Customer Reviews

The Spell of Making

5 star:		(9)
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3 star:		(1)
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The Spell of Making tells you how to create wonderful, effective Pagan rites, step by step and as quickly as possible. It's a great resource for all those Witches out there who create rituals on a regular basis and want to make meaningful contributions to their Coven's BOS. {Those of you with carved-in-stone rituals probably won't find it too helpful, however.} Blackstone's sincerity and sense of humor make this book an enjoyable read. If you need recommendations for your "advanced" reading list, add this one!

This book is a very well written book for any Wiccan to have, be they very experienced or a neophyte. Blacksun has the practical experience and knowledge to share with the Pagan community worldwide and he does so with this book. This is a book that I keep in my 'top 10 recommended books' for people seeking this path...yes, it is not an easy read. But, hard work makes the reward all the more valuable. In this day of fluffy bunny pagan books, it is wonderful to see books like this, that don't cater to the "cash factor". Thank you Blacksun for sharing this with us! I value my book immensely.

Blacksun, as no other author to my knowlege, has explained in great detail the how and why of ritual as well as spelled out instruction for constructing your own. I do have to agree with one point of other reviews that I have read on other books, most which I have read myself, in that they all pretty much have the same "fluffy" content. There is absolutely no "fluff" in this book. Take a look at what you claim to be your religion - a duality in deity and nature, as is addressed in all those "fluffy" books, would also suggest a duality in everything wouldn't it? Good and bad, light and dark. If you look hard enough, this book can help you keep them in balance and keep your life in balance.

an ambitious beginner might enjoy this book, but it is certainly not a "light read". If you are going to write rituals, for yourself or a group, this is an essential reference. I picked it up by mistake, thinking it was about ritual tools, and quickly realized that I needed this book! Blacksun gives clear details on the many aspects involved in creating a ritual, from magical intent, to symbology and drama. What to include, and how to decide, is only one of many ritual construction steps he explains. There are a few rituals included that are completely explained, including why each decision was made. Even though the book is written from a Wiccan perspective, the book would be usefull to almost any religion since ritual is an integral part of all faiths.

There are many books that give the very basics of ritual writing among the rest of the text. This is an excellent starting point to wrting your own rituals. I don't think this would be a beginners book. After you have a good understanding and have done a few rituals yourself, GET THIS BOOK!

This is one of the most useful Wiccan/Craft books I've read in many years. Refreshingly, the author wastes no time denigrating others' paths or trads, but focuses on the processes and components (e.g. tools, visualizations) of creating rituals, orderly explaining them in impressive depth.

Blacksun is my intiator, my teacher, and my friend. I saw this book in MS. I have seen the principles he teaches in action. I have watched him create magic with them. I have used them myself. For those who would create ritual, I say listen to him.

Blacksun's book, The Spell of Making, is a wonderful resource for those Wiccans/Pagans that want to learn more about modern witchcraft. It is based on his personal experiences with his coven and the ATC (Aquarian Tabernacle Church). I enjoyed it very much and have found it to be a wonderful resource since I bought it from Blacksun at a festival. He uses an innate sense of humor and an intelligent style of writing to bring the information to the reader in an understandable fashion. I recommend it heartily for those seeking answers.

I was surprised by the review calling it 'fluffy'. Obviously it depends on what perspective you approach from. This book is almost legendary in both Neo-Pagan and Traditional circles as the best reference for what we do and why we do it. If you're not serious about your religion AND your craft, skip it, if you are, then, this book will fill a gap left by most of the other stuff on the market. Worth it at ANY price.

Blacksun stresses the need for overstatement when writing your rituals. This makes sense for ritual purposes but unfortunately he also overstates anything he says in the book. There are some good points in there but they are buried unders layers of superfluous banter. I much preferred Watson's anecdotal approach in her Practical Solitary Magic, it just felt more real to me and I was much more interested. This is not the book for you if you already understand how to make up your own rituals, it doesn't even really help you refine the technique very much. I'd say it's more for the person who has immersed themselves in the religious side of the Craft and now is taking a first side int practical magic.