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.