13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Advanced Magick for Beginners by Alan Chapman. Aeon Books, 2008, November 25, 2008
This review is from: Advanced Magick for Beginners (Paperback)
I consider this kind of book on magic long overdue, and I love it that a friend and colleague of mine has written it.
In the 1970's, the author relates, the formation of Chaos Magic revitalised the practice of magic with its practitioners' enthusiasm for verifiable results instead of transcendentalist flim-flam. Since then Chaos Magic has reached something of a dead end, where even supreme magical competence leaves one wondering `is this it?' The extreme postmodernism embraced by many modern practitioners leaves one with nothing worth having and Alan Chapman proposes a corrective approach to the practice of magic.
He defines magick as "the art, science and culture of experiencing Truth." An art because arbitrary aesthetics alone dictate method. A science because it has a methodology that produces results which peers can corroborate. A culture because it has implicit ethical and social considerations. And he uses that unpopular word `Truth,' considered here as that which one experiences, rather than merely a set of privileged propositions. This truth, he argues, has only two limits: one's imagination and the available means of manifestation.
At which point he takes us from entry-level exercises through the gamut of magical skills all the way to the Great Work of Magick. But he wants most of all to restore the initiatory dimension all but lost in Chaos Magic after the seminal work
Liber Null & Psychonaut: An Introduction to Chaos Magic, which mentioned but did not explore adequately this aspect of magic. He stands bravely against the dominant anti-transcendentalist public views of some of his own colleagues and mentors, and for this alone I would give him a hearing. And here too he has done his homework, as you can see for yourself on the website The Baptist's Head, where he contributes regularly.
Amid a slew of popular rehashes of basic sigil magic his book comes as a genuinely fresh offering to the field. So for the missing dimension of postmodern magic, you could do no better than to read this book. I recommend it warmly.
The Kite
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE handbook for magical theorists, January 14, 2010
This review is from: Advanced Magick for Beginners (Paperback)
In my extensive reading and research into all matters arcane, I am always delighted when I come across a book that manages to brilliantly balance simplicity and depth. Advanced Magick for Beginners by Alan Chapman, published in 2008 by Aeon Books, is one such book. Following along in the Chaos Magic current ("post-modern magic," as the author refers to it), Chapman strips away all of the cultural and personal pretenses placed upon magic, and pares down to the bare bones of the underlying theories of magic.
The author describes his approach to magic as an art, a science, and a culture of experiencing truth. As an art, a magical act is an experience that we ascribe meaning to. As a science, a magical act is a technique which we refine through an experimental practice and observation of results. As a culture, a magical act is a means of working with a cultural framework, a set of ethics both personal and cultural, to achieve results which are relevant to the life and world in which the mage lives.
That is it, as far as Chapman believes the complexity of magic should be taken. The techniques he outlines are more guidelines than anything else. They are a methodology of how to approach magic. This is no book that will tell you what to say or do; Rather, this book will help the reader discover for him or herself the style of magic that flows best with his or her own personality. The author cares not which gods you work with, worship, or pray to (if any at all), nor does the author care which tradition, style, or culture you borrow your elements from (or whether you have invented them all on your own). Rather, the author cares that the reader develops an understanding of magic which will be able to answer the questions of why things work.
As such, there is no art, no poetry, no romantic language. Chapman only cares that you get the theory, and that you decorate it as you see fit. The book's starkness is both a blessing and a curse on this book. While maintaining its no-nonsense tone throughout the read, it could feel a bit dry at times. Thankfully, the author does have a sharp sense of humor, which he does pepper up the book with. The material is so dense with information, though, that some of the more complex ideas the author tries to express require a more straightforward approach.
This book is not so much a curriculum for learning the magical arts, as it is a catalyst to get the reader thinking on deeper levels about his or her magic. Chapman places a strong emphasis on technique. In many of his chapters, he has laid out spreadsheets in which he examines the core aspects of a magical working, and cross-references many different approaches to magic against those core elements. Thus, he distills the steps of all magic down to 5 simple steps: deciding what you want to occur, making sure it is possible for the outcome to occur, choosing an experience and equating that experience to the desired outcome, and finally performing or engaging in the experience. Last, the mage observes his or her results, and modifies methods as needed. It is against these five steps that he examines sigil magic, sympathetic magic and magical links, nonsensical styles of magic, as well as magic involved with working with Gods, entities, or created servitors.
The author likewise explores facets of magical culture, such as the usage of magical names and mottoes and aeonics, with the same forthright manner. He addresses the need for a mage to choose, or not choose, a magical name, and the potential importance of doing so. He insists that the name does not need to be serious, nor does one need to be serious all the time to practice magic. Through his approaches to magical culture, he develops methods that are self-sufficient, self-driven, and ultimately, the most satisfying to the self.
What appealed to me most is that this book helps those who seek to know the magical arts to get to the heart of how and why they work. Chapman's work transcends cultural, stylistic, and traditional boundaries in an intelligent way that can help the dedicated mage intelligently develop a system of magic that is unique to the one using it. As I hold true that every mage must find his or her own path, I find that this book can offer some good information about the terrain.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Breath of fresh air., November 9, 2010
This review is from: Advanced Magick for Beginners (Paperback)
This book was 'n breath of fresh air.
I see some other comments saying that this book is more theory than it is practice. I would refer those commentators to the exercises after every chapter? Much more detailed than you usually get in some other cases too.
This book is an excellent source for the beginner and adept. They also have free essays and articles on their website. (the baptist head)
Thank you Alan Chapman for adding to my understanding.
To all potential buyers, you will not be disappointed.
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