{"id":22978,"date":"2020-09-01T01:10:49","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T05:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=22978"},"modified":"2020-09-19T19:00:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T23:00:45","slug":"book-review-plant-magic-for-the-beginner-witch-by-ally-sands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2020\/09\/01\/book-review-plant-magic-for-the-beginner-witch-by-ally-sands\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalist\u2019s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest by Ally Sands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book Review<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

An Herbalist\u2019s Guide to Heal,<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Protect and Manifest<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

by Ally Sands<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

192 Pages<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPlant Magic for the Beginner Witch\u201d is a collection of herb-based magical spells for protection, love, abundance, healing, and personal power. Each spell is laid out like a recipe, with the ingredients on one side and a ritual for the spell on the facing page. In addition, there is a short summary of the herbs discussed in each chapter, and their associations. The herbs discussed are mostly traditional European herbs, and are easily grown or bought at any herb store, while the associations are based in European magical tradition as well, and organized around planetary and lunar correspondences.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The spells themselves are primarily energetic and elemental, meaning that they could easily be adapted for use by any practitioner, regardless of personal deities, path, or style of practice. This makes the book appropriate for any herb-loving Pagan or witch. Some of the spells also require various crystals, bits of rope or string, a mortar and pestle, and other similar tools which many witches have, but which beginner witches may not have yet.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This leads to my main criticism of this book. There are a lot of different herbs, crystals, and items listed in this book. The spells are well-crafted, and clearly a lot of attention went into them. The associations are considered, the combinations rely upon color correspondences and energetic and herbal medicine tradition\u2026 but are they really meant for the beginner witch?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some of the spells have a lot of ingredients, which means that the budding herbalist won\u2019t experience the herbs in solitude, but only in combination. Some of them also just seem unnecessarily complicated, and plant magic doesn\u2019t have to be that <\/span><\/span>? <\/span><\/span><\/span>sometimes a simple intention just needs a single herb. While many experienced witches know how to make necessary substitutions,<\/span><\/span> or make do without,<\/span><\/span> with no problems, a beginner witch may not be comfortable doing this.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although it may not be ideal for the beginner witch due to its approach, this volume will nonetheless appeal to any herbalist witch who wants to get some fresh ideas for their plant magic practice. For those who can gather the ingredients, the spells are easy, simple, and clearly written. There\u2019s a lot to explore and enjoy here: anointing oils, self-care baths, and romance teas, for protection, prosperity, cleansing, and much more.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About author Ally Sands:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ally Sands is the founder of The Aquarian Soul, the original crystal-infused apothecary, which can be found at <\/span><\/span><\/span>https:\/\/shopaquariansoul.com\/<\/span><\/span><\/a>. She has been a solitary green witch for more than twenty years. She is a master herbalist, aromatherapist, and reiki healer. She is also the author of \u201cHerbs and Crystals DIY: Use Plant Medicine and Crystal Energy to Heal the Mind and Body<\/a>\"\"\u201d She currently lives in a house full of crystals and herbs with her cat familiar, Sage.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalist\u2019s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest on Amazon<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

***<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sarah McMenomy<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/strong> is an artist and witch. Her craft incorporates herbalism, spellwork, trance, divination, auras, and more. Her work can be found at https:\/\/sarahmcmenomy.tumblr.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Review Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch An Herbalist\u2019s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest by Ally Sands 192 Pages     \u201cPlant Magic for the Beginner Witch\u201d is a collection of herb-based magical spells for protection, love, abundance, healing, and personal power. Each spell is laid out like a recipe, with the ingredients on one side and a ritual for the spell on the facing page. In addition, there is a short summary of the herbs discussed in each chapter, and their associations. The herbs discussed are mostly traditional European herbs, and are easily grown or bought at any herb store, while the associations are based in European magical tradition as well, and organized around planetary and lunar correspondences.\u00a0   The spells themselves are primarily energetic and elemental, meaning that they could easily be adapted for use by any practitioner, regardless of personal deities, path, or style of practice. This makes the book appropriate for any herb-loving Pagan or witch. Some of the spells also require various crystals, bits of rope or string, a mortar and pestle, and other similar tools which many witches have, but which beginner witches may not have yet.   This leads to my main criticism of this book. There are a lot of different herbs, crystals, and items listed in this book. The spells are well-crafted, and clearly a lot of attention went into them. The associations are considered, the combinations rely upon color correspondences and energetic and herbal medicine tradition\u2026 but are they really meant for the beginner witch?\u00a0   Some of the spells have a lot of ingredients, which means that the budding herbalist won\u2019t experience the herbs in solitude, but only in combination. Some of them also just seem unnecessarily complicated, and plant magic doesn\u2019t have to be that ? sometimes a simple intention just needs a single herb. While many experienced witches know how to make necessary substitutions, or make do without, with no problems, a beginner witch may not be comfortable doing this.   Although it may not be ideal for the beginner witch due to its approach, this volume will nonetheless appeal to any herbalist witch who wants to get some fresh ideas for their plant magic practice. For those who can gather the ingredients, the spells are easy, simple, and clearly written. There\u2019s a lot to explore and enjoy here: anointing oils, self-care baths, and romance teas, for protection, prosperity, cleansing, and much more.   About author Ally Sands: Ally Sands is the founder of The Aquarian Soul, the original crystal-infused apothecary, which can be found at https:\/\/shopaquariansoul.com\/. She has been a solitary green witch for more than twenty years. She is a master herbalist, aromatherapist, and reiki healer. She is also the author of \u201cHerbs and Crystals DIY: Use Plant Medicine and Crystal Energy to Heal the Mind and Body\u201d She currently lives in a house full of crystals and herbs with her cat familiar, Sage.   Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalist\u2019s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest on Amazon *** About the Author: Sarah McMenomy is an artist and witch. Her craft incorporates herbalism, spellwork, trance, divination, auras, and more. Her work can be found at https:\/\/sarahmcmenomy.tumblr.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10005],"tags":[12337,10346,10095,12335,12338,10299,11567,11113,10065,10813,10250,12339,12336,10075,10194],"class_list":["post-22978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-ally-sands","tag-author","tag-book","tag-book-review-plant-magic-for-the-beginner-witch-an-herbalists-guide-to-heal","tag-for-the-beginner","tag-guide","tag-heal","tag-herbalists","tag-magic","tag-manifest","tag-plant","tag-protect","tag-protect-and-manifest-auhtor","tag-review","tag-witch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22978"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23087,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22978\/revisions\/23087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}