You are reading these words

I did not write this book.

I found it.

It purports to be a sentient book offering to teach you magic through a series of rituals.

Perhaps it’s a joke, a game, or an unusual self-help manual. Regardless of what it is, it changed my life. Perhaps it will change yours too.

Did I learn magic in the end? I can’t be certain. What I know is that I see the world and myself differently now – everything is just a little lighter and brighter.

   

Background

I want others to be able to have the experiences that I have had with this book. I need to share this. I have tried to track the book down and find out its origins, but without success. The publishing details in the book itself point to a non-existent publisher and author (that the author and I share the same surname is a weird coincidence that led me to encounter the book in the first place). The library where I found the book tells me they have no record of it.

As it is not available anywhere, I decided to create a digital version. This has to be shared.

As the book is game-like, it was suggested by people who know about games that I share it here on itch.io

What this book is

A book that seems to speak directly to you and teach you magic through a series of fourteen exercises.

The magic is not the spells-and-fireballs kind but the deliberate alteration of how you see, think, and act in the world. The exercises are like little games you perform with your mind and body, sometimes in a comfortable chair, sometimes venturing out into the world.

A few examples:

• Staring into a mirror in low light until your sense of “I” wobbles.
• Turning your visual blind spot into a “portable hole” for things you want to let go of.
• Walking through your city as if every sign and object were a message meant for you.
• Giving yourself a secret new name and testing how it changes your behaviour.
• Travelling backwards in time to deliver advice to your earlier self.

Who this is for

 You might like this if you:

• Enjoy solo RPGs, journaling games, and LARPs that blur fiction and reality.
• Have a soft spot for experimental literature and books that talk back.
• Are curious about magic but allergic to dogma.
• Like the idea of doing philosophy with your whole body, not just your frontal cortex.
• Want a structured excuse to gently, playfully mess with how you see yourself and the world.

Get the print version

The book is best as a physical book. That is how it was meant to be read. I have managed to reconstruct it as a hardback book (100 pages) and printed a few through Mixam (a print-on-demand service).

At the moment, you can only order books directly from me. In the future, I will try to make it possible to order directly from Mixam in the United States and the UK.

If you do purchase a print copy, you are entitled to a free digital copy. Email me a proof of purchase, and I'll make sure you receive a digital copy on itch.io