📝 57th Spells8 Book Club - Readers' Reviews!

[MeganB]

Feel free to share your finished thoughts and reviews from the book you read for the Spells8 57th Book Club February 2026 here. For the current book club post, please visit the new session post: Spells8 58th Book Club March 2026

A warm welcome to all of the Witchy Readers!

The latest reading period for Spells8 57th Book Club February 2026 has now ended - thank you to everyone who joined in!

Members & Their Books This Reading Period:

• Tending Brigid’s Flame: Awaken to the Celtic Goddess of Hearth, Temple, and Forge by Lunaea Weatherstone @Amethyst
• Witch Blood Rising: Awaken Your Magic in a Modern World by Asa West @Amethyst
• Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D
  @Eira_of_the_Living_Hearth
• The Cunning Folk’s Book of Cottage Witchcraft
  by Danu Forest
  @Luna_Punky_Nightveil
• The Witching Year by Diana Helmuth.
  @MeganB

Even if you are not listed above but you read a book during this reading period or you decided to read a different book than listed, you are very welcome to share and discuss here too!

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Time to share your thoughts with your coven!

This discussion post will serve as a place to share your thoughts and opinions on the book you chose.

• If you loved your book and think everyone should read it - awesome! Talk about your favorite points or something you learned.
• If you didn’t connect with the book - consider explaining why it wasn’t for you.
• Absolutely hated your book of choice? Warn others to stay away!

This is a great place to share your love for books and find recommendations for new books to read

Your book review can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like

If you’re not sure what to talk about, here is a suggested format you can use. Feel free to write as little or as much as you’d like!

Book Title and Author:

Status? : Finished / Still Reading

My overall rating of the book : ???/10

How does this book relate to my magickal practice?:

My personal thoughts/opinions:

An interesting quote from the book: " "

All in all, would I recommend this book?: Yes / No

Remember that your review is uniquely yours - this is a chance to let your opinions and voice be heard

Please keep in mind that others may have opinions that differ from yours - when responding to the thoughts of others, please always show respect! Remember that 100 people will read 1 book and have 100 different experiences. That’s what makes sharing interesting

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What if I didn’t finish my book / joined late?

No worries!

You are welcome to share your thoughts about the part you have read so far. If you joined the session late and have just started, feel free to talk about your expectations for your book. You can continue reading it into the next reading period.

And whether you read a book or not, you are very welcome to jump in and discuss what others share about their books!

Deadlines and Dates

You have all month to share your thoughts and discuss (until the next Readers’ Review Post appears in the forum!)

Deadline for Reviews for this Session: March 31, 2026

While you have plenty of time for reviews, know that the next reading period has already started!
→ Spells8 58th Book Club March 2026

You can find more info about the club in the Book Club FAQ.

It can be hard to find the time and motivation to read on your own – hopefully book club helped provide a bit of motivation and that it led to some wonderful new knowledge and discoveries in your Craft

I hope you enjoyed your books this session, and that you’ve got another fun one in line to read this coming month.

Happy reading and blessed be!

[MeganB]

I’ve started the audiobook for The Witching Year and I’ve noticed something interesting, so I’m just going to dump it all here

It’s been a long time since I was a beginner witch and there are a lot of things that I know that I have just known for a very long time. Listening to this book and the author explain her entrance into witchcraft and Wicca has been sort of eye-opening. She describes the contradictions in so many books all written about the same religion, Wicca. She discusses the variations in myths about the Sabbaths, some variations I have never even heard before. As someone who hasn’t been a new witch in a very long time, it helps me remember just how confusing getting into witchcraft can be for someone who has no background to base their practice on. It just puts the thought in the back of my mind that I need to be sure I am explaining things in a way that is helpful when people ask questions so that I don’t do a disservice to the new seekers who are simply trying to understand.

She also has a fresh way of seeing witchcraft and makes some pretty funny comments like the one below

…a cauldron, a pentacle, a chalice, a bell, a censer, a candle snuffer, an athame (a ceremonial dagger), a boline (a different ceremonial dagger), and an unconscionable number of candles. This is in addition to the dolls, crystals, flowers, crowns, centerpieces, and other handmade craft items specific to the season. I am once again reminded that witchcraft is truly the religion of crafters. I don’t know why I’m worried about finding a coven. I could probably walk into a Michael’s and shout, “As I will it…” and just follow whoever shouts back, “So mote it be,” like a game of Marco Polo.

– The Witching Year by Diana Helmuth; Ch. 3: July And August

[Amethyst]

I only got the first one of my books read this month. Usually, I can read two or three, but this book was not an easy read for some reason. I’ll get the other one for next month.

Book Title and Author: Tending Brigid’s Flame: Awaken to the Celtic Goddess of Hearth, Temple, and Forge by Lunaea Weatherstone

My overall rating of the book : 8/10

How does this book relate to my magickal practice?: I follow Brighid and wanted to learn more about Her.

My personal thoughts/opinions: This was a good book, it had lots of useful information and little prayers and things that I want to keep. But it was a difficult read and took me forever! It wasn’t that long, but it was just hard to, I don’t know, sink into my brain. It was good though. But difficult. It wasn’t an easy read.

An interesting quote from the book: “Celtic prayers and blessings often include the phrase “this day and every day, this night and every night.” I love this way of expanding the sacred present moment into all the moments to come. All the activities and experiences of the day, all the mysteries and magic of the night, are under the care of Brigid. This is a truth that is never-changing. What changes is our perception, which wavers and flickers like a flame in the wind.

Living a spiritual and magical life comes down to two simple and profound elements: attention and intention. If you pour yourself a cup of coffee while reading your email and drink it without really tasting it, it will still warm you and give you a lift. If you take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the cup, the scent of the coffee, the pattern of the waft of steam arising from the surface, and the sensation of the liquid as it moves down your throat and becomes part of your body, you are moving in the direction of devotion. Whether you say the words or not, you are making your prayer: Thank you, Brigid, for the blessings of pure water and fire to heat it and the knowledge of your presence. Thank you, Goddess, for this quiet moment.

Now add intention to your attention. Your mundane intention is probably to wake up a bit through the judicious use of caffeine, but you can add a higher intention. Invoke Brigid’s presence as you drink your brew and ask that it awaken your creativity, inspire you with eloquence, or help you focus on the day’s tasks ahead.

You can do this with any and all undertakings of an average (or exceptional!) day. Ask Brigid to help you sanctify tasks that can be humdrum at best and tedious at worst. As an example, let’s clean your house!”

Weatherstone, Lunaea. Tending Brigid’s Flame: Awaken to the Celtic Goddess of Hearth, Temple, and Forge (pp. 51-52). Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.. Kindle Edition.

All in all, would I recommend this book?: Yes, if you’re willing to put time into it.