Magic Maker
The Enchanted Path to Creativity
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- € 12,99
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“Rich descriptions of creativity and magic are paired with a practical roadmap for making a life in devotion to both.” —Jessica Dore, author of Tarot for Change
A magical guide to enhancing your creative process, from “the Terry Gross of witches” (Vulture)
Creativity and magic are one and the same.
Creative people often speak of being channels for inspiration, while others refer to communing with their muse. For many, this is more than mere metaphor, as artists throughout history have employed magical techniques to tap into their creativity, express powerful messages, and make contact with the sacred. From the songwriting divination of David Bowie and the bewitching shapeshifting of Beyoncé, to the Ouija board poetry sessions of Sylvia Plath and the abstract painting séances of Hilma af Klint, to the manifestation method of Octavia E. Butler and the daily meditation of David Lynch, mystical practices have been responsible for generating some of the world’s most beloved creations. While there are many books on creativity out there, none of them examines the specific ways that magic has been embraced by creative visionaries throughout history, nor do they explore how makers can start using these methods in their own creative processes.
Magic Maker is the first. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Waking the Witch Pam Grossman shares how you can use magic to enhance your own creative practices.
Smart, captivating, and gorgeously written, Magic Maker is filled with stories of artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, and other creatives throughout history who have applied magic to their process. Grossman shows us how we can tap into the same inspiration for our own creative pursuits, whether it’s writing a song, a novel, software code, or figuring out our path in life.
Delving into topics such as spellcasting, invocation, spirit communication, divination, and more, Grossman provides an enchanting and practical guide for anyone who wants to unlock their own creative magic and make whatever it is you’re meant to in this lifetime.
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Witch Wave podcaster Grossman (Waking the Witch) outlines in this pensive outing how readers can use magic to fuel their art. For Grossman, art is itself a kind of magic—an intentional "collaborating with a Creative Force in order to transform" both the artist and "whomever bears witness to the new thing they have made." More traditional magical crafts can also serve as vehicles for creativity, she writes, noting that tarot decks can spark inspiration or draw out patterns in one's art (for fabulist author Italo Calvino, tarot was "a machine for constructing stories" and helped him write The Castle of Crossed Destinies), while augury—the interpretation of signs—is a useful means of directing one's attention to new and fruitful "areas of creative investigation." Readers seeking step-by-step tips for casting spells or reading tea leaves will be disappointed, but Grossman's exploration of what it means to create is expansive and inspiring, bolstered by intimate anecdotes of artists' creative philosophies. For instance, she notes that jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, who saw music as "the spiritual expression of who he was," framed his 1965 album A Love Supreme as an offering to God and accompanied it with a manifesto that highlighted his view that "thought, belief, and creativity are all connected to the divine." This is a thought-provoking guide and a joyous ode to creativity's many mysteries.
