We are spoilt for choice nowadays as Gap years have opened our eyes to the reality of the religions of the indigenous people of so many lands.
We cover Greece, Rome, Egypt, South America, Africa, Europe as we have always done. What has expanded are the deities associated with the British Isles and the books reflect work that is being done with them.
Freya Aswynn brought the runes and so the Northern tradition back to life here in London in the 1980s.
We are very proud to have produced her Runes of Yggdrasil rune pack for her. This section encompasses folklore and religion of Northern Europe and has a good selection of books on the runes too of course.
If your heart is pure and your intention is good, the Gods and Goddesses will smile on you so you need never fear ‘getting it wrong’. They have had thousands of years of new people stumbling about not having a clue but wanting to do magic. It makes perfect sense for them to encourage rather than scare.
We have books from the simple to the amazingly complex.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded in 1888 by MacGregor Mathers. You can see his portrait hanging in The Atlantis Bookshop. It was painted by his wife Moina who was the first ‘real’ person to be initiated into this important magical Order. We also have some original Golden Dawn Working tools on display.
Which sort would you like? Physical, spiritual or historical?
We have plenty of books on practical alchemy and the results the contemporary alchemists are getting are impressive. Spiritual alchemy – where we perfect ourselves and transmute from base lead into golden spiritual beings – is a very rewarding road to travel. The armchair historian will be really spoilt for choice as the biographies alone make fascinating reading.
It costs the same to have a good tarot reading as a bad one so choosing a pack you like and working with it is worth doing. We stock about 100 tarot and Oracle packs and as many books on Tarot. So many people will ‘recommend’ a pack and an equal number will say it is rubbish.
A superstition is that you should always be given a pack of cards and never buy your own. Make up your own mind as you wouldn’t let them choose a a pair of shoes for you, why should they dictate something as personal as your deck? If you have a friend kind enough to want to pay though…
We have a couple of hundred books on witchcraft so hopefully there will be something here for you.
We are enormously proud that Gerald Gardner’s first London coven met here and the modern witchcraft revival started here. Geraldine saw him when she was a girl as he and her father were friends. We have a family tradition that is definitely four generations on one side and three on the other.
We welcome new people, Alexandrians, Gardnerians, hereditaries, hedgewitches, solitaries, what ever you are as we try to live by Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again!
There is just something about ancient Egypt that seems to grip us. The balanced beauty of the gods, the colours of their costumes, the completeness of the rituals that have been translated for us.
The Golden Dawn used this pantheon in their rituals and so, magically, we have become very used to them as each god is distinct and has a clear job to do.
Also known as Kabbalah, Qabala, QBL and Cabbala. Irrespective of spelling this is the corner stone of the western mystery tradition.
Traditionally only suited by men of 40 and full of beard, today however everyone is welcome to use the ‘cosmic filing cabinet’ of the Tree of Life for their own development.