provoking and more complicated than any one person can hope to swallow; I've read it three times now and it never becomes any less psychadelic.

Nevertheless, it is easily my favourite book of all time. It has the added bonus of being an earlier work of Robert Anton Wilson, who is in my opinion the greatest philosopher and occultist of this modern age.

John Constantine, Hellblazer, Alan Moore (creator), Mike Carey, Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, etc. John Constantine is part-conman, part-magus, and he has been a constant source of inspiration towards my magical craft. A fictional character originally created by Alan Moore (of Watchmen and V For Vendetta fame), John Constantine relies on his wits more than his magic; he is a powerful trickster figure in his own right, and has been around the pop culture sphere since the late nineteen eighties.

I suppose the comic book series, which is still ongoing, influenced me in such a huge way because I used to invoke John close to daily. I mean, I wanted to channel the abilities of Constantine - the crazy good luck, the biting wit, the vast cleverness - from the very start of my magical practice, and I began by courting the deities Loki, the Norse trickster, and Anansi, the African spider-trickster (which, perhaps, explains my apparent destiny to always be around the spider-folk). When I decided to form Loki and Anansi into one being - Lonansi - I also decided to cut the bullshit and just invoke John himself.

I became cleverer. I bought a trench-coat. I developed a desire for booze and cigarettes that I still can't shake (though don't tell Mum!). My hair seemed to get blonder, my accent seemed to obtain a British twang, and I began calling people "love", and "mate". I slowly developed a reputation as a scary man, and as someone who has connections everywhere. I still get comments from some people, in some situations, that I look like him a little.



Then, one day, I just stopped invoking. I'm not sure why, though I don't feel any enmity towards the character himself. I still love the comic. I don't know.. maybe I looked into the character deep enough to realise that he really isn't what I want to be.

(Oh, and I own a copy of the Vertigo Tarot Set, with John as the Fool, and I've never felt so close to a deck before. The readings really seem to ring true with me. I wasn't expecting that... I was going to own the deck as a novelty only, but not only does the imagery strike me as deep and profound, the cards themselves seem to enjoy being read.)

The Black Arts, Richard Cavendish. This was the first "real" book on magic that I ever read, a handful of years ago, and I am still struck by how great this book is. I've bought three copies of this book in my lifetime, and given two of them to good friends, and while it lacks in the technical "do this to get this" department, the book still serves as a compendium of mystical information. It was, for a long time, my first reference on the Goetia, Devil-worship, witchcraft, the Qabala, numerology and the Tarot.

I'd always been interested in books of mythology and magic, but I consider "The Black Arts" to be the first one to actually influence me; I cannot recommend it enough. It will not make you a magician, per se, but it WILL give you the required background knowledge to allow you to pick and choose your magical system, as well as forming some knowledge around most of the others. It's only problem is that it was written in about 1960; while this gives it a wealth of information regarding the Golden Dawn and the magical revival of the early twentieth century, it is understandably lacking in references to Chaos Magic or any of the more modern paths out there. It still reads beautifully, though, and it should be picked up and read by everyone looking into the magical arts.

Pop! Magic, Grant Morrison. If the Black Arts gave me the theory and the lust to get into modern sorcery, Pop! Magic was one of the books that gave me the tools. (The others being "The Lesser Key of Solomon the King," which I didn't add simply because while it influenced my magic as a whole it hasn't left too big a mark on me overall, and "Condensed Chaos", by Phil Hine, which Charlie Twist chose so ..)



Pop! Magic is simple, it's free - you can get it here - and it's to the point. It's only a few pages long, but it taught me most of the magical lessons that have shaped me into what I am today, specifically: fake it until you make it and magic is a lifestyle. I'd been treating magic like an elaborate game, but it isn't when you get down to it; it's a way of life, as reflected by our societies throughout the ages, and you need to live that life if you want any chance to succeed.

On the flipside, however, simply pretending I was a great magician made me learn more about the art then I'd realised, and I woke up one day, jumped out of bed and shouted, "I'm a magician!" It all made sense: the psychonautica stuff, the codes, all of it. It was a good feeling - one of the best feelings in my life. Quite unlike my proper initiation, actually, which I might talk about in next week's correspondence: destruction and magic.

Until then, see you later
N.F. Robinson / Frater Victatio