Scan barcode
emmeyer's review against another edition
3.0
“We Are the Granddaughters of the Witches You Could Not Burn” – Tish Thawer
The author from the acknowledgements sets the tone for this book as an uncompromising celebration of connecting women to their inner strength. Blake calls on the misconceptions of popular cultural as well as the historical context to provide cultural context of witchcraft and witches. This allows the reader an introduction into what witchcraft is and how to practice it in your daily life. Several key takeaways are experiencing nature, practicing mindfulness and meditation, and living in a healthy way.
Blake comments on the present moment that we are experiencing within our culture and upheaval in the natural world to explain the growing interest in Witches. This book provides some general practices that can be added to your day to experience nature more fully and to increase your inner strength.
The book acts as a good introduction to the topic and contains a good appendix of offerings for further readings. The book also has several sections that can be skimmed through or skipped entirely. For example, the section on finding your Goddess. You may skip through entries if the Goddess does not speak to you. There are also sections that seem a bit repetitive (although done so intentionally for emphasis) that again may not need to be read with a close eye.
Overall, this is a very good primer for people who are interested in the topic of Witches but may have a strong background. The basics are covered including holidays, goddesses, colors, herbs, rituals, and affirmations. The appendixes are a very valuable addition providing further resources and succinct guides.
The author from the acknowledgements sets the tone for this book as an uncompromising celebration of connecting women to their inner strength. Blake calls on the misconceptions of popular cultural as well as the historical context to provide cultural context of witchcraft and witches. This allows the reader an introduction into what witchcraft is and how to practice it in your daily life. Several key takeaways are experiencing nature, practicing mindfulness and meditation, and living in a healthy way.
Blake comments on the present moment that we are experiencing within our culture and upheaval in the natural world to explain the growing interest in Witches. This book provides some general practices that can be added to your day to experience nature more fully and to increase your inner strength.
The book acts as a good introduction to the topic and contains a good appendix of offerings for further readings. The book also has several sections that can be skimmed through or skipped entirely. For example, the section on finding your Goddess. You may skip through entries if the Goddess does not speak to you. There are also sections that seem a bit repetitive (although done so intentionally for emphasis) that again may not need to be read with a close eye.
Overall, this is a very good primer for people who are interested in the topic of Witches but may have a strong background. The basics are covered including holidays, goddesses, colors, herbs, rituals, and affirmations. The appendixes are a very valuable addition providing further resources and succinct guides.
mildsensation's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.0
larissalee's review
3.0
First Glance:
I was curious about this book, as I haven't picked up many beginner-focused books lately. I figured it would be a good peek into that side of available witchy literature, and luckily it was available on NetGalley as a reviewable ARC to request. I'm not receiving anything for this review, other than having a digital copy of the book in my possession.
Positive Bits:
This book is for those interested in goddess worship and Wicca. I'll get into that shortly. However, from that perspective, the information it contains is just enough to wet your whistle. The topics all have a minimal amount of details provided, but I believe this works to give an overview of each topic rather than a deep dive that would come with later research.
My favorite section had to be Five-Minute Rituals to Connect with the Feminine Divine. Contrary to the title, the suggestions lean toward small acts of spirituality you can add to your mundane moments in life. I personally love these kinds of lists, because I'm a firm believer that you're a witch in and out of the circle. Using an evening shower as an opportunity to cleanse both physically and energetically just makes sense, as does the simple act of thanks in the morning. When you first approach Wicca and/or witchcraft, it can feel like everything is loud and big and bright and overwhelming. The Five-Minute Rituals are ideal small steps to bring spirituality into your life without getting bogged down in checking every single box.
The same applies to a section on Practical Suggestions for Creating Positive Change. Blake describes the ways we can use our own focus to build our experience of the world. If you think negatively all of the time, you reinforce the negativity around you. By working to change your inner thoughts to something positive (like affirmations and noticing the positive around you first), you can gain a more positive outlook. This, in turn, pulls more positivity into your life - like attracts like. My favorite affirmation reminded me of the witchy animism I currently practice: <"I come from the earth and the stars. I am filled with elemental power."
Less Enjoyable Bits:
This book is for those interested in goddess worship and Wicca. It isn't for secular witches or polytheists, as it has a hard focus both on the spirituality behind worship and the idea that all goddesses are faces of the same Goddess. Considering the modern witchcraft movement and overwhelming amount of information online, this book is written in a way that would help someone interested in Wiccan-flavored goddess worship and witchcraft as a focus. I don't think it's good for a broader audience than that.
That said, I started off my witchcraft journey as a Wiccan and trained in a Wiccan-derived coven, so the content provided fit into my past experience. Actually, this book comes across like those from the early 2000s when I started my studies; the attitudes and beliefs match with the Wiccan witchcraft of that time period.
The resources in this book are dated. Based on my own experience, I'm going to guess that Blake stopped buying/reading introductory books after a certain point as they were no longer necessary. However, that means she references WitchVox (a defunct website that used to be helpful for finding fellow witches nearby) and no books other than her own that were published in this decade (the newest is from 2008). This isn't necessarily a terrible thing, as Wicca itself has a core of beliefs that haven't changed since its introduction to the public, but Witchcraft has evolved and changed in so many ways that these aged resources don't represent the variety and depth of information now available in print.
Tidbits Worth Repeating:
"When Witches talk about the power of words, it is another facet of the idea that what you put out into the universe is what you get back."
"The goddess loves you. Even when other people let you down, the goddess accepts you just the way you are. She doesn't care that you aren't perfect. She doesn't care what color or size or age you are, whether you are gay or straight or bi or asexual. No matter what gender you were born to, if you consider yourself a woman, so does She."
"And when I feel powerless or frustrated or angry, I can listen to the rain and the wind and remember that in the smallest element, there can be found the potential for incredible power. After all, a drop of rain seems innocuous until it becomes a flood, and a gentle breeze can change into a tornado that wipes out everything in its path. We may seem as tiny as a single drop of rain, but together, we can move mountains."
Is it worth the coin? No – There are plenty of well-written books on Wicca, including many focused on specific traditions within Wicca itself. This book is just too broad in its focus to be useful, especially with the lack of current resources for a new witch to look into after reading.
I was curious about this book, as I haven't picked up many beginner-focused books lately. I figured it would be a good peek into that side of available witchy literature, and luckily it was available on NetGalley as a reviewable ARC to request. I'm not receiving anything for this review, other than having a digital copy of the book in my possession.
Positive Bits:
This book is for those interested in goddess worship and Wicca. I'll get into that shortly. However, from that perspective, the information it contains is just enough to wet your whistle. The topics all have a minimal amount of details provided, but I believe this works to give an overview of each topic rather than a deep dive that would come with later research.
My favorite section had to be Five-Minute Rituals to Connect with the Feminine Divine. Contrary to the title, the suggestions lean toward small acts of spirituality you can add to your mundane moments in life. I personally love these kinds of lists, because I'm a firm believer that you're a witch in and out of the circle. Using an evening shower as an opportunity to cleanse both physically and energetically just makes sense, as does the simple act of thanks in the morning. When you first approach Wicca and/or witchcraft, it can feel like everything is loud and big and bright and overwhelming. The Five-Minute Rituals are ideal small steps to bring spirituality into your life without getting bogged down in checking every single box.
The same applies to a section on Practical Suggestions for Creating Positive Change. Blake describes the ways we can use our own focus to build our experience of the world. If you think negatively all of the time, you reinforce the negativity around you. By working to change your inner thoughts to something positive (like affirmations and noticing the positive around you first), you can gain a more positive outlook. This, in turn, pulls more positivity into your life - like attracts like. My favorite affirmation reminded me of the witchy animism I currently practice: <"I come from the earth and the stars. I am filled with elemental power."
Less Enjoyable Bits:
This book is for those interested in goddess worship and Wicca. It isn't for secular witches or polytheists, as it has a hard focus both on the spirituality behind worship and the idea that all goddesses are faces of the same Goddess. Considering the modern witchcraft movement and overwhelming amount of information online, this book is written in a way that would help someone interested in Wiccan-flavored goddess worship and witchcraft as a focus. I don't think it's good for a broader audience than that.
That said, I started off my witchcraft journey as a Wiccan and trained in a Wiccan-derived coven, so the content provided fit into my past experience. Actually, this book comes across like those from the early 2000s when I started my studies; the attitudes and beliefs match with the Wiccan witchcraft of that time period.
The resources in this book are dated. Based on my own experience, I'm going to guess that Blake stopped buying/reading introductory books after a certain point as they were no longer necessary. However, that means she references WitchVox (a defunct website that used to be helpful for finding fellow witches nearby) and no books other than her own that were published in this decade (the newest is from 2008). This isn't necessarily a terrible thing, as Wicca itself has a core of beliefs that haven't changed since its introduction to the public, but Witchcraft has evolved and changed in so many ways that these aged resources don't represent the variety and depth of information now available in print.
Tidbits Worth Repeating:
"When Witches talk about the power of words, it is another facet of the idea that what you put out into the universe is what you get back."
"The goddess loves you. Even when other people let you down, the goddess accepts you just the way you are. She doesn't care that you aren't perfect. She doesn't care what color or size or age you are, whether you are gay or straight or bi or asexual. No matter what gender you were born to, if you consider yourself a woman, so does She."
"And when I feel powerless or frustrated or angry, I can listen to the rain and the wind and remember that in the smallest element, there can be found the potential for incredible power. After all, a drop of rain seems innocuous until it becomes a flood, and a gentle breeze can change into a tornado that wipes out everything in its path. We may seem as tiny as a single drop of rain, but together, we can move mountains."
Is it worth the coin? No – There are plenty of well-written books on Wicca, including many focused on specific traditions within Wicca itself. This book is just too broad in its focus to be useful, especially with the lack of current resources for a new witch to look into after reading.
thelexingtonbookie's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fantastic beginners guide to modern witchcraft. For anyone who has ever been curious about what it means to be a witch, or how to practice magick, or what the history behind witchcraft is, this book answers so many questions. It's conversationally written, which I also appreciated as it keeps the reader engaged rather than alienating them with new-age speak. There is also a lot of practical information for those looking to encompass more modern witchcraft into their daily routines.
As someone who is genuinely curious about all sorts of metaphysical spheres, I found this book very informative and interesting!
As someone who is genuinely curious about all sorts of metaphysical spheres, I found this book very informative and interesting!
boopointeshoes's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
By far the best book I could’ve chosen to be introduced with to the world of witchcraft!
lily628's review against another edition
3.0
A good overview of Goddess-focused Wicca. It's more based in the theoretical than the practical, but as someone who doesn't know as much about deities, I found it to be an interesting read. While I wouldn't consider it a must-read for a baby witch, it certainly is clear to read, enjoyable, and not too dense and relatable..
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
5.0
This book was an excellent book for anyone interested in Goddess worship and empowerment. Blake does a wonderful job at teaching beginners how to embrace, interact, and connect with the Goddesses. This book discusses how to meet and greet the Goddesses, tune into nature, how to apply Goddess worship to daily life, types of witches (i.e. solitary, group, family), adapting to the current political and cultural climate, using meditations, affirmations and spells, and some appendices of useful supplies and books for further education.
While I have been studying witchcraft for a few years now I still consider myself a beginner because I am a solitary and I am not great at making time for my craft. I am constantly learning new things that change my perspectives and my path as well. This book was easy to read and apply to daily life, which I have found isn’t always the case for witchcraft books. I also love how Blake frequently reminds you to do what works for you and your situation. It is so easy to get caught up in all the stuff you don’t have and feel like you can’t do a ritual because of it, especially if you have allergies or restrictions for certain items, like I do. I cannot have candles or incense because my husband has a fragrance allergy so I have to find new ways to work around them (i.e. fake tea candles). So being reminded that all you really need to commune with the Gods is your mind, heart, and intent was very impactful for me.
Overall, this was a wonderful book for beginners or just for anyone looking for more information on connecting with the Goddesses. I will be buying a copy of this when it comes out.
*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*
This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
While I have been studying witchcraft for a few years now I still consider myself a beginner because I am a solitary and I am not great at making time for my craft. I am constantly learning new things that change my perspectives and my path as well. This book was easy to read and apply to daily life, which I have found isn’t always the case for witchcraft books. I also love how Blake frequently reminds you to do what works for you and your situation. It is so easy to get caught up in all the stuff you don’t have and feel like you can’t do a ritual because of it, especially if you have allergies or restrictions for certain items, like I do. I cannot have candles or incense because my husband has a fragrance allergy so I have to find new ways to work around them (i.e. fake tea candles). So being reminded that all you really need to commune with the Gods is your mind, heart, and intent was very impactful for me.
Overall, this was a wonderful book for beginners or just for anyone looking for more information on connecting with the Goddesses. I will be buying a copy of this when it comes out.
*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*
This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.