A Look At Kenneth Grant and The Magical Revival

When reading some occult tomes, only frequent consumption of tea and biscuits allows one to retain one's sanity, or so I've found.

Let me go back to the beginning. Back in February, I went to a talk at Treadwell's called Kenneth Grant: Dracula's Tantric Rituals. It was a fascinating talk, but made me realise that I didn't really know much about Kenneth Grant apart from the fact that he was a student of Aleister Crowley, very much into sex magic, drugs and the occult potential of horror fiction - particuarly HP Lovecraft.

As I said when I blogged about the event, "I came away from [the] talk knowing that I need to do more reading up about Kenneth Grant."

After seeing my post, Caroline Wise - one of the people behind Starfire Publishing - very kindly sent me a copy of Starfire's edition of Kenneth Grant's The Magical Revival to read and write about. It is a very good quality publication; hardback and printed on lovely thick paper with a section of full colour plates and more pictures at the front. Nevertheless it took me a little while to delve into its pages. Kenneth Grant's books have the reputation of being a bit weird and I guess I was worried The Magic Revival would be too esoteric for me to understand, even though Caroline reassured me this was one of his easier ones.

Once I had a glance, though, how could I resist reading a book with chapter titles entitled Dark Dynasties, Drugs and the Occult and The Blasphemous Names of Evocation? Nevertheless, it was the kind of occult tome I felt safest reading all snuggled up in bed with a cat purring beside me and the aforementioned sanity-saving pot of tea and biscuits.

The Magical Revival was first published in 1972 and is a classic book of occult lore. Because so many people have reviewed it and analysed it before me, I don't really feel I can give it the kind of review I would for a new book, or a less well known publication. You can find out what others have said on Goodreads and even Wikipedia, What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed it - although it did sort of do my head in. It is written in an idiosyncratic style and deals with subjects like tantra, vampirism, Thelema and the Cthulhu mythos in a way that assumes the reader already knows a lot about them as well as understanding qabbalah, astrology, alchemy and the like. I'm very glad this edition has an excellent glossary as I kept needing to refer to it.

One thing I enjoyed about The Magical Revival is the insight it gives into the author's opinions about very influential people on the occult scene - many of whom he knew personally. These include Aleister Crowley, John (Jack) Parsons, Dion Fortune and Austin Osman Spare. Another thing I enjoyed was learning more about Kenneth Grant's view that horror fiction of  HP Lovecraft - and also Arthur Machen - was visionary, and could be studied for occult insights into worlds beyond the veil.

As I have said before, I have no desire to summon The Great Old Ones; I haven't lost that much sanity yet. But I would happily read further books in the Typhonian Trilogies, of which The Magical Revival is the first volume. However, I do think a proverbial pinch of salt is required when reading Kenneth Grant, along with very real tea and biscuits.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/02/kenneth-grant-and-tantra-talk-at.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/10/an-appointment-with-beelzebub-and-beast.html
http://www.starfirepublishing.co.uk/
The Magical Revival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magical_Revival
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/blog-post.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/steve-ash-on-great-old-ones.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/melissa-harrington-on-aleister-crowley.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/12/review-three-dangerous-magi.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/10/full-moon-for-uncle-als-birthday.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/04/walking-into-grey-soul-of-london.html

Kenneth Grant and Tantra - A Talk at Treadwell's

On Tuesday evening I went to a talk called Kenneth Grant: Dracula's Tantric Rituals. The speaker was Alistair Coombs and the event was at Treadwell’s bookshop, in London.

I’ve heard Alistair talk before – at the book launch for Beelzebub and the Beast at Treadwell’s a few months ago – and I knew he was an engaging and knowledgeable lecturer. However, I came away from this week’s talk realising I need to do more reading up about Kenneth Grant.

Alistair described Kenneth Grant as “the most original occultist of the latter half of the 20th century”. Grant was born on 23 May 1924 and died on 15 January 2011, he worked with Aleister Crowley during the older man’s final days, and went on to assimilate his ideas and reassemble them in a highly creative manner, Alistair explained. Grant formed an Ordo Templi Orientis  - or OTO - group in 1951, which eventually became the Typhonian Order. Grant spent much of his life living in London.

Both Crowley and Grant were into sex magic. In his 1975 book Cults of the Shadow,Grant fused Crowley’s Thelema with Tantra (which is a form of ritual yoga and meditation rather than specifically sex magic). Alistair Coombs said: “This combined with ideas from witchcraft, including the importance of the feminine and the Kali and lunar cycles.”

It has to be said the Kenneth Grant’s books are generally considered a bit weird. Many of his most famous books were originally published around the time of the 1970s – when weirdness was counterculture high fashion. He combined magic with material from science fiction and tales of horror, such as the Cthulhu Mythos of HP Lovecraft.

As I said before, I came away from this week’s talk knowing that I need to do more reading up about Kenneth Grant. I found the talk fascinating, but realised I don’t know enough about this important London occultist.

Oh well, learning where one has a gap in one’s knowledge is still learning. And I suspect I'll be buying a few more books to fill that gap.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.treadwells-london.com/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/kenneth-grant-writer-and-occultist-who-championed-aleister-crowley-and-austin-osman-spare-2231570.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Grant
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/melissa-harrington-on-aleister-crowley_19.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/steve-ash-on-great-old-ones.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/10/an-appointment-with-beelzebub-and-beast.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/08/history-of-magic-in-modern-age.html
Cults of the Shadow (Skoob Esoterica)

This Week's Pagan Events in London

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Now to 20 July; A Trail of Artworks at West Norwood Cemetery (location shown on the map above). For full details visit: http://www.westnorwoodcemetery.com/maps_and_trails/

Monday, 9 July; Living From the Inside Out. Talk by success coach Michael Neill at Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £10/5 concs. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/EventDescription.aspx?EventID=1028. Michael Neill is the author of Supercoach: 10 Secrets To Transform Anyone's Life

Tuesday 10 July; Sex, Tantra and the Orientalist Imagination. Lecture by Phil Hine. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets £7, please book your place in advance. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Tuesday 10 July; Palmistry - A Demonstration Of The Art Of Palmistry and Tarot. Talk by Avril Price and Robin Lown at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm Cost: £5/£8. Advance booking advised. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/events/lectures/index.html

Wednesday 11 July; Atlantis Bookshops Presents Psychic Cafe - Colour for Wellbeing and Flower Readings at Milfords, 1 Milford Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2R 3LL. Milford Lane is the street parallel to Essex Street. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £8. Visit http://www.theatlantisbookshopevents.com//

Thursday 12 July; Druid Order Open Introductory Evening. A chance to learn more about at The Druid Order (A.D.U.B.) Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.30pm start. Price: £5. No need to book in advance. For more details, call Druid Order on 020 8659 4879.

Thursday 12 July; British Goddesses. Lecture by Simon Brighton, author of Echoes of the Goddess: A Quest for the Sacred Feminine in the British Landscape,at South East London Folklore Society (SELFS). Venue: The Old King's Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49 Borough High St, London SE1 1NA. Entry: £2.50 / £1.50 concessions. No need to book in advance. Meetings are the second Thursday of each month. http://www.selfs.org.uk/

Sunday 15 July; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm.

Sunday 15 July; Treadwells Open House with Kate McKnight reading from The Prophet. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: Noon to 7pm. Free social event, but please book your place in advance. Readings from books at 2pm and 4pm. info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Wanted: Retreat

A friend recently posted on her blog that she was looking for a retreat for the spring.

"Not Christian; not Buddhist; not tantric sex; not a B&B with pretensions; not a health farm," she said.

She has been on retreats before, to Oxenhoath, a country estate retreat in Kent, but fancies a different retreat centre this year. On her blog, she said:

"Oxenhoath is totally lovely, but I've been there three years in a row now, so I thought maybe a change. But I'm finding the word 'retreat' is often used as a euphemism for holiday, which means I keep getting 'Romantic Retreats in the Devon Countryside' or similar, which is a little frustrating. And I don't want anything involving angels or colonic irrigation, thank you."

I've never personally been on a retreat, although the idea of getting right away from my everyday problems to stay in some beautiful, tranquil place for a few days of peaceful repose and spiritual contemplation does sound appealing.

So, to see if I could help my friend and also to satisfy my own curiosity, I decided to do a bit of web searching on the subject.

I first came across http://www.theretreatcompany.com/ . The Retreat Company seems to offer a huge range of retreats - and a lot of other activities too. The list of topics includes dreamwork, meditation, self discovery, healing, even an "Amazonian Ayahuasca & Authentic Shamanic Healing Retreat".

I had wondered why my friend specifically said "nothing to do with colonic irrigation", but I must admit I was surprised at just how many colonic irrigation retreats were on offer. Presumably people go on these for their health rather than as a spiritual experience, but I hadn't realised that having water pumped up one's bottom was such a popular pastime.

Another website I found (and one not offering any form of rectal intrusion) was http://www.heartspring.co.uk/soul.htm. Heartspring, a lovely looking retreat centre based in Carmarthen, Wales, says it offers three types of retreats: relaxation retreats, retreat apartments and soul connection retreats. The website says these "help you connect with the deeper side of your being, your intuition and to learn simple practical meditation to suit your own unique lifestyle and situation". Sounds good.

In the past I have found Neal's Yard Holidays offers some wonderful spiritual getaways, so I had a look on its website to see if it offers retreats. I didn't find exactly what my friend was after, but I was quite taken with the Cornish Tipi Holiday, recommended as "a great place to do your own retreat - a blissfully secluded nature reserve situated close to the coast yet away from the crowds".

The website says: "In this peaceful spot you can retreat from the city and reconnect with nature as you stroll through the woods, swim in the sea or in the beautifully still lake on site, and curl up at night under the stars in your very own tipi." When the weather warms up a bit, I could be very tempted to try that.

When I emailed all those website details to my friend, I re-read her original post and, ever curious, I couldn't help asking why she had specifically mentioned tantric sex retreats? Had she seen details of one?

Indeed she had. It was called Alto Sax she said, but it wasn't really her thing. I looked on the website, which says the retreat centre teaches "tantra, tantric massage and tantric sexuality to individuals and couples".

"Come and explore yourself in a wonderful, safe and sacred environment", it added. I bet that includes anal intrusion...

If you know of any retreats taking place this year, or you have been on one and want to offer a recommendation, do leave a comment below.

Links
http://www.oxonhoath.co.uk/oxonhoath/index.cfm
http://www.nealsyardagency.com/Page/view/home
http://www.theretreatcompany.com/
http://www.heartspring.co.uk/soul.htm
http://www.alto-sax.co.uk/
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1997.aspx?CategoryID=69&SubCategoryID=69
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Retreat+%28spiritual%29

This week's events

For details of future events visit my events page at http://paganevents.blogspot.com/, but here are this week's events of interest to pagans in London and other parts of England:

Sunday 19, Monday 20 & Tuesday 21 July; The Odyssey - a walkabout theatrical performance by Fan Made Theatre at Oxleas Woods, London SE9. Performances start at 7:30pm. Tickets can be booked through www.fanmadetheatre.com or by calling the box office on 020 7232 1663.
..
Wednesday 22 July; An Introduction to the Chakras and their Origins in Tantra. Talk by Kumar Devadasan at Pagan Forum Secret Chiefs, Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8.30pm. Admission £2.

Thursday 23 - Sunday 26 July; The Odyssey - a walkabout theatrical performance by Fan Made Theatre at Southwark Park, London SE16. Performances start at 7:30pm. Tickets can be booked through www.fanmadetheatre.com or by calling the box office on 020 7232 1663.

Thursday 23 July; Ghost Watch at the haunted Westgate Pavilion, Sea Rd, Westgate-on-Sea, Kent CT8 8QW. From 11pm-1am. Cost 12, which includes a burger and a drink. Advance booking essential as there are a limited number of tickets. Tel: 07782145897 or 01843 835611. Email info@dreamweaverevents.co.uk or visit
http://www.dreamweaverevents.co.uk/.

Friday 24 July; Demonstration of Seership by Barbara Meiklejohn-Free at The College of Psychic Studies 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm. Cost: £5/£8. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Saturday & Sunday 25 & 26 July; English Heritage Festival of History at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire, MK45 4HR. From 9.30am- 6pm. One Day Ticket Adult £18/Concession £14/Child£10/Family £45. For more information and to book tickets visit: http://www.festivalofhistory.org.uk/. The picture at the top shows Peterkin the Fool, one of the attractions at the festival.

If you know of any pagan events and want them listed on A Bad Witch's Blog, email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Cooking up love with The Cookie Sutra

With Valentine's Day less than two weeks away and the weather still freezing outside, I was seeking inspiration to cook up some hot ideas for an evening in with my beloved. The Cookie Sutra "For lovers, for the curious, for bakers - especially for bakers" looked ideal.

The Cookie Sutra is a little recipe book for cookies in, err, interesting positions, along with tips on better baking, and better sex.

Now, I'm sure there are those ready to say "No cookies, please, we're British", pointing out that on this side of the Atlantic we like to say "biccies", or "biscuits" if we're in polite company, but I don't mind admitting that I enjoy a bit of cookie from time to time.

Based on the The Kama Sutra, the world's first manual on sensual pleasure, this little books has plenty of suggestions to keep your gingerbread from getting stale and to spice up your love life. Here are a few words from the Sutra:

"The accepted wisdom of all cookies states: Everything is better with a little something on top. As your confidence in the Sutra grows, so too will your enjoyment of one another. In the bedroom, as in the kitchen, one should never be afraid to mix things up."

The Cookie Sutra by Edward Jaye costs £2.99 through Amazon.

Links
The Cookie Sutra
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/sex-and-sacrifice.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/04/tantra-review-of-guide-to-sacred-sex.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kama_Sutra
The Modern Kama Sutra: An Intimate Guide to the Secrets of Erotic Pleasure
The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra

Death & sex at Cross Bones Graveyard

On Halloween, October 31, I took part in a celebration of The Halloween of Cross Bones. It was an amazing evening of ritual, performance, candlelit procession, honouring of the dead - and a bit of tantric sex thrown in.

Cross Bones is an unconsecrated burial ground in Southwark, South London, dating back to the 1500s. Up until the Victorian era it was used as a graveyard for prostitutes and other outcasts deemed too sinful to be laid to rest in hallowed ground.

The prostitutes buried there were known as "Winchester Geese", because they were licensed by the Bishop of Winchester to ply their trade in the area called The Liberty of the Clink, which was outside the jurisdiction of the City of London. It seems sad that these women who paid money to the church - and presumably serviced many a priest - were denied a consecrated grave after their death.

As well as prostitutes, the liberty held theatres, drinking establishments, bull and bear baiting pits and other facilities for entertainments forbidden within the city walls.

Cross Bones Graveyard was closed in 1853 because it was "overcharged with dead" and was lost and forgotten until The Jubilee Line underground extension in the 1990s, when bones were unearthed.

On November 23, 1996, writer John Constable encountered the spirit of a Winchester Goose buried at Cross Bones, through the mediumship of John Crow, another entity, which he calls his "shamanic double". He continued to work with the Goose and Crow for several years, during which time they revealed to him a cycle of poems, published as The Southwark Mysteries.

The performance of these poems, in the personas of John Crow and The Goose, formed the main part of The Halloween of Cross Bones. The poems offer a bawdy but insightful look at the lives and deaths of whores of the liberty. I'd seen John Constable enact part of this at a pagan festival a year or so ago and had found it so fascinating I had been determined to come along to this Halloween event. If you get a chance to hear it for yourself, don't pass it by - you will not be disappointed.

The evening also included a more traditional pagan Samhain ritual, lead by Priestess Jacqui, and a rather less traditional tantric performance requiring audience participation by two lovely girls under the name Les Whores d'Oevres. This started with a sultry dance by the pair, followed by a few practical exercises the audience were invited to take part in.

Now, English people are known for being reserved when it comes to sex and I'm sure there were a few red faces in the room, although none of the activities involved removing clothing or getting intimate with strangers. And it certainly seemed appropriate to let go a little in the place that was once the Liberty of the Clink.

The website http://www.crossbones.org.uk/ also contains a petition for a garden of remembrance for those buried at Cross Bones Graveyard. This is one that in my opinion is worth signing.

The picture shows the gates of Cross Bones adorned with candles, ribbons and tokens after the ritual.
Links
Southwark Mysteries (Oberon Book) (Oberon Book)
http://www.crossbones.org.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Bones_graveyard

Tantra: review of a guide to sacred sex

The subject of sacred sex, such as tantra, probably earns more smirks than any other spiritual topic.

Yet we live in a society where sex is more important than religion to most people, so why do we laugh? Why aren't more of us trying to find the divine heights that tantric teaching tells us our lovemaking can reach?

I guess there are a few answers to that. One of them has to be that much of tantra is about ways to avoid having an orgasm. We all know orgasms are great, so why on earth would we want to avoid them?

Another important factor is that we lead very busy lives. Tantra is often perceived as being something that is difficult and time-consuming to learn, requiring years of regular practice to be proficient at.

A book I was sent last month, 28 Days to Ecstasy for Couples: Tantra Step by Step by Pala Copeland and Al Link, does a pretty good job of dealing with both of those problems.

It contains exercises for couples that take about 20 minutes each and are designed to be done one per day over a month to teach the basics of tantra.

None of the exercises are particularly difficult. They start with things such as simple visualisations, breathing exercises, loving eye contact with your partner and tensing and relaxing muscles. In fact, I think anyone trying them would be surprised at how easy they actually are - and enjoyable. After all, sex is meant to be enjoyable and tantra is all about experiencing the divine through joy.

At the end of each week there is a tantric lovemaking session that involves a little ceremony and ritual such as bathing together, creating a sacred space with lighted candles and incense and confirming your commitment to each other. There are also erotic exercises designed to increase sensual pleasure and help you learn to move sexual energy throughout your entire body.

Yes, but what about the "not having an orgasm" thing? I hear people ask. Actually, the book describes it more as "non-goal-orientated lovemaking". It explains techniques for prolonging sex in order to intensify the sensation and it certainly doesn't forbid anyone from having an orgasm.

What the book does not do is go into depth about theory. It is primarily a workbook of practical exercises, while the history of tantra and the thoughts behind it are covered in Soul Sex: Tantra for Two: Tantra for Sexual and Spiritual Pleasure, an earlier book by Al Link.

If you and your partner are looking for an easy, practical step-by-step guide on tantra, 28 Days to Ecstasy for Couples is a good book to begin with. It also has plenty of ideas for things to do after the first month, as the second half of the book contains plenty of suggestions for ways to continue practising sacred sex.

Published by Llewellyn, 28 Days to Ecstasy for Couples: Tantra Step by Stepby Pala Copeland and Al Link, costs $17.95 in the US, which should be about £9.50 in the UK.

Tantra - 28 Days to Ecstasy

I used to think tantra was an exercise in frustration.

It was not something I knew a great deal about, but a friend who did know about it explained it to me as a means of channelling sexual energy, usually through exercises to delay the moment of release, with the aim of experiencing the divine powers of creativity. It was a serious magical tradition, they said solemnly, not merely something to spice up your sex life.

Then, earlier this year, I read a preview of the book 28 Days to Ecstasy for Couples: Tantra Step by Step, which made it sound more fun and less hard work.

Would you like to experience erotic sex like never before? Connect with your partner to reach spiritual ecstasy ... with daily practice averaging just 20 minutes a day," said the blurb. An easy and enjoyable way to do magic - just a bad witch's kind of thing.

I thought it would be ideal to write about in my blog for Valentines Day and a nice PR person at the publishing company Llewellyn offered to send me a review copy. Sadly the postal system between the US and the UK can be slow and it has only just arrived. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading it and will review it here as soon as I have done so.

28 Days to Ecstasy for Couples is by Pala Copeland and Al Link and costs $17.95 in the US, which should be about £9.50 in the UK.