Codex Althaeban Malik
Book of Aberrations
by Peter Hamilton-Giles
foreword by Daniel Yates
Codex Althaeban Malik is perhaps the most labyrinthine book in the Black Dragon series so far. It addresses three primary issues: the idea of the Proklosis Ring as the open ground, the distribution of the first sorcerer’s name upon the ground as an emblem of intent, and the extending of points by using each letter to traverse lines of intersection as a way of communicating with the shadow of ourselves Althaeban Malik.
Galvanising form from negative existence allows the Codex to analyse and describe how the Proklosis Ring is to be used as an orientating device, even while the ritual precinct remains exposed. Accompanying this philosophical exposition of the Black Dragon, the Codex addresses, in some depth, a ritual procedure which involves the inscribing of each letter of I-Azi-Dahaka upon the earthen floor. The purpose of this rite is to draw in the extent of the Proklosis Ring without needing to contain. Each letter operates as a portal, together they portend the awakening of the sorcerous self. Additional layers of meaning are consequently added, thus exposing metaphysical associations to non-being that have up until now been hidden by the mantle of Otherness. Incorporating emanations from the Black Dragon, including the daemon emissaries and djinn from Volume 1, along with a retinue of familiar spirits not previously mentioned are thereby conveyed for the strict purpose of provisioning the sorcerer with a corpus of referential allegiances.
In contrast to the Volume lineage of Black Dragon books, the Codex series tackles subjects and nuances that may not be so easily examined to their required depth. As such, the open ritual space of the Proklosis Ring becomes something more significant than that found in Volume 1. Moreover, in a further act of reversal the sorcerer addresses his/her shadow spirit and that spirit’s retinue. Consequently, the topic and role of Althaeban Malik is introduced, alongside the Tenebrae Walker and Umbra Noctivagus. Each add a further layer of intricacy and thereby ensure the groundwork is laid for the telluric sorcerer to proceed to the next stage.
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Table of Contents
The Book of Aberrations
I
A
Z
I
D
A
H
A
K
Althaeban Malik
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Illustrated by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles.
2nd Edition
420 pages. Hardcover cloth-bound in black Buckram with gold foil blocking to front cover and spine. Black endpapers. Red & black head and tail bands.
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About the Black Dragon Series - by the author
The Black Dragon along with its telluric emphasis came about in the early 1990s. Having been a long-term friend of Andrew Chumbley, with a mutual interest in matters of the occult, we had been following our own path. However, we had some common ground for what some might consider as the usual suspects, Crowley, Spare, Grant et.al. while at the same time we both had an interest in African diasporic spiritual beliefs, and with that there came a particular fascination with what would become known as the Ophidian Current.
It came about that one fine summer’s day when sitting by a stream close to Andrew’s grandmother’s house that I proposed the formation of the Dragon’s Column. This would be a small working group exploring in greater detail aspects encapsulated by Ophidian mysteries. And so it was that the Dragon’s Column was formed, and the rest, as they say is history, because most of you will own or know of The Dragon Book of Essex that Andrew wrote, which is a redacted and amended version of those raw more powerful early days in which we worked.
Over the years this intentional redaction continued to bother me. Further pressure was placed upon me to respond when others began to rewrite the history of the Dragon’s Column and Andrew’s involvement in it. Some may conclude the Black Dragon series is consequently borne from wanting to fulfil a vendetta, yet in reply I would say I am reanimating the sorcerous enterprise Andrew and I first conceived by that stream on that lazy summer’s day some 30 years ago.
As time passed, this idea to commence work on a reinvigorated Dragon’s Column, as originally conceived, came to fruition. And it did so by showing time presents a gestative period into which fascinations can be poured. Indeed, it is from this knowing that the Black Dragon books have conspired to build from the roots up a vision of sorcerous practice.
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About the Author
Peter Hamilton-Giles is an author and researcher of the esoteric, academically trained in anthropology and religious studies his primary interest is in occult philosophy. He is co-founder of the Dragons’ Column along with Andrew Chumbley. His first book was The Afflicted Mirror published by Three Hands Press in 2013, this was followed by The Baron Citadel also published by Three Hands Press in 2015, since then he has written many books for Atramentous Press, his first was The Witching-Other published in 2017 which was followed by Standing at the Crossroads in 2018. He is currently working on the long anticipated follow up to the Dragon Book of Essex (A. D. Chumbley, 2014), the Book of the Black Dragon Series. His primary interests are in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics and how these apply to an occult context.
About the Artist
Carolyn Hamilton-Giles is a self-taught artist and has had her work featured in a number of Three Hands Press titles, these include the journal Clavis, The Baron Citadel, Witch-Ikon, The Witching-Other, as well as being included in a THP art exhibition in Los Angeles in 2011. Using techniques such as automatic drawing and trance induced separation, Carolyn has created a unique form of art that has included creating covers for Atramentous Press books.
