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Tag Archives: philosophy

The Languages of Magic, by Toby Chappell

The Languages of Magic: Transform Reality through Words, Magical Symbols, and Sigils, by Toby Chappell
Destiny Books, 979-8888500675, 352 pages, April 2025

Toby Chappell’s The Languages of Magic: Transform Reality through Words, Magical Symbols, & Sigils is a fascinating exploration of the mystical and transformative power that language holds in the practice of magic. Chappell, known for his expertise in esoteric traditions and occult practices, masterfully delves into the ways words and symbols can shape reality, offering both a theoretical framework of semiotics and its application in the study of magic.

“The connection between semiotics, language, and magic is the core principle of this book: the magic is in the communication.”1

Don’t worry, I didn’t know what the word semiotics meant before reading this book, just in case you’re already lost! One thing I advise is not letting the academic language, which you most likely don’t hear in your daily life unless you’re a linguist, make you feel this book is too dense to comprehend. From the get-go, Chappell does a wonderful job distilling complex information into a relatable and easy to comprehend context, often providing detailed definitions, examples, and explanations for all concepts presented.

Step-by-step Chappell draws connections between traditional linguistic theories and magical practices, suggesting that mastery of language can lead to mastery over one’s reality.  A key theme in the book is the idea that language is not merely a tool for communication but a powerful medium for transformation. All of the chapters work cohesively towards demonstrating how understanding the foundations of language can lead to a better grasp on “the essential communicative function of magic.”2

The book begins with Chappell detailing the premise of this book, specifically clarifying for readers the intersection between language and semantics  and magic. From the origins of language to the passing on of cultures through time, readers gain a sense of just how the inner workings of the transmission of information can be drawn upon and manipulated to shift one’s own inner and outer world. Chappell explains:

“Magic—as operative communication—is a tool for translating this initial inspiration into the changes that are first necessary within the perceptual world. This is followed by altering a particular semiotic web to contain the right symbols that suggest an interpretation that can accommodate your vision. The newly re-spun semiotic web then suggests the effective mode of address for communicating this mindfully evolved vision to those mechanisms and forces in the phenomenal world that can help you to realize your vision.”3

To further provide a foundation for this assertion, Chappell delves into various models of magic and a history of semiotics. Within these chapters jam-packed with information, readers will learn about tons of philosophers, anthropologists, linguists, magicians, psychologists, and other thought-leaders. Chappell draws from many disciplines to provide a comprehensive, extremely well-rounded approach to the impact of language and semiotics within magic.

This section concludes with a chapter titled “Language, Myth, and Magic” where Chappell highlights mythological figures who are associated with language and writing and draws both ancient and modern connections between magic and the art of storytelling.

This section concludes with a chapter titled “Language, Myth, and Magic” where Chappell highlights mythological figures who are associated with language and writing and draws both ancient and modern connections between magic and the art of storytelling.

A real bonus to the book is the afterwards, which includes three essays. Two of them, “The Words Aim the Arrow” and “Why Do Magicians Write Fiction”,  are by author and occultist Don Webb, while the third, “Magi Loci” is by Brenda Yagmin. There’s also a glossary, notes, bibliography, and index for further research or study into the material presented.

As someone with academic inclinations, I highly enjoyed this book. My husband holds two philosophy degrees, so topics such as this are a normal discussion in our household. Plus, I’ve taken courses on the philosophy of language before, so some concepts were familiar. However, I will note, for those who are less inclined for such a detailed approach to magic, this book could potentially feel overwhelming at times. It took me about five weeks to make my way through, reading carefully, taking notes along the way, and taking side quests to read other works mentioned by Chappell throughout the book.

This said, I really feel like what Chappell has to offer the magical community within the text makes this book well worth the time and energy needed to absorb the material. Chappell emphasizes how this knowledge can enhance one as a magician:

“By examining these tools not normally associated with magic in our modern world, the magician can become more effective and powerful. They might even learn a bit about more effective mundane communication too.”4

And for those who preserve, much of the technical aspects of linguists and language of philosophy ease up in the second half of the book, especially once readers get to the case study section of the book. This is definitely a read that will have you wanting to then research other topics further; I have a list of further works and trains of thought I want to continue to research. Chappell offers a coherent presentation of information that is both practically applicable and also metaphysically stimulating.

Overall, The Languages of Magic is a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in the occult, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, or simply the transformative power of language in general. Chappell provides readers with the tools and knowledge to explore their own magical potential, making this book both an educational resource and a catalyst for personal growth. If you’re looking for a magical topic with some heartiness material you can really sink into, Chappell’s insights will inspire you to explore the fascinating interplay between language and magic. For those willing to take the time to explore the material, this is a wonderful resource for magical enrichment.

A Critical Introduction to Tarot, by Simon Kenny

A Critical Introduction to Tarot:  Examining the Nature of a Belief in Tarot, by Simon Kenny
IFF Books, 1803413921, 248 pages, January 2024

Simon Kenny wrote A Critical Introduction to Tarot: Examining the Nature of a Belief in Tarot after getting a tarot reading from a woman named Jo Lluque. He bought the Modern Witch Tarot Deck, “which sparked my interest in Tarot as a research topic.”5

“My approach here is to make the unknown known insofar as that is within my ability. It should be evident that the style I employ, while comparative, is to seek clarity of theory as informed by the available facts and compassion for those studied. My study of the Tarot has brought me on an exciting and unexpected journey through the many topics it touches.”6

Kenny’s background is in blogging about technology and political philosophy. As an author, technologist, and educator dedicated to asking probing questions to promote technical thinking, he applies his expertise to the tarot for the purpose of this book. He currently lives in Galway, Ireland and is a member of International Playing-Card Society, The Irish Writers Centre, and Writing.ie. You can learn more about him at this website.

A Critical Introduction to Tarot is very well planned and thoughtfully constructed, much like a research paper or dissertation. The reference material is always available; I found myself checking the References over and over again as I made my way through the book. He utilizes the Rider-Waite-Smith deck for all images in this book, although he mentions Aleister Crowley and his Thoth Deck in several passages.

The chapter “Randomness and Projection” discusses the practice and different forms of shuffling cards.
This discussion was interesting, as he shared viewpoints from different readers, as well as statistical data on the randomness of shuffling and drawing cards. He interviewed a number of leading tarot experts, including two of my favorites: Benebell Well and Cynthia Giles. And what book on tarot is complete without a discussion of archetypes, Jung and his influence on tarot?

“The Tarot Major Arcana are well established in the literature as representative of archetypes in the Jungian sense. For example, the above archetype of Mother is represented as the Empress . . . The Hermit often stands for solitude, wisdom and even time itself.”7

In another chapter, he talks extensively about Satanism and Freemasonry and the tie-in with tarot, including the Order of the Golden Dawn, which used tarot cards as part of their teachings:  

“A divinatory reading was one of the exams taken to achieve the sixth grade of ‘Adeptus Minor”, the highest grade for which any details are known for certain, as documented by Freemason Archivist Israel Regardie. Initiates were even required to create their own tarot deck from scratch, painting or illustrating every card.”8

Kenny references all of the parts of tarot, from the importance of pairs of opposites to magic and witchcraft to randomness. On the subject of evil in the cards, he presents information on the symbols, history, and other references to evil, but refuses to assign any evil intent or significance. However, he leaves it to each reader or practitioner to find his or her own meaning in the symbology of the cards.

My favorite chapter is “Chapter 3-Layers of Meaning”.  Here, Kenny covers numbers one to ten and the meaning and symbolism of the numbers in the major and minor arcana.  The interesting facts and insights he shares about these numbers are quite interesting. For example, did you know that 10 = 1+2+3+4?  He also talks about the magical number 7 and how it relates to the seven original planets, the sevenfold path, and “an old idea that life proceeds in phases of seven years, which likely originates in the widespread notion of the sevenfold spiritual path.”9

Kenny includes a very basic Table of Contents with chapter titles. In the back of the book, he lists all of the figures or graphics that he presents in the book, including the original source, author, and page number. Next, he shares references for each chapter, with the source, author, book and page number given. This alone is priceless for those who wish to dive deeper into any of the areas Kenny discusses. Lastly, he includes a seven-page Bibliography for even more reference material.

A Critical Introduction to Tarot is great for anyone who would like a deeper dive into tarot, particularly its origins and symbolism. It would probably best suit a seasoned tarot card reader or student of tarot. I plan to keep it on hand and weave some of the numerological information in my readings. I feel that I benefit from every book I read, especially those that challenge my beliefs. This book has helped me reframe my love of tarot and deepened my knowledge of its rich history.

Polytheism: A Platonic Approach, by Steven Dillion

Pagan Portals – Polytheism: A Platonic Approach, by Steven Dillon
Moon Books, 1785359797, 96 pages, August 2022

In Pagan Portals – Polytheism: A Platonic Approach, Steven Dillon presents a deceptively simple argument for the position that the existence of any god, even the God espoused by one of the monotheistic religions, entails the existence of many gods. To put it simply: “theism just is polytheism.”10 What’s more, Dillon intends to do this by drawing upon classical platonist philosophy? I was immediately sold on this book. But, reader be warned: Pagan Portals – Polytheism: A Platonic Approach is not the easiest reading. It is a true work of analytic philosophy: its main argument appears easy to grasp, but the proof of each step is rigorous and highly theoretical. With two master’s degrees in philosophy myself, this book still demanded great focus and concentration. And was worth the effort!

Dillon’s main argument has massive implications – not the least of which is that belief systems based around monotheism are fundamentally self-contradictory. And a similar problem would also arise for any theistic beliefs which include a hierarchy of gods: e.g. Zeus would be no more metaphysically important or fundamental to reality than Hephaestus; or beliefs which consider one group of deities (the Norse pantheon) greater or more real than another (the Egyptian pantheon). To put it lightly: this argument has very wide consequences for religious thinking. 

Dillon attempts to make all these arguments and disagreements over different gods, detities, etc. a thing of the past. Dillon puts this all to rest by – very basically – arguing that any particular god is a revelation of the ineffable subject of divine being (which cannot be a particular thing, cannot have definite properties, cannot be quantified at all). As such, any particular god contains/implies all other gods. When the implications of this position are taken to their conclusion, Dillon finds that “all things are divinely constituted by a plurality of polycentric henads.”11

Naturally, in order to understand the intricacies of what Dillon means, you’ll have to read the book to get all the nitty gritty details yourself. But for our purposes here, I’d like to point out a couple of the major ideas underlying Dillon’s argument. 1) Dillon’s starting premise, “To be divine is to transcend Nature,”12 means that the precise notion of “transcend” is going to be extremely important. 2) One of Dillon’s key strategies in formulating his argument is relying upon the analogy between (Indo-European) grammatical structure and how beings (any entity, object, mind) possess their properties. Beings have properties like subjects have predicates.

These two points will turn out to be critical in evaluating the soundness of the main argument. While Dillon has much to say on both, it’s the reliance upon these two ideas which leaves an opening for potential problems to creep in. I am not presenting a refutation of Dillon’s argument, but I wish to raise concerns so that readers can conduct their own examination. Uniting the two issues is my overarching concern that Dillon’s interpretations of theistic ideas (e.g. the transcendence of divine being) may be overly simplified, derived from commonly-held beliefs rather than deeper theological understanding. It’s completely reasonable to rely on common notions of course, but when they are so important to the overall argument, it’s worth being extra cautious in how they are borne out.

As for (1), Dillon relies on a notion of transcendence that is fairly common: to be beyond, above, or outside of Nature. Yet, this description does not fully coincide with the notion of transcendence found in many of the mystical traditions within Abrahamic religions (which were heavily influenced by neo-platonism), for instance. The transcendence of the divine may be a transcendence into the ever-rising moreness of Reality (including Nature’s part in it), rather than transcendence above or beyond.

Secondly, Dillon gives very short attention to the consideration of immanence, which is often taken as being just as important as transcendence to the divine mode of being. Dillon requires his notion of transcendence in order to later defend his position from accusations of pantheism – if the divine is completely beyond Nature, then pantheism cannot be true. It’s unclear why he is resistant to the pantheist position, as the whole argument seems to be leading there (apart from the problematic premise I’ve indicated); but if Dillon’s interpretation of “transcendence” is put into question, it would be much more difficult to avoid the pantheist conclusion.

For (2), this grammatical analogy has been a long-standing philosophical position, especially in western analytic traditions, it is not above question. Some Asian philosophical and religious traditions would not necessarily assent to this analogy; nor do all languages function in the way described in the analogy. Process theories of Reality (e.g. those of Whitehead or Buddhist traditions), or those which hold relationships as prior to the relata (particulars, objects, henads), would likely also reject this idea.

But using this analogy will force oneself into a position where “divine being” (which should not be considered some kind of being, among other beings, as Dillon also agrees) must be considered a “thing” of sorts: an entity which plays an analogous role as the subject of a sentence, but conflicts with the ineffability of the divine. Dillon argues for the polycentricity of divine being to avoid this problem (even gesturing toward Process theories, or the divine as a mode of being), but I would suggest that the analogy may ultimately trap the argument into trying to use language to express what language cannot capture.

All that said, Pagan Portals – Polytheism: A Platonic Approach is a courageous and intricate work of philosophy seeking to bridge the differences between theistic systems regarding divine being. The book is extremely well organized, clearly leading the reader through the main argument and its implications to reach the final conclusion. Each of the early chapters is dedicated to explaining and supporting just one of the main premises, so it’s easy to keep track of where we are within the argument, as well as how we got there.

Although I have drawn upon my background as a philosopher to take issue with a few of Dillon’s points, it would require a much more thorough analysis to provide any substantive objection to his position. Despite being a challenging read, I heartily recommend Dillon’s book to anyone with philosophical-theological inclinations, and I eagerly await further developments in this line of inquiry from Dillon and those responding to his great work.