Tag: language

[Book Review] Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power

The problem with having a Rare Books Book Club is that by definition the books are rare and so copies are expensive :-/

For single copies, though, my library system has so far had a copy somewhere of almost everything I’ve wanted to read. And with my borrowing privileges at through various institutions I haven’t even had to ILL stuff.

I just finished reading Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power edited by Marvin Meyer and Richard Smith (1994, Harper SF) and it was useful enough that I bought myself a copy.  Maybe my review here will help you determine whether to borrow or buy it for yourself as well. Continue reading “[Book Review] Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power” →

Superstition

 

This past weekend, I executed a ritual I had put together with friends. Successfully (more on this in a subsequent post), but it was touch-and-go at times during the planning stages.

The event was long overdue. The last one I’d done was in 2008 and there wasn’t going to be one I could attend in the foreseeable future, so a friend and I organized our own: called around to find other people interested in participating, secured skilled specialists, searched for and vetted a venue, figured out how sleeping and food was going to work.

Oh how I loathe event planning.

Tried to swing it for this past May, but couldn’t get enough participants. The consensus was October would be better, so we postponed it until the 22nd.

But as the date approached, the person I had earmarked for leading the ritual, half the participants and more than half the support personnel had to cancel, some in the last 48 hours. Some because I didn’t follow through with them appropriately, others for their own very legitimate reasons — family crises, other obligations, financial hardship. They all most sincerely wished they could have been there.

If I were a superstitious person, I would have seen everything tanking — all the obstacles and stumbling blocks that put themselves in the way of doing this — as “Signs Not To Do The Thing” and folded the operation.

Fortunately, I’m not superstitious; I’m science-licious.

Continue reading “Superstition” →