Review

With Magister Officiorum, Ody has produced an essential text for those who want to
practice Solomonic magic. The result of patient and extensive magical work, this is
a record of attainment informed by the Western magical tradition, Espiritismo and
Obeah. The subjects covered in this study include: the place of evocation, the
magical circle and the book, the ritual tools and regalia, including the black
handled knife, the brazen vessel, robes, and the pentagonal and hexagonal figures.
Also addressed is ritual purity, and the necessity of authority in the art of
commanding spirits.

Ody gives clear explanations of the process of ritual and the methods by which to
ensure success in evocation � understood as a physical interaction between magician
and spirit. Further, he demonstrates principles of magical working that are not
explicitly given in the typically terse instructions of the grimoires. Also given
is a method for the obtaining of a key to be used in the eventual binding of a
King; how to bottle spirits; a working with the vessel and skull; and a rite for
obtaining a patron spirit under the auspices of Lucifer. The rites given are
suitable for solo practice and group workings, notably using the model of the
s�ance (black table spiritism) in order to establish spirit cults. As a result the
text will be of aid to both novitiates and experienced practitioners alike.

Magister Officiorum gives accounts of spirit workings, including Lucifer, Bun� and
Gemon, and includes a suggestive catalogue of spirit contacts with Acham, Paymon,
Astaroth, Frimost and Malphas that demonstrate the author's aptitude in the work.
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Review by Vartejaru, Mihai

Magister Officiorum is not a book on magic. It`s a book of magic. Without having
the pretense of being a dark work that promises you unparalleled techniques and
secret keys to the magical realm and the unleashing of the infernal armies, without
being flashy and pompous in its presence, the book is a grimoire. A concise manual
of Solomonic Magic as it is understood in the traditional, practical sense.

Despite Julio`s expertise in syncretic initiatory systems such as Makaya and Obeah,
he does not fall into the trap of eclecticism that sometimes characterises modern
workings of the Solomonic Cycle. Although he is very well aware of the historical
connections between the Goetia spirits and the Canaanite religion, he does not
overlay the latter upon the former, nor does he try to reverse-engineer the
Lemegeton practice in an ATR manner to better suit his fancy. Obeah is Obeah and
Solomonic Magic is Solomonic Magic. Although private practice may evolve in
similar fashions in many ways, the Magister Officiorum tells a tale of rigorous
traditional practice that is respected thoroughly and then worked to one's needs.

In reading a modern-day grimoire we do not only get a glimpse in the mind and soul
workings of a contemporary practitioner, but we can also trace the model and
backbone of other works akin to it.

Many grimoires, such as the Elements of Pseudo-Abano, The Key of Pseudo-Solomon and
the Books of Pseudo-Moses have been transmitted to us with a varying degree of
fidelity, but with smaller and often disregarded experiments, minor rites and
practices. Without being exterior to them, these rites are often original creations
of the author or scribe that worked the system and are included in his Liber
Officiorum (book of rites) in order to be rendered effective. As well as we can
witness in the case of Frederick Hockley, Ody`s book chronicles just such examples
of minor workings or rites brought about by his experiences in the practical
application of the system. At least one example, the Image of Frimost, is strangely
reminiscent of the work On Images of Zael (Sahl ibn Bishr) in it`s direction and
detail. All well and good if it weren't for the fact that I did not publish this
translation anywhere to this date.
The Sefer Mafteach Shlomo, the Munich Handbook and the Florentine Manual are filled
with such experiments that baffle the academics: they seem to be related textually
to the grimoire proper and share a paradigm with the rest, but they have no
previous sources or textual occurrences. Where do they come from and who authored
them? Magister Officiorum answers this very question and takes us through the
mindset of the practitioner much as it functioned 400 or 500 years ago, a truly
remarkable exercise in cognitive anthropology.

Minus Points: Apart from minor errors (such as The Munich Handbook being called
Colorno 849 instead of CLM 849), the book does not contain errors as I see it. This
being said, it`s practice-oriented and the rigorous academic researcher will not be
provided with copious footnotes regarding the pages on which the cited information
is given in the work mentioned. Also, my profession as a bookbinder begs me to
lament one detail: the book as an object by itself is not practically designed, but
aesthetically: it opens with difficulty. This is due to three reasons: 1. the paper
is thick, and although it has a luscious and pleasant feel, it tends to remain
rigid. 2. The spine is straight and thick, as most hardbacks produced today and
cannot afford much flexibility and 3. although the book is sewn in signatures, the
hot glue used to fasten it was put on copiously in the thought that it might be
more resistant. Any binder knows that the lesser glue we have on a spine the more
flexible it will be and the more glue we put on the more resistance it will have to
being opened flat.

Plus Points: although not academically inclined, Ody`s recommended reading list is
packed with serious works on the subject he delves into, with critical editions by
Joseph Peterson, Stephen Skinner, Daniel Harms, Richard Kieckhefer and Ioannis
Marathakis. The writing manner is concise, straightforward, practical and with no
modern conceptual additions to the traditional material (unnecessary kabbalistic
interpretations, spiritual speculations or guided and/or induced visualisation. The
book itself, apart from the issue of opening flat, is beautifully executed,
Singer`s illustrations are clear and well drawn, the proportions beautifully chosen
and the gilding kept to an elegant minimum.

All in all, a must-read for any researcher that can gather the strength to admit
that magic is not a long-dead discipline to be studied from old books but a
tradition that has been practiced without interruption from the very first
manuscripts of it`s seminal works to the more recent endeavors of contemporary
studious practitioners.

Scarlet Imprint: Magister Officiorum

Glitch Bottle interview: Stepping into the Circle

Julio`s Blog: Crossing Sun

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