Generation Hex

If you’re looking for a book with a mind shattering new magical paradigm, this is not that book. It is also not a handbook for beginning magicians. This is the book you’re looking for if you’re a magician in need of fresh inspiration in a bleak and self-destructive society.If you’ve established a magical practice but are wondering "OK, I’m a magician, now what?" or feel there’s just "something" missing from your practice, this book is for you. If these essays have an overarching theme, it’s what it feels like to be a magician. Essay after essay describes personal experiences with magic and how the writers integrate magic into their lives. This is where the book shines: discussions on how to take your magical practice out of your bedroom and into your life.

One of the criticisms leveled against this book is the lack of diversity of voices. Most of the contributors are male and most come from a chaos magic perspective (with a bit of hermeticism thrown in). There are no articles coming from a wicca/witchcraft/pagan/goddess worship perspective. There aren’t any non-westerners (all the contributors are from the US, Canada, or the UK), and non-Western magic gets very little play in the book (though there is a chapter detailing editor Jason Louv’s experiences learning shamanism in Nepal). However, Louv says he collected the best of the submissions he received.

I’m hesitant to recommend this book to beginning magicians. Though the editor provides ample footnotes, many of the essays are so jargon packed many may find it off putting. And while there are several rituals described in the book, they assume a working knowledge basic magic skills like banishing, sigilizing, and invocation. But since you can find everything you need to know about these practices online, a motivated beginner could still learn quite a bit from this book.

The problem with anthologies is always consistency, but Stephen Grasso’s essays, and Chris Arkenberg’s article "My Love War with Fox News" are worth the price of admission alone.

Grasso’s essay "Beneath the Pavement, the Beast" (available online as The Drift) describes a useful magical technique based on the Situationist "derive." His essay "Dreams of a Midwich Planet" describes his vision for the role of a magician in the community. Grasso invokes the spirit of the witch doctor, magician or nutter who performs bits of magic to help non-magicians with their problems.

Arkenberg’s essay chronicles his rituals to beam love to News Corp. and inspire rebellion. One result of the rituals was Fox News talk show host Bill O’Reilly’s former producer filing a sexual harassment suit against O’Reilly, but Arkenberg describes the hellish psychic backlash he suffered attaining these results.

I highly recommend this book to all practicing magicians. Even if you think your practice is fine the way it is, I suspect you’ll find something of value in this collection.

Attrition's 2008 album, All mine enemys whispers (The Story of Mary Ann Cotton) available ...

Asides from being great pop culture horror/action flicks, the Underworld movies were also known ...

I'm driving along in a 1963 Cadillac trying to hold the lumbering sway of ...

So I'm driving down the road listening to your stereotypical alternative rock station when ...

If you're a casual Nine Inch Nails listener, this digital download is probably not ...