A sentient book that teaches you magic

I did not write this book. I found it in a library. The book contains fourteen rituals that taught me various aspects of occult magic. Do I believe it to be real? I really can’t be sure. What I know is that I experienced some wondrous things.

The magic taught is not the spells-and-fireballs kind but the deliberate alteration of how you see, think, and act in the world. Some rituals seem like games, and some like cognitive science experiments.

I know little about games beyond Chess and Settlers of Catan, but people who know say the book is game-like. They say it could be a solo game with LARP elements. I’m not sure what that means.

I want you to have the same experiences I had, so I have arranged to make a digital version available on itch.io (including sample chapters).

Here are some things you will experience:

• Staring into a mirror in low light until your sense of “I” wobbles.
• Turning your visual blind spot into a “portable hole” for things you want to let go of.
• Walking through your city as if every sign and object were a message meant for you.
• Giving yourself a secret new name and testing how it changes your behaviour.
• Travelling backwards in time to deliver advice to your earlier self.

You might enjoy this if:

• You like solo RPGs, journaling games, and LARPs that blur fiction and reality.
• Have a soft spot for experimental literature and books that talk back.
• Are curious about magic but allergic to dogma.
• Like the idea of doing philosophy with your whole body, not just your frontal cortex.
• Want a structured excuse to gently, playfully mess with how you see yourself and the world.