I Have Been Spell Bound!

Chaweon Koo was kind enough to send me a copy of her new book Spell Bound. I read it cover to cover over the last 22 hours and I am happy to report it earns a place on my “Awesome, must keep forever” shelf.

Let’s start with the obvious thing that everyone is already saying: It’s a gorgeous book. Very nice hardcover packed with  full color illustrations by Kring Demetrio. These illustrations make reading the book a joy that is hard to put into words, and contribute to the overall Korean feel that Chaweon brings to the book, as well as other Asian influences she mentions throughout.

A potential reader might ask: is this a book about Asian Magic? The answer is both yes and no.

The author is Korean and the Illustrator is from the Philippines, so its magic taught and transmitted through an Asian lens. It’s definitely not a book about exclusively Korean or Asian magical traditions. It mentions these traditions and gives wonderful insight, but Chaweon also talks about Jove, and Hekate, and Servitors, and all sorts of other esoterica. The book is reflective of modern magic in Asia today: rooted in traditions and cultural perspective, while eagerly embracing international occultism and bleeding edge technology.

As Chaweon leads us through important practices and philosophies, she tells the story of her own journey in magic, and introduces us to modern practitioners from diverse backgrounds. Lama Tsultrim Allione, Dr Aaron Davis, Aidan Watcher, Camelia Elias, Andrieh Vitimus, Charli Cohen, Jack Grayle and a whole host of others. And yes, I get to add my two cents about offerings and traditions in the book.

A new Witch with Spell Bound in their hands will not only have solid foundational practices, but a who’s who of modern occultists that they can check out, as well as a window into Chaweon’s lived experience of her practices and results.

Experiences practitioners will find a new and different perspective on familiar concepts as well as a very smart analysis on how things like the metaverse, NFT’s, chatbots, and gravatar’s are going to impact Witchcraft in the future. Chaweon and I often disagree with whether these new technologies are good or not, but there is no denying that they are happening, so having a positive and useful take on them is important.

I cannot recommend this book strong enough. Go grab a copy as soon as you can!