Advanced Magick For Beginners: A Brief Review

    Alan Chapman’s Advanced Magick for Beginners covers all the major subjects that one would expect to be present in a beginner’s book on magick and more besides. This is certainly a plus for the book and its readers. Unfortunately, I fear that many of the chapters may be too terse to be of any great value to the novice magickal practitioner. What is more, Mr. Chapman’s presentation of his material may not be the best for beginners. The author has taken great care to speak intelligently to his audience and has, it would seem, avoided “dumbing-down” much of his work. While this should be both appreciated and applauded of an author, it may in this case (in a book marketed to beginners of magickal practice) serve only to confound the beginner and hinder learning. Simply put, this is a book targeted for beginners of the magickal path presented in an advanced manor.

Despite these drawbacks, Advanced Magick is an excellent book if you want to get practicing magick immediately. Drawing upon a post-modern paradigm, Chapman offers many techniques and suggestions as to how magick may be performed without all of the ritualism that so often accompanies magickal practice. Of particular interest is his five step model for magical enchantment that, as he clearly demonstrates, can be applied to several modes of magickal working (viz., sympathetic magick, sigil magick, physical link magick, etc).

While I do recommend this book for the serious student of the occult, I do so with some reservations. It is most likely a work that the beginning student of the occult will need to read several times before he or she is able to absorb the nuggets of wisdom inside.