This one wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t connect. I know there are people out there that will love this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I don't feel like this is something that I would use in my personal life. Despite that I really enjoyed learning the history of Mudras and how they implement it into their lives.

I have done yoga and meditation for years. I guess I never thought about using my hands to open up the world with rituals and spells. The poses for spell work was very interesting and something that I plan to try soon. I very much enjoyed reading about something new as Mudras is to me. This is a book that should be in every witches library. I received this book from Net Galley and LLewellyn Publishing for a honest review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. I am not nor will receive money for this review.
I was very surprised by this book. The author has great first-hand knowledge. I never realized how many mudras there were. The author goes over each one: how to do the mudra, history of it, what it is for, and what it helps. This is a book I would highly recommend to others. I plan on getting my own physical copy so that I may work more closely with the mudras.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I picked out this book, I was very interest in the ancient "mudra" techniques which involves making gestures with your palms and fingers. This book is geared towards the readers who are interested in adding mudras as another tool for their witchy path, not necessarily a book for readers who are new to mudras.

Modern Guide to Mudras by Alexandra Chauran is a collection of mudras designed to help the reader incorporate these hand positions into everyday life. Specifically, it seems to be a read more suited for those interested in using mudras in combination with other modalities including spells and ritual work. In example, the author talks of hexing, breaking curses, binding and protecting oneself with mudra work.
I did not find the illustrations as easy to navigate or aesthetically appealing as I would have, had the author included photographs rather than sketched illustrations throughout the book. This book would not be my first choice for someone who is new to mudras and looking for a basic introduction into the history and use in practice but rather for the reader who is looking to add mudras as another tool in their witchy toolbox.
Many thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd and NetGalley for the opportunity to read for review this Guide as a ARC.

I was so excited to read this book, but was rather let down in the end. The author’s writing style and I do not match. Such a long way of saying something, i.e. writing a long, rambling paragraph when a few simple, concise sentences would do. It made it hard to immerse myself and get lost in the topic.

So many things that irked me too. Just to name a few, the author repeats things throughout the book, which if she felt she did a good enough job in explaining it earlier, she could have avoided that. Then there are the comments about cultural misappropriation…but it’s OK if your intentions are good. No, no, no. If you want to go into that topic, you will find more people split than agreeing with you on that point as a whole.

While this book is not for me, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t for you. ALWAYS make your own determination on author’s style and content. What works for you may not work for me and vice versa.

Thank you to NetGalley and Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. for allowing me to read and review an ARC of Modern Guide to Mudras: Create Balance and Blessings in the Palm of Your Hands by Alexandra Chauran! I’ve been wanting to read more nonfiction books lately, and when I saw the title of this book, I thought it would be perfect. I practice Buddhism, so I often use mudras in meditation, and the history behind them is generally fascinating to me. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to the hopes I had for it.

The strongest aspects of the book are the author’s notes about cultural appropriation and her inclusion of all types of people. Writing about mudras can be difficult to navigate considering how sacred they are in many cultures, but Chauran does exceptionally well by emphasizing the importance of respecting cultures and only using these mudras with pure intentions.

Similarly, Chauran has a section where she explains that her book is meant for everyone. She states that, despite certain mudras being considered feminine or masculine, they can be used by people with multifarious gender identities. Likewise, she admits that some of the mudras can be difficult to form, and that if a reader cannot form a mudra due to physical disability, there is no need to stress. She encourages the reader to try their best and have good intentions, and the rest will follow.

Despite these positive aspects, the book was simply not what I thought it would be. I found a lot of it very repetitive. Chauran often reexplains mudras that she explained in the first section of the book, and I think this repetition could have been circumnavigated by having an index with all the mudras, or having the reader refer back to the beginning of the book.

Additionally, the title of the book does not really indicate that Chauran describes magical spells, hexes, etc. and these were unexpected, and not in a good way. Personally, if I wanted to read about magic, hexes, or curses, I would pick up a fantasy book. The title does not mention these aspects at all, so I was expecting more of an objective description of mudras, and maybe how they are frequently used. I was not expecting a how-to book on using mudras in spellcasting.

Overall, this book was simply not what I was looking for. I think there is certainly room for literature about magic and spellcasting, but most readers would prefer to know what they are about to read before diving into those topics. The instructions for the mudras were pretty clear, but I would have preferred a more objective or historical take on the topic.

Great book for learning how occult laws work in connection with ancient "mudra" techniques which involves making gestures with your palms and fingers. Valuable insights will enhance your practices in general. Also, it is a very practical book, though at moments text is little too wordy. Awesome book, recommended.

Who knew there were so many different ways to use Mudras? I got a few things from this book. It illustrates the mudras that it shows well, and there were various meditations I would like to try. However, I was not too fond of the way the information was laid out. I believe they could have used bullet points and probably should have organized it by use/emotion. With the big chunks of paragraph, it was hard, as a beginner, to keep my attention