Rating: 
Summary: A Great FIRST Book For Kids Interested In Magic!
Review: Normally I don't buy 101 level Occult books however this one in particular caught my eye since it's geared towards a much younger audience. The theme is sort of a Hogwarts-cum-Apprenticeship program that's mostly home study. I've been looking for something simple yet comprehensive enough to give to not only my own kids but also to other kids who want to learn the truth about Wizardry & Witchcraft.The only downside to this book are two small things: #1 Oberon mentions Sorcery in the typical "black arts" vein and pretty much disdains it. And #2 is I'd like to have seen more comprehensive material added on each subject. Yes I know, the book would easily be over a 1,000 pages long as well as very costly. Aside from that, there is little in the book to get a youngster (or first year practitioner) into any trouble. The mentioning of Evoking a Spirit leaves out a lot of essential details that normally if done half-assed, would get someone into some trouble. If you've got a Harry Potter-ite lurking in your family, give them this book and let the child learn of real magic that won't cause you headaches yet allows them to stretch their imaginations with factual evidence about real esoteric Magic and folklore!
Rating: 
Summary: Thought up book
Review: One day I was prancing around in the Metaphysical section of my local borders store when I spotted this book. I picked it up and I was fascinated with it, so I took it up to the register and paid over $20 for it. I come home and start reading this and I'm like wow... I wonder how long it took him to think up this nonsense. This book is a waste of money. If you want to read a book about this just think stuff up in your head! This guy is so caught up with the lord of the rings and harry potter it's ridiculous! This guy puts card tricks in his book I swear just to take up space. That's not magick it's crap.
He talks about unicorns, and unicorns are magickal but they're not real creatures today. This is what he says about unicorns: "Though always rare, unicorns have existed for more than 4,000 years. They were produced according to a closely guarded secret formula known only to a few tribes in North Africa and the Middle East. This secret was lost for centuries until Morning Glory, and I discovered it in 1976, and we produced several living unicorns in the early 80's. Lancelot, the first caprine unicorn in more than 400 years was born at Ostara of 1980 and later became the star of the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus" Now if you create unicorns you're not gonna sell them to the circus, you're gonna show them to people and get money from each person.
I could go one for pages about this book, but I think you get what I mean.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have done better
Review: The original purpose of this book was to offer information on magic and 'wizardry' for the teen group in a format that would appeal and speak to them on their own level. What is presented here is a commercial venture by OZ and his 'Grey Council' to cash in on the 'Harry Potter' phenomenon by reprinting material from the works of people such as Ellen Evert Hopman, Raymond Buckland, Raven Grimassi, Patricia Telesco and other well known authors. What results is a mish mash of information on different levels of understanding that looks comically like a Hogwarts Wannabe volume of collected wisdom and falls far short. What could have been a stroke of genius becomes laughingly a flop in its intent to copy a popular fictional wave and use it to promote what could have been a really good source of collected information. Not to be overlooked are some really good tables of correspondences, some very complete glossaries of terms and meanings of occult words and practices, very well illustrated explanations of such items as tarot cards and their meanings, animal and mythical beast interpretations, good basics in astrology and the short stories of Gods, Goddesses and mythical heroes. To its credit it does have a well developed index. What does come across is multiple works tied together by OZ himself, making for simple easy to read introductions to works that become clumsy because they do not address the younger reading audience or are misplaced because their content wanders off to cover topics that, while they are needed to explain the original topic, are above the reading level of the intended audience and can be confusing. The introduction of the books does not begin to focus on the contents of the book, but rather tries to sell the author as one of the all time great wizards right up there with Merlin himself. Why, the front page of the books is nothing but testimonies acclaiming the author. Such ego, such cheese! What would probably have been better for this book would have been to scrap the Harry Potter junk altogether, and approached it as an encyclopedia of material that should have at least been rewritten down to a teen level and sold as an encyclopedia edited by OZ, comprised of the material by the 'Grey Council' and offered to the practicing teen as an essential compliment to their working library. But that would not have given this book the controversy it has received nor attracted as much attention as it has by being a Hogwarts wannabe. So much for commercialism. The object here was to sell a book. What could have been a useful and well put together tool that was geared towards the younger practitioner suffers from a sad case of over commercialism and bad taste. It could also have used a bit more editing to make it more consistent towards the audience it was trying to approach. If you can overlook the book and authors faults, it does contain some really wonderful information. boudica
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely brilliant.
Review: This is one of the most incredible books I've read on magick. It covers the basics accurately and completely, giving the reader a realistic foundation to work upon. There is no idealism but hints at fantasy and imagination--traits of a true Wizard.
This work is perfect for anyone at any level of magickal study. It is specifically designed for boys in their mid to late teens, but is not written in a childish manner. There is plenty of vocabulary and it is so well written that its easily followed and absorbed. There is a 95% chance that, if any magickal practitioner reads this book, they will finish learning something new and exciting.
Cheers to you, Oberon.
~OakRaven~
Rating:
Summary: Apprenticing Made Easy
Review: When I first picked up this book I had checked it out from my local Library. I eventually bought the book. When I began I was so surprised by how helpful this book is. Mr.Ravenheart definately knows what he talks about. The book addresses teens more, but can be used by adults too. Although it does take more work than reading (such as creating a tabard) I would definately recomend this book to anyone, young or old, taking their first steps into the world of Magick!
| 
