Penumbrae (Deluxe edition) by Richard Gavin, Patricia Cram & Daniel Schulke (ed)

First edition, first printing. One of 160 deluxe copies in black linen with blindstamped titles to the spine and a blindstamped motif to the upper board, in dustwrapper. Housed in the original dark grey slipcase. Illustrated with black and white plates. 

Condition: Fine / As new.

"The mid-twentieth century witnessed the birth of popular occultism in the West, including an interest in witchcraft. At the forefront of popular witchcraft was Wicca, a recension of ceremonial magic and nature worship advanced by Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders, now widely regarded as a religion. However, lesser-known streams of the witch-current thrived the shadows, having older historical roots, and linked to an ancient body of practice – witch-bottles, knotted cord spells, curses, exorcisms, sexual magic, and charms ranging from the conjuration of angels to protection of livestock and hearth.

This was Traditional Witchcraft, whose origin in part lies with the sorcery of the cunning-folk of Britain and Colonial America. Though largely avoiding the popular occult limelight, from 1970 onward, elements of Traditional Witchcraft experienced a partial emergence into the public through such publications as Paul Huson’s Mastering Witchcraft, the writings of Robert Cochrane and Evan John Jones, and Andrew Chumbley’s Azoëtia: A Grimoire of the Sabbatic Craft.

Based on over forty years of research and private collaboration with practitioners, Michael Howard’sChildren of Cain is the definitive history of Traditional Witchcraft and its key operatives in Britain and the United States. Supplemented with diverse photographs and illustrations, many appearing for the first time, the book artfully encompasses the unique legacy of Traditional Witchcraft - those who bear the Mark of the Exile as a sign of hidden power: the Children of Cain."

Telesmatic edition, limited to 33 copies.
Two colour foil block to front and back of cover, with single foil block to spine.
Goat leather cover. Munken Smooth paper. Marbled Endpapers. Ribbon bookmark.
Head and Tail Bands. Solander box with marbled cover and leather spine.
Blind embossed AP logo on inside of Solander Box.

Each deluxe will come with a unique original piece of artwork by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles which will be dedicated to each copy, consequently each copy through her art will imbue an aspect of the Baron Citadel.

All in all, this edition is simply a work of art and an excellent display of superior craftmanship!

The Baron Citadel sets out preparatory rituals leading up to the making of the Crossroads. Unlike any other working text, this grimoire also engages with introspective contours for optimising successive ambulatory steps across various stakes (points). Each stake comes with the title of a spirit and yet the actual name of each remains guarded. Why? Because the Work encourages the practitioner to gain a rapport with each spirit, with the view that a name will be given which will be particular to each and every person who dares to undertake the work.

Embedded in folkloric practice, this grimoire set the benchmark for subsequent books by the author, in particular, the Book of the Black Dragon series. Indeed, such a coalition resulted in the Baron Citadel pre-figuring many of the topics that have and will be addressed in the Black Dragon series, so much so, that this title places the practitioner ahead of the curve.

Further qualifications for the authenticity of the Baron Citadel relate to the author’s ritual experiences in Northern Haiti. As a primary source, much of what was learnt during these sojourns was accumulated and then transferred into a ritual setting with a view to it having broader appeal. And yet, further countenance requires us to state that this does not mean that what you have with the Baron is a diluted down version, rather the Work stands as a testament to the ability of the author to distil experiences in Haiti with those he had when working with Andrew Chumbley. Drawing on those experiences and then adding to it a philosophic and explanatory lens, means the Baron Citadel continues to present a vital component in detailing a contemporary rendition of crooked path sorcery.

Deluxe edition, limited to Comes in a solander box in marbled quarter Moroccan presentation and foil blocking, the same as the previous deluxes from Atramentous Press. On the inside of the solander there will be a blind embossed AP logo placed in the velvet. The book itself will be swathed in black goat leather, while the book block will consist of a higher quality paper than that which the standard was printed on.

Also, the deluxe edition will comprise of two foil block colours, marbled endpapers, book ribbon, head and tail bands, foil blocking on the inside casement front and back. Comes with an original piece of art by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles (the illustrator).

All in all, this edition is simply a work of art and an excellent display of superior craftmanship!

This enchiridion for the Black Dragon is the first volume for expounding sorcery associated with the dirt track road, which must forever be adumbrated by the outer precinct of the crooked path, for this inner sanctum presents the dirt ridden yet adamantine road which leads to the Black Dragon and the great mystery of telluric sorcery. It began as a realisation of a work that was formed by the Dragon’s Column, this being the working group that went on to contribute towards Andrew Chumbley writing The Dragon Book of Essex. Yet there are some stark contrasts to be made between this book and that, for the reader must know this is an earth bound book. This is to be realised by turning away from the heavens and looking beyond into the defiled depths of those who have fallen into the coils of Azde-Ahab-Haris. By having recognised this rhizomatic network of endless possibilities, the demiurgic force imbibing the ophidian flow has placed confidence in those who work with both hands by transmitting this work. As a result, the book leads the reader through a sequence of ritual actions and interactions with specific daemons associated with points on the Black Dragon, with each point acting as a gateway for reifying the very principle of Being through the notion of becoming. Anticipatory in nature, the trappings of ceremonial magic are here discarded. The sorcerer instead locates the ritual space through flesh in relation to the horizon..The Proklosis Ring. At this non-place the sorcerer is encouraged to follow the instructions and insights contained in this grimoire, for there are steps and measures which must be taken to traverse the Black Dragon’s form. By so doing the horizon becomes the coiled serpent, and the earth becomes the gateway through which to engage with the ophidian source for all our Otherness.