The Magiculum

Edited by Todd Landman

EyeCorner Press

Available from EyeCorner Press, Amazon and other channels in Spring 2014

'I invite readers to consider getting a hold of this volume for their own pleasure and edification. We all carry within us the marvellous and unexpected. All we need to do is shuffle and turnover the cards. Voilà! Magic!'

Paul Nagy ~ Tarot Hermeneutics

'Each essay is a lovely story unto itself … speaking from childhood memories on through present day reality. We are allowed to enter into the minds of some fabulous thinkers … to see how they create their reality, and how they deal with other people’s reality. They are all true magicians … yet for each of them there is a “9-5” that allows them to follow their magical dreams, and to work with magic in a very real way.'

Bonnie Cehovet ~ Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer

'I have been reading this book, The Magiculum (ed. Todd Landman) in bits and pieces for awhile now. It's a collection of essays, primarily by performance magicians, that in many ways looks at the intersection of performance magic, 'magic', and Magick-with-a-k. I think it's a very good book, and is doing what good books do- opening my mind/eyes to other perspectives. '

Aidan Wachter ~ Tveir Hrafnar

'If your interest is in the field of Magic, whether it be in the form of performing, studying, practicing...sleight of hand, illusions, or various oracles, you will most probably enjoy this book immensely. Intelligent, well written essays from a wide range of people approach the subject of Magic, in all its forms, with revelatory examination.

Very underpriced. It's one of those books you will want to reread about once a year to get your bearings and to keep grounded.

Get it while you can. It and its contents will be a nice addition to your life.'

T. Jorgenson, Amazon.com

This collection of essays has been written by magicians who really care about magic, but as it reveals no secrets it is appropriate for anyone, particularly for those interested in what magic means in the contemporary world. The collection is built on a network of lifelong magicians who discovered magic at a young age and who allowed it to mature alongside their intellectual and practical formation.

They are academics (epistemologists, political scientists, anthropologists, cultural theorists, professors of literature, teachers, martial artists, actors, readers, pastors, and thinkers).

They have been drawn together to contemplate different dimensions of magic and how they relate to it through their own life experiences as magicians.

Drawn from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Italy, Norway, United States, and the United Kingdom, they were asked a broad set of questions and allowed to interpret them as they so wished:

What in your upbringing and formation led you to magic?
What does magic mean for you?
In what ways does magic affect your day to day living?
In what ways do you elicit magic in your work, performance and social relationships?
Why does magic matter to you?

Though commissioned independently, their stories and reflections reveal remarkable similarities in the themes that they address. Magic as power. Magic as escape. Magic as protection. Magic as play. Magic as medium. Magic as unknowable. Magic as symbol. Magic as gendered. Magic as language. Magic as incomplete. Magic as a quest.

The essays will touch anyone who has imagined a magical world and who has a sense of wonder, either as a child or an adult. Broad in its approach, specific in its intent, the Magiculum offers much to contemplate.

Contents

Prologue - Todd Landman
A Palindromic Wand - Andy Fisher
Birds and Fish - Stuart Nolan
Magic: A Smoke Alarm for the Soul - Andy Fisher
Magus: Dangerous Kids and the Seduction of Power - Daniele Nigris
Feminine Magic - Lynne Kelly
The Re-Enchantment of Self - Todd Landman
Monsters, Lies and Family Ties - Ashton Carter
Out of Tricks - Nik Taylor
Roots of the Plumbers - Christopher Faria
The Arts of the Night - Circumventing the Sign - Camelia Elias
Antiquarian Magic - Brian Corrigan
Word Magic - Enrique Enriquez
The Restoration of Magic ~ Christopher Gould
Confessions of a Catholic Witch ~ Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold
Epilogue: Rue Ballet (du) EE- Todd Landman
Notes on the Contributors

CLICK HERE for a Magical Podcast with Dr Rory Mac Sweeney