Geosophia: The Argo of Magic. The Encyclopædia Goetica, Volume II; from the Greeks to the Grimoires Books I, II, III and IV. AND The Encyclopædia Goetica, Volume III; from the Greeks to the Grimoires Books V, VI, VII and VIII

Hardcovers. 8vo. Two volumes. xxiii, [v], + 312pp & vi + 326pp. Dark wine dark cloth, covers gilt blocked with dramatic images of cthonic deities Dionysos and the Mistress of Beasts, eight colour plates and illustrations, maps and tables. Indexes. This is the standard hardback edition of Geosophia limited to 500 hand-numbered copies. Jake Stratton-Kent's masterpiece, tracing the development of magic from the Greeks to the grimoires, it lays bare the chthonic roots of ritual. By exposing the necromantic origins of much of modern magic we reconnect with the source of our ritual tradition. There is a continuity of practice in the West which encompasses the pre-Olympian cults of Dionysus and Cybele, is found in the Greek Magical Papyri, Picatrix and grimoires. This is a work which redefines our understanding of the Western Tradition, one which does not begin with Cabbala or Solomon, but rather descends into the Underworld and brings forth new life. JSK illuminates scarce and overlooked texts with an incisive commentary, from volcanic conjourations to over 70 pages dealing with Picatrix. Following the voyage of the Argonauts, Geosophia offers biographies of the heroes and gods, and discovers the hidden magical meanings and significance of their actions and adventures. Yet this is not a history lesson, JSK dares to imagine a global synthesis of magic where Western goetic magic, reconnected to its cthonic origins can dovetail with the African Traditional Religions. Like The True Grimoire, this further work in the Encyclopædia Goetica series is both a scholarly and eminently practical work. Geosophia equips the modern grimoire magician with an arsenal of techniques and approaches that will transform their personal art. The mythic structure of Geosophia anchors the practice of the modern necromancer in an indigenous yet eclectic history which transfuses the Western Magical Tradition with the same vitality that we find in the African diaspora religions.