Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore \u0026 Herb Craft by Ann Moura

Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore \u0026 Herb Craft Reviews

• 
  Kate

  This book is rant worthy...
  
  First off the title itself is misleading: Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft. By Green she means Wicca, or rather Wicca that uses plants, by Folk Magic she means that she mentions that her family used Folk Magic but she doesn't actually talk about it in any real depth, by Fairy Lore she means that fairies are cool (there is absolutely no lore whatsoever about the fae in this book) and by Herb Craft she actually means Herb Craft. So at least there's that.
  
  This book is incredible poorly written. It's unorganized and repeats things frequently. I would often get confused about what section I was supposedly reading because she couldn't stay on topic for more than a paragraph or two. This book needed a real editor desperately.
  
  The author has a serious anti-mainstream religion chip on her shoulder. Half the time it reads as a childish rant. I felt like I was reading a craft book written by a teenager who just discovered "The Burning Times".
  
  There was a lot of name dropping for other books sold by the same publisher which is really lame. If you made a drinking game where you take a shot from the lowest % alcohol that you can find every time she name dropped or used the word Green you'd be dead ten times over.
  
  tldr: This book is about Wiccan Ceremonial Magic, Tarot, Candle Magic and Herb Craft. Fairies and real Folk Magic need not apply. Terribly written and angry anti-mainstream-religion rants.
• 
  Timothy Urgest

  Wicca-oriented, which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for. The title of the book is, however, slightly misleading.
  
  As others have stated, the rituals in Green Witchcraft are repetitive, with minor variations for different circumstances. But repetition is ritual. Ritual is itself a repetitive action. The point being to enter a specific state of mind via repetition.
  
  Moura is opinionated, so do your research before accepting her views as fact (this goes for everything you encounter in books and media). I’m not saying she’s wrong, but her views require deeper understanding than how she presents them, specifically in regard to history.
  
  This is my second reading, as I recently found the rest of the books in the series that I’ll get to eventually.
• 
  Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}

  What I liked: I liked the herbal correspondences, and there were some practical advice.
  
  What I disliked: Witchcraft = Wicca and nothing else; historical inaccuracies. I skimmed through a lot of the Wicca stuff because meh (I'm not Wiccan, it's not relevant to me).
  
  I recommend, if you read this, to not use this book for historical reference, but as a modern day herbal when it comes to correspondences.
• 
  Nicki

  This book annoyed me. It's a great book for Wiccan beginners (which I why it gets the 2 stars) but is not at all about Green Witchcraft. I don't understand how the title of this book relates to its contents. I eventually put this book down, as it was not at all what I was expecting or wanting. No new or relevant information for me. Green Witches, Hearth/Kitchen Witches - feel free to skip this one.
• 
  Kosjitov

  I tried to get through this book but I find that it has too many stories about herself and her family for my tastes. I also found some of her ideas to be eccentric and beyond the scope of my tolerance, even as an occultist.
  
  I agree with others who have stated that she tries to write opinions as fact to fit her own style/needs. I chalk it up to the path of green witchcraft being somewhere in the background behind Wicca, without any real set of ruling bodies or traditions to keep information intact over a serious length of time. Unfortunately this does a disservice to those who might otherwise consider this for their own spiritual path.
  
  Green Witchcraft feels like a hybrid between witchcraft and possibly druidic or celtic reconstruction (Possibly- I'm not familiar with these practices). It still reeks heavily of eclecticism.
  
  All in all, I couldn't take Ann's book seriously by the end of it. I felt its illustrations were unnecessary, some of the guidelines within were a joke (not so much the rules, but the reasoning), and her writing style put me off. Good luck to anyone who opts to read it, but please realize there's better out there on general witchcraft.
• 
  Willow

  Obviously you can't and shouldn't copy and take for truth everything that an author like this says. However, I found this book extremely helpful and valuable for my own personal crafting and such. It is a good supplement which is what all of these "occult" and "new age" books should be treated as.
• 
  Samantha McGuire

  This is my kind of book! It talks about a lot of things all in one book. It discusses all the pagan holidays, herbal mixtures and recipes, and connection with "nature spirits" or "elementals." Its a great book to add to my collection!
• 
  Jody Mena

  A great book, both for philosophical purposes and as a valuable resource for Witches and Pagans, and an informative guide to the basics of this tradition of Witchcraft for everyone else. The combination of Dravidic, Germanic, Celtic and Brazilian traditions is a unique and fascinating perspective. I love how the author combines her personal experience into the descriptions of spells and rituals. Her perspective of Green Witchcraft is thought provoking and refreshing. She provides many useful herbal recipes, divination references and ritual guides. Something else fairly unique she offers is a perspective of one who grew up in both Witchcraft and Christianity, a rare position that may help non-Witches and non-Pagans better relate to what she writes. She also explained the Wheel of the Year and the cycles of the Goddess and the God in a very clear way that made more sense than many other explanations I've read. The book is not as rigidly structured as it might have been, but in a way that goes together with the subject of the book; it seems more grown than constructed, to be metaphorical about it, subjects sometimes flowing together and peppered with personal anecdotes and childhood memories, and so feels sort of casual, amicable and warm. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in learning about Witchcraft.
• 
  annie k

  I have more than a few issues with this book. I want to be nice and say plenty of folx will find this a helpful resource, but there are A LOT of books out there that will be far more helpful and far better resources.
  
  Some of my main issues:
  
  -the misleading title, which is the main reason I purchased it in the first place.
  
  -the author’s insistence at using the term “aryan” in its historical context when it simply is not used in this way presently (and I feel like it hasn’t been since WWII, but maybe that’s just me?).
  
  -chapters 9-16 are ridiculously repetitive, so much so that most begin the section for “Instructions for the Ceremony” *exactly the same*. I can only assume the author needed to hit a specified word count and accomplished this through the repetition. If the directions do not change, let us include some other pertinent information instead of regurgitating the same thing over and over again.
  
  -Appendix A, wow. Yup. Just read Appendix A. I’ve never been a fan of people who discount others to further their own dogma. I get it, you don’t subscribe to Abrahamic religions, but claiming Wicca as “The Old Religion” is nonsense. Claiming Jefferson should be praised for ripping his Bible apart to contain only what he thought necessary is petty. There are plenty of other reasons *not* to praise him or any of the “founding fathers” (or politicians period). It just seems a bizarre thinly veiled patriotic opinion.
  
  Speaking of opinions, I’ll wrap this up instead of continuing mine.
  
  Even if you’re interested in Wicca or other organised pagan religious paths, there are better resources/guidebooks out there.
  
  If you’re into a green path of witchcraft, but not Wiccan, get a different book.
  
  When I purchased Green Witchcraft I also picked up a copy of GW2. I’m just not looking forward to reading it at this point. Both will probably be donated or sold off to be honest.
• 
  Amber

  Actually, I skimmed it. I was hoping for something more advanced, but, alas, another introductory level. So that's more on me. What I did read (about a fourth) didn't seem well organized and didn't stand out from other stuff I read.
  
  At the same time, this book isn't written for us so much as it's written for her and her family, which had a surprisingly sweet tone to it. The memoir aspect was my favorite, though not its intention.
  
  So, it's not a bad place to start for anyone interested. From a woman writer, it didn't make me cringe on the myth telling and has some good recipes and spells, a fair good amount of charts. Ann is very "do what feels right but here's what we do" which I appreciate.
• 
  Eve

  I like this first installment in a three part series. I can easily identify with her books as I am also of mixed blood and have mixed magickal practices reflective of my varied cultural upbringing. She also is heavily influenced by the matriarchs in her family. This is a great addition to any magickal collection.
• 
  Anna Vasalaki

  I love Ann Moura's books. Her writing style is accessible, while the book is filled with knowledge, most of which cannot be found elsewhere as it comes from her personal family tradition. Can't wait to get the next book!
• 
  Michael Blackthorn

  Had some valuable tidbits.. Good for the Beginner, makes one think a bit (if they choose to move beyond face value and read between the lines.)
• 
  Nicole

  Well written and informative but I didnt actually finish it ...all info I've read time and again in Wicca 101 books.
• 
  Frances

  Very, very generous two stars.
  
  A few good things to start off with: the holiday activities were actually unique, and I will be using some. The rituals were also elaborate, which I also liked. In addition, I appreciated the tip on how to enter and leave a circle if needed. To save those of you the trouble of reading this book, you excuse yourself, use an athame to draw a "door," step through it, seal the door by drawing a pentacle over it with the athame, do what you need to, then reenter by drawing another door and sealing it behind you. That is incredibly useful, especially if you drop something and it rolls out of reach, forget the matches again, etc. I also liked the idea that if you are meant to perform a spell you will be provided with the means to perform it (16), as this goes against some of the rampant consumerism I have seen in the witch community, in which people buy slave-mined crystals all for a Beltane ritual, etc. Some of the sabbat crafts also had to do with reusing items, which I adored. I do still think, however, that sustainability and helping the planet was discussed suspiciously little in this book, though I think it already helps a great deal that Moura does not mention crystals even once. What a breath of fresh air.
  
  So...on to the problems. I think the largest, glaring issue with this book is that the author approaches her topic from a historical perspective, and an abysmally inaccurate one at that. If you are going to open your book by telling us you teach history, and you adopt scholarly, analytical language in your tone, you need to cite sources. Many people praise this book for its herb correspondences, but really, I wanted more of an explanation behind them. Is it too difficult to add another column explaining why basil signifies protection, wealth, love, and repelling negativity? By the time I reached the herb correspondence chart, the author had already lost my trust completely with her outrageous historical claims, so I found myself wondering why the hell I was supposed to look to her as any sort of authority on herb correspondences when I could just as easily learn the same information from a kitschy Wiccan Instagram influencer.
  
  The historical inaccuracies in this book verged on offensive; really, the author's unsourced claims were so unbelievable that she must have written this assuming she had a stupid audience. The same author who cites TLC (or, as she conveniently refers to it, "The Learning Channel" [45]) documentaries multiple times--that's right, the TV channel that brought you Toddlers and Tiaras is now a legitimate source of historical information to be used as the foundation of one's religion--also wants us to take her at her word when she claims that the rituals and sacred ideas she promotes date back "ten to twenty thousand years" (3).
  
  
  
  I also find it extremely interesting that this author claims her "personal approach is not one that can be pinned down to any one tradition; [she has] borrowed what [she] wanted and discarded as [she] saw fit" (4), but she feels no need to "discard" the label of "Aryan" when she talks about some of her traditions.
  
  There is also the usual bullshit in here about the "law of return" and delusion about the history of witchcraft. Unfortunately for Moura, I am doing my thesis on witchcraft in Early Modern England, and can say with one-hundred percent certainty that she is false in saying "magic was not performed for monetary payment" (12). In fact, magic could be quite lucrative, at least during that time, and services ranged from herbal remedies to quackery to finding buried treasure to recovering lost property. Moura also asserts that "to attempt to draw upon Darkness to harm another is simply...not a 'witch thing'" (96). Can we as a faith community stop denying that cursing has, is, and always will be a very large part of witchcraft? I am getting bloody sick of entitled uwus telling witches we cannot curse, and that cursing is not a part of our identity. It is. When women were unable to get divorces, were unable to persecute their rapists, were unable to have any kind of control in society, they cursed. Curses have historically provided comfort, dignity, and a sense of autonomy to people who are marginalized and/or have trauma. To pretend like it isn't is ahistorical and a blatant lie. I would know, I've read spell books from the 1600s, held the brittle paper in my hand.
  
  Moura also slips into her backstory often and unexpectedly. I think this would have been appropriate if it was sectioned off somewhere, maybe at the beginning of the book, but to have her keep slipping into her own tragic backstory and opinions on Christianity really got annoying. Her attempts to "refute" (34) Judeo-Christian beliefs (just say Christianity, we all know you aren't talking about Judaism and Islam) come across as incredibly immature and lacking in self awareness. She refers to Biblical figures as "fictional characters" (34) despite believing that unicorns exist. Okay. First of all, you do not "refute" faith--if you were going for a historical refutation of Christianity, perhaps you should have cited more credible sources than TLC. Second of all, she also condemns Judeo-Christian faiths as propagating the idea that women are "second-class humans," while the lore of her own beliefs centers around the "Lady" giving birth to the son of her own mate and son. Her own lore reduces women to birthing machines.
  
  Moura also believes that you do not need to thank your deities for what They do for you. Maybe it is because I am a Hellenic Polytheist, but I believe in the principle of χάρις, and I believe that when a God does something for you, you thank Them. Even before They have done something for you, you thank Them. Moura's idea that a thank you somehow means more when it isn't directly said reads as incredibly immature, and it vaguely calls to mind 2014 Tumblr posts about how supporting your friends through difficult times is 'emotional labor.'
  
  More tidbits that annoyed me because my food is here:
  *"[The Learning Channel documentary] convincingly suggests..." (45).
  *"The natives of an isolated Amazonian Jungle tribe only have children every three years" (47). What tribe? Why not say the name, so we can Google it if we're interested?
  *Disrespect for the Theoi. Moura has every right not to worship Them (in fact, I would be incredibly offended if someone decided to use Zeus as the face of the "Lord"), but she really took digs at Them more often than any other pantheon, saying she can't take Them seriously because of media, etc. Maybe it's because you're allergic to research.
  *"pseudo-archaic language...is just as valid" (77). 1-800-AM-I-VALID
  *Wildly incorrect interpretation of the Devil Tarot card as a "blessing" (117) card.
  *Calls use of Native American culture in magic by non-Native Americans "shallow" (95) instead of what it is, which is racist.
  *Checked the bibliography: No mention of TLC documentary, overwhelming majority of entries are occult books. The non-occult books and articles, which presumably were where the "historical" information came from, where almost all 30 years old or more, often leaning more towards 50+. I could have given this a pass, if she had properly cited the facts as she was giving them, but right now, it feels like the thumbed through a few articles and books at the local library, watched some documentaries, and typed away until she had something that would sound convincing to clueless newbies wanting to believe in something.
• 
  Aurora Arding

  Good introduction, though not as scholarly as some beginner books. While I didn't agree with her historical assessments, I thought the gentle way she introduces witchcraft is accessible and light-hearted. Currently integrating a number of her practices into my rituals. Love the additional activities associated with each major Sabbath. Wish she included the minor Sabbath's as well, though I understand she's written a few more books which most likely, though I don't know for sure, include additional rituals.
• 
  Jessica

  For a book on the craft it's one of the better Wicca-centric books I've read. I read this with a pretty hefty grain of salt- (as in a gigantic salt lick). I enjoyed the correspondences and some of her Wheel of the year celebration ideas for incorporating into family celebration, I also enjoyed her tea recipes. I enjoyed how she did state that there isn't any historical evidence for a lot of the crap in here and other books on Wicca, and brought forth the idea of the pre-celts. She states in the book that she worked without the God and Goddess for a long time in her practice but all of her suggestions are directly centered around them- which is fine enough for a lot of folks I am sure, but I would've enjoyed this more if the rituals didn't feel like servitude and praising like church worship. Worth a read if you're reading into the subject- but like almost every other easily accessible book on witchcraft you have to throw most of it out and just find the gems you yourself can use.
• 
  Indigo Crow

  I find little fault in this book except that it lacks detail in some areas. A little more information on some subjects within it could have made it better, but even without that extended information (which I must assume has been since covered by the other books in this "series"), it is well written and provides a good basis for this particular subject.
  
  I especially appreciate that the author doesn't have an attitude that things MUST be done in a very specific manner or they absolutely won't work. In fact, she seems to encourage the reader to pick and choose methods that feel most right to them personally in order to achieve their intented goal.
  
  I enjoyed the little bits of religious history the author has included. I find that the history of where various religious ideas, teachings, and traditions originate to be fascinating.
  
  I am definitely going to read more of this author's work. I very much like her approproach to paganism and witchcraft.
• 
  ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣

  Да будут благословенны мои ноги, приведшие меня на этот путь.
  Да будут благословенны мои колени, поддерживающие меня перед Божественным.
  Да будет благословен мой живот, дающий мне внутреннюю силу.
  Да будет благословенна моя грудь, в которой бьется мое сердце, верное Господину и Госпоже.
  Да будут благословенны мои губы, произносящие тайные имена.
  Да будут благословенны мои глаза, видящие нрасоту любви Господина и Госпожи.
  Да будет благословенен мой разум, ищущий их знания и мудрость.
  
  
  Веселой встречи, веселого расставания и новой веселой встречи.
• 
  Michelle

  I think this book has a few good one-liners; but overall it comes across as dogmatic, pompous, and hypocritical. I finished reading it because I found that the author's rhetoric challenged me to define my beliefs more clearly to myself as I worked through whatever had set me off. So a good practice in self-evaluation for me, but that's worrisome as I think of this book in the hands of someone wholly unfamiliar with the Craft, of any flavor, thinking these rules and instructions and ceremonies are required to find their spiritual self.
• 
  Kerry

  Not half way through this book yet and I already feel frustrated with the author. She is clearly very knowledgeable, but the structure of the book is very erratic and it appears contradictory in places and hard to follow what the point is that author is trying to make, particularly in regards to Gardner. Some good information on herbs and their uses, psychic protection and conduct. I do feel that it could have been edited and structured much better to make less confusing for the reader.
• 
  Georgie

  This book was a great experience to read, it contained many practical components as well as the history of the author. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in Earth Magic, hands in the mud style.
• 
  Julie

  one one the best books. has some great detail surrounding the rise of organized religion as well
• 
  Genna

  This gave me a lot to think about.
• 
  Krisanne Lane

  This was such a strange book. The premise is that the author learned witchcraft from her Brazilian mother and grandmother (uh huh) that was based on folk magic that was integrated with the more accepted Catholicism and it is NOT Wicca. Seriously, people. It's not. She means it. Maybe she meant that in the BTW sense? Because half the book was ritual after ritual that were typical generic 90's Wiccan rituals. There's no folk magic or fairy lore in this book. The author tries to touch on many different magical concepts but only does so in a passing manner. I can't speak to the accuracy of all the herbal correspondences given, but there were definitely some inaccuracies in other areas based on my 20+ years of learning. There's a lot of ranting against Christianity. I'm not saying I'm a fan, but I think it's better to stand on your own work than worry about what the others are preaching... unless that's the point of your book. Is it?
  
  This was just all over the place. Some of the generic (Wiccan) mythology was pretty on point. But there were so many things that didn't make sense. For example, the author lights three candles at ritual: One for the Goddess, one for the God, and one for an androgynous deity. But she never addresses the androgynous deity. She says to select deity names to use for the God and Goddess, but never for the other one. Why include it then?
  
  The author talks about how magic is not typically done at Sabbats, and then concludes EVERY Sabbat ritual with the instruction to leave any candles out that need to burn, for example, those lit for spellwork.
  
  It's SO repetitive. Not only does she write out the circle casting and takedown TEN times (once for each Sabbat and once each for Full and New Moon Esbats), but even within the rituals, she says and does things two and three times. Merry Meet! Merry Part! And Merry Meet Again! Merry Meet! Merry Part! And Merry Meet Again! Why???
  
  Seriously, read some of the other two-star reviews. They're more thorough and specific than mine. Now, to be fair, I've heard that the later volumes of Green Witchcraft are better than the first, so I may still check them out. But there's definitely better, more thorough books out there than this one.
• 
  Carla

  I enjoy learning from all of Ann Moore's books. They are easy to follow and packed full of information. Also I don't think of Ms Moura's books As a purely Wiccan way to do things. I find her books have more of an Eclectic way of practicing The Craft.
  As a High Priestess coven leader and teacher I read factual books on The Craft to gain more knowledge and different points of view on how to do things. I always recommend Ms Moura books to my students which book or series of books depends on their level of learning. The book I recommend to anyone in learning more about witchcraft and also the book that introduced me to this wonderful person and author is "Witchcraft An Alternative Path." Unfortunately Good Reads does not have this book on their we site to review.
  Just remember when you want a good book to read and for reference you can't go wrong with a book written by Ann Moura. Her website is laid out pretty cool too
• 
  Rana Kelly

  As a staunch atheist, I have a bit of resentment towards any magical thinking... Essential oils, psychics, mediums, palm readers, astrologers, animal psychics, metaphysics... and just... believing any ridiculous damn thing you wish was real.... I find it tiresome in general. It's stereotypical and intensely tokenized now in contemporary culture. In my youth, I went on a discovery mission to try and explore my utter lack of faith and instinctive rejection of Abrahamic religious world views. I never quite found what I was looking for, but this book and its subsequent title by the same author, got me the closest I ever came to a state of grace. Practical and engaging details, intimate and life affirming personal rituals and ideas, thorough explanations, genuine kindness and humility in tone and voice, and an endearing quality to the practice of paganism that I found very moving and has since stayed with me. Highly recommend this author's work...
• 
  Cesiley

  Repetitive But Refreshing
  
  This book is quite repetitive and not exactly my cup of tea. However, it defintely still has it's place and importance. This would be a wonderful book for witches who may have started out on the Wiccan path but still feel like something's off or missing. It could also be a good jumping off point for newer witches who aren't Wiccan but are trying to figure out what makes sense for them spiritually. For the seasoned Witch, there are still some interesting tidbits but you could skip it and not miss out on anything if you aren't a book and research junkie like I am.
• 
  Avalon

  This was one of my first two books I purchased about the craft when I was a teenager.
  I very much aligned with Ann Moura's beliefs, which was kind of comforting when I was starting out as a witch.
  It was the first book I read that contained samples of rituals for the sabbats. I very heavily tweaked these rituals to better suit my tastes.
  I think Green Witchcraft might be a good read for an absolute beginner who is also called to check this book out. For me personally, I didn't learn anything from this book that I hadn't already known.