Kabbalah, Magic, And The Great Work Of Self-transformation Options

Alright folks, today we have a real treat.

Lyam Thomas Christopher, author of the new book Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self-Transformation has graciously agreed to submit a short blurb on his new work. Below you will find an article written by Mr. Christopher for the Llewellyn publication New Worlds of Mind & Spirit.

Please visit his website HERE
And look for his new book as you can already pre-order on amazon, barnes and noble, etc.

Hi all,
First post here. I'm also no book reviewer, so be gentle (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Although a beginner in ceremonial magick, I recently purchased a number of books, to aid my studies in this area - and this was one of them. Another was the Ciceros' 'Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition' (SIGDT). I bought the Ciceros' book, with the hope that it wouldl read more like a novel with exercises, and less like a grimoire - ala Regardie's Golden Dawn. Instead of realizing this hope in that book, I found it in Christopher's Kabbah Magic (...and the great work of self transformation...).

What I feel a beginner wants to see in such a book is a detail of the exercises, followed by an explanation of their purpose, and effects. SIGDT, I found, took for granted one's knowledge of the exercises' purpose, and instead dived straight into the symboligy, theory and mythology. Christopher's Kabbalah Magic did not consider you a GD convert, and offered a more solid foundation onto which one could build their knowledge of western magick. He gave possible timelines for the completion of each grade (Neophyte through to Portal), coupled with the psychological and magickal experiences a student may experience at each stage. The whole system seemed much more real, and clearly written by a practicing magician. The entire book is clearly aimed at the beginner, however, I believe, does not limit more advanced students.

I felt he dwelled a bit too much (in each chapter) on explaining the evolution of life (from the Beginning), however, his writing throughout was lucid and unpresumptious. He too stressed the importance of study into Egyptian mythology, hermetic philosophy, divination, etc., etc. Although the book includes quite a lot of theoretical information of this nature, it cannot compare with SIGDT which boasts a greater array (and depth) of such material. This, however, should be inconsequential, as he recommends books from which one can (and should) supplement their reading.

I would liken it to DMK's Modern Magick, in terms of how exercises are set out, developed, and supported by theory thereafter. Both dip into the Kabbalah to tie the whole system together, however, despite the title, I think Christopher's book is as much a GD exposition as is Moden Magick - (i.e. not solely Kabbalah-focused). A difference between the two works, is the tone. It may only be me, but I feel as though Kraig never stressed the difficulty of this path. He gave it an air of 'easygoingness' which did not work for me. (I think Bardon falls into the other extreme). Christopher was the most believable for me, in the balanced way he conveyed the nature of the Great Work.

I am currently at a loss for what else to write. This book may not be the best for everybody, but I found the efficient, open manner in which it laid out the entire system much to my liking. He is very honest in his writing, and not one instance of arrogance can be cited.
Bardon's books were written with an air of clinical detachment (perhaps a product of the several translations, and several decades since) - whereas Kabbalah Magic had the human factor which the other seemed to lack. Though this may just be me.

If anybody has any specific questions relating to this book, I'll be happy to attempt to answer them - as per the extent of my abilities.

Best,
Petar