Behind closed doors and between black and white pillars, generations of magicians sought to understand the hidden architecture of the Universe.In Literary Necromancer: Magicians and Temples, Melissa Seims ventures into the rich and often overlooked history of Britain’s magical traditions.Drawing upon more than twenty years of research — and her own experience as a practising occultist — she explores the people, rituals, symbols and extraordinary spaces through which Western magic was preserved, transformed and passed on.From the Golden Dawn and the mysteries of Rosicrucianism to alchemy, initiation, and the intersections between ceremonial magic and modern Witchcraft, these essays follow a web of influence stretching across generations. Along the way we encounter Doreen Valiente, Gerald Gardner, Margaret Bruce, Thomas Henry Pattinson, and the unforgettable John Upton, as well as near-forgotten magicians whose traces survive in letters, notebooks, ritual objects and long-hidden archives.The journey eventually leads north to the rediscovery of artefacts from Bradford’s Victorian Golden Dawn Temple Horus No. 5, the remarkable temples of the August Order of Light, and a magical inheritance that remained quietly in private hands for more than a century.Part occult history, part personal journey and part historical resurrection, this is literary necromancing: following the light left behind by magicians, and opening the doors on their near-forgotten temples.Also included for the first time in print is 'Undine' a fictional short story by Israel Regardie. Read more
