Book Review: Manifestation Magic by Elhoim Leafar

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Hello, witches, and happy New Moon. This book review really couldn't come at a better time considering the New, Waxing, and Full Moons are the perfect time for manifestation magic! I just finished Manifestation Magic: 21 Rituals, Spells, and Amulets for Abundance, Prosperity, and Wealth by Elhoim Leafar and boy do I have a lot to say. Again, I am excited to see that in general, we are experiencing a shift in the occult book industry toward more advanced books. Although there are definitely some beginner aspects to the book, its specific focus on manifestation magic sets it apart from beginner books.

Right from the beginning, Leafar sucked me in when he compared learning occult practices to science. He says that as science changes so should our opinions (yaaasssss!!!) and that the same idea should be applied to our practice as witches. As we learn new things, are presented with new ideas, and garner a better understanding, our practice should change. Just because something has always been done one way, doesn't necessarily mean it's the best, most efficient, or ethical way to do it. Practices become obsolete and clinging to them only hinders your own progress as a witch. 

After this brief introduction, Leafar jumps right into the basics of magic, including tools, timing, and basic correspondences with special regard to those related to abundance, prosperity, and wealth. However, he encourages readers to practice visualization techniques before jumping into spell casting, a practice I fully support. Leafar includes multiple visualization exercises in the first part of the book to help readers developed this skill and encourages readers to make these exercises part of their routine. This is followed by basic correspondences for the energies of the Sun, Moon phases, and planets. This section makes a great quick reference and honestly included some new information, even for me. I enjoy reading about how other witches use the Sun, Moon, and planets in their work, and Leafar goes so far as to offer personal experiences with these energies and when to perform spells to overlap two different energies to enhance the spell and counter some of the negative aspects of on energy with another.

Part one finishes with a basic overview of deities, crystals, and candles that correspond to manifestation magic. Leafar gives specifics on how to use each in your practice and includes some examples from his own life. There were some issues I had with the deities section though that need to be addressed. First, Leafar includes deities from closed traditions, specifically in the form of Hindu and Yoruba deities/spirits, with no mention of cultural appropriation. While a critical reader would be able to recognize that some of the deities are not open to them, newer witches may not. With that being said, I appreciated his inclusion of deities and spirits from multiple cultures because it makes the book accessible to a larger audience. The second issue I had was in reference to the deity Pluto. Leafar says that Pluto is the Greek god of riches, but this is not correct. Pluto is not Greek, but Roman, and is the equivalent to the Greek god Hades aka the God of the Underworld. I believe Leafar meant Plutus, which is the Greek god of riches, but this mistake is made twice which concerned me a little bit. I am not super familiar with some of the other deities and spirits mentioned, so I cannot vouch for their accuracy. This is a problem I often encounter with correspondence lists like this. There are always one or two mistakes embedded in truth and unless you are already familiar with them, you wouldn't know any better. This is why I encourage everyone to question what they are reading and double and triple-check information against other sources. There is soooooo much misinformation out there and it can be difficult to discern the truth from the lies. Apart from these issues, Leafar makes mention of something I have never heard of: The Prosperous. He uses this term to refer to a group of spirits that help your spells along when you do not directly call upon a deity. I have never heard this term used to refer to these specific spirits, but I like it! Included in this section detailing how The Prosperous work, Leafar offers some spells to call upon them and ask for their aid. As someone who does not include deities within their practice, calling upon general spirits and energies of the Universe to aid in spellwork is doable.

Part two discusses the differences between abundance, prosperity, and wealth which are often confused for each other. I adored this section because it touches on a topic rarely covered in other books. Abundance, prosperity, and wealth are NOT the same thing, and therefore spells done for each of these will yield different results. Laefar also discusses the difference between magical and non-magical exercises. Because I loved this paragraph so much, I am just going to directly quote it: 

"The difference between magical methods and non-magical exercises that focus on attracting abundance is that those exercises, such as visualization and positive thinking, focus on convincing you that you are abundant and just by knowing it, you attract it. But if it doesn't work for you, they assume it's because you're not practicing it as well as others. Conversely, magical methods work like ropes that allow you to go hunting, understanding that what you are looking for is near you but hidden in front of your eyes, like a rabbit hidden in a bush in your garden...the rabbit will not leave the bush no matter how much you repeat to yourself every morning in the mirror 'there is a rabbit in my house.'"

Yes, yes, yes! Can we stop with the positive thinking cureall mentality and stop shaming people that this doesn't work for? It's extremely toxic and downright false. I can visualize winning the lottery over and over again, but if I don't ever buy a ticket, I'm not going to win. Leafar also mentions that just because you are doing the physical work, doesn't mean that your thoughts aren't powerful. How you view yourself and what you wish to manifest does play a part in how your magic works, so are careful with what you say and think, especially around a spell or ritual. You could be inadvertently sabotaging yourself by saying things like "I hope this works...", "I have a lot of bills to pay...", and other 'negative' statements because these thoughts and words hold power. The spirits and Universe aiding in the fruition of your spells hear this and will give you exactly what you asked for. Make sure you are clear in your thoughts and intention around a spell, but recognize that simply willing something into existence won't necessarily work either. There was one part of this section that rubbed me the wrong way. Leafar discusses surrendering and says that we can only mature when we accept we cannot control everything. There are hints of ableism in this statement as it completely dismisses people with anxiety and depression and basically says these people cannot ascend because of their mental illness. Folks, that isn't true. Is it easier to reach that maturity when you aren't anxious and depressed? Yes. Is it impossible? No. Those of us with mental illness are accustomed to life being harder. We somehow manage to overcome everything else, we can overcome this as well!

The book ends with 21 spells and rituals Leafar himself uses with success. This section begins with a personal story discussing how just because something is written in a book, doesn't mean that it will work for you. His story involves the use of green candles to attract money. That works for Americans because our money is green, but in other cultures, green is not associated with money because their money is a different color. When his family switched to uses pink and purple candles to attract money, their spells were much more successful. I adored this story and appreciate the message. This is an important lesson for new and old witches alike that spells should be changed to fit your culture and needs. There is a beautiful ritual to heal your relationship with money and wealth before getting started that I highly recommend you pay attention to if you pick up this book. Many of us have a lot of negative feelings toward money, and as a result, this prevents us from manifesting to the best of our ability. It's important to note that money is not the end all be all, and this ritual helps you understand that as well, but also recognizes that money is important and allows us to fill our basic needs. He does make reference to black magic in this section, but more so in a way to debunk it than as an actual thing. The spells and rituals in this section are great, but I had issues with two things. First, there is a spell for an abundance oil to spray around your home. Leafar suggests spraying straight oil, not diluted, and this has me concerned about furniture, flooring, walls, etc. Don't spray straight oil around your home or office. You will destroy your belongings. The second was putting undiluted essential oils straight on your hands or body. This can be dangerous so use your best judgment. Other than that, I really enjoyed this section and the book as a whole.

Whew! That was a long review for such a short book, but I have to say, I really enjoyed it and because I enjoyed it, I took much more extensive notes about it than some of the other books recently. Manifestation Magic: 21 Rituals, Spells, and Amulets for Abundance, Prosperity, and Wealth by Elhoim Leafar is available now and one of the few 'spell' books I highly recommend adding to your collection because we can all use a little more abundance, prosperity, and wealth in our lives!

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