Coming at you from the Illuminates of Thanateros Section in the United States, Wetzel pulls no punches in this his first work. Liber LLL is an extension of the basic magical practices outlined over two decades ago by Peter Carroll in Liber Null. The present work develops many of the these the same way as the Carroll original but with some new twists and more than a few neat developments. Wetzel develops some nice ideas on how to achieve lucid dreaming, discusses first hand observations on the effects of different methods of achieving gnosis and more. There are some useful techniques suggested for layering occult techniques to produce maximum effect, notes on the dos-and don’ts of working with servitors, and an exegesis of the eight rays of chaos magick as defined by Carroll in Liber Kaos. Overall Liber LLL amplifies and puts Wetzel’s own spin on these concepts, a spin which is highly ‘goal oriented’ with the emphasis on the magician as striving individual.
Liber Ventum was, for me, even more interesting when Wetzel steps out from the shadow of Carroll’s work and begins to create his own grimoire. The second section of The Paradigmal Pirate kicks off with an exploration of how to pirate ideas from other groups, getting in (to the coven/lodge/church), getting some useful techniques and how to get out. This Machiavellian approach continues with the excellent suggestion about using children’s games as the basic form for rituals (with a few suggestions), a look at open handed magick and a generous spattering of other techniques.
The good thing about this book overall, and about Liber Ventum in particular, is that these techniques certainly appear to be ones that the author himself has tried in the field. The overall approach is certainly highly results oriented, with little material being devoted to detailed theorizing and none to a broader contextualization of the work of the magician. In some ways this follows the (early) Peter Carroll school of though with the emphasis on invoking demons that are ‘bigger, faster, harder’. Of course in trying to be seriously hard core Wetzel does sometimes throw the baby of metaphysical out with the bath-water of belief (his writing in the section on ‘Introducing the Factor of Risk’ gets caught in the cull-de-sac of post-modernist relativism). But, when all is said and done, the energy of the author burns brightly and this would certainly be a book that every results magician should become familiar with.
Highly recommended for people into the Chaos current, accessible and ideal for scaring your elderly Wiccan granny (the section on trafficking with the goetia makes some of Uncle Crowley’s antics look positively restrained!). Excellent stuff.
Review by JSV
Softcover
2001
Limited Edition of 500 numbered copies
150 pages
$18.00
