Spell Jar Book for Beginners: 60 Enchanting Spells to Focus Your Power and Unleash the Magic by Paige Vanderbeck

Spell Jar Book for Beginners: 60 Enchanting Spells to Focus Your Power and Unleash the Magic Reviews

• 
  Trisha

  1 star in terms of usefulness.
  
  This wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t what I was looking for and I don’t find it useful as a reference.
  
  I did enjoy the tone of the writing though.
• 
  Juliette

  I am a huge fan of Paige's podcast and have deeply enjoyed her other books. She has a wonderful voice both spoken and on the page, and an accessible writing style. She does a fantastic job highlighting the history associated with the traditions that her spells in this book are inspired by or come from and clearly values cultural humility. I loved the variety of spells in this book, especially the jars that can be given as gifts to beloveds. It is definitely a book I will be coming back to again and again!
  
  Thank you to Callisto Media for providing me with an advance copy of the book; however, this in no way influenced my review, as I had already pre-ordered it as soon as Paige announced it!
• 
  Oddity

  I've enjoyed all of Vanderbeck's books thus far, and this is another one that I am excited to add to my collection! This spell jar guide is great for beginners and veterans alike, and I found that it exceeded my expectations for a book of this specificity. There are a small number of correspondences provided at the beginning of the book, but as you read on Vanderbeck helpfully explains the meaning and purpose of the ingredients in each spell. I believe that most folks who read this book will find a few of these spells that they will want to incorporate into their own practice.
  
  
  I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, though if I had not, I would have easily bought this on release day.
• 
  Tess

  I want to start off by saying that I am a fan of Vanderbeck's but you do not need to have read her other works nor listen to her podcast to learn or find something useful in this book! One of the reasons that I appreciate Ms. Vanderbeck's writing and podcasts so much is that she balances history, research, pop culture, and the occult and is one of the rare authors who is able to do this in a way that is respectful and informative while still being fun and playful. I had to laugh when I saw a spell jar named "I love lamp." I always learn something from her and this is why I follow her work-whether it's the origin of zombies in movies or creating magic in the workplace-there is something I find new and interesting.
  
  This book will give you background on spell jars and their history (you may have heard of "witch bottles" being discovered in old homes like I did as a kid) as well as recipes for a number of spell jars you can create. The spell jars cover areas like self-care, money/prosperity/abundance, inspiration, protection, relationships, and many more. I appreciate that the author is not one to stick to absolutes-she encourages you to use your own materials or what is normally found in the geographic region where you live. You don't need special ingredients you ordered from halfway across the planet or bought off some metaphysical supply store. You don't need a fancy jar-mason or ball jars work perfectly well and I love she mentions reusing them. She is practical while still being ethical-giving you permission to put spell jar contents in the trash after the jar has done it's work while encouraging that you use edible or non-plastic glitter instead of plastic glitter that can end up in water sources. It is this attention to detail, practicality, and integrity that makes Vanderbeck's writing and podcasts so incredibly valuable.
  
  I received an advance digital copy of this book from Callisto Publishing.
  
• 
  GollyRojer

  The majority of the book is a collection of "recipes" (for lack of a better term) for making magical spell jars. They are arranged by category: self-care, prosperity, inspiration, setting boundaries, romance, the home, nature, and daily life. At the beginning is a thorough discussion of spell jars: what they are, their origins, and their benefits.
  This is not the sort of book you read through from start to finish. Rather, it will be a reference work for guidance in creating and using your own spell jars.
  Each "recipe" has a short discussion of the jar's purpose, followed by a list of ingredients, and finally a step-by-step guide on how to make and use the spell jar. For example, in "Dissolving Financial Fears" the instructions for use say:
  7. Keep the jar in a window and shake it once a day while you imagine all of these fears and anxieties inside you dissolving away.
  8. On the night of the new moon, take your jar outside and dump it out.