Tyson, Donald - New Millennium Magic

Tyson presents here a complete symbology and philosophy of ritual magic. Contrary to neo-pagan treatments of magic, Tyson's has a philosophically monotheistic viewpoint, which recognizes pagan gods only as limited views of the Unmanifest (God). This is in accordance with his sources -- The Golden Dawn and original texts of Renaissance occultism. Tyson's practice of "correcting" traditional sources in order to achieve a more coherent, logical system will annoy traditionalists, but it is always well argued. A few very minor factual errors creep in, but on the whole Tyson's research is exceptional. One complaint that could be made is that Tyson is long on theory and short on practice; long chapters on symbolism fill half the book, and only after that does one find any information on what to *do* with the symbolism. It might have been useful to reverse this order, so when people got to the section on symbology they'd have some idea what the use of it was. If there's one thing that annoys about Tyson's attitude, I would say it was "sanctimoniousness." He is unusually concerned with the grim and terrible consequences which will follow if one does not use these Great Powers with Great Responsibility. Perhaps he feels these warnings are necessary. His section on Telesmatic Images (which basically turns on its head the usual practice of image-making as described in Israel Regardie's _Golden Dawn_) was one of the best parts of the book, in my opinion. A friend of mine who is a Chaos Magician (and doesn't like Tyson much) suggests that the book in general and this section in particular proves that Tyson is really a Chaos Mage in denial.
Overall, I'd say that anyone who, like me, happens to get drunk on theory and intellectualizing, and who likes to draw on primary sources, would really enjoy this book. Someone with a more practical bent, or who doesn't like those primary sources questioned and reanalyzed, should look elsewhere -- perhaps Nancy Watson's "Practical Solitary Magic."
Oh, one last praise of Tyson in general and this book in particular: He does not follow Aleister Crowley's archaizing spelling of "Magic" as "Magick."

372 Pages
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