Occult & Esoterica
[POWER, John] Pagans and Witches of Essex (1st Printing)
[POWER, John] Pagans and Witches of Essex (1st Printing)
Chelmsford: Phoenix Publications, 2013. First Edition. Paperback. Octavo. 90 pages. Illustrated with color and black and white photos and drawings. Some scrapes and scuffs to cover and along spine edge. A very good copy.
John Power lived in and around the same town as Andrew Chumbley, the County Town of Essex, and they bounced ideas on Art, Tantrika and Magick off each other for several years. Power and other friends recount Chumbley's early footsteps into Pagan pathways. In a sense it does serve as an introduction to Chumbley's often complex ideas, though it seems that somewhere along the way there may have been some bad blood between Chumbley and Power. It does provide some insight into Chumbley's work within the Uttara Kaula school, of which Power was heavily involved with. It includes Power's summaries of letters he received from Chumbley (not the actual full letters which may have shone a different light on things) and Power sort of nit-picks and judges what Andrew says and thinks, sometimes positively but more often negatively. Power has also included a grainy photo of a dreadlocked Chumbley. Gavin Semple is much kinder to Chumbley in his account of the Black Eagle Working which he and Andrew performed together, calling it "a privilege and a joy", and indicating that Andrew was indeed a "right old cunning man". There is also some information on Andrew's Art work but much of the detailed information seems to be lifted directly from the Caduceus Books website - and Powers mis-spells Ben Fernee's name as Ben Fearney, more than once. Power also shares and discusses his own artwork and includes some other history of the region. For fans of Chumbley this is still an interesting read, especially for Chumbley's thoughts on the East-West Tantric crossover, however, one will find much more useful insight into Chumbley the man, by reading (and re-reading) the 'Opuscula Magica' volumes published by Three Hands Press.







