(Meme of author E.A. Koetting – source: EA Koetting Memes Facebook page)
Yesterday my old 9 year old post on Facebook came up in the memories section and I realized that what I was saying back then still applies today, so I decided to write an article about what I was talking there. Be aware that this article contains foul language and contains many quotes from Facebook posts that might not be interesting at some point. I wanted to say this from the beginning so I wont bore you with old posts and comments if it’s not your thing.
For many years I’ve been an adversary of bad occult literature, especially that sold at high prices, and I tried to educate people into quality reading material. On Facebook, people know me as the mf who doesn’t tolerate huge prices for bad books. In my former private/closed Facebook group “Occult Book Collectors” I used to have a very strict rule regarding this.
I’d like to explain my position and the reasons why I’m so against this new form of occult publishing and occult literature.
I believe it all started with the publisher Ixaxaar, many years ago (I can’t remember when they first appeared), when they started publishing authors like E.A. Koetting, charging lots of money for their books which were limited editions. They were producing limited editions with so-called deluxe bindings for authors which, at that time, were not even known, these were their first books ever, so basically nobody knew who these writers are, how knowledgeable they are, what their background is etc. Some of the books published by Ixaxaar were good, like those of Jeremy Christner for example. However, they were still new authors, the books were small, the binding was actually cheap and badly made and the prices were high. Nevertheless, Ixaxaar managed to become a very important publisher back in the day and it’s still very appreciated by many people today. They had a good marketing technique that attracted a lot of people who were intrigued by this underground writing club, delivering books quite different from what it was on the market at that time, and the way they described the books was also very intelligent, making the buyer very curious about them and their products.
After the success of Ixaxaar, other publishers started using the same technique of limited “deluxe” editions of books at high prices, the market was flooded by titles by peculiar authors.
After many titles were sold out, people started to take advantage of this and started selling their copies of sold-out titles at huge prices. The books of E.A. Koetting were probably the most sought after and the most expensive as well. So the occult book market became something luxurious, but not for the classical masterpieces nor the highly acclaimed academic studies, but for some obscure books with weird titles, sigils and of course, “promises”. And here is the problem.
The titles that were being sold at high prices were actually bad from about all points of view. The content was full of nonsense, the bindings were cheap, the printing was bad. Basically, people were selling dreams to the naive, and became a business that was ripping people off.
While the serious writers were struggling to make a buck out of their titles, which were sold at decent prices for normal hardcopy or paperback available for anyone interested in LEARNING, the false prophets of the Left Hand Path were selling their bullshit A LOT. Ebay and Facebook occult book markets were filled with these offers. However, I always tried to explain to people what they are actually buying and I was even trying to stop this, helping people not to be ripped off. I had a Facebook page called Modern Occult Books which eventually turned into Timeless Occult Literature where I tried to promote the serious and valuable occult literature, but it was useless. People were looking for fancy books with fancy titles, not for serious content.
Here’s a quick review of post-Ixaxaar/post-Koetting/
(random invented titles)
Kult ov Ahriman
Order ov Kaos
Black Flame of the Cursed Snake
Black Book of the Cursed Snake
Black Rite of the Cursed Snake
Black Mascara of the Cursed Snake
+24125- (wtf?!)
The Forbidden Gnosis of..
The Infernal Gnosis of..
The Explicit and Parental Advisory Gnosis of…
aaaaand, the real titles:
The Infernal Path Crown of Flames
Volubilis Ex Chaosium
Sacerdotivm Vmbrae Mortis
The Divine Black Flame of Satan
The Book of Sassstia
Liber Spirituale Rapax – Book of Predatory Spiritualism
The Devil’s Grimoire: A System of Psychic Attack
Sekhem Apep: Typhonian Vampyre Magick
The Unholy Rites of the Black Church
The Magic of the Dark Lord Seth
VIA SINIESTRA: Under The Masks Ov The Red Gods
Book 75 or The Perfect Black Flame
Draconian Consciousness: The Book of Divine Madness
and the list goes on…. One recent title that made me laugh was “Codex Putrefactio Nigra: The Canaanite’s Book of Death” by Zulqarnayn XIII. I also forgot to mention that even the names of the authors were… well, funny.
The books were mostly a blend of systems, like blending the modern Qliphoth with many other traditions, or simply new invented systems with invented sigils and invented rituals of unknown authors claiming to bring your power and whatever else. We are talking about 80-120 page books filled with questionable rituals and sigils, little historical information or deformed historical information, which were sold at high prices.
So to sum it up, the new LHP current was and is led by some very unoriginal people who lack imagination and creativity. Using the same words, same style, same ideas, with almost the same image: Weird invented sigils of weird invented demons, all in black and white. Good thing is, at least they got over the red and black period.
In the post I made 9 years ago (April 2016) I put a simple question: “Are you aware of the bullshit you are reading/writing/believing/following?”
So people ask me, if Koetting, Michael W. Ford, Nestor Avalos, Edgar Kerval, S Ben Qayin and the like are not my cup-of-Jaggermeister, then who is? Well, S. Connolly, Thomas Karlsson, Jeremy Christner, Stephen Flowers, Brother Nero (yep, him!), Order of Nine Angles etc.
Maybe I’m too picky? Why?
First of all, because they haven’t published a 100 page book in leather which is now sold at revolting prices. And because their information is a bit more historically accurate. BUT !!!… but…. of course, they all have flaws. Nobody is perfect, no occult book is perfect. But there are good ones and bad ones. I know people find Connolly very suspicious with her Dukante hierarchy and old grimoires, as well as the invented sigils and the enns. I know Karlsson is accused of inventing modern Qliphoth system or following Kenneth Grant in this matter, I know that Brother Nero is considered limited and too religious, I know ONA is so messed up because of some of the nexions that went too far with the extremist mentality… but! Connolly for example actually made a good research when writing her books, at least where she is talking about demonic hierarchies, and those parts which are not considered to be her inventions are actually real historical information, Karlsson did in fact study qlipphoth from the likes of Gershom Scholem and he has a PhD in Religious Studies, Brother Nero is a religious leader and his mission is to preach, and he is one of the people who actually introduced real Satanism to the world after Church of Satan. As for Christner… I think Christner would be a long debate, and so would Stephen Flowers.
Connolly and Karlsson brought some fresh air, like the Golden Dawn did back in the days. They may not be 100% traditional, but at least they are logical and honest. I myself have worked successfully with Connolly’s Dukante hierarchy and system of magic, but I don’t need to say that it worked, you can say the same about Koetting making you a living god. Unfortunately, after Karlsson’s book “Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic” (which we could say it has become a classic now) which was first published in 2004, a whole new movement started regarding the Qliphoth and Sitra Achra, some of them being ok and some being utterly stupid. A new book on Sitra Achra, namely “Sefer-ha Sitra Achra” by A.D. Mercer came to bring some sense and order in the chaos that has become on this subject.
Stephanie Connolly is a writer that I respect to a certain degree (though I have lots of things against her as well)… for various reasons. The first reason would be the fact that she is direct and clear and speaks in a way that even a guy from Kazakhstan would understand. The second, is that she made her way and her name respected by publishing lots of books at reasonable prices without anybody’s help. Third, she actually brought something NEW. Fourth, most of the times she gives her sources (except the mysterious demonolatry grimoires) and the sources are good. Oh, and she’s not affiliated to any black metal band hahah. However, the number of small books she keeps writing shows a desire to make money and not exclusively to educate. We are being bombarded by her titles. She writes a book for every subject: Demonic Pacts, Demonic Possession, Demonic Prayer, Demonic this, Demonic that. These are chapbooks that don’t go beyond 60 pages, but at least she has the decency of asking a good price for these. And I respect that.
She also wrote a rant back in 2014 about the future of esoteric publishing, so in this case I think it’s good to know her thoughts about the subject we’re discussing. However, her post is no longer available for some reason, but you can find it though internet archive here:
(it will take some time to load, but it will load eventually and it’s worth waiting)
I was actually discussing with her this whole idea of deluxe limited edition crazy business, and these are her words:
“I ventured into the realm of limited edition hardcovers under extreme duress. I will tell you this – the market is so saturated that those folks who think they’re going to get rich writing occult books, or publishing them, will be sadly disappointed. And yeah – I don’t understand the $150 anthology. For the record, with occult anthologies the ONLY payment authors usually receive is a free copy, bragging rights, and exposure. The people who make money are the publisher and the editor.
Also, a lot of times the author gets screwed over by the publisher of said limited edition hardcovers. That’s why you see so many authors jump publishers. It’s a cut throat business and like all publishing, the author is often the one who is paid the least.
Books have to earn out their production costs before the author sees a single cent and authors are at the mercy of the publisher’s honesty and accounting. Not all publishers are bad, mind you, but since anyone can become a publisher with a few thousand bucks to invest, not everyone is honest or qualified to run a business.
I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call them mafia, but pimps — absolutely. Writers are their whores.
Without us they couldn’t exist, but they try to convince us that we need them more than they need us.”
Here she was referring to a post that I wrote back in July 2014 that I will simply copy-paste here from my Facebook (and please excuse the foul language of the 24 year old that I was):
“What-the-fuck-is-happening?! Can anyone rationally explain to me?!
Who the fuck would pay 150$ or 225$ for a book written by unknown authors?! What the fuck is it with these publishers and people buying these books at such high prices?! 69 editions in Blood Offering Crimson Finish… what the fuck is that?!
Please excuse my vocabulary, but this is getting really really revolting! Do these people even know how to appreciate money and quality?!
I swear… I will write a 100 page book soon and I can bet with you all I’ll have it published in human skin, signed with the blood of a virgin and ritually put it under the protection of the Four Kings of Hell….. in approx. 1 month after the release I expect to have followers swearing it’s authentic shit, powerful enough to bring upon the Destruction of Mankind.
They sell “Three books of Agrippa” at 34$ and “Picatrix” at 30$ on amazon. They sell “Corpus Hermeticum Mead Edition” at 7$ !!!!! And you give me this SHIT at 150$ ?! Are you out of your mind?!
I thought that the kitsch is proliferated only in the music industry and Hollywood. I never expected that the occult community would turn into such a shameless money-robbing mafia! Because theoretically that’s what it is: A mafia. People promising you authentic stuff at high prices and in fact giving you toilet paper bound in horse-cock skin.
Why don’t they republish the classics and make them deluxe editions? Classics that are out of print!
Let the no-namers work for their money! Let them write at least one book of at least 200 pages, publish it on lulu.com and let the public decide it’s authenticity ! When they become classics and have been approved by the majority that they are genuine and actually do have powerful rituals, only then they are worthy of a deluxe edition and such a price.
Also, most of the “Deluxe Editions” and “Leather Editions” are so badly bound that anyone could make such bindings. This was actually the opinion of a real book binder who brought books from such publishers. They don’t even use real leather !
Maybe I’ll start sounding like grandpa, but “back in my days” authors were publishing their work on lulu.com at reasonable prices. Stephanie Connolly is one of those people that actually worked for it. Though her material is debated weather it is authentic or not, at least she didn’t ask for such prices! And she actually wrote more than 300 pages in a book, not 100!”
Additionally in the comments I said that “maybe I’m not up-to-date with today’s writers. I can’t afford buying all the Deluxe Editions that are being published every week. Unfortunately, I’m not a millionaire. I could be wrong, of course. Maybe they wrote other 100 page books and charged hundreds of dollars, but I couldn’t afford to buy such valuable knowledge. For that, I admit my fault… With 150$ an average Romanian can buy food for about 2-3 weeks. With 150$ an average Romanian can party like an animal for at least two days straight!”
Ironically, Eamonn Loughran, the man behind Hell Fire Club Books who has later scammed people, taking their money and not sending the books, wrote in a comment saying “sadly many of these ‘left hand path’ productions are total crap, badly written, ill-conceived, laughably bad all round. Yes the ‘leathers’ are in fact fake. I myself did a fine binding for one of these ‘publishers’ he then started issuing fake leather books to trade on the good name he had gained from using my studio! I must say i think that the use of the term ‘esoteric’ by many of these people is entirely misunderstood, what is sad is that a generation of newcomers will be entirely misguided by them. We have seen the rise of the sci-fi/wargamer occult obsessed dork, will we see the fall of the magician? It’s a point worth thinking on”.
The good thing about Eamonn and Hell Fire Club Books is that he publishes important and classic works and does a fine job with the bindings, and those who want to be cautious about not being scammed by ordering on his website can get some of his titles from Miskatonic Books.
And no, I don’t have anything against Deluxe Editions. What could I have against a deluxe copy of Agrippa, Trithemius all the way to Gershom Scholem or the like? Publishing a Deluxe Edition of a new, unknown author is like dressing a homeless guy in Armani suit and trying to convince people he’s a politician. At the moment I have 23 deluxe editions and two others on their way, that makes it 25. But at the same time I have lots of academic books that are also high priced, due to the high level of study and exclusive material published. And, speaking of academic books at high prices, this article should be of interest: https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/sep/04/academics-are-being-hoodwinked-into-writing-books-nobody-can-buy
I would personally boycott so that Ixaxaar and the like would stop printing anything, not just reprinting, as this”occult publisher” has nothing to do with either binding or writings, just publishing whatever people’s minds cook over the night.
Lets have an exercise of imagination: “Timmy is a sad young man. He was not too famous among the kids of his age, and now he wants revenge. Thus, he decides to write some fantasy which will later be labeled as occult, so it could sell. He gives it a weird name, wraps that 90 page fantasy in a fancy yet bad binding and puts it on sale for a big price and limited edition to trick people into thinking that what he wrote is THE deal, that his little fantasy is pure spiritual wisdom gathered in his 20 years of life and 5 years of study. Timmy is now happy. He has sold 20 limited editions of his fantasy and his name has become respected among idiots. Timmy is happy. Ixaxaar is happy. Idiots are happy. The end.”
I apologize for that, but this pro-“deluxe” bindings have got too far and it made me lose my patience. And even if the bindings were awful, at least the content should be acceptable in order to charge such big prices. I wouldn’t care if the binding was awful, if they published a great translation of, lets say, a Faustian grimoire that was never translated into english. So… do we buy and give our money for bindings or for books? You know there are also fake books that can make your library look nice, but have nothing on their pages.
In January 2018 I made another controversial post regarding one of Aeon Sophia Press releases, called “The Book of Devotional Service to the Dark King of Flame: Lucifer” and asked “how stupid can someone be, to pay so much for such a piece of shit?”
Jeremy Christner, the only author published by Ixaxaar that I like, wrote to that post saying: “It’s certainly a verbose title, but that’s not uncommon in this milieu, for better or worse. Have you read it, by chance?” to which I replied “I don’t have €45,00 plus transport taxes to spare for such a thing to read, nor the time. We’re talking about some made up prayers which anyone can do for himself (or I’m wrong, and this is actually the standard prayer for evoking Lucifer, of which nobody knew until now).”
We exchanged the following comments:
Christner:
“I generally give fellow Luciferians the benefit of the doubt regarding their sincerity, even if their modes lack the subtlety I find befitting of the path. If indeed their work is derivative and intends only to cash in on the huge financial rewards of writing such niche material (the financial rewards are inversely proportional to the degree of sober sincerity — you may be able to derive my meaning by reading between the lines there), then it’ll ultimately come back to bite them. Then again, they could be as inspired as we, but find themselves articulating that inspiration in a way we may not ourselves do.
One credit the gentleman deserves at the very least: these appear to be wholly religious books, not making charlatan claims of great powers awaiting the buyer or being packed from cover to cover with black curse rituals and the like.”
Me:
“You are right that these are religious books, and that is why I don’t understand the price. Anyone, or almost anyone can write down some prayers (yes, honest and powerful prayers) here and there, some can even write down some rituals… but lets be honest, they were not written by a famous and historical figure, they were written be someone like you and me. If a prayer book costs €45,00, then how much should a 3-4 year research and academic study be worth? I know, the price is also because of the binding (which, again, is quite a rip-off if you ask me. it’s justa simple leather binding, not the masterpiece of a bookbinder)… Imagine this: If everyone started writing 50 page books with “deluxe bindings”, all costing around 40-50 euros, how much money should I earn in order to buy them, read them and give my personal opinion? Just my 2 cents.. I exaggerated calling it “a piece of shit”, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not mad to pay that much for a few pages with prayers.”
Christner:
“Although I may instinctively agree in a knee-jerk sense, I understand that it’s not an informed instinct, for a few reasons. Having not read the gentleman’s work, I can’t make a determination on his value as an author. So to continue thinking that the work wasn’t worth the asking price I’d be relying on my judgment of what seems an excessively grandiose title coupled with the knowledge that his work isn’t widely circulated (argumentum ad populum?). How well his previous title(s) sold isn’t a very good measure. Many great authors sold an unfortunate few copies while they lived, only to gain considerable traction after death. For those authors that do/did become popular, they’re all doing something that anyone else can do: research and regurgitate. The fact that a book of prayers is something that anyone is capable of producing doesn’t mean an extant example of the same isn’t valuable. Most of us can do things, but it’s a question of if we choose to, and how well executed the product is in the end.
It seems the issue you take with him is ascribable to me as well: Lanterns is a book of scriptural verses, prayers, and the like, that was issued in a hardcover of less than 100 pages, and it sold for considerably more than the book we’re talking about. The chief difference? Boomsma’s title has only been made available in a somewhat dearly priced hardcover without an entry level/budget option made available. $55 (45 euro) is fair for a short run of finely bound books constructed of sewn signatures, but something worth saying is worth being made available to more than just the well-to-do, which is why I’ve always produced lower priced softcover editions. And although I’ve only encountered a few, I’m sure I’ve no shortage of detractors out there in occult book land.
In any case, I’m afraid you’ve misinterpreted my attempt at dialog as offense. I don’t know if you have any formal academic training in philosophy, but if a philosopher argues with you, it’s not necessarily a slight; it’s often a compliment. It means you’re well enough respected that somebody thinks that not only can you handle opposing views without becoming offended, but that you can consider them well enough to rationally defend your own in counter.”
I admit that the author didn’t promise great powers as others did with their books, but it was after all a prayer book put on sale for €45,00 plus shipping, which would easily mean a total of €65 at least. It did not contain material from which I could learn something new and that would help me in a way, not more than the free prayers available on the many LHP websites. And, as I expected, this book did not become a classic but it was long forgotten. Maybe if we follow Christner’s logic, we’ll have to wait until the writer dies to see if this book becomes valuable, but I doubt it will. Also, I don’t know why Christner thought I was offended.
The next day I made a new post to better explain myself:
“It seems that my last post offended some people which I didn’t want to offend. First of all, I’m sorry for exaggerating with calling the book “a piece of shit”, especially since I haven’t read it.
What I wanted to say is what I always said about such books: In order for a book to be sold at a high price, it must be worth that price. A 50-80-100 page book with prayers or rituals made up by you will never, ever be as valuable as a book with prayers or rituals written by a historical figure (Agrippa, Paracelsus, Papus, whoever you want… you got the idea). Those people earned their position in our history for the things they have accomplished, for the ways they have contributed to occult literature, history, practice, and so on.
If a book by an unknown writer is bound in leather and sold at 45, 50 or 60 euros, then how much should a classic work such as “Three Books of Occult Philosophy” by Agrippa, “Archidoxes of Magic” by Paracelsus, “The Twelve Keys” by Basil Valentine and the like, bound in leather, should be worth? I mean, look at Ouroboros Press, their titles, their bindings and their prices, and then look at Aeon Sophia Press, their titles/autors, their bindings and their prices. I hope you understand now.
“The Book of Devotional Service to the Dark King of Flame: Lucifer” is by no means a classic, or something that would make history in occultism. The binding is in no way a special binding, it’s just a very very simple leather binding, not the masterpiece of a bookbinder. I’ve went to a bookbinder and he bound me a book with 21 euros/26 dollars, and it looks the same as “The Book of Devotional..”
Using pompous words or old English to give it “some mystery” doesn’t make it any better (I’ve seen in the pictures of this book that the author uses words like “appeareth”), just like Koetting’s “poetry books” didn’t impress serious practitioners.
Anyone, or almost anyone can write down some prayers (yes, honest and powerful prayers) here and there, some can even write down some rituals. If everyone started publishing 50 page books at the price of 45 euros, how much money should I be earning in order to afford reading them all, so that I could give a review? I should be a millionaire! If such a book is being sold at 45 euros, then how much would a 3-4 year academic research/study bound in leather be worth? Or like I said, a classical text bound in leather. See my point?
Btw, it seems that the author of “The Book of Devotional Service to the Dark King of Flame: Lucifer” is also the author of “Psalterium Sathanas”. This was published a few years ago, if I remember correctly…. was that book a masterpiece? Did it change the occult world in any way? Yes? No? well…..
This is, and will always be my position. I will always be honest, even if it hurts some people. Unfortunately, my last post hurt some people I respect, but it’s still my opinion and I haven’t changed it.”
Another old post which I can’t find anymore on Facebook but I found it in an old Word .doc is about the publishing of “Compendium Rarrisium”, also by Aeon Sophia Press. My problem was that it was basically a printing of the original held by Wellcome Library, free for everyone. It was not translated, it was not edited, not commented etc. It was just copy-pasted and put into a cheap binding and sold for no less than €85 + shipping, which would mean €105 at least for me to get it. The book is now sold at €62, so instead of becoming more expensive over time it became cheaper and I don’t see people discussing about it, trying to find a copy or anything. But anyway, here’s what I wrote back then:
“Alright, so people are dumb, I was aware of that. People are thieves, i was aware of that too…. although I’ve been aware of these things for a loooong time, it always seems to amaze me.
Most of you know my opinions on publishers such as Aeon Sophia Press and “deluxe” bindings, but this time I think it has gone too far.
So, basically, these dudes and dudettes took off a free manuscript with no copy right, printed it and bound it in some pathetic way and they are selling it for 85 euros (plus shipping). It isn’t translated, annotated and it isn’t even bound in a special way (a professional bookbinder would look at this with disgust). Even so, they are charging for 85 euros. The saddest part is that people are already excited about this and plan to pay that sum of money.
Basically, anyone can do what Aeon Sophia Press has done and get much cheaper. I have the complete manuscript in high quality, all I need to do is print the pages and take them to a friend who also happens to be a bookbinder. And there! I’d have the same thing, only with 20 euros instead of 85 and with a much better binding.
I’m honestly disgusted by these things and how people in the occult community can be so unscrupulous with their fellow ‘occult friends’.
There has been a long and intense debate over my fb group Occult Book Collectors for that fact that I don’t allow people selling shit copies from unknown authors at over 150$. I have a conscience. For some unknown reason, I care about people that I haven’t even met, but I care probably because i hate seeing people being ripped off for a book that is just ‘out of print’ or ‘deluxe edition binding in horse cock skin’.”
These kind of rants have kept coming over the years, one was about S Ben Qayin, the guy with mascara on who was selling his personal copy of “Volubillis Ex Chaosium” (another title nobody talked ever since) for a huge price, and when I confronted him about this he simply blocked me so I told him that “being a great author and magus” he should be able to come with an argument, not block people, and recommended him to get a real job if he really needs money, or study for 20 years and write a real book. Like I kept saying, in order to charge big money for something it needs to be quality stuff, and quality in books means effort and study. Personally, I am ashamed to declare I’m into LHP or rather that I was into LHP, because of people like him, like Koetting and many others, because they give others the impression that LHP is some kind of black metal musicians doing rituals after drinking 10 beers and burping.
To give an ending and a conclusion to this article, I would say that not much has changed since 2014, at least in the LHP community and publishing. There’s a lot of material or the Qliphoth, on Qayin, on Vampyrism and people who still think that Vlad The Impaler[1] was some kind of dark lord instead of a devout Christian who built churches and monasteries but happened to have a rather “unconventional” way of dealing with enemies (we are talking about the Middle Ages, after all).
As a person interested in the LHP, I no longer feel that I belong there, and I prefer to keep to myself all I know and try to search in more serious places the things that I don’t know, instead of wasting big sums of money on such books.
[1] A good source of information of Vlad Tepes can be found here with English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/@CorpusDraculianum/videos
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