For the person wishing to undertake a reliable study of magic in a place where a working group is not established, or the person who simply seeks a solitary practice, Norman Kraft has developed a credible and meaningful text for the initiate. Kraft's Aurum Solis: Initiation in a Modern Mystical Order began as a training manual for members of the Aurum Solis in their first initiatory degree with the Order. The manual grew into this book that takes the novice through an entire year of magical practice. Kraft's work includes a clear definition of magic, drawing on sources both within his own and other respected traditions. He answers the question, How does magic work? with an insightful discussion of the true work of magic: the discovery and enlightenment of the true self. Kraft illuminates the magician's path and provides a deeper understanding of the magician's intimate connection to the vital flow of life in the universe. Ogdoadic magic employs the eightfold star as its symbol of the earnest search for union with the divine. In his review of the history of this magical system, Kraft takes the readers on a journey through the history of Western civilization to illustrate the esoteric significance of the number eight in Western spiritual traditions. The Knights Templar, the Platonic Academy of 15th-century Italy, Angelo Poliziano, (scholar and member of the Medici household), and the Order of the Helmet (an order founded in Elizabethan England), are all groups that have made magical use of the eightfold star. Kraft goes on to set the Order Aurum Solis in a 20th-century context, describing its emergence into the modern world. Everything the initiate could desire is found in thesepages: a foundation in magical ethics, an exploration of Jungian archetypes as magical tools, wards and warding, creating a magical robe, an introduction to the five magical elements and to Qabalah, as well as sensible instructions for establishing a daily and weekly practice. In addition, Kraft lays out the magical year and teaches the initiate about lunar tides, planetary hours, the velocia, and planning rituals.