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| Home > Books & Reviews > Pagan > Making Magic | Search |
Making Magick: What It Is and How It Works |
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The blurb on the first page of this book claims it is "The Definitive Guide to Natural Magick." If that's what you expect from this book, you will be disappointed. Making Magick is more of a general overview of various types of naturalistic magicks from one modern Wiccan's point of view. If you are a complete beginner in the field of magick, you might find this book helpful. The first couple of chapters provide a fair introduction to what magick is and how it works. Later chapters discuss spell creation, "pagan" (actually Wiccan) ritual magick, basic magickal defense, and more. There is an entire chapter of "sample" spells. The material is basic, but generally well-presented. I have two major problems with this book. The first is that there is really little in Making Magick that is not covered in other books currently in print, often better covered. The second problem is that while the book is supposedly on magick in general, Wiccan beliefs and practices dominate, often without any acknowledgement from the author that other points of view or ways of working exist. In fact, the author sometimes seems to go out of her way to imply that all Pagan beliefs are the same as Wiccan beliefs. For example, in the section on magickal ethics in the first chapter, the Wiccan Rede is called "the Wiccan or Pagan Rede." This is nonsense; the non-Wiccan Pagans I know do not have the Wiccan Rede, under any name, in their ethical system. While I can't pan Making Magic as really bad, unfortunately it is not all that good. There are better books on magick available and I'd suggest buying one of them instead. However, if you are looking for an easy to read, Wiccan-flavored introduction to magick, and are willing to read it as one person's opinions rather than "the truth," you could find this book a fair starting point for your magickal studies. Reviewed by Randall Additional Books by Edain McCoy
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