Do you want magical workings that get consistent results?In Magic by Design, I teach you how to create your own magical workings, instead relying on magick spell books that aren’t providing you the results you want.I’ll show you how simplify or enhance an existing magical spell to get better results.I’ll walk you through how to apply the principles of magical design to create your own unique … create your own unique workings that get consistent results.
I’ll share multiple case studies where I show you how the principles of magical design were applied to create original magical workings that got results and explain why they got results.
And as a bonus you’ll also learn how to create long term magical workings and how to design your own magical systems.
This is a practical magic book that shows you how to create your own magical workings and get better results with your magical workings.
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Magic by design is a simple how to book on modifying and creating spells. This is something I come by instinctually and haven’t really thought out the process before. It is interesting to see patterning behind it and find many things I do naturally fit into this.
The analytical framework appears really helpful. The book has a fun spirit that encourages experimentation. Many beginners have a hard time and think if they change one element in a spell it will blow up. This book takes on that myth with kindness.
It is a nice open work encouraging the magician to grow and experience self discovery. Like art one has to know the rules before breaking them.
This is a nice quick read which should be quite helpful to a newcomer. As a more experienced magician I still found it helpful. Sometimes I forget to analyze what I’m doing. This book is a good reminder to keep studying your own design and others.
I was happy to receive this review copy. I just wish there was more.
I received a copy of this book for review.
This is the fifth volume of the How Magic Works series, and it builds well upon the other four. Taylor outlines the theory of creating magical rituals, as well as giving several personal examples. I found the ideas thought-provoking.
There is no direct instruction and little authoritative advice. It’s clear that this is an intentional choice, albeit one that makes the book ill-suited for a beginner. I would highly recommend this book for any of Taylor’s fans, as well as for people with some magical experience who want to get an alternate perspective on their practice.
Magic By Design by Taylor Ellwood
Is a book that shows a magician how to walk their own path. The essence of the book is this: Magic should ot be boring, but give a sense of joy to our lives!
Taylor Ellwood wants to help you to become a better magician and make magic your own by 1. Developing your own magical workings 2.Modify the workings of others and get beter results.
Ellwood states that if magic wants to continue as a discipline we must do more than blindly repeat. In that way lies the path of becoming a true magician.
The book tells us or better advices us ow to modify magical workings. Taylor advices simplification since he works with minimalist magic. If I may quote the author :”a lot of magical workings are weighed down by unnecessary requirements…”. Simplification is not about short cuts but to improve the understanding of magic and to get rid of needless complexity and how to enhance your own magical workings.
The part about evocation portals is very interesting and a great example of magical simplification. A part of the book goes also about long term magical workings versus short term m.w’s. The last part of the book goes about the creation of your own magical system around your own work. (purpose, tools, non-occult principles, chants,…) And finally about ‘experimental embodiment ‘ if you want to know what that is, you have to read the book yourself.
Note: the book was given to me free of charge for evaluation purposes.
In addition to Pop Culture Magic Systems, this has become another go-to book for future magical work, not just for me, but for those I meet that want to know how to make their own magick. It is a common idea in occultism that after you have cut your teeth on the systems and rituals of others, it is time to make your own, but there are almost no books available that tell you how to do that, and the books that are out there only tell you things to do, and are lite on theory. Taylor successfully finds the middle ground with “Magic by Design.” It not only fills the niche of helping you develop your own system, but it also explains to you the “whys” and “hows,” separating it out from those other, half-done books.
Magic by Design: How to create your own practical magic workings that get results by Taylor Ellwood
In his fifth book in the How Magic Works series; Pop Culture Magick Guru Taylor Ellwood furnishes an alternate viewpoint on the malleability of magickal ritual. Both in its initial design
by personifying ones correspondences with ones own power symbols and by owning a Spell by re-crafting it as your own working. It really puts the magician in the drivers seat rather than just following along unthinkingly with a heard mentality. And he does it with his own real life personal examples that are totally relatable to the novice or adept magician.
This books workbook approach with end of chapter questions/exercises really takes the notion of an ancient magical “Grimoire” to a modern age college textbook format. But I loved reading it. It feels real to me and not just the standard mythic supernatural fare in other guides but rather it challenges what my notion of magic really is – in its concise 100 pages. A great read.and most practical reference guide for designing future magickal workings.
The author presented me with a free copy of his book for my review.
If you have ever read any of Taylor’s other books, then you already know, but they aren’t 101 material. His Magic by Design book is no exception, but I still wish it had been around when I was new on this path. What he offers in these pages are not recipes for success, but the knowledge that anyone can cook, if you’ll pardon my metaphor. His suggestions can sometimes be a little vague for my taste (sometimes more of an invitation to start another avenue of research, than an explanation of his own methods). What this book, and in fact of of his others that I’ve read thus far, are so very good at is making me curious. Even if I cannot apply every bit of every book to my own path and practice, Taylor’s works just make me want to do more magic.
Concise, but intriguing book on magickal philosophy. Definitely worth reading and considering.
The real question of the book is what is essential to magick and what makes it work? Each chapter assumes that you want to create workings either from scratch or to modify those of other authors. As usual, the author stresses magickal minimalism and considering other ways to approach ritual workings.
The one thing I think this book is missing is more content. I enjoyed the book, but wanted more content and discussion on the theory of magick and how to practically apply it. Particularly, discussion on how to figure out correspondences or think through them. The author offers some examples of adjusted or created works, but doesn’t really offer ideas on how to figure out correspondences yourself because he assumes a readership who is conversant with other approaches. It makes it a nice read for those who are, but this makes the book difficult to follow for those who aren’t experimenting with magick (though they’re not really reading a book like this) and people who aren’t somewhat deep into their practice and know several approaches.
If you can actively work with his ideas, this book is a very intriguing addition to your library. I just wish it were longer.
I received a copy of this book for review.
I was given a copy of this book for review
I think this is probably one a lot of people need to read because magic works best when you make it your own. I’ve been making my own rituals for a while now but I still see this being a helpful reference if I’m having trouble coming up with one or just need a different perspective. I would personally prefer better editing but am more than happy with the content.
Have you ever read a magical working that someone else wrote and thought, “I could do better than this”? Have you ever felt belittled by “all-knowing occultists” who dare you to defy their instructions or rework their magic? Have you ever wondered if you were “good enough”, “smart enough” or “experienced enough” to create your own working, or even an entire magical system?
If you’ve answered “yes” or even “maybe a little” to any of these questions, this book may be written precisely for you.
Within this concise volume is the permission you seek, along with some basic guidelines, for modifying and creating rituals that have meaning for you. There’s no guarantee that your rituals will work, yet neither are there dire warnings that your rituals won’t work.
It’s really up to you, according to Taylor Ellwood, an author who encourages you to be yourself instead of dutifully copying something that may not entirely resonate with you. You’ll find a number of topics, along with some honest examples from Taylor’s sometimes very personal experiences, as well as exercises that may provide some impetus for deeper thought.
Aside from a few grammatical mishaps here and there, this book is very well written and easy to understand. I received a copy of the book in return for this review.