From Motor City Pagans:
This book is an extremely easy read all around, even if you're not interested in forming a group but just want to read about esoteric group dynamics in general. The author writes with great candor without throwing around a lot of jargon. It's like discussing things over coffee.
From Daven, Daven's Journal:
If you have ever wondered what thought processes went into creating the group you happen to be a member of, this is your book. In this one manual, Nick reveals a lot about how esoteric groups are created, how to handle them and what kinds of problems may plague such groups and how they die.
With topics like Group Leadership (focusing on the problems faced by the leadership and the problems of bad leadership) as well as practical things like a training program, I feel that this is a book that is all too often desperately needed. Until now Gathering the Magic, there was nothing to fill this void.
This is not just for esoteric groups. This is a book that will be immensely useful to anyone who has any kind of group. From the Saturday Morning Bridge Club to the Grand Lodge of Right and Immanent Alchemists and every organization in between, this book can give desperately needed hints and pointers.
From Shade Oroboros, Silverstar Magazine:
Recent decades have seen an explosion of covens, cults and magico-mystical orders of various persuasions...This book shows how to make the systems work.
From Psyche, Spiral Nature:
Farrell goes right from birth, growth to the death of a group and how that might be handled...truly an excellent work and would be a definite asset to all interested in joining or setting up an occult group or order.
Read more here (this review also showed up in issue #13 of newWitch magazine)
From Lupa, author of Fang and Fur, Blood and Bone: A Primal Guide to Animal Magic:
I've been working my way through Immanion's small-but-quickly-growing catalog of occult nonfiction, and "Gathering the Magic" is yet another excellent example thereof.
The modern magical community is full-to-exploding with all types of groups ranging from the very informal to the detailed-formal. They last anywhere from one ritual to many years, and work with every possible paradigm.
Unfortunately, forming and maintaining a magical group, be it a Wiccan coven, a modern Golden Dawn temple or a druidic grove, presents a series of unique challenges. This is why the vast majority of groups seldom last more than a few years before something explosive (or implosive) occurs to kill it off.
In this book, Farrell pretty much attacks every type of problem that can occur. An obvious veteran of many magical groups (he doesn't even really need to give credentials; it's obvious in his writing), he has pretty much seen it all and lived to tell the tale. No stone is left unturned once it's landed from being thrown, and this makes "Gathering the Magic" an invaluable guide.
Farrell goes through the entire process of group creation and maintenance, from designing a purpose and a group egregore to deciding who the best candidates are (and why discrimination based on race, sex, sexulity, etc are all really stupid ideas) and even how to gracefully end a group once its time has come. He has an excellent section on conflict resolution and also stresses the extreme importance of how groups are meant to train individuals, not sag into mindless masses of followers.
His writing style is superb, and his sense of humor had me laughing out loud every few pages. What could have been a dry, boring text is instead a highly enjoyable journey into his experiences and advice. The anecdotes are well-placed and not overdone. The footnote "It was supposed to be a vulture" had me howling, and you've got to read the book to find out why.
It's also apparent that he's very much in touch with the magical community today. While he acknowledges the good and bad points of group structures that were created in the 19th and 20th centuries, his directions take into account the way the community is in this day and age.
Occasionally I disagree with a point he makes, usually things like "There's a reason you do magic this way and not that way," coupled with a disastrous story. But given his background it's not surprising, and it's also a good warning to newbies that magic isn't always a well-oiled machine--sometimes it does backfire if you're not careful.
Overall, this is by far one of the best books I've read overall, and is a definite must-have for anyone even contemplating starting a group or who already has one. In fact, any magical practitioner who has any contact with any others will get something out of this.Site content © Taylor Ellwood and/or Lupa, 2005-6
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