Production and Design Complaints RE: The Complete Works

E.A. Koetting
21

Yes, I am judging a book by its cover. I had already read the majority of Koetting’s books prior to purchasing The Complete Works. I would not have purchased this tome if I didn’t have a respect and adoration for the books compiled within. That said, presentation is a huge deal for me. Unfortunately, this is where the Complete Works falls short. Way short. This release could have been a masterpiece. Based on the points I’ve made in my original post, this release feels rushed in many ways. Design is a language some cannot read or communicate with.

Timothy, you’re right on one thing. I am not a fan of Become A Living God. I am fan of Koetting, but in my opinion, BALG was a departure from the artistic craft. My intro to magick was via Thomas Karlsson and his order Dragon Rouge; I discovered EA sometime later. I respect the fact that Karlsson isn’t releasing a Tony Robbins–you can do it–approach to magick (BALG). His work is just as approachable and is not accompanied by a stoic photo or Tony Robbins, motivational speaker-inspired titles and verbiage. That said, I have utilized many techniques from EA’s writings. The aesthetic and production of the books (and even the website) leaves much to be desired. It’s obvious that money is the primary concern, and I do not fault you or EA for that. It’s only human.

Oh, you’re not a fan of occult symbology? You’re “bored” with it? Well, that’s where I sign off. You’re making a number of inaccurate assumptions in regard to my own practices. You do not know me. I realize that The Complete Works was not created for me–or people like me. That is, people that live design; people that have read through enough grimoires to establish a benchmark to compare other works to. Shame on me for having standards. The Grimoire of Armadel is brief in comparison, yet provides a wealth of information all the while maintaining a superb, elegant, professional book layout and design. Quality over quantity.

The bookmarks are great as is the silver gilding. The type setting and implementation of the graphics are my biggest complaint. It’s awful. Could be worse, I guess. At least you didn’t use Comic Sans for the titling pages. Should have evoked the demon of graphic design for this undertaking. Paimon would cringe if he saw that decrepit sigil.

I’ve already received several offers via PM to purchase the tome. As I said in my original post, I plan to first read the entire grimoire and take notes. After I am finished, I will list on eBay and send each of you the link to the auction. Probably 2 months from now or so. The starting price will be at cost ($400). I’ve performed a binding ritual of my own upon this work which I will explain to the winner of the auction.

Brutus, I sense that your talents are more appropriated to arrogance than magickal practice of any real substance. I’m neither impressed nor threatened by your douchebaggery. Best of luck with your aided descension. In time you’ll be the bitch.

22

Nah Brutus has backup

23

I dont care about the book physical stuff.

But the content, and the value in on the content, i am praticing and getting the benefits that will cover way more the price of the book.

Same when you go to school, college, university…

Good harvests.

(i already got outcomes that will bring happiness, thanks E.A.)

24

"I am not a fan of Become A Living God. I am fan of Koetting, but in my opinion, BALG was a departure from the artistic craft. "

Then, you never once understood the nature or intent of my “craft.”

25

[quote=“E.A., post:24, topic:962”]Then, you never once understood the nature or intent of my “craft.”[/quote]No, I understand it. I just don’t like it.

26

i dont’ need this first thing in the AM. please take arguments and flaming to PM so i don’t have to wade through a bunch of hostile posts to find something useful to me. and yes, clearly it’s all about me but it’s too early for me to care.

-james

27

You’re comparing apples and oranges.

Thomas Karlsson pens books, and requires membership into his cult to receive “secret” instruction.

E.A. Koetting now creates live video courses, and they’re available online to anyone of all skill levels at anytime.

These two men exist in totally different paradigms.

If you’d rather learn from someone who uses Medieval technology, go ahead.

Here at Become A Living God, we use cutting edge technology to show the performance of magick rituals on film so that it’s easier for aspirants to learn through observation in real time.

Books - the written word - have very severe limits. This is why at a certain point, medical schools and trade schools ditch the books, and switch to in-person hands-on demonstrations by a professor in a clinical laboratory or mechanical garage.

(Personal Note: I have nothing against Thomas, and at BALG we make a point of not attacking other authors. I’ve heard positive remarks about his content matter. For that, I honor him, and hope he’ll join us for our interview series.)

I respect the fact that Karlsson isn't releasing a Tony Robbins--you can do it--approach to magick (BALG).

Correct. We emphasize pragmatism over intellectualism.

We do not think it’s necessary to study endless occult trivia - names, dates, book titles, obscure history, etc - in order to perform magick.

For example, you do not need to know what John Dee liked to eat for breakfast in order to perform Enochian magick.

It's obvious that money is the primary concern, and I do not fault you or EA for that. It's only human.

Ah, the subtle, hackneyed, communist accusation that we’ve “sold out”, as if positioning yourself to help the maximum amount of people is “bad”.

Of course, this fallacious slander only comes from people who lack economic comprehension.

Our stated goal is to build the world’s most useful educational resource for aspirants to learn how to perform magick that gets real results. To accomplish this, we must harness the power of the most advanced teaching technology.

From where does the capital to invest into such a project come? We need to finance the construction of a complete film studio. This includes: commercial real estate, high-tech cameras, high-def mics, quality lighting, chroma key backdrops, video editing, online video streaming, personal time and labor, and more…

So yes, money is a primary concern, otherwise we’d be paying tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

It’s called a “business”. This is something no other occult author has the balls to undertake. They hide behind their computer pumping out books that cost nothing for them to make, and then hand it off to a publisher.

Oh, you're not a fan of occult symbology? You're "bored" with it? Well, that's where I sign off. You're making a number of inaccurate assumptions in regard to my own practices. You do not know me. I realize that The Complete Works was not created for me--or people like me. That is, people that live design; people that have read through enough grimoires to establish a benchmark to compare other works to. Shame on me for having standards. The Grimoire of Armadel is brief in comparison, yet provides a wealth of information all the while maintaining a superb, elegant, professional book layout and design. Quality over quantity.

Shut the fuck up.

Old grimoires are dog shit and you know it.

They are almost impossible to comprehend and most are totally useless and even dangerous.

If it wasn’t for people like E.A. taking the time to decode them, you’d have nothing.

28

LOL yeah i skim over most of what’s in any grimoire (although i will admit to collecting the reissues, like what Golden Hoard puts out, just because i like books) and go straight to the bestiary. all i need are the names, sigils, offices etc of whatever entities the grimoire provides, and i take it from there. the difference is that EA’s work teaches you the how and not just the what. this applies to more than just grimoires, and if you can find your own “why”, as nietzsche pointed out, then you’re pretty much set. if not, then you end up chasing your tail looking for the “magic” (sorry for the pun) grimoire that will solve all your problems.

-james.

29

I’m not a big talker but iI received my copy today from the post office and the tome is on point! without me trying to sound like a ball hanger I’ll keep it short. Eric and Timothy PLEASE keep releasing the occult heat that you guys produce. forget what the thread says. I’m going to apply the workings and master my eternal ascent. thank you

30

On top of the great comments here, I also am getting a lot of compliments via email, just like this one I received today! Thank you for your support, and we’re only just getting started!

“Every little detail from the color and weight of the paper to the silver plating, the binding as well as the image of the slanted pentagram gracing the sexy black leather cover just feels so right when I hold this gorgeous masterpiece in my hands. It would be impossible to describe all that I feel as eyes feast and my soul drinks in this mesmerizing concoction of your brand of liquid poetry mixed with the ancient teachings of Gods outlining the path of Ascent to Godhood. The potency I perceive coming off these pages is something I never could have imagined and will be forever grateful for. Your book is exquisite, through and through. Thank you for sharing it.”

It’s hard to pay too much attention to the one or two people who were predetermined to dislike ANYTHING coming out of Become A Living God, when SO MANY others are showing me and telling me in ways I can’t misread that what I’m doing here is meaningful, important, and long overdue!!!

31

Somewhat off topic but I imagine some sleek interactive mobile apps in the future to learn. Wouldn’t that be great way to teach magic? I use a wonderful app on my ipad to play with Tarot. Does it make it less authentic because I’m not using physical cards?

I think some of the fear may be that technology will bring the power of magic into many more hands than it was ever in before, thereby lessening their own imagined elite status somehow.

I find it ironic how this site and forum is focused more on darker magic than other occult sites and forums but yet has some of the most open, helpful, and friendliest magicians on the Internet!

32

sorry dude. i can be less friendly if it would make you feel better. you know keeping up appearances and all. roar! see? scary:)

-j

33

[quote=“tiberius_james, post:32, topic:962”]sorry dude. i can be less friendly if it would make you feel better. you know keeping up appearances and all. roar! see? scary:)

-j[/quote]

That wasn’t a complaint. I like the friendliness. :slight_smile:

34

pets bitterroot

and EA and timothy, please don’t think i’m complaining. i just like to nit-pick and offer constructive criticism which is, after all, just my humble opinion. yes, IMHO, the presentation could be better, but it could be no more practical, and as a working magician that’s definitely something i can appreciate. for what it is, it looks fantastic and makes a great addition to my ritual space on an aesthetic level. combined with the fact that it’s supremely practical, i couldn’t ask for more. that said, everyone’s taste will be different and i am no exception. were i to have designed the book, it would have looked very different (and likely cost a whole lot more to produce), but then the same complaints (and no doubt, others entirely) would have been raised by those with a different sense of aesthetics. vellum on every page, for example, would have been incredible (aside from the fact that it costs something like $30 per sheet LOL).

once the material has been worked through, however, the real value shows itself and the $400 asking price can be seen to pertain only to the dessings and trappings of the volume. the material contained within is invaluable and, as such, goes unpaid-for, in a sense. some would complain if the PDF were sold for $10 each (as scarlet imprint does with their releases) as it wasn’t flashy enough, but the content would be the same and, again, priceless.

-james

35

Having just found E.A.'s works, I am extremely interested in taking his video courses. I feel that it would be invaluable for me to read his books before I attempt any of the courses. If anyone has any idea where I can obtain a copy of his Complete Works, please let me know. I just looked on Ebay and I find that $1800 is a bit steep for my wallet. Is there any chance that there will be another run of the book printed? Thank you for your help!

36

Indeed! I think that a paperback version should also be released as well. Granted, I have the CW already but I do know alot of other individuals who would love to get there hands on it but for whatever reason (money, time, accessability…) they were not able to get a copy of the Tome. Would a paperback version be an option in the near future perhaps? I know I would purchase a paperback version!!

37

I’m not sure how well a paperback copy would hold up. I’ve got some large paperbacks and the binding wears out a lot faster due to the amount of flex needed to fully open the book. Also I don’t know how well it would go over for the folks who shelled out $400 because it was the last time they could get all the books only to have it released in a cheaper form. Personally I could care less if they brought out a paperback I would have opted for the better built hardcover edition regardless.

38

yeah but it’s about accessibility. they already have the source file, and they just need to print it (i.e, lulu.com). having at least a crummy paperback allows more people to access the material, and as it will wear out faster, pay twice for replacements LOL. hell, i’ve done that several times over with books that i love and use to pieces. of course, the whole “never reprinted” thing kinda puts a damper on it.

-j.

39

Agreed, if they released the works again I would be happy for the folks who missed out. I didn’t care if they were never to be released again or not, when I saw the chance to have them all for literal steal considering the second hand market I was sold.

40

I bought this book for the content, not for the looks. Hell, even if the cover would have been made of pink silk, I would’ve bought it. And to me, the book looks and feels awesome. But what’s IN it is what matters to me, and yes, even with the occasional typo or some “not good enough”-looking sigils.

Imagine this: the first grimoires were written by hand, how about that? Would you have complained about the guys bad handwriting then?!

Oh well, I guess that shows the difference between the serious practitioner and the superficial collector! It’s a shame that you snatched this grimoire away before a serious mage could get his hands on it.

This thread is actually a waste of time.

My 2 cents