The group is open to anyone who would like to discuss books from a pagan, witchy, folkloric, or occult perspective, be they long-time practitioners or newly curious about exploring the subject. Just read the book (or as much of it as you can) in advance and come ready to chat. 

The book is in the bookshop for 15% off and online with discount code bookgroup15 but feel free to get it elsewhere (including the library) if you’d prefer.

The orphic hymns have long been a quiet but consistent inspiration to modern pagans and witches. They consist of a set of beautiful poems to individual gods and goddesses and give a sense of ancient pagan magic. This book includes new translations of the poems alongside historical context from two experienced practitioners who have worked magically with the texts.

For the books group we will discuss the history and evolution of the texts, then take a look at our favourites, including our ideas on how to work with the hymns from a magical or pagan perspective.

From the Publisher:

As famous Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino wrote, “No magic is more powerful than that of the Orphic Hymns.” These legendary teletai of Orpheus were not simply “hymns”—they were initiatic poems for meditation and ritual, magical, and ceremonial use, each one addressed to a specific deity, such as Athena or Zeus, or a virtue, such as Love, Justice, and Equality. Yet despite the mystical concepts underlying them, the original hymns were formulaic, creating an obstacle for translators.

Recapturing the magical vitality that inspired mystery cults through the ages, Tamra Lucid and Ronnie Pontiac present new versions of the teletai that include important esoteric details and correspondences about the being or deity to which each hymn is addressed. The authors also include a new version of a lost hymn to Number and messages that were inscribed on golden leaves meant to be passports for the dead, reinventions that preserve the original magical intent and mysticism of the teletai. The authors provide a complete historical survey, based on the latest research, of the obscure origins and evolution of the Orpheus myth, revealing a profound influence at the heart of Western esotericism as well as on countercultures throughout Western history. Revealing the power of the individual hymns to attune the reader to the sacred presence of the Orphic Mysteries and the higher order of nature, the authors also show how, taken together, the Orphic Hymns are a book of hours or a calendar of life, addressing every event, from birth to death, and walking us through all the experiences of human existence as necessary and holy.

The book is available from Five Leaves Bookshop for 15% off but feel free to get it elsewhere (including the library) if you’d prefer. To access the discount, email your order to bookshop@fiveleaves.co.uk or come by the shop.