Donald Michael Kraig (March 28, 1951 – March 17, 2014) was an American

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

author and practitioner of

ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an ex ...

. Kraig published six books, including his 1988 introduction to ceremonial magic, ''Modern Magick''. He was also an editor for ''

Fate Magazine ''Fate'' is a U.S. magazine about paranormal phenomena. ''Fate'' was co-founded in 1948 by Raymond A. Palmer (editor of ''Amazing Stories'') and Curtis Fuller. ''Fate'' magazine is the longest-running magazine devoted to the paranormal. Promoted ...

'' and for his main publisher

Llewellyn Worldwide Llewellyn Worldwide (formerly Llewellyn Publications) is a New Age publisher based in Woodbury, Minnesota. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereb ...

Early life

Kraig graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

with a degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and studied

public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

and music at other colleges and universities. He was initiated into Aridian Witchcraft by author

Raven Grimassi Gary Charles Erbe (April 12, 1951 – March 10, 2019), known as Raven Grimassi, was an American author of over 20 books, including topics on Wicca, Stregheria, witchcraft and neo-paganism. He popularized Stregheria, the religious practice of witch ...

, and into American Traditionalist Witchcraft by

Scott Cunningham Scott Douglas Cunningham (June 27, 1956 – March 28, 1993) was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on Wicca and various other alternative religious subjects. His work ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' ...

. 'Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft'' by Raven Grimassi Pg. 242, Llewellyn Publications (September 8, 2000) , /ref>

Career

After a decade of personal study and practice of the occult, he taught courses in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and at

Neo-Pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

festivals and events on topics including

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...

, Magick, the Lovecraft Mythos, Psychic Development and

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

, and was an initiated TantricLlewellyn Author Biography of Donald Michael Kraig
/ref> who ran a lodge of AMOOKOS, an east-west tantric occult group. Kraig was a member of several spiritual and magical groups. He was a professional musician, as an organist, synthesist, keyboard player,

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

player, and singer. He taught computer skills at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and was a member of Hollywood's magician club

The Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in t ...

. He was awarded the honor of Certified Tarot Grand Master by the Associated Readers of Tarot. He was an editor of ''Fate Magazine''. Kraig signed to Llewellyn Publications (now

), publisher or co-publisher of his main books, articles, and tapes; he was editor for ''The Llewellyn Journal'' in 2001 and for ''Llewellyn's New Worlds'' in 2003.

Hypnotherapist

He received training and certification as a clinical hypnotherapist by the American Board of Hypnotherapy (ABH), the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH), and the Association for Integrative Psychology (AIP). He was also certified as a hypnosis instructor by the ABH and as a master practitioner of

Neuro-Linguistic Programming Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development and psychotherapy, that first appeared in Richard Bandler and John Grinder's 1975 book ''The Structure of Magic I''. NLP claims that th ...

(NLP) by the AIP.

Media appearances

Kraig was a guest on ''

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...

'' with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...

Personal Life Media Tim Bratton is one of the founders of Rhapsody. He was a member of the MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) and was involved in creation of the audio specifications for the MPEG standard, commonly known as MP3. He is a named inventor on 6 US Pat ...

, The Deviant Minds Salon, Pagans Tonight! on

BlogTalk Radio BlogTalkRadio is a web-based platform that allows podcasters and radio sites and talk show hosts to create live and on-demand talk format content for distribution on the web and podcast distribution channels. Its claim to fame is a web-based 'st ...

Right Where You Are Sitting Now ''Right Where You Are Sitting Now'', fully titled ''Right Where You Are Sitting Now: Further Tales of the Illuminati'', is a 1982 book of philosophical writings written by Robert Anton Wilson. Dedicated to William S. Burroughs and Philip K. Dick ...

, and Occultists Radio.Occultists Radio Website

Death

Kraig died March 17, 2014 after battling pancreatic cancer.

Bibliography

Published works include:

Books

* 1988 ''Modern Magick: Eleven Lessons in the High Magickal Arts''. Llewellyn Publications. (2nd edition: 2002) (republished in 2010 re-subtitled: ''12 Lessons in the High Magickal Arts''.) * 1990 ''Magical Diary''. Llewellyn Publications. * 1994 ''The Truth About Evocation of Spirits''.

Llewellyn Publications Llewellyn Worldwide (formerly Llewellyn Publications) is a New Age publisher based in Woodbury, Minnesota. Llewellyn's mission is to "serve the trade and consumers worldwide with options and tools for exploring new worlds of mind & spirit, thereb ...

. * 1998 ''Modern Sex Magick: Secrets of Erotic Spirituality''. Llewellyn Publications. * 1999 ''The Truth About Psychic Powers''. Llewellyn Publications. * 2002 ''Tarot and Magic''. Llewellyn Publications. * 2006 ''Graeco-Egyptian Magick'' by Tony Mierzwicki, preface by Donald Michael Kraig. Megalithica Books , * 2006 ''The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy'' by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, foreword by Donald Michael Kraig, Checkmark Books , * 2009 ''The Resurrection Murders''. Galde Press , * 2015 ''Modern Tantra''. Llewellyn Publications.

Articles

*In

' ''New Worlds'': **"The World of Magick" in ''New Worlds'' #2

**"The World of Magick" in ''New Worlds'' #3

**"Advanced Magick" in ''New Worlds'' #4

**"Magick and Kindergarten" in ''New Worlds'' #4

**"All Magick Is Sex Magick" in ''New Worlds'' #5

*In Llewellyn Publications' ''The Llewellyn Journal'': **"Discovering My Ancestors" in ''The Llewellyn Journal'', December 200

**"Psychic Attack—First Defense" in ''The Llewellyn Journal'', August 200

*In ''Ecstasy Through Tantra'' by Jonn Mumford **"A Tantric Weekend"

Discography

* ''Using Modern Magick'' (companion tape to the book). Association for Consciousness Exploration, ACE/ Llewellyn Collection, 1988. * ''The Golden Dawn: Its History & Its Magick'' - (lecture tape) ACE * ''The Secret of Magickal Evocation'' - (lecture tape) ACE * ''Tantra for the Layperson'' (lecture tape) ACE * ''Tantra without Tears'' (lecture tape) ACE * ''Kabbalistic Numerology'' (lecture tape) ACE * ''Kabbalistic Meditation'' (lecture tape) ACE * ''The Self in Transformation'' with

Halim El-Dabh Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh ( ar, حليم عبد المسيح الضبع, ''Ḥalīm ʻAbd al-Masīḥ al-Ḍab''ʻ; March 4, 1921 – September 2, 2017) was an Egyptian-American composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who ha ...

, Donald Michael Kraig, Jeff Rosenbaum, Joseph Rothenberg and

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

(Panel Discussion) ACE * ''Initiation and Initiatory Orders'' with Rev.

Paul Beyerl Rev. Paul Beyerl, (pronounced "bye'-rul") born 1945 in Owen, Wisconsin, is known as an author and educator, and particularly as a Wiccan priest, in Wiccan and neopagan circles. Biography Rev. Paul and Rev. Gerry Beyerl, his partner since 1993, r ...

, Ian Corrigan Donald Michael Kraig and Liafal (Panel Discussion) ACE

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraig, Donald Michael 1951 births 2014 deaths American occult writers