Make Magic of your Life: A Review

Passion and drive are some of the fundamental pieces of my spiritual practice. For a long time I was caught in the never-ending cycle of trying to perfect ritual practice that was acceptable to others and yet was distanced from my own calling, my own passion, my desires, and of course that separated me from my own motivation and drive. I have since moved to a path of desire and that has connected my spirituality to the core of my existence.

It can be challenging, almost impossible, to find books that reference or focus on this disconnection in magical practice. Many books talk about standard Wiccan or Pagan practices, parameters of belief, or structure. Sometimes it is important to find sources that dive into the depths of the inner spirit of a person, to refine our practice from the inside out. T Thorn Coyle’s new book addresses those very concepts.

In her recent book, Make Magic of Your Life, T. Thorn Coyle addresses some of the most important issues that people grapple with in the course of regular life. Issues around knowing the self, our will, desire, taking risks, manifestation, engagement and the role of silence in one’s life. All of these topics are discussed in this book as a means to identify what individually drives each of us.

I refer to it as a discussion for a reason. This book uses a comfortable discussion style in its approach to some difficult subjects, making them more approachable and hopefully more introspective for the reader. As I read about desire and manifestation, I began to see the incredible importance of this book. Coyle writes of fear in the context of how it affects our liberation, stopping us from being able to thrive within our lives. She writes, “What stands between us and our liberation? Usually, it is some sort of fear, not the fear that tells us something or someone is in danger to our physical bodies or emotional well-being, but the fear that something may change us.” This speaks volumes to me.

I find that I struggle with change, as many people do. It is the fear of the uncontrollable movement of change that creates a sense of vulnerability, leaving me to fight to stabilize life in order to feel like I can create my world. And yet this perspective does not always allow for growing into the transformative existence that life can often bring. It holds me back from who I might become, and what dreams I might be able to fulfill. Thorn writes of the willingness to commit, and that our lives “are worth the risk of that commitment.”

Thorn talks about people as ordinary and extraordinary simultaneously, a concept that I agree with and cherish. Often times we are pulled away from the ordinary responses and lives of one another, and we look only at those things that stand out as extraordinary. We forget the individual mysteries in each living soul and, in my humble opinion, we miss the incredible nature of our spirits as a result. I love that this book gives us a nudge to remember the small things, which really are not so small at all.

Throughout the book there are sections that allow for self reflection or action. The Soul Support sections in the book offer a meditation or reflection point that can help to embrace the concepts and ideals that were discussed in that particular section. The Action sections generally have three ideas – steps or suggestions for how to create momentum with the concepts of that chapter. Both of these sections are vital to the goals of this book. I feel that having suggestions and examples of ways that people can integrate the book’s information is key to its effectiveness on its readers. Often we read things and “get it” and then do not know what to do next.

This book is 256 pages of intense, soul-growing wisdom that can be used to identify and release locked-up passion and desire, bringing it present into your life. This book is not about training a priest or priestess, it is about becoming a priest or priestess, warrior or warrioress, dreamer or activist, artist or practitioner. It is about connecting with the natural magic that is given to us all and bringing that out.

While I read through this book in a little over a week’s time, I know I cheated myself in doing that. This book takes time and focus, participating in the exercises and mulling over the discussions, so that the reader can truly take in the beauty of the concepts being addressed. It is an investment in the self that many of us need to make.

I plan to take my commitment to myself seriously, and take the time to read this book again.

Note: I had the pleasure of answering some questions for this book while in development, not really knowing what it was all about. I am honored to be able to read a book that is so impactful for  me and also see that I am named as a small part of the book. What a nice twist that confirms the idea that the magic I seek is really the magic I have within me.

Watch an author video with T. Thorn Coyle and read more responses to Make Magic of Your Life at the Patheos Book Club!