I’ve decided, for the
sake of my ultimate audience
(i.e., me, in
a future life), to do a list of divergences with the descriptions of magick
(aka “dweomer”) and ritual in
Katharine
Kerr’s magnificent
Deverry series.
I like the
descriptions of magick, which I can relate to from my experience of the
Western
Mystical Tradition (mainly Hermeticism,
particularly as it came through to Wicca),
but Ms Kerr states that she got her material from British Revival
Rosicrucianism (which I understand derived its material
from Hermeticism), and she is well-informed enough to credit authors such
as
Frances
Yates (who I’ve tried to read, but
found her biography of Giordano
Bruno an extremely heavy academic work so I went back to my usual sources).
In any case, she is clearly well informed –
authoritatively so, in fact – and accurate in her portrayal of
a particular style of magick, a style which – with some modifications she talks of - is appropriate
for the premise of her series, although different to my work
(which is part of the basis of my comments).
In fact, the extent that I agree with what she has described is such that it
shorter and easier to write about what I disagree with, rather than trying to
detail what I agree with
(on the other
hand, I am contemplating doing something similar for Jim Butcher’s Dresden series, but will probably do that the other way round: it will be
shorter to write about what I agree). I particularly agree with concepts
such as “folding light upon itself to create physical”, and gathering light /
energy before doing an energetic working – which is like astral feeding, or a
nonphysical version of physical deep breaths.
The other, even more
compelling, attraction for me is the use of dweomer to bring peace. It’s a
fictional story, and the magick in it is not the way I work, but I find that
aspect of the series inspiring and rejuvenating whenever I need a pick-me-up
for my Psychic Weather Reports and other work.
So, here goes – and
this will take some time to write, as I’ll be re-reading the entire 15 book
series again, and I keep getting distracted by the writing and forget to stay
detached, so I’ll just have to keep re-reading until I get this article done
correctly … :)
Incidentally, in
doing this article, as with so much that I do, I am keeping in mind my ultimate
audience: me, in future incarnations.
Act I
(Deverry): Book One - Daggerspell (overall sequence – book No. 1)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Voyager, pub. 1996, ISBN 0 00 648224 4)
- my first comment here is actually a point of very strong agreement: that the ONLY valid reason
to seek metaphysical knowledge / strength / “power” is in order to serve (p. 110 of my copy; I also agree with the
pre-life descriptions in the prologue – and the importance of choices being
made freely). Sadly, I also find the description of people avoiding magick –
the path of dweomer in the books – to be very real, having made that mistake
myself earlier in life, and having now seen many other people also make that
mistake – some of whom think they haven’t, because of a notional involvement);
- the extent of responsibility that Prince
Galrion / Nevyn (no apologies for you
having to read the books to understand some of this review: you can always
borrow them from a library) takes on for the events in Deverry Year 643 is,
in my opinion, excessive and, in fact, arrogant:
- his father, King Adoryc has
responsibility for being so small minded – well, bigoted - about magick
(“dweomer”) and non-traditional paths for males that he drove his son into
sneaking around;
- Gerraent let his unhealthy lust
rule his mind (or, as they would have put
it, his “honour”);
- and Brangwen made some bad choices – and allowed
her emotions to take her into insanity, when she fled taking responsibility by
committing suicide (that comment applies ONLY to the context of this FICTIONAL
story – real life suicides are a complex situation where many people have
responsibility and also deserve compassion, generally);
(some
of this comes out later – not just in this book, but others – the problem of
Nevyn’s residual princely arrogance);
- the secrecy around reincarnation (which is, incidentally, different to the Buddhist
concept of rebirth)
is not justified, as things are these
days in most of the Western world on planet Earth. There can, however, be
reasons for caution, such as those cretins who use reincarnation and a twisted
version of karma
as an excuse to avoid taking action to help others, but the test of waiting for
someone to ask does not, in my experience, get applied to the reincarnation -
and there are a swag of books about the topic, these days. Of course, talking
about such matters in the depths of the Middle
Ages, which is effectively when these books are set, would be a very different
matter, as shown extremely powerfully in Diana
Gabaldon’s “gritty” Outlander series of books. It does,
though, to some other topics, where people have to prove their moral strength,
worth and trustworthiness before gaining access. Historically, Julius
Caesar wrote about the Druids
teaching reincarnation, but that could well have changed in the centuries since
the tribe concerned found themselves in the lands of Deverry – and Ms Kerr is
very good at postulating changes in societies over time (e.g., in her commentaries, she has clearly researched the rules
governing how words will change – including the phrase which becomes “Deverry”);
- using elementals (or, as they are termed in these books,
“Wildfolk”) is one way of doing magick – in fact, it is one of the problems
I and others have with those forms of so-called “High Magick” which look to
find and bind a spirit to accomplish a task
(e.g., Enochian Magick). There are other ways, as a read of Lyall
Watson’s brilliant book “Supernature”
(Pub. Sceptre, 1989; first printing 1986;
first pub. Hodder and Stoughton, 1973; first pub. in paperback Coronet, 1974)
will show. I also dispute that humans are meant to “rule” elementals (p. 169 of my copy), but we do have a
responsibility for all our interactions, and can help all other lifeforms
develop. The Wildfolk are possibly based on what I term “Nature
Spirits”, but my awareness of them is more along the lines of the Findhorn
experience than the British
mythology;
- it doesn’t always take years of study to
“unlock the gates to other worlds” (p.
168 of my copy);
- ensorcelling: I term this (negative psychic) control, and it
doesn’t need eye-to-eye contact, although such contact does reportedly allow hypnosis.
I also hadn’t come across other techniques for control described in the book (which I will not repeat here –just in case
they do work :) – nor will I repeat some of the other descriptions of nonBPM workings in general, unless I consider there is a valid need to do so),
and am not in a position to comment – although it seems to me the standards of grounding,
shielding (and protection generally), and (psychic) flaming would be of
benefit in resisting same;
- physical transformation: I’ve heard of this,
but never with the requirement that size be conserved. Such a constraint makes
sense in terms of the laws of physics, but I cannot comment – my experience is
of astral and shamanic transformations, which are in a different part of
reality, and thus not subject to physical constraints (i.e., when I become a dragon on, say, a shamanic journey, I’m not
around 1.6 m in length!);
- other physical effects, such as causing fire
or metal that glows when touched by a particular species: I’ve not heard of
such things, but it is a big world :) As with transformation, I’m familiar with
similar things (e.g., wards to warn of a
“negative” or disharmonious influence / energy / person / unit), but it is
the use of magick on nonphysical levels to achieve a transformation into
something better that is more use and importance to the world than being able
to achieve physical effects (cool though
the latter would be);
- needing to see someone in order to be able
to scry
them out: I can sense people more effectively if there is some sort of
connection, but haven’t experienced the described inability to scry or find someone
without seeing them first. If nothing else, I can also call on my BPM Guides
to assist in this matter but I also do this better if I have a connection to
their inherent energy signature, rather than just their physical appearance;
- “evil” magick
not being open to women: bull dust. One of the principles I live by is that
gender stereotypes are social engineering for the purposes of control, and
setting women up on a pedestal as being” pure” or “gentle” is utter rubbish –
women can be as violent as men (and EVERYONE
has a limit beyond which they will “snap”), although it generally takes the
form of violence of speech (e.g., gossip,
social inclusion / exclusion, manipulation, judging other women for appearance,
etc). Furthermore, the principle of nurturing can be accessed by men as
well as by women – and is, by some men. There are groups of men who exclude
women – notably, socially powerful groups, just as there are such groups of
women who exclude men – albeit with less mundane influence, generally. In the
world of magick, one’s gender is irrelevant – both in terms of good and bad
magick;
- the association of negativity or “evil” with
black, or darkness: I view the issue of light vs. dark more in terms of balance
and imbalance, than light or dark. in terms of colours, I consider clarity - it
is possible to have shades of dark colours (including
black) that are clear, whereas “negative” colours tend to be turgid and
unwholesome – even if they are ostensibly “bright” colours like yellow, or red,
or blue or green;
- red aura of
vegetation (p. 276 of my copy): I’ve
red elsewhere of this, but not seen it myself – for instance, when perceiving
from both physical and astral (although I’ve
not mastered etheric travel, which could be significant) I typically see trees with auras of
blue, green or gold, but the object itself seems to me to look much as it does
when seen on the physical. I suspect it depends on how one’s mind interprets
the sensations it receives, what levels one is on / looking into, and what one
expects – and, in the Middle Ages, which is where the magickal traditions Ms
Kerr drew on originated, plants were seen as “lesser” than humans (perhaps due to the insidious influence of neochristianity?), and thus were expected to show appropriate signs, such as a reddish
coloured etheric, because of red’s association with the “lowest” chakra;
- water as a barrier to etheric passage or
some entities: that hasn’t been my experience – in fact, I have used
water as a means of travel. I acknowledge that this exists in some folklore, but
I would take it with a grain of salt, and would never rely on such for
protection, although natural features do have sometimes pronounced energy
associated with them – not only running water, though;
- blood red auras of “true killers” (p. 276 of my copy): in my – psychic
and mediumship - experience, such auras
would have a pronounced fragmented appearance, and a sense of turgidity or
murkiness to most colours there: red is not necessarily predominant, and I
point out that a clear shade of red is associated with positive things,
including constructive passions – for instance, green and red may show in the
auras of good teachers;
- simulacrums for astral
travel (p. 276 of my copy): I
dispute this concept – I consider what happens is the visualisation helps shift
one’s awareness to the nonphysical body desired, and to loosen that body from
the physical body and its aura, but one does not actually create an already
existing nonphysical body;
- breaking the Silver
Cord to kill someone (p. 304 of my
copy): whilst the Silver Cord
(actually, it is multiple Cords) does part naturally at death, Lobsang Rampa has been very strong in
writing that there is no need to fear what can happen while astral travelling.
Now, I’ve had experience of being chased while astral travelling when I was
young (pre- or primary school age),
but I was able to outfly them; I’ve also had
(in my early 20s, before I started my formal training) someone create the
illusion that I was trapped underwater and unable to find the surface, but
realised what was happening and woke myself up – so I know attacks can happen.
Furthermore, I’ve read reputable sources
(e.g., Dion
Fortune) which describe someone who was supposedly killed that way. It
seems to me that it is possible, but incredibly rare and difficult to do. From
the commentary to this
film, achieving something like that may take days or weeks of effort – far
longer than one night’s sleep, and that gives time enough for people to become
aware that something is wrong, and seek help – or to, at the very least, apply
the standards of grounding,
shielding (and protection generally), and (psychic) flaming: I did, in one
other incident of psychic attack which was just the result of someone being
jealous, someone I actually liked and considered a friend (which is a good example of why I do not always / “automatically”
reflect attack energies back to the originator). In terms of the Silver
Cord(s), they are extremely robust – and, to pre-empt future comments,
infinitely extendable. Snapping the Cord(s), or overextending the Cord(s), are
matters I am strongly sceptical of. I consider it far more likely, should a
death occur while someone is either etheric or astral travelling, that
something else is responsible - e.g., allowing oneself to be frightened to
death, or as a result of weakening one’s aura (see here for suggestions on how to counter that). For another view on
Silver Cord(s), see here;
- the withering of disused talents (p. 322 of my copy): this can happen,
it is true, and often does as children start to grow up, but there are also
people who are MEANT to do psychic work and have COMMITTED to doing so before their birth, and in such cases
and a few others, such people who need to be forced to learn or acknowledge the
true Nature
of Reality or how to responsibly use psychism, disused talents do not wither
away;
- disconnection of character from one
incarnation to another (“Sharply he
reminded himself that Cullyn was no more Gerraent than he was still Prince
Galrion”; p. 355 of my copy): I disagree with this. Whilst there can and
often are major or even profound changes between incarnations, the bonds of
karma – good, as well bad – still
need to be acknowledged and, where needed, resolved.
Act I
(Deverry): Book Two - Darkspell (overall sequence – book No. 2)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Grafton, pub. 1989, ISBN 0 586 20079 7)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- that those performing “evil” magick are
physically gross or odious in some way, and do things like eat raw meat (pp. 34 – 37 of my copy): the problem
with many of the people who do harm is that they are charismatic and
attractive and, as far as diet goes,
Hitler was a vegetarian. Real life is not so obvious;
- I am surprised that Ms Kerr saw a way for a
horse Goddess like Epona
to become somehow associated with evil
(although some associations do evolve or change with time), but that may
also be part of the patriarchy in the culture she has created in her backstory.
On the other hand, if Aranrhodda
is derived from Arianrhod,
there is a complex set of myths which could lead to fear on the part of men. On
the deities generally (e.g., p. 192 of my
copy), I consider the series’ view (that
they are centres of force – as in “the light behind the gods”) to have some
validity, but to be a little simplistic: Rampa’s explanation of a hierarchical
series of Manus
also applies, as does my concept that each Deity enables
something to be brought into manifestation;
- holding aura in tight to reduce visibility (p. 209 of my copy): I haven’t tried
this, but have had some limited success with stilling thoughts and emotions as
much as possible.
Act I
(Deverry): Book Three - The Bristling Wood (overall sequence – book No. 3)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Grafton Books, pub. 1989, ISBN 0-586-20741-4)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- whilst a sort of glamour, charisma or appeal
can be created around a person (or by the
person – and this may operate by affecting the group mind / collective
subconscious), my experience is that many people create such results by
exerting nonBPM control
over the mind, emotions or body of others – and this is most commonly done in
the area of casual sex, often as a subtle backdrop to flattery etc, and can be
and is done by any sex / gender: this is a disturbingly common form of nonBPM
unit that I find when checking areas for units to clear, and, sadly, I am not
always allowed to clear this form of control, which suggests to me that some
people are experiencing such control as a harsh lesson (i.e., negative “karma”), although in many cases this exertion of
control is done unconsciously. This is form of control is as grossly offensive
as other control, particularly as it cheapens something that should be viewed
as sacred – including in its casual forms, but there are some instances I come
that I will always break such control whether I am told I am allowed to or not;
- it is easier to communicate via BPM Guides,
or even telepathy, than nature spirits in the real world, but that difference
is one of the many underlying the creation of the Deverry universe;
- Kerun
has been created, it seems to me, as an evolution of how the Deverrians view Cernunnos.
Cernunnos is NOT a dark God, but
rather, the God of forests and the like – places some people (idiots, in my view :) ) are afraid of, and
may view as dark, but places I revel in the natural wildness of … but then, I
also like thunderstorms (although we
don’t often get tornadoes here – yet);
- Perryn’s activities are a form of control –
although many people doing such will draw energy from their victims after the
link is formed and thus do not drain themselves (as described in later books). This can also be done at a
distance, and this also illustrates the importance of regularly checking for
and clearing (dissolve the entire length,
don’t just cut) links, which form and re-form (and, in some cases, dissolve)
as a result of everyday life.
Act I
(Deverry): Book Four – The Southern Sea (overall sequence – book No. 4)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Grafton Books, pub. 1991, ISBN 0 586 20787 2)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- reversed pentagrams (p. 280 of my copy) are not always an indication of active,
malicious “evil”: sometimes it is simply about chaos – a topic many fear to the
extent of labelling it evil, which is a simplification behind too much of the
real world’s real evil – or some forces of nature;
- the concept of annihilation of a soul (p. 380 of my copy) is utter rubbish –
see my post here
for a few thoughts on this (keep in mind,
however, that I could be wrong, but I genuinely do not consider that to be so
in this instance);
- discovering past lives (p. 488 of my copy) is generally much harder than described, but
some people do have a knack along the lines described … and many more think
they have such a knack :) .
Act
II (The Westlands Cycle): Book One - A Time of Exile (overall sequence – book No. 5)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Voyager, pub. 1996, ISBN 0 586 20788 0)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- “The Guardians” (p. 151 my copy) – seems to be based on the Sidhe.
I’m aware of the folk mythology around these entities, which also feature in
the Dresden
Files, but do not consider myself particularly well versed in the topic –
but I am aware that, in this real world rather than the fictional world of
Deverry, they constitute a separate line of evolution, not a form of life that
should have incarnated as humans – although that is an intriguing idea;
- experiences when passing over (p. 162 of my copy) - there are multiple
versions of what people go through, largely influenced by the cultural biases
people were raised with and live in – see here.
Act
II (The Westlands Cycle): Book Two - A Time of Omens (overall sequence – book No. 6)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Voyager, pub. 1996, ISBN 0 586 21196 9)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- travel on the astral roads / pathways is a
concept that is outside my experience. My astral travel has been more direct –
akin to teleportation … or maybe it’s just that I’m Australian, and walk on the
grass despite the “keep off the grass” signs :)
Act
II (The Westlands Cycle): Book Three - Days of Blood and Fire (overall sequence – book No. 7)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Voyager, pub. 1996, ISBN 0 586 2197 7)
- the many, many laws and rules that the Gel
da Thae bard, Meer, keeps quoting from (I
can’t say they’re innumerable, as they are well and truly numbered :) ) are
typical of a religion that is old, but NOT
mature – something akin to neochristianity,
for instance - which is NOT true
Christianity – which I consider to be only about love, not the salvation-sacrifice
guilt trip rubbish built up around the crucifixion. On that, whilst most
probably not intended, the view of Alshandra’s cult strikes me as being similar
to how neochristianity was viewed by those being invaded and coerced by its
adherents;
- purely out of idle curiosity, I would like
to know what the dragon lore is based on – it’s obviously been brilliantly
adapted to suit the setting and sequencing of the novels, but is there a
particular source? English / Anglo-Saxon folklore? My experience of dragons is
more along the lines of associating them with particular versions of earth
energies – for instance, this
short story of mine is based on events I have experienced – but there are
other, broader implications and uses
(e.g., I particularly enjoy transforming into a dragon during some particular
types of my astral / shamanic journeys – partly because I love flying :) );
- drawing energy back into oneself after a
working (I should have mentioned this
earlier – my apologies): I don’t do this. For most of my magickal career, I
have closed circles afterwards and made sure excess energy is grounded or
properly dispersed, but I don’t necessarily draw the blend of energies that has
been created by the working into myself – the energies are no longer those that
I created, and thus there is a risk of incompatibility. Oddly enough, I also
feel a bit selfish if I try to do that.
There is a further point of view that I have come across which is relevant to
this: the notion that leaving circles open can a step towards creating a way
for BPM energy to flow into this world: that can happen, but the energy can
flow the other way as well, so needs to be used with considerable caution (I have only used it in my home, as part of
building up energies over a long period in my sacred spaces). Another aspect
of this – both in my home and in public - is that, if done in a public space,
it could result in someone who lacks knowledge but has sensitivity being
opened, and thus left vulnerable to a range of problems – including distraction
/ falling asleep while driving. (I posted this as a link a long time ago, so
won’t try to find it now.)
And, as another point of view, I have been told, by a NON-indigenous person,
that some indigenous views are that if one closes down by sending away, say,
rain (water), you may upset natural cycles. Whilst I have no idea how true the
context of that is, the principle bears consideration: it is one of the reasons
that my closing prayer has this wording in it: “We ask that the circle be cleansed,
cleared and closed, but that the protection, healing and guidance continue
for the Highest Spiritual Good” (emphasis added);
- renewal of protection at the change of the
astral tides of the day (I should have
mentioned this earlier – my apologies): this is another one that I don’t
do. I suspect it is akin to the notion that one hand is used for projection of
energy, the other for receiving energy: the truth is that while individuals may
have a slight preference or greater efficiency for doing tasks with a
particular hand or part of the body / mind or technique, these are really akin
to being left- or right-handed: what we see is largely because society pushes
people into being right-hand (violently, until recent decades in the West - as
a result of neochristian beliefs, I suspect). Similarly, with that magickal
“rule”, some people have a preference for the ways described, others reverse
it, and some are ambidextrous. In terms of the protection, it does need
renewal: we don’t live in an energetic vacuum, we live in a soup of energies on
all levels around us, so building protection is a little lie building a sand
castle on a beach: just as the waves of water will eventually wash away the
sand castle, so too will the soup of energy erode - not maliciously, or
necessarily even deliberately, in many cases – the protective units we have
created. Thus, they will need renewal, from time to time – how often depends on
the relative strength of “soup” - and any psychic attack - and protective
devices. Here in the city, I need to renew protection at least once a day,
sometimes twice (more, if a lot of people have been around), but in the country
and when I was living on a boat, it was maybe once or twice a week.
Act
II (The Westlands Cycle): Book Four - Days of Air and Darkness
(overall sequence – book No. 8)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Voyager, pub. 1995, ISBN 0 00 647859 X)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- use of dappled or rippled surfaces for scrying
– e.g., moving water rather than still (this
is another topic I should have mentioned this earlier – my apologies): I
was taught to use bland surfaces – e.g., still water rather than moving. At
some stage I will try out this scrying method.
Act
III (The Dragon Mage): Book One - The Red Wyvern
(overall sequence – book No. 9)
(my copy Pub. Bantam Spectra, pub. 1998, ISBN-13 978-0-553-57264-3)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- a point of very
strong agreement: putting the hand
on the back of someone’s neck (p. 44) – I have NEVER seen anything nice about it. I loathe seeing men doing this
to their girlfriends – it comes across as a master-to-slave gesture, one that is all about control. It
did not surprise me that the gesture was used for purpose in this book;
- on omens
being from the upper astral (p. 71): I cheat – I use my BPM Guides. I’ve
generally found Lobsang Rampa’s books and the
training I have had through Wicca, New Age and Spiritualist groups more
accessible and useable than these older teachings, but there are areas that the
older teachings have their advantages – for instance, the Lesser
Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram;
- protective basics (p.67): using things like grounding
and shielding
is not particularly difficult or onerous, and provides excellent protection and
self-protection for the beginner.
Act
III (The Dragon Mage): Book Two - The Black Raven
(overall sequence – book No. 10)
(my copy Pub. Bantam Spectra, pub. 2000, ISBN 978-0-553-57919-2)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- going insane if one stops working at magick:
this hasn’t been something I’ve seen – in fact, in my experience people are more
likely to have problems if they don’t start deliberate development. That said,
however, there can be problems if someone is advanced and very active stops
suddenly, including not doing any self-care such as closing down, etc.
Act III
(The Dragon Mage): Book Three - The Fire Dragon
(overall sequence – book No. 11)
(my copy Pub. Bantam Spectra, pub. 2001, ISBN 0-553-58247-X)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- spirit traps (p. 65) – I haven’t used this
approach, but I’ve seen others use something similar based on crystals and
candles – and that was, as it should be, followed up by a safe release to where
the spirit / entity should be, including rescue if needed;
- new souls – this sort of comment, that souls
having their first incarnation would struggle, has been made elsewhere as well
– e.g., that such people would incarnate for the first time to a simple society
(e.g., remote tribe), rather than an advanced civilisation. Such constraints
would not apply to an extremely advanced soul who is incarnating to help the
planet;
- some of the attributions made around
“negative” people are very much dated to the sort of era the stories are set in
(i.e., early Middle Age). Attitudes
these days are more forgiving / more enlightened / more aware … mostly;
- returning to one’s “true self” after death –
well, yes, this does happen, but, given the astral’s malleability, usually
slowly – and will be related to the rate at which the soul starts to comprehend
the nature of the reality they are now in: it doesn’t necessarily – or even
have to – happen at the point of transition, and such transitions are not to a
“true” gender. The concept of a soul having gender is one of the flaws we’ve
inherited that I am trying to correct. The astral may have a preferred gender
for a few millennia, mind;
- losing one’s soul if one changes one’s form (as Dallandra warns Rori will happen if he
becomes a dragon): RUBBISH. Souls are not delicate little things. Comments
in later books show a conflation between the concept of soul and personality –
which is, in my opinion, fairly accurate of the views of the sources for this
system of magick, but still misses the point. One can do things like lose all
the good aspects of one’s character by being involved in something obsessive (cults,
religions, political parties, the wrong football team oops, that last one was me :D ), but that is
not the same as losing or destroying one’s Oversoul
/ Atman /Higher Self – which is how I take the term “soul”.
Act
IV (The Silver Wyrm): Book One - The Gold Falcon
(overall sequence – book No. 12)
(my copy Pub. DAW Books, Pub. 2007, ISBN 978-0-7564-0419-2)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- using reincarnation to justify privilege
(p. 106): I’m aware that this has happened in some cultures – it is wrong. It
is selective use of the principles of reincarnation and karma, just as is using
karma to assign blame for the bad things that happen without also using it to
assign credit for the good things that happen (and ALL such views forget about lessons / tests /
mistakes / etc). In other societies, reincarnation formed a basis for an
egalitarian approach to society – everyone had the risk of coming back as the
“lowest of the low”, and thus there was no quibbling over what these days would
be described as “welfare”;
- the part of the mind that remembers dies
when one dies (p. 337): not so. The reasons we have trouble remembering past
lives include the trauma of birth, the trauma of the clouds of predominantly
nonBPM energy around this planet, the difficulties of changing levels, and
deliberate acts of forgetting (drinking
“the waters of Lethe”) to ensure one has a fair chance of dealing with issues in the
next incarnation (e.g., avoiding the
problems of remembering being a princess when one is poor or lower class –
although I know a few people who have still carried over arrogance /
subservience from previous lives with such roles);
- astral tunnel and explosion (p. 412): I
don’t use tunnels and gates to travel
– what I do is probably more akin to Carlos
Castaneda’s writings about the assemblage
point, which probably influenced my post
about a Ranger navigation technique. However, I do accept that something which
is “destroyed” could release energy as a result of doing so – that is one of
the many reasons I dissolve links, rather than cut them;
- difficulty explaining the transformation of Rhodry into a dragon (p. 498):
this is rubbish – as is made clear when the character being put realises that
she is being put off. In general, people may not have the capacity to
understand the detail of how something is done, but there is generally something
that can de said. As an example, the character doing the putting off could have
said “he was transformed through the dweomer (magick) of a third person, a
discarnate dweomermaster”. It’s a bit like being asked to, say, explain how
planes fly (“because
the air flow over a curve wing creates a suction”) or how mobile
phones work (“by
converting sound to radio waves that are transmitted to the receiving phone”):
there is much key detail (e.g., flight surface control, propulsion, air traffic
control, etc for the first example, and band allocation, relay towers, phone
numbers, frequency issues, etc for the latter) that haven’t been explained, but
enough has been given to “get the ball rolling”, in a sense.
(This book is, in many ways, my favourite of the series, incidentally
:) )
Act
IV (The Silver Wyrm): Book Two - The Spirit Stone
(overall sequence – book No. 13)
(my copy Pub. DAW Books, pub. 2007, ISBN 13: 97-0-764-0433-3. This is the only
hard cover book I have in this series)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- the use of elements (“humours”) for physical healing: not used by conventional medicine, and
I’ve not come across any alternative medicine that uses them in this way –
although it was the case in Hippocrates’
time;
- people DO carry strong loves and hates – and
skills -from one life to the next (p. 293);
(As a non-magickal aside, the character Dalla needs to learn to tell
Cal off when he is being a bullying, misogynistic alpha male ****.)
Act
IV (The Silver Wyrm): Book Three - The Shadow Isle
(overall sequence – book No. 14)
(my copy Pub. HarperCollins Voyager, pub. 2008, ISBN 978 0 00 726893 1)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- Val’s gem scrying system (p. 61, and elsewhere): as a digression, this sounds quite
interesting, and I would like to try this
(or something similar) one day;
- attributing races (species?) to elements: this makes sense in the context of the
story telling, but doesn’t apply to anything I know in this world: for
instance, I know of no elemental associations for the various races - and would
be very
disturbed if anyone claimed there was. Individuals may have such associations –
for instance, a tendency to be watery of character – see here,
which is akin to the elemental associations found in astrology, but those are
rarely complete. Thus, for instance, astrological influences in an
individual may be – to choose some random numbers – 20% earth, 40% air,
10% fire and 30% water, making the person mostly air and water (rainy? :) );
Act
IV (The Silver Wyrm): Book Four - The Silver Mage
(overall sequence – book No. 15)
(my copy Pub. DAW Books, pub. 2010, ISBN 978-0-7564-0631-8)
Excluding items
already commented on:
- the power used in casting spells comes from
our souls rather than Deities (p. 68): not necessarily. There are a range of
higher forces in the Universe, and some can and do take part in the work of
spells;
- coming across the germ theory via
clairvoyance (p. 191): in this real world, this didn’t happen. That is possibly
because no-one thought to look, or there are more appropriate uses of psychism,
or the auras of the germs are too small to notice, but it may also be an
indication of the limits of psychism …
- the thoughts of people governed by the water
element needing to be contained by a vessel of hard thought (Air) (p.
229): not so: Water deals with matters other
than thought (i.e., emotions and flowing
forces), in my experience. In fact, changeable, fleeting or flitting
thought can be a problem of Air;
- being stuck after transforming (p. 429):
obviously this is a device of the storytelling. In this world, I don’t know
anyone who can physically transform, so I’m not going to be able to ask someone
to enlighten me on that aspect specifically, but the value of caution and
avoiding excess is worth noting :)
(This book and the first in the series are those that I most enjoy from
the point of view of magick. Its is also the book when Dalla finally starts to learn – still, her character just
goes to show that, just because one if psychic / powerful, it doesn’t
necessarily mean one is admirable – or even “nice”.)
(No signature block because of the length of this post)
