The Dolmen Arch Stands Open...

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to report that the first volume of The Dolmen Arch, my reconstruction of an early 20th century Druid Revival correspondence course, is now in stock at Miskatonic Books. It's gorgeously bound and laid out, illustrated -- and, yes, packed with meditations, teachings, and occult exercises.   

The second and final volume is now in press -- I've already done the page proofs and so it should be just a matter of months before it's available. I'll post something here as soon as I get advance ordering information. I'm very pleased to see this project in print; it's the result of quite a few years of work on my part, and I think readers will agree that it provides a very rich and effective system of Druid philosophy and practice, one that covers quite a bit of ground not explored elsewhere. 

 If you've already ordered a copy, it'll be in the mail within 48 hours.  If you haven't, well, there are still some left, but I'd be very surprised if they last all that long. You can place an order here if you're interested.

Comments

Child Rearing

[(Anonymous)]

Dear JMG,

I'm working in a kindergarden in Germany.

In school we didn't learn anything worthwhile about childrearing and its difficulties.

Can you recommend any sources on the topic for my studies?

(Sorry if this isn't the right place to aks this question. I had no idea how to contact you otherwise)

- Alexander

Re: Child Rearing

[ecosophia]

Er, thank you, but that's not a subject I know anything about.

[booklover1973]

It was a bit of an interesting coincidence that shortly after Magic Monday, where someone asked about the Dolmen Arch, and I commented, I received an e-mail that the book has been shipped.

[ecosophia]

Belief in coincidence is the most widespread superstition of the age of science.

;-)

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Archdruid,

Are the "seven cosmic laws" in the Dolmen Arch similar to the "seven principles" in the Kybalion?

[ecosophia]

Similar, yes, but not exactly the same. As I explain in the introduction, the fragments of the original course that I received included material that had apparently been borrowed from (or just possibly written by) William Walker Atkinson, the author of the Kybalion, and also included explicit references to two of his books. I therefore used out-of-copyright Atkinson writings as one of the sources of raw material I used to construct the course, and a different set of seven laws was included in that.

Will there be a paper back release at some point?

[(Anonymous)]

Greeting JMG,

Congratulations on the release.

Is there currently any plan for(and if not, may I request consideration of) a later release in paperback?

While I would happily sell my left testicle (I've had kids and fail to see the need to keep two)in order to buy one of these beautiful tomes, I unfortunately lack the requisite interested buyer ;-)

Best wishes,
-Jeremy

Re: Will there be a paper back release at some point?

[ecosophia]

Once all the hardcover copies are sold I'll be making arrangements either for Miskatonic to publish a paperback edition or for another publisher to do so.

Congratulations.

[jpc_w]

Gorgeous is a good word to use if the pictures at Miskatonic are anything to go by. Is there any chance of The Mysteries of Merlin getting this kind of treatment in the future?

Also, Miskatonic lists you as a translator on a new book on the Golden Rosicrucians. What's that about?

Re: Congratulations.

[ecosophia]

No, unfortunately Llewellyn hasn't yet figured out that there's a major market for high-end editions. As for a book on the Golden Rosicrucians, er, that's news to me, and I wasn't able to find a reference to it on the website. Can you point me to something?

[(Anonymous)]

I'm really, really short on money now and I can't afford it before it is out of stock.
If it is still available by the middle of March, I might attempt to get one.
Oh well, at least I got a copy of On the Shadows of the Ideas.

[ecosophia]

Duly noted; sales are apparently doing well but there may still be copies by then.

[(Anonymous)]

Mine's been on order for a few months now :) I plan to complete my work using this set, which I appreciate you bringing into being.

And I wanted to say thank you for the initial mentoring on the DA path you've given me over these past years. It has been (and continues to be) eye-opening...

--David BTL

[ecosophia]

You're welcome and thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

Looks beautiful!

Is Miskatonic Books another JMG venture?

[ecosophia]

Nope -- it's a publishing house in Oregon, one of a couple of dozen that caters to the high-quality occult book trade. They're also the house that brought out my translation of Giordano Bruno's On the Shadows of the Ideas.

[(Anonymous)]

I would have ordered this but Miskatonic charge $37 for shipping outside the US.

Will it be released again through another publisher?

[ecosophia]

Not for the foreseeable future. There will eventually be a paperback edition, but it's going to be a while...

[(Anonymous)]

This does look absolutely gorgeous, glad it's out and of such high quality. This is tangential but it reminds me of how much I enjoyed your very first ADR post about the young boy excitedly exclaiming "I thought so!" after asking you if you're "a real druid". Felicitations on your latest!

[ecosophia]

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Congratulations, sir! It's beautiful...
Looking forward to a closer look.
Tripp

[ecosophia]

And thank you also!

super- excited

[(Anonymous)]

After I got the email from Miskatonic, I started racing home after work, hoping to see the package on my doorstep. Not yet, but soon!

[(Anonymous)]

It is beautiful. Congratulations, JMG!

—Lady Cutekitten

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Archdruid,

As a supplementary for Druidic study (such as that is given in the Dolmen Arch), would you recommend reading The Arthurian Formula book (by Dion Fortune, Margaret Lumley Brown and Gareth Knight)?

[ecosophia]

Potentially yes, but I'd start with Gareth Knight's The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend first, and go on to The Arthurian Formula after that.

[(Anonymous)]

While reviewing the book groupings on the FAQ, I noticed that all but one listed as "forthcoming", has! :)

Fine Edition

[alexandermarcus]

JMG,

I pre-ordered the fine edition when it was first announced, and have not received any notification of shipping. Do you know if the fine edition is ready as well?

Re: Fine Edition

[alexandermarcus]

I just noticed that the website says the fine edition will ship in March, so I believe that answers my question. Thanks!

Elated!

[(Anonymous)]

I got my shipping confirmation a few days ago - I'm excited! The Druid Magic Handbook system was my first foray into magic, and I still love it to bits. Very glad you wrote the Dolmen Arch, now we get to expand on it!

- Brigyn

Re: Elated!

[ecosophia]

I'm hoping that over the years to come, now that some people have already finished the Dolmen Arch system and others are working on it, that some of them will develop it in directions I haven't gone. A Druid magical system that doesn't branch and grow like a tree has failed somewhere...

Delicious!

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

I’ve broken some of my rules and budget to get this - and I won’t be getting into it for some time - my 6 month old has put more than a spanner in the works of my CGD practice (all good though). It looks beautiful and the chapter headings inspired me so I’ve placed the order. Looking forward to it arriving

Thanks
Edward

Re: Delicious!

[ecosophia]

You can do all the meditations and mind training in the Dolmen Arch course right now -- those are perfectly safe around infants -- and you can also practice the Sphere of Protection, the basic ritual working in the system. You shouldn't add in the more advanced energy exercises that derive from the SoP yet, but once your six-month-old is a few years older you can start doing those when said offspring is somewhere else.

This system differs in important ways from the CGD system, but it's a good solid system of occult training and I think you'll get a lot out of it.

[(Anonymous)]

The email confirmation and shipping notice got filtered into my junk mail somehow, but now I’ve fished them out from the mess and shall be haunting the post office.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Is the system given in the Dolmen Arch compatible with any Western divinatory tool?

In particular, I would like to know if it is compatible with Rider-Waite (R-W) tarot deck. I'm not a big fan of classical Golden Dawn or A.E. Waite, but I find R-W tarot deck very interesting; it's rich in symbolism (and those symbols and scenes are surprisingly much less Judeo-Christian than Golden Dawn teachings), and beautifully illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith. Even though I'm more interested in Druid Revival teachings, this particular tarot deck appeals to me more than Ogham alphabet does.

[ecosophia]

Divination wasn't a standard element of American occult schools at the time of the original Dolmen Arch course, and so there's nothing on the subject in my reconstructed version. You can practice any kind of divination you like along with it.

How many volumes will there be in total?

[(Anonymous)]

This looks very interesting. Just wondering how many volumes there will be in total.

Re: How many volumes will there be in total?

[ecosophia]

Two. This one contains the four grades of the Lesser Mysteries, and the second contains the three grades of the Greater Mysteries.

Nice

[jpc2]

Dolmen Arch showed up today. A very nice looking book.

Got Mine Today

[branderwydd]

I received my copy today. Looks great, from the causal browse I managed thus far.

[(Anonymous)]

I received my copy as well today. I just want to tell you thank you for your work in bringing this into the world. I've been waiting for this book release for a couple of years, and from looking through the material it looks like it contains far more than I imagined it would. The philosophy chapters alone look worth the price of the book! I have been searching for a spiritual path for a while now, and this looks to be exactly what I have been searching for, along with joining AODA this year. So again, thank you!