Welcome to the Night School
Jake Stratton-Kent with the infamous chalkboard, on which he gave us a glimpse of his work in progress, Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits.
Dear Readers,
Today we have the absolute privilege of announcing that pre-orders are open for Jake Stratton-Kent’s Night School Volume II: Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits. Jake and Erzebet were working on the final edits in the months before he had the stroke; she received an email from him three days before that fateful event in which he said, ‘Erze, we’re good to go’. Like so many of you, we held out hope that he would recover, and held onto the manuscript throughout those dreadful months as we did not want to release this book when he could not be there to enjoy the moment. Jake loved his Night School series – he intended it to be his final work and indeed, that is what it has become. In the months following his death, Erze could not even look at the manuscript, but it waited patiently until she had moved past grief and into action. Erze promised Jake she would see this book published, and now here we are. We like to think he has guided us to this moment, and that while he can no longer be here to hold his creation, he is certainly with us in spirit.
This ‘Guide to Grimoiring’ ends the Night School series by renowned occult author Jake Stratton-Kent. The first volume, The Sworn and Secret Grimoire, used the Grimoire of Turiel as a starting point for engaging with the ritual process when working with grimoiric spirits and can be thought of as an ‘occult primer’. In this second volume, Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits, Jake moves us into the realm of Cyprianic spirit-work, the mysteries of the Lunar Mansions, and an investigation of the Kings and Queens of the Elementals. Moving between history and practice, Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits, as its predecessor did with Turiel, takes its inspiration from Nathaniel Moulth’s Petit Manuel du Devin et du Sorcier, through which it highlights the folkloric elements of grimoiric practice and the benefits of ritual timing.
Dr. Alexander Cummins’ foreword beautifully outlines the contents of Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits as well as Jake Stratton-Kent’s contributions to our understanding of grimoire practice, closing with a beautiful tribute to Jake himself.
We are celebrating Jake’s life and his joy in the Night School series by releasing this second volume as a standalone work, and additionally with the first volume in a limited, numbered set. In these works we join with Jake in his journey through the starry skies, where he is waiting to welcome us.
Hadean Press has also been granted the privilege of hosting the sale of some of Jake’s magical ephemera and ritual items. This is being done in accordance with the wishes of the inheritor of his possessions, as named in his legally binding will. We are aware of the many concerns such a sale can raise, but we are treating this with all of the respect which with we treated Jake himself. To that end, the page with Jake’s items is password protected and will be shared with subscribers to the Hadean Press mailing list. We do not believe these items – even the most mundane of them – should be on public display. For those of you who missed the mailing, please email us at info@hadeanpress.com.
Thank you, Jake, for everything you have given to us.
ALWays,
Erze & Dis
This ‘Guide to Grimoiring’ ends the Night School series by renowned occult author Jake Stratton-Kent. Moving between history and practice, Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits takes its inspiration from Nathaniel Moulth’s Petit Manuel du Devin et du Sorcier, through which it highlights the folkloric elements of grimoiric practice and the benefits of ritual timing.
Hardcover edition is bound in Toile du Marais Marine cloth with marbled endpapers, we are initially printing 500 copies of this title to match Night School Volume I: The Sworn and Secret Grimoire.
Pre-order only. Special numbered limited edition boxed set. Includes The Sworn and Secret Grimoire and Cyprian’s Offices of Spirits, bound in black leather cloth and with printed marbled endpapers with ribbon marker, with slipcase covered in printed marbled paper to match. 300 copies are available exclusively from Hadean Press.
