Books by Dr Stephen Skinner

The Ars Notoria is a mediaeval grimoire which was widely distributed and very popular in the 13th-16th century, but virtually unknown until recently. Version B (MS Bibliothÿque Nationale Lat. 9336.) is a commentary on the Method which has never been published in English before. The present text is a reorganisation of that commentary into subject order without the loss of any practical detail. All the notae and the full invocations/orations are included, but most of the Latin prayers have been omitted as they do not contribute to the methods effectiveness. The Ars Notoria is still very relevant in the 21st century because it contains detailed techniques to enable the practitioner to absorb whole subjects very rapidly, and to understand very complex subjects on first reading, as well as remembering whatever has been read. Like many magic manuscripts this work was attributed to famous individuals including Solomon (who reputedly received the book directly from God via the angel Pamphilius), which was translated into Greek by the magician Apollonius of Tyana, along with input from Euclid of Thebes, the father of Honorius of Thebes the author of The Sworn Book of Honorius (Liber Juratus) and Mani, the prophet. Solomonic grimoires are concerned with the evocation of spirits or demons, but the Ars Notoria stands alone as angel magic concerned only with memory and the ability to understand and absorb whole subjects rapidly, making it a veritable student's grimoire, a key to obtaining knowledge rapidly. Despite its popularity and enduring history the Ars Notoria has never been printed in its complete form. After its early Latin appearance there was only one incomplete English translation by Robert Turner in 1657, and that omitted the most vital component for its operation, the notae, a set of complex pictorial illustrations, without which the system just does not work. It also abbreviated most of the orations/invocations. The present edition contains all the notae matched with all the complete invocations/orations, and instructions for their use.

The History of Feng Shui tracks the evolution of feng shui in detail from China in 221 BC until the present day, both in China, and later in the West. This has never been done before in English. The only information on the history of feng shui occurs as scattered chapters in a number of books which often repeats the same vague and sometimes erroneous generalisations. These books include many erroneous statements such as:1.feng shui is 6000 years old. In fact the characters feng shui were not used in this context before 320 CE. Even the older names (ti li, kan yu) for this practice do not occur in any texts before 220 BCE.2.feng shui derives from the Yi Jing. In fact, apart from the 8 trigrams being used as basic directional indicators, no feng shui compass shows 60 hexagrams till 1600 CE, and not the full 64 hexagrams till 1827 CE.3.the feng shui compass derives from a revolving magnetised spoon revolving on a plate. This incorrect deduction made by Wen Cheng To in 1946 (and later reluctantly repeated by Needham) was completely discredited in the 1990s, but people keep repeating it.This book has been meticulously researched, from authoritative Chinese texts and the analysis of many antique lo pans. It contains the details of many masters, and tracks the changes in theory and practice over time. There are modern chapters on feng shui in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, US and UK, bringing it totally up to date. Stephen Skinner introduced feng shui to the West with the first 20th century English book on feng shui in 1976. With the publication from 1998-2001 of the magazine "Feng Shui for Modern Living" in English and also in Chinese, Stephen has helped to spread interest in feng shui worldwide and outside of the Chinese speaking world. As interest has progressed further, there are now many more Westerners who not only know what traditional feng shui is, but also want to know how to use it practically.Feng shui is not a religion, but a discipline as precise in its practice as surveying, and more precise in its application and formulae than many Western sciences (such as psychology and sociology). Its history is therefore worthy of our attention. Stephen also documented the rings of the luopan in his comprehensive "Guide to the Feng Shui Compass: a Compendium of Classical Feng Shui." He has been a prime mover in both establishing feng shui as a precise discipline, and in bringing its benefits to the English speaking world.

This is the first book in English on Flying Star Feng shui which explains how it compatibly relates to Eight Mansion feng shui, and provides 216 giving lower kua Flying Star charts as well as all of the variant Substitution Star (ti Kua) charts. Although the Flying Stars were originally related to the stars of astronomical Big Dipper asterism, in their feng shui usage they are simply terms for changing types of subtle chi(qi) energy present in our living environment, our homes, and our workplaces, Flying Stars assumes there is a very reals link between the present time, the time a building was built, its directional orientation, the birthplaces of its occupants and the consequential changing of luck of its occupants. Contrary to popular mis-conception, Flying Star Feng shui is completely compatible with Eight Mansion feng shui. The effects of using Flying Star feng shui correctly can often be impressive and very rapid, often within then days. Flying Star feng shui is one of the components of Hsuan Kung (Xuan Kong), which is in turn part of the San Yuan School of feng shui, which relies upon the 8 Trigrams Kua (gua) and their combinations. By contrast San He (the other great school of feng shui) relies upon combinations of the 5 Elements (in their yin and yang forms) with the 12 Early Branches, forming 60 chia-tzu (jia zi) or dragons. Much of the knowledge in this book comes from the Chinese text of perhaps the most famous Hsuan Kung (Xuan Kong) master of the 20th century, Shen Chu Reng and his book on Flying Star entitled San Yuan Ti Li Tai Hsuan Kung.

This is the highpoint of calligraphic Victorian grimoires, full colour throughout. A very significant magical text with lots of detail not normally found in a grimoire

This work includes the complete unabridged version with variants of The Nine Great Keys, a vital early 17th century manuscript detailing the invocation of the Archangels and nine Orders of Angels. The full practical techniques of summoning the Archangels, details of the hierarchies of spiritual beings, and how the full Enochian system fits in with the Angelic and Demonic hierarchies are all covered, as well as the theology and philosophy associated with Angelic magic, giving the context that these magical practitioners were working with. It includes the evocation of the Four Demon Princes and their role within the traditional system of magic. The book deals clearly with the full continuum of spiritual creatures from Archangels through Angels to Demon Princes (Fallen Angels), to Olympic Spirits and Elementals. This is presented in practical detail, with much rare manuscript material being made available in print for the first time.

A work by the author who has also written, the classic "Techniques of High Magic" in 1976 with Francis King, and "Oracle of Geomancy and Terrestrial Astrology" which has become the standard work on Western divinatory geomancy.