And this brings us to Alkistis and Peter\u2019s new book The Brazen Vessel<\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s a collection of their writings from 2008 through 2018. Some were previously published, some were presented at conferences, and some were never published anywhere. Beyond that I\u2019m not quite sure how to describe it, so I\u2019ll quote this from the Scarlet Imprint website:<\/p>\n Taken as a whole, their work proposes unorthodox and undogmatic understandings of Lucifer and Babalon, as demonised divine figures, as the sources of transmission of the western traditions of magic and witchcraft. A shared love of poetry and the magical power of the word is evident in their distinctive voices. Both have given primacy to the living body in their practice, through dance, performance, ritual and rites of devotion and ordeal. Both situate their magical work within the wider ecological and political environment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Brazen Vessel<\/em> may be in a different \u201clanguage\u201d from my own practice, but I found it engaging and inspiring. And perhaps, informative in a way that\u2019s uniquely helpful to me.<\/p>\n For a book that frequently discusses the \u201cwitchcraft of the body\u201d it seems appropriate to begin a review with a discussion of the physical book.<\/p>\n The Brazen Vessel<\/em> is 448 pages long. It\u2019s available in a goatskin bound \u201cfine edition\u201d for \u00a3265 ($326 at current exchange rates), a \u201cstandard hardback\u201d for \u00a355 ($68), a trade paperback for \u00a327 ($34), or a Kindle e-book<\/a> ($9.99). It has numerous photos and other illustrations, end notes and a bibliography, and a timeline listing where and when each of the chapters was written and presented.<\/p>\n I have the hardback. In a word, it\u2019s beautiful. The binding is red linen, the paper is possibly the heaviest I\u2019ve ever seen in a modern book, and the typeface creates a sense of reading something very old, while still being easy enough to read, at least for me. It includes two silk ribbons for placeholders. Centuries from now this book will still be in excellent shape, long after most of its contemporaries have deteriorated to pulp.<\/p>\n It seems almost sacrilegious to mark it with a highlighter. But a book like this is no light reading. It requires the reader to engage with it, to read key sections multiple times, and to meditate and contemplate the words and the ideas they express.<\/p>\n And so I did.<\/p>\n Though the Scarlets (to borrow another of Gordon White\u2019s terms) have always presented themselves as a team, Peter Grey has by far been the more prolific writer and thus has received more attention. The Brazen Vessel<\/em> makes a conscious attempt to remedy this by presenting more of the work of Alkistis Dimech.<\/p>\n Alkistis\u2019 primary art form is dance, and it is very difficult to translate dance to the written word. Further, I have no experience with dance and I\u2019m completely unqualified to critique Alkistis\u2019 stories of the Sabbat Dance. But ecstatic devotion? That I understand.<\/p>\n The Enlightenment has obscured the dark wisdom of the body, yet the mythic transcends reason, it transcends the dichotomy of finite and infinite, of mortal and immortal \u2026 To know cannot be grasped by the mind alone, knowledge is embodied. In possession, we incarnate the paradox of a finite being experiencing infinite being: the mystery in flesh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The most intense and meaningful religious experiences I\u2019ve had involved \u201ca finite being experiencing infinite being.\u201d We cannot command such experiences, but we can facilitate them \u2013 and dance is one of the more effective ways of doing that.<\/p>\n Between the words and pictures, even I can see that something magical, something sacred is going on. And I\u2019m reminded that good religion isn\u2019t something we think, it\u2019s something we do and feel.<\/p>\n The witchcraft of Dimech and Grey is not Wicca or any of its relatives.<\/p>\n Our creed has never been \u201can\u2019 it harm none\u201d but non serviam<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n They explain it thusly:<\/p>\n Lucifer and the fall of the angels is the quintessential myth of witchcraft \u2026<\/p>\n In the West we are culturally Christian. The book which has formed and transformed our spirituality, our institutions, our laws, our art, our ideas of witchcraft is the Bible. Therefore our witchcraft must also relate to this set of cultural stories, or it is meaningless. We cannot cherry pick pagan pasts and in doing so, neglect the serpent and the apple.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Witchcraft is the unauthorized use of magic. It\u2019s transgressive or it isn\u2019t witchcraft \u2013 it\u2019s religion or magic or self-development or a fashion statement<\/a>. And in a society that is still culturally Christian even if it\u2019s practically atheist in many ways, there is no greater transgression than identifying with \u201cthe adversary.\u201d<\/p>\n (Given that according to Christian mythology it was Lucifer who gave humans the knowledge of good and evil, whether he is an adversary or an ally is fair question \u2013 but a question for another time. And likely, for another blog.)<\/p>\n But based on the responses I get when I tell people I worship multiple Gods, I can assure you that polytheism is also a transgression in this society. And it has the advantage of not just inverting the dominant paradigm, but of wiping clean 1600 years of religious imperialism. Or at least, of beginning that cleansing process.<\/p>\n Still, we cannot pretend those 1600 years of Christian domination never happened. And we can reject the mythology of the Fall (of humans and of angels) without denying the reality of the persons Christianity labels fallen angels. The myths and methods for working with them described in The Brazen Vessel<\/em> can be adapted to a pre-Abrahamic worldview.<\/p>\n Or they can be used as is.<\/p>\n If the diabolical aspects of The Brazen Vessel<\/em> are a language foreign to me, the animistic aspects are my native tongue. Three quotes stand out as especially relevant.<\/p>\n We do not have a special position of manifest destiny, or a god given right to despoil these finite resources as the Abrahamic religions of the book have insisted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The attitude of dominion has brought us pollution, habitat destruction, extinctions, and climate change. Collectively, we refuse to address climate change because it would reduce the profits of those who are already obscenely wealthy. We have a spiritual need and an ethical mandate to not exploit the land, but to form relationships with the land.<\/p>\n We owe our allegiance to the wild spirits in order to restore the balance of life, rather than advocating solely on behalf of mankind. Witchcraft is profoundly animist in outlook and practice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Christian mythology says we were placed on the land. Science says we grew out of the land. We are one species among many, not the only species \u201cmade in the image of God.\u201d The other species are persons<\/em> as much as we are, with the inherent respect due persons \u2013 not things.<\/p>\n Ecology is not steady state, it is bloody but also bounteous.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is my biggest complaint with people I\u2019ll call \u201ccasual environmentalists.\u201d They speak as though our goal should be to create some state of \u201cbalance\u201d where nothing ever changes\u2026 and nothing bad (i.e. \u2013 unfavorable to humans) ever happens.<\/p>\n Nature is not a pristine museum. Nature is alive. It gives life and it takes life. It creates and it destroys.<\/p>\n Nature is beautiful and terrible, and Nature is holy.<\/p>\n Sometimes Peter Grey reminds me of OBOD founder Ross Nichols<\/a> \u2013 he switches back and forth between the historical, the metaphorical, and the metaphysical and you\u2019re never quite sure how any particular paragraph is supposed to be read. This is my biggest \u201clanguage barrier\u201d with The Brazen Vessel<\/em>. But there are clues that even I can pick up:<\/p>\n We cannot expect straight answers, we need slant strategies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And with that guide to translation:<\/p>\n Angels [are] the archons of nations \u2026 these archonic nation state angels are what Dee and Kelley plot somewhat erratically (and plot with) in the game of empire. Thus in the demons we find the survivors, refugees and an ancient layer of spirits; strong spirits, but not the unmitigated evil one might expect.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The divine and not-quite-divine persons I work with and for are not demons. But these \u201carchonic nation state angels\u201d are. They are all playing a Grand Game<\/a> and I\u2019m playing too\u2026 because at least for me, not playing is more dangerous than playing.<\/p>\n For the last two years I\u2019ve been trying to figure out my role in this game. I know what my role in this world is \u2013 it\u2019s pretty obvious, if you read what I write. But I\u2019ve been trying and failing to discern my role in the Otherworldly side of the game.<\/p>\n And now I think I know. The next few weeks will show whether I\u2019m right or wrong.<\/p>\n If none of that makes sense to you, don\u2019t worry. This is my Lectio Divina, not yours.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2019\/09\/Brazen-Vessel-02.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe book<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2019\/09\/Brazen-Vessel-12.jpg\")
<\/a>The occulted body<\/h1>\n
A Luciferian witchcraft<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2019\/09\/Brazen-Vessel-07.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAn animist magic<\/h1>\n
My own Lectio Divina<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2019\/09\/Brazen-Vessel-08.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n