Obviously this is a tantalizing title, especially for those of us who were taught that practicing negative magick is wrong. Its forbidden fruit, now isnt it, yet as a close friend of mine believes, the motivation for most spellcasting is revenge.
While this book is a fun idea and the title page does warn the reader (in very small print) that it is for entertainment only I have to say I think the author is serious about this stuff rather than just being arch. However, with names of revenge spells such as Cool Me Off and Kick to the Curb you know that Ms. Dillaire was having fun with her ideas and her writing style is entertaining.
The book has a rather lengthy introduction to major (and some minor) Egyptian deities, and most of her information is correct. However, her actual magick is more a mixture of modern Hoodoo practices and ancient Greco-Roman cursing methods than it is a direct descendent of the way Egyptians cast spells.
And cast spells they did! And curses they laid! Yet the info on these ancient practices is not covered very well in her book, even though it is easy to find authentic ancient Egyptian magical practices documented in books such as Dr. Bob Briers Ancient Egyptian Magic.
The author seems completely unaware that such books as Dr. Briers exist. In fact, she truly is completely unaware that there is a large Egyptian tradition amongst modern pagans, for she spends quite a bit of time at the beginning of the book decrying the fact that no such tradition exists! How she could have missed international organizations like The Fellowship of Isis, The Kemetic Orthodox Faith, andquite appropriate to her needs in this particular book, The Temple of Setis absolutely beyond my comprehension, as is her ignorance regarding the numerous books by authors in the modern Egyptian-based traditions such as those by DeTraci Regula, Nicky Scully, Isadora Forrest, Ellen Cannon Reed, and many, many others.
So, not knowing that the tradition she seeks already exists, she invents her own, which is primarily what this book is about. Theres nothing wrong with coming up with your own tradition, and her strange blend of magickal practices is intriguing. But I do blame the publisher, Crossing Press, for not informing the author that the pagan orientation that she seeks actually does exist. Shed be welcome at my Iseum anytime to experience how a modern pagan Egyptian group that is part of the Fellowship of Isis operates, as long as she promises not to stick pins in a poppet that looks like me!
In closing, read this book for fun, but if you want to really learn about modern Egyptian pagan traditions, investigate the ones that have been operating for some time now, and really do think twice before casting any spells you wouldnt want backfiring on yourself.