The first encounter the Western readers have with the word ‘Obeah’ is
often through Aleister Crowley’s received text, Liber Al vel legis where we can
read: “Also the mantras
and spells; the obeah and the wanga; the work of the wand and the work of the
sword; these he shall learn and teach.” (I:37). Crowley
defined Obeah as the action potential of the magick of the secret light and
understood this to be, together with the wanga, to represent the entire
plethora of magical external expressions. I would say, he was in a vague way,
quite direct and to the point, because Obeah is indeed a form of secret light
that lights up the forest of possibility with the luminousness of sorcerous
potency. However, touching the circumference of this secret light, will not
invite a greater understanding of what Obeah really implies.
Obeah: A Sorcerous Ossuary is a testament of lineage and
secrecy that aspire to reveal some of the shadowy forms and figures of this
sorcerous legacy in order to make the mystery of the forest perhaps a bit more
tangible and elusive. In the presentation of the book Hadean Press wrote: “Obeah:A Sorcerous Ossuary teases open this Caribbean mystery and reveals a crooked
path into the hidden world of Papa Bones and Sasabonsam...and the ways in which
power is bestowed upon and wielded by the Obeahman.”
Obeah is about a power given, about legacy and
succession, a power that can only be worked by possessing it – and its
possession is gained in line from Obeahman and women to the next generation. It
is a power given that must be sealed in fire – a fire only spirit can bestow.
In this way - Obeah protects itself and remains what it is - even revealed, it
will remain concealed. I recall my Trinidadian initiator into these mysteries,
prior to giving me the obiya, as a response to my thousand immature questions
saying: “You need to have the obiya if you
are to understand obeah, if you don’t have it, you will not get it, at least
not really.”
I found his sentiments to be true. To describe Obeah
is like describing the empty spaces in the atomic construct, an attempt of
defining ‘power’ in its most subtle of meanings... We can only arrive to an
approximation in definition and presentation where the experience of this gift
makes up the threshold where we cross over into deep understanding... still the
obiya when exposed to the dim light of a forest of words will affect the
world... and a clarity will often descend as the ossuary shakes and rattles in
the dance of words!
Obeah:A Sorcerous Ossuary can be ordered from Hadean Press as a hardback, ebook (epub/mobi) and a limited hand
bound edition of only 21 copies.
http://www.hadeanpress.com/2013/09/obeah-a-sorcerous-ossuary/