Book Review: Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard – Author Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

GRIMOIRE FOR THE APPRENTICE WIZARD (PAPERBACK)

by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart
Published by New Page Books
Publication Date: 2004
Format: Black /White – 372 pages
Price: $19.99

Once in awhile you come across a book that you know has a deeper purpose than cant be captured in simple review. Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard is one such book that upon digging into knew that I simply couldn’t just review the book without spending hours learning all the trades of becoming wizard. Introductions and special prologues tell of the power that these pages can bring upon a fledging enthusiast or those who desire to learn. I think Raymond Buckland says it best when he mentions that he wished this book could have been around ages ago to save him time from tracking down such knowledge.

Well with the recent interest in wizardry…. namely 1 Harry Potter….. it may come as a surprise that a book can actually take fiction and turn it into reality. I myself am a bit skeptical only because it “seems” like the art or any training of it would have been documented by now on a larger scale. Truth and reality are a part of what you have to suspend to absorb the content.

I have no reason to disbelieve though, and want to think that sorcery and age old spell casting is a real trade that can be obtained with careful training. Now as I dug further, as I hope you will to….I found that what you hold in your hands is…. as its written ….a 7 year course on the study of wizardry for junior high to high school level training. Each of the courses contains 6-7 classes in all manners of the art. My first thought when reading this was..wow, Icould have used this back in high school. Though I know to really get the full gist here will require several weeks of reading because I’m not only anxious to learn about the book but to absorb the given knowledge.

I’m sure a few adolescent Harry Potter fans never knew that when they passed this book on the book store metaphysics section that perhaps what they were looking for was right there in front of them. To be bias, I don’t know of any wizards or have seen any proof of such wizardry, though the author Oberon Zell-Ravenheart seems very educated and very sincere in his teachings. The book digs into patterns, background, terms, practices, concepts, morals, ethics, tools, altars, creatures, history, materials, rituals, spells, plants, types of magic…..whew shall I go on? I’ve never seen a more enriched and thorough collection of training in 1 book. All that for $20, ……probably less than you spent on the Harry potter film 1 visit.

What you’ll notice right off the bat, is that the information is communicated cautiously. You are instructed into the ways of “proper” wizardry and ethics that have to be in place far before the spell castings. Proficiency is expected at each lesson that has to be mastered before jumping forward. I’m sure this is a good call as to flip over to revenge tactics ( which is frowned upon) would only lead to further unseen damage. Invocations, the colors of magick and rainbows, the myths, the teachers, and even how to grow your own spell materials are just a small portion of the aspects and teachings. Those who have serious interest in the metaphysics will be overjoyed to learn that his teachings instruct in the ways of astral projection, esp, mind reading, auto suggestion, healing, chakra and most of everything you’ve only come across in movies. Not bad for that $20.

Now in looking ahead at other published volumes, I can tell you that the buck doesn’t stop here. There are further published studies that follow up from this introduction volume. Some of them come in the form of other authors. Though your best getting your feet wet before you find yourself drowning.

Well I invite you to locate this masterpiece of magickal volume at your nearest book store to do a quick flip thru. The bonus is that the information is also enriched by a smattering of illustrations documenting every page in the book to keep the mind focused and to give some form of visual reference when needed. Every book by author Oberon Zell-Ravenheart I’ve come across has been nothing short of amazing. His true dedication to teaching others is revealed in step by step approach. While the world is so busy enthralled with “the secret” perhaps the true magick lies in something more thorough…like for instance 7 years worth? A marvelous book that I’ll be reading and re-reading for quite some time.

Check out other books by the author as well at: New Page Books

Available a www.newpagebooks.com
Available a Amazon