Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

So many glowing reviews! Not a criticism in sight! Is this book the best thing since sliced bread, so there’s nothing really to criticize? Hmm, if only! Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to purchase a copy of my own. I knew the author was into the spirit model, but a promise of a non-dogmatic approach and so many interesting topics covered intrigued me. How was the author going to put all those elements together? Why spirits of course! Servitors aren’t self-created entities in the author’s view, they’re real spirits that get attracted to whatever it is you’re trying to create. The author used to be silly too back in the day, but now he knows The Truth. Spirits are everywhere! And if you want them on your side, better get on your knees and start leaving them offerings. The author takes this concept so far that he’s even making offerings to doorways and doors in his house (I wish that was a joke, but sadly it isn’t). Anyway, I’m all for learning about how other people practice magic, even if they don’t do it in my style. But this guy is so obsessed with appeasing spirits (of pretty much anything you can think of, including doorways of course!) that I can’t really see what he’s doing as magic. It has more in common with religion, only about a thousand times worse! I’m left wondering how many spirit and ancestral altars he has in his house! Oh, and while he’s not a follower of any religion, he does work with archangel Michael. Well, whatever works I guess. I read most of the book, but around Chapter 24 I started skimming the less interesting chapters. By the end, most chapters were skimmed because I was tired of hearing about spirits this spirits that. I’m not sure what kind of results the author has had from his obsession with all these spirits, since sadly there are no stories of magic actually working here. Another thing that might annoy some readers: there are accents on letters s and c that seem to be randomly placed throughout the text. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. It’s just annoying. So, would I recommend this book to beginners or anyone else for that matter? No. It’s just too dogmatic in its approach. Not to mention that he places all the power outside the practitioner. (I guess this is not really surprising, seeing as the author is a talismanic jeweler. We can’t have people thinking that all the power is inside them, now can we?) Want things to go your way? Better start making those offerings and appeasing those spirits! And watch out for those spirits that want to harm you! Also, while the author admits that his spirit model might not be the reality, he does think it’s The Best approach to it! He’s got years of experience, don’t you know? You don’t believe in spirits or don’t want to work with them? Well, maybe when you’re wiser you’ll come around... I myself am (obviously) not a fan of the spirit model. I’m more interested in developing my own power instead of calling on someone else’s. The jury is still out whether spirits, gods, and other entities are actually real. To me, it doesn’t really matter either way. In my view, if a spirit or god wants to work with me, they’re free to make contact and tell me what they can bring to the table and for what price. I’m not interested in tracking them down and begging for their help, even if it was proven that they were real. Just not my style. If I wanted to stay on my knees, I would have chosen a religion to practice, not magic. The extra star is for the excellent chapter on meditation (Entering into Silence). Nothing new, but well presented nonetheless. Anyway, since this book doesn’t have a preview, here’s the Table of Contents. Be forewarned, while the chapter titles might be intriguing, they’re not as interesting as they sound (unless you’re really into spirits, I guess): Dedication Acknowledgements Pretext 1. Introduction 2. Intention 3. Clarifying the Focus 4. Animism, Essence, Symbiosis 5. Two Worlds and In-Between 6. Gut and Bone 7. Re/Claiming: Self, Power, and Position 8. The Six Ways 9. Entering into Silence 10. Entering into Trance 11. Entering into Power 12. Trance and Traveling 13. Simple Divination: the Pendulum 14. Raising Power and the Magical Voice 15. Offerings 16. For the Dead 17. Petitions 18. Sigils, Servitors, and Spirits 19. Training Power 20. At the Crossroads: A Brief Note on Roles 21. On the Stacking of Skulls 22. The Work of the Weavers 23. Playing the Long Game 24. Sacred Fear 25. On Consecration, a Candle Spell, and Falling in Love 26. Vessels 27. Talismanic Magic 28. Behind the Wall of Sleep 29. The Process of Weeding Out 30. The Ship in Practice 31. Stay Clean 32. Reticulation 33. Dirt Sorcery Suggested Reading Index