The Baron Citadel by Peter Hamilton Giles

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.