This is a book that I would have on my shelf as a refresher. It doesn't lean super far into Wicca as most guides to witchcraft do, and that's refreshing. This book is definitely one that you could refer beginners to and give them a wealth of information. I've been practicing witchcraft for 13 years, so this information is all kind of beginner to me, but it does a great job of going MORE in depth compared to a lot of "witchcraft for beginners" guides out there.

This was a great guide. The step by step guide was really helpful and I enjoyed the history it proved. Really nice photos as well.

“The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft” is a beautiful and substantial book of full-color (and sometimes full-page) photographs, detailed and thoughtful charts and diagrams, and clearly expressed, well-thought-out explanations of basic witchcraft systems, ritual, and practice. Its focus is to be an introduction to beginner witchcraft, but it’s one which more experienced witches may enjoy enough to use as a reference as some of the diagrams are particularly pleasantly-designed and easy to use.

While none of these craft practices is explored in very great depth, the book offers fairly involved summaries of lunar magick (how to work with the phases of the moon, and special circumstances), elemental magick (the five Western elements of spirit, earth, air, fire, and water), astrology (the planets, houses, and signs of the Zodiac, and reading natal charts, plus how to work with planetary influences), seasonal magick (the named full moons, the solar calendar, the quarter and cross-quarter sabbats of Celtic and Germanic tradition), crystals (shapes, types, uses, correspondences, and substitutions, as well as cleaning methods, and how to work with them), herbs (common herbal allies, associated intentions, harvesting, basic medicine-making, and ritual use), and divination (working with the ether, cartomancy, palm reading, dowsing, rune reading, scrying, tasseomancy, spirit and animal guides, dream work, spirit work, and astral travel). The book wraps up with some suggestions for personalizing practice, sigil and grimoire creation, working with familiars, adapting Northern correspondences to the Southern hemisphere, and a short but mighty set of basic rituals for the solitary witch. The rituals are generally pretty simple, with standard tools and ingredients appropriate to a beginner witch.

I usually don’t like “generic witchcraft” books that much, because they tend to regurgitate the same material (lots of tried-and-true correspondences and associations) while making actual practice seem inaccessible to newcomers by forgoing explanations, putting forward difficult spells without teaching anything about the traditions, systems, or energetic work behind them, or putting too much emphasis on coven and initiation work, even though many new witches are solitary. This is what sets Kiernan’s “Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft” apart from the others: with plenty of photographs, tables, diagrams, and explanations to guide the reader, the mysterious and esoteric world of witchcraft actually opens and blossoms in this lovely guide. It’s the sort of book I’d happily recommend to any new witch looking for a solid introduction to Western modern witchcraft practice, as it contains most of the fundamentals of Western craft without emphasizing a particular path.

While there are a few Western deities mentioned in the book, it predominantly focuses on Western magical systems, drawing especially from Celtic, Germanic, and Wiccan tradition. Religious freedom is happily reconciled with witchcraft in Kiernan’s open-minded introduction, and the rest of the book supports this idea by focusing on craft without delving into much religion. This makes it a good introductory book especially for Atheist and Animistic witches who may wish to study craft but aren’t interested in working with deities.

Anjou Kiernan has been practicing witchcraft since the mid-1990s, working with herbs, divination, and craft. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a minor in Anthropology, and enjoys history, art, ecology, botany, literature, painting, writing, gardening, reading, and antiquing. She can be found on Instagram under @lightofanjou and online at her website, Light of Anjou: https://www.lightofanjou.com/

Reviewed by Sarah McMenomy of PaganPages.org
https://paganpages.org/emagazine/2020/09/01/book-review-the-ultimate-guide-to-witchcraft-by-anjou-kiernan/

As a baby witch, this was a really helpful resource for planning out the year and starting with rituals. I'm always on the hunt for more witchy resources and this was one I enjoyed reading and am happy to be able to have a new book to add to my library.

The perfect guide for beginners and more experienced witches with in depth knowledge and information.

This is a beautiful,detailed guide to witchcraft.The author #Anjou Kiernan has wonderful photography in this book I recommend the real version.It was a delight to read.
Thank you,
#Netgalley,#Anjou Kiernan and #Quarto

This is a beautiful and all inclusive guide to witchcraft. I learned some very important info from this book. The authors attention to detail is very much appreciated and I would recommend this guide to anyone interested in the craft.

I realized recently that many of the books I’ve been reviewing lately focus on an intermediate or advanced approach to the Craft. I may not be new to witchcraft, but many folks are, so I wanted to provide some resources for them, including book reviews. With that in mind, I requested The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft from Netgalley.

In all honesty, a large part of this book goes into unprecedented detail for a newbie magic book. The author gives us a quick tour of our history, peeks at natal charts and astral projection, and even includes instructions for reading a Lenormand Grand Tableau, in addition to the usual Tarot spreads. Of special note: I found Ms. Kiernan’s briefing on spagyrics very readable and easy to understand.

Ms. Kiernan is explicit when she says that she’s writing from a non-denominational, non-religious perspective in this book. She does, at several points, reference a pseudo-karmic “law of return,” and also describes the notion of a threefold law, as is popular with Wiccans.

Now, personally? None of that is part of my Craft, and it would’ve been great if the author had acknowledged in the book that not all modern witches view things that way. Much of what she says about ethics and especially the concept of a return gets presented as universal. This will be controversial, and I would not have included it myself, but it doesn’t really ruin the book or me.

Despite that, though, The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft does mostly read as pretty non-denominational, which is refreshing. Ms. Kiernan actually explains that some witches are secular or just non-Wiccan. That was a very positive part of the book, and I hope it will be illuminating to those just starting out and pondering the connection between magic and religion.

Much of the actual technique the book expresses has a strongly Wiccan flavor. I mean this mostly in terms of correspondences and the style of ritual it portrays.

Nevertheless, Ms. Kiernan is upfront about the Wiccan influence when it appears, and even discusses a bit of the relevant history with regards to Wicca’s influence on the modern Craft. I’m quite pleased to have found a beginner book willing to tackle history like this!

I don’t really mind that so many of the techniques in the book were developed in Wiccan traditions - they work just as well for non-Wiccans. While I’ve never really been a Wiccan myself, my own witchcraft developed alongside a healthy appreciation for Wiccan ritual and techniques.

The author clearly knows the current situation in the Craft community, and thankfully, this book does discuss cultural appropriation and provides thoughtful cautions for the burgeoning witch. This is rare to see in a beginner’s book, though such considerations are becoming more common with occult authors.

Over all, I give this book four out of five stars. It contains a wealth of basic information. It would be a great first book for a beginning witch. It tackles topics in detail that other beginner-friendly books just skim over or ignore. While I didn’t really come across anything new to me in this book, I definitely recommend it to newbies!

This is one of the best witchcraft 101 books I've ever read! The layout was very easy to navigate and the photography was inspiring and beautiful. Anjou Kiernan touches on everything you need to know when starting down a pagan path, while giving insights that will still peak the interest of more experienced practitioners. Even though I'm not a beginner, I would buy this book as a quick reference guide and to get inspiration from the imagery. Many books of this nature are all surface no substance, but not the ultimate guide to witchcraft and I would highly recommend it to beginner and novice witches.
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I was really looking forward to reading this book. I had a free copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately I wasn't able to download it let alone read it to give a review. Deeply disappointing..

Chock full of terrific information. Learned a lot I didn't know about already, also learned how to simplify some of what I knew

I found the information in "The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft", by Anjou Kiernan to be both creditable and enlightening. You will find a deep connection to witchcraft through the wonderful writings of this author. I was surprised at how much I learned from this book, as I have been practicing the craft for 20+ years. You will not only want to read through the entire book but use it as a valuable reference. I think I filled eight pages of my grimoire from notes I had taken from this book. As a practitioner of the craft, I highly recommend this book.

Blessings

For transparency sake, I will state that I did not finish this book. I chose to put the book down because, while I find it fascinating, this just isn't my thing.

But it truly is a gorgeous beginners guide to witchcraft. With simple spells, discussions about the origins and history of witchcraft, and how that translates into modern life - this is a wonderfully crafted book.

This would be a great guide for a new witch as well as a seasoned witch. The author made this the "Definitive" guide to astrology, tarot, candle magick, talismans, elixirs and Gods & Goddesses, I love the chapter on creating your own Grimoire. This is all encompassing and very useful to all who are seeking to educate themselves step by step in each area of interest. Topics covered include from learning spells, to a House Witch and Green Witches magic to setting up your alter. i enjoy the spectacular photographs throughout the book. This is definitely a book you want to buy in hard copy to use as a reference for your practice. It would also be a great gift for your witch friends.

Very well done and beautifully presented .I highly recommend this guide for all witches.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

I found The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft to be a great introduction for anyone interested in learning some info about the path of a magick practitioner. The author gives a brief introduction to magick, including the most common paths of magick. The book also provides basic information on astrology, elements, the witches seasonal wheel, tools, herbs and crystals complete with some great photos. Again, this is a basic introduction to each, perhaps just enough info that the reader would be comfortable participating in a conversation with others on the subject without feeling completely lost. Scattered throughout, the author includes rituals and crafts. Personally, I would have liked to see the author dive deeper into fewer areas as this book is more of an introduction rather than an "ultimate guide". Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group- Fair Winds Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found some useful stuff within the book to add to my knowledge bank. It was set up good and was enjoyable. While it couldn't be a totally ultimate book on it because it would be the size of the empire state building, it gives some vast knowledge for a seasoned to a beginner

As someone who is new to this subject this book has proven to be invaluable. Not only is it beautiful and clear, it covers many topics in a way which is easy to read and understand. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC to review but will be buying a physical copy for my bookshelf for easy reference.

Awesome and fascinating book on the history of witchcraft. I really enjoyed reading this book and the pictures are fantastic. Really thoroughly done I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about this topic and craft. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Well researched and thought out book. I liked the breakdown of different witches...green witch, hedge witch, etc. The breakdown of chapters was easy and not ovewhelming. Called out exactly what you need to perform any rituals, or healings.

I really liked this one. I’ve read a few books on Witchcraft in the past and find this to be one of the ones that gets right to the point of what it means to be a Witch. It covers a little of everything.

I especially liked how detailed the index is because with a book like this, you may find yourself going back to it but for something specific. Looking for info on the full moon? The index will lead you there.. This may seem like a silly pro for the book, but I have read many a book that didn’t break the index down so completely. It doesn’t just tell you that crystals are on pages x-y. It tell you that rose quartz is on page xx.

I suspect the target audience of this book = those drawn to religions that full under the Witchcraft umbrella but who haven’t actually started practicing (that’d be me). Would I call it the ultimate guide? I mean that’s a bold name. If you want the historical story of Pagan religions? That’s not what this book is. If you want to know about rituals, crystals, phases of the moon, figuring out just what kind of witch you are, etc? Then yes this is the ultimate guide for getting your practice going.