Llewellyn's Complete Book of Ceremonial Magick | Review

An excellent compilation on the history of magic with in-depth details about each doctrine.

Despite being a serious topic, there were some humorous bits such as passage ” He took his leave of life (or at least of Sicily) by jumping into a volcano, leaving his sandals on the edge of the crater. “

There were also gruesome details in regards to the Dark Ages which were crude yet faithful to the incidents.

The excerpt on Kabbalah was an eye-opener and there were tidbits I wasn’t even aware of such as Socrates dabbling into occultism.

Planetary magic, although not my favorite topic, was explained in a perfectly easy to grasp concept. Their strict timing perfectly laid out.

The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage: One of the authors touches upon a very complex ritual as detailed in the works of Abramelin. While I was not entirely aware of the operations and rituals (as I found the old work to be confusing), I found the piece concise, informational and straight to the point. It was a concrete dissection of the ritual of summoning the higher Angel, leaving almost no room for vagueness. 

The ending chapter was a bit anticlimactic for me as the author splits between a series of stories and realistic facts. The story took me away from what was being discussed and it was a bit of an awkward passage into finishing the book. That was my only caveat.

I would have loved to receive the full copy for a more in-depth review but overall, it was an enjoyable albeit rushed experience. Don’t get me wrong. The book is not half-baked but I flew through it and was left craving more.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for providing a free kindle version of this book in exchange for a review.