Yaksini Magic - Mike Magee

Yaksini Magic is the first extensive treatment of Tantric texts dealing with practices that relate to the Yaksinis, an ancient class of female spirit beings often described as “fertility deities” and said to inhabit wild places, plants, and trees. Beginning with an examination of Kubera, the treasurer to the gods, who is often held to be the leader of the Yaksinis, Mike examines and elaborates on existing scholarly accounts of the Yaksinis, and traces their appearance from the earliest Indian textual sources—the Vedas through to Buddhist, Jain, and Tantric literature. He highlights the importance of astrological timing in Yaksini-related magical practices and discusses how the magical elements of the tantras have been sidelined. Drawing on a wide range of tantric textual sources, many of which are presented here for the first time summarised into English, Mike examines the various practices through which a tantric practitioner could propitiate these powerful, fierce and sometimes jealous female spirits. Yaksini Magic affords us a fascinating glimpse into this hitherto unexplored aspect of the tantric world—a world populated by hosts of spirit beings whose favour was sought through offerings of mantras, as well as a wide variety of other substances.
Text includes original Sanskrit verses and transliterations in Romanised Devanagari.

London, Twisted Trunk 2019. Hardback, iii+161 pages. Bound in Wibalin cloth, gold blocking on spine and cover. Printed on 90gsm Munkem Premium Book Wove, Frontispiece 130gsm Gloss Art Paper. Illustrations by Jan Magee and Maria Strutz. Limited edition of 108 hand-numbered copies.
 
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A paperback edition is now available via Amazon.