I first learned of anontology from Peter Carroll’s PsyberMagick. I decided to perform antispell one and started writing my journals without using any “to be” verbs. I kept up the practice for a couple of months before reverting back to ontological writing. The process of translating and purging ontological statements interfered with my journaling; the magical record took precedence over the magical experiment.

Several years later, Peter Carroll’s Apophenion rekindled my interest in anontology. The section titled “The Metaphysics of Non-Being” made a lot of sense to me, and I started working in v-prime again, removing ontologies from orations in my ritual/spiritual work and eventually returning to anontological writing. I have found that anontological writing, while sometimes difficult to manage, does improve the clarity and accuracy of my work. As an editor, I’ve found anontological translation helpful for everything from restating awkward sentences to fortifying and clarifying theses.

So when Concrescent Press asked me to write a revised version of Conjuring Spirits, I didn’t just add new material—I rewrote the entire book in v-prime. I even edited the descriptions of the seventy-two spirits of the Goetia. I think anontological writing improved the overall quality of The Complete Conjuring Spirits; when the book finally comes out, you can tell me what you think.