Im quiet new to the left hand path and im reading alot of books, and I would really like to have your opinion about mr Ford. Is hes books worth to buy and read or are they unnecessary?
Im sorry if this topic is in wrong forum section, or if I misspell something.
// Fluff
God no, stick to koetting
Also, donāt get bogged down reading too much without practicing.
One good book or system, when practiced diligently, will give you much better results than reading a thousand books if you donāt practice.
There are some good suggestions on the recommended books thread:
[url=http://becomealivinggod.com/forum/new-magician-help/recommended-books/]http://becomealivinggod.com/forum/new-magician-help/recommended-books/[/url]
If I had to pick two books for a newbie, I would recommend they pick up Robert Bruceās Astral Dynamics (revised edition) and EA Koettingās Evoking Eternity. Between the two of them, you will have all the basics to keep you going for years.
[quote=āFluff, post:1, topic:702ā]Im quiet new to the left hand path and im reading alot of books, and I would really like to have your opinion about mr Ford. Is hes books worth to buy and read or are they unnecessary?
Im sorry if this topic is in wrong forum section, or if I misspell something.
// Fluff[/quote]
One of my long term associates, was part of one of Mr. Fordās orders, and had met him on many occasions.
He said he had a major case of magusitis (explained here) [url=http://deoxy.org/meme/Magusitus]deoxy.org | E=Ā±mcĀ²=ThĆ© ĆĆ«Ć²xĆærĆĆĆøƱĀµĆ§lƫƬƧ HĆæĆĆŖrdĆÆmĆØƱsĆ®ĆøƱ
I was told Michael has an ego like that of Aleister Crowley, and then some to boot. Heās supposedly quite full of himself.
Upon reading some of his books you will recognize he has 3 very well written books that are loaded with good information, like Book of the Witch Moon most certainly is. Aside from that the Bible of the Adversary and Liber HVHI are supposed to be good books, but thatās probably all youāll need. AKHKHARU his book on vampire magick, is definitely a great way to learn vampirism especially if your starting out (there are other books on this subject that can be considered just as impressive if not much more so, but they are less known). Itās a book that will give you foundation.
But upon closer inspection of these books he occasionally says something that makes me question just how authentic he is. Members here who engage in evocation will no doubt challenge his strange assertions he makes about the nature of spirits and some of members have brought his up when Iāve tried to strike up conversation about some of the things heās written that seemedā¦Off (Iād provide examples, but this post is long enough already)
It seems like heās an excellent researcher, though thereās some rumor Iāve heard that some of his material comes from the Temple of Set, which is no doubt a fantastic treasure trove of knowledge because they force their members to contribute new material to the order (so they canāt be blood sucking parasites who feed on the order until it collapses). The entry requirements are stringent, and they are picky about who they take. So the caliber of material in their archives is second to none in terms of an organization that a member of the public could join and gain access to. Iām not saying thatās the case, but if it is, some of the stuff heās published would fit right into some of the stuff their members have created for their order.
The groups he runs (the order of phosphorous and the order of the dragon), are filled with Michael Ford groupies who think heās the best thing to walk the earth since Aleister Crowley (this is according to someone I know in the order). Thatās not to say they donāt teach anything, but the atmosphere of the group is ideologically centered around him and what he teaches, and the main purpose of the Order of Phosphorous is to see how people operate using his systems of magick which according to him can be dangerous and predatory. After this set of path working (for lack of better words for this collection of magicks), then you can apply to be a member of the Order of the Black Dragon, and those whoāve been watching you decide if youāre ready to move on.
Once again, many people whoāve read his books have said, that there are only about 3 or 4 good books, and the rest seem like stuff he milled out to make money and ride out his fame now that he established his name as a serious occult author. Which is probably a result of the fact that Anton LaāVey died, and aside from a few relatively unknown personalities on the internet nobody has replaced him. Being the head of a satanic/luciferian group like Michael Ford is relatively easy, because thereās no real public competition. I mean, just look at how many people have watched E.A. Koettingās interviews on youtube where he actually talks informatively about the occult (his interview on Coast to Coast was put up 6 months ago, and it has a whopping 1604 views to date of this post).
I believe a while ago when E.A. Koetting was still was working with Ixaxaar, a single copy of his books would show up shortly after the book was released on Michael Fordās site for sale. I think I encountered this many times with other pricey rare prints, but they were always sold as a single copy.
Iām lead to think heās reading E.A.'s books, and the works of others possibly for new material to write about (It seems he pumps out books almost as fast as octo-mom pumps out children). I would have no problem with this, if fans and people I trust hadnāt told me that most of the books arenāt worth buying. Although you might not be an expert magician, it would probably do you a lot of good to read Koettingās books because they have an emphasis on being practical, simple, and effective.
Or for that matter, this list that Red Circle has given seems to have a lot of books worth reading mentioned, and youāll see if others whoāve encountered the books feel the same way. That, and you can ask people about the books the suggest, this is a forum after all.
Unless you have some incredible interest for predatory spirituality, you donāt need to read Michael Ford.
Thatās my two cents and Iām sorry itās long winded, but I figured Iād post a good amount of info on him, and which books were decent if you actually wanted to read them.
Best of Luck
-Frater Apotheosis
Agreeing with the author of the post located above me. For one, ford tells his āstudentsā that magick begins in the mind, which I do not agree with. He has many groupies who feel that saying a few words make them some kind of spiritual ascendant. I have been greeted with āinfernal greetingsā to which my response is always ācanāt you just say hello or something??ā That part is minor. The people who follow him cannot give a single instance of any magick working to results. They will always go back to the mind thing. To me, that is nothing more than psychology. I know of people who have had people breaking into their house, armed and dangerous, and them narrowly escaping and when I asked what was done to retaliate the response I got was āwell we have to do some mind bashes first before striking backā. Are you serious??? Someone comes to your house to do you harm and you want to clear your mind first before seeking revenge??? Another āinitiateā said they did a ritual which included giving the deity, I forget which one, rotten meat which sat out for days and was full of maggots.
If there is any way to offend a spirit, I would think that would be the way. My point is, he doesnāt give any practical workings at all but courses in psychology. For this reason alone, his books are good. Practical magickal workings? Not so muchā¦
For anyone truly looking to walk and learn the Left Hand Path, I highly recommend working through the Seven Fold Way or at least reading some classic MSS by the ONA. This along with EAs material is where itās at. A very well paired balance in such things.
I think Necromaster pretty much summed it up.
I rather enjoy the ONA material, Naos for example. Funny thing, Michael W. Ford edited the present version of Naos. I have alot of books my Ford and in my opinion its all a sham. Like said in earlier post, things seem a bit off. Now Works of Darkness is an awesome book that i think everyone aspiring to ascend should own.
P.S. btw Michael W. ford is in a horrible black metal band called Black Funeral, i prefer black metal but he is horrible at it
ā¦And now back to Satanismā¦
That is rather ironic, but at one point in the past Ford was part of an ONA Nexion under the name of Thornian, I believe. But, since that time, he has gone from the dangerous work of the Septenary Way and now is part of his safe āLuciferianā path.
Note: His āLuciferianā path seems to be a bastard child of the Temple of Set and Aleister Crowley.
Fordās books arenāt totally useless, they were helpful to me when I was first getting into the Left Hand Path. However his works have lots of inconsistencies, and he seems to have gotten way too commercialized lately, and keeps rehashing the same stuff over and over again. Once I started getting into the works of EA and Thomas Karlsson Iāve never really gone back to any of my Ford books.
I actually like his music. His books are not my thing though.
Mystic word soup is all very well and good, but Iām still trying to figure out what Michael Fordās works have to do with the practice of magic and the attainment of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence to effect actual changes in this world through it. I canāt get away from the feeling that itās all less than half-sincere men playing dress-up and letās pretend for some psychological kick. Michael and EA are like oil and water.
Empyrean, I saw other books on his site that were expensive, and he didnāt put them into his own mythos. Books like Azoetia by Andrew Chumbley (which are great if you like shelling out thousands on obscure rare books)
But the thing I will highlight here, which several people seem to be in consensus about, isā¦The fact that this man seems to have a system of scholarly thought that has much in common with other paths and other ideological systems. And conversely, that his works have a lot of inconsistencies within themselves. The sad thing is, that it feels like when you do the math between these two facts, that there are elements of (and forgive me for saying this) armchair magus being the one writing books.
What he says proves he has a great understanding of a lot of understanding of occult theory and philosophy, but thereās a difference between the magick we practice mentally, and evoking a spirit. Apparently according to ford they are essentially mental projections of the psyche and not actual self aware beingsā¦ Koetting has said, and others as well, that these spirits do exist separately from our own consciousness as well as within our mind. If you evoke spirits, you will inevitably come to that conclusion. This type of magick is as much mental as it is physical (if done correctly you shouldnāt even see the two as separate), let alone say the phenomenon is only happening in your mind. This idea of mental magick being the only magick is the biggest crock ever, and people use it as a means to justify the fact they canāt āmanifestā the things they want with magickā¦To avoid responsibility and embarrassment.
Itās a cop out philosophy, created by people who fail to get the physical results they want, and refuse to take any responsibility. And what makes that even worse, is the fact that people are supposed to do that on the Left Hand Path, and Left Hand Path people are supposed to be known for ditching the fluff, taking responsibility for their lives, and trying to achieve godhood with magick.
If you want true Left Hand Path, youāve got it here.
No dogma of any kind (no systematized beliefs and complete freedom to work with any spiritual system, paradigm, or spirit/angel/demon/elemental/intelligence/godform)
Taking personal responsibility for your life (a point Koetting hits in his books, and has said for a very long time) if you donāt do this, you can never overcome your obstacles because they are out of your control, you will never attempt to over come them, and you are never in a position to achieve the most important part of all, self actualization. You do this by overcoming the things that hold you back from your life goals and spiritual growth with magick.
The goal of Deification, and self actualization of godhood (youāre on a forum called ābecome a living godā), and achieving this through magickal practice.
Even if you declare yourself to be a Luciferian, your goal in this right, is to become god.
I donāt see that in Fordās work, yet he claims to be one. There isnāt an organized path to get there, when here there clearly is.
I stopped buying his works, because I have felt like there is clearly a disparity between what is claimed, and what is purchased. And these three points about the Left Hand Path should make that pretty god damn clear.
I didnāt want mystical ramblings, I didnāt want logical inconsistencies, I didnāt want commercial books full of fluff, I donāt want to pass off responsibility if my rituals are ineffective.
I want new rituals, I want to evoke beings and feel the most ground breaking revelations from attaining their knowledge and tangible manifestations of their power coming into my life, I want to fix the things I desire to change in my life, I want to achieve godhood.
And if you are a Luciferian, whoās not playing pretend by wearing your bed sheets and paying with an ouija board, thatās what you want to achieve too.
That is my two cents, and Iām sticking to it.
Best of Luck,
-Frater Apotheosis
I think Maskim Hul and Dragon of The Two Flames is well done, I see it as a good primer for working with older lesser known deities but is by no means something to be seen as cannon and law. He does his research. Iām not a big fan of his older works for reasons stated above. His books are easy to find online. Check them out, if you like them then buy them. If you find them useful, cool! It ultimately comes down to how you take in the information and utilize it.
For me personally, I resonate with Koettingās works much more than Fordās.
Michael Ford lacks a command of English composition that I would expect from a bright 6th grader, and Iāve never been able to push past that. (If he writes that badly, what, really, could he know?) EAās literate style had the reverse effect on me, and captured my interest from the first book of his I read (BM). I am so sick of āauthoritiesā who donāt know simply how āaltarā is spelled. Is there a Daemonic entity for aiding spelling? I am almost ashamed to claim commonality of Path with some of these illiterates who publish volume upon volume with no spelling check or proofreader involved. This may seem like a ābullshitā point, but publishing such unpolished work is horrible ālesser Magick.ā
Iām not too familiar myself with Ford, however, I hear you Dragonboy!!! Jesus, this is a serious Path!!! Literary style I agree, Koetting is talented, but, my GOD people edit your fucking materialā¦really! This is exactly the problem I had with Sorceress Cagliastroās work. Far too many typos, which makes me say Hmmmmmm Maybe this is bullshit, or the author is more concerned about churning out books. How acurate is the material presented if every page has tiepo after typo after titpo!!!
Iāve have heard from far away lands of a magical tool called Microsoft Word that automatically checks the spelling and grammar of a document. Of course, ignore the passive voice annoyance.
I, myself, picked up some bad habits from my early years in grade school, and have been attempting to work on making my prose more effective ever since.
DICK AND JANE
āSee the incense smoke,ā said Sally.
āSigils and blades and blood!
And a wicked evil demon!
Send forth the servants of Darkness.ā
Why didnāt anyone tell me that Dick, Jane, and Sally were using too many coordinate conjunctions?
Soā¦ are we gonna request Ford for the Interview With a Magus series? :-()
Soā¦ are we gonna request Ford for the Interview With a Magus series? :-()
Only if EAK proofreads and checks Fordās spellings. Shit, Fordās style sometimes makes me feel AE Waite wrote lucid proseā¦
I'm sorry, but misspellings and bad grammar and style IN A PUBLISHED WORK