Slow Magic: Cultivate Lasting Transformation through Spellwork and Self-Growth

by Anthony Rella, Ivo Dominguez Jr. (foreword)

Create Sustainable, Positive Change and Stay Motivated in the Long Term

Meaningful experiences don't come without commitment; you need slow magic for profound and enduring work. Featuring more than fifty hands-on exercises alongside theoretical discussions of magic, this book supports you in making big changes without getting burned out.

Whether you're a Wiccan, ceremonial magician, or practice any other Western tradition, Anthony Rella provides the tools and techniques you need to stay engaged with your goal over days, months, and years. He also helps you evaluate today's magical outcomes so you can make future workings better. With Anthony's guidance, you will connect to the universe on a deeper level and confidently manifest what you need when you need it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Occult

264 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2015

Reviews

[Beverley · Rating 4 out of 5]

- The introduction immediately got me inspired and excited as this book seems to have found me at a time when I'm trying to set goals for long term

-the writing style was at times hard to read and I had to read sections over to understand it.

- writing is quite small but clear so I could read it. The book is light and not painful to hold

-the author often refers to God as female pronouns thankfully they do comment on the fact that all the gods we work with are probably genderless and so this shouldn't be a thing

- once again the meditations in the book are not available online

-often feels more like a self help or therapy book than witchcraft at first which made sense as the author is a therapist but not quite what I wanted from the book

-loved the sections about planetary magic and how the planets can be used with our magic. Also how they influence society at large around the world and how we can find comfort in that.

-each exercises or idea has several ideas as to how to work it into your practice which makes it so accessible and so you can tailor the book to your practice i wish we saw this more often

[Sylvia Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I needed this book more than I realized. There's so much emphasis on manifesting things quickly in modern witchcraft that it's easy to forget some changes actually take YEARS of consistent work. Anthony Rella explores what it means to approach magick as an ongoing practice, particularly when you're working toward something that can't be accomplished with a single spell. I really appreciated his discussions of will, fate, and experiencing time as a line, cycle, or spiral.

There's quite a bit of psychology woven throughout, which makes sense considering Rella is also a psychotherapist. I especially liked the exercises involving reflection and reassessing previous spellwork, along with the discussions about community and relationships with spirits. However, there were moments where this felt more like a spiritual self-help book than a witchcraft book. Some chapters also seemed to take a VERY long time explaining ideas that were fairly straightforward, and I occasionally found myself wanting more practical examples.

That said, I appreciate a book encouraging witches to examine their expectations and recognize that meaningful transformation requires actual participation in their own lives. There's plenty here worth working through, and I liked that the exercises can be adapted to different practices. Probably better for someone interested in personal development through magick than somebody looking for a conventional spellbook.

[Erica Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book if you are looking to develop a sustainable practice that integrates with other aspects of your life. Anthony Rella has a clear and flowing writing style which makes this an easy read. I find the practices to be accessible, and I love how he encourages you to adapt them to your particular flavor of magic. This is a book that will help you understand the psychology of balancing the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional aspects of life with your magic practice. I highly recommend Slow Magic to anyone looking to reflect on their work/life balance and keep the fires of transformation burning steadily, rather than in fits and starts.

[Lelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is designed for those who are passionate about unconventional psychological techniques and embrace the inevitability of fate.

[Sandra Fargo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title Slow Magic appealed to me immediately because after enough years of practicing, you discover that some of the most important magic doesn't happen on anybody's preferred schedule. Anthony Rella is interested in what happens when spellwork becomes part of a longer process of changing yourself rather than a way of demanding an immediate result. That means looking at intention, desire, emotional patterns, values and the choices we make after the candles have burned down. I found his approach unusually thoughtful, particularly because he never seems interested in taking the magic out of magic in order to make room for psychological work.

There were several places where Rella made me reconsider how I judge whether a spell has "worked." Sometimes getting what we asked for isn't the same thing as becoming capable of sustaining it, and sometimes the obstacle we're trying to magically remove is tangled up with habits or beliefs we keep recreating ourselves. His combination of spellcraft with reflection and self-examination gives you ways to work on both sides of that equation. I appreciated the exercises that ask the reader to stay with a goal, observe what develops and adjust rather than constantly abandoning one working for the next. I've certainly been guilty of trying to hurry magic along when patience would have taught me more.

This is one of those newer witchcraft books that gave language to lessons I learned much less efficiently through experience. It respects spellwork while asking more interesting questions than which herb, candle color or moon phase will produce a desired result. What kind of person are you becoming through your practice? What happens after the manifestation arrives? What if transformation itself is part of the spell? Those questions stayed with me after I finished, and a few have already changed the way I'm approaching my own workings. At this stage of my life, that is exactly the sort of magical book I want to find.

[Kevin Worcester · Rating 5 out of 5]

really liked the whole idea behind this book. so much modern magic is focused on getting a result as quickly as possible, while anthony rella is interested in what happens when you approach magic as something unfolding over months, years, and ultimately an entire lifetime. the sections on will, fate and destiny, different ways of understanding time, spirit allies, adversity, and community give this a lot more depth than i expected from the title. i also appreciated that rella brings his background as a therapist into the discussion, because there’s a strong psychological understanding of why we lose motivation, get trapped in patterns, or burn ourselves out trying to force change.

there are more than fifty exercises throughout the book, but this really isn’t a collection of spells to flip through when you want something. it’s much more about learning how to sustain magical work toward larger changes while paying attention to what’s actually happening and adjusting your approach along the way. i especially liked the emphasis on evaluating results instead of treating every outcome as proof that the magic worked exactly as intended. there’s a maturity to the approach here that i wish showed up in more books on spellwork. definitely a good one for people who already know how to do magic and are starting to think more seriously about the kind of practitioner they want to become over the course of their life.

[FPL · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm on page 60 and I'm already bored by this self help book.
This book is plugged as a manual for advanced practitioners, but it really is just basic psychology and meditation techniques.
I found it hard to relate to the author. His first "real life" experience he shares was wanting to look hot like the other guys he fancied. At 16 as a queer kid I was kicked out of my home and living in the streets, that's what gave me the will to find a stable practice.
I know we all live different lives but it's just difficult to relate to an author who takes as an example when setting intentions "wanting a black bean burger and a brownie for dessert".
I'm glad this person is happy and never had to go through hardships. But I challenge his credentials as a therapist, having gone to a school called "morningstar". My bachelor degree in psychology gives me more credentials to write a self help book.

[William Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic has acquired a curious fondness for urgency: light this candle, say these words, receive your new life by Tuesday. Anthony Rella is interested in what happens when transformation is allowed to take the time transformation actually takes. Slow Magic brings spellwork into conversation with psychology, self-knowledge, embodiment, relationships, and the patient unraveling of patterns that no amount of frantic candle burning is likely to solve overnight. Rella treats magic as something that grows alongside the magician, with practices designed to deepen awareness as much as produce results, and there is real kindness in that approach without sacrificing rigor. The spells matter, but so does the person who will have to live inside their consequences. It is gardening rather than fireworks, and there are things worth growing that simply refuse to bloom on command.

[L.A. Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the Kindle edition. I find that this book is not one to breeze through lightly. This is an intense, heavy book, with a lot of exercises and knowledge that cannot be skimmed. So I'm ordering the physical copy to slow down my reading and do the exercises that he suggests. Slow Magic is packed to the gills with information, and is definitely worthy of being on my Craft shelf.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspects are interesting but it overall feels a bit too beginner-oriented and simplified.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Separating (or trying to separate) the writing from the concepts is bit tricky here. I don't believe in magic, and a few ideas in here require a large suspension of disbelief. Encapsulated, however, the writing is always consistent within itself, within the universe it has created.

Although this book claims in the foreward to "[provide ample explanatory material for newcomers" (p. xvi) and in the introduction to be "for anyone who... takes interest in" (p. 1) magic, it is not for the true beginner. Readers using this as a first foray into the topic will need to find supportin resources for topics, terms, and traditions that receive no explanation in this text.

The practices presented here are intended to be "magic" but boil down to general prayer, meditation, self-awareness, and visualization. Readers of any religious background, if generally open-minded or curious, will find within instructions the bones of something they recogznie and can incorporate into their own regligious practices. Non-religious readers can also find something useful regarding meditation, patience, and ways to think about the universe.

I listened to the eAudiobook. I loved the narrator and would definitely listen to him again. The choice of reader matched the content very well and was an excellent choice.

Program prompts: Intro to tarot presentation and/or regular practice group; religious traditions specific to place; asynchronous resources on religious traditions not related to local place; genealogy program or asynchronous resources specific to finding direct ancestors/general lineage; something about DNA testing (???) and lineage; general meditation practice/group

Discussion prompts:
- Do you still practice your religion of origin the way you were raised to? In which areas have you changed your practice?
- What practices or concepts from this book could enhance the way your religion of origin is/was practiced, and what practices or concepts could enhance the religious, spiritual, or non-religious traditions you currently follow?
- Was there anything in this book that you found profound or that helped you view a problem or question in a new light?