Scan barcode
oisin175's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Useful rituals and exercises to help improve life in both the magical and mundane. Very focused on ceremonial magic, but that is to be expected based on the author's background. Some of the information felt off or a little too new age, but the exercises ran the gamut from basic self-help, psych practices, to good ritual work. Would recommend for the exercises and for the utility of trying different paradigms.
loriz's review against another edition
3.0
I almost gave up on this early on, but it was worth sticking with it. There is a lot of old-school, Crowley-style, ceremonial magic in this, which is not my jam and did not resonate with me, but there was a larger thread of psychology to the book that I found quite rewarding.
historyofjess's review
1.0
I gave this book some time, but then I started skipping around because I quickly realized that this was not for me. I had thought this would be a nice little guide to incorporating magic practices into your daily life. But...not really. What I found was a volume of soft self-help platitudes threaded through with quotes from Aleister Crowley and lots of references to The Golden Dawn.
There were just so many red flags throughout the book. The author frequently references their time in "magic school" and then, in the last chapter talks about leaving it and how everyone there told him it would terrible and that everyone that leaves has bad things happen to them. ... My dude, you were in a cult.
The point where I was really certain this was not for me was when the author, a white cis man, decided to tackle cultural appropriation and did NOT get it. He basically said that if you don't engage in culturally appropriative behavior publicly than it's fine. NO!!!!! And then, of course, he goes on further in the book to share things like a "Native American prayer." There's so much bad here and I do not like it.
There were just so many red flags throughout the book. The author frequently references their time in "magic school" and then, in the last chapter talks about leaving it and how everyone there told him it would terrible and that everyone that leaves has bad things happen to them. ... My dude, you were in a cult.
The point where I was really certain this was not for me was when the author, a white cis man, decided to tackle cultural appropriation and did NOT get it. He basically said that if you don't engage in culturally appropriative behavior publicly than it's fine. NO!!!!! And then, of course, he goes on further in the book to share things like a "Native American prayer." There's so much bad here and I do not like it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
A good book that makes you think about everyday life and give you ideas about changes and reflections.
It's well written and it was an interesting read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
It's well written and it was an interesting read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
captainpantsless's review against another edition
4.0
The first portion of the book is very basic, but the rest of it more than makes up for the early slog. The ideas are useful, implementation practical, and it serves overall as an excellent way to incorporate practices that help you develop personally, magically, and spiritually. I especially appreciated the section in Chapter 8 on putting the system to work *at* work. I'll recommend this readily to anyone looking to build a personal practice, as it provides a structure with plenty of room for personalization and growth.