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Book Review – Spell Jars for the Modern Witch by Minerva Siegel
Book Review Spell Jars for the Modern Witch: A Practical Guide to Crafting Spell Jars for Abundance, Luck, Protection, and More By Minerva Siegel Publisher: Ulysses Press 160 pages Publication Date: June 6, 2023 Minerva Siegel gives readers 50 recipes for spell jars, and the magickal fundamentals to know before you begin. While the title is “Spell Jars for the Modern Witch,” you don’t have to be a witch to protect, manifest, or heal. Also known as witch bottles, they contain the elements of a spell, and can easily be recharged and refreshed to offer long-lasting effects. The first part of the book describes six psychic…
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Book Review – The Witch’s Yearbook: Spells, Stones, Tools, and Rituals for a Year of Modern Magic by Clare Gogerty
Book Review The Witch’s Yearbook: Spells, Stones, Tools, and Rituals for a Year of Modern Magic By Clare Gogerty Publisher: David & Charles 128 pages Publication Date: August 10, 2021 Clare Gogerty, a seasoned practitioner of the craft, gives a year’s worth of ideas and wisdom for celebrating the sabbats that makes for a helpful resource for beginners. Chapters begin with an introduction to the festival, a topic of interest (trees for Mabon, the moon at Yule, magical creatures for Ostara), botanical and crystal correspondences, holiday traditions and customs, rituals and spells, and a witchy craft (apple wand, incense, Brigid’s cross). On the Samhain pages, for…
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Book Review – Wiccan Teas & Brews: Recipes for Magical Drinks, Essences, and Tinctures by Cerridwen Greenleaf
Book Review Wiccan Teas & Brews: Recipes for Magical Drinks, Essences, and Tinctures By Cerridwen Greenleaf Publisher: Cico Books 144 pages Publication Date: May 14, 2023 Cerridwen Greenleaf was a toddler when she learned the importance of herbs from her Auntie Edie, but it took curing a cough that lingered after a bout of flu and did not respond to pharmaceuticals for her to begin evangelizing the drinking of herbal brews. “Tea conjures a very powerful alchemy because, when you drink it, you take the magic inside of you,” she wrote in Wiccan Teas & Brews. “They have the power to heal when nothing else will,”…
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Book Review – A Spell A Day: 365 Easy Spells, Rituals and Magic for the Everyday by Tree Carr
Book Review A Spell a Day: 365 Easy Spells, Rituals and Magic for the Everyday By Tree Carr Publisher: Watkins 336 pages Publication Date: June 13, 2023 Tree Carr gives readers 365 spells and rituals in book form, organized by element. There are several ways to choose which spell to cast: by intention, chronologically, synchronized to magical and celestial dates, and using the divinatory art of bibliomancy by opening the book to a page at random. For each of the five elements – air, fire, water, earth, spirit – Carr presents spells for three new moons, three full moons, three solar returns, sabbats, and a collection…
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Good God!
Meet: Liber Liber may well have originated as a native Italian god of fertility, vegetation, and wine. He is also associated with intoxication and was known for throwing wicked parties. The Romans later merged his identity with that of the Greek god Dionysus. Like Dionysus, Liber represented uninhibited freedom and the subversion of the powerful. He was a patron deity of Rome’s plebeians – the largest, least powerful class of citizens – who rejected the civil and religious authority of the ruling class elite. Before being adopted as a Roman deity, Liber was a phallic deity and a companion to two different goddesses in two different archaic Italian fertility…
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Deck Review – The Healthy Witch Oracle Cards by TJ Perkins and Jennifer Amazon
Deck Review The Healthy Witch Oracle Cards Written by TJ Perkins Illustrated by Jennifer Amazon Publisher: REDFeather 33 Cards and an 80-Page Booklet Publication Date: April 11, 2023 This deck of thirty-three oracle cards accompanies “The Healthy Witch: A Workbook for Optimum Health,” written by TJ Perkins and published in 2019. Both are intended to guide readers to become the best witch possible with suggestions for physical, mental, and emotional healing. Given only the cards, this review is about them as a standalone purchase. The presentation of the deck and a small booklet inside a tin is appealing. To use the cards, Perkins writes in the…
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Book Review – Celtic Tree Mysteries by Steve Blamires
Book Review Celtic Tree Mysteries By Steve Blamires Publisher: Crossed Crow Books 248 pages Publication Date: May 16, 2023 Author Steve Blamires gives readers a wealth of detailed information about the Tree Alphabet and Ogham script – how the two systems differ and how they may be used together for magical purposes. Celtic Tree Mysteries also serves a manual to connect and communicate with twenty magical trees, bringing about heightened spiritual awareness. The book begins with an academic overview of Ogham, an ancient alphabet comprised of a series of notches and short horizontal or diagonal lines spaced along the vertical edge of a stone found throughout…
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Good God!
Meet: Mercury Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, protected travelers and transporters of goods, as well as shopkeepers and merchants, especially those dealing in grains, who would pray to him for large profits. He is chosen for this issue because Lughnasadh is the grain harvest. Mercury was the son of Jupiter, king of the gods, and Maia, goddess of the plains. He is one of the twelve major gods of the Roman pantheon. The World History website explains, “He is frequently depicted holding the caduceus, a wand used to reconcile conflicts, and winged sandals for quickly carrying messages for the gods. The wand had been given to him by…
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WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
Shell Wind Chime Merry meet! This issue’s WitchCrafting column is connected to a favorite summer activity: collecting shells at the beach. I have a difficult time not filling my pockets with these marine mollusks. Holding them, I can feel the energy of earth, water, fire, and air. Litha is a special time for capturing the essence of summer, in this case with a wind chime. I used shells that had naturally occurring holes, but instructional videos can be found for drilling them. Thin wire, dental floss, cotton twine, and other fibers can all be used to tie the shells into strips. Arrange them any way that pleases you.…
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Book Review – Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches by Frankie Castanea
Book Review Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches Written by Frankie Castanea Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing 208 Pages Release Date: April 22, 2023 Frankie Castanea called Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches the book she wish she had at sixteen when she began her on her path. It provides the basic foundations beginners need for understanding the history, elements, tools, crystals, herbs, and spell crafting. Castanea, a practicing eclectic/folk witch, found herself answering all the questions she’s received as a mentor while building her audience on social media platforms. The information is purposefully devoid of any particular path or religion, focusing instead…
