18 February 2015
In the mail today: Andrew D. Chumbley’s “The Leaper Between”. The book was released in 2012 by Three Hands Press. The text was written by Chumbley in 2000, an abridged version was first published in The Cauldron magazine in 2001. I yet have to understand in how far the essay is related to ONE: the Grimoire of the Golden Toad (or isn’t). Apparently the Golden Toad is more of a personal account whereas the Leaper is a historical research. I’ve been recommended to read both, but unfortunately the Golden Toad is now very hard (and costly) to obtain. The hardcover editions of the Leaper had sold out rather quickly as well and it was only thanks to a customer that it came into my hands.
This is number 219 of 231 “deluxe hand-numbered casebound copies in iridescent brick cloth”. It has a gilt toad device on the cover, designed by James Dunk. The same illustration is used on the title page, which is wrongly referred to as showing the toad at the roots of the alchemical tree from Samuel Norton’s Mercurius Redivivus. A correction for this is given with a bookmark, along with the title for the illustration being “Waters of the Moon”, a reference to the ritual account of the Norfolk horseman Albert Love (b. 1886) as well as the initiation rite given in Chumbley’s Golden Toad. The title illustration is a beautiful work of illustrative calligraphy, reminiscent of Arabic calligraphy and said to contain hidden links to Chumbley’s own alphabet.
Besides, paperback copies of the Leaper are available and unlimited in number.
On the above photo I added my own toad talismans. One is a mummified pet toad, which I’ve worked with in various ways. It’s not really connected to the ritual described in the book, apart from that it does serve as a talisman. Perhaps one day I’ll share my own working in this regards.
Some toad related artwork of mine:
PS: Tonight it’s having a “black supermoon“. This means the moon is in close proximity to the earth (occuring larger than usual) just that we cannot see it at this time, because it’s positioned right between the sun and the earth. So watch out, perhaps you can see even more darkness than usual on this night.
Edit: I’ve just been told one could read the Golden Toad grimoire at the Museum of Witchcraft. It’s certainly on my list of places to visit…
Wiebke Rost 