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Make Magic of Your Life: Passion, Purpose, and the Power of Desire
Do you long to step into your power and live a life of passion? Do you wish to be of greater service? Are you willing to follow your soul's desire?
Activate the magical formula known the Four Powers of the Sphinx. These four powers -- To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence -- help bring about a profound shift in how we view and move through the world. They will point you toward your highest purpose and show you what to do, both practically and spiritually, once you've found it. They will lead you to a life of magic.
Find your soul's work. Follow desire. Live a life that matters.
Activate the magical formula known the Four Powers of the Sphinx. These four powers -- To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence -- help bring about a profound shift in how we view and move through the world. They will point you toward your highest purpose and show you what to do, both practically and spiritually, once you've found it. They will lead you to a life of magic.
Find your soul's work. Follow desire. Live a life that matters.
262 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
About the author
T. Thorn Coyle
91 books202 followersTT. Thorn Coyle has been arrested at least four times. Buy her a cup of tea or a good whisky and she'll tell you about it.
A salty-tongued, tattooed mystic, Thorn is author of the alt-history urban fantasy series The Panther Chronicles, the novel Like Water, and two short story collections. The Witches of Portland will be out in Spring, 2018. She has also written multiple non-fiction books including Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists & Other Creatives, Kissing the Limitless, and Evolutionary Witchcraft. Thorn's work appears in many anthologies, magazines, and collections.
She has taught magical practice in nine countries, on four continents, and in twenty-five states. Her other occupations have been numerous, and include working four years each on the Pacific Stock Options floor (as a young Anarchist punk with a blue, flat-top Mohawk), in a woman-run peep show, and full time in the San Francisco soup kitchen she ended up volunteering at for twenty years. All of this, along with her activism, informs her fiction.
An interloper to the Pacific Northwest, Thorn joyfully stalks city streets, writes in cafes, and talks to crows, squirrels, and trees.
Thorn is active on:
Twitter @ThornCoyle
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tthorncoyle
Medium https://medium.com/@ThornCoyle
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ThornCoyle
http://www.thorncoyle.com
A salty-tongued, tattooed mystic, Thorn is author of the alt-history urban fantasy series The Panther Chronicles, the novel Like Water, and two short story collections. The Witches of Portland will be out in Spring, 2018. She has also written multiple non-fiction books including Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists & Other Creatives, Kissing the Limitless, and Evolutionary Witchcraft. Thorn's work appears in many anthologies, magazines, and collections.
She has taught magical practice in nine countries, on four continents, and in twenty-five states. Her other occupations have been numerous, and include working four years each on the Pacific Stock Options floor (as a young Anarchist punk with a blue, flat-top Mohawk), in a woman-run peep show, and full time in the San Francisco soup kitchen she ended up volunteering at for twenty years. All of this, along with her activism, informs her fiction.
An interloper to the Pacific Northwest, Thorn joyfully stalks city streets, writes in cafes, and talks to crows, squirrels, and trees.
Thorn is active on:
Twitter @ThornCoyle
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tthorncoyle
Medium https://medium.com/@ThornCoyle
Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ThornCoyle
http://www.thorncoyle.com
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 9, 2013
This is such an excellent and inspiring book, I think many people, possibly everyone, would benefit from it, and that’s not something I often find myself moved to say. The reason it works so well is that you can come to it from a place of any, or no belief and still apply the ideas. In essence this is about pragmatic approaches to life, a rational, thinking, feeling, engaging, intuitive way of being that can be related to most traditions. It won’t sit well alongside a practice of self denial and austerity, but would make a useful counterpoint to consider if you are working that way.
Most religions denigrate desire. It is desire that takes us towards those ‘sins of the flesh’ and ‘temptation’ and all the other things that are natural to our bodies but unpopular with structured religion. However, desire and passion are intrinsic to being human. T. Thorn Coyle explores the idea of desire in great depth – not merely bodily lust, but the fire within that drives us. It’s also a move away from the advert-lead material desire that we so often have peddled to us, but which tends to rob us of our inner fires. We need that fire to undertake any serious work, it sustains and supports us. Make Magic of your Life is an antidote to the way desire is so often crushed by religion, and perverted by commercialism and is an important reminder of how shallow and empty the spiritual life is if we do not bring our desire to it.
Make Magic of Your Life is written to be a workbook, and designed for use over a long period. As a reviewer, I read it in a week, and knew I was missing a lot as a consequence. This is a book to take slowly, to relish and to work with. The majority of course books I know I wouldn’t find sustaining enough to read through at a rate of a chapter a week, and few inspire me to want to do the work, but this one does.
Most religions denigrate desire. It is desire that takes us towards those ‘sins of the flesh’ and ‘temptation’ and all the other things that are natural to our bodies but unpopular with structured religion. However, desire and passion are intrinsic to being human. T. Thorn Coyle explores the idea of desire in great depth – not merely bodily lust, but the fire within that drives us. It’s also a move away from the advert-lead material desire that we so often have peddled to us, but which tends to rob us of our inner fires. We need that fire to undertake any serious work, it sustains and supports us. Make Magic of your Life is an antidote to the way desire is so often crushed by religion, and perverted by commercialism and is an important reminder of how shallow and empty the spiritual life is if we do not bring our desire to it.
Make Magic of Your Life is written to be a workbook, and designed for use over a long period. As a reviewer, I read it in a week, and knew I was missing a lot as a consequence. This is a book to take slowly, to relish and to work with. The majority of course books I know I wouldn’t find sustaining enough to read through at a rate of a chapter a week, and few inspire me to want to do the work, but this one does.
November 21, 2014
Uf, I FINALLY FINISHED SLOGGING THROUGH THIS BOOK! It took me almost a year.
I love T. Thorn Coyle. I love her blogging, I love her Facebook, I love her activism, and mostly I love how Evolutionary Witchcraft changed how I saw my Pagan beliefs and how I applied them to my every day life.
This book, though! The read is so jumpy and thick. I think it might have worked better formatted as a text book with lessons, quizzes, and flow charts. Her thoughts are tangled and circular and I often found myself reading the same sentence over and OVER AND OVER AND OVER, trying to get the plain language version to show up in my head. It was pretty much a flowery, preachy Pagan self-help seminar (which would have been a lot more fun to attend).
Sample text:
"Lifting steel and iron is an act of prayer. Slicing a tomato is an act of sex. Sitting in meditation is an act of love. Sharing a beloved kiss is an act of will."
Okay, then.
I love T. Thorn Coyle. I love her blogging, I love her Facebook, I love her activism, and mostly I love how Evolutionary Witchcraft changed how I saw my Pagan beliefs and how I applied them to my every day life.
This book, though! The read is so jumpy and thick. I think it might have worked better formatted as a text book with lessons, quizzes, and flow charts. Her thoughts are tangled and circular and I often found myself reading the same sentence over and OVER AND OVER AND OVER, trying to get the plain language version to show up in my head. It was pretty much a flowery, preachy Pagan self-help seminar (which would have been a lot more fun to attend).
Sample text:
"Lifting steel and iron is an act of prayer. Slicing a tomato is an act of sex. Sitting in meditation is an act of love. Sharing a beloved kiss is an act of will."
Okay, then.
June 21, 2013
Thorn's perceptive insight into personal growth and development and spiritual questing is the most profound I have come across in 25 years of soul work.
The honesty and strength she exudes in her writing is tempered with compassion and faith. It is as if the entire book is a personal coaching session. The transparency of her own process encourages and inspires.
The combination of inner and outer work supports the integration of the whole person.
I loved her first two books and this is another that will continue to be a textbook for LIFE. I am grateful to have found her leadership and teaching and recommend her work to anyone striving for more connection to themselves, Spirit and the world.
The honesty and strength she exudes in her writing is tempered with compassion and faith. It is as if the entire book is a personal coaching session. The transparency of her own process encourages and inspires.
The combination of inner and outer work supports the integration of the whole person.
I loved her first two books and this is another that will continue to be a textbook for LIFE. I am grateful to have found her leadership and teaching and recommend her work to anyone striving for more connection to themselves, Spirit and the world.
June 27, 2025
I like that this book has exercises to get in touch with what you really want, it's not just The Secret again.
December 7, 2013
This book is a useful guide for doing internal work and connecting with what you desire. The author provides exercises to help the reader work on him/herself, as well illustrating concepts with anecdotes. If you are someone who feels like you're out of touch with life or unhappy with the direction your life is going, pick this book up and do the exercises. You will certainly obtain clarity as a result and be better able to manifest what you truly want because you'll have worked out the internal tensions stopping you from being successful. The author will challenge you to be authentic with yourself and will help you take the steps to reach that goal.
December 13, 2017
I was rather disappointed with this book. It reads more like a self help book than anything magical. While it is not bad, if you want to read something by T. Thorn Coyle, I would recommend Crafting a Daily Practice or Kissing the Limitless instead of this one.
February 24, 2013
This book is powerful, transformative, and deeply personal. Read my full review here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/20...
November 26, 2016
This is pretty much a typical self-help book. It has a few good suggestions, but I was expecting more of a magical slant.
August 17, 2026
Make Magic of Your Life is one of T. Thorn Coyle's most deceptively simple books. On the surface, it's about purpose, desire, and the Four Powers of the Sphinx: To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence. But underneath that structure is a much deeper question: what would it actually take to build a life around the things you know matter most?
What I love about Thorn's approach is that purpose is never treated like some hidden cosmic job title you have to magically discover. You don't receive one perfect answer and then live happily ever after. Purpose emerges through attention, desire, discipline, courage, and the willingness to keep showing up for your own life. That makes the Four Powers feel much more practical than abstract occult philosophy.
To Know asks for clarity. What do you actually want? What are you good at? What patterns keep repeating? What are you avoiding knowing about yourself? To Will takes that knowledge and asks whether you're willing to direct your life toward it. To Dare is where things become uncomfortable, because knowing and wanting something are much easier than risking failure, embarrassment, disruption, or change. And To Keep Silence reminds us that not every dream needs to be endlessly announced while it's still being formed. Some things need protection while they grow.
Thorn's treatment of desire is especially strong. Desire is often treated either as something spiritually suspect or as something that should be indulged without question. She offers a much more useful middle path. Desire can be information. It can point toward unlived parts of ourselves, neglected needs, creative impulses, or work we know we're meant to undertake. The task is learning to distinguish deeper desire from impulse and then developing enough will to actually follow where it leads.
I also appreciate that this isn't motivational writing dressed up with a thin layer of occult vocabulary. Thorn understands transformation as alchemical work. You don't become more fully yourself by thinking positively about it. You bring your contradictions with you: grief and joy, fear and courage, shadow and divinity. You gather the raw material of your life, work with it, refine it, and gradually make something different from what you began with.
That makes the book particularly valuable for anyone who already knows a lot about magic but feels disconnected from what all that practice is actually for. It's possible to become very good at ritual, meditation, energy work, or spellcraft while still avoiding the larger question of whether you're building a life you actually want. Thorn turns the magical gaze back toward the life being lived.
And I think that's ultimately the power of Make Magic of Your Life. Magic isn't confined to the moments when candles are burning and ritual tools are on the altar. It also happens through decisions, commitments, boundaries, creative work, relationships, service, risk, and the slow construction of a meaningful life.
T. Thorn Coyle has always been exceptional at connecting magical practice with personal transformation, and this book may be one of her clearest expressions of that philosophy. It doesn't promise to reveal your destiny. It gives you tools for becoming someone capable of choosing a direction, committing to it, and making something real from your deepest desires.
That's a much more useful kind of magic.
What I love about Thorn's approach is that purpose is never treated like some hidden cosmic job title you have to magically discover. You don't receive one perfect answer and then live happily ever after. Purpose emerges through attention, desire, discipline, courage, and the willingness to keep showing up for your own life. That makes the Four Powers feel much more practical than abstract occult philosophy.
To Know asks for clarity. What do you actually want? What are you good at? What patterns keep repeating? What are you avoiding knowing about yourself? To Will takes that knowledge and asks whether you're willing to direct your life toward it. To Dare is where things become uncomfortable, because knowing and wanting something are much easier than risking failure, embarrassment, disruption, or change. And To Keep Silence reminds us that not every dream needs to be endlessly announced while it's still being formed. Some things need protection while they grow.
Thorn's treatment of desire is especially strong. Desire is often treated either as something spiritually suspect or as something that should be indulged without question. She offers a much more useful middle path. Desire can be information. It can point toward unlived parts of ourselves, neglected needs, creative impulses, or work we know we're meant to undertake. The task is learning to distinguish deeper desire from impulse and then developing enough will to actually follow where it leads.
I also appreciate that this isn't motivational writing dressed up with a thin layer of occult vocabulary. Thorn understands transformation as alchemical work. You don't become more fully yourself by thinking positively about it. You bring your contradictions with you: grief and joy, fear and courage, shadow and divinity. You gather the raw material of your life, work with it, refine it, and gradually make something different from what you began with.
That makes the book particularly valuable for anyone who already knows a lot about magic but feels disconnected from what all that practice is actually for. It's possible to become very good at ritual, meditation, energy work, or spellcraft while still avoiding the larger question of whether you're building a life you actually want. Thorn turns the magical gaze back toward the life being lived.
And I think that's ultimately the power of Make Magic of Your Life. Magic isn't confined to the moments when candles are burning and ritual tools are on the altar. It also happens through decisions, commitments, boundaries, creative work, relationships, service, risk, and the slow construction of a meaningful life.
T. Thorn Coyle has always been exceptional at connecting magical practice with personal transformation, and this book may be one of her clearest expressions of that philosophy. It doesn't promise to reveal your destiny. It gives you tools for becoming someone capable of choosing a direction, committing to it, and making something real from your deepest desires.
That's a much more useful kind of magic.
September 27, 2024
With Make Magic of Your Life, T. Thorn Coyle delivers an inspiring and deeply practical guide to living a life aligned with one’s highest purpose. This book isn’t just about performing spells or rituals—it’s about weaving true magic into the fabric of everyday life by tapping into what Coyle refers to as the Four Powers of the Sphinx: To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence. These ancient principles become a formula for discovering and fulfilling one’s soul’s work, transforming desire into a catalyst for personal and spiritual evolution.
Coyle’s strength lies in her ability to blend spiritual wisdom with real-world guidance. She addresses common struggles faced by those who feel called to something greater—uncertainty, fear, and lack of direction—and provides a path to clarity and empowerment. By engaging deeply with the Four Powers, readers are guided to identify their core desires and connect with their true will, a process that Coyle likens to alchemy. The emphasis here is on becoming the magic, embodying the energies needed to live a life of passion, purpose, and service.
Each of the Four Powers is explored in depth, and Coyle offers a variety of exercises, meditations, and journaling prompts that help ground these esoteric concepts into practical steps. Her exploration of To Know, for example, goes beyond surface-level understanding and encourages readers to look within to discover the desires that are often buried under societal expectations. Similarly, To Will focuses on aligning intent and action, while To Dare pushes readers to move past fear and take bold steps toward their goals. The final Power, To Keep Silence, is treated as both a tool for introspection and a way to maintain energetic focus.
What sets Make Magic of Your Life apart is its emphasis on desire as a force of creation and transformation. Coyle teaches that following one’s true desires is not selfish or frivolous, but an essential act of aligning with the divine will. This perspective encourages readers to view their desires as sacred, using them as a compass to navigate toward a life that is both personally fulfilling and impactful. The practical and spiritual are seamlessly integrated, making the book equally valuable for those looking to manifest their goals as well as those seeking deeper spiritual insight.
Coyle’s tone is warm and supportive, yet she does not shy away from challenging readers to confront their own limitations and misconceptions. Her guidance is rooted in self-compassion, but it also demands honesty and dedication. By the end of the book, readers are equipped not only with a clearer sense of purpose but with the tools to actively shape a life that resonates with their deepest values and aspirations.
Make Magic of Your Life is an empowering blend of magical philosophy and practical self-development. T. Thorn Coyle’s teachings offer a pathway to discovering the power of desire and using it to create a life of intention, joy, and service. Whether you are new to the craft or a seasoned practitioner, this book provides a transformative approach to engaging with the magic that lies within.
Coyle’s strength lies in her ability to blend spiritual wisdom with real-world guidance. She addresses common struggles faced by those who feel called to something greater—uncertainty, fear, and lack of direction—and provides a path to clarity and empowerment. By engaging deeply with the Four Powers, readers are guided to identify their core desires and connect with their true will, a process that Coyle likens to alchemy. The emphasis here is on becoming the magic, embodying the energies needed to live a life of passion, purpose, and service.
Each of the Four Powers is explored in depth, and Coyle offers a variety of exercises, meditations, and journaling prompts that help ground these esoteric concepts into practical steps. Her exploration of To Know, for example, goes beyond surface-level understanding and encourages readers to look within to discover the desires that are often buried under societal expectations. Similarly, To Will focuses on aligning intent and action, while To Dare pushes readers to move past fear and take bold steps toward their goals. The final Power, To Keep Silence, is treated as both a tool for introspection and a way to maintain energetic focus.
What sets Make Magic of Your Life apart is its emphasis on desire as a force of creation and transformation. Coyle teaches that following one’s true desires is not selfish or frivolous, but an essential act of aligning with the divine will. This perspective encourages readers to view their desires as sacred, using them as a compass to navigate toward a life that is both personally fulfilling and impactful. The practical and spiritual are seamlessly integrated, making the book equally valuable for those looking to manifest their goals as well as those seeking deeper spiritual insight.
Coyle’s tone is warm and supportive, yet she does not shy away from challenging readers to confront their own limitations and misconceptions. Her guidance is rooted in self-compassion, but it also demands honesty and dedication. By the end of the book, readers are equipped not only with a clearer sense of purpose but with the tools to actively shape a life that resonates with their deepest values and aspirations.
Make Magic of Your Life is an empowering blend of magical philosophy and practical self-development. T. Thorn Coyle’s teachings offer a pathway to discovering the power of desire and using it to create a life of intention, joy, and service. Whether you are new to the craft or a seasoned practitioner, this book provides a transformative approach to engaging with the magic that lies within.
September 26, 2026
“Find your purpose” is advice that can make me want to leave the room, particularly when it comes from someone who seems to have located theirs before breakfast. Make Magic of Your Life interests me because Coyle gives that search a magical framework to work with. Desire becomes something to examine and follow deliberately. That feels like a worthwhile undertaking, especially when wanting change is much easier than deciding what the change should look like.
The Four Powers of the Sphinx provide the book’s structure, with To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence brought into the question of how to live. I like seeing a familiar occult formula given this much attention. Each part raises different questions about commitment, and together they offer a way to consider where an intention might be getting stuck. Knowing what I want doesn’t automatically mean I’m prepared to act on it.
The attention to desire connects with what appealed to me in Kissing the Limitless. There’s something compelling about taking your longings seriously enough to investigate them. I’m interested in the point where an attractive possibility starts asking something of you, particularly when following it means becoming less comfortable. Coyle’s focus gives me a reason to sit with that question instead of immediately finding another book to research it in.
I also appreciate the inclusion of service in this discussion of purpose. Thinking about what I have to offer brings other people into a subject that can easily become an exhausting private examination. It gives the search for meaningful work a wider context. I find that useful when the pressure to discover one grand calling starts obscuring the smaller things I could already be doing.
This is a book I’d approach with a willingness to pause over an uncomfortable question. The relationship between magical principles and everyday choices is its strongest attraction for me, and it makes a natural companion to Coyle’s other work on transformation. I like the invitation to consider what my practice asks of me once the ritual ends. Eventually, some of those carefully cultivated intentions need a place on the calendar.
The Four Powers of the Sphinx provide the book’s structure, with To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence brought into the question of how to live. I like seeing a familiar occult formula given this much attention. Each part raises different questions about commitment, and together they offer a way to consider where an intention might be getting stuck. Knowing what I want doesn’t automatically mean I’m prepared to act on it.
The attention to desire connects with what appealed to me in Kissing the Limitless. There’s something compelling about taking your longings seriously enough to investigate them. I’m interested in the point where an attractive possibility starts asking something of you, particularly when following it means becoming less comfortable. Coyle’s focus gives me a reason to sit with that question instead of immediately finding another book to research it in.
I also appreciate the inclusion of service in this discussion of purpose. Thinking about what I have to offer brings other people into a subject that can easily become an exhausting private examination. It gives the search for meaningful work a wider context. I find that useful when the pressure to discover one grand calling starts obscuring the smaller things I could already be doing.
This is a book I’d approach with a willingness to pause over an uncomfortable question. The relationship between magical principles and everyday choices is its strongest attraction for me, and it makes a natural companion to Coyle’s other work on transformation. I like the invitation to consider what my practice asks of me once the ritual ends. Eventually, some of those carefully cultivated intentions need a place on the calendar.
October 18, 2026
T. Thorn Coyle has a gift for taking the principles of magical practice and showing how they can fundamentally reshape the way we approach everyday life. Make Magic of Your Life explores desire, purpose, and personal transformation with a depth that distinguishes it from the usual spiritual self-help books, drawing on Coyle's extensive experience as both a magical practitioner and teacher. What makes this book especially compelling is its insistence that magic is a practice of conscious engagement with our choices, habits, and aspirations, giving readers a framework for meaningful change that extends well beyond ritual. This belongs on the shelf of anyone who wants their spiritual practice to influence how they actually live, because few authors bridge the gap between magical philosophy and personal development quite so effectively.
August 12, 2026
What I loved most is that Coyle doesn’t separate spiritual purpose from the complicated reality of being human. Desire matters. Discipline matters. Fear, uncertainty, joy, failure, and all the messy parts of ourselves come along for the ride. There’s something beautifully challenging about the idea that finding your purpose isn’t enough; you then have to develop the will to pursue it, the courage to act on it, and the wisdom to know when to be still. I finished this feeling energized, challenged, and genuinely inspired to look at where my own attention and energy are going. This is the kind of magical book that quietly follows you back into your everyday life, which may be the most useful kind of magic book there is.
Read
September 26, 2021DNF
I really tried to read this.
It was very dry with lots of big words meant to add to it but they actually make it less understandable and relatable.
I will not be giving it any stars since I hardly made it through the first chapter.
I really tried to read this.
It was very dry with lots of big words meant to add to it but they actually make it less understandable and relatable.
I will not be giving it any stars since I hardly made it through the first chapter.
September 19, 2013
I won this book from goodreads first reads. This book is basically a spiritual self-help book. It didn't really speak to me in any way. Sure she has some good points here and there but I'm not one who likes to be preached to and unless you don't mind preaching this book may not be for you. It is more a life style change.
March 31, 2013
As always T. Thorn Coyle dives deep into the Work. This time desire is explored in all it's part. How can we manifest our deepest desires. This book gives you all the tools to dive deep into your soul(s) and help you work towards living a true, full and meaningful life. The life that is yours!
October 27, 2014
Good self help book with positive things you can do to manifest the desire in your life. Helps you figure out your life's work.
January 11, 2015
I really enjoyed this book, writing many comments in the margins. When I finished it, my first thought was to re-read it.
May 22, 2013
Desire in all your parts. Again a good way to deepen and set fire to your practice.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews