This crossword doubles as a magic playing card! In order to achieve the meta, you must locate the hidden symbols (the card's value and its suit) which are drawn out by a chain of squares that spell out two sets of magic phrases. These squares can connect orthogonally or diagonally and are all used only once in the path. The meta to enter will be the magic words that form these designs in the grid (ex: first magic word(s) / second word(s) ). Good luck!
This is no doubt the hardest I've worked balancing between a good theme and a good fill. Hopefully the efforts have been worth it for this one!
Really impressive construction! I was pleasantly surprised to find the shapes hidden in the grid. The clues were a nice meaty difficulty for me, and I especially liked the alternative definition for 22A.