Esoteric Empathy: A Magickal & Metaphysical Guide to Emotional Sensitivity

by Raven Digitalis

This powerhouse of a book examines the experience of empathy from every imaginable angle, taking the reader on a philosophical and experiential journey of what it means to be empathic. Specifically written with the magickal or mystical practitioner in mind, the book introduces techniques, practices, and philosophies designed for empaths to get the most out of life's journey, Whether you experience empathy on a regular basis or simply want to know more about this fascinating topic, Esoteric Empathy provides much-needed answers about the emotional abilities that are ushering our species into a new phase of conscious evolution. "I admire Raven Digitalis. . . . His books are well written and reflect long observation and reflection on any particular subject. Esoteric Empathy is no exception. It promises to become the classic work on empathy. . . . A very worthwhile volume."―Raymond Buckland, author of Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and Buckland's Book of Spirit Communications

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Witchcraft, Psychology, Magick, Metaphysics, Mental Health

384 pages, Paperback

Published December 8, 2016

About the author

Raven Digitalis (USA) is an award-winning author best known for his “empath’s trilogy,” consisting of The Empath's Oracle, Esoteric Empathy, and The Everyday Empath, as well as the “shadow trilogy” of A Gothic Witch’s Oracle, A Witch's Shadow Magick Compendium, and Goth Craft. Originally trained in Georgian Witchcraft, Raven has been an earth-based practitioner since 1999, a Priest since 2003, a Freemason since 2012, and an empath all of his life. He holds a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Montana, jointly operated a nonprofit Pagan temple for sixteen years, and is also a professional Tarot reader, editor, card-carrying magician, and animal rights advocate.

www.ravendigitalis.com
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Reviews

[Brittany Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

#NSFW
I remember borrowing this from the library a few years ago after being told I was an Empath, I REALLY wasn't ready for some of the topics presented within. I can laugh now, but back then I had MANY "What the hell, people do this?" moments.

I recall one of the author's exercises vividly: Meditating and then merging bodily fluids with a tree. You read that right! I'm talking WAY out there stuff that made me SUPER UNCOMFORTABLE to even read about. (I guess I'm the weird one for thinking splooging on a tree, on purpose is strange?) I'll be a tree hugger, I guess that would be second base, but I highly doubt I'll be making it to 3rd base getting THAT intimate with nature. Haha! I just couldn't get my head around this concept. It raised A LOT of what I felt to be inappropriate questions. (Like do you put it in a jar and then go to the tree, do you risk in-decent exposure, it's probably easier for guys than girls, why am I even wondering these questions? Haha!)

Even if something isn't for me, I like to know the person's reasoning. I'm so curious as to why people do the things they do, and what they think they get in return. The "give and receive balance" exchange cycle is something I'm completely in awe of.

Other exercises weren't as odd, but this person's approach to spirituality was WAY different than my own, and that's OK! Reading about material that makes us uncomfortable can help us learn about ourselves. It shows us where and what our boundaries are, and where we have healing to do yet. Just because you read something, doesn't mean you have to put it to practice.

I'm assuming Amy Following Hawks (one of my favorite spirituality mentors and blogs I follow) felt uncomfortable merging with nature in this way as well, I learned from her: Every time she works with nature, to make the give and receive exchange balanced, she does a couple of different things:
• Picks up trash from the surrounding area (trying to leave it better than the way she found it.)
• Or she'll leave a strand of her hair as a thank you without leaving a negative imprint on the world (birds can use hair to make nests and such, it's not littering because it's biodegradable and natural.)

I'm assuming this leaving the hair would be a similar equivocal to "cumming on a tree", just a lot nicer and not as intense. Is saying thank you and delivering prayer not enough? Does it take real physical action? This is all stuff for me to learn. Jeesh what a weird thing for me to say. I never thought I'd be talking like this! There are levels to this stuff. Find what YOU are comfortable with and go towards what DOES RESONATE for you!

Many of the esoteric traditions are hidden because the depth of understanding and training that is necessary can seem very odd to those who were like me and didn't even know what esoteric meant at the time. Haha!

So, while this book wasn't for me years ago, I still don't know if I'd like it any better now that I'm further along on my path, there were some pretty good points, but mostly I remember this book showing me what direction I did want to go in and that this particular path or level of intensity wasn't the way for me. I've found other books on Empathy and being an Empath much more helpful to navigate. This one will continue to remain esoteric to me. I'm still thankful for the experience, because it did lead me further down my path, and for that, I have much gratitude.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5

This book was a mixed bag for me. There was some appropriation (stop saying smudge), but there was quite a bit of decent material here.

[Ramona Mead · Rating 4 out of 5]

My intuition led me into the little shop where I found this book exactly at a time I was needing it. There were times the content felt over my head or a little out of my comfort zone, however the majority of it was extremely eye opening and useful. I know I will return to this book over and over as I progress on my journey to embrace my empathic skills.

Once I began to see being an empath as a blessing instead of a curse, I felt like I had a super power. The author takes this to the next level for me and I now feel like I have an entire tool box full of techniques to use to keep myself grounded and centered. What I appreciate most is the concept of transforming energy, meaning that I am not simply a sponge soaking up others' emotions that will cause me harm. I know that this book is already changing my life, and now that I've finished it, I can't wait to go back through my notes and start using more of the information in my daily life.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I'll started by saying a received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the sake of review

Now note I'm not really the target audience in a sense for this book. Yes I'm very much in to magic, practice paganism and I study psychology (which the subject of empathy is a part of). But I am by no means an empath, especially when it comes to humans. Also this is American centric and I'm not American. However the author states that the book isn't just for the target audience.

Over all the book reads like a more friendly and less university based text book. There's lots of ! And ? Marks, as well as the Author does great job of trying to be personal with the reader and He often provides words of encouragement and links or supplies that could help with personal issues. This is also LGBTQ+ friendly and addresses past life's (which personally screams otherkin friendly), all this likely adding to this more informal feel.
This book would be great for anyone who's an empath, works in the public service or health care service, or anyone wanting help on controlling emotions, depression or anxiety. As it mentions things to do with how to being a good care taker, volunteering, and good client interaction. As well as Encouraging analysing emotions but not over analysing, least you become paranoid or over whelmed. AlsoFeatures stuff about depression and anxiety. And ways to combat it. Which is good for people who may not be interested in the rest of the material.

On some specific positives:
Author Places importance on healthy body, mind and spirit. As well as trying to keep the earth and pets healthy by going green, volunteer work and paying attention to needs. He states that You need to help yourself, practice self love and practice creativity/art. This will also help others. There is also some critiquing current modern capitalist society frequently and justifiably. I loved the sass found in one of the chapter meditations, sass towards people who hate things associated with dark magic.
Other notable good things where, PETA not being included in list of reputable organisations, which as an animal lover I was quite impressed by. Finally for those not interested in empathy it's self he Goes relatively indepth on other magic focused things such as symbols, grounding, protection shields, chakra, prayer hands, pathworking, magical tools/stones/items, day astrologies, and gods and goddesses.

Now for the negatives:
Author puts excessive emphasis on empathy over all else and links all positive interactions to empathy.
Empathy is important but not that important. This is most aparent in the conclusion "this current can not be stopped, empathy is taking over". Which is also melodramatic as all hell.
The Sections where he talks about apathy just remind me of the quote "apathy is so hip, everybody's doing it" by OTEP. Also he rips into the internet and frames it as a place for cruelty and unhinged judgment. When really it's a place for learning, discovery and actually being more yourself. He Has an apparent disliking for labels, being carefree and anger. Marking them as generally bad things. Where as I consider aggression and anger to be one of thee best outlets for energy and to put you perfectly in that high mood. Labels are also more freeing than restricting and open up life more. Being carefree is a glorious feeling or pure joy, ease and oneness with life, nature and spirit.

Other notes, not negative or positive:
There is meditations at the end of every chapter. Personally, reading rather than listening to a meditation makes it hard to impossible to really get into the meditation. It's less soothing and more distracting. But if you could memorize this then great!
There's also quotes all over the place and his own personal expirence anecdote. Which is great if you like that!
For an American centric book it brings up Britain an awful lot.

In the end it's likely very very good for empaths and the like. It's also a very positive and friendly book, with a lot of emphasis on kindness. But the books not so good if you highly value indiduality, your self, or labels. (or if you love capitalism or hate environmentalism for some reason).

[Calantirniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book STILL - because many books discuss empathy from a secular, non-magical point of view. This one discusses empathy in a way not commonly done. If you are on any magical path, be it shamanic, neopagan, heathen, druid, witchcraft, etcetera - this has invaluable techniques to use for managing your empathy. Empathy as a magical practitioner can feel more like a curse because if your energy is really psychically open without proper boundaries in place, you can have trouble figuring out which is your energy and which is others. Many secular books talk about this but lack in rituals to help you create a healthy container for not only your practice but your life. This is destined to be a classic in every empathic magical practitioner's personal library 🌿💞🌿

[Danni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today we find ourselves in a world fraught with tension and misunderstanding. Communication is changing rapidly. It's the age of "alternative facts" and twitter shame. But it's always the case that the world seems to be on the cusp of great change, isn't it? The reality is probably that our moment of great change, our time of dramatic transition is not as extreme as it feels to us when evaluated against the history of our world. That's why books that share skills and tools for any age that help people create more compassion, understanding, healing, and empathy are so important. Esoteric Empathy by Raven Digitalis is a book that is wonderfully relevant in our fraught times and will be highly valued by many emapths and metaphysical healers for decades to come.

"We have a responsibility to follow through with our visualizations and magickal work with real-life work. IT's not enough to visualize an emotional transformation for someone if we don't do some kind of work to make that a reality in the physical dimension. We can make the choice to get active and fights for the causes we're passionate about. "

This title is mainly geared towards helping the Empath or Highly Sensitive Person navigate the world using their emotional understanding and gifts to build better relationships and communities. For those new to the concept of empathic skills, there is a great explanation of the author's interpretation of what being an empath is all about at the beginning of the book. The foundation for greater work and use of empathy is laid in the chapter.

Other chapters go into greater depth on how empaths can use their skills to heal themselves and others. There are skills and meditations presented that strengthen empathetic abilities allow empaths to use boundaries and communication to their advantage. I found it particularly refreshing to read that the overwhelming and intensity of empathic gifts is something to learn and work through rather than an excuse to isolate or refuse to participate in the world. So often, empaths are depicted as individuals incapable of participating in the world because their gifts set them a part too much. Now, I don't disagree that these gifts must be a challenge to live with at times. Gifts are there to be used in my opinion. We serve no one by allowing our most gifted to suffer alone.

"Overwhelming energies might seem like a psychic attack to the empath. In reality, psychic attacks are exceedingly rare and are pretty easy to deal with. We must avoid paranoid thinking! I have witnessed a number of empaths and sensitive individuals push everyone away from their lives, believing them to be activating cures, casting the evil eye, or otherwise trying to hurt them. "

I really enjoyed the book and learned a great deal about empathy. There were sections that were surprisingly applicable to my own life despite not having empathetic gifts beyond the average human. I found new tools for enhancing the way I engage with others. I also feel like I understand my empathetic friends in new, deeper ways. I loved the way stories, quotes, and meditations were integrated throughout the book. The actual paperback book was also beautiful and a joy to leaf through. The striking black end pages and start/finish pages were quite exciting.

This book is one that I'd recommend to anyone exploring empathic/psychic abilities or hoping to become a more empathetic communicator. The balance between metaphysics and real world applications couldn't be better in this easy to read and engaging title!

*I did receive a free review copy from the publisher/author for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised and pleased to read this book.
There are some nice quotations along the book. Although I do not find the Raven's background attractive, since I have no knowledge about witchcraft stuff or metaphysics, I found some very nice information in this book. I recognize myself as sensitive soul and treasure the ability to feel the pain of my neighbor as if it were mine, and I know in my own flesh to be overwhelmed to gather sensations and energy from a public place.
I found Raven's message very positive, since it revolves around compassion and goodness, of living in balance, of the deep interconnection between all people and life; and demystifies the phenomenon as something paranormal but rather as a capacity of human consciousness and which may have genetic factors since animals can express empathy.
Written fluid and entertaining, it mixes interestingly the subject, on the one hand from the subjective perspective of emotions and perception, and on the other hand with scientific studies in Empathy, body languagye, speech patterns, microexpressions, mirror neurons, and so on. He also proposes many personal energy work exercises like grounding, centering, shielding, energy management, ... some of which I myself have proven to be effective in my practice as an Energy Healing Facilitator.
One of my favorite phrases from the book is: "... empathy actively advances love, which can be considered the highest and most spiritually significant force in reality. Empathy is the key to love, and love is the key to ehlightenment "
Disclaimer: My gratitude to NetGalley, I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esoteric Empathy is a magickal guide to emotional sensitivity.

It’s aimed at anyone who wants to better their emotional responses and reactions. While we can’t always control our circumstances, the book is a useful reminder of how we can control our own reactions and behavior in different (often stressful) situations.

Esoteric Empathy begins with praise from Raymond Buckland ( Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft ) and Lon Milo DuQuette ( The Magick of Aleister Crowley ) at the start of the book. If you’re familiar with these authors or have looked up to them, you will see immediately why they sang this book’s praises in the first place.

This isn’t a grimoire or spellbook, but a workbook that presents you with exercises at each chapter (e.g. “A checklist for empathic balance” or “Studying empathy in mass communication”).

Growth is encouraged, and apparent from one chapter to the next. You will learn more about yourself and your emotions – even things you don’t want to think about, because the book teaches you how to better process tough emotions or traumatic events.

“Find your balance” is a mantra repeated throughout the book, and can be a reminder of when to center yourself throughout the day, week or month.

Esoteric Empathy is a a book that can be read alone, or worked through with a partner, friend or counselor.

The book talks about interconnectedness and feeling, as well as the differences between empathy and sympathy. Through the book, you will learn how to better use and balance your emotions – and there’s an especially fascinating section that tells you why ASMR has an emotional link.

There are special notes on post-traumatic stress and PTSD, and exercises for how to bring yourself back into a calm balance. Later chapters explore empathic symbols like the Anahata chakra and Inguz rune; these are notes I copied into my own book along with the simple reminder to find balance.

If you’ve ever been to a support group and wished there was something better, this is the book I would encourage you to work through. It’s a book for highly emotional people, but also a fantastic book for people who are still learning how to work with their own emotions.

Esoteric Empathy feels like a safe space where you’re welcome to explore your own emotions to their full-depth – and you’ll be glad that you have.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I received my copy of this book it flipped open immediately to Desiderata by Max Ehrmann and I teared up in awe. I have lived by that poem for years and to find it here affirmed this is a book I need to read! As an empath I had felt more crushed than elevated by my empathy. Of what possible use can it be to feel the world's pain? But reading Raven's book changed me from feeling cursed to feeling blessed.

This book is a very useful combination of specific steps for coping with empathy in overdrive, along with beautiful philosophy, gentle humor, and overall an abiding sense of love. There is so much I have already used and will use in the future.

I also learned about empathy as a positive form of projection, which means I can work to change the world both physically and on a vibrational level - very empowering and exciting to contemplate! It is wonderful to realize I can be an emotional catalyst for positive change at a time when it is so desperately needed.

[Jackie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book was great, but he lost me at the end where the tone seemed to get overly preachy in my opinion. There’s definitely some good information in here and as a practicing witch I found it very helpful. However, I don’t think I vibed with this author and I found he tried to cover too many topics in empathy toward the end of the book.

[Sofia Fernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too long, in my opinion, could have been much more concise in a lot of places and ways. There was stuff in here I enjoyed and meditations I liked, but overall hard to get through. One of the few books that I almost didn’t finish. Also, took off a star because there is a lot of magical appropriation in here.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never considered myself a highly empathetic person until after I read this book. It shed a light on a lot of the emotional struggles I'd been experiencing and gave me a lot of very helpful guidance and practices to implement in order to help me on my spiritual and healing journey.

[Kristina Welch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most is basic knowledge learned through years of study. Will be a good point of reference, however, and a happy addition to my library.

[Cherese Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quality progressive techniques to understanding being empathetic. Especially, highly empathetic.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is simply a hug from the ether.

[Daizy Daigle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am quite familiar with this author and I have read some of his Early books. This book is definitely a change. It is clear he has definitely grown spiritually and as an Author. This book is great for the empath or anyone. It explains different kinds of empathy with different exercises including some shielding techniques which is definitely something everyone can benefit from learning. The book was a pretty easy read and to the point. One thing I will warn is it has a bit of adult language which kind of caught me off guard as a reader but definitely does reflect the authors personality. I don't mind the language, it's just odd I guess to read it in a book like this. Otherwise I definitely think this book was informational and definitely worth reading. There aren't many good books and information out for Empaths. This one is good and comes from someone who has experienced it most of his life.

I was provided a free copy of the book pre-release via Netgalley for Review purposes.

Update: Upon release, a lot of the language I spoke about didn't make the final cut and was edited out as stated by the Author.