How About NO!

I tried to be nice. I really did. I know the Gallery of Magick is popular, and can often be among the first books new seekers encounter. And, let’s face it, we all find simplistic and silly books about the occult in our early studies. I didn’t want to discourage sincere students by bashing the very books that first sparked their interest in Western Esotericism. Even if it’s watered-down occultism, at least it isn’t on par with frauds and posers like Stephanie Connelly-Riser and E.A. Koetting…

Well… at least I used to think that way about it. Now, however, I have read Magickal Destiny by “Damon Brand.” Not only is this the worst book I have ever read about the Holy Guardian Angel (TBF – this book is NOT about the Holy Guardian Angel at all), but it now holds the unique position of the worst book on magick I have ever read.

Let’s set aside the fact I do not believe a “Damon Brand” even exists. I would accuse him of being an AI – but I honestly think AI could write a better book on the occult. The AI wouldn’t come across as this soulless, this uneducated, this biased against anything real, and this adept at marketing over magick. If we set all of that aside – the pages of this book are only useful if you need kindling.

I have to admit, reading “Damon Brand” is kind of nostalgic for me. Not because I began with these books (thank the Gods, my biggest obstacle was 1990s-era Llewellyn – and they were, at that time, the Library of Alexandria compared to the tripe we’re talking about in this review!), but because they have much the same feel as an old Scheuler Enochian book. That is, the chapter titles look good when you browse the book before purchasing it, but there is absolutely zero content in said chapters. It’s nothing but page after page of what the “author” thinks about magick – and even that is repeated over and again ad nauseum just to pad out the length.

And what are those thoughts, brothers and sisters? What kind of adepthood can we expect from “Brand”? Why, we can expect to be told – over and over and over again – how all of the traditional techniques of magick just fail, all the time. They require a ton of work and dedication – both of which this author is staunchly against! – and in the end they probably won’t work for you anyway.

Well thank God “Damon Brand” is here to save the day! He says we can achieve all of our goals and dreams without stupid things like work, dedication, study, practice, and (worst of all!) self-discipline! Why work for hours upon hours, months upon months, to achieve adepthood when you can just scrawl this sigil onto some notebook paper and stare at it for a few minutes and – viola! – you’re a master!

I spent most of this book waiting on Brand to get to a point of some kind – especially after the dozenth time he assures the reader that real books of magick are pointless. He finally gets to the practical stuff in the final couple of chapters – and what do we behold there? A series of newage “protocols” that amount to nothing more than “think happy thoughts”, followed by a bunch of meaningless “Enochian Sigils” that are stated to grant you entry into the Enochian Ethers (newsflash – they do nothing of the sort!). And, somehow, sitting and staring at these sigils for a few minutes each will grant you Knowledge and Conversation with your Holy Guardian Angel. (Updated news flash – it won’t!)

Nothing this book has to say about the Holy Guardian Angel is correct. Nothing it says about Enochian magick is correct. (And, I shouldn’t really have to point out, the Abramelin and Enochian Traditions have nothing whatsoever to do with one another!) The “author” (be it an AI or a marketing team) has no magical experience, no magical knowledge, and his main goal (well, second to separating you from your cash) seems to be stopping you from ever achieving any results or success in your magical practice.

These books hardly qualify as mental masturbation. They have the same “authority” behind them as a Riser Demonolatry book (that is – we have to accept the author is some kind of authority, but we aren’t “allowed” to know or see their credentials – because they have none). There is not one single word in this book that has the slightest value in your occult path. (And I’m including articles here! If he used the word “the”, it was wrong!) The Gallery of Magick isn’t a simple-if-silly series of books for beginners – it’s a barrier to entry. A net to catch LARPers.

Yes, I know there are many of you reading this who began with the GoM books – and you are sincere seekers. As a beginner, you can’t know what is nonsense intended to distract you and what is the real thing. So, you have to rely on guys like me to say something, to give you a warning when something is either wasting your time or actively harming you. So, I am saying it now (and I should have said it years ago) – Gallery of Magick is one of those obstacles. Keep your money in your pocket for stuff you need, don’t hand it over to a con-artist.