I adored Hexe Claire's 'Magical Healing. For me, witchcraft has always been tied to nature and calm and healing, which may be a naïve view but felt justified after reading this book. This book isn't majorly drawn out but straightforward and helpful. Being German myself, it almost felt like getting remedies from my grandmother, as if I was re-connecting with a part of myself. I would like to have seen more attention for the widely diverse folklore and traditions across Europe. it isn't a mono-culture and a whole variety of things can be learned from acknowledging and celebrating that diversity.

Although the advice in this book shouldn't replace a well-timed doctor's visit, it does contain useful advice for helping yourself de-stress, re-centre and come to rest, all three of which are incredibly important towards living a healthy life.

Witch Claire is one of Germany's top selling authors on Germanic witchcraft, so I was excited to see her work in translation. In Magical Healing Claire explores European folk medicine and healing. The book contains advice for healers on how to protect themselves with methods such as spitting after touching a client. It also looks at traditional healing spells which felt a bit old wife's tale rather than magickal, herbs and crystals. Again nothing new here in regards to the latter. Most people practicing some sort of healing technique such as Reiki etc will find this book of interest. I would have enjoyed more of an in depth look at particular healing modalities used which would have been more reflective of the title.

Many people will never even consider picking up this book mainly because of the word Magical in the title. They do not know what they are missing. Stop for a second and think about it. Antibiotics were not created until 1920 and Aspirin in 1899. What did people do before? Well this book will tell you how to use herbs you can grow in your backyard and so much more to take care of colds, coughs, pain, cuts, scrapes, burns and so much more without ever leaving your house. No more huge doctor bills would be a dream come true for most of us. This book is not meant to take the place of your doctor for serious ailments but for the rest you can try the many listed alternatives in this book before paying that huge bill.

The book is simple to read no long drawn out explanations, no doctor words I doubt even the doctors themselves fully understand, just simple and to the point. I love how this book gives you a bit of history as well as the techniques and recipes to take care of yourself. This book is a definite reference guide to hang onto as well, so when that next cold, or headache comes along you can be ready for it.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com and chose to leave this review.

I was given an advance copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Y’all… hold onto your grimoires… it’s a witchcraft/magic book I didn’t hate! LE GASP! I’m picky, and while that might mean they stop sending me books to review, I don’t intend to stop being picky, lol.

I was really excited to get a copy of this book. Much of modern “mainstream” magic is appropriated from other cultures, so it was refreshing to see a book that promised to talk about folk magic in Europe.

As a whole, I really enjoyed this book. The author’s writing style is very personable, there are lots of footnotes so that a person could dig deeper on certain sections if they so desired.

Her section on “healthy living” is honestly what sold me on the book. There’s no food shame here, no guilt. Instead there’s a balance between encouraging people to live in a healthful way… and acknowledging that “health” has become a religion. What is considered healthy now was warned against a decade ago, etc. It’s a refreshingly grounded approach that makes me more inclined to listen to what she has to say.

There are several great ideas for connecting with deities. And while I didn’t overly connect to the section on written spells (I think perhaps they lost something in translation to English) I did really like the section on plant magic.

That section includes a mix of cooking with the herbs and magic uses. It’s definitely a reference I’ll be turning back to!

It’s hard to review the book in any way except to just say, you’re probably going to want to read it. I don’t know that I will purse magical healing myself, but there’s value here that goes beyond that. And a lot of the techniques and practices go beyond the “woo woo” of the “supernatural healer” and can be used as a basis for intent spells to better oneself!

I do have two gripes. There’s an overall impression of “oneness” in her thinking. A sense that everything is the same with different faces… which I agree and don’t agree with. It’s not a big issue, the book is certainly informative even without that.

But I think it does lead into the next bit. There are a few small sections where she discusses deities in particular from closed religions/practices. And her reasoning seems to be A) they’re all different faces of the same thing and B) people have migrated around the world to such an extent that the culture lines have blurred.

It is what it is, I’m aware from conversations with pagans in Europe that the issues of cultural appropriation are not talked about there as much as they are here. It doesn’t excuse it, and I certainly wouldn’t use that as justification for including those deities or practices. But I hope it explains why I’m not roasting the entire book for that… By and large, the content in the book is rooted in old German/European folk magic practices.

Verdict 4/5: It’s probably a book you won’t be sad to have on your shelf as a resource. But if the warning about the few issues with appropriation concerns you, maybe check it out of the library first! If you like it, it’s definitely a reference book you’ll want to come back to.

Witch Claire! from a German family, we used some of these herbs as curatives. I still use them! I've even added a bunch of new ones I've learned about from American and Italian and Slovenian friends though the years. Some work, some don't, but they still the heck out of running of to the doctor or drug store for pharmaceuticals! This book is filled with info that surely won't harm if taken properly. This one is a keeper! Great book!

Interesting read about German healing magic and practices. And of course how to implement nature's gifts of herbs, stones. I loved when the author spoke about fresh air, sunlight and exercise. Because I personally feel that those are better than medicine. Those 3 things do wonders for the body and spirit. I enjoyed this book.
I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I think the book can be of interest if you want to learn about how to heal using magic. There's just few references to German folklore and German traditional healers.
I don't agree with the writer about the common tradition of Europe as there're different cultures and influences.
On a general level a nice read with some good idea and advices.
Recommended to whoever wants to read about healing using magic.
Many thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. and Netgalley for this ARC

was born in Germany, and raised by a family who believed in the old ways of healing. This is why I jumped on the chance to review this book.



I have to disagree with the Author right from the beginning, as she mentioned that Germany has incredibly strict laws when it comes to “healing”. While some of what she says, regarding the regulations is true, Germany has a way for those who are not looking for a traditional path to medicine to practice medicine anyway – which is called Heilpraktiker, – and are recognized, regulated, and tested professionals that are allowed to heal with a combination of alternative medicines, without the supervision of medical doctors.

But I am being picky here, as this is the English version of her book, marketed to the US, and therefore the European legalities do not apply. If you happen to be in Europe reading this book – I would cross check your local laws regarding healing.

While I do not want to dismiss the fact that the healing techniques covered have relevance, and are in some cases well researched, I had to chuckle when reading a particular section on “Healing Beings”. The Author mentions that she will be talking only about healing beings native to Germany, and began her list with Apollo – who is of course, Greek. While relevant in healing, and surely the being to connect to, if you so chose, in your practice, I find this inconsistency at best annoying. If the Author wanted to talk about German healing beings, there are plenty of examples in the local folklore, she could have drawn from.

So if you are looking for something authentic, you are looking in the wrong place. If you are, however interested in general information on healing techniques, I am sure you can find some useful information within the pages of Magical Healing.

I just wish she would not have pretended it to be German, or even “Old World” Based.

I was told that my grandmother was a midwife/country doctor before medical doctors were readily available. I did know her very well as she was a very quiet woman and died when I was a teenager. Her medicinal art was not passed on to my mother and/or my aunts, so there are no records of her tools and remedies. I have been very curious to know more about folk remedies and was interested in reading Magical Healing: Folk Healing Techniques from the Old World by Hexe Claire to see if I could learn more about my grandmother's art. The book was not exactly what I expected. I was hoping for recipes using herbs, roots and other elements. This book deals with healing deities, spells, plants (no recipes), and magical stones. The information was very interesting and worth reading about.

I thank NetGalley and Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. for this intriguing ARC. Magical Healing: Folk Healing Techniques from the Old World by Hexe Claire will be available at your favourite bookstore on July 8, 2018.

I absolutely loved this book. I have noticed that medical people have one of the highest percentages of illness of any group of people anywhere. It's not because they are around sick people, but because of stress, anxiety, being overtired, dehydrated and so much more. Taking these tips and some time to practice these things would help immensely. This does not mean to stop going to the doctor or following their instructions. But adding some time to relax and let the body heal makes a lot of sense. This information is common sense and I will be using many of them. I was honored to receive this book from Llewellyn and Net Galley for a honest review.

This reads very much like a somewhat in-depth how-to book for those who are getting started. The chapters titles are clear and the writing is descriptive to use as a resource text.

I was interested in reading Magical Healing for various readings but I especially enjoy reading about folklore and its relation to everyday life.

The book lists short summaries of Healing Beings including those such as Baba Yaga, Baubo, Apollo, and Brighid. Then it overviews Elementals and explains that how one approaches this varies by cultures. This is what I’m most interested in, the variations in culture.

What first drew me to this book was the element of folk magic and healing. As someone with a European background, I was interested to learn more. I am also familiar with Hexe Claire’s Youtube videos on Lenormand cards, so I knew her book would be informative.

Magical Healing includes chapters on when the best time is to heal according to the days of the week, which gods and goddesses to call upon, and how to protect yourself during the process and much more. I must say none of the above mentioned healing techniques are unique to German folk medicine. If you are well versed in Wicca or Paganism, then you will already have a very good grasp of these. I enjoyed the chapter on ‘Healing Techniques’ that were specific to folk healing such as blowing, spitting, egg applications, and so forth. The chapter that really got to the heart of folk healing was the chapter on spells and powerful words. When I think of folk medicine, I think of magic mixed with superstition and this is what was laid out in this chapter. There are spells on how to treat burns, spells for cold and fevers, disjointed bones, eczema, and so much more. These spells don’t require additional tools, just a strong belief that they will work. Hexe mentions throughout this chapter that she has recited these short little spells when she has injured herself, and miraculously healed as a result. The accompanying chapters provide information on healing herbs and stones, once again, nothing groundbreaking, although the chapter on stones looked at fossils as opposed to your typical crystals which was unique and refreshing.

Overall I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t as much folk magic included as I thought there was going to be, however, I think this was a safe first attempt that would not be intimidating or irresponsible for the readers to use.