The Encyclopedia of Magical Ingredients

I just finished a fun an interesting little reference book. Well actually an encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Magical Ingredient to be more precise. It's by Lexa Rosean, she also is the writer of the Supermarket Sorceress's books.

She offers a lot of ingredients that you would use or do use in a spell. Herbs and plants of course, she also covers foods, elements, day's of the weeks. There are crystals and even some animals. She as also but in some other older ingredients as well.

With each entry she give the use or uses, plus what it is, parts used. An it's ruler, if that is planet or god or both. Each entry is thought out with things you should know.

One thing that I wish Lexa would have done was put the botanical name with the plants. Some of her entries with the common name are used with more than one plant. So to have a botanical name to have a reference for would have been nice.

A fun addition (an one I enjoy) is a quick and easy reference section n the back. So when you are creating a spell and look up some things you would like to use. The reference keeps you from looking through the entire book for ingredients. It's a fun feature with these types of books.

This is a great book to have, with a nice quick reference section and over 500 ingredients listed. This would make a well worth addition to any library.

Crochet Project

As I read Magical Needlework I of course found dome project that I want to create. The fist one of these is the Tarot card bag. It's all crocheted and very easy to but together. It's a basic granny square that is elongated. I thought it came out very well.

Witch Crafts and The Crafty Witch

I decided for this book that I would actually do two at one time. Why you may ask? For one they are both on the same subject and two they have the same author. Witch Crafts (2001) and The Crafty Witch (2007) both written by Willow Polson. As the titles express they are both craft books and cover every subject possible or at least very close.

Willow has placed in these books chapters on your typical needle crafts, with the addition of candles, jewelry, paper, painting, pottery, woodworking, glass, flora, fauna, metal, from the cauldron and others I haven't mentioned. Each chapter has a history and some helpful hints on how to do each craft.

Just like all witchy craft books there isn't enough room to go in depth with each craft. So again just the basic are covered but there is no reason anyone could not complete the projects in either one of the books. As with all of these types thing of it as a teaser and if you become interested. Then by all means get some books on that subject to learn to create even more wonderful pieces of art.

These book are also out of print but easily obtainable for a reasonable price. If you are a crafty witch

then you will want to add one or both of these to your library. There is a wealth of knowledge and a tremendous amount of ideas in each book. Perfect for anyone who loves to work with there hands.

Magical Needlework

Part of my crafty witches binge is a little out of print book called Magical Needlework. It written by Dorothy Morrison. This book covers everything needle related that is practice in our modern age. Dorothy has created a chapter for sewing, quilting, embroidery, knitting and crocheting. With each chapter covering basic stitches and including easy projects. With a basic knowledge of each craft you will more then be able to tackle any project in the book.

Magical Needlework actually takes you out of the creation of finished project and into the creation of the supplies. The last chapter is all about spinning, weaving and natural dyeing. I found this chapter very interesting since all three of these arts I practice. I would have like to have seen this chapter to be better written. There are some statements that need to be revised. So I would recommend if your are interested in learning any of these arts. You would do better with getting books written of only those subjects.

Other than the last chapter I found this book to be a wealth of knowledge. I have even made a project from it and am going to start a second. As I have mentioned it is out of print but not unattainable and purchasable at a decent price. So I do recommend this for the lover of needle arts you will enjoy the project and gain many ideas.

Witchy Crafts

Looking around Amazon I found several book on crafts specific to witches. So yes I bought them all. Well the first one is Witchy Crafts, 60 Enchanted project for the Creative Witch, by Lexa Olick. If you are a crafty person or not this is a fun book with something for everyone.

Lexa covers all areas of life and purposes in this book. There is a project to help you for almost anything. She begins with giving you some basic information about the different crafts in the book. She then goes into each month with what you could create to bring forth those monthly energizes.

Then come the projects, each one has a black and white picture. All the supplies you will need and well thought out instructions. There are crafts fro jewelry, candles, clay, sewing, crocheting and much more. If you are the crafty person then this book is for you. With not only 60 + projects, but also the endless supply of ideas. I do hope you make this one of your favorites in your library.  

Beltane Wreath

For the Beltane craft challenge we are to make a arrangement of flowers. These flowers could be fresh or silk and they are to be in a basket. Well at craft chat I had asked if we could do this as a wall basket. The answer was I could interpret that how I saw fit. So this is what I came up with.

So for Beltane I decided to take a wall basket and attach it to a grape vine wreath. For a while I have been wanting to create a different wreath for each Sabbat season. I haven't gotten to doing that just yet. Well that is until know.

So what I did was I attached the basket to the wreath in three places to keep it from moving. When I was a florist there was a floral foam called Sierra. This foam was used for silk and dried arrangements only. It doesn't hold water but it does work just like the wet counter part Oasis.

After I got the foam in place I added some ivy. Ivy is one of this Sabbats symbols, which makes perfect sense with it connection to love and marriage. I next created the bow and attached that and weaved it in and out of the wreath going upward.

The next flowers that are symbols for this holiday are roses, love and friendship. Daisy love and attraction, Lily of the Valley also symbolizes love. All of these flowers have other attributes to them but the ones I am using them for are listed above. Since this is the Sabbat of the great marriage these make the most sense.

I did have some other flower that I added for color and definition. I think it came out very well. I left the ribbons long to be reminisce of the wish or prayer ribbons that you attach to a hawthorn tree. So come Monday I will bless and dedicate this wreath. Then I will place out side on the front porch. My goal is to now make one for the rest of the remaining Sabbats.

The Witch's Book of Shadows

A couple of years ago I received a book called The Witch's Broom. It's by Deborah Blake and it is a wonderful book if you wish to know everything about broom and besoms. Well this year Santa brought me the book The Witch's Athame. Then I picked up the book The witch's Book of Shadows. If you haven't guessed Llewellyn has started a new book series. There are two more that I have yet to purchase to complete the series. They are The witch's Wand and The Witch's Mirror. They are all wonderful little books for the subject's they contain. It's a wonderful reference to learn more about each witch's tool.

We are actually here to talk about only one of those book's. The Witch's Book of Shadows by Jason Mankey. He is a new author for me and I enjoyed his work. He went through history and specific authors through history that created some of the most famous Books of Shadows. Through out the book he give you suggestions on what to put in your book. Since every witch is different, just as each witch's path is different. So too would each witch's book of shadows.

So what would a book about Book's of Shadows be about? Well I'm glad yo asked. There are a total of ten chapters focusing on history. What types of books there are, what you may wish to include in your book. A discussion on the history of magical books, words and symbols. Actually putting together a book of shadows. Different fonts, alphabets, inks and symbols. Gods and Goddesses pertaining to books and knowledge. Using your book in ritual, cleansing and consecrating your book. Jason also discusses Book's of Shadows that aren't in paper form.

This is a nice little book for anyone who wishes to learn more about Book's of shadow's. Or some who is new to the bath and really has no clue where to begin. Jason covers all the bases in a well written and thought out way. I hope you will venture into The witch's Book of Shadows and enjoy a wonderful walk into the world of recorded magick.