W. G. GRAY - 6 Hardback Collection FIRST EDITIONS ( 1960's / 70s Helios, Aquarian, Weiser)
A six-volume set of scarce W. G. GRAY hardbacks from the 1960s / 1970s.
William G. Gray (25 March 1913 – 1992) was an English ceremonial magician, Hermetic Qabalist and writer, who published widely on the subject of western esotericism and the occult. Gray founded a magical order known as the Sangreal Sodality. The historian Ronald Hutton described him as "one of Britain's most famous ritual magicians".
This set includes :
1. MAGICAL RITUAL METHODS (Helios Books, 1971)
Hardback with dust-jacket (302 pages)
"Magical Ritual Methods" is a now a classical guidebook, intended for Western Students on the path of spiritual consciousness. In this work William G. Gray pulls all the “how’s” and “why’s” of ceremonial magic together in one volume and provides the student with practical means for its proper operation and study. People are drawn toward ritual practice because it fulfills a need on a deep spiritual level that nothing else will fill. William Gray shows us how to arrange and direct our own studies, and gives us the basics to make magical ritual work for us, to extend our human consciousness toward Truth and Light.
Condition: Very Good. Book in excellent condition, clean and unmarked. Light bump to rear top corner of board. Dust-jacket in very good condition -- light edge-wear and shelf-wear. A small tear to top of jacket and some minor chipping to bottom around spine.
2. THE ROLLRIGHT RITUAL (Helios Books, 1975)
Hardback with dust-jacket (166 pages)
In the early 1970s the redoubtable old occultist William G. Gray bicycled from his Gloucestershire home to the Rollright stone circle in Oxfordshire on a clear and full-mooned summer night. The visionary experiences he encountered on that night and in other similar visits resulted in the writing of this book, published by Helios Books in 1975 and now a classic among pagan and craft traditions. The text of the ritual is given in full, along with a discussion of its pattern and purpose. The Rollright Ritual is a powerful initiatory rite for attuning oneself to a personal and communal path of spiritual growth, presented here with an explanatory text and a discussion of the spiritual lives and practices of the stone circle builders of Great Britain. "Somehow, we ought to get away from ideas that a Standing Stone is only an outworn sign of our past, and see it as an upraised Finger of Fate beckoning us ahead toward our future. The Stone is not merely a memorial of bygone beliefs, but a pointer that should raise our highest hopes of finding faith in all the Life that lies ahead of us."
Condition: Very Good. Book in excellent condition, light age-toning to page stock and edges, otherwise unmarked. Good dust-jacket. Some light rubbing and discolouration and a couple of marks, otherwise. very good.
3. A SELF MADE BY MAGIC (Weiser 1st edition, 1976)
Hardback with dust-jacket (198 pages). Very scarce hardback.
Here, Gray presents magic as a practice of self-search and self-creation, using the Kabbalistic tree of life as a basis for exploration and expansion. The book includes instructions for the creation of a magic circle and compass drawn from Merkabah practice, rituals for invoking Angels as “categorized consciousness”, Kabbalistic affirmations, and suggestions for the selection or discovery of an appropriate magical name.
Condition: Excellent / Near Fine. Book is clean, tight and unmarked. Previous booksellers inventory number to pastedown in pencil. Some light edge-wear to jacket edges and spine corners, now in mylar cover. A beautiful copy of this rare edition.
4. INNER TRADITIONS OF MAGIC (Aquarian Press, 1970)
Hardback with dust-jacket (286 pages).
An in-depth study of the rational and mechanics of magical work and practice. A practical guide to understanding magic and developing a personal system for the pursuit of power and growth, it includes instructions for self-initiation, choosing a system, working with telesmatic images, tool construction, words of power, building a magical circle, and creating personal rituals using invocations, litany, elements and archangels. Forward by Israel Regardie.
Condition: Excellent. Book is clean, tight and unmarked. Very slight foxing to page block edge. Some light edge-wear to jacket edges and spine corners, now in mylar cover. A beautiful copy of this rare edition.
5. SEASONAL OCCULT RITUALS (Helios, 1968)
Hardback with dust-jacket (122 pages).
Seasonal rites are as old as the hills on which they were once practised by most of humanity. Periodically, in accordance with the natural tides of nature and the times indicated by the sun and moon, people came together to make dedicated representations of the things that bound them closest to the cosmic wheel of life. In this absorbing work, William G. Gray demonstrates the continuing relevance of such practices in modern society. The actions of the rites are performed in a circle which symbolises the cosmic course, the magical practices consisting of music, movement, meditation and meaning. Detailed scripts are given for conducting the quarterly rites of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, with complete texts of the chants, songs and invocations for each season. Seasonal Occult
Condition: Very good book in good dust-jacket. Book clean and unmarked with some aging / foxing to page-block edges. Jacket is clean and bright, the light shelf-wear. Small tear to top to jacket and some scratching / scraping to the lower section of the back cover of the jacket with a small hole. (See final photo.)
6. THE LADDER OF LIGHTS (Helios, 1968)
Hardback with dust-jacket (230 pages).
Gray's classic study of the Qabalah....The Tree of Life is growing, flexible and adaptable life pattern capable of indefinite extensions throughout all states of existence. The Qabalah, or "received teachings," is the outcome of experiences of those who have climbed the ladder of the Tree by arranging their lives according to its pattern of perfection. The Tree provides the means of receiving inner world contacts with types of consciuosness normally inaccessible to the ordinary human mindit is from and through these sources that the "teaching" comes. Here William Gray has presented a step by step guide to the Tree of Life and the Four Worlds of the Qabalahsthe worlds of contemplation, meditation, magic and daily action. The Tree of Life is a means and not an end. It is a map for helping you attain the single objective common to all systems, mysteries and religionsnamely, the mystical union of humanity and divinity.
Condition: Very good. Book is clean, tight and unmarked with some very light foxing to page block edge. Jacket is slightly age-toned with a light hint of wear, otherwise excellent and now protected in a mylar cover.
Overall a stunning set of these rare hardback editions. Heavy set, shipping charged at 3 book rate.