Learning Ritual Magic: Fundamental Theory and Practice for the Solitary Apprentice

In other books of magic, the teaching begins with elaborate memorization and the learning of rituals. Greer, King, and Vaughn take a slightly different approach: Instead of providing their reader with spells and magical rituals (though there are some), they choose to provide the student of magic with a series of training exercises that the beginning magician should perform in order to be a more effective magician. The difference is profound. As Jason Miller wrote in The Sorcerer's Secrets: Strategies in Practical Magick , "First comes the working, and then comes the work." Yet one can perform all the magical rituals in all the books in the world, and still not be able to magic one's way out of a paper bag. As Greer, et al demonstrate, magic is about changing consciousness. That means relying on what they call the five-finger exercises: for meditation, for entering into stillness, for cultivating mindset, for understanding the Tree of Life, and more. One cannot become a rockstar songwriter-guitarist without practicing guitar and learning the fundamentals of rhythm, melody and lyric poetry; one cannot become a rockstar magician without practicing magic, but also practicing the underlying qualities that make a magician effective. This book is hard work -- hence my rating of four stars, not five. This book will NOT make the reader a better magician. It will providing you with a series of training exercises that will make you a magician... if you do them. The book makes use of reading exercises for which one can read from Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah , Israel Regardie's The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic ; though there are other other writers to choose from; it's also important to have a Tarot deck... I used the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck , and it's useful to have a very simple deck from the very first day one works with this book.

John Greer has an eloquent and easy to follow style of writing that makes studying these subjects much easier. Plus he does a good job of explaining things enough but still leaving enough room for questions so you can do further studying on your own depending on the subjects. This book is a great starting place for people who don’t know where to begin or how to start practicing.

I am completely enthralled with John Michael Greer and his perspective on all things metaphysical. I find his direct and informative approach to magic refreshing and particulary inspiring. When so many books on the market are overwhelmingly concerned with magickal "how-to", Greer goes a bit deeper into the "why-to". The missing link in many magickal books today is developement of the magickal practitioner, and Learning Ritual Magic provides an in depth training course to do just that.

My only concern for kabbala was to learn what it's all about. By no means to actually practice it. So by that account I would give this book only 1 star, but I'm being fair in the fact the it is very well written and easy to understand. Most of all, that the author makes no insane gestures for the use of magic. So if you actually intend to engage in magic, then this is a good starter book. It's written to take a beginner by the hand through the process of preparing for hard core magic practice. A 9 month training regime.

Greer has been there, done that, and knows how to teach you do be there and do it, too. Serious work is involved. I haven't time to do all that even if I thought it reasonable to do (I'm not sure in my case), so I gave my copy away.

This is a book to study. I will be doing so. The book is based on The Tree of Life. It contains exercises and requests that you take your time reading and practicing. Definitely recommended!

IF your looking to learn without a bunch of weirdos the solitary way seems to be the best. Good one.

Loving it.

Having studied magic and the occult for a few years, I stumbled across this book in my public library. I opened it, and seeing that the course contained herein spans about nine months, and that the approach was exactly what I needed, I ordered it here on Amazon. This book is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for people who want to 'dabble' in magic. It is a book that teaches focus, and enables one to probe the depths of his or her subconscious, and soul. It also teaches the solo apprentice to learn to form and shape their reality. Due to the nature of the instruction, the practices can be blended into any spiritual practice, whether one is Christian, Pagan, Jewish, Wicca, or even Agnostic or Atheist. I cannot recommend this book enough. If you are willing to put in the work, the payoff is nothing short of phenomenal!

Couldn’t recommend this enough! If you’re experienced or just beginning. Teaches you the fundamentals of magic. Everyone should know these when practicing.

I highly recommend Greer's book on Ritual magic to anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge in the subject. His expertise shines through in this excellent book, and it's a great addition to any library. If you've enjoyed his other works, you will definitely enjoy this one too.

Excellent book on the topic. I have enjoyed other books by Greer and this book was no exception. Recomended to anyone interested in Ritual magic.