{"id":1511,"date":"2024-03-02T13:17:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T21:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/?p=1511"},"modified":"2024-03-02T13:17:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T21:17:01","slug":"review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate <\/em>by Jeff Cullen<\/h1>\n While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her connection with witchcraft, both ancient and modern, that springs to mind. In Liber Khthonia<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Mr Jeff Cullen crafts a practical, unique contemporary practice by combining knowledge of ancient cults with decades of his family tradition. He is very conscious of the need to ensure that practices are legal, ethical and safe, and provides resources for sourcing spell ingredients which can be illegal if improperly acquired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the outset, Mr Cullen is refreshingly honest:<\/p>\n \u201cI am never going to tell anyone that my way is THE way, or that they can\u2019t use the information I am sharing to create their own system and traditions. I am providing an insight on how I and my family practices our religion and witchcraft. The witch is encouraged to take as little or as much as they choose to incorporate into their own system. It can be used in conjunction with any current practice or be used to develop one. My only purpose is to perpetuate, encourage, and contribute to the spread of witchcraft and polytheism. All my work, whether it be my art or my literature, is in dedication to the Gods.\u201d<\/p>\n Thus, while some readers may be keen to follow in Mr Cullen\u2019s footsteps, others will incorporate bits and pieces into their own practice to craft something unique and relevant to their own needs. Ultimately, every seeker needs to find their own path.<\/p>\n Mr Cullen provides a wonderful literature survey of what is known about Hekate. He points out paradoxes such as her prominence in Hesiod and her absence in Homer, which are the two foundational texts of Greek mythology. While some readers may well choose to do further research, Mr Cullen has done most of the work for them.<\/p>\n Mr Cullen acknowledges that while all of us have a little bit of divinity within us, not all of us are empowered witches. He writes that:<\/p>\n \u201cIn my experience, there are certain individuals, certain souls, who hear the voice of the Witch Gods echoing through the Darkness of the Void and who answer to the voice without fear because they carry within themselves the Light of Illumination, the Witch Flame, that burning force from the ether that gives power and potency to witchcraft present in the soul of every witch.\u201d<\/p>\n The text presents techniques for manifesting and directing the Witch Flame so as to become an empowered witch, and these are centered around Hekate:<\/p>\n \u201cBut there is one divine voice that has been heard more than any other, the voice that taught the first incantations to humanity, She carries in Her womb the mighty Witch Flame that births all witches. She is Hekate, the Most High Queen of Witches! She rides through the ether on Her chariot drawn by dragons, and Her divine form radiates with the burning flame of all the stars of the expanding Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the very first exercise presented by Mr Cullen aims to discover one\u2019s Witch Flame and connect to Hekate\u2019s current.<\/p>\n The tendency among modern practitioners of witchcraft and magick is to pigeonhole the deities into having a small number of functions. The ancients, however, saw the deities as multifaceted, as indicated by many of their epithets. Hekate was no exception:<\/p>\n \u201cA witch who seeks to devote themselves to the cult of Hekate should take the time to familiarize themselves with each aspect of Her, with each epithet. This exercise takes the witch on a journey through the domains of Hekate so Her devotee can understand Her better and unlock every potential behind each title.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Cullen points out that a number of witches may be triggered by terms such as \u201cWorship,\u201d \u201cPrayer,\u201d \u201cReligion,\u201d due to their extensive use in the dominant religion in this country. He recommends:<\/p>\n \u201cBefore witches can perform effective magic, they must first establish an open connection with the Divine. The quickest, most effective way to do this is by casting off old notions of what worship and prayer are, what a witch\u2019s religion is, and using them for their original purpose: to appease our Gods so They turn Their favor and attention toward us.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to invoking Hekate, Mr Cullen gives instructions on honoring our ancestors as well as honoring the spirit of the place.<\/p>\n The remainder of the text is practical. There are numerous workings with Hekate, instructions on crafting ritual tools, recipes, and he addresses virtually everything that an inquisitive reader would want to learn about.<\/p>\n Mr Cullen even presents an initiation to Hekate which is \u201can amalgamation of rituals from my experience as a Master Mason and initiated Vodouisant, as well as information I have gathered from various sources throughout my years of research.\u201d This will be appreciated by readers who feel a need to add a formal element to their devotions.<\/p>\n There are dozens of spells and recipes which will keep readers busy for many months. Mr Cullen does not shy away from cursing and making poppets, as well as the mandatory love spells. He also instructs readers in conjuring demonic forces. Clearly Mr Cullen expects his readers to be sufficiently sensible to venerate Hekate ethically and responsibly, and not break any laws.<\/p>\n All in all, Liber Khthonia<\/em> is a wonderful resource for readers wanting a fresh, modern approach to working with Hekate. Mr Cullen\u2019s decades of experience are clearly evident throughout.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Tony Mierzwicki<\/p>\n Author of Hellenismos: Practicing Greek Polytheism Today<\/a><\/em> and Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her connection with witchcraft, both ancient and modern, that springs to mind. In Liber Khthonia, Mr Jeff Cullen crafts a practical, unique contemporary practice by combining knowledge of ancient cults with decades […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4006,"featured_media":1514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nReview of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Holistic Spirituality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-02T21:17:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1174\/2024\/03\/423454508_373420258803466_4522642471536063785_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tony Mierzwicki\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tony Mierzwicki\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/\",\"name\":\"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-02T21:17:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-02T21:17:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#\/schema\/person\/b9eae954c06612f6b99b6125f898f012\"},\"description\":\"Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/\",\"name\":\"Holistic Spirituality\",\"description\":\"Balancing body, mind and spirit for optimal growth, personal empowerment and longevity.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#\/schema\/person\/b9eae954c06612f6b99b6125f898f012\",\"name\":\"Tony Mierzwicki\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d16661a9da872e6bb8ecab4a471918b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d16661a9da872e6bb8ecab4a471918b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tony Mierzwicki\"},\"description\":\"Tony is the author of Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment (Immanion-Megalithica) and a primer reconstructing Classical Greek religion, Hellenismos: Practicing Greek Polytheism Today (Llewellyn), and has contributed to various anthologies. Tony Mierzwicki developed a fascination for ancient religions in the early 1980s, which led him to immerse himself into ceremonial magick in 1990. He has been running regular workshops and rituals recreating ancient magickal and religious practices in the United States and on the east coast of Australia since 2001. Tony believes in a holistic approach to spiritual development. Body, mind and spirit should all be focused on for optimum results. The ancients clearly understood the importance of exercise, nutrition, intellectual pursuits and music \u2013 while these are important throughout our lives, they become even more important as we age. Tony has completed three degrees at the University of Sydney \u2013 Master of Arts, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Science. He served a three-year term on the Board of Directors for Cherry Hill Seminary from August 29, 2008 to September 30, 2011, of which roughly half was in the capacity of Secretary. Tony is originally from Sydney, Australia and currently lives in Huntington Beach, California.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/author\/tmierzwicki\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen","description":"Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen","og_description":"Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/","og_site_name":"Holistic Spirituality","article_published_time":"2024-03-02T21:17:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1365,"height":2048,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1174\/2024\/03\/423454508_373420258803466_4522642471536063785_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tony Mierzwicki","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tony Mierzwicki","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/","name":"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-03-02T21:17:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-03-02T21:17:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#\/schema\/person\/b9eae954c06612f6b99b6125f898f012"},"description":"Review of Liber Khthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen While Hekate is a multifaceted goddess, it is her","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/2024\/03\/02\/review-of-liber-khthonia-by-jeff-cullen\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review of Liber Khthonia by Jeff Cullen"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/","name":"Holistic Spirituality","description":"Balancing body, mind and spirit for optimal growth, personal empowerment and longevity.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#\/schema\/person\/b9eae954c06612f6b99b6125f898f012","name":"Tony Mierzwicki","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d16661a9da872e6bb8ecab4a471918b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5d16661a9da872e6bb8ecab4a471918b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Tony Mierzwicki"},"description":"Tony is the author of Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment (Immanion-Megalithica) and a primer reconstructing Classical Greek religion, Hellenismos: Practicing Greek Polytheism Today (Llewellyn), and has contributed to various anthologies. Tony Mierzwicki developed a fascination for ancient religions in the early 1980s, which led him to immerse himself into ceremonial magick in 1990. He has been running regular workshops and rituals recreating ancient magickal and religious practices in the United States and on the east coast of Australia since 2001. Tony believes in a holistic approach to spiritual development. Body, mind and spirit should all be focused on for optimum results. The ancients clearly understood the importance of exercise, nutrition, intellectual pursuits and music \u2013 while these are important throughout our lives, they become even more important as we age. Tony has completed three degrees at the University of Sydney \u2013 Master of Arts, Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Science. He served a three-year term on the Board of Directors for Cherry Hill Seminary from August 29, 2008 to September 30, 2011, of which roughly half was in the capacity of Secretary. Tony is originally from Sydney, Australia and currently lives in Huntington Beach, California.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/author\/tmierzwicki\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4006"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/holisticspirituality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}