Outer Gateways

Book: Outer Gateways by Kenneth Grant

This book reads like a mathematics text book. That being said, it is also an invaluable resource for Chaos magicians, practicioners of High Magick and followers of the left hand path. It delves into the numerology of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and it's relationship to Typhonian/Setian currents in history and religion. Grant uses Austin Osman Spare's books as a springboard for his ideas, and his admiration for both Spare and Crowley are obvious throughout. Although very difficult reading, the mind-blowing concepts and fascinating parallells drawn between fantasy and reality, magick and science and the past and the future make this book worth suffeing through for the serious and dedicated occultist.

As Aleister Crowley's last magical student at Netherwood in the 1940's, Kenneth Grant has upheld a proud occult tradition through a lifetime of study practice and writing. This latest book is not only for experienced students of the occult; it is also excellent for those who are new to Grant's work. Here is Grant moving through magic and beyond to a new and controversial view of human evolution and the ultimate goal of Undivided Consciousness. Topics include the primal grimoire the unfamiliar spirit and the fourth power of the sphinx along with aspects of dream control and the wisdom of S'lba.

Grant's imaginal zone has been fed richly by the O.T.O. magickal tradition of course, but he also brings in ideas from advaita vedanta, Madhyamaka (Mahayana) Buddhism, UFOlogy, Wicca, American Indian traditions, alternative history, Western Mystery traditions, the channeled work of his own former lodge (the "Wisdom of S'lba"), and even fiction. His use of fiction is perhaps an example of the early stage of what has now become known as Synchromysticism.

In addition to those who are interested in the book for its magickal musings, others who might find this book of some value are those interested in conspiracy theory, the above mentioned synchromysticism, UFOlogy (he makes some interesting observations about this field that won't make the "nuts and bolts" crowd too happy), poets, artists, mythologyists, cultural historians, those studying NeoGnosticism, etc.

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Outer Gateways
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