Category: Articles

The foundational text of astrological magic and talismans Picatrix (Ghayat al Hakim) was published in English for the first time in its immense history, from a medieval Latin manuscript, by Christopher Warnock and John Michael Greer in 2011.

Although the book had been published by Ouroboros Press in two volumes (2002 and 2008) from Arabic manuscripts, it was generally not usable in practice due to the highly specific astrological terms being misunderstood by the translator and most of the key instructions, such as the proper astrological conditions for combining the sun with the north node, were omitted or mistranslated.

The Warnock-Greer edition had the notable distinction of being translated and edited by a practicing astrologer.… Continue reading

In only 13 years Alexander the Great conquered one of the largest empires in human history whose influence continues to this day.  His empire stretched from Greece, parts of north Africa, Egypt, and across approximately one fourth of the continent of Asia, all the way to India. Although vastly outnumbered, Alexander rapidly defeated the Persian Empire which encompassed almost half of the world’s population and was his most stunning achievement.

Like Sultan Mehmet II almost 2,000 years later, Alexander the Great carefully timed his most important battle and unlikely victory around a lunar eclipse, also known as a Blood Moon, and performed an astrological magic ritual shortly after his initiation into the most secret rites of the Egyptian priesthood.… Continue reading

Introduction – The Persian Magi

Often overshadowed in historical narratives, they Persian Magi were instrumental in shaping the foundational elements of Western civilization. Their contributions to monotheistic religions, human rights, and Greek philosophy will be explored in-depth.

The Persian Magi may be the single most important group of people in the history of the western world and among the most overlooked. The three great Monotheistic religions grew from them in some way. Ideas like human rights, cross-cultural exchange of ideas, religious tolerance, and preserving ancient knowledge started with the Persian Empire 2,500 years ago. And finally, Greek philosophy, from which rational inquiry, the scientific method, and democracy emerged came about largely as a result of Greeks learning from the Magi from which the philosophers grew and influenced the world for the next 2,000 years.… Continue reading