Making Talismans: Creating Living Magical Tools for Change and Transformation

This book is a very thorough overview of the entire scope of the art and science of talisman magick. There is found in these pages an entire system for exploring this art. I am going to run through the chapters, what they contain, and what books you might want to get if that particular facet of talisman magick is something you want to explore further.Chapter one looks at an overview of how talismans work. Ritual, the four worlds of Kabbalah, ritual, and planetary influences are covered here, though rather lightly. Each of those topics could be a book on its own, and if the topic interests you, you will want to supplement your reading in these areas.If you want to explore those topics in detail, for Kabbalah talisman work I suggest  Qabbalistic Magic: Talismans, Psalms, Amulets, and the Practice of High Ritual Chapter two goes into detail on the history and use of talisman magick in the Western current. The author gives a brief overview of Egyptian, Greek, and Jewish talisman work then shows the influence they had on Renaissance magicians forward. The Key of Solomon and Agrippa are covered here, and some interesting and quite correct observations of mistakes made by the printer of Francis Barrett's work in the Magus are explained. The chapter ends with a look at the Golden Dawn and their successors, and something I had never seen before...a practical way to test a talisman for effectiveness. Probably worth the price of the book for anyone who works in this area often.You will want more information than you find here, so I suggest going to the primary sources: Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn's Sourcebook) The Picatrix Liber Atratus Edition The Key of Solomon the King: Clavicula Salomonis Chapter three deals with tapping into divine power to charge your work. Hebrew letters, number values, God-names, the Tree of Life, the things you would expect to be here are here.A great supplement to this chapter is this book:  Cabala of Planetary Magic Chapter four is all about neo-paganism and working with pantheistic deities. An odd inclusion here is the Olympic planetary spirits. It's hard to know where they would go however, because the original author that introduced them, gave us very little information about them. This part of the book has pencil drawings of the being described, and is one of the few places you can find representations of the Olympic spirits anywhere. Another great find for the magical archivist. The only other attempt I know of to illustrate the Olympic Planetary Spirits is in this book:  Planetary Magick: Invoking and Directing the Powers of the Planets (The Magical Philosophy) Chapter five focuses on the assistance of angels in talisman work. Angels of the zodiac, archangels, angelic orders, planetary angels, the expected overview is here and complete. In addition some interesting modes of contact are presented. These are truncated path workings where you approach the appropriate astral planetary temple to make contact with the planetary energies you are seeking. This is kind of advanced stuff for a book that is basically an overview and "jumping off point" for literally dozens of topics, but to be fair, it does make the system workable with what you are given between the two covers. There is also some space dedicated to the Golden Dawn method of creating a telesmetic image of the angel based on the spelling of their name in Hebrew at the end. If you are interested in creating telesmetic images of angels, there is no better book to explore the concept than this one:  Tarot Talismans: Invoke the Angels of the Tarot Chapter six teaches drawing down the powers of the planets into your work. Agrippa's planetary squares, seals, and sigils are covered here. As in the other chapters, there is some theory crafting here that goes a little beyond the accepted standard, but by this time you are so confident in the research and authority of the author, you are inclined to accept what he is presenting. (Your own research is always important though, just to the process itself really.) I only have one problem with this chapter, and that is, he glosses over multiple angel traditions and just mixes them into one pot. The planetary squares of Agrippa, were used for making angels from very specific mathematical formula, and thus any sigil made from them on the corresponding square would be accurate. The author here throws angels external to this system onto the squares without so much as a footnote mentioning how nontraditional that use is. Agrippa was absolutely aware of Gabriel. But he never applied that angel's name to his angel squares, because it was a different tradition, and Gabriel as a name is mathematically incorrect to be applied to it. (See Cabala of Planetary Magic for more on that topic.) Demonstrating a less than complete understanding of Agrippa’s mathematical angel squares and their use, only serves to prove how complex and wide the scope of this area of study truly is, and how important your own research can be.Chapter seven deals with color symbolism in talisman work. Kabbalah color scales, flashing colors, colors on the Tree of Life, coloring thought-forms, etc. This is probably the one chapter that actually exhausts its topic.Chapter eight is basically artistic design 101. Drawing, shaping, choice of materials, and several examples of completed works that include multiple design elements are displayed. This is all modern technique with little if any connection to traditional work.Chapter nine is devoted to consecrations. Incense, ritual space, conjurations, blessing water, magical tools and ritual are all contained here.Chapter ten is basically the “care and feeding” chapter. How many can I make? Can I make them for others? What can go wrong? How do I know if it’s working?This book contains a wealth of information for the beginner, and some thought provoking ideas for the long-time practitioner. I highly recommend it for your library. One topic that is passed by is using astrological timing for the creation of the talisman. I realize this is a much more involved topic than would fit inside this book, however it may have been a disservice to omit pointing the aspirant in the right direction, with a suggested reading list. The suggested books I have embedded in this review are a great start, and I would additionally suggest the following: Christian Astrology, Books 1 and 2 Christian Astrology, Book 3: An Easie and Plaine Method How to Judge Upon Nativities Bonatti on Elections

This book has (almost) everything you need to know about making talismans. It does not actually give you step-by-step recipes. Instead, it provides you with all the knowledge you need to get there yourself. Except for the missing bits. Although he is a brilliant magician, Mr. Farrell is merely an amateur book-producer. There are misspellings, missing words, missing rows from tables, etc. Not just in this book, but in all of his books. I keep a pencil handy so I can mark in the missing stuff to make his books as handy as they were meant to be. For the table on page 128, pencil in "Libra = Haniel". Also, this process for making talismans is rather involved. If you aren't already familiar with ceremonial magick, there will be a learning curve. To the people who complain "This is too much work!", I recommend you use the simple method of waving a handkerchief over your talisman while saying your favorite magic words. Did that make a wonderful talisman for you? Different methods, different results. The notion that there is a shortcut is merely magical thinking, not magick-proper.

Everything about this book is worthwhile. The only complaint is that there are tons of spelling and grammar errors and wrong words used, some broken sentences too. For the level of intelligence needed to make such a book, the writing is somewhere between a 6th and 8th grade level.

This book is easily a staple of my occult library. In addition to providing a great Kabbalistic approach to creating talismans, the author also provides Neopagan methods for the various pantheons. The author also outlines how to recharge talismans, destroy them once they have accomplished their purpose, and how to evaluate whether or not they are functioning properly.

I am opening a Jewelry Studio and am using this book for inspiration and ideas. It arrived speedily by two day air (Prime) and has been a joy to read although I have only had time to read it briefly. I do recommend this book and shipping was excellent.

Well, there is a lot of information here but it doesn't really tell one HOW to make a talisman.

Straight forward book with all the necessary information on making a talisman. I am going to implement some this week :) Great read, grabs you at the start and before you know it you've read it cover to cover.

This is the best book on practical magic that I have ever read. I haven't read them all, but I have read a bunch. Very well written with all the info you need to build your own path.

a keeper and good read