The Ritual Magic Workbook by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki A Practical Course of Self‐Initiation Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine First published in 1998 by Samuel Weiser, Inc. Box 612 York Beach, ME 03910‐0612 This project represents a work of LOVE. All texts so far gathered, as well as all future gatherings aim at exposing interested students to occult information. Future releases will include submissions from users like YOU. For some of us, the time has come to mobilize. If you have an interest in assisting in this process - we all have strengths to bring to the table. email :
[email protected] Complacency serves the old gods. Acknowledgements More than most, writers need the backup of other people. They provide encouragement, endless cups of coffee, and a willing ear when you hit the inevitable dry period and nothing you put down on paper looks or reads the way you see it in your head. Without the following friends and relations my life would be a lot harder. My husband Michael and Sonia Hackwell who took much of the office work off my hands and gave me time to write. Emily Peach and Alan Richardson who listened with untiring ears to my ideas, even the wildest of them, and kept my spirits up when I thought it would never get done. Anne, Laurel, Cathy, Raffi, Jamie, Gordon and Sheila in Sydney who tried out the material, and survived! Gary Farmer who came up with some beautiful incense recipes and allowed me to use some of them. Mike Herivel, Nick and Chris who keep my Apple II going and always have a smile even when I call them out and the darned thing starts to work the moment they walk into the office! Last, but never least, to Simon Franklin whose friendship and encouragement spurs me on to try a little harder each time. Thank you. Foreword You are holding in your hands the best practical introduction to the art of magic ever published. Not 'one of the best' or 'arguably the best' or 'possibly the best', but simply the best. It is lucid, down to earth, well structured, accurate and easy to understand. It is a superb tool for the individual who wants to understand what magic is all about not in theory, but in practice. Dolores Ashcroft‐Nowicki, who wrote the book, is an experienced ritual magician and head of a world‐ wide esoteric fraternity/sorority. In the very earliest lessons she will force you to discuss your motivations for magical study; and she warns, as others have warned before her, that you should not undertake the work laid out in this book if you are depressed; nor should you mix magical training with drugs like mescaline, or lsd, or even pot. You will want to know why. And here I think I may be able to help you. When I was even younger than I am today, I drove a horse and cart through those three warnings. I was attracted to magical study without much insight into my real motivations. I