This last week, I finally bought the book I've been waiting a year for. A book by a man named Aaron Leitch, titled Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires. Sounds like it's a bunch of hooey, but honestly, it isn't. It is about the size of a paperback textbook, with a good 400+ pages in tiny print. The table of contents include dissertation on Abramelin, the keys of Solomon, and Armadel. That's just the first chapter.

Most of my previous and recent studies have been including of traditional British Witchcraft, Tarot and Meditative trances or Journeying. I think it was FT who got me curious about the Keys in the first place, because of the arcane language used to write them. My dad found a book that's first edition was written in the early 1900's, which detailed some of the practices behind the Keys and various other practices.

In other news, highlighting a few of what my comparisons to other books have led me to. I've checked these facts with "first hand resources"; got in touch with my friend who was raised Jewish and is a scholar, and emailed the professor of Theology at the community college and one at Multnomah Bible Seminary. Original sources for the Keys and Abramelin were also used..

Merkavah, merkaba, מרכבה. It mentioned basics, so I went out and did outside research. It's a form of Judaic mysticism that's quite interesting - evidence of it's use in Ezekiel and perhaps (can't be sure) Revelations.

The Nicene Creed and the addition of a few words by a French priest to make it fit a Gregorian chant is what led to part of the reasoning for separation of Orthodox and Catholic.

The King of France, Phillip le Bel instated his own Bishop of Bordeaux when he couldn't coerce the Pope to suppress the Templars and to gain their riches - he failed miserably.

King Solomon apparently cast a brass vessel into a lake, and the Babylonions, thinking it was treasure, retrieved it and released the spirits he had used. Think Pandora's Box.

Continuing off of what was said above, similarities between Aladdin and the Lamp and how spirits were said to be trapped?

blah blah blah, Armadel, Ars Noverus, Dee Diaries, repeating what was already said, etc.

On to the Shamanism chapter.

Act of the shaman going through a near-death experience - a primer for escorting those to and from the land of the dead? Kinda like driving the route to work before your first day to find the quickest way.

Solve et Coagula, the breaking down of the matter to be changed into a more valuable resource. Basically, spiritual alchemy. The journey of a Shaman begins with the breaking down of their very body - in a spiritual sense - and making each of them strong, making them back into the one they were before but with more strength and the ability to navigate the roads to different spirits.

The breaking down of their body, in some shape or form, is a similar occurance in those I've spoken to (this last year at Pagan Faire I was able to talk to a woman who is a practicing Nez Perce medicine woman).

This leads me to believe the shaman's initiatory period, either the spiritual body dismemberment or the near-death sickness causes them to "symbolically suffer all the ills that he would later be called upon to heal".

All I have for now. Tried looking for an indepth book on מרכבה at Barnes & Noble and the cheapest one was $71.. looks like Powell's this weekend it is.