I went to Levenda's site Sinister Forces and learned from someone named Sonny in the Ask the Author section, that Peter was on Coast to Coast 6/23 and also on Dreamland 6/21, promoting a new book.
Stairway to Heaven: Chinese Alchemists, Jewish Kabbalists, and the Art of Spiritual Transformation (Paperback)
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Stairway to Heaven is an incredibly broad ranging new study that stretches from ancient Egypt and Babylon to Jewish and Christian Kabbalists, Chinese Daoists, Hindu Tantra and Haitian Vodun and finally to 19th and 20th century European occult societies, uncovering a hitherto unrecognized common myth that has been employed the world over in roughly the same form since the earliest recorded texts. Beginning with the oldest form of Jewish mysticism and extending this search through the dead sea scrolls, Levenda reveals a consistent emphasis on the number seven and its association with heavenly themes, including those of a chariot, a Throne, a Temple and a divine Being. The author then examines the myths and rituals of egypt, sumer and Babylon to locate the origin of this myth and comes up with some surprising results in the ascent rituals of the middle east. Shifting to the far east, Levenda demonstrates how the mystical practices of China and India display important similarities to these rituals, most notably in the practices of the Chinese alchemists who used a map of seven stars as their ladder to heaven.
Reinforced by visits to the Buddhist shrine of Borobudur in indonesia, Levenda concludes that there was a myth common to peoples across the ancient world that an ascent to the heavens was possible using a ladder of seven stars, a process running parallel to the alchemical idea of the perfection of metals and the perfectibility of the soul.
This concept was enshrined in the rituals of the Western secret societies of the 19th and 20th centuries such as the golden dawn and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, and influenced the development of new age occultism. exhaustive in scope and revealing in its scholarship, Stairway to Heaven casts a fascinating new multidisciplinary perspective on the mystical practices of heavenly ascent.
Unhappy about missing the interview, I actually signed up at C2C, $6.95 for the month, so I could listen to it.
Then over to Amazon to purchase his book, and after reading the following review by The Dilettante ""Dilly!"" , I ordered this one by Simon as well. (they should both be arriving by Friday, 7/11)
Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon
by Simon
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Price: $7.99
Availability: In Stock
28 used & new from $3.95
These are not the droids you're looking for, June 23, 2008
As someone who writes under a pseudonym, I think the attempts to "out" the author of this book are impolite. Moreover, they miss the point. Simon may be an individual, a group, one aspect of a human personality or the embodyment of an inhuman one. I do think, however, that this book deserves a wider readership than the "Necronomicon" label by itself probably attracts.
Simon claims to be an ordained priest who came into possession of the manuscript that would later be published as the "Simon" Necronomicon. Whether you take that book (or even the backstory) seriously, this book is seriously fun. Simon offers a window into a several very odd subcultures. First among these is the community of "wandering bishops" of Orthodox Christian lineage who collect ordinations like postage stamps and engage in byzantine political intrigues - dealing in old books, fighter jet plans, and telecommunications equipment. According to the author, these bishops are not necessarily holy men. They crave legitimate consecration for the power it bestows, regardless of the sincerity of their religious belief. Some use this power to conduct black masses, others to conduct espionage.
Scoff if you want, but the author has a point. To illustrate the occult power of episcopal consecration, Simon recounts the story of two of these bishops, barely 18 at the time, who sought priesthood primarily as a means of avoiding the draft. As freshly-minted clerics in the (also freshly-minted) "Slavonic Orthodox Church" these kids quickly discovered that ordination brought unexpected benefits: instant credibility, tax free status, and access to political events. They were amazed when they found that their newfound credentials allowed them to sneak past security and straight into Bobby Kennedy's funeral! When they found themselves LEADING the procession from the church, they realized they had stumbled onto something powerful. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi's "these are not the droids you're looking for," this is a form of magic. Later, if you believe the author, the same two padawan would also stumble into possession of a Sumerian grimoire that they would repackage as the Necronomicon. The story is goofier than the Thor comic book series of the 1970's - too goofy in fact to be entirely fictional.
The author also knows a lot about the occult movements of the 1960's in and around New York City and much of the book is a bittersweet memoir of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. The people involved in the publication of the Necronomicon lived like rock stars and frequently died like them. Their stories deserve to be told and Simon does so with respect.
This is (to say the very least) not a book for everyone. But if you are a psychonaut with a sense of humor you will probably dig this. Especially recommended for fans of Sinister Forces-The Nine: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft (Sinister Forces). This is, almost, Sinister Forces vol. IV and it contains a lot of biographical detail about Peter Levenda.
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