I recently finished reading T. Thorn Coyle's fourth book, Make Magic Of Your Life: Passion, Purpose, and the Power of Desire. The theme of the book is exactly what the title makes it sound like. It is a guide to identifying what our deep desires are with instruction on how we might move toward those desires and manifest them into being. Thorn does that through what she calls the "four powers of the sphinx" which are to Know, to Will, to Dare, and to Keep Silence. Witch and magician readers will know those as the four points of the Witches Pyramid.
The first hat tip I want to give is in regards to the structure of lessons and the book itself. I found this system of working through those four powers to attain desire particularly clever. While most witches have heard of the Witches Pyramid and have probably worked with the points in theory, I haven't seen much in the way of using them in a tangible and structured process before. Another alternate title for this post might be "Forget everything you know about the Witches Pyramid, then read this book." So even if this particular work doesn't speak to you at this point in your life, you should at least give snaps for Thorn's ability to dust off an old and undervalued teaching of Eliphas Levi and making it accessible again.
In terms of the work itself within the book, I want to preface that just because I'm writing a review of it now doesn't mean that I've gone through all the work in it. Like Thorn's other books, this work is a continual process -taking months or even years to explore in its entirely. Or at least that's how I imagine it unfolding for me. Example: People often give me strange look when they ask me about Kissing the Limitless and I respond by saying that I've read it seven times and have been doing the work in it consistently for four years. I can see a similar process unfolding for me with this book too. A lot of these concepts and workings involve tightly-woven, self-told stories that need to loosened up a bit. They involve taking time to explore those things we've buried deep within us, bringing them to light. The practice of reaching for desire is the work of a lifetime. It will be interesting for folks who do the work within it to write another review after going through those processes.
However difficult the actual work itself might be, don't let that intimidate you. Make Magic Of Your Life is also packed with a number of helpful exercises to assist you along the way. The book titles these things as "Soul Support," which I've found very helpful in working through these powerful concepts so far.
Even though I haven't even scratched the surface of the actual work within this book, I already feel so inspired after reading it just once. On a personal note, I will say that I've always had a strange relationship with desire and what might be called "life purpose." I've always had huge yearnings to do big things with my life that the modern world likes to tell me I can't do for one reason or another. Example: You can't have a good, stable job that you enjoy without having a degree... oh really? To me, Make Magic Of Your Life is a book of rebellion because it shows you how to move towards desire by using your own heart as a map, not the instructions that are spoon-fed to us by the over-culture at a young age.
And for people who don't know what they desire? This book can help you, too! Using the first power of the sphinx - to Know - we can find the threads of our purpose that lead to that larger arch of our life's desire. That is what I loved most about this book. No matter who you are and where you are on life's journey, you can take up this work and put it to use right away.
As I move forward in the pursuit of my own desire, I know that Make Magic Of Your Life will be a constant companion on my journey.
Well ... I am now very compelled to read this book, and all of her other works. Very intrigued ...
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