I wouldn't say Lisp-like syntax is necessary for a macro system. It helps a bit... but all things considered, I believe pattern matching is a bigger boon to mac

I wouldn't say Lisp-like syntax is necessary for a macro system. It helps a bit... but all things considered, I believe pattern matching is a bigger boon to macro writing than syntax per se. For those it may interest, I have made a language with mostly conventional syntax which supports macros: http://breuleux.github.io/earl-grey/ http://breuleux.github.io/earl-grey/ The macro system is modular, so you can easily write and publish macro libraries. I have written some for testing, gulp, and react. It's not super mature but it's getting there.