This book was extremely disappointing. It is Wicca in disguise but doesn't cover anything in great detail. Furthermore, there were several statements that were judgemental or dismissive of those that are trying to perform witchcraft on a budget. For example, he says you can't use tap water because it's magically void, but there is nothing to substantiate this claim. I use tap water all the time for magical workings; it is not magically void and is the only source of affordable water for many witches. We have to recognize the privilege in claims like these and that not everyone has access to the same goods and services. To add insult to injury he misuses several common witchcraft terms, including fetch and familiar. A fetch is NOT an animal guide. A fetch is usually a human spirit, often a doppelganger, that assists in various things. A familiar, on the other hand, is not an animal that works with you such as your pet cat. Familiars are spirits that CAN take the form of an animal, but are generally not your pet. This is the most common misconception in witchcraft and its disappointing to see this misinformation spread by such a prolific author. Finally, he calls snakes poisonous....they are not poisonous. They are venomous. This is the section book I have reviewed recently that lacks scientific accuracy. Its extremely disappointing that in this day and age we are still running into people claiming snakes are poisonous.

Despite the many, many issues I had with this book, the section on trees is good. I would have liked to see more herbs covered as it mostly covers mandrake, but it was still enjoyable to read and accurate, both magically and scientifically. I have never heard the year broken up into two halves known as The Flower Year and Harvest Year, but I am intrigued by their roots. Further research will give me a better idea of how accurate this information is.

Overall, I was very disappointed in this book, especially by the title. I was hoping to learn more about the actual elements, not green Wicca.

I picked this up because I was interested in the subject matter, rather than wanting to follow any of the rituals or practices outlined in the book.

There was a lot of information. Some of it really interesting and some of it didn’t hold my interest at all.
I think I was expecting a more in-depth history about why things were considered magical and more about their correlations.
A lot of the information in the book seemed that I was to take it on the author’s say-so, rather than him offer sources and reasoning. This turned me off to a degree.
As I said, I read this out of a passing interest rather than a desire to really learn about the subject. The book was reasonably successful in quenching my interest but I’m not too sure I would have been satisfied if I was using it as a teaching tool.

* Thanks to Inner Traditions and Netgalley for the ARC.

Nigel Pennick is well known and respected for his books on magic and folklore. This is a good book on Earth-based spirituality. It is not, as the title might suggest, about Elemental Spirits.

The book is about natural magic, in his own words, "It is the power of everyday objects and human actions." I think it's a good starting place for someone interested in nature magic, but not drawn to a specific path or the Pagan religions like Wicca.

Some of the correspondences were different than I've read elsewhere in older sources, like Friday has always been green but Pennick assigns in blue and the purposes of Opal really threw me, but most of them are familiar with just the occasional anomaly.

Pennick gives us an over view of working with minerals and stones, animals and birds, and of connecting to the magic of the Earth in general. It isn't in depth information, but a decent starting point. He covers making magical tools and offers some food and drink suggestions as well as simple rituals throughout.

The one thing I would caution someone new to the subject is that some of the 'rules' like making your own magical knife are not hard and fast. I would look at the information as folkloric and likely to be a little different than another person's path might take them.

I very much enjoyed Elemental Magic! I’ve wanted to know how to better connect to the magician nature and working with the elements better, and this book did not disappoint! I love that the author went into detail about the history of folk Magick. I will definitely be reading again! Thanks for Net Galley for a copy in exchange for a review!

The book seems like a good reference for practicing elemental magick. The different topics include: Mother Earth, Mineral Magic, Magical Animals and Birds, The Power Within, The Magic of the Land, Magic in Action, Making Magical Tools and Ceremonies, Magical Food and Drink, and Precautions and Remedies.

This does not feel like a beginner's reference, but it could could be studied to advance knowledge.

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.

An Informational and quick introduction to items. Do get a bit of a "high and mighty" feeling in the writing. Not my type of the book on the subject.

I wanted to love Elemental Magic a lot more than I did.

My initial perception that we, as readers, would be *working* on or with actual elemental magic. It's limits, the benefits, the drawbacks- you know a very- in depth- 'Oh, the places we'll go' sort of thing.

No. The author simply states an incomplete dictionary of magical properties associated with objects (trees, crystals, etc...) and very basic magical aspects- (North, South, East, West) with meanings, and properties associated with them; Basic attributes and creature associations, etc.

The "magical dictionary" was largely incomplete and sometimes when to great lengths to describe a lot about one topic to just drop it and move onto another one. Some chapters lumped large, widely useful things together, gave them a very prelin=minary label and moved on. i.e.- lumping rosemary, lavender, and other significant and widely useful herbs together and just said they can be used for protection- period, the end- new topic. Um, that is a whole chapter right there. Sorry, sorry.

There were some prayers, rituals, meditations included that some may find useful to their practice. I fly on a more autonomous path, so they were largely outside of my areas of practice.

If you are looking for very high-level information about natural magic/magical-inherent properties, or just an overview of basic magical practice, this may be a good book for you.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Elemental Magic is a hot mess. Disorganized, repetitive, self-referential, vague, and occasionally contradictory, this guide to magic and the natural world needs an editor, more detail, and clearer information. The writing is poor and too frequently makes unconnected asides or is tangential. It's easy to find most of the information contained in the book online on free sites, where it's often better presented,

3.5 stars. Accessible overview of all things traditional magic, with good high-level overviews of everything from elements to plants to ethics. I wish there was more in-depth information presented here, and more "practices" as the title implies.

I was hoping for a beautifully illustrated and informative book about the elements that make up a magical life. Instead, this book is very encyclopedic and cold. The photos included feel very dated (like out of an encyclopedia written in the 1960s). If you're looking for a warm, cozy read, this book isn't it. If you're looking for an encyclopedia that might give you the information you want on the properties of magical elements, you can try this book.

A good resource for anyone interested in the natural aspects of the craft. There's a lot of information here but its very accessibly presented so I'd recommend the book for beginners. I didn't find anything particularly new but it made a good refresher for aspects I had not considered for a while, so it's also good for teh esetablished practitioner.

I have read many of Nigel Pennicks interesting books. This book is my favorite. First it gives one of the best most relative introductions I have ever read about Magic. We are part of the Natural World. As much as we distance ourselves from the outdoors, the creatures we live with and arround, at the end of the day we belong here.
The basics of practical Elemental Magic are given. Earth , Air , Water , and Fire are described as well as Dieties that have been associated with the, As the book continues the seasons are looked at in a natural way that encourages common sense and getting out and doing simple activities.
I found that reading this book brought back many memories of things my Grandmother talked about when she was still alive. The connection between dancing and our natural history is something I hadnt thought about for a long time. We are cut off more everyday with our devices and constant monitioring by well meaning gov programs and rules. However we are all Earth people and we long for a connection in many cases. This book will inspire you with simple exercises and discussions, I wanted to get outside and go for a walk in the fielsds nearby after reading. Excellent starting point for a magical life can be found here.

He talks about "traditional spirituality" and "European spirituality" as if they are monolithic. There are some bare bones correspondences that you can find in many other books. Not sure if this is going to be changed but my review copy contained no bibliography and there were barely any citations to back up the lore he relates (example: oak trees were used by x culture to do y"). The only reason I'm not giving this review one star is that it's not offensive like so many other books.

My favorite part of this book is that it works in so many ways to use the elements in magical workings. This book feels like it covers everything: stone and crystals, plants, animals, and the changes of the earth--all are including in ways to use magick and this book. I feel like I really learned a lot from this one!

This provided a general overview on many topics tied to magic. I got an advanced copy but I found it difficult to read. I am guessing that in print form it will be organized better.

A fantastic resource for anyone exploring magic. This book has a wealth of information regarding the principals of elemental magic, including lore, properties of minerals, animals, plants, cycles, and practical uses for personal growth.

There is an eye on staying in harmony with when and how to put things into practice that is wound between the sections, allowing you to get the most of practices if you align as many as possible. For example, the information helps you in making sure you are working in the right cycle, on the right day, using the right color or stone etc. There is also guidance to create your own ceremonies, and for making your own magical items, such as wands.

I really found the mineral and plant sections fascinating and as with the rest of text, so packed full of information that covered both the lore and modern concepts and uses.

It's a wonderfully presented text that should be on the shelf of anyone looking walk a naturally harmonious path. I know I will be coming back to it again and again.