A Brief History of Western Magick & The Modern Magickal Lodge (Combined in One Volume).
Fremont, CA: The Technology Group, 1990. First Edition, Fourth Printing. Softcover. Quarto. 11 x 8.5 inches. vi + 66pp + xiv adverts. Pale blue card covers lettered in black on upper cover, black plastic strip binding, appendix. A history of Western magick by Frater Zarathustra (Nelson H. White: 1938 - 2003), co-founder of the "Hermetic/Gnostic Magickal Order, the 'Temple of Truth' (T.'. O.'. T.'.)." and section describing their magickal lodge. While some is standard history, with material on the Golden Dawn, Crowley, etc. what is of particular interest is Frater Zarathustra's first-hand reminiscences of various occultists and magical groups (including some Crowleyan) with whom he had contact in the 1960s and 1970s. Frater Zarathustra and his wife Soror Veritas (Anne White) were active in the Southern California Occult scene for over 20 years, and were instrumental in the formation and operation of several Esoteric Churches and Magickal Orders. For a time they were associated with Poke Runyon's Ordo Templi Astarte and in 1973 founded their own magical Order, the 'Temple of Truth' (T.'. O.'. T.'.), based in Pasadena, where they also ran the Magick Circle bookstore. In 1974 they began publishing the "White Light" - the Order's journal focused on ceremonial magic, which ran quarterly for some 15 years. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s they edited, wrote and published dozens of different books on ritual magick, the Kabbalah, and the occult in general. They were innovative in the use of technology: copying, word-processing, computing etc. and its application to the occult, preparing indexes to previously unindexed works like Barrett's "The Magus", Waite's "Book of Ceremonial Magic" etc. as well as in the production of facsimiles of grimoires, which probably explains the choice of the name of the imprint under which they published: "The Technology Group." The various editions and printings of The Technology Group's publications were tiny, so despite this being a "fourth printing" it is, like almost all their publications, genuinely uncommon. The production values are quite basic, with simple typography and layout, and reproduction by xerox, so in terms of presentation it is only a little better than a modern "fanzine." Very light signs of wear else a tight, clean VG+ copy. Item #66420
ISBN: 9780939856565
Price: $120.00