Practical Magick: Ancient Tradition and Modern Practice

by Mitch Horowitz

Magick in History and Practice for the Hands-On Seeker

Acclaimed historian and esotericist Mitch Horowitz explores the practice, theory, and purpose of magick. Mitch considers magick as a response to personal needs and its potential promise and pitfalls,

A Brief History of Magick. Mitch defines and discusses magick from antiquity to today and how magickal practice weaves through mainstream and occult traditions.

Magick and Ethics. What are the possibilities and perils of externalizing individual will? How do concepts of nonattachment relate to the magickal path? Mitch considers the complexities facing today’s seeker—and a vision of ethical reciprocity.

Modern Magick. Mitch considers enduring practices including sigil magick, sex transmutation, spellwork, talismans, and out-of-body experience.

Mind Metaphysics. Mitch explores the metaphysics of thought causation, including the ideas of mystic Neville Goddard, mind theorist Emile Coué, and cosmetic surgeon Maxwell Maltz.

The Question of Divination. Mitch examines extraphysical sources of insight including astrology, Tarot, intuitive sensitivity, and the I-Ching, asking whether such approaches withstand scrutiny and how they are practiced.

Is Magick Necessary? Mitch explores the causes of magick, relating it to quantum mechanics, string theory, inter-dimensionality, and psychical research. Can extraphysical capacities be summoned without rite or ritual?

“Horowitz's reflections are grounded in his history and a life of personal experimentation. He is not proposing yet another ‘system,’ nor asking the reader to believe or agree with him; instead, his invitation is to follow him to the fringes of reason and try things out for oneself.”—Ferdinando Buscema, Boing Boing

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, Philosophy, Magic

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 25, 2025

About the author

MITCH HOROWITZ is the editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin and the author OCCULT AMERICA: THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOW MYSTICISM SHAPED OUR NATION (Bantam, Sept '09), which has been called "a fascinating book" by Ken Burns and "extraordinary" by Deepak Chopra. Visit him online at www.MitchHorowitz.com
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Reviews

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a clear, disciplined primer that bridges history and hands-on work with unusual grace. Horowitz frames the project with Jack Parsons’s call for simplicity, then actually delivers it: brisk chapters that define terms, sketch lineage, and move quickly into doable methods.

As usual for me, it is hard to fully warm to the praise of New Thought. I respect the lineage and its influence, yet I tend to prefer frameworks that place greater weight on ritual pressure and initiatory ordeal. Even so, Horowitz makes the New Thought inheritance feel less like cheerleading and more like a working hypothesis that you can test. He situates practice within an intelligent survey that runs from antiquity through Crowley and Spare, while nodding to psychical research and perceptual reality studies, then pulls everything back to pragmatic exercises that you can try tonight. That balance of sweep and utility is where the book quietly excels.

Stylistically, it is brisk and accessible without dumbing things down. The historical sketches are accurate to date and scope, the methods are modular enough to plug into a seasoned practice, and the tone stays results-oriented.

Bottom line: a strong four-and-a-half out of five. Even with my perennial reservations about New Thought enthusiasm, Practical Magick earns its space on the shelf.

[Dilli Fussolini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tons of cool history in here, but most of it is just Neville Goddard stuff and I already knew all that.

[LZW · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

This is one of the best books on traditional and modern magick that I have ever read. I highlighted so many insightful & useful passages that nearly the entire book is colored!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating study of magick, stripped back to the bare bones. No ceremony, no jiggery-pokery, just straightforward instructions.

A great opening chapter on the history of magick leads on to chapters on various aspects of magick.

Well worth reading. There's a 30-day challenge in Appendix B that I'm about to start.

[Natalia A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*
I actually did enjoy this book, despite it being a selection of a free audio book of the month.
Magic, “magick” explained through systems, beliefs and egregores. Everything is in our hands, manifestation works and wishing on a star does too, just make sure your intentions are kind and with gratitude. Doesn’t that sound inspiring?

[Brooke Huerter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitch Horowitz is so good at taking woo woo stuff and looking at things critically and practically. If you want to learn more about magick, manifestation, and history of occultism this is suuuuuuccchhh a god book

[Marie-Rose Phan-Lê · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mitch has a brilliant way of blending the intellectual, mystical, and practical. His writing is accessible, vulnerable, and engaging, as he shares researched knowledge and personal experiences with the material he covers. He often leaves his readers with food for thought and tools to try.

[Samira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pivotal, accessible, and thoroughly informative. You honestly can’t go wrong with any Mitch Horowitz books, always something to learn. If you constantly seek growth and knowledge, look no further.

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s some interesting stuff in here but little that is new if you’ve read anything else by Horowitz or listened to him speak.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for history but then goes into a lot of New Thought which is not for me.