23C. Practical Mental Effects by Theodore Anneman. NY: Tannen Magic, 1963. (TOS-3) MA: “The second
classic in the mentalism field. Since it is a reprint of a 1944 work, I would recommend #23B as being more clearly
printed and in general easier to read. But either work is excellent from a technical standpoint.”
23D. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. NY: Washington Square Press, 1963. [Deutschland: Der Fürst,
Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart, 1955 (WU: Z49-235)] (TOS-3) MA: “You’ll find a summary of The Prince in #16A, but if
you’re going to get seriously involved in the social jungle, you should probably read the book itself, since it is still
the classic of practical power politics. A short, succinct work written in a crisp, no-nonsense style. Nevertheless it is
not, as the vulgar assume, an argument for viciousness or callousness in political affairs, but is predicated upon the
prince’s underlying ethical goals for his country.”
23E. The B.S. Factor: The Theory and Technique of Faking It in America by Arthur Herzog. NY: Simon &
Schuster, 1973. (TOS-2) MA: “In Machiavelli’s day the world was sufficiently lawless to make force a viable
alternative in day-to-day affairs. In a highly ordered nation such as the United States, however, manipulation must
often take more subtle and psychological forms. This book is one of the best analyses of them. It focuses on the
twisting and warping of language to mold opinions and behavior. Written humorously, but with serious underlying
principles.”
23F. A Primer of Politics by James E. Combs and Dan Nimmo. NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1984.
(TOS-3) MA: “A political science textbook dealing with the study of power according to the definitions, maxims, and
recommendations of Machiavelli. Individuals, episodes, organizations, governments, and ideologies from ancient
times to the present are offered as case studies. Mini-biographies of the various political leaders used in the case
studies are included, with the result that this book reads like an anthology of dramatic episodes in the shaping of
history - which in a way it is. Some leaders treated: Walter Lippman, Jefferson, Catherine the Great, Charles de
Gaulle, Hitler, Madison, Madame de Pompadour, Disraeli, John Marshall, Elizabeth I, Eva Peron, Gandhi, Richard
III, Mao, Cicero, Lincoln, FDR, Richelieu, Bismarck, Jackson, J. Edgar Hoover, Henry II, Tallyrand, Lenin,
Goebbels, Stalin, Augustus Cæsar, and Nicholas II. Whenever I have prescribed this text for a Political Theory
course, students have gone wild over it, reading far more than assigned and using its concepts as a knife to cut
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through the jungle of doubletalk, deceit, hypocrisy, and inertia of modern political society. A book for the 1980s - in
some ways regrettably so.”
23G. The Hidden Dimension by Edward T. Hall. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1966. [Deutschland: Die
Sprache des Raumes, Pädagogischer Verlag, Düsseldorf, 1976 (WU: 26/8627)] (TOS-3) MA: “The best study to date
of ‘proxemics’ - the LBM technique involving, in the author’s words, ‘social and personal space and man’s
perception of it’. Included are both a discussion of the principles involved in the design, control, and manipulation
of proxemics, and a number of case studies - several ethnic and/or national/cultural in orientation - illustrating
these principles. #23H is reviewed in Runes #III-4.”
23H. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1981 (Penguin paperback edition available). [Deutschland: WU: 33/8696] (TOS-3) MA: “This is a
succinct (160 pages) manual on how to win arguments, particularly in a group or organizational setting. The step-
by-step process results from studies and conferences by the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group which deals
continually with various levels of conflict resolution. This is a book which raises what for most people is a ‘blind,
stumbling’ ( Pistis) experience to a deliberate, controlled ( Dianoia) exercise.”
23I. Success with the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1990. (TOS-1) Rosemary Webb III°: “This volume of Dr. Elgin’s ‘Gentle Art’ series summarizes her
first five books. An example of LBM techniques, that is to say metacommunication applicable to long-term successes
in the business world. Useful to teach the magician the difference between her purposes and the reactive
environment. Unlike most NLP manuals, this book doesn’t serve as a hook to get you to buy more NLP manuals. Its
TOS-1 rating reflects both ease of readability and broadness of topics covered.”
23J. Class by Paul Fussell. NY: Random House, 1983. (TOS-3) DW: “This slightly dated tome teaches both the
reading and the presentation of economic class - a key to achieving metacommunication. The Black Magician is free
from the social taboos that ‘politically correct’ society insists upon, and can use those taboos to his advantage while
exploring the positive and negative effects they have had on his own life.”
* * *
F23A. Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Viacom Enterprises. (LVT-4) James
Lewis VI°: “This film never really made it big in the theatre circuit and taken overall, viewers can see why. The
performances of Cher, Karen Black, and the others are good, but for the Order of Leviathan member the outstanding
theme is that of watching an attempt at Magic gone awry because of what amounts to a religion built on a lie. If you
have passed this by in the video store because of the title, give it a chance and see a cinematic rendition of the
dangers of Black Magic.”
F23B. The Adventures of Baron von Munchausen. Prominent Features & Laura-film Productions, a Terry
Gilliam film, fantasy fiction. (LVT-2) James Lewis VI°: “The Village Voice reviewed this movie as ‘No great job of
storytelling, this movie is disjointed, exhausting, and overloaded with flamboyant bric-a-brac. It needed a slow
movement. Yet how many films these days can be faulted for excess of riches? At his best, Gilliam seems the most
legitimate heir to Melies working today.’ With all due respect to reviewers, the magic with which the Baron weaves
the subjective into the objective world is worth the viewing time of the Setian. Imagery is an important tool for the
Magician and few have the skills and adaptability of the old Baron.”
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Category 24: Runic Arts and Sciences
as of February 26, 2003
The significance of this category of the reading list goes far beyond its specific subject material. It
involves, quite bluntly, a major re-writing of the history of western European civilization. Until now, the
“history of Europe” surveys taught in most universities have addressed the history of Christian
Europe: the feudal states and nations which emerged following the decline of the Roman Empire. Pre-
Christian [or later non-Christian] Europe was considered “uncivilized”, hence good for little other than
a few anecdotes of marauding Goths, Vikings, Picts, and the like.
The so-called “neo-pagan” or “Wiccan” religion invented by post-World War II enthusiasts has
further confused the situation by representing a rag-bag of medieval and modern fables and
superstitions as a quasi-unified, Hippie-type nature religion supposedly prevalent throughout pre-
Christian Europe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although authorities such as Elliot Rose
; (#6C) have long since exposed this sham, the Wiccan movement prances contentedly along, blissfully
undisturbed by inconvenient facts.
Magus Flowers, in his years of research into ancient Europe, has uncovered the key to the
authentic pre-Christian wisdom of that subcontinent. His work in this field is no less significant
than that of Champollion with the Rosetta Stone. His findings make possible, for the first time,
a true understanding of how the forces of the universe were understood by the European cultures later
to be systematically exterminated by Christianity. We learn that these ancient Europeans were not
“savages” after all, but had developed cosmologies and philosophies as sophisticated and subtle as those
of the Maya and ancient China. While the Temple of Set has always accorded special honor to ancient
Egypt, as the original source of our knowledge concerning the Gift of Set, we are no less sensitive to the
perception and utilization of that Gift by many other cultures in other geographic regions. What follows
is a key to a door which has long been locked.
Introduction
- by Stephen E. Flowers VI°
Reason would seem to dictate that now that there are over a dozen of my works either in print or presently in
some stage of completion, the corpus of work should be put into some sort of perspective. This perspective will show
how first this corpus represents a whole, crystallized and focused (if dynamic) vision, and how this vision is being
cast into the objective universe to do its work. For the direct effecting of the objective universe is, indeed, one of the
facets of this corpus of work. This is similar to the attitude Aleister Crowley had toward his book projects [see #3V].
However, all of this remains a vision still in emergence. The things I have done up to now have been pieces of a
much vaster mosaic. Although the general outlines of this mosaic are clear to me, and so I can see how each of the
new pieces fits into the overall scheme, it may not be so for others. Therefore, in order not to leave it to future
historians to try to figure out what it is all about, I will here briefly outline the corpus of my work to date (to the
beginning of 1990) and the general scheme into which it fits. Only those works which have appeared in
commercially published form will be cited. I will also provide some idea of the direction this work will be going in
the future - although this aspect remains open to dynamic influences and could change course as new data flow in to
be coordinated.
Underlying all of my works are several principles. Most important among these is that there are certain
hidden keys to initiation and to Becoming which I seek to find in the methods followed in my work in general. The
chief element in this method is the dynamic synthesis of polar extremes - the two most important of these are the
subjective and objective universes. Reflections of this process run through the work - from the cosmological model
of fire and ice to the psycho-magical dichotomy of Huginn and Muninn, the two Odian ravens. These represent the
rational, logical, analytical mind and the nœtic psyche and storehouse of perceived eternal forms respectively. The
method underlying all of my works is a planned and deliberate oscillation between logical procedure and nœtic
process.
The simplest way to put this is that there is a moving back and forth of focus between the objectively,
historically accurate aspects of a tradition and the subjective and vibrant aspects. It is in the eternal ebb and flow, in
the dynamic process - unending and without end - that the ultimate synthesis is found - not in a state of being. This
is the essence of what I call the “Polarian Method”.
This can be seen in the corpus of material when one couples the contents of Runes and Magic (written as a
Ph.D. dissertation according to strict scientific standards) with my first “runic trilogy”, ( Futhark, Runelore, and At
the Well of Wyrd.) Runes and Magic is the crystalline focal point of the logical, analytical end of the spectrum, while
the “runic trilogy” is equally that for the nœtic, intuitive end. Once the entire corpus is viewed from this perspective,
I think it takes on more of its meaning as a dynamic whole.
Necessary to the use of this guide are a few words on how it can be used most beneficially. In general it follows
the same kind of plan as that of the rest of the Temple of Set Reading List. the codes have been given as Order of the
Trapezoid (TRP-) - as those are most harmonious with the overall contents of this list. If I were to advise someone
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on a course to take in studying this corpus, I would say that Runelore, At the Well of Wyrd, and Futhark (in that
order) would be the foundation. From there the priority codes could be used to determine a useful ordering of the
other works. [A full course of reading of most of the works on the list is included in the text of The Nine Doors of
Midgard.]
All of the works presented here are in the order of their chronological appearance. In the commentaries, I not
only try to give a sense of the content and purpose of the work, but also show how it relates to the others in the web-
work. In conclusion the present a prospectus for future works and works in progress.
24A. Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic by Edred Thorsson. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1984. (TOS-3)
(TRP-2) SF: “In many ways this book would look much different if I were to write it today. The MS for the work was
actually finished in 1979, but it was not published until 1984. [This work was actually preceded by another book-
length MS originally entitled A Primer of Runic Magic, finished in 1975.] Futhark remains a fertile field for
experimentation by free-lance rune magicians, but its contents are actually a bit too influenced by the traditions of
the Armanen to be entirely satisfactory to me now.”
24B. Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology by Edred Thorsson. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1986.
(TOS-3) (TRP-1) SF: “Runelore is basically the lore-curriculum of the Rune-Gild in summary form. It contains a
current view of historical runology, esoteric lore concerning the runes, as well as Teutonic cosmology, psychology
and theology. It is the first of my works to have been completed after my entry into the Temple of Set. Its contents
are basic and essential to understand before serious and authentic work can be undertaken with the Runes.”
24C. Runes and Magic: Magical Formulaic Elements in the Older Runic Tradition by Stephen E. Flowers.
Berne: Peter Lang, 1986. (TOS-4) (TRP-5) SF: “This is the published form of my dissertation written at the
University of Texas at Austin. It represents an exhaustive study of the older runic inscriptions analyzed as magical
formulaic communications based on a semiotic theory of magic - magic as a system of ‘inter-universal
communication’ (subjective/objective). It contains introductory material on the theory presented, and then applies
that theory to the evidence of the actual inscriptions. This work is thought by most to be a ‘difficult read’, and may
be quite hard to find by now. Only 250 copies were printed.”
24D. At the Well of Wyrd: A Handbook of Runic Divination by Edred Thorsson. York Beach, ME: Weiser,
1988. (TOS-3) (TRP-2) SF: “This was the third in the original ‘runic trilogy’, with the other two being Futhark and
Runelore. This work takes a highly traditional look at the art and practice of runecasting and the laying of the
runestaves.”
; 24E. The Secret of the Runes by Guido von List. Translated and introduced by Stephen E. Flowers. Rochester,
VT: Destiny, 1988. (TOS-4) (TRP-4) SF: “In many ways I see my work as a continuation - a Remanifestation - of
works that have been undertaken by others in the past. From the most ancient ancestral Runemasters, to the
German and English Romantics, down to the early 20th century rune magicians of Germany. The foundations for
this latter group were directly laid by Guido von List, who was certainly more of a magician than he might at first
appear. This book is a historical and scientific study of List and his ideology, along with a translation of its most
famous expression, Das Geheimnis der Runen.” DW: “This book is interesting as an example of a Magus of the
Northern Tradition’s thoughts and methods - and the insights it gives to the subjective side of reawakening a
traditional system.”
24F. The Truth about Teutonic Magick by Edred Thorsson. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1989. (TOS-4) (TRP-4)
SF: “This little volume (25 pages) is really a general program for the ‘Teutonic Magick Series’ which I created and for
which I am acting as a consulting and acquisitions editor for Llewellyn Publications. In it can be found a general
outline of the focus and scope of the practical/magical aspects of the overall work. What also becomes obvious here
is that the work has expanded beyond that which I must personally undertake. Other magicians and writers have
taken up the banner and are moving outward into the world with it.”
24G. The Galdrabok: An Icelandic Grimoire by Stephen Flowers. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1989. (TOS-4)
(TRP-4) SF: “This volume contains a translation (from Old Icelandic) of the complete text of a Scandinavian book of
magic along with a collection of other magical spells and incantations of similar natures. The work shows a
continuity of the Germanic (Northern) method of working magic carried over from pre-Christian times. There is
also an introductory section which gives a history of magic in Iceland in post-Viking times.” DW: “A good source of
Medial Black Magic operations, useful for beginning your own Galdarbok.”
24H. Rune Might: Secret Practices of the German Rune Magicians by Edred Thorsson. St. Paul, MN:
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