The Winged Bull

by Dion Fortune

Book Overview

The Winged Bull is a tale of magic and sexuality. Down on his luck, Ted Murchison invokes the Winged Bull, a god of ancient Babylon, to come to his aid. Immediately, he is drawn into a vortex of weird... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877285012
• ISBN13: 9780877285014
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Weiser Books
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Good Book

This was a good occult novel involving the supernatural. Dion Fortune was one of the best and most famous occult authors and these icons usually also have some good occult fiction by real occultists not just shock artists like Stephen King and Anne Rice. Well Aleister Crowley is pure occult which is its own seperate sub culture. The kids on the cover of the first edition of Teen Witch were occult but could be confused with gothic. The thing about gothic is it has a sense of spiritual and moral ambiguity a priest like me is uncomfortable with because while they flirted with the occult with vampires and devils, etc it is even more biased and ambiguous than if was done by someone like Aleister Crowley who was sometimes referred to as the Antichrist. Crowley retains a sense of mystery and intrigue as does Fortune because it is just that- a secret order. While Crowley and Fortune may be occult celebrities, even the mainstream press got it wrong, namely that Crowley worshipped the devil and performed black masses. Now in a novel like this by Fortune or Crowley is usually the "happy" ending that white magick which is actually even worse will triumph over black magick. Yes, especially Thelema is even worse than black magic. The title character the winged bull which appears early in the story is a devilish incarnation of pure evil that must be stopped, and by someone even worse. And for that it must be appeciated as something purely occult, something that only devotees of the occult spirituality will truly "get." No matter how tempting the dark side may be, they obviously lack charisma and because of that become the source of evil and good will always prevail in the end because that's the way things are. There is a conflict that must be resolved, and in this book, like Crowley's Moonchild, it is good versus evil while just like in most engaging stories the good guy is usually even worse. The occult is its own seperate genre. Belief in the occult is a result of mental illness; bad luck is brought not by broken mirrors, but by broken minds.

... An Esoteric and Cerebral Love Story....

"there was a sky fog in central London which made the heavens look like dirty metal".....from the very beginning, this tale drips with the atmosphere which lends Dion Fortunes writing its power.Ted Murchison is a retired war veteran searching direction after the drive and fire of his war days. Direction and comfort is sought at the British Museum, which draws him in "across its hazy forecourt", and where murchison is acquainted with his muse...The Winged Bull. Seen through the darkly lit gallery, murchison mistakes the questioning visage of the bull for another passing visitor and is compelled to communicate with him. As he draws nearer and the fog in his mind clears, he realises the mistake and is baffled by the strange notion that he has more in common with this image than most people he's known.A friend has been made.There follows a rapid turn of events as Murchison runs into his old colonel,Brangwyn who senses things are not well with him, he knows this is more than a chance meeting: Enter Ursula.Ursula is Brangwyn's sister and has become embroiled through an unsuccessfull love affair in some less than desirable esoteric arts.Brangwyn has been searching for an assistant to turn ursula around, to break off the connection she has with these forces, someone with fire and drive and an empathy with the Winged Bull.............

White magic triumphs over black magic

When Ursula is bonded magically to an unscrupulous occultist,Murchison is engaged by her brother to save her.At first there is much tension between Ursula and Murchison, but it is necessary that they fall in love for her to be saved.He rescues her in the nick of time from being the victim in a Black Mass.This is a fast moving story with plenty of excitement set in an occult atmosphere.