Ecstatic Agendas

This is a quick writeup done off the cuff, based on a customer review I posted to Miskatonic’s site with a typo I can’t correct. So here’s a slightly different draft of what’s written there.

Another full post is coming soon!

Happy Solstice! – Jason

The Hekataeon – Medea (green) edition by Jack Grayle. Grayle Press, distributed by Miskatonic Books. 8”x10”, hardcover, 400+ pages.

I’m so happy to have an Hekataeon in my collection! It arrived auspiciously just as I was finishing up the final videos and readings of Jack Grayle’s online class “Hail Hekate: Walking the Forked Path.” Whereas the class is based solidly within traditional ancient and classical texts and practices, the book reflects a much more individuated system based in archaic Mediterranean practices but very much developed by the author himself, through personal praxis and gnosis.  The Hekataeon is written in such a way as to guide the reader/ practitioner through cyclically-ascending levels of encounter with the Goddess Hekate that result in full self-initiation into a particular strain of Her mysteries. Being somewhat more DIY (anarchic?) in my practice, I don’t personally plan to follow this path strictly to the letter. But I have had powerful results already from the first group of workings alone, and plan to continue with further reading and experimentation.

Others online have commented on the quality of construction/ binding, so I will too- the spine is such that bending it obscenely would cause creasing or damage; but why would anyone want to do that? The only other new hardcover in my library with which to compare this one is Christopher Faraone’s The Transformation of Greek Amulets in Roman Imperial Times from University of Pennsylvania Press. That’s a much bigger publisher with much bigger budgets and their spine seems similar to this one, if that’s any help. That said, my copy shows no signs of wear or damage, and seems solid for repeated usage over time. The stamping on the cover is stunning and the printing and artwork within the pages do great justice to the content.  

I’ve heard from people who own other editions that this one is much larger and weightier. Indeed this tome is fairly massive! I would not take it into the woods or to the beach, not only due to its size but for fear of damaging the superbly rendered cover or beautiful inner pages. It’s working great in my workshop/ temple space, and I plan to scan or hand copy any content I need to bring with me into the wild.

This is a gorgeous book; as someone on a tight budget who is normally strictly faithful to paperbacks and pulp editions, I’m very satisfied with my purchase.

-Jason Triefenbach, SGM

Jason is an artist, writer, and non-denominational minister with a garden and a lifelong interest in lurking around the Occult/ Paranormal shelves in bookstores worldwide. As Sun Duel they record and sometimes perform music with a variety of friends and loved ones.  www.linktr.ee/JWT9000