Saturday, July 6, 2013

Threshold: Black Magic and Shattered Geometry By Ryan Anschauung & the Temple of THEM

Fall of Man 2011.  207 pages total.  Duodecimo (Twelvemo).  Black and white illustrations by Namtaru Creations. Four volume set.

Available in a single edition:

Standard edition: Four softback booklets with black suede slipcase, limited to 338 copies.  As of this writing, the publisher has noted they are down to their last copies.


I do not normally review paperback editions, but this set had such a unique presentation that I felt it deserved a brief mention and review.  Threshold: Black Magic and Shattered Geometry is a four volume set containing commentary on various aspects of the darker side of post-modern magic.  The individual book titles are as follows:

  • TERATO  (60 pages)
  • HARUSPEX  (54 pages)
  • ENGRAM  (43 pages)
  • MALEFICIA  (50 pages)



One will immediately notice that the first letters of the titles create the word, "THEM", referring to the magical body "The Temple of THEM".  The first volume, TERATO establishes a baseline for the group's belief system, which appears to be a mixture of post-modern currents such as Satanism (the authors' own take on the term), Chaos-Magic, and psychological concepts of "Ego","Self", and the "Id".  The author presents a duelistic world view of two apposing forces, the "Magian" representing the status quo, control systems, and obfuscation, and the "Satanist", representing individuality, rebellion, and liberation.



The second volume, HARUSPEX, contains the authors' general philosophy, and some personal experiences,  It's heavy on opinion, including a few rants about  Man's laziness, reliance upon superstition, and the need for women to play a larger role in occultism. It also touches upon techniques for readers to govern and channel their emotions to work for them rather than against them.  Lastly, the booklet discusses elements of sigil magic, sympathetic magic, and visualizations.




The third volume, ENGRAM includes what The Temple of THEM consider the "Fundamentals of Magic".  It also contains a number of invocations, rituals and alchemical distillations of planetary intelligences.  It concludes with a inspired ritual for "Rain Magic*k" that is rather unique.  Of the four booklets, this one contains the most practical and instructive information for readers.




The fourth volume, MALEFICIA, deals primarily with sex magic, "Narrative Magick", and psychic vampirism.  It includes rituals on how to attract members of the opposite sex.  The section on psychic vampirism, includes a number of rituals for both protecting/shielding oneself and methods of energy exchange.  It ends with a Glossary of terms unique to The Temple of THEM.  This is a welcome addition, as magical groups tend to develop their own internal phrases and terminology that may not translate well outside the group.



The booklets themselves are made of simple red card stock with printing in black.  The pages are white with a satin texture.  Numerous illustrations by Namtaru Creations are found throughout all four volumes.  Booklets come with a black suede slipcase blind stamped with one of The Temple of THEM's symbols, a circle with four tendrils turning widdershins about vertical mark (perhaps an "I", or a Roman numeral 1).  I found that the slipcase was a bit too tight for the booklets.  The books fit exact with no wiggle room.  One has to uncomfortably force the fourth book in to make it fit.  This could be a problem with my particular slipcase and may not reflect other copies.  






Overall Threshold: Black Magic and Shattered Geometry is an interesting body of work.  At times it reads like a manifesto of the Temple of THEM's particular beliefs and magical outlook.  The authors' have strong opinions on a number of subjects.  Readers are unlikely to agree with all of them, but they will likely find some value in the discussion, and perhaps be struck by a few flashes of insight that they can apply to their own practice.  I'm going to assume that Ryan Anschauung is the primary author:  His writing is very clear and concise and not overburdened with black magic mumbo-jumbo, which plagues so many occult books these days.  His writing also reveals significant experience within a diverse range of occult topics.  I hope to see more from him.  Lastly, Fall of Man should be applauded for trying something new and publishing Threshold: Black Magic and Shattered Geometry in such an interesting (and affordable) format.  Also look for their newest release, Lemulgeton - Goetia and the Stellar Tradition by Leo Holmes.  Available in two affordable editions HERE


7 comments:

  1. Thanks for taking your time reviewing our work! Despite the appearances, the occult community is a small one, and seeing truly dedicated people like you always reminds us why we decided to be an active part of it.

    Alex / Fall of Man

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  2. How do I get a copy of the set? How much is the price for all 4 books. Please message me back on how I can attain these works. Thank You.

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    1. If you have any question about our releases, you can contact us at info@fallofman.eu. Thanks for your interest!

      Alex / Fall of Man

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  3. Thank you Boris for your review.
    Terato Haruspex Engram Maleficia equates to "Look deep inside the entrails of the Monster – Remember – and become one of THEM." Threshold represents only a small amount of THEM's total work. But it is our finest release thanks to Alejo, Kayley Hill, Namtaru and Fall of Man. We were extremely pleased with their efforts and the results. I am confident that FOM will soon rival giants like Ixaxaar whom I remember as fledgling entrepreneurs with a dream, too.
    More of my written work can be bought here: http://theblackglyphsociety.wix.com/tbgs at the Black Glyph Society - my former self-publishing house, now onsold to a private buyer in the States. And some read freely here: http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/Sinister101/

    A new body of work called pMYRIAD that expands on Threshold and takes THEM in many new directions is presently underway but it will not be authored under the nym' Ryan Anschauung.

    Thank you again for your review of Threshold and the other reviews you provide of the books you purchase Boris, your page is always a wonderful and worthwhile visit. Also, do you write occult books yourself? And have you considered writing a book about occult books?

    Hollow.

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    1. @RA. Thank you for your kind comments regarding this blog. It is much appreciated. In answer to your question: yes, I have published a few books on regional folklore (under a pen-name), but nothing that I would call strictly "occult", though folklore and occult tend to overlap in some areas. Yes, I have considered writing a book, not about the occult per se, but about occult books themselves; particularly the modern grimoire revival.

      B. Balkan

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  4. PS - remind us to tell you how Threshold was endangered by being banned from Germany because of THEM's Temple symbol being equated to a swastika - resulting in Threshold having to be shipped worldwide from Spain.

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  5. Hello...
    it's good for me to contact you.
    I would like to ask a favor, hoping that you can answer me. I would like to know the source of an image, I found in your site, it seems to me, that I remember seeing once, but no longer found. I would like to see it complete, uncut, can you tell me? This is the image:

    https://www.facebook.com/deepenthefall/photos/pb.217605434967185.-2207520000.1400003607./327726953955032/?type=3&theater

    It's a fantastic image. Do you know who the artist is it? He would have a profile here on facebook? Sorry if I'm bothering you, tell me.

    ReplyDelete