Via Tortuosa
Daniel A. Schulke, Robert Fitzgerald, James Dunk
Crooked Path Sorcery is at once a magical philosophy impelling and arising from the magical historical witchcraft, as well as a set of practices deriving from the work of the Column, an inner cell of the magical order Cultus Sabbati. Reflecting the patterning of antinomian magic and the interior metaphysical dimensions of the Witches’ Sabbat, its essence turns all it encounters in order to serve the will of the sorcerer. Cultus works such as Andrew D. Chumbley’s The Dragon-Book of Essex and Daniel A. Schulke’s Lux Haeresis reflect specialized ciphers of Crooked Path teachings within the Sabbatic Tradition, and underscore its unique contributions to witchcraft lore.
Published for the first time, Via Tortuosa is a grimoire elaborating the occult ontology of Crooked Path Sorcery by three initiates of the order. Its diverse by-ways and their spheres of gnosis are examined through essay and allegory, including The Opposer, The Serpent of Eld, The Crooked Step, the Transfiguration of the New Flesh and the Embrace of the Other. The Mysterium is set forth in three sections: Exegesis, Prayer, and The Parables of the Exiled. The whole is illustrated with ten original drawings by Jim Dunk, each embodying the aberrant hypostases of the Crooked Gods.
Via Tortuosa is 160 pages, with ten illustrations, and is comprised of 559 copies in total, consisting of:
Standard edition
Full carmine cloth with letterpress dust jacket, limited to 496 hand-numbered copies.
Original Price £70
Deluxe edition
Quarter goatskin with slipcase, limited to 44 hand-numbered copies.
Original Price £285
Special edition
Full goatskin with slipcase, limited to 19 hand-numbered copies.
Original Price £410
Photograph of Via Tortuosa: Special Edition © Thompson Rare Books.
