Reading Local Seattle

William J. Kiesel

I few months ago I heard word about a mysterious bibliophilic event entitled the Esoteric Book Conference. Alas, the Great Recession has reduced my book buying budget considerably–I won’t be attending any book fairs, let alone an “esoteric” one. But recently I discovered that the conference was being organized by William J. Kiesel, publisher at Ouroboros Press.

I met William by frequenting his place of employment for many years, Magus Books, where he greeted questions about unusual, hard-to-find tomes with a slightly bemused smile behind a tiny trimmed beard or an arched eyebrow above old wire-rimmed glasses. For a few years in Pioneer Square he ran a well-stocked used occult bookstore. I would often visit just to see books I couldn’t see anywhere else and to have my questions about arcane and even taboo subjects answered by an intelligent, rational, and amicable fellow wearing a black fez. Nowadays Mr. Kiesel has moved on to tackle a tiny corner of the publishing world. As a service to Reading Local readers he kindly agreed to answer not only some questions about the upcoming conference (and the culture behind it) but also about some of  the ideas and terms (taken from the conference website) that might be unfamiliar to the uninitiated outsider who is curious about this seldom explored area.

Interview on the next page.

Reading Local: Tell me a little bit about the other two conference hosts (Michael Kolson and Catamara Rosarium). How do you all know each other and how did the idea for the conference start and evolve?

William Kiesel: I have been the publisher at Ouroboros Press for over a decade and the idea for this conference occurred to me several years ago. As you can imagine, the texts being issued by the publishers in the esoteric field are obscure and since a renaissance in publishing these materials in currently underway, I wanted to hold a conference that would allow professional networking and bring attention to our mutual activities. With books like the The Da Vinci Code and the Harry Potter series raising the public interest in occult books it seemed natural to meet this interest by discussing and showcasing books being produced which are a part of the actual tradition itself, which is the source of inspiration for those popular works.

Michael Kolson is the proprietor of Night of Pan Books and he specializes in used and rare esoteric books. Michael and I have been friendly colleagues of the book trade for several years and when he moved to Seattle from Buffalo it simply made collaborative efforts easier. Catamara is a longtime friend who is active in the local esoteric and performing arts communities, a role that lends very important capacities to our endeavors with this conference. I am happy to be working with them both.

RL: What is esotericism? Is all esotericism spiritual in nature?

WK: I am a member of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism and the first of these questions is one that is still actively being asked among scholars. This is due to the wide swath of attributes that have become associated with the term. Such things as mysticism, alchemy, Hermeticsm, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Theosophy, astrology, magic, spiritualism, illuminism and Gnosticism have been accepted as among the esoteric currents. Esotericism pertains to the concept within as opposed to its antonym exoteric, or outer and these terms, when related to esoteric movements refer not only to the inner or exterior life of a mystic, but also to the idea of initiation, or those within a circle of otherwise hidden or interior knowledge.

A common attribute of esoteric movements is the commonality of all religions, again in the context of the inner side of the currents as opposed to the often conflictive outer components. Is all esotericism spiritual? Certainly esotericism is to be found among many spiritual traditions, and typically it is operational as the inner side of religious tradition, but as Antoine Faivre has pointed out in his book Access to Western Esotericism, “esotericism involves a form of thought. Following this mode of thought does not mean denying or adopting any dogma whatsoever”.

Answering this question fully is difficult and nuanced and is beyond the scope of this interview, but the Esoteric Book Conference is a forum wherein such questions can be explored and articulated in more detail by leading figures in the contemporary field.

I will just mention that the first textural use of the term occurs in the second century in the satires of Lucian of Samosata. I think this is good since a sense of humor is always refreshing.

RL: Have there been other, similar book conferences before? Is there a tradition or history of esoteric book conferences?

WK: Europe has seen similar conferences in recent years, again due mainly to the fact that there is has been an increase of esoteric publishing in the last few decades. The conference in Seattle will be the first of its kind in the United States. This conference distinguishes itself by holding to a literary focus within the esoteric tradition, concentrating on the publishing of the books and the history associated with them.

RL: Currently the online world seems to have eclipsed book culture. I’m assuming that most young people interested in the esoteric and/or the occult are online. Why the focus on the book?

WK: For me the answer to this question arises from the notion of tradition. I can say that the internet certainly has served to put readers directly in touch with the material I publish, and because of my eye for book arts, the books are manifested with the physical object of the book as one of the principle concerns. Of course, the textual material chosen is the primary focus, but the book format closely follows this in importance.  The texts chosen are classed among important source materials in the western esoteric tradition, and in an effort to preserve the aesthetic of the eras the books were originally published in, we design them to fit the feeling of publishing from that time.

There is something of an unspoken tradition here, which harkens back to a time (before the digital era) that many still hold in high estimation.  This is especially true for book lovers and it so happens that many persons who study these subjects are also avid book collectors. Information is available on the internet and employed daily by many, but with the old craft of bookmaking becoming a thing of the past, it merely lends a further talismanic quality to books.

While I do use modern technological advances to create my books, it is actually to preserve a tradition that preceded the digital world.

RL: How is the esoteric book world different than other types of book activity? What are some of the book cultures like and how do they interact?

WK: Book people are similar across the spectrum of subjects in the literary world. I suppose I might underscore what I said before about a large percentage of readers in this field are also dedicated book collectors. There is a genuine interest in the published materials, but there is also an enthusiastic interest in the physical object of the book itself, though this by no means circumscribes the totality of what defines these folks in contrast to other readers. Esoteric book people are thoughtful and creative individuals, I look forward to the exciting conversations this conference will bring.

RL: Tell me about the author/scholars who will be speaking. I was particularly interested by the description of Robert Ansell (“Fascinating bibliographic details are interwoven with personal anecdote and philosophical observations on the magical nature of this creative process. Conjuring through analysis and metaphor the speaker invites the audience to reach a definition of the craft and to speculate towards its future in an increasingly commercial digital age”) and the statement of Peter Grey, “We are the new blood and we’re putting everything in the cup”.

WK: The presenters at the conference were chosen for their experience and devotion to the esoteric tradition both in terms of research and experience. There will be both historical and contemporary views of esoteric currents represented in the presentations. Several of the presenters are publishers themselves and thereby are in a curatorial position, the window through which these currents are expressed. There is an exciting line up of talks discussing various aspects of western esotericism, occult artists, secret societies, books of magic, and their uses.

RL: The website for the conference suggests this will be an opportunity for “education, vending and networking”. I get that there will be great books to buy- vending- but tell me about education and networking. What will one be exposed to at the conference? Can’t you just find these people, this information on the internet?

WK: As my brief exposition of the word esotericism showed, it is difficult to succinctly express subjects that carry a wide variety of manifested currents. This being the case the real opportunity for education arises at a conference like this one where ambiguities may be addressed directly by interaction with the speakers themselves. While one may spend innumerable hours hunting the wilds of the internet in search of hidden knowledge, it is rare to find the opportunity to inquire directly with scholars of such subjects [twelve of them to boot!], especially given all our respective and often quite busy schedules. As an analogy, which would you rather do; read a book on the internet, or actually hold the text in your hands?

RL: What do the terms antinomian and gnosis mean?

Antinomian relates to the denial of obligation to moral laws, which are often expressed as religious dogma. Many exponents of the esoteric tradition eschew religious dogma as antithetical to gnosis. Gnosis refers to spiritual as opposed to worldly knowledge.

RL: What does numinous mean?

WK: Numinous relates to divine will.

RL: The blurb for the presenter John J. Coughlin (of Waning Moon Publications) states “Books when constructed appropriately are themselves potent magical objects”. This seems to suggest that the mass market paperback is an object with limited capacity to enlighten or awaken. Am I misreading this? What is your take on this statement (as a publisher, bookseller, book constructor, as a person interested in esoteric subjects)?

WK: Magical Objects are meant to form a union between the esoteric and exoteric world. In the renaissance there was a belief in the doctrine of correspondences wherein stones, plants, animals and the stars all had complementary relationships. This doctrine was expressed in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes with the axiom “As Above, So Below” and the idea is that terrestrial materials such as, for example, copper corresponding to the asterism Venus, also shared in the qualities, believed to be held by that planetary body. Thus a talisman made of copper would be more appropriate for Venus then say one made of iron, a metal associated with Mars. This is not to say that magical texts printed as mass-market paperbacks [or even digital texts] are ineffective, it is merely a question of refinement.

RL: What is a grimoire? How is it different from your average book?

WK: Grimoires are books of magic. The word derives from Grammarie, a French word referring to books written in Latin and during the occult revival in 18th century France books of magic were referred to in this way. Grimoires often contain long lists of spirits, collections of talismanic seals, and figures and included instructions for tools and rituals for the performance of what became to be known as the Black Art (another name incidentally for the printing trade generally). I was fascinated by such books when I was a teen and began collecting them at a pace that anticipated my career in the book world. Because grimoires were often written at a time when such knowledge was heretical and thus dangerous to possess, they held only the kernel of the art. It was assumed that the person who the book was written for already knew the preparatory and other requisite information needed to carry out the operation in the books. Consequently grimoires are often fragmentary and obscure. We are especially fortunate in this age to have gathered much information about these books by comparing the materials found in various editions and so a more complete understanding is being approached.

There seems to be a tradition among the old grimoires to attribute authorship to some famous figure such as King Solomon or Moses in an attempt to either lend the book authority or tie it to a specific tradition in occult literature. There will be many books of this type available at the conference book fair, which along with the art show is open, free to the public.

RL: The website mentions that a book launch for the Golden Dawn Temple Manual will coincide with the conference. What is the Golden Dawn and what is this book about?

WK: The Golden Dawn is a magical and fraternal organization founded in 19th century England. It was the first fraternal organization to accept women as full and equal members. The Golden Dawn counted many famous literary figures as members, William Butler Yeats is an example or perhaps more notoriously Aleister Crowley. I have yet to see the Golden Dawn Temple Manual but it will be among other book releases at the Esoteric Book Conference, for instance an occult journal named Abraxas is being debuted by Fulgur and Treadwell’s, and I will be releasing the first English translation of a book by Giordano Bruno called the Cantus Circaeus (The Incantations of Circe).

RL: The website mentions a talk that will take place during the conference, “Occult Blue- Bloods and Black Sheep: How the “Social” Part of Secret Societies Spawned Generations of Spiritual Seekers”. Explain to an outsider or newbie who might be interested in attending what this talk is about. Also: can this kind of talk be found on the internet?

WK: This talk will highlight some interesting anecdotes in the history of social culture as it was expressed in esoteric movements. No doubt esoteric publishing played an important role in these developments since scholarship in those circles was common. The internet is truly an amazing resource for information but unless one has direction one can waste innumerable hours wading through extraneous materials. The speakers at the conference can provide this kind of direction not only in the talks they give but by answering questions about such research directly as well.

RL: I hear there will be music at the event. How is the music esoteric?

WK: Some years ago I gave a presentation on “Alchemical Music in Renaissance Hermeticism” where I explained the alchemical symbolism exemplified by a famous alchemical text called Atalanta Fugiens. The text in question was an emblem book of fifty engravings each with an allegorical epigraph and a piece of music written for each image. After the talk, musicians Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney, and Stephanie Griffin performed some of the pieces from that work. Atalanta Fugiens was one of the first multi-media projects involving voice, music and image simultaneously. Eyvind and Jessika will be performing one of these pieces along with music written by recently deceased poet and Kabbalist Lionel Ziprin.

RL: What enticements might you give to people who might be on the fence about attending?

WK: Many of the speakers presenting at this conference are leaders in the field of esoteric thought and publishing. Several of them are from abroad, including the UK, Sweden and Australia. In a field as obscure as esoteric publishing, to experience a dozen experts of this sort in one room is a rare and enjoyable opportunity. We have arranged the schedule of presentations so that if one desired, one could see all the talks. The book fair will certainly be unique among book fairs with the largest collection of new and antiquarian esoteric texts gathered together for public viewing or purchasing and there will be authors on hand to sign books and discuss the texts and their history.

Seattle is one of the best book towns in the United States and the Esoteric Book Conference is yet another defining event that expresses that people here care about books.

The Esoteric Book Conference will take place at the Seattle Center (San Juan Rooms) on September 19th and 20th. For more information visit the website at: http://esotericbookconference.com/2009/

Author: Roger Weaver

I'm a fiction writer, copy editor, and all-around book guy. I've been working and managing independent bookstores for over 15 years. I do freelance copy editing work through my website (copyedit.weebly.com), DJ a spoken word hour on a local radio station, and am currently working on a short story collection. I can also be found over at Fictionaut.com.

Roger Weaver has written 4 articles for us.