I read my first book by Damien Echols a year ago and I was surprised to find it so useful and easy to follow that I became a fan right away. When I saw his next book, Ritual: An Essential Grimoire, co-written with his wife, Lorri Davis, I didn’t think twice before getting it. As expected, it’s an excellent reading that offers a lot to experienced and new practitioners. Thanks to the publisher, Sounds True, for sending me a review copy!
One of the things that I like the most about Echols is that no matter how complex the topics and steps might seem, he explains them in a simple manner. While not neglecting the descriptions or details, he gives enough information for practitioners of any background and level of experience to understand the process.
Ritual: An Essential Grimoire, by Damien Echols and Lorri Davis [Sounds True]
There are a few techniques in the book that I was already familiar with, such as the four-fold breathing, which I started doing on my own a few years ago, and I’ve used visualizations similar to the ones he includes here, but there are so many variants that the reader ends up with more ideas. No matter how naturally creative a reader might be, Damien takes care of showing the many ways different techniques can be used.
That’s another good point in Ritual. One technique ends up being four or five, each slightly different to give the reader an idea of how they can be adapted to different needs and situations. Some could criticize this as a way of filling up the book more easily, which might be true to some degree, but I saw the benefit: we start thinking about how we can do the same on our own. They serve as examples of what could be done, sparking the readers’ creativity.
I found Lorri Davis’ participation a bit different than that of Damien’s. He has a more ceremonial, occult approach to his practice, while Davis is more into a simpler version of magic. Her contributions are based on basic visualization, affirmations, breathing, and mindfulness. It is not the kind of techniques I would usually use, but there are several meditations that called my attention, along with ideas that made a lot of sense. While I do prefer Echols’s methods, Davis also offers a lot of useful information, with different ideas that show that sometimes less is more. In the end, they give the whole a more balanced approach instead of just being a complement.
Damien Echols and Lorri Davis holding a copy of their book, Ritual [courtesy Sounds True]
Although I usually prefer books with more graphic material, Ritual has just a few illustrations, but those are the ones that it actually needed. The descriptions are clear enough, and some of the techniques are so simple, that text is just enough. However, it doesn’t mean that the quality is low, but quite the opposite. The images included are also well-done, taken care of, and are not the typical line drawings that one might expect, but are based on Damiel Echols himself.
All in all, Ritual: An Essential Grimoire is an excellent addition to anyone’s shelves. Practical, easy to understand, useful, and guiding the reader to create their own techniques, it will become a tool to develop a successful magical practice. Grounding, protection, healing, directing energy, and more topics are covered in a small, yet valuable volume.
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