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Thursday, May 19, 2016

Book Review: The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander

Book Review: The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
 
It has been a while since I have written a book review, hasn't it? I purchased The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens, & Spells by Skye Alexander back in January and started right away. However, it got set aside when I decided to purchase a whole bunch of fiction books too. Habit. A bad one. An addiction really. Anyway, I finally finished, and I have to say, I really liked this book. I give it 4.5 stars. Why not 5? Well, I don't believe this is a MUST have book, although I do think it should be on your shelf. It, like most books, is an introductory guide to modern-day witchcraft and much of the information is covered in other texts as well.

Book Review: The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye AlexanderSo let's talk about what I didn't like before delving into all the great things about it. First of all, I'd take the history with a grain of salt. I'm no expert on the history of witchcraft so I can't say for sure how accurate the information is in this book, but Skye is a reputable author and I assume she has done her homework. However, always take caution when it comes to a history lesson.; just a general rule of thumb. There isn't a bunch of history in this book as its focused on witchcraft today so you don't have too much to worry about in that regard. Second, she lumped hedgewitches in with kitchen witches, a mistake many authors seem to make that drives me INSANE! Hedgewitches and kitchen witches are NOT the same things, although she does mention shamanism and trances, common practices in hedgecraft. This is part of the reason it has 4.5 stars. As well written and researched the book is, this section is false. There is also a section on "spirit" animals that bothered me. She has written a book on spirit animals, but I am not so sure she knows what she is talking about, at least not in this book. She makes it seem like you can pick your spirit animal to aid in certain magic, but in most traditions, the animal picks you and stays with you; it doesn't change because you are casting a protection spell instead of a love spell. Some people have more than one, while others spend much of their lives searching for their one. I'd ignore that section if I were you. Furthermore, Alexander refers to magic using the antiquated idea of black and white magic, which is rooted in racism. Brandy Williams does a great job explaining this issue further, with some wonderful additional reads sprinkled throughout her post. And finally, she suggests at one point to appease an undine to "pour [perfume] into a stream, lake, or other body of water." Please do not do this...

So what did I love? Well, almost all of the book really. It is very easy to read, fun, and accessible to everyone. Unlike many other books on witchcraft, this is not a book on Wicca; this is very simply witchcraft, although some reviewers have suggested it is Wicca in disguise; I strongly disagree. She does mention some of the different paths around the world and encourages readers to experiment and find the path that works best for them. Furthermore, she makes it very clear that magic comes from within you and not from some outside force. Other authors suggest running out and buying a metaphysical store, but not Skye. She provides overviews of some common ritual tools and correspondences of different crystals, herbs, trees, and times, but makes it very clear magic can be performed anywhere by anyone with absolutely nothing. I couldn't agree with her more.

The spells and rituals in Part II are easy to perform and great for beginners and experts alike. Within these sections, she provides ways to make the spells and rituals your own, something other authors don't always encourage. Remember, witchcraft is what you make it. There are no rules other than to be clear and concise in your intent. Furthermore, she encourages readers to do a lot of self-reflection before performing spells to ensure the correct intent is there. For example, in the prosperity spell section, she asks the reader to complete 9 sentences, sentences that are specifically designed to define your ideas about prosperity and what it means to be successful. Every spell section begins with an activity like this one which I think is great, especially for beginners.

Overall, I suggest everyone, new or old, pick up this book. It isn't perfect, but to be quite honest with you, it made me feel proud to be a witch. Maybe I'm just crazy.

Have you read anything lately that you would recommend?

7 comments :

  1. I loved this book as well, but there are a couple other grievances I have with it that I think people should know about when reading it. First of all, the terms "White magic" and "Black magic" are no longer in use due to some unfortunate racial implications behind them. I understand this book was written back in 2014, before people talked much about the connotations behind the words, but young witches starting out should probably know there's a problem with these terms! My second issue is that there are several practices mentioned in her section "Different Types of Witchcraft and Magick" that are in fact closed practices and can't be joined by just anybody. She doesn't mention in the sections about these practices that- for example- only people of African descent should practice Voodoo.

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    1. I completely agree and I failed to mention those topics in this review. If I'm honest, I glossed over those sections because I knew better. I probably should have mentioned them in the review and will make a note to go back and add an edit to the post pointing those issues out directly. My more recent book reviews include these things because I started to recognize some really bad trends that new witches needed to watch out for. She also mentions pouring perfume on the Earth in one of her spells, which is a terrible idea, that I failed to pick up on the first time I read through it. Thank you for reading, commenting,and pointing out more issues with the book. A lot has changed since I wrote this post and since the book was released.

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  2. I'm reading it now and greatly enjoying it however it is really bothering me that she refers to native Americans as Indians in the history section. This is offensive and honestly confusing. This combined with her discussion on spirit animals suggests she does not know much about native American culture. I'm excited to see where the rest of the book goes.

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  3. Reading this now and enjoying it so far however there are a lot of small things in it which frustrate me. She calls native Americans Indians. She refers to victoriana people as stuffy and uptight which is not historically correct and shows a lack of research and as you say the whole spirit animal section (again offensive to native Americans) I hope it improves for me but I feel it will probably not be a book I return to often.

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    1. Excellent points. The Victorian's were far from stuffy. These are the same people who started the spiritualist movement and mesmerism! Plus the wild orgies...yeah. They were just prim and proper on the outside! And I agree, the section on spirit animals and calling Native Americans "Indians" is not cool. I should add that into my review. Overall, she does have a lot of great information presented in an easy to read format. Her spells are pretty great too and can be used as a jumping point, as long as we recognize what is and is not Earth safe. Thanks for commenting! You've given readers some other points to think about when reading this book.

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  4. Baby witch here - Are there any other modern witchcraft books that do not have the racial bias/historical inaccuracies when it comes to dark/light magic or indigenous knowledge? I want to start a decolonial witch practice, and not get started off on the wrong foot. :)

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    1. Wooo! That's a tough one. Honestly, every book I have read has had issues. I am reaching out to the witch community to see what they have to say and think it would make a really great blog post in light of current events. The best advice I can offer you is to read critically. Triple check EVERYTHING you read against scientific journals, folklore, history, etc. Research the authors of the books you are reading and figure out their background. Look at their other work and their social media. I make notes of things I read that I want to look more into. Being a critical reader is the best defense against racial bias and historical inaccuracies. I applaud you for wanted to start a decolonial witch practice. I am trying my hardest to do the same. Its been a long, long process and things I used to think were okay, I no longer partake in. I try to offer a pretty worldly view of witchcraft here, but its difficult where there is just so much out there. I found focusing on my heritage was best for me. This helps reduce/prevent cultural appropriation and I can easily check the racial bias with a little research.

      I'll let you know what the community says regarding intro books. You have a long road ahead, but its a good one. Don't give up!

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