The Green Witch's Grimoire: Your Complete Guide to Creating Your Own Book of Natural Magic by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

The Green Witch's Grimoire: Your Complete Guide to Creating Your Own Book of Natural Magic Reviews

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  destiny ♡ howling libraries

  Arin Murphy-Hiscock is one of my favorite authors on witchcraft, so I naturally had to snap this up when I saw it available on NetGalley, despite not necessarily considering myself a green witch. Luckily, it was exactly as I expected: though I don't feel particularly drawn to herbalism, plants, and many other common facets of green witchcraft, The Green Witch's Grimoire still had a wealth of helpful information and inspiration to offer me!
  
  In fact, I think it's worth noting — for those of you who, like me, are wondering if this book will be too specific for your needs — that the majority of this book would make a very helpful guide to grimoires for any witch (though obviously more so if you practice green witchcraft or even hearth and/or kitchen craft). This book also discusses divination, spellcraft, and so much more.
  
  I would say that one of the most "green" aspects of this book is its stance on a witch's responsibility to take care of the earth in any ways we personally can. Arin offers suggestions for how to perform healing rituals after natural disasters, source ethical supplies, and even includes a guide for making your own paper! (Which I would probably never have the ambition for, but I thought was so awesome.) There's also a section on the validity of digital grimoires for people who are trying to use as little paper as possible in their lives, with tips for keeping your digital grimoire safe from others.
  
  (As a side note related to the responsibility and ethics discussions in this book, I also appreciated Arin taking a moment to discuss the difference between smudging and smoke cleansing, the correlation between smudging and white sage to sacred Indigenous rituals, and plenty of alternatives you can use instead of white sage if you aren't Indigenous.)
  
  In case you couldn't tell by my review so far, I absolutely loved The Green Witch's Grimoire and thought it would make an incredible asset to any green witch's library, as well as the shelves of many who don't practice green craft at all! On top of all of the valuable information, Arin Murphy-Hiscock has such a readable writing style and never comes across as condescending, judgmental, or pushy with her stances on things. I highly recommend picking up a copy!
  
  Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!
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  Alicia Bayer

  I am not a witch but I was intrigued by this book since I use a lot of wild herbs and do a lot of nature journaling, wild food logs and so on, with can cross over nicely with a grimoire. I hoped it would help me in perfecting my Materia Medica, or book of my personal herbal information for wild plants, kitchen medicine, and so on.
  
  It's a good book for either purpose and has some fun crafty sort of tutorials for things like making herbal paper, pressing wildflowers, making herbal wands for smudging and so on. It also has advice on the type of book to use, the requisite Wiccan information on spells and such, plus lots of information on ethics and such.
  
  I really wish the book had images, though. With a book like this you really want to see photos or at least sketches for inspiration on how to do your grimoire, the steps on the projects and so on. I'm a very visual reader and would honestly rather browse Pinterest for images of other people Materia Medica or grimoire for inspiration than just read text about it. Other than that, it's quite a nice, helpful book.
  
  Heads up to those who are interested for reasons similar to mine, it has lists of plants and colors and other elements that are spiritually associated with various properties but does not include actual herbal information. It is definitely designed for magick and not medicine.
  
  I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
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  Natalie all_books_great_and_small

  I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
  
  This is a wonderful and gloriously detailed book about how to make your own Green Witch Grimoire and what you could include and how to use it to your advantage. The only thing this book was missing was pictures as illustrations or photographs of examples to accompany the information would have made it a 5 star read for me.
  
  This would make a beautiful gift for anyone interested in witches, magic or grimoires.
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  Carrie (The Butterfly Reader)

  I loved this! Really gave me some great ideas! Even if you're not a green witch, it can help you with your book of shadows or grimoire.
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  Allie Marini

  I don’t identify as a Green Witch, and I didn’t have much knowledge about the spiritual practice prior to reading this book. I have been on a binge reading books about grimoires and grimoire work, however, and this book was a solid addition to my knowledge. Many of the grimoire books I’ve read recently have gone into the subjects, topics, and rituals that a person could use in their grimoire, and this book covered that as well — but one of the things that mad this book different and unique is that it addressed the physical grimoire itself. How to choose a book to make your grimoire, how to construct one of your own making, even instructions for making your own recycled paper. This book also went into great detail for the methodology and the mindset with which to approach working in your grimoire, and how to connect that to the path of the Green Witch. And although I don’t identify as such, it was approachable and easy-to-understand for those on other spiritual paths, with much that can be learned and integrated from Green Witchcraft. I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who identifies as a witch, Wiccan, pagan, or otherwise following a nature-centric, non-traditional spiritual path, or if you work with a grimoire.
  
  Thank out to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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  lola

  I find the book really helpfull however, it is like a summed up version of the Green Witch by the same author.
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  Cynthia

  A fantastic “how to” book as I begin the process of writing my own grimoire. Many pages of suggested ways of tracking rituals and lots of explanation on how to begin, refine, and process as I write.
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  Rebecca Elson

  This review originally appeared on The Magical Buffet website on 06/22/20.
  
  There is a joke about grimoires in the magical community, it goes something like, “I bought this gorgeous book to be my grimoire, but it’s too beautiful to write in.” It is funny because it is just about universally true. I have multiple BEAUTIFUL blank journals that have been untouched for years because I could never write anything worthy enough for its pristine gold gilded edges. Today’s book has made me reexamine everything I thought I wanted from a grimoire.
  
  “The Green Witch’s Grimoire: Your Complete Guide to Creating Your Own Book of Natural Magic” by Arin Murphy-Hiscock delivers. It. Is. Complete. Try as I might, and I’ve given it a LOT of thought, I cannot come up with any angle or component of grimoires that Murphy-Hiscock might have missed. The title says, “Green Witch” but let me say, unless you are a magic practitioner that actively hates nature, anyone can use this book.
  
  The first part of “The Green Witch’s Grimoire” is a journey to try to decide what your grimoire is going to be. What kind of paper will you use? How will the pages be held together? What will you use to write in it? Will you want to carry it with you? Do you want multiple volumes? Will it have sections? Templates? An index? Do you plan on incorporating samples of natural things? Will it be decorative, functional, both? There is a dizzying number of things to consider, and I’m fairly sure Murphy-Hiscock things of every last one.
  
  The second part of the book discusses options for how to use your grimoire: journaling, writing spells, copying important information from research, cataloging the results of divination, as a mission statement, and obviously more.
  
  I obviously love how thorough Murphy-Hiscock is in this book, but what I love the most is how she emphasizes there is no right way to create and use a grimoire, and that there’s nothing wrong with deciding you don’t like what you created and start over again.
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  Ophelia Feyre

  Book Review: The Green Witch's Grimoire by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
  Genre: Religion and Spirituality
  Publisher: Adams Media
  Release Date: 28th July, 2020
  
  If you've watched my video about my favourite Witchy books then you know that I love Arin Murphy Hiscock's The Green Witch. It is THE book that made me realise I wanted to pursue a green witch path. So when I found out about The Green Witch's Grimoire I knew I had to have it.
  
  And it does not disappoint.
  
  Firstly, despite the title, this book is NOT a grimoire. It is a guide for planning and creating your own green witch grimoire. Saying that it has so many useful tips for any Witch when creating a grimoire. Murphy-Hiscock does point out early on that this book is for Witch's that already have a foundation in Witchcraft, therefore, it is not from complete beginners. If you are looking for something more instructive on a green witch path then definitely check out her previous book, The Green Witch, first.
  
  I do already have a grimoire, however it is currently not what I want it to be. I've been toying with the idea of starting from scratch and re-doing it. This book is exactly what I needed to help me do that. I am a very organised person, so much so that I have OCPD (obsessive compulsive personality disorder) which has its benefits and detriments. I do struggle with starting or restarting something and often put things off. However, this book really helps with the part I was struggling with the most; setting up a system for my grimoire. It helps you decide how to organise and structure your sections and gives some great ideas on what to include - with useful examples.
  
  There really are so many things to consider when creating a grimoire and Arin Murphy-Hiscock is a wealth of knowledge!
  
  Something I found really interesting was the history of grimoires and how much they have changed. I was surprised to learn that there was actually a difference in grimoires that related to a person's status in society and whether they were male or female!
  
  I did not notice some repetition throughout the book; statements about what a grimoire is seemed to be regurgitated in different sections. However, this was an E-ARC so there is a chance this was changed after final edits.
  
  As the book is primarily aimed at green witches, Murphy Hiscock spends time explaining how to structure and organise your entries on specific plants, herbs, trees etc. However, her method is something that can be attributed to other aspects of Witchcraft. I fully intend to use a similar method when it comes to recording crystals.
  
  Another aspect I was left thinking about was the ideas she expressed on morals and ethics. As a Wiccan I follow the Wiccan rede, and I include this at the beginning of my grimoire. However, there are morals and ethics attributed to the green witch path that I just took for granted. I am now going to ensure I pin down exactly what my personal morals and ethics are in terms of the environment; locally, nationally and globally.
  
  Who do I want to be as a person, not just as a Witch?
  
  I made SO many notes whilst reading this book. There are lots of fun and interesting things I now want to include in my grimoire to make it 'beautiful and useful'. I'm eager to get started on re-working my grimoire and excited to delve deeper in to my personal practice.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Adams Media for the opportunity to read and review this EARC.
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  Moony

  I just really love Arin Murphy-Hiscock's voice and style... That's it. I picked that book from a second-hand online bookshop just because it was from her and I didn't really know what to expect. So far, the other 3 books I read from her resonated with me, comforted me, and inspired me. So I got this one purely out of trust. When it arrived and I leafed through it, I suddenly got disappointed seeing chapters like "choosing the right paper for your grimoire" and "choosing the size" ... I almost felt silly for not even taking the time to properly look what the book was about and I was scared it would be a superficial read...
  But then, it quickly appeared that it might just be what I needed to read.
  
  'The Green Witch's Grimoire' is separated into two parts. The first one is mostly about helping us understand why we need a grimoire, what to write in it, how to choose it. And you know, even before getting into spirituality, I tried times and times again to journal (often because therapists told me it'd help me) and I have just never managed to get anywhere with it. I usually went to a bookshop, picked a pretty hardback notebook, and tried to write regularly, but I got bored, annoyed, my wrist hurt after a couple of minutes, and I abandoned quickly. I tried bullet journaling and painfully made it for a year or two... so when I began my spiritual path and saw everywhere that I should keep a grimoire, record my journey, my trials and errors, and all of that, I didn't want to. I tried, in another pretty notebook, and failed. I just couldn't commit to it.
  And it took me so many years and to read this one book here to realize that there were other ways. And I felt silly for never even thinking about it, but I realized maybe a pretty hardback notebook is just not the way for me. All those chapters about brainstorming how to design and write in a grimoire were actually all I needed and wanted to read. It allowed me to sit down and really think about what would work for me.
  As always, the author's voice was kind and understanding. She guides us through the smallest steps -that might sound silly or boring to some but that I appreciated so much.
  I took notes and I had new ideas and I cannot wait to get started in all the new ways for me to explore to journal my thoughts and experiences.
  
  The second part of the book brought a lot of new questions, about how to use the grimoire, how to journal. The last two chapters in particular brought questions about morals, ethics, healing, activism... a lot of prompts for us to think about and I really liked that.
  
  All in one, this book was deeper than I expected. And exactly what I needed at that time.
  It also made me happy to see the way the author grew since the first book I read from her. Her style here was more inclusive and respectful, which I greatly appreciated.
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  Cindy

  I love the Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock so I was excited to read this latest installment to the series a grimoire how-to. Hiscock goes into how to put together a Grimoire from the construction of the book itself, the format to choose, inks and paper choices. There is also a section on what to cover in your grimoire, topics and the layout. Once the physical aspects of the grimoire where discussed she goes into some witch basics to get you started with your grimoire content. I made quite a few notes in this section and found it the most interesting and useful. She gives a number of exercises and incantations you can use in your own practice. She finishes the book with chapters on journaling, ethics and a list of common plant, crystal and color references. All in all this was a unique magick book on a topic that isn't usually written about in such detail. I wouldn't say it's a read for everyone, but I did enjoy certain chapters quite a bit and would give it 4 stars.
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  Sara Hill

  The Green Witch’s Grimoire by Arin Murphy-Hiscock was an interesting introduction into Grimoires.
  
  Overall, I think it was okay. I found it a bit dry and repetitive at parts.
  
  I think for people who are new to Grimoires (like me) this was a well explained introduction. I think other subject matters like Murphy-Hiscock’s other book would be of more interest to me. I think the idea of crafting a Grimoire would be my favourite part. I also want to try making my own paper and quill, which she explains in great detail how to do.
  
  I think this book would be best in physical form, as I feel it would be more accessible.
  
  I received an eARC from Adams Media through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.
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  Cozy Reviews

  Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.
  
  I found this to be most informative and well designed. I enjoyed learning from the author who has a pleasant way of presenting the information to her readers. Al the aspects of a Grimoire are covered here for new witches as well as experienced witches seeking to improve their grimoire. The author emphasis that this is a personal journey for each witch and as such she offers her readers suggestions for their own grimoire creation. I highly recommend this book for all witches both new and experienced. Very well done to the author. .This is definitely a book I will buy in hard cover for my library.
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  Tasmin B

  This is the second book about green witchcraft I've read by this author. And just like the other one I loved it.
  
  I really like how she talks to the readers like they aren't stupid.
  She never comes off bossy and instead gives you options to things like how to make your grimoire.
  
  This book really helps a newbie understand the basics of starting a Grimoire and helping by putting all the information in one place.
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  Hollidaisy

  Fantastic information on grimoires for the green witch. A lot of practical application ideas and suggestions, including the physical grimoire itself and options that you have (including pros and cons of each type of material). Really good ideas for setting up a grimoire and allows for a lot of personal preferences and decision-making, which is imperative for a green witch. Very good resource and reference book!
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  Jeannie

  This is a great book that discusses how to put together a grimoire - a record of recipes, herb lists, personal reflections, notes about trying things and how they turned out, etc. If you fall into the category of Green Witch, this is an excellent guide to creating your first grimoire. If you are NOT a Green Witch, but just love gardening, creating natural remedies, and experimenting with herb recipes, this book is ALSO good for you.
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  Annarella

  I read other books by this author and found this one excellent.
  It's well written, easy to follow and full of ideas that can help you to improve your BOS.
  An informative and interesting read that I strongly recommend.
  Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
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  Nikki

  This seems like a good reference book on how to write your own grimoire. There are even instructions on how to make your own paper and quill pen.
  
  I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.
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  Ajti

  This book is like all of Arin Murphy-Hiscock’s books I’ve read - somewhat repetitive, aimed at total beginners, but thoughtfully compiled, raises good questions for one’s own practice, and has some inevitable moments of new information. I’d recommend it, if only as a launching pad for inspiration.
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  Beii*

  Lo he ido intercalando con otras lecturas porque se me hacía pesado.
  Trae mucha info de valor, pero había partes que me parecían demasiado densas de leer. Aún así super recomendable si escribes o quieres empezar a escribir un grimorio.
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  Kristin

  This was a very detailed book about making your own grimoir. It's clear and concise, which makes it much easier to read.
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  Tara Weiss

  Like a well-organized and detailed list of Pinterest projects.
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  Cierra Spears -The Ladies Reading Place

  I found this book very informative and informational. I enjoyed the writing style and flow of how things read. I overall love this
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  Lorie

  Very helpful. Breaks down a multitude of options for adding to one's grimoire.