JAN FRIES
‘SHAMAN’ OF THE TAUNUS

‘Journey through the frozen land’ from Visual Magick

Jan Fries is the author five books and several articles that deal with some very interesting free-form shamanic techniques. Here’s what one of Jan’s students said about seething:

‘Seething is probably the most useful magical technique I have ever learned. I first was taken by the pleasure of it. My body felt warm and sensual, and seething in the hips felt quite sexual. I liked the feeling of my body taking over where the shaking was first voluntary – but I could still have some control, making the shaking stronger or more subtle. After a while I started to see visions – something that very rarely happens to me. I could see (with my physical eyes, not astrally!) the surface of the land in the centre of the circle rippling, like waves of energy. It was a really moving experience in a site that – until then – had not been particularly ‘special’ to me… it ..has had a major impact upon my magical work which used to be largely indoors, as at last I have found a way that I can work outdoors. This gives my magical work a potency that it simply didn’t have before.’

Jan lives in Frankfurt near the Taunus Mountains. He is a musician, artist and magician. I first met him sometime in the eighties at an ancient ritual site in Wiltshire called Silbury Hill. He was there along with several others to participate in a ritual with american sorceress Nema, author of Maat Magick. I heard from a friend about a short manuscript Jan had written on sigil magick. It was being privately circulated amongst the world’s ‘rosicrucian’ community and getting a very favourable response. I was immediately struck by its clarity, originality and above all humour. I asked if I could publish it and as it was a bit too short to make a complete book I suggested that maybe we could add some material from Austin Spare. But Jan would have none of that – he immediately went away and wrote enough for a full sized book – the result is Visual Magick – a manual of freestyle shamanism.