This book explores magic systems from around the world, forty systems to be exact, too many systems to cover any of them well. This book manages to say nothing by trying to say everything. Fragmented information is given on various systems, leaving out key aspects (like the bagua in Feng Shui) in order to keep is simple and short, and rendering most of it useless. The author's main achievement in the book is an attempt to stress personal intuition and symbolism over rigid guides and examples. Even for a beginner, this book really isn't worth the read. The author also seems to be a lonely woman, for almost all the systems includes and instruction for a love spell, or how to reveal the identity of the true love. ( )