Review by Kelly Jarvis: The Maker's Guide to Magic by Andrea Hannah
The Maker’s Guide to Magic is an informative and accessible guide to the esoteric tools that can help creative people fill their lives with magic. Hannah explains that “magic is a tender thing, felt most often in the agony of a sleepless night and the lull between scattered thoughts.” She encourages her readers to embrace their own creativity and enrich their life journeys.
The book introduces the basics of using candles, crystals, incense, and tarot cards, but it is careful to define these items as simple tools for creating magic which truly comes from our own human heartbreak. Hannah, an astrologer and certified yoga teacher, outlines the four steps to the magic process which include clearing the channel, tuning in, taking action, and distilling wisdom. She leads her readers through information on moon and planet cycles and breaks down the complexity of tarot and oracle cards for divination. She offers advice for amplifying or softening the traits of your astrological signs and advocates for the beauty of meditation and mindful time spent in nature. Her organized and informative approach is punctuated by “spellwork” sections which contain journaling prompts designed to help readers connect to their own intuition.
The Maker’s Guide to Magic lightly explores the connections between science, nature, mindfulness, and magic to conclude that the making of art is a necessary element in human healing. Hannah explains that it is impossible to go through life without heartbreak, and she says that “pain is where the light gets in.” She defines the making of art and magic as a conversation between the cosmos and the human heart and she upholds the sacred nature of all creative acts from cooking a meal to starting a business. This book made me think about creativity in new ways, and I highly recommend it to everyone who would like to fill their lives with magic. You can purchase the book here.
Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.
Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
