Dear Toyin,
In Nigeria I was surprised at the enormous interest in some circles – in what they referred to as "The sixth and seventh book of Moses" – said to be magical treaties – replete with the geometric figures of stars, rectangles, incantations, holy waters, incenses, and other magical paraphernalia which were all readily available at the marketplace.
Have not read the book you reviewed (am not interested in magic – it's forbidden) but it's an interesting review.
"Drury organises the book in relation to a definition of magic as centred in the use of
the will in achieving change of consciousness through communication with the divine
rather than through supplication of the divine. His central interest is what is known as
High Magic, here described in terms of expansion of consciousness enabling
Self-transformation though insight into the nature and dynamism of the universe." (Toyin Vincent Adepoju)
Concerning your few lines above, Joseph Dan has this to say on page 175, introducing the chapter " To write without pen or ink" in his anthology of Jewish Mystical experiences, "The Heart and the Fountain" :
"The relationship between mysticism and magic has always been a complex and intricate one. When the definitions of the two disciplines are presented, it seems that there is no point of contact between them, Magic views itself as science, demands following linguistic instructions precisely, does not offer explanations of the methods by which it achieves its purposes, and, above all, is result-oriented, trying to achieve exact aims that are in most cases mundane or even material. The magician does not pray: he orders earthly and celestial entities to obey his demands. Most important is the fact that practicing magic represents complete faith in the communicative power of language. Mystics are different concerning all these characteristics: While magic is a quest of results and gains, mysticism is a quest of truth that is beyond the sensual and the intellectual, and therefore it is beyond language. Despite these vast differences, mysticism occasionally combined magical practices with their efforts to ascend to celestial realms and used magic in their rituals when seeking hidden, supernal truth. The following text is an example of such combination: it expresses dedication to the revelation of divine secrets, which is achieved by magical practices."
Review of Stealing Fire from Heaven : The Rise of Modern Western Magic by Nevill Drury by Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju.
I am motivated to share this review with you for a number of reasons in the hope that those reasons could resonate with you.
I had earlier written two elaborate essays explaining this rationale, as I waited for the review to be published, but I will leave those for another day.The review represents the intersection of two most demanding periods of my life and the fruit they are bearing.The first of these is my discovery of the Western esoteric tradition as a teenager in Benin-City, Nigeria, in my quest for ultimate meaning at that nexus represented by the challenges of entry into adulthood, and the fundamental role this discovery played, in harmony with Buddhism, the Grail message, Hinduism and classical Yoruba and Benin spirituality, in orienting my entire life in terms of a quest for ultimate meaning.This period flowered in my eventually setting up an open access public library and research centre in Benin, using the books I had collected in this quest, while using the Centre as a base for fieldwork in further explorations.My aspiration, at an opportune time, is to reopen the Centre as a public library and research and retreat centre, ideally in proximity to the sublimity of the Ogba forest, near the earlier site of the Centre.The forest would provide a contemplative space while the Centre would provide a study space.The second period is represented by my struggle, decades later, to set up an open access library, research and retreat centre, in Vision Park, Histon, next door to Cambridge, England.
Some months after opening the Centre, the review editor of the Alternative Religion and Spirituality Review encouraged me, and did so successfully, to write a review on Nevill Drury's Stealing Fire from Heaven : The Rise of Modern Western Magic, even though I had earlier considered review writing too tedious.So, coming full circle.Searching for ultimate meaning in Benin-City and eventually setting up an open access library and research centre in Benin in relation to this quest.The journey continues, incarnating in Vision Park in the Cambridge outskirts of Histon, the unity of inspirational natural and built space and scholarly resources that the Benin experience inspired me to pursue as a future accomplishment.The vision this latest development represents correlates the power of the earlier Benin public library and research centre and the wonder that is the numinous presence of the Ogba forest, where I spent many hours in silent wonder, and the Histon, Cambridge, initiative, in the cosmologically inspirational landscape of Vision Park and the natural serenity of Histon.
An emerging vision in relation to this initiative is that of creating, in relation to city space or other built spaces, globally, the ideal of the unity of study and contemplation.
Compcros : Comparative Cognitive and Processes and Systems research and retreat centre, is pleased to receive donations through this link or by personal communication.All donations and all expenditure will be publicly accounted for.ThanksOluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
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