For episode 90 we welcome Dr Alexander Cummins. Dr Al is a consultant, diviner, writer, magician, and historian. He approaches ritual, divination, and sorcery both as a long-term practitioner and a historian of early modern magic. Dr Cummins has worked as a professional diviner for over a decade, and published several works on astrological magic, grimoires, and folk necromancy. He also provides training, workshops, and coaching in many aspects of magical theory and practice. Originally from the Midlands of the UK, Al now makes his home in the US.

We discuss his new title "The Art of Cyprian's Mirror of Four Kings: An Early Modern Experiment of Cyprianic Conjuration". The Art of Cyprian, found in MS Sloane 3850, contains instructions for the construction and use of a magic mirror attributed to Saint Cyprian of Antioch. Along with the preparation of the mirror itself – which includes making and consecrating a particular ink for drafting certain figures of Solomon – come instructions detailing a conjuration of the ‘four worthy princes of the earth’, including a special appeal to the King of the East as their primus inter pares, and a dismissal of these same ‘four kings of the four parts of the world’. In this Guide to the Underworld, Alexander Cummins illuminates further Cyprianic dimensions of these directional courts of the various cardinal kings and their messenger-king attendants in the grimoiric corpus.

We also discuss his journey into magic which including the collaborative storytelling of  Dungeons and Dragons and the influence of Aikido and childhood paranormal experiences at national trust properties and the spectrum of ancestor work and working with the dead.

In the Plus show we talk to how the dead can step forward in a practical sense and our ‘family’ is bigger and stranger than we think it is. We also continue Dr Al’s journey into the occult as he started Chaos Magic as a young adult and discuss at point in his life things became ‘real’. Dr Al relays an intriguing story about using divination that returned life changing results for a sick friend whose condition had baffled doctors.

Show Notes:

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