The Good Witch's Guide: A Modern-Day Wiccapedia of Magickal Ingredients and Spells (Volume 2) (The Modern-Day Witch) by Shawn Robbins

The Good Witch's Guide: A Modern-Day Wiccapedia of Magickal Ingredients and Spells (Volume 2) (The Modern-Day Witch) Reviews

• 
  claire

  first off THE ART IN HERE IS GORGEOUS. i learned a lot of useful things about home remedies in here as well!!
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  teres

  a handy little book! a bit of it is absolute drivel (weight loss spells, ugh) but majority of the spells/concoctions are helpful and i will purchase one day for personal reference :)
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  Alexandra Chauran

  This book is a delight to read with fabulous page art and formatting and a chunky feel. Since I know that Bedell is an accomplished herbalist, I was eager to get a peek at some of her recipes that I know are highly effective. I wasn't disappointed. One of the things I love about this book is how few ingredients some of the recipes have, since I'm used to books that have potions full of unobtainium, which is a barrier to new and old practitioners alike. I baked the magical bread, which was missing the step involving proofing the yeast, but since I'm an old hat at bread making that wasn't a problem. The family loved it, and my kids enjoyed taking turns kneading the dough and chanting the spell.
  
  I was delighted to find that there were many contributors to this book! It would have been cool to know who contributed what, but I understand that presents an editorial challenge. The different styles were a little confusing to read. I think it's my pet peeve when people use the Harry Potter "herbology" instead of "herbalism." There were several times when, for example, magical tea herbs, were split into several different sections. If there is a second edition, and I hope there is, it would be better to have an A-Z list of herbs all in one place in the book instead of several lists. It would also help to keep warnings in one place instead of arbitrarily listed in some places but not others, or repeated. Overall, this is a charming compendium, and one that I would recommend as a great gift for anyone who delights in the witchy.
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  Nyx

  A lot of really good information, but some dodgy stuff. Overall a not the most terrible resource, but not one I'd recommend - always read critically and double-check info (esp safety-related)!
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  Juli Anna

  This book is beautifully produced, and I wanted to love it, but it really fell short for me. The organization of topics seemed very haphazard and the authors tried to cover too much and ended up shallowly skimming the surfaces of all these topics rather than creating quality content. In addition, it was surprising (and unethical, in my opinion) to touch on various world witchcraft traditions without informing the reader of the dangers of cultural appropriation. These authors even seem to encourage cherry-picking elements from the traditions of marginalized peoples to blend a personal spirituality. This is not okay by my book, and I had a hard time respecting the authors after that point.
• 
  Lord Beardsley

  A pretty book and a good source of introduction to spell craft, potions, and other aspects of the Craft. It approaches witchcraft from a Wiccan perspective, and while I am not a Wiccan, I still found a lot of very interesting things that I will definitely use as a go-to source.
  
  I was disappointed that a contemporary witchcraft read would use such gender-biased language, as so much of the Craft now is attempting to be more inclusive and less strict on gender biased language and wording. I also was put off by their support of diet culture within the book. It's unfortunate that a book focused on the subject of witchcraft - which is classically body positive - should go down that path.
  
  Otherwise, a very useful and informative resource guide for various magical workings.
• 
  yewdiva

  DNF
  
  I am disappointed that a book which came out so recently and touts itself as "modern" would use such heavily gendered language. Overall the writing sounds pretentious and hard to follow.
  
  What makes this a one star review however, is the recommendation of potentially hazardous practices with no warnings. The one that stands out is encouraging readers to make crystal water by soaking crystals in water for an extended period of time and then drink said water daily. This comes with no warnings about crystals to avoid, or how toxic they can be. I have not read much of this book, but I can only assume that herbs and plants have a similar lack of safety and warnings.
  
  I strongly advise against this book for a beginner, and it lacks meaningful material for experienced practitioners.
• 
  S. Graves [Graveyard Books]

  The BEST resource on witchcraft of all kinds. It's still my go-to!
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  joy’s reads

  Really informative although I found some things to be a little iffy. Otherwise, it had some great recipes and tips! Always gotta make sure you cross check info with other sources though. I also felt like some sections were missing information on certain herbs and crystals that should have been included but overall decent book.
• 
  Allie Morgan

  I'm no Wiccan, so occasionally when I read books aimed at Wiccans I get a little... eye-rolly when it comes to the prescriptive nature of the instructions. (and the rhyming, always rhyming!) Not so with this book. You don't need to be a Wiccan or even a Pagan to benefit from reading this book. Every witch and herbalist should have it!
  
  The instructions are simple, the information is presented beautifully and concisely. I particularly appreciate the care taken to warn of adverse side-effects of various tinctures and herbs, etc. I also appreciate the warnings about drug interactions. Safety is definitely key but the authors don't come across as overbearing, either.
  
  I have the hardback copy and it's stunning. The size is perfect and the book is immensely satisfying to hold and thumb-through. Invest in this book!
• 
  Lenore Sagaskie

  The Good Witch’s Guide is truly what it sets out to be: an excellent reference guide for skilled practitioners, novices or those just beginning to take interest in the magickal arts. The book is well-organized, insightful and provides explanatory summaries within each section that provides clarification of purpose.
  
  The Good Witch’s Guide is broken into three parts, the first of which is Ye Olde Witch’s Wisdom, Rituals and Formula’s. This part of the book gives a brief history of the folklore, aromatherapy, and use of crystals and gemstones. I like that this part of the book explained the “doctrine of signature” which is thematic in traditional folklore. I found the essential oil list comprehensive; the chapter provides a list of common ailments, points of improvement and essential oils that are recommended to provide relief. The essential oil section is also divided into healing and magickal and provides several recipes for each. Required items that many of these recipes call for are easy to locate. The chapter, Crystal Power, provides information on charms, elixirs, and explains chakra balancing in a concise manner. The chapter also provides a list of crystals and gemstones and their applications as well as recipes for healing and magickal applications. The list provides a great number of commonly utilized crystals and gems.
  
  The second part of the book, Spirit Spells and Spirituality, outlines the importance of well-being and visualization. I absolutely love the spells for well being and self love. The focus segues into spells that can be utilized to heal others such as the Healing Poppet Spell. The section then transitions to cleansing, protection and magical spells. Chapter 5 covers candles, their colors and uses. Chapter 6 has spells for health and also some for removing fears and phobias. The section is rounded out with a section that defines types of spirituality and philosophies. I like that it gives a brief summary of those listed without a bias toward one or another. A Good Witch’s Guide encourages and promotes self healing in daily life and encouraging use of healing of others and then extend it outwards to include wildlife and the environment. It contains a gentle reminder to be kind, be mindful and act with love.
  
  The third part of the book, DIY Brews and Potions, continues to remind the reader to look in your kitchen and your yard for sources for herbs and plants. As well as defining animism, this section contains a terminology of infusions, decoctions and tinctures. A list of common herbs and uses for them includes information on possible prescription drug interactions, information that is vital to all practitioners. As a kitchen witch, I really appreciated Chapter 8, Kitchen Witchware: Cooking up Magick. There are several recipes that are definitely going to be incorporated into my repertoire.
  The A to Z of Health Remedies is a nice addition to the appendix. I enjoyed seeing remedies from other practitioners. The Good Witch’s Guide also provides a great resource list for supplies and also a recommended reading and reference material list.
  
  I enjoyed The Good Witch’s Guide. It is a good read. The book provides a summary explanation, directions for self use, healing, magick and then encourages focus outward to use the knowledge to benefit others and the environment around us. Throughout the book there is significant emphasis on cleansing the items you work with of residual energy as well as a focus on energy, mood and intent. These things are very important to keep in mind whether you are creating an essential oil for a ritual bath or baking a loaf of bread for a family dinner.
  
  I appreciated the liked that the format of the book was user-friendly. Each of the three sections is broken down into healing and magickal applications and each of these sections lists herbs, spices, plants, supplies uses in either application. I also liked that the authors encourage the practice of “look in your spice cabinet” and also to look for plants, herbs in your environment.
  
  I recommend The Good Witch’s Guide: A Modern-Day Wiccapedia of Magickal Ingredients and Spells to anyone who is interested in learning or continuing to seek knowledge with healing lore or has an interest in the arts. Rating: 5 stars
  
• 
  Irene

  Y'all, I picked this up to skim at the library because I had it on hold, so I may not have the full context of this, but... page 45 says just... rub in some lemon or lime oil onto your wrists if you're feeling tired.
  
  NO. Do you want chemical burns? Citrus essential oils are phototoxic!!!!!
  
  (They do say "patch test before using for 12 hours", and "it's best to dilute in carrier oils", on the page before, but that's not present in this brief section, and I would have appreciated the reminder. If I could edit this to include a picture of the page, I will.)
  
  (Also, I literally just came from reading Blackthorn's Botanical Magic, and she literally warns - several times - against applying citrus oils to skin undiluted. Go there if you're interested in a deep dive into this topic.)
  
  Disappointing but not surprising since the other reviews of this book seem to say it doesn't get very in depth about much of anything.
• 
  Ash

  I like its practical usage; it's something you will return to often. It provides detailed lists on the meanings behind certain crystals, colors, herbs, etc. I skipped over the weight-focused rituals as it did not align with my beliefs.
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  Laura

  I really like this book. It has a lot of great information and ideas for those just starting out.
• 
  Kameran Hanson

  The bones of this book are very good, but it does contain some questionable material. Take everything with a grain of salt as they say. Plant references are great for beginners.
• 
  SA

  A solid survey of intermediate avenues of magical practice. Really best utilized by an individual who has developed a confidence in their initial practice, who is looking for potential paths to advance forward.
  
  The framing of the volume is in healing -- each of the sections relates back to this premise. And that's why I consider this more an in-depth survey rather than a reference volume (which it would appear to be on a quick rifle through). There's enough in each section to introduce the practitioner to a number of disciplines, from ritual work to potions making to aromatherapy and beyond. There's really enough to get a feel for the discipline, and would be an excellent learning tool to determine what concentration appeals for more thorough study and practice.
  
  A couple of irksome things: every single image of a person except for one is cisgender female. And the one male figure is Jesus, so, you know. Not really equitable in terms of gender. The text itself is pretty gender neutral, and though the significant majority of contributors are female-named, there are several male-named contributors as well. I get that there's a feminine charge to contemporary witchcraft, but it's a shame for a volume that could appeal to all to be designed so thoroughly in the feminine. (Especially as the authors take care to convey the gender duality of Wicca at several points in the text.)
  
  The other thing that irked was the frequency of certainty in the text: "it should be done this way"; "this version of an item is strongly preferred as different versions reduce the efficacy"; etc etc. I'm not going to knock the authors for writing to their experience in practice -- I'm sure what they convey in this volume has worked well in the fashion they describe. But it's bullshit to frame your book as general to practitioners of the craft and then set firm boundaries on how a practice should be done. Craft is highly personal, to an individual or a couple or a group, and the practitioner's intuition is typically a better guide over a specific recipe for spellwork. It would have been preferable for the authors to soften their language more, as in, "X is how we've found this spell to work particularly well, but if another material speaks to you/this item isn't available in your country/you can't perform it at the specified time, we encourage you to adapt this spell to your needs and intuition."
  
  On the whole, though, The Good Witch's Guide is a respectable contribution to the practitioner's bookshelf, in line with Cunningham's intermediate works.
  
  Oh, one last irky bit: whoever designed this book did not think through the structure, as this book is squat and squarish and several hundred pages long. You can't lay the book flat. You can't even crack the binding effectively! It was quite exhausting to my hand to try and keep the book open while scribbling notes, and given the sheer amount of information designed to be put into practice, it's bad design to make the book impossible to lay down open to the page of interest. It makes the format more decorative than practical, when the entire thing is a practical guide. Worth favoring the ebook for this alone.
• 
  Fi

  Ah another book with a gorgeous cover and mediocre content! I really am a sucker for beautiful book covers and it seems like they get me almost every time!
  
  I skimmed through this book, especially after reading Wiccapedia I didn't know how much I could handle. It wasn't as bad, so I'll give it that. It's just that it felt SO overwhelmingly lacking of substance. This is quite possibly the most generic beginner witchcraft book I've ever read. It feels like it could have been written by one of those 'random ___ generator' bots that scans books of different kinds and then writes it's own based on what it's learned... does anyone know what I'm talking about??
  
  That being said, if this is the only witchcraft book you've ever read, you could probably learn a couple things from here... the problem is that this book offers nothing new. If you've read any witchcraft book before this one, you know this stuff. They have a few recipes for oil blends that seem nice. But again- I'm sure I could find the exact same thing elsewhere. And just like Wiccapedia, though the information is beginner friendly, I felt as though it was lacking the disclaimers and safety knowledge that's so important for beginner witches to know. Some of the information felt like it was randomly chucked into the book-- like the section on chakras, for example.
  
  I will say that the author voice wasn't as awkward in this one (maybe because Leanna Greenaway didn't write this one?) and it included a bibliography and a section on where around the world they got their information from. That's the main reason why I gave it two stars instead of one. I'm going to stop being lured in by beautiful covers from now on.
• 
  Amy Layton

  Is this not one of the most beautiful books you've seen?  And more so, the inside is somehow prettier.  It's a gorgeous book, and the contents easily match the design.  
  
  As someone who's interested and not totally knowledgeable about witchery, this book was an incredible wealth of information.  Robbins and Bedell break down this book into many parts, from candle spells, to tinctures, to spirituality.  They list out the various meanings of colors, herbs, teas--and when not to use certain herbs and teas alongside medications.  They explain some history, the meanings, when to use and not use magick, and other types of magick and spirituality practiced by other witches.  
  
  They gather a wealth of knowledge from other witches--spells, recipes, tinctures--in order to give a fuller overview of just what can be done with the right ingredients.  
  
  This isn't the sort of book you'd necessarily read through, as it is more of a guidebook than a complete history and whatnot, but given who I am as a person, I did.  I learned a lot from it, and I'm truly excited to learn even more about witchery.  I'd definitely recommend this to other beginners like me!
  
  Review cross-listed
  here!
• 
  Kate’s bookshelf

  Absolutely BEST MODERN day beginners guide I have read!
  
  While I am not new to the practice, this book presented me with a ton of information I haven’t seen in other beginners books! The amount of herbal information and kitchen Witchery and just in general Cottage Witchcraft that I was presented with is insane! I will 100% look back on this book for its countless recipes, guides to countless herbs, and ailments. This book did not bore me as many other beginner books I have read. It is unique, and very relatable for modern witches! I loved how the author even went into depth about some spirituality practices. I haven’t seen any other beginners books delve into the path aspect that is needed in such books! Very, very relatable for today’s people.
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  ☼ Sarah ☼

  This was such a handy (and beautiful, what with the gilding on the cover and the illustrations inside) little book perfect for a beginner or experienced witch, full of recipes, herbs and herbal remedies, spells, essential oils, and lore. I especially liked the roundtable of recipes for the eight Sabbats, and though I haven't baked anything since high school, I'll be sure to try them soon!
  
  
  
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  Elliot

  i love this book so much it has taught be so many things about witch craft and the dos and donts. my favorite section is the crystals, i love crystals a lot and this book did wonders on teaching me everything i need to know about crystals and more. i deffinetly reccommed this book to begginers and even if your intrested in the subject. :D <3<3
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  Diana

  Very pretty book, but never a judge a book by its cover. There were some interesting parts, but nothing that goes into depth on any one thing, and there was some questionable content, perhaps even dangerous to some. There are many other basic 101-type books out there that might not be dressed up so nicely, but are way more useful and informative.
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  Leigh Seaman

  Well written, offering lots of information. Folklore and spiritual history, uses for herbs. Simple recipes for tonics, tinctures and potions. Basic instructions and good starting point for those wishing to work with herbs and natural healing.
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  Roberta

  Bella l'edizione rigida e le grafiche, ma questo libro è pieno di cultural appropriation e consigli pericolosi per la vostra salute fisica e mentale.
  Recensione completa qui:
  my link text
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  Lashette

  Pretty damned thorough.