The Book of Nine Moons

Lessons in Celtic Sorcery

I’m pleased to make the first copies of the Book of Nine Moons available to members of ADF and to readers of this blog.

The Book is made up of nine monthly lessons in trance, divination, ritual engagement with the spirits and practical magical work. Each lesson consists of works for the First Crescent, Sixth Night and Full of the Moons, with the waning crescent for rest. These lessons are arranged progressively, to teach practical spiritual arts in a Druidic context; that is, Pagan magic. The publication of the book is accompanied by the first disk of audio support, covering the simple trance and meditation exercises of the first three Moons. Audio support for following Moons will be available soon.

While the work of the Nine Moons will be valuable to any intermediate practitioner, it is written for those working the Pagan Druidic ritual system of triadic symbolism and fire-sacrifice. The system is especially intended to provide a formal structure for those who are working ADF’s Initiate’s Path. The lessons will provide somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 – 80% of the required practicum, while providing a solid and organized basis in magic for further work.

The ethnic focus of the work is Gaelic, drawing on authentic Gaelic folk and literary material, though it could easily be adapted to other ethnicities. The work is focused on direct results for modern students, done within a symbol system that I hope might have been recognizable to the ancients.

If worked at the suggested pace, the Nine Moons are an intensive engagement with spiritual arts, that will combine vision, ritual and worship to allow the student to move forward in the work. Articles on ritual work, trance, spirit work, divination and spellbinding provide the theoretical background for a program focused on practice. Even outside of the formal order of the lessons, the book offers many new ritual scripts for spirit-arte and practical magic, set in the Pagan Druidic tradition.

The goals of the program include:
• The experience of the Sacred Cosmos, as a source of spiritual wisdom and strength.
• The creation and consecration of a Shrine and personal tools, beyond common household worship.
• The development of basic skill with a divinatory symbol system.
• Skill in trance-vision, and the development of an Inner Grove from which journeying and other Inner Work are done.
• A progressive approach to the Dead and the Landspirits, leading to effective personal alliance with the spirits.
• Practical magic experience, with the goal of increasing health wealth and wisdom for the student.

I may decide to offer formal instruction in this system within the coming year. Watch this space for any such announcement. In the meantime I will be creating a Yahoo group for those who have purchased the book and might wish to undertake the program in a mutual-support environment – that should be up this week. Just send me your Lulu order # if you like and I'll invite you to that list. Also possibly forthcoming is a publication of this material in a more topical arrangement, without the nine lessons, for a more general Pagan public. However this edition presents the material as it has been written, and as I hope will be valuable to anyone interested in a serious approach to Pagan spiritual arts.

This weekend Lulu.com has a nice sale on, as well – offering 20% off of any order, with the code ‘treasure’ at the bottom of the very last checkout window.

Woohoo! Here it really is!
Ian