This was hard to get into at first, but then I got into a reading rhythm and really enjoyed it. I love listening to podcasts on happiness and fulfillment, and this book was a good blend of mysticism and "woo woo", but practical steps you can take to make life a bit more magical.

This book was a bit hard to get into at the beginning, but after sticking with it I found that this book has some good tidbits for gaining a sense of self, living authentically, and how to open yourself up to magic.

I found this book to be full of interesting information. I will definitely recommend this book to others following a similar path to myself in a quest for knowledge. Thanks

A quickish type of book that gives ideas and things to consider day to day - that magic is not a full-out ritual. Has own experiences from the author in it.

I was excited to read this one and once I did I want disappointed. There were plenty of spells, information and more for the new witch and experienced witch alike. I particularly liked the amount of self-care work and would definitely pick this up again. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really interesting book, full of spells, and rituals , a wonderful book that would be great for any new witch or the more experienced practitioners. A lot more self-help than I had realised, but how much it made me reflect on the magic in my everyday and the world around it’s definitely worth it.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I think this book will speak volumes to many people, but in different ways to each of us. Definitely worth reading and making a commitment to yourself and your life. Living is for joy and happiness and anything we can do to keep that on track, we need to commit to new rituals and self care. Enjoy this book as I did and be true to yourself and your beliefs.

A good basic introduction into the Pagan world and what that means. It can be very broad while being confusing, and the author liad it out nicely and eloquently.

If you are a person who already has a decent beginner's knowledge, you probably won't find anything new here.

This book was not what I originally thought it was set out to be. I anticipated witchy things that I could weave into my existence that would get me through the day-to-day, but what I came out with was a self-help book with an edge of witchiness. Do I think this book will appeal to readers? Absolutely! It's set up to be a great book for the witchy folk that are trying to get out of a rut. Did I find it fun and helpful? Not really, but to every book it's reader.

Good for people who are looking for: a beginner’s perspective on mindful living, an introduction to everyday paganism, a gentle and empowering guide written to help those burnt out by modern life.

Practically Pagan offers a simple guide to living a life infused with subtle magic. The advice is focussed on mindfulness, diet, and listening to yourself and what you really want. It’s written in an empowering way, and is accessible. This is a guide for the beginner - those already familiar with the concepts may find themselves wanting more. Though there is not much in the way of solid guidance, meditations and practical advice, the aim of the book is to help the reader be guided by themselves. The book offers a loose framework for areas of life which may need attention, and a jumping off point for living a life better connected to yourself and the world around you.

The author has a talkative and warm writing style, is clearly knowledgeable, and has been through burnout herself. It’s definitely a narrative many will relate to, especially those who are introverts. There are quite a few examples from the author’s own life, making it easy to understand what she means and how the insight might be applicable to the reader.

This is a good book for gently exploring pagan magic as a beginner, without complicated rituals or spells. The idea is that magic can be found in our daily routines, that joy can be found in the everyday if we reframe the mundane as grounding.

‘<i>We cast spells constantly. Every hope, every wish, every dream is a spell cast out into the Universe until it is ready to come to fruition. Every time we say goodbye to something toxic and hello to something life-affirming, we conjure happiness. When we’ve given too much, or are doing something that goes against the grain of who we are, we lose our magic—our mojo, as the expression goes. Only by being true to our nature can we conjure—and keep—our magic.</i>’

This book was reviewed by Cathy.

With thanks to Moon Books (John Hunt Publishing) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Shelves: Mind, Body and Spirit; Multicultural Interest; Religion and Spirituality

Not my regular genre but I was drawn to this book, perhaps the word 'practical' in the title alleviated some reservations I may have had. I liked the background/historical context provided and a deep dive into the author's psyche of why they wrote this book and the meaning behind certain topics. This author takes this subject matter very seriously yet was able to communicate certain topics that didn't go over the reader's head, especially if this is their first encounter with such topics covered by this book.

Loved this book. It's a very no nonsense guide to being true to yourself in the 20s. And definitely don't think Pagan in the Stonehenge sense either. This is an extremely relatable guide. The prose was easy to engage with (I dipped in and out of it while on holiday) and I really liked the author.

Amazing read! Loved the spells, the knowledge and the information was very helpful. The author is very well explained

The latest addition to Moon Books’ Practically Pagan series, Maria DeBlassie’s An Alternative Guide to Magical Living doesn’t exactly do what it says on the tin, but is still an informative and encouraging read. To be clear — this isn’t necessarily a book on magical living (in terms of the basics of Paganism) but it cover many aspects that underpin living a more magical life.

Many people think that living a magical life is all spells and potions all the time, but it’s more than that — and I’m speaking here as an experienced Witch with many years under her belt. It is understanding where you came from, who you are today, and where you’re going — which the author covers as she weaves her own story throughout this book. It is also ensuring that you are taking the best care of yourself as possible, so as to provide a firm foundation for any magical work that you may wish to do — so this includes things like self-care, mindfulness, slow living, being aware of nudges and winks from the Universe/Divine and so on. Reframing your everyday rituals as magical, remembering to schedule your doctor’s appointment, taking your med, challenging your limiting beliefs, finding joy in the everyday — all of this underpins a magical practice, and that’s what the author is getting at here.

There are meditations, rituals, and journal prompts in this book, but they are firmly rooted in the everyday, in the mundane and practical, such as taking care of yourself, getting used to saying no, or meditating on the benefits of doing a chore you hate. There are some energetic practices too, such as becoming aware of how you spend your energy each day, or listening to your intuition, and valuing your own instincts. However, there is a lot of emphasis on the Goddess and feminine spirituality, and therefore some readers who do not identify as female may feel alienated, which is a shame.

This book also goes into the deep work of dismantling societal conditioning that many of us take as “the norm” — such as the myth that productivity is more important that simply being; that consumerism and capitalism are the only ways to live; that being labelled as “less than” is acceptable. There are also discussions about being aware of generational trauma and working to heal it; mental health awareness and healthcare; and taking control of your own joy and pleasure without the ingrained guilt that many of us feel, amongst other things.

If you are looking for a book full of spells and rituals, look elsewhere; this isn’t it. If, however, you are looking for a book to challenge your thought processes, to help you reframe and redefine your life on your own terms, to encourage self-care and self-determination — all of which produce a good foundation for magical and spiritual work — then this is a great introduction.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Moon Books/John Hunt Publishing Ltd, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book. Its full of spells, rituals and conjurings among other things. I was particularly interested in the healing rituals. A book that should be added to any witches library. I received this book from Net Galley and John Hunt Publishing for a honest review. This is one.

I went into this book with the expectation that it would be practical routines and ideas for everyday magic, as the blurb stated. However, what I got was a collection of the authors blog posts about self-care. It feels as though it fell into any other mindfulness practice based book or blog, and very minimally about magical practice. I can recognize where there is magic in the mundane, and the self-care. This has already been heavily apart of my own practice. I expected there to be something new and refreshing here, but I didn’t find any of it.
There was also a heavy focus on the “woman who does x” or “the divine feminine” and so on- I don’t identify as a woman. I don’t identify within the gender binary. Which makes these statements feel as though they are no applicable to me- even with the afterthought that was often added to these statements. There was also a focus on the deity Eros, and Greek deities as a whole. I don’t work with this group, which also felt like it was not applicable to me.
That’s alright, I’ve ready plenty of magical books that didn’t feel like I could relate to them- but they didn’t bring anything new to the table with this one.

enjoyed this book for what it reinforced for me. It reinforced the idea that one must be more mindful and grateful. It is about being more focused on self and slowing down and enjoying the small moments. The focus has many of the basics most of us undertake already but spelled out.

Sometimes you need to remember that magic is something that you can find in everyday life and even in the most menial chores.
There's plenty of food for thought and it was an interesting and informative read.
It mixes the author's personal experiences with hints and sometimes it's more a memoir than a guide.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Beautiful cover.
It has an audience but I don't think that was me. It was just repetitive with nothing that really stood out as new or meaningful information.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Hunt Publishing Ltd. for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I have loved getting to read some different pagan/Wicca books recently, and this one definitely caught my interest. I don't know exactly what I was expecting with it, but what I got was very different than what I thought it was going to be. Not a bad thing, but definitely required me readjusting my viewpoint of what I was about to read.

This book is not so much a guide to how to do practical magic at home but rather a self-help book and finding the beauty and natural magic in our every day lives. I think it is filled with a lot of really great information that is very important to remember (trust your intuition on things!), but I found the title a bit misleading for what I thought it was going to be. This book is very practical, there is no doubt about that, and it truly shows how you can take ordinary things and find the magical joy in them - which is truly something special - and it does connect to many magical elements, but it is not so much teaching you ritual spells or any other magical components that you need other than adjusting your mindset to see the beauty in the every day.

Now, this could have just been me not understanding what book I was picking up, which is completely valid, but it was a bit disappointing for me to have it be so straightforward as a self-help book in my mind. It is a wonderfully written book, and I think it has a lot of great information that people should read, but it wasn't quite my cup of tea. I would definitely give it to someone who needs help finding the beauty in the "mundane" and I still encourage anyone who finds the concept interesting to read it.