Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic

Sometimes when you first pick up a book, you just know.

You know there is a gold little gem hidden inside just waiting for you to pop it open and reveal itself to you.

Six Ways by Aidan Wachter was one of those with a hidden gem.

Being a fairly non-conspicuous-looking book, this one I rarely hear about within the occult community.

And I say this out of hope that I'm somehow just on the wrong side of the occult community and need to find the one that sings praises of this book.

Turns out I am on the wrong side as according to other reviews it is very talked-about.

But enough about me spoiling the ending on whether or not I believe you should pick up this book (I do btw if you haven't figured that out), let's dive into the meat of this beauty.

Between the Pages

Being a little less than 200 pages, you would expect the information in this book to be a bit limited. However, that is not the case in the slightest.

Aidan manages to skillfully, inject valuable information while keeping it easy to follow and read.

Which is honestly a feat in itself when it comes to occult books. Most are quite difficult to muck through and take rereading multiple times.

Within the book, Wachter's main focus appears to be on foundational practices that one can use to start building their craft.

This ranges from Animism & Symbiosis with our spirit friends, helping you understand your intuition (or gut & bone as he discusses between intuition and logic), and even how one enters trance and meditation.

I especially love his chapter "Sacred Fear" where he goes into the inevitable when working within occult practices, "holy fear". Within this chapter in particular he helps explain how this fear is often a "natural response to particular kinds of power" and is not necessarily a "response to actual threat". This is a noteworthy aspect I have also found in my craft, especially when I'm deep within shadow work.

Our Human is king when it comes to keeping us safe.

Unfortunately, we've often been so programmed within the matrix, that fear automatically means bad and stays away. However frequently, it's a signal that there is something big around the corner. The key here, based on my experience, is to trust your gut and know that you will always be able to pick yourself up. Without these experiences, upleveling will not occur. Instead, playing "safe" will only keep you stagnant.

Watcher goes into his personal experiences with sacrad fear and how two experiences in particular where he had this fear, also ended up being life-changing. I found it to be an especially powerful part of the book where I felt not only connected to Wachter but also as if a friend was supporting me through the truth.

So, Should You Buy

I know I was already blunt with this in the intro but 100 times yes. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you are beginning to step into the craft, or are advanced. Or even if you are dipping a toe into the occult or want to go on a full dive in.

I am one who would confidently claim to be on a more immersed, experienced side I still found a new way to look at my practice. All while, reminding me why I love the occult and craft. So do not let the basis of its "approaches and entries" stop you from purchasing.

Please do note that this book is very based on the idea of Animism and working with the spirits in the world, so if that's not your jam, this book may not be for you.

I, for one, will be sure to pick up the other two books I know to be by Wachter: "Weaving Fate", and "Changeling".

References:

Wachter, Adrian. Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic. Red Temple Press, 2018.