Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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55 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the timid or fluffy!, September 15, 2003
Totally practical and down to earth, this book is written by
three experienced hands who have been working in the subject
matter, and it shows. There are war stories and cautionary
tales, and a detailed outline of what to do to create a
servitor or other entity.It should be obvious, but I'll repeat: this is not Magick 101.
Therefore, it is not boring to those who have been around a
bit and are ready to try something new, or ready to see someone
else's take on techniques of which they may have already
been aware. If you're comfortable with invocation and evocation, have worked
with sigils, talismans and the like before, and have made some
inroads into effective magick for yourself, then by all means
GRAB this book and enjoy it. If you're not quite ready for it,
buy it while it's still in print while you work your way up
to it. It does not contain instructions for basic operations,
nor should it. It's about time some texts for grad students
showed up! My pre-press copy (#13) could have used a bit more copy editing,
but the errors didn't affect anything critical. Disclaimer: I have been associated with two of the co-authors
online for a while, to one extent or another, and have e-met
the third since reading the book. This didn't color my opinion,
although it did simplify my own buying decision. -- Freeman, Temple Zagduku
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Offers a concise, methodical approach to entity-creation, March 13, 2004
Perhaps the only work of its kind solely dedicated to entity creation, Creating Magickal Entities offers step-by-step information and instructions on servitor creation. Everything from possible uses and precautions, practical advice and examples of entities previously created by its authors is discussed in depth.While Creating Magickal Entities assumes the reader knows little about magickal entities, it is not designed to be an `intro to magick' type book. It offers little introduction to general magickal theory or technique; the authors expect the reader to know a thing or two about what they're doing beforehand - and it is highly appreciated. A created entity is noted as being an extension of a thought-form, which is described as `a symbol that represents a concept or thought for the person...It is entirely in the realm of concept until the person makes the thought-form manifest into reality' (pg. 9). A created entity is defined as being a `vital principle held to give life to an immaterial essence, which has been created to have a self-contained and distinct existence with a conceptual reality, by the deliberate effort to personifying segregated thoughts and emotions' (pg. 9). The basic methodology authors lay out for entity creation details that by `taking specific thoughts and emotions and identifying them with things like names, symbolic attributes, etc., we are better able to work with them in a conscious manner.' Advising that it is `very important that we wisely chose our thoughts and the way we understand them. If we do not understand our thoughts and emotions and try to use them for our own benefit, the results can, and more often than not, will be counterproductive' (pg. 11). I do, however, have a few minor quibbles. While it is refreshing that the authors do expect a certain intelligence of the reader, footnotes may have been a good idea. For example, not everyone may be familiar with the Pythagorean system of numerology mentioned frequently throughout the book, and while a brief description is given in the glossary it wasn't noted anywhere prior to that. There are a few uncorrected typos, but they are infrequent enough to be of no major concern. Beliefs common to chaos magickians such as `the important thing is to use whatever feels right to you, and works best for you' (pg. 47) are frequently stated, though there is no formal mention of chaos magick by name. Despite the subject of the book. Creating Magickal Entities does not use the chaos magick terminology. The words `servitor' and `sigil' are curiously absent from this work, words like `entity' and `programming symbol' are employed instead. While not `bad', it is curious that the have authors avoided these terms. Perhaps it is due to the negative connotation that chaos magick has, and the desire to appeal to a broader audience? Several practical examples are given in the appendices, using various methods employed by the authors are likely to make for excellent reference for the novice entity creator. Cunningham, Ellwood and Wagener offer a concise, methodical approach to entity-creation without pandering to the lowest common denominator. With practical advice and step-by step instructions, Creating Magickal Entities is well written, and highly recommended for magickians interested in learning more about servitor creation.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "must have" book, January 23, 2005
I have found Creating Magickal Entities to be very good. After reading the review by "Brother MOLOCH 969," I felt it necessary to make this my first Amazon.com review.
In Brother MOLOCH's first sentence he states that CME is was "an easy read and frankly way too basic" for him. Then he refers to CME as a "cook-book styled manual" and that "The book is not easy to follow along as I would have liked it to be." So was it an easy read and way too basic, or a hard to read cookbook?
Just like Brother MOLOCH wrote, I found CME an easy read. It was to the point and didn't fill up pages with information that a person attempting this kind of magick should already know. If you are like me, and already know how to create entities and have been doing it for years, then you will find some interesting thoughts and ideas that you can add to the knowledge that you already have.
Brother MOLOCH wrote that CME was boring because it didn't hold his "interest and the depth of the subject matter just did not meet my requirements." This book may not meet your requirements either if you are looking for something other than a single source of solid and easy to understand information on entity creation.
The disclaimer in the book was not written by David Michael Cunningham, as Brother MOLOCH assumes. That same disclaimer appears in all of the books published by that publisher (Egregore Publishing), so for anyone that might get hung up by that, just overlook it.
It is true that pages 27 though 31, in the chapter "Important Precautions," talk about Karma. I don't see how that would make this book a "New Age" book, considering that DMC took a good jab (craftily woven into the writing) at "New Agers" and the common concept of Karma.
If searching through 31 to 44 or so books to piece together just about enough information to create an entity sounds like fun, instead of owning this 1 easy to understand book, then don't buy this book. That is what I and many others had to do before CME was written. I am very appreciative to have this single source that I can easily refer to, or refer others to. I don't have to remember which book had what stray piece of information, as I can just go to CME and get it done.
Brother MOLOCH wrote that he found the appendices interesting as they had information about actual entities that DMC and the contributing authors had made. I liked it as well as it helped to round out the information. By having the book written the way that it is, it keeps the main information clean and easy to read. You are not weighed down with information that you may not want or need. If you do want that info, you can find it neatly tucked into the back of the book, ready for you when your needs warrant.
Is the book worth the $16.95? If you don't already know how to create entities and have not been doing it for years, then yes it is worth it. Is it worth it if you have been creating entities for years? Yes, if you would like, or need, to have a single source of reference on the subject.
Besides, there are tons of places that you can buy this book for a lot less than $16.95 and sometimes even signed. Try www.fetchbook.info to see who has the lowest price, that is what I did, but don't tell Amazon, OK?. ; )
I know that you will make the right decision to buy the book or not, just as you know that you will make the right decision as well. May your life be fruitful.
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