Silent as the Trees (Deluxe edition) by Gemma Gary
Description
Fine Edition; a limited edition of 23 hand bound examples bound in rich green goat leather with copper foil blocking to the front and spine with patterned end papers. This edition is be issued within a fully lined green library buckram slip-case, blind embossed to the front. Signed by the author.
Condition: Fine, unmarked and unread copy.
Silent as the trees is a book exploring the old witchcraft, magical traditions and folklore nurtured amidst the village communities, hills, moors and ancient woods of Devonshire in South West England.
In this, her sixth book, Gemma Gary introduces Devon’s witches and magical folk, examining their lives and their magic; from historical figures such as the ‘white witch’ Caulks of Exeter, the Devonshire ‘toad witches’ and an examination of the trial of the Bideford Witches, to more modern practitioners such as the ‘cunning man’ and witchcraft collector Cecil Williamson.
Old stories in Devon tell of the often troublesome encounters between ordinary folk and the world of witchery. These encounters give valuable insights not only into the strange and fantastical beliefs surrounding witches, but also the traditional methods of beneficial magic and ‘counter cursing’ via the experiences of those who sought the aid of the ‘white witches’ and conjurors to lift the maleficia of the ‘black witch’.
Devon is a county particularly rich in folklore and mythology, in which we also often find the character of the witch, and the heady presence of Black Dog apparitions, the Wild Hunt and the Devil Himself. Many such tales weave their way around the plentiful strange stones and haunting ancient sites of this most mysterious landscape.
Within this book Gemma Gary also guides us through the fascinating witch belies of the region surrounding ‘skin turning’; the old witch-arte of bestial shape-shifting, as well as the tradition of the familiar spirit and the witches’ methods for gaining spirit companions.
Silent as the Trees is two books in one, for included within its pages is a ‘Black Book of Devonshire Magic’ detailing an extensive collection of genuine Devonshire spells, charms and magical rites.
Within this collection we find magical workings for power, spirit vision, cure charms for all manner of ailments and injuries, curse magic, protections and magical defence, love charms, good fortune, charms for animals, and traditional Devonshire toad magic.
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Children of Cain (Deluxe edition) by Michael Howard
£375.00
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."
Penumbrae (Deluxe edition) by Richard Gavin, Patricia Cram & Daniel Schulke (ed)
£450.00
Deluxe edition. Hand-bound in full bistre goatskin with slipcase. Limited to 50 copies.
Condition: Fine / As new.
"THREE HANDS PRESS is proud to announce Penumbrae, a collection of thirteen works of Occult Fiction by some of that genre's great luminaries. The locus of this anthology lies in tales that embody a metaphysical position, as opposed to fiction that merely employs metaphysical trappings to enforce a materialist worldview. Occult fiction, by contrast, strives to evoke the energies that inform such symbols, and create a vital experience for the reader. Far beyond mere description, this is work that proves its value through its capacity to seduce, captivate, and incept states of magical consciousness. Like the practice of magic itself, the finest works of occult fiction will be distinguished by their power to evoke an embodied experience, and to tangibly compel shifts in consciousness while arousing the uncommon. It intoxicates the rite of reading as much as it permeates the spaces between readings.
Marriage between the objective and the imaginative often results in an enrichment of existence. All spiritual traditions stand upon a foundation of both worldly Act and transcendent Idea. Idea becomes Image, Image becomes Symbol, Symbol becomes Portal. Through the Act of passing through it, one is thereby transformed. It thus stands to reason that the annals of occultism are lush with fable, poetry, mythology, and tales. A delicate but highly potent quality of this work is the creation of a spirit-trap wherein the words and images themselves act as hosts to the experience itself. Under auspicious conditions, a reader may encounter a tale that hews so closely with their own interior universe that a Key is thereby given."
Penumbrae features a cover image by surrealist painter Mike Davis tales from the following authors:
- Kenneth Grant
- Richard Gavin
- Andrew Chumbley
- Daniel Schulke
- Dale Pendell
- Sun Yung Shin
- Hanns Heinz Ewers
- Lee Morgan
- Caitlín R. Kiernan
- Brian Evenson
- Don Webb
- Patricia Cram
- Michael Cisco
The Baron Citadel (deluxe) by Peter Hamilton-Giles
£999.00
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.