Has anybody here read Michelle Belangers book (s ) ?

Has anybody here read Michelle Belangers book (s ) ?

just wondering :S I know this is a touchy feel subject ... just wanted to know .

sincerely Divine 277

Yes I have, several of them. They are more auto-biographies than real books, as they speak more about herself than the occult. At least in the case of the vampire ones.

okay ... so they are mostly self centered.

I was wondering If I should read one of them, since it is listed at sacred-texts.com... It is the vampire codex.

So what you are saying is that its not worth the read ?

Thank you 4 your answer.

Sincerely Divine 277

You're very patient. Mr. Jonathan. ^ ^

Divine:

When I first started researching vampirism, I went on Amazon and ordered a few books that looked interesting. I was quite lost and did not know anyone who could recommend anything to me. Two of these books were the Vampire Codex by Bellanger and the Asetian Bible.

I picked up the VC first. The Asetian Bible had a special pull and feel to it, so I decided to leave it for last so that I could best concentrate on it.

The book was indeed quite autobiographical. Bellanger pulled her own personal experiences into the text from time to time, and it was all written from her own personal point of view. Then there was the roleplaying game feel to it. The "Dark Veil", for example, is nothing else but a code of conduct that must be followed, based on the game "Vampire, the Masquerade".

The only part to the book that might be useful to some extent is the one regarding energy work and healing / subtle surgery techniques. I must give Michelle the credit where it's due her.

But as regards vampirism and spirituality, it is an empty, pasted-up manifesto of the popular houses and of the vacuous vamp scene.

That's my take the Codex, for what it's worth. I haven't read any of her other books.

Needless to say, when I finally sat down to read the Asetian Bible, my whole world was shaken. It set me off on a fascinating Path of Truth that will never end. And that is something neither Bellanger nor any of her comrades in fangs will never achieve.

Nice post, Syrianeh, quite balanced and objective without being biased.

Divine, I can't say her book will be worth the read or not for you. To me it was a waste of time, as like Syrianeh pointed out, it is empty in terms of spirituality and that was what I was seeking. Michelle doesn't understand the occult from a spiritual perspective, as that is clearly not her thing. Her own group is known for being entirely ignorant of vampiric spirituality, although they do focus on energy and work extensively with it that must be said. Also, I'm really not into the whole Vampire The Masquerade thing, as I dislike the roleplaying side of vampirism and the occult, and the whole Belanger career has been created based on it.

But if you do want to read it, you would have to purchase the book, as the text from sacred-texts is a short trimmed version and quite different from the one in print. I agree with Syrianeh that for someone who never read anything about the occult, the bits on energy work might provide some information, but in my opinion for someone who has read the Asetian Bible, or any other serious occult work for that matter, there is nothing new to see in the Codex. Also several concepts are misunderstood and not entirely accurate as they are taught in the Codex, as clearly Michelle pushes her own personal views on the subject over what is properly studied and researched by real occultists for a long time. I would say that herself is confused about what she tries to teach, but I could be wrong.

In the end, there is nothing like reading and making your own judgment. This is our view and opinion, but others could think differently. However, from my own experience, the only people enjoying the Codex and criticizing the Asetian Bible are the ones who never read the AB. Otherwise, it's just like Syrianeh said, the AB has the strange ability to move and inspire us in ways that are very rare to find in a book, and that is something the Codex surely would never be able to achieve.

I agree when it comes to the AB, and while I was waiting 4 an answer I scum the site at S.T.A and I agree. I learned nothing new ...
Thanks 4 taking the time to answer my question

Sincerely Divine 277

After seeing some criticism here, I thought I might finally read my copy (which had been sitting on the shelf unread for about 4 years).

UGH!! I struggled to get through this tome of self indulgent BS.

The first part about her Vampire group is just horribly boring and self aggrandising. It's clearly made up. There is no evidence to back up her beliefs. Not even hypnosis transcripts like some past life books have.

And her monotonous second half about energy work is clearly ripped off so many classical New Age sources....yet.... She references none! She basically plagiarized that whole section in my opinion.

It's a piece of trash. Save your time and money. 1/10 from me.

Thank you for taking the time to answer @Hierophant

Sincerely Divine 277

I agree with Hierophant...to a degree. I checked my version of the vampire codex and she does actually list the books she used. I think that it isn't a bad book for a beginner in the metaphysical, although I still don't believe everything that she says, it's something everyone should do. It's alright to disagree, to have your own opinion, as long as you aren't forcing it on someone else. I will say that Michelle can get a little too over-dramatic, and half or more of her beliefs are plagiarized from the Asetian bible (especially the idea of vampires as a ruling order, and the caste system).

There is a bibliography, just no references.