Ecstatic Witchcraft: Magick, Philosophy & Trance in the Shamanic Craft

by Gede Parma

Journey down a shamanic path that embraces the ecstatic, the wild, the gnostic, the transformative, and the visionary. Expanding on principles touched on in his book By Land, Sky & Sea: Three Realms of Shamanic Witchcraft, Gede Parma walks you through an apprenticeship designed to ground and orient you on the path of the Shamanic Craft.

Discover the meaning of ecstasy. Encounter the three realms. Learn sha- manic techniques and rituals that will give you a more primal, authentic experience of Witchcraft, including:

--Drawing Down the Gods

--Working with Spirit Allies Trance and Moving Between the Worlds

--Ecstatic Spellcraft Healing and Soul Retrieval

--Seership and Divination

Praise:

"Smart, thought-provoking and useful . . . A worthy contribution to the continuing growth and evolution of shamanic Wicca by a passionate and poetic member of the next generation."--Phyllis W. Curott, author of Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic

Genres: Witchcraft, Paganism, Spirituality, Occult, Nonfiction

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe Gede Parma's work isn't for me. Like with By Land, Sky & Sea: Three Realms of Shamanic Witchcraft he seems to mostly talk about himself. He also has this habit of telling you about something without really showing you how to do it. I did find the conversation on Dionysus interesting, especially the reference to Zagreus.

[tiph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a book on witchcraft that touched me as deeply as this one did.

[Joy Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gede Parma is a gifted witch, shaman, mystic, and author. He is a poet, who uses his gifts to see truths and bring them to us in a magical bypass of our critical intellect. And he is the teacher you may have been waiting for.

The book is intended for mature individuals who are experienced in their spiritual path. It is intended for deepening one's experience. First read these words from the book: "Many of the topics withing these pages are deeply confrontative and can be dangerous. To read on is to acknowledge Witchcraft as a true wisdom tradition abiding only by the precept of TOTAL FREEDOM EQUALS TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY. I shall leave the ethics to the deeper selves of all of you."

If you don't understand the above paragraph, you are not ready. RESPONSIBILITY IS KEY. And maturity. That said the actual review follows.

"Ecstatic Witchcraft" brings a new vision of what mysticism, witchcraft, or shamanism can be. Gede Parma brings to mind sayings of avatars and seers of old who spoke, "You may have heard it said..., but I say..." In other words his insights are fresh. They may surprise. But, you may be inspired to read parts of this book, if not the whole book, over and over. And you may be inspired to learn some of the experiential practices he offers. I recommend the experiential over the intellectual pursuit of continuous reading of a subject. Try the practices he describes.

The author takes us through an explanation of ecstasy in the shamanic sense. Lifted out of one's ordinary perception of reality and slipped into a new perception of non-ordinary reality. Finding there new truths or a new connection with the divine by whatever name or names you may call the living energy universe. He spins out the cosmology of his vision and brings us a new understanding of the Triple Soul and an understanding of how to align and balance our separate selves. He gives us technologies to help us access these aspects of self. We learn of the relationship of these worlds of our soul with the World Tree shared by shamanic paths the world over.

One of my favorite teachings is the concept of God Herself. It is a liberating idea. The author suggests we say it aloud. "God Herself!" It removes the gender bias of the Goddess. Yet we all know that God has no gender in reality. When we say "God Herself" we elevate the Goddess and remove the patriarchal bias of he/she. This is one of the many concepts Gede Parma explores which, alone, makes the book worth purchasing.

Another powerful teaching explores spellcraft, responsibility and Maslow's hierarchy of needs. He explores intention and passion and the connection with the elements. Wow. I was given a vision past theology of any sort and into a technology that connects us with our power and with the other teachings combined, an alignment with the divine. If your remember Heinlein's term "Grok", you will grok things that may have evaded you in the past.

I can't recommend this book more highly to any of the following seekers: Mystics of EVERY religious persuasion, Students of Mysticism, Witches, Wizards, and other Students of Magic, Seekers of Gnosis, Energy Healers and people interested in learning the power of healing practice, anyone who wants to open their mind to a new vision of the Divine and Divine Reality, Poets and Writers and Artists. And the open minded, mature individual.

[Annie Griffith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is terrible. I did not actually finish, because it was so poor. I have children older than the “traditions” the author quotes, and their knowledge of the cultures they appropriate from is not great at all. Ironically, although they are Australian and super respectful of the Indigenous culture in their homeland, they will cheerfully misunderstand and rampage through European cultures with no respect at all.

I felt as though none of this book had a solid, referenced basis, and would not recommend it at all.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book.