Book Review

Generation Hex
edited by Jason Louv
The Disinformation Company Ltd. (disinfo.com, 2005)

Review by Mark Westion

The new millennium is upon us and the Age of Aquarius fails to live up to its promise of peace and enlightenment. The hopeful signs of tribal ecstasy exhibited during the 90s have long ago become a victim of that scene's own commercial potential; somebody sold general admission tickets to the outside world. What is the modern seeker of truths, both numinous and uncomfortable, to do? Where does one turn to find the paths to magic in this world of images flashed upon screens?

To those who realize that the world is more real than that presented, let me recommend Generation Hex in assisting the traveler along the noble road to enlightenment. This book is a wonderful compilation of works by younger writers well versed in the field of modern alchemy and is deftly edited by Jason Louv, world traveler and shamanic trance dancer. In this collection of 23 entries written by 14 different writers, we are allowed to peer behind the prefab fa�ade of the modern world, where dwell all the dark secrets that we might wish to know and employ to our benefit.

These young writers are serious about what they do, as Stephen Grasso explains in his piece entitled, Beneath the Pavement, the Beast: "Magic is a ferocious and mysterious beast, and its secrets and powers must be earned through blood, sweat and tears. It is something that you live, not something that you read about and study. Magic is everywhere and within everything, and the work of a magician is to perceive it and to interact with it. There is magic in the sea at night, in a flight of ravens, in the motion of traffic, in dark alleys, filthy sewers and bright shop doorways. There is magic in abandoned subway stations, riverbanks and public parks. The world is alive with magic. Are you brave enough to step outside and into it?"

Generation Hex is divided into four sections dealing with differing aspects of magical sagacity. One's entry into the magical landscape of initiation is handled first, with a collection of stories written from a first hand perspective by those who have been there. The next section, dealing with avenues of magical exploration, further develops on themes first hinted at in the previous section on initiation. These avenues are familiar to writers such as Jason Louv, who in his Spooky Tricks, proposes that: "Our nervous systems are models of our universe - therefore, making changes to our nervous systems will produce corresponding changes in the universe"; or Angelina Fabbro who concludes that 'existence is vibration' in her well considered piece entitled, Your Lucky Hand.

The wide avenues of the first part of this work now narrow and twist as the reader is taken on a journey down the road of excess; for under the section titled 'Fun', we encounter the world of chemically induced magic. Though fraught with danger, this tried and true path toward enlightenment is well marked by the likes of Simon Forrester in his excellent, Opening and Closing the Psychedelic Temple, in which he states: "Use the knowledge gathered by countless generations before you to help you flourish and succeed. Read old sources! It is your birthright as a magician to do what your soul must do to manifest fully in this world, and if that means taking some risks, so be it."

The final section deals with 'walking the path', wherein the curious student finds insight as well as practicality, for here are found actual formula and practice. Here the mutated gene is described and the rogue angels named.

In the final analysis, Generation Hex is both a cogent analysis of the state of 'magic' as it stands today, as well as a guide to where it might morph to in the future. Within its 288 pages beats the pulse of a generation determined to design a world in their own image. This is a good read for the student of the arcane, as well as those who only wish to take a peek into that fluid world. The only complaint I have with Generation Hex is that Louv didn't make better use of the wonderful artwork of Boston Visionary Cell artist, Paul Laffoley, whose amazing work graces the cover, yet is not so well represented in its pages.