Once you get a few sessions of Artesia under your belt, the system really isn't all that complex. The main thing I did to make the book more usable was to photocopy some of the pages I knew I'd reference a lot, like the arcana and combat section.

The magic system's not exactly wonky, but it's deep. There's a lot there, and it can take a while for it all to sink in. But the effort's well worth it, as the magic system is one of the best-integrated ones I've ever seen.