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Book Review – The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils and More by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Book Review
The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils and More
by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
Published by Adams Media
Copyright 2017
Pages: 235

If you are starting down the path of a green witch, you will appreciate this complete introduction to the natural magic of herbs, flowers, essential oils, gems and more.

This book is a slightly edited version of her book, “The Way of the Green Witch: Rituals, Spells, and Practices to Bring You Back to Nature,” published in 2006, also by Adams Media.

The information is easily understood and put into practice.

Arin Murphy-Hiscock describes the path of a green witch as “intensely personal,” driven by individual strengths and talents, and aligned with the climate of the geographic location and the energy of that environment. That makes each path individual, as green witches seek harmony between nature and humans in an ongoing celebration of life.

“The practice of the green witch doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, fancy tool, or complicated rituals. Perhaps more than any other path of witchcraft, the path of a green witch rests on your philosophy of living and how you interact with the world around you,” Murphy-Hiscock states.

“Like kitchen witchcraft, green witchcraft emphasizes practicality and everyday activity. There are no special words, no unique prayers, no uniforms, no holy texts, no obligatory tools, and no specific holidays … unless you create them for yourself. While the green path is very much the art of daily practice, it isn’t set apart as sacred. It recognizes the sacred in everyday life. The path of a green witch is sacred – very much so – but not isolated from the secular. The secular life itself is what is sacred to the green witch.”

Green witches descended from folk healers and practitioners of folk magic: the village herbalists, midwives, healers and wise women. The book explains the differences between other practices, noting a green witch opens to nature’s energies and works with them subtly, rather than other practices where energy is raised, directed and released.

The book touches on ethics, personal energy centers, making a home a sacred space, environmental energy, the power of the seasons and astrological influences. There are pages covering the magic of trees, the energy of flowers, powers of herbs, and using stones and crystals. One chapter covers gardening and another is on healing.

Some recipes are provided for incense, spell bags, teas and foods, and suggestions for ritual are also included.

It is well written and informative, and while it is not in-depth enough for the advanced practitioner, new seekers will find it a valuable foundation of knowledge.

Many of those leaving comments on Amazon noted the book covers nature’s magic in an inclusive manner, so those of any faith, culture or tradition can embrace the practice and experience a deeper, more magical connection with nature while moving through daily life.

The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More on Amazon

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About the Author:

Lynn Woike was 50 – divorced and living on her own for the first time – before she consciously began practicing as a self taught solitary witch. She draws on an eclectic mix of old ways she has studied – from her Sicilian and Germanic heritage to Zen and astrology, the fae, Buddhism, Celtic, the Kabbalah, Norse and Native American – pulling from each as she is guided. She practices yoga, reads Tarot and uses Reiki. From the time she was little, she has loved stories, making her job as the editor of two monthly newspapers seem less than the work it is because of the stories she gets to tell. She lives with her large white cat, Pyewacket, in central Connecticut. You can follow her boards on Pinterest, and write to her at woikelynn at gmail dot com.