If you are searching for a book of spells, you might need to move along. In The Elements of Spellcrafting: 21 keys to Successful Sorcery, Jason Miller gives a refreshing look at the art of spells. Rather than have you flip through a book finding a prewritten spell to grant your current desire, Miller challenges you to dive deeper. He walks you through a process to better manifest your spellwork and truly enhance you to the next level. Realistically, you won’t wake up tomorrow, wiggle your nose and have magick happen like Samantha from Bewitched. However, if you have had trouble with spells working or lacking that extra jolt, Miller will help you transform your work into solid well planned intentions that work.
The book is broken down into 3 main sections Part 1: Setting up the Spell, Part 2: Execution, and Part 3: Advancing your Craft. Then each section is broken down into the keys. The book is well written, and you feel like you are sitting with him in one of his courses. While the material is steeped in knowledge and engaging info, he does sprinkle in a comic before each key. The lighthearted humorous comics sprinkled in had me enchanted and laughing and loving the book so much more!
The writing speaks to those who are just beginning their magickal journey and those who have been practicing for a few decades. The author talks about how magick isn’t just giving you instructions that you follow like a recipe, but truly looking at your spellwork and the strategy you put forth. Each key has information on the topic and then The Take-Away. Take-Aways leave you with questions to meditate on or exercises to enhance your knowledge. Each key is only a few pages in length, but the content is great, easy to comprehend and written in a lighthearted way that you can easily connect with.
In Part 1 you will cover the first 7 keys. These provide a great starting foundation or refresher for the magickal user. One of my personal favorites is actually Key 2: Stop Making Crappy Goals. I am guilty of doing spells that are very simple and lame. I struggle with asking for more or thinking on a larger scale. I am guilty of not wanting to be ‘greedy’ or bothering deity for some selfish desire. I realized when reading this chapter that I am one of those who at times felt unworthy of great success. It’s okay to dream big desire changes in your life that can be large.
Part 2 covers Execution. Once you have the great foundation of Setting the Spell, next up is execution and looking into the work you will put into the spell. This section is full of great chapters that have already changed some of my personal practices to incorporate.
Lastly is Part 3: Advancing your Craft. Again, amazing stuff here so don’t skip any of it! Key 16 was one of my favorites and I love when the author mentions a past student who issued the challenge “Conjure something that you want but think you don’t deserve.” I love the message of getting past the self-limitation that I know I have personally been guilty of.
Elements of Spellcraft was great and eye-opening for me. I think those of us on the magickal path tend to get complacent and accept ‘this is how things have always been done’. Jason Miller will challenge you to review your practices and thinking towards the art of spellcrafting and move beyond to the next level. I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about their spellwork or needs a little extra boost for success.
~review by Amber Barnes
Author: Jason Miller
New Page Books, Feb 19, 2018
pp. 224, $16.99
