Customer Reviews

Making Talismans: Living Entities of Power

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gotta tell ya, if you enjoy crafting Magical items and talismans just happen to be one of them, then you'll want to get this book.

While I have been recently delving back into the pre-Rennaissance talisman making processes, I have to say I have great respect for the author of this work. Why? Well first off he's innovative. At least as for what he's penned in his book and where he obtained that knowledge, I can't say for certain. He's a member of the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn (EOGD), the Society of Light (SOL) and Builders of the Adytum (BOTA). Thus he could have picked up varying levels of techniques from many sources and teachers and then again he may have invented much that is new.

One thing I highly dislike about Llewellyn authors is their need to always have to go back to the beginning. Chapter two is about "A Brief History of Talismans" - brief my eye! That lasted from page 13 all the way to page 44! Ugh! Just what everyone wants to learn, history lessons from yet "another" Llewellyn book author. Then his chapter three is "Names of Power" and we get more of that until page 60! You see, if Llewellyn wasn't worried about page count, they could trim off 36 pages!

The next chapter delves into something a little more meaty and that's "Neo-Pagan Talismans". Talk about something you just don't see everyday listed in a table of contents! And this is a terrific chapter up until Mr. Farrell get's to page 73 where he starts in with his own version of how the Gods from various pantheons line up to each of the seven major planets. Sorry folks but if you're just using it as a basis for talisman making, then fine adopt it but do NOT think that the Egyptian deity Ra equates exactly with the Greek Apollo or Norwegian Frey. This is typical new age author shoddy information giving! Each God/dess must be studied in its entirety and weighed on its own merits.

There are aspects between these three Gods that more than likely would cause them to openly war with one another should you introduce them. So just because they share a single planetary rulership does not mean they're exactly alike. If you doubt me, then do some research on your own and learn about the Gods from other non-Occult sources.

Chapter Five is weak because it's on "Angels and Talismans" and frankly most of the offered information here can be found most anywhere else in Ritual Magic literature.

Chapter Six is called "Snaring the Power of the Planets" and it too is somewhat weak. He does show you how to plot the seals of the Spirits and Intelligences of the Planets on the Magic Squares that belong to each Planetary power. If you've never seen this before, you may want to read that chapter pretty heavily. The last thing in this chapter is *yawn* Planetary Hours - again found in hundreds of other books too.

Chapters Seven and Eight are well worth your time to read. Here he gets into color and coloring thoughtforms. The section of Flashing Tablets should be read but again this information can be found in any number of other texts on Ritual Magic. Eight gets into drawing the talisman and here he really shines! He discusses shapes as well as new ideas such as layering the talisman and using the lightning bolt from the Four Worlds. Plus he offers up some traditional symbology you can make use of for your own talisman.

Finally chapter Nine is about "Consecrating the Talisman" and it's standard Ritual Magic procedure though with a couple of fine twists to it. And Chapter ten is all about how to determine if your talisman is indeed working!

This is not easy to do - not simple at all. There is no way a beginner is going to effectively make and charge one of these talismans. The back cover of the book says that you do not have to be an experienced magician or Wiccan to get positive results from the information in this book. I agree and disagree. I agree if this means that the reader or seeker comes away enlightened on the history, uses and process of making talismans. I disagree if its suggesting that one without experience can now go ahead and make talismans based on instructions in the book.

Clearly, making the talismans described here involves a disciplined and methodical process. To begin with, you must for example understand what divine names are, and what it means to vibrate them. What is vibrating a god name? As I went through the historical section of the book, I was right there with Mike Farrell up to page 52. At this point, I slowed down and was able to follow his instructions somewhat only because I have been using the Donald Michael Kraig book, "Modern Magic," and Israel Rigardie's "The Middle Pillar," for about 4-6 months. Otherwise, I would be lost. By the time I got to page 56, I could plod through for content, but in order to execute any of these instructions I would have to had practiced for some time, as well as relied on other sources with more detailed explanations of rituals. In this work, one sometimes gets the feeling of suddenly happening upon a ritual, instead of being gradually and methodically introduced to it.

Nevertheless, those with fairly decent exposure to Golden Dawn type rituals should, with practice, managed to master Farrell's instructions in a shorter time. And, the book is truly a gem as its the only one that I have found so far with as much detail and information. That makes it a five star book. I gave it four stars however, because I believe there are ways in which the author could make it more detailed and utilitarian for the less experienced among us who are trying hard to get there. More clarity and detail would help to make our journey a little easier.

This is a great book. While it is quite in depth, it is also great for beginners. I started out trying to gather bits and pieces of information about the actual making of Talisman and found that many of the writers simply wrote very short sections without indepth detail as to how and why Talisman are made the way they are. The author thoroughly explains in this book how to create a Talisman from start to finish and how to 'charge' them. Great book on 'Making Talismans.'

The author not only gives the reader a plethora of different ideas to create Talisman, but goes on to teach the reader exactly what is needed so that the user can use the knowledge gained from this book to use outside sources to create other Talisman.

Great Book, highly recommended.

I was quite impressed by the author's knowlege and insights into the often misunderstood art of talismanic magic.Even though I have many books on this subject this work is in a class of it's own.The author has drawn the best information from a varity of sources,combinded with his own experience and presented it altogether in a interesting and enjoyable to read volume.
This book should be of particular interest for those working in the Golden Dawn and Hermetic traditions.

Making Talismans is a very clear well written, and well researched book. It covers an extremely difficult subject well.
Unlike many of the books on the market it does not tell you about talismans or provide you with a history. It tells you how to make your own.
Farrell's main idea is that the physical object that make's up the talisman is less important than the magical act or ritual that empowers it. This obviously creates a problem because making a talisman is really a conglomeration of different occult techniques. Normally attempting to build one would be the work of an experienced magician.
However Farrell shows that this does not need to be the case. He provides you with all the information you need to create a talisman, and then simply gives you three different empowerment rites to try.
The book is fast becoming an occult classic because it really is the first to make these techniques accessible. Also a large number of more experienced magicians, for example Donald Kraig are recommending it.
Superficially it is complex and this has put a number of people off. However no one in my group has found any problems understanding it and we are all beginners. I liked the way that pagans could use a system in their tradition and more Golden Dawn types can use theirs. This places the book into the hands of a wide range of magical practitioners from Wiccans to ceremonial types.
The main question is do the techniques work. I have seen several articles by people who have used the book. My own group also had some fairly spectacular effects with it.
Anyway I heartily recommend it for both beginners and advanced people.

I recently bought Nick Farrell's book "Making talismans: living
entities of power" and I can assure anybody that this is the best
book on talismans that I have seen.
Everything you need to know is there and perfectly explained (a very rare thing in the occult world). It is a complete book that covers everything and deeply.
I have read many books on talismans, such as those written by
E.A.W. Budge, D. Ashcroft-Nowicki, Sepharial, I. Regardie, and
P. Zalewski, but Farrell's book is in a class of it's own and is
FAR above em all. You'll never need to buy another book on Talismans, and if you have already some books on the subject, and decide to buy this one, you'll know what I mean now.
Also, I would like to take this opportunity to recommend two other books on "Magick" for all the seekers out there.
"Encyclopedia of magical herbs" by S. Cunningham and "Modern magick" by D. Kraig.
What the hell those three books have in common?
Simple. They are filled with a lot of very useful informations and also, perfectly explained. Very respectful books.
So, have a good read all!

This book has been written in true Golden Dawn style.

One other reviewer has already mentioned, Israel Regardie himself has recommended this book as essential reading for all believers.

I tend to agree with Regardie's opinion, and I also say that all people who are interested in the Golden Dawn should also read this book.

A brilliant book. Everything I need to know is here, written in a no-nonsense style, with humour, the author knows his talismans. It is a great reference work and explains simply and in detail from a variety of viewpoints: traditional, modern, pagan, etc. It is excellent for beginners, but there is plenty for the more experienced, too.

This is easily one of my favorite and most useful books in my occult library. Nick Farrell teaches a system of creating talismans that is faithful to the western magical traditions while simplifying and applying it for modern practical use. This is very much a do-it-yourself book, and by following its instructions you can create a powerful talisman that is specifically tuned to any function you have for it.

The main methods he describes for making talismans is based on the Ceremonial magic systems employed by the Golden Dawn, though he also includes a chapter on using Neopagan methods. However unlike what some previous reviews have said, you do NOT have to be an experienced Ceremonial magician to make use of this book, as it is very novice friendly. If you do not know much about ceremonial magic, Farrell does an excellent job on introducing many of its components to beginners, including the Qabalah, divine names, angelic hierarchy, sigils, and planetary correspondences. It is from this book that I first learned the basics of ceremonial magic. The rituals he describes on consecrating talismans (which is an extremely important part of making a talisman effective) are simple and relatively easy compared to most other Ceremonial Magic rituals. Also included are effective techniques that I have not found in any other book, such as the use of planetary shapes. Farrell is also the first to correct the contradicting designs in some of the original planetary squares.

That being said, this is not a book for those who are new to magic in general; as it is very specific in its subject matter and is based on some advanced occult techniques. But if you're past the level of Wicca 101 books then you shouldn't have a problem understanding and applying the knowledge revealed in this book.

Making Talismans is an absolute must-have for anyone interested in practicing the talismatic arts. If you're serious about using talismans to bring more power to your life this book is well worth every penny.

First, the book's contents are fascinating, and well worth reading, for the sake of the knowledge. It's a very good reference book for a magickal, arcana, or occult library collection.

That being said, the information is not easily used by anyone other than a fairly advanced and experienced practitioner of ritual magick. The rituals are complex and fiddly, and any wrong step will, according to the author, result in a useless or weak talisman.

So, it's a mixed review. Good book, interesting information, not at all practical, unfortunately. I'd say buy it if you're interested (as I am) in arcane knowledge, but unless you're a working ritual magickian, don't count on being able to actually make much use of the information it holds.