The New Hermetics: 21st Century Magick for Illumination and Power

"The New Hermetics" is an incredible guide to changing one's life for the better. If you approach this book with an open mind and truly follow the exercises within, expect profound growth and change. Whether or not one has a prior background in the Western Mysteries, this book cuts to the chase and serves as a practical guide for truly experiencing the power that we all carry within ourselves.

The best book on magick. Very practical and if you take it seriously it really works. The best results can be achieved in combination with the program on the CD. Beneath the casual style there is a well defined comprehensive system of spiritual development. No dogmas and unnecessary complications, straight to the essence of the very best of the Western Mystical tradition.

I must say that the New Hermetics is a really fantastic Book. It's a shame that some people seem to mistake simplifying the mysteries with being too basic or even confused. This book is anything but basic. It teaches you all the necessary steps to take on the inward journey to enlightenment in a clear and concise way. I recommend it completely. So many other books waste time with verbal mush and arbitrary non-essentials. The New Hermetics cuts through all that and just delivers the specific mental strategies for getting to transcendent consciousness and balancing your life along the way. This is the soul's journey, laid out in an easy to understand way. If anyone thinks these exercises are too basic, they are probably looking to create confusion and complexity for themselves, rather than real self-discovery.

The New Hermetics, by Jason Augustus Newcomb, describes a streamlined, "non-sectarian" training program in the basics of Western magic. It treats magic as a system of training the mind and placing it in contact with cosmic consciousness. You don't have to join a group, dress up in a funny costume, or learn to pronounce Hebrew words; you can, however, go to his website (newhermetics.com) and download free workbooks to go with the material, or buy CDs of the book's exercises. Since 90% of it is descriptions of magical exercises, it is a very fast read, but quite engaging. Newcombe describes the work simply, clearly, in small and manageable steps, accompanied by rather entertaining cartoon-like diagrams. My only complaint pertains to the system rather than to the book itself; having worked with some of the material, I find it a little too cerebral, something that is all "in the head" without being carried out in ritual and enacted symbol. Nevertheless, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in magic, the occult, and hermeticism.

One might say that this book is a Chaos Magician's re-interpretation on classical Hermetics with none of the anarchist baggage that is often heaped upon similar works. "New" Hermetics indeed. This book shines with wonderful technique. I haven't quite finished it at this point, but I have enjoyed every page and I'm half way through. This makes a good introductory text for anyone who has the genuine passion needed to actively engage the work. Better than Modern Magic for the beginner and extremely useful for experienced practitioners who are looking to inject their practice with greater art.