The Path of Shadows: Chthonic Gods, Oneiromancy, Necromancy in Ancient Greece

by Gwendolyn Taunton

The Path of Shadows escorts the reader deep into the hidden subterranean world of the chthonic traditions of ancient Greece. The word chthonic refers to the interior of the earth, from where life is born and to which it returns in death. The chthonic traditions represent the paradoxical complexity inherent in life itself, which venerate the earth, the afterlife, final judgment, and the occult. The Gods connected to these primordial forces exist in all traditions – sometimes they are represented as benevolent figures, and at other times malevolent ones. The Path of Shadows concentrates on the Hellenic Gods, but also explores their relationships to other religions and cultural influences. Hades is presented as the brother of Zeus, and an Indo-European God who is identical to Yama. He is portrayed as both the King and Judge of the Dead. Although not antagonistic to mortals, the visage Hades presents to humanity is nonetheless terrifying, because he instills in mortals the ultimate fear of the unknown and the existential dread of a dark, fathomless, void without end. Dionysus is revealed not only as the son of Hades, but also as the ‘Black Sun’ and counterpart to Apollo in both the philosophy of Nietzsche and Greek Myth. Persephone is described as the Queen of the Underworld, and the mother of Dionysus. Persephone reigns as a queen beside her husband Hades, and occupies a prominent role in the Rites of Eleusis, along with her mother Demeter. Together, as a trinity, these deities rule over The Path of Shadows. The Path of Shadows also looks at the forms of the occult which are exclusively chthonic practices. This is introduced first by a brief explanation of the Mantic Tradition, which specializes in all forms of divination, and how it occupied a position of prominence throughout the religions of antiquity. The Path of Shadows then looks at some of the specialized aspects of Hellenic magic, concentrating on oneiromancy (predicting the future through dreams), necromancy (summoning the souls of dead), and curse tablets (utilized for occult purposes), narrating how these practices relate to the chthonic traditions and the hidden aspects of human consciousness.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Spirituality, Religion

Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2018

About the author

Gwendolyn Toynton (real name Gwendolyn Taunton) was the recipient of the Ashton Wylie Award for Literary Excellence in 2009 for her first book, 'Primordial Traditions Compendium', which featured a collection of articles from the periodical Primordial Traditions which ran from 2005-2010. Northern Traditions is her second book. Her poetry is also featured in the 'New Zealand Collection of Poetry and Prose 2002'. She has written for numerous periodicals, including 'New Dawn Magazine'. Gwendolyn has recently also returned to fictional work with her latest short story published in 'Mythos: The Myths and Tales of H. P. Lovecraft & Robert E. Howard'. She also has an article in 'Occult Traditions' (ed. Damon Zacharias Lycourinos, Numen Books, 2012). Her most recent work is 'Mimir - Journal of North European Traditions'. Gwendolyn's first major work, The 'Tantrik Tradition' is also scheduled for publication in 2013.
Gwendolyn Toynton also holds a BA (Hons) in Religious Studies and has a strong interest in all spiritual matters and philosophy. Gwendolyn also has a interest in the arts and the humanities.

Gwendolyn Toynton is devoted to restoring the cultural values which should be at the core of our civilization and upholds the right for all indigenous peoples to preserve their cultural heritage. She is also firmly committed to the preservation of the natural environment and animal welfare.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a decent broad overview of these topics with some phenomenal sources to be found in the footnotes. A good springboard for deeper exploration.

[Isabel clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very academic and a bit dry but informative which was what I wanted?

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

You would think a book called "path of shadows" would actually teach a practitioner how to follow said path, but alas!

*Buddy Pagan Read

The first part of the book establishes who Hades, Dionysus and Persephone were in the classical world. The author takes great pains to make connections to Vedic or other deities (like Hades with Yama). Dionysus is discussed with Nietzsche (who saw initially Dionysus as opposed to Apollo). Persephone's chapter involves a lot of discussion regarding Demeter. My homeboy Hermes makes an appearance. No information in how to worship them or connect with them. Also, the chapters include many epithets for the Gods, which can be useful to some.

The second half of the book is about divination, oneiromancy, necromancy, and curse tablets.I found interesting that necromancy had only to do with recalling the dead for divination purposes, but otherwise nothing new or interesting for me and, of course, nothing on how to perform any of it.

Well-researched but I don't know who this book is for. Why compare Hades to Yama? Why bring in Nietzsche? I suspect this book was formerly three journal articles sandwiched with the second half of this book. It's also odd this book doesn't have an Introduction.

As an aside, the author comments that we OBVIOUSLY no longer condone animal sacrifice. How ethnocentric. Humans, in fact, do practice animal sacrifice still - voodoo, for example, while dicey, is legally allowed animal sacrifices in the United States under religious freedom. (last I checked!) I understand it's not her field of study, but it's rather ignorant.


So if you're interested in scholarly, historical discussion, this is the book for you. If you are pagan, be prepared for disappointment.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good topographic survey of a much larger topic. Those looking for a deep dive (HA! I crack me up) on the subject of cthonic deities, rituals and rites, or on a detailed exploration of the 'daimon' concept will need t look elsewhere.

Well researched and tightly put together. I feel like the author wanted to write much more on this subject but was constrained to piecing together re-worked older material of theirs. I'd like to see a detailed deep dive from the author someday.

A good overview on the subject, and a great into. Just not as much 'deep' info as I wanted.

[Frobisher Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some great facts and lore presented here to add to one's knowledge of ancient mysteries and mysticisms. Ultimately, this book is a bit scattershot and seemingly without any kind of main thesis to tie it all together. It is an overview of the dark Chthonic occult arts of Ancient Greece, not meant to be in-depth, though the author starts to run out of steam just as she gets to the most interesting parts. Oh well, to me it was enjoyable and interesting enough, and has enough intriguing little tidbits to make it worth owning.

[David Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good over before of Chthonic deities and the use of Necromancy in Ancient Greece.

[Tait · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good focused scholarly examination of the history of oneiromantic practices in Ancient Greece.