I’m still reading my book and I’m about halfway done 
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Melora Fae,
Really nice to meet you and thank you for responding to my post.
I thought I would do good in Alaska cause I am good at staying home but then when I stay home I feel so disconnected from the world. I live in Citrus Heights California we just got done with all the stormy 
weather! We finally got some sun 
! I have been wearing sweaters everyday!
Hers one of them
I got a couple really nice things to keep me warm!
I bet when you do go for a walk your going to get really bundled up! I really could only imagine but with my minds eye I see you you have a really beautiful coat.
I really Hope you stay safe out there! It’s so dangerous, and I was wondering
I’d you you could take a couple pics of your environment sometime on your walk! I am glad to know someone from Alaska! I used to live right next-door to a woman who goes to Alaska frequently and she says she loves it! She is very nice as well. Sorry if I got off topic I have a picture of Brighid and I think what I’ll do is print it and put it in a frame to remind me of her! Thank you for your book review! I adore her rituals and I will willingly buy a book to help with my journey and others too!Jeannie
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I have one that I’m sewing! Your coat is beautiful. I’ll be sure to post photos of Alaska sometime. It’s still very covered in snow here… by May it’s usually mostly melted and then starts to snow again in September / October. Mid summer, the sun doesn’t set fully! It’s very wild and mystical here.
I am happy to inspire! 
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I bought her book on audible thank you 
Tomorrow I will post more on my book I am reading 
Jeannie
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Huh. I thought I signed up for the review. Oh well, I’ll leave my book report here anyhow! LOL!
Book Title and Author: Protection Spells of a Wicked Witch by Thalia Thorne.
Status: Finished.
My overall rating of this book: 8/10
How does this book relate to my magical practice?: I wanted to learn a few new tricks for protecting my home.
My personal thoughts/opinions: This was an interesting book but nothing new in it that wasn’t covered in Dorothy Morrison’s Utterly Wicked. Still, it was a good beginner book for people looking to protect themselves or their homes.
An interesting quote from this book: “I think by refusing to work with baneful magic or hexes when they are called for, you are positioning yourself to be unable to protect the vulnerable or oppressed. Sometimes, we can’t just sit back and believe that the Universe will deal out justice. As witches, we have a responsibility to act up against injustices.”
All in all, would I recommend this book?: Yes.
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Blockquote
I do agree with you Amethyst I just let the Universe deal with the baneful magic and I have her book 
as well. I don’t have the hard copy but I do have her book on audible! I’ll have to revisit this book it’s been awhile!
Jeannie
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Oh my! I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these books! They look awesome! I always try to read 52 books a year and I am off to a great start. I just finished book #10.
With that said, I stumbled across a series that sucked me in harder than anything has in a really long time! There are four books and they are part of the Raven Cycle by Maggie Steivater. The first is called The Raven Boys. It is technically a young adult series, but it didn’t read like one. Though there are no witches, per se, there is plenty of magic: dead Norse Kings, lay lines, psychics, ghosts, murder, a smattering of forbidden romance… it was SO good.
Bonus points: if you listen to the audio book, the narrator has the lovliest southern drawl! I have a thing for voices! Anyway, you should check them out! I enjoyed them immensely!
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It really sounds like a great read so far- and what a perfect time of year to be learning about Brigid! I think of Imbolc as Her holiday so this seems like such a fantastic way to honor and appreciate Her 
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts (and those beautiful quotes!) so far- may the final 30% be just as good and enjoyable for you as the rest of the book was! 
Go, Megan, go! You’ve got this! 
8/10 is not bad, not bad at all! 
Sounds like a good read for someone interested in protection spells, especially if this is their first book on the subject.
Thank you for sharing your review and your thoughts on it, Amethyst! I always love your reviews. Do you have a book already picked out to read next?
Woohoo!!! Look at you go, Ailey- that’s amazing! I would love to be able to get through 52 books in a year. I’ve only been able to get to about 12 or so a year thanks to the book club here. Before we started it I wasn’t reading much at all lol. Life does like to get in the way and I need a little boost to keep me reading haha 
Also you’ve got me intrigued with that description- it sounds like there is a whole lot of excitement in those books! 
Thank you for the book/audiobook recommendation!
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Book Title and Author: The Essential Guide to Women’s Herbal Medicine by Cyndi Gilbert, ND
Status? : Finished (will keep as a reference book)
My overall rating of the book : 10/10
How does this book relate to my magickal practice?: This book explores herbs and plants specific to women’s health and walks the reader through how they can be used in safe herbal medicine. It even has some tips for growing and gardening!
My personal thoughts/opinions: I found this book at Ollie’s for a few bucks so I didn’t have very high hopes for it, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. The author does a really good job at making each herb feel well-explored and accessible to the reader. A variety of herbs are covered, and in addition to each herb, an entire section of the book is dedicated to common health concerns that women experience (and which herbs could be used to aid the condition).
I’ll be honest that I didn’t read the entire thing from cover to back, but rather stopped and read through the concerns and herbs that were related to me or people I know. The case studies and tips were particularly interesting!
Quotes/pictures from the book:
(From the section on common health concerns- everything from heartburn to weaning, low milk supply to depression and breast cancer, etc)
(From one of the case studies)
(From the compendium of herbs: their properties, uses, and safety warnings)
All in all, would I recommend this book?: Yes! If you are green witch or herbalist and want to learn more about herbs recommended specifically for women’s health concerns, this is a great book to have in your herbal collection 
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Yeppers! Modern Witchcraft and the Greek Gods. It looks like a good one!
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The whole series had a kind of… Great Gatsby feel to it! So good! The author has done several series and most of them look like they have some sort of magick in them. I enjoyed her style and will likely read some others.
Also, audiobooks help me reach my goal. It’s easy for me to pop earbuds in and listen to a book while I was dishes. We (the kids and I) cover a lot of books in the car. Obviously, our carpool book club (as wel call it) are kid friendly, but I have precocious kids and we read some pretty sophisticated stuff together, especially because we can talk about it too. It’s one of my favorite things. Maybe I was a librarian in a past life…
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I really need to get my act together & start reading again 
I’m kind of in a re-read some books phase before I move on… more as like just refreshing & reinforcing what I know to continue absorbing & building off what I’ve learned so far.
I have quite the wish list now though 
So my goal is to finish the ones I currently own before getting any new ones 
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@Amethyst Ohhhhh going for the greek pantheon, I see- that sounds exciting! 
I hope it’s a great read for you (and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it)!
@AileyGrey That’s the best when you find an author whose style you just click with- especially when they have several series already out to enjoy!
And I love the sound of “carpool book club”- my aunt used to put on audiobooks whenever we’d go for a long drive and it was a great way to pass the time, not to mention all “read” something together. Listening to audiobooks in a group feels to me the same as gathering around the campfire to listen to a story together- it’s a really nice group activity
@Susurrus Re-reads absolutely count too- I swear I pick up on so much more the second time I read a book, and it’s usually just as enjoyable as the first time around! Sometimes even more so because the second time you can pick up on all the foreshadowing 
Good luck and have fun with your reading!
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It looks good. I can’t wait to start.
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It really is the best!
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Spells8 Book Club Entry XXV
- The Alchemist’s Handbook Frater Albertus
Important note: I am currently traveling, so I was not able to complete the book in it’s entirety. I have, however, read quite a bit of it as it is a short but very comprehensive book.
Importance to the Craft: I must say, that I do believe that Alchemy, although institutionally replaced by chemistry, et al, is still very important and surprisingly overlooked.
Potentially Surprising Facets of Alchemy: Although I have been intrigued with Alchemy for some time now, one thing that I was surprised to learn was how much of current New Age or Modern Wicca is derived from fields such as Kabbalah and Alchemy.
For Example:
- Alchemy, in addition to being the study of discovering one’s personal Philosopher’s Stone, is defined as the “raising of vibrations,” that use the Lesser Circulations, Greater Circulations, and Greater Arcanum. These refer to the herbal (vegetable), animal and mineral kingdoms where the latter is of the highest order.
- The Alchemist believes not only in reincarnation, but that all things, even minerals, have an inherent soul, which is called the Mercury (the physical form is referred to as the Sulfur).
- Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spiritual Aether are acknowledged and sought by the Alchemist in the pursuit of the Philosopher’s Stone, the quintessential life force.
*A belief in neutral, next life Karma
*The Alchemist also believes that one should understand and have a certain level of control over dark and light forces in order to achieve that higher vibration. But, most importantly, that seeking that Philosopher’s Stone must be done with a deep desire to help humanity, because otherwise the power obtained will be corrupt and lead to despair or destruction.
This book also has some quick herb-planet correspondences, when is best to cultivate or gather herbal materials, meanings of alchemical symbols, etc. For example, “Roots: These should be dug after the leaves are dead in the fall at which time all the strength has gone down into the root. Or better still, dig them in the early spring before the sap rises” (pg.14).
Surprising Quote: “However, to form a cure is just as contrary to nature as contracting an illness” (pg. 37).
Summary: Some of the language may seem archaic to certain readers. If that’s not a problem, I would recommend this book to all those interested in herbs, Hoodoo, and herbal magick of all kinds as this describes the various extraction processes such as maceration, tinctures, etc in good detail. It also works as a primer for Wiccans, witches, etc as it provides a sufficient amount of information on topics such as correspondences, minerals, herbs, spirituality, symbols, etc that may not be covered from the same perspective. This may in turn help those who have been stuck in their spellwork, are unsure where to start, or wish to learn more about other branches of the craft.
Needless to say, one doesn’t have to do any of the experiments described, but reading about them will definitely help those more interested in producing their own oils, tinctures, aethers, etc.
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Book Title and Author: Brigid by Courtney Weber
Status? : Still Reading!
My overall rating of the book : 8
How does this book relate to my magickal practice?: Brigid is very much a deity that calls to me and I want to incorporate her in my everyday life and practice. But I feel I need to know her story first so I can do her justice and honor.
My personal thoughts/opinions: So far, I find the book very interesting and informative. It is a little slow going fo me but I have the sense that’s just me and has nothing to do with the book or the author lol! I am constantly busy with work and school these days. I haven’t had much “me” time in the last few weeks unfortunately. I am trying to be more mindful of that because self-care is so very important for my mental and spiritual health.
An interesting quote from the book: " " I love the invocation or chant that starts off Chapter 2: "Lady of the Well, the Forge, and the Green Earth,
I seek you.
Warm my heart with your perpetual flame,
Heal my wounds with your gentle waters,
Cradle me in your mantle when I can walk no more,
Brigid, I seek you.
I think I want to get this made into an art piece I can place on my altar. It really speaks to me in so many different ways.
All in all, would I recommend this book?: Yes
I would like to continue reading this book into the next session of the book club if I may?
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@stephanieanne76 eeekkk… that’s the book I’m reading now (2nd time around ) because I finished the Pagan Portals one I read for this session! I still have to post my review, but I’m getting there… slowly but surely! 
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I didn’t finish my book…
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