Book Discussion Helios Unbound

[motzfeldt]

So what are people's thoughts on this book? For the record I have not completed the course within, though I have read it in its entirety and also tried out the first month. I bought this when it was first released; I was very eager to try ceremonial magic through an ancient pagan lens rather than the usual Judeo-Christian one. I never completed it for 3 reasons. a) after the first month I realised my life at the time was too hectic to fully commit to it (it's intensive) b) I've chosen a different path since (the left hand one) and c) the more I re-read and flicked through it, the less impressed I was. I'd like to expand on c).

While it's clear the author is indeed very knowledgeable, and I do appreciate his having put together so much information in a compact little book, the sheer amount of typos drove me insane. I can handle some typos, but from what I remember, it's a little much in this book. For contrast I'm currently reading Grant's Nightside of Eden, I'm 130 pages in and have yet to see a single typo. Again I can understand one every now and then, but when it's repeated, it's not a good look. Maybe later editions have fixed these typos as I got the first press, as I say I was eyeing up this book before it was ever officially released (have there been more presses since?). Another thing that I was unimpressed by is that in the first month of programming, he instructs you to do a certain ritual. The thing is this ritual is nowhere to be found in the book. Nor is it a case of him just phrasing it differently; all the other rituals for month 1 were included in the instructions, but not this one. It seems that he just flat out forgot to include it in the book.

So between the typos and the glaring omission of a ritual you're instructed to do, the book kind of just reeked of desperation. Desperation to get the book out as fast possible, which when you're dealing themes like esoterica, really should not be the case. Esoteric manuals should be carefully dwelled upon and worded. They are often, and in this case it is, a guide to achieve higher states of consciousness and understanding... not something to be taken lightly.

That aside, I found the program slightly unrealistic, though again that is mitigated by the fact I haven't actually completed it. The first month was busy. It was very hard to juggle work-chores-hobbies-etc while doing the first month, and after the first month the intensity increases. To be fair the author does warn that it will be hard to balance all these things, but really, it strikes me more as a program that should be completed when you have a lot of free time, like when you're unemployed. Reading the instructions for month 6, it seemed really unlikely that I would remember every step and word that needs to be uttered in order to achieve the desired effects. There was a lot going on and I mean a lot. It felt as if you'd have to reach for the book again to remind yourself of the steps, which as we know, really breaks immersion.

I don't mean to totally disparage the book. There's a lot of good knowledge in there and I like how it offers a pagan alternative to typical occult exercises. The cover is nice, too. But between the apparent lack of professionalism and what I felt was unrealistic expectations, I lost interest in this book. I would give it a 3/5 though, because overall it is a nice book, but maybe not for the reasons Nick intended.

I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts on this book, especially if they completed the 6 month course; what was the experience like?

 

[Vandheer]

@pixel_fortune

 

[Pyrokar]

@pixel_fortune

I think that it's easy to be the general after the battle, also remember my sensei answer what makes the Mona Lisa special
-it's not exceptionally difficult to do but someone has to think of it first.

It's a great book and will make good lasting effects on the market for a while, this is the type of thing
that should be published regularly. It's been a great time for occult literature lately and for us thieving ninjas ofc
Nick Farel is not Damon Brand. Certainly even as an outsider to the pagan-vibe flicking through the book
i got the sense that "yeah, this is what that should look/be done like",
Even so he does drag it out but they all do that.

think you just might be mad at the book lol

 

[motzfeldt]

I think that it's easy to be the general after the battle, also remember my sensei answer what makes the Mona Lisa special
-it's not exceptionally difficult to do but someone has to think of it first.

It's a great book and will make good lasting effects on the market for a while, this is the type of thing
that should be published regularly. It's been a great time for occult literature lately and for us thieving ninjas ofc
Nick Farel is not Damon Brand. Certainly even as an outsider to the pagan-vibe flicking through the book
i got the sense that "yeah, this is what that should look/be done like",
Even so he does drag it out but they all do that.

think you just might be mad at the book lol

Not sure why you think I'm "mad". Overall I liked the book; I'm just skeptical of the efficacy of the operation in 6 months and was also unimpressed with the typos and omission of a key ritual. I don't see how that implies any ire or resentment.

 

[Pyrokar]

. I don't see how that implies any ire or resentment.

i guess it was worded harshly. im just saying you didn't even do the first 3 months?
as for typos and omission those are non issues, it's not a college course in grammar
and secondly every bird on the branch knows that the hga is a deeply personal ritual that shouldn't be dictated directly (which is ironic i know)
the books out on it usually say how the authors did it for themselves so you can get the idea how to make your own.
a walk to the store to buy beer could be a hga journey.

it's really not a secret or anything i feel like this is well known.

on the other hand, it's a good book for the culture in general. It earns the hype is all im saying.

 

[pixel_fortune]

Oh man, you.... really should have read my posts on this book before starting.

That's not a criticism of you (you shouldn't have to find some post on an internet forum to read a book! that's a flaw in the book, not you!) - just that it would have helped you a lot.

It is very poorly edited, and I go into that, but I asked Nick Farrell about the seemingly missing rituals and he gave me answers to everything (you're probably thinking of "the binding ritual" in the first month. It's the same thing as the Oath. Like I say, poor editing. But there's no missing ritual). There's a Helios Unbound facebook group and Farrell is very responsive.

(my posts themselves are long and convoluted due to lack of editing on WF sorry)

Book Club - Helios Unbound: some helpful notes and Qs

First the helpful notes! I thought I might as well post my process overview notes. This is just the material from the front of each chapter, expanded a bit after reading the chapter in full Note that it took going through the text quite thoroughly to fill in all the extra info that wasn't...

wizardforums.com

As an aside, you would strongly benefit from getting over the typo thing - because it will block you from accessing sources that have value. If a typo doesn't prevent you understanding the text, then you're the only one who suffers and limits yourself by getting mad at them. If you can only read slick, professionally produced writing, you'll miss out on a lot of the more interesting, independently produced stuff (stuff that Llewellyn won't publish). Working on your irritation at that will pay dividends

The poor editing I refer to is stuff like changing the names of rituals halfway through and then not going back and making them consistent - because that DOES stop you understanding the text. I think it has very serious editing flaws. It's ameliorated by the fact that Farrell is so available to answer questions - but again, you shouldn't have to do that. I was genuinely quite frustrated and annoyed about this.

--
You saying you found the first month intensive makes me think you were doing more than you need to (probably because the instructions are not very clear). The first month is not much more than a pretty standard magician daily practice - a meditation practice and a ritual consisting of pentagram rite, middle pillar, short oath recitation in the first week, and purifying/consecrating the space in weeks 2-4.

In the later months, the work consists of a meditation practice and a daily ritual that takes about an hour, occasionally an hour and a half. This is completely possible while employed (maybe not if you're employed and have young kids). That IS intensive, but no more than the Abramelin rite is (it is not meant to be easier than Abramelin. Just more pagan)

There is additional prep work (like studying your astro chart) so I would add in a bunch of hours at the start of each month, which would take a chunk of that weekend.

The post linked above includes a clear program of work (clearer than the book) if you're curious about what it would have involved).

This is the underlying structure - you're rising through the spheres:
(M1: Preparation and practice)
M2: Elements
(M3: energy work and alchemical marriage)
M4: Sublunar forces - they're planetary Invocations but it's not the spirit of the planet itself, it's the earthly Kings who mediate how that power plays out down here
M5: Lunar Mansions
M6: Decans / fixed stars - so here it's the planets and their place among the fixed stars
M7: Angelic forces

so there's solid logic to it all (although I didn't like the heavy focus on astrology tbh)

One thing that frustrated me about the book is there is actually a lot of resonance and thought into stuff - much of which I only found out from external research. It's kind of a shame he doesn't show his working in that way. It's a long book already though I spose.

I can't say whether you would have found the later rituals too complicated, but I had index cards on my altar (so like "LRP" "MP" "Headless" or whatever- that you go through in order). (I shouldn't say middle pillar, it's sunbreath in Helios, but you know what I mean)

I didn't memorise the long invocations to Hekate and stuff. If it's important to you to memorise all your rituals, then yeah that would be much more challenging. But for the repeated rituals - you can't do the same ritual for months without accidentally memorising it, so that would have been easier than you think I suspect.

Actually the biggest issue was my throat - all that chanting! there is SO much chanting towards the end. My final invocation was only partially successful, and I think one of the reasons is that I was losing my voice and often had to whisper instead of chant.

I should have a) drunk a normal amount of water (I always forget) and b) drank slippery elm tea daily (which is what singers and public speakers use)

My journal is pretty patchy but it does contain my thoughts on how the structure of the work aligns with Abramelin and Fr Acher's Holy Daimon (TRUST, JOY, DARKNESS) and 21st Century Mage.

Journal - Helios Unbound: A pagan Abramelin operation (+ Frater Acher's Holy Daimon)

I've found myself wanting to write some thoughts that don't really belong in the more fact-based and helpful-to-others Book Club thread: https://wizardforums.com/threads/helios-unbound-some-helpful-notes-and-qs.4613/#post-41212 So I figured I'd start this. I'm not sure how interesting it'll...

wizardforums.com

 

[motzfeldt]

Really appreciate your post and all your write ups! With regards to the typos, I can get over typos. Many occult books I've read had typos. What put me off though in this instance was the sheer amount of typos. I've never read a book, occult or otherwise, that has so many typos. Maybe this has been fixed in later presses but certainly for the first press, it was a bit much. That combined with the poor editing that led to some serious confusion just made me feel that Farrell didn't bother proof-reading or going over anything he wrote and instead was just focused on getting the book out ASAP, which as I said in the OP, should never be the case for an esoteric instruction manual. Maybe I'm wrong and he did proofread it but still somehow missed the myriad of typos; either way it just put me off.

But like I said, I knew there was value in the book and was not/am not going to write it off completely based on the above 2 issues. At least for a repository of knowledge, if not for a successful invocation of your HGA.

In any case sorry to hear that you were bummed out by the final result. To be honest an experience along those lines is kind of what I had imagined would be the result. Even though I fully believe in the occult and the paranormal, I am sceptical of authors who promise fantastic results. Thanks for your sincere report on it though; many occultists who are disappointed with their experiences try to fool themselves into thinking it was something greater than it was but I appreciate you accepting it for what it was.

If I may ask, what path have you gone down on since? Have you kept up with pagan theurgy or delved into something else? Also, you finished that in July. Do you feel you've had any more contact or signs from your HGA since?

(sidenote: funny you just posted this literally one moment after I had finished watching A Dark Song... a movie about summoning your HGA!)