Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC to review. Sadly the content within this book is not good for my mental health which I did not realise at the time so I am very sorry for that! I will give this 3 Stars as I couldn't review it properly. Apologies again! I really wish I could have read this one as I was so excited for it.

Very informative book. Full of a lot of useful information. This book will also be very useful for future reference

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely book . . . it was well written, highly informative, and (over all) just a fun read. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in spell work or just finding a new way to help make a better life. 5 Stars !!

For a beginner witch, this was quite informative and easy to read, which was appreciated. It was the first witchy book I've read so I don't feel like I can compare it justly, but as I said, for me, in the beginning of my journey, it felt like a nice starting point and I took notes on quite a bit - which I find to be a pretty good thing.

Does give basic/introductory information about things. Does explain things further if needed without repetition or being boring. Straight forward.

This is a great book for beginners. It covered everything you need to start and gives recommendations on where to go, and how, to continue for more information.

I received an advanced copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily!

This book could have been a beginner stable for witchcraft. Even though this book discusses a lot of relevant topics without touching too much on the wiccan side, like so many other beginner books do, it wasn't particularly for me. The topics discussed felt shallow and didn't went into depth as much as I would have liked (especially when it comes to shadow work) and the structure felt all over the place.

I would still recommend this book for beginners, although I would add that this is by no means a book that gives you all information you need. It is a starting point for beginning your research.

Spells for change by Frankie Castanae is a magical book that goes over some foundations in witchcraft and explains different magical techniques like energy manipulation and grounding. I enjoyed how this book has a spell section that has alternative spells like a candle spell or a jar spell for the same issue so the reader can decide which type of spell they prefer.

Lots of information. Very interesting almost overwhelming so. I especially liked the grounding exercise.

Video Review Pending.

As someone just starting my spiritual journey I found this book so helpful. As it was marketed, this is the perfect book for a beginner to start with. The language is easy, the information is to the point, and it gives a great overview of different aspects of magic.

I have done some of the spells and charms and have found them easy to follow and have had good results. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy so that I can use it as my center point as I start branching out and learning more.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I am also a huge fan, having first seen the author on tiktok and following over to her YouTube. I wish this book all of the success and have already recommended it to friends also interested in beginning their own journeys.

While the beginning sections of this book were a little slow for someone who has read quite a few "beginner" witchcraft books, the second half really stood out for me. In so many other witchcraft books, I find that authors tend to jump right in to love, money, and luck spells and skip over banishing, binding, and the like. Frankie's explanations of these topics were so helpful and I will definitely be referring back to them in my own practice.

This was a beautiful witchy guide for beginner witches. While there are some grammatical issues in the first half of the book that hopefully will be looked into, this was still a great read for witches beginning their journey.

I have followed Frankie on TikTok for a while and this book is pretty much what I would have expected from them. Lots of wonderful information even on hot button topics in the witchy world.

I would definitely recommend this for beginners, and even those just wanting to see something fresh and modern.

Spells for Change is an easy-to-read introductory book for the novel Witch and anyone who is interested in the Craft. I enjoyed Castanea's writing style and her use of personal practice tips. The illustrations are very cute and add something a little extra to an already good book.
I would definitely add Spells for Change to my growing magick library.

I was a little hesitant about this one at first due to it being by a craft “influence,” but I was pleasantly surprised at how well rounded this was. It was easy to read, provided some basic spells, and was aesthetically pleasing! Several suggestions for continued reading are provided which I thought was a great touch. This is definitely something I would have loved as a beginner!

Spells for Change by Frankie Castanea is geared towards new practitioners and is meant to provide information to people starting out that the author wished she’d had when she’d started. The main focus of the book is understanding some of the basic tools a witch can use (herbs, candles, sigils, crystals) and how they can be used in spell work (particularly boundary setting, banishing, and binding work). She also looks at personal self knowledge and makes an effort to unpack spiritual appropriation while providing some resources to decolonize our practice. She provides definitions and resources for antiracism, decolonization, unsettling, etc. She addresses some of the concerns around some of the big issues we see in modern paganism, for example, the use of white sage and smudging (vs smoke cleansing). That said, the author falls into some of the most dominant pitfalls of the white ally: tokenism and misinformation. For example: she claims authority by quoting her indigenous friend and makes the faux pas of comparing white sage cleansing to spiritual “bleach.” Both are cringe at the best of times, but particularly problematic in a book that is asking readers to do better.

Beyond that, this book falls into the modern trend of providing the shopping list of crystals and herbs to new practitioners. While she does make the point to tell us to check if our crystals are water friendly or if our herbs are endangered, she doesn’t mention the how or why behind the associations being made or give readers any tools to learn how to reliably research or understand said associations.

Overall, while I appreciate the work she’s trying to do and am glad that modern books are trying to tackle complex ethical issues, I do think she doesn’t fully accomplish what she sets out to accomplish. Would I recommend this book to new practitioners? Parts of it, yes; others, no. It’s a light read and a nice intro for someone who doesn’t know much about appropriation (albeit flawed). The basic witchy content is pretty generic and not the book’s strength as it’s the same info you could find in pretty much any beginner book.

Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches is a debut guidebook on spirituality by "Chaotic Witch Aunt" Frankie Castanea, a practicing eclectic/folk witch. Castanea originally found fame through TikTok and uses they/them pronouns. The book was originally published in the U.K. in 2021, but this is a new U.S. edition. The PDF version is a little over 200 pages and the artwork in the book (and on the cover!) is fantastic.

Their goal for this book was to provide a broad overview of traditions so the reader can create a customized version of witchcraft for themselves. They focus on "manifesting change through spell work, intent, and mindfulness with a decolonized point of view." This book isn't just for folks new to the craft, it can also help to add nuance to a current practice and to further explore its history and theory.

Castanea delves into tools, materials, and foundations for nearly half of the book, which I appreciated. Some of the materials explained in this book include crystals, rocks, herbs, flowers, trees, and stuff you probably have already in your kitchen. There are several rituals, spells, and suggested exercises in the book as well. The last part of the book really digs into topics about colonization, cultural appropriation, and closed practices. I was really pleased to find a wonderful bibliography/suggested reading list in the back of the book.

Special thanks to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for providing an PDF of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own. Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches releases in the U.S. on Tuesday, April 26th.

Thank you to net galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book for review!

Disclaimer: I love Frankie. I’ve followed their content for a couple years now. They’re knowledgeable, funny and trustworthy. So, I was very excited when I found out that they were coming out with a book & couldn’t wait to read it.

Clearly by my rating, I loved this book as much as I thought I would. Frankies knowledge and experience really comes through in every word and working they include. The book is organized beautifully. It is great for beginners and intermediate practitioners. I found myself copying down Frankie’s information and workings into my own BOS.

This is an amazing book written by a trusted eclectic folk practitioner with years of experience, but with a modern application and focus to the craft. Frankie’s view points and how they apply a modern lense to the craft is something that’s much needed in modern witchcraft books.

Frankie certainly succeeded with their goal of formulating the book that they wish they’d had at the beginning of their practice. They filled a void with this book and it will impact new and seasoned practitioners alike for years to come.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing this ARC to me!
I have followed Frankie on TikTok for a while now, probably since 2019. It has been incredible to see her go from giving book recommendations to writing her own book! Spells for Change is fun, fresh, and witty and I can see it becoming a staple book in the future!

Spells for Change is the first book by internet famous witch and neopagan Frankie Castanea( they go by Chaotic Witch Aunt online). Right off the bat, this book was well written and researched. You can tell that Castanea has been practicing for a long time, and definitely knows their stuff. That being said, this book is definitely directed towards beginners. The beginning of the book includes extensive lists of herbs, crystals and plants, days of the week and lunar cycles that the newcomer would need to know. So if you are a more experienced witch, you could skip the first few chapters and be fine. The later chapters are quite informative on things like shadow work, binding, banishing, cleansing etc. I also really appreciated the sections on decolonizing your Craft, as so many 'witchy' books are either rife with cultural appropriation, or completely skip over the importance of decolonizing your Craft. The main drawback to this book is that I was expecting more spells from it (apparently the title is mislead me to expect this to be more of a spell book) There are a number of spells, but not nearly as many as I was hoping. Overall, a genuinely solid book, great for beginners and a good brush up on the basics for everyone else. 4/5 stars.

I would like to start by saying I found the few spells in this book that wish harm upon others very troubling. You can obviously choose to skip and ignore these spells, but just the fact that their energy is within these pages is worrisome to me. That side of witchcraft definitely isn't for me.

That aside, I thought this book was pretty well done. It is an easy to follow guide for beginners, detailing different materials including herbs and crystals, and practical exercises and rituals including meditation, shadow work and cleansings.

The layout is engaging with lovely black and white illustrations placed here and there, and pages formatted differently - text boxes, for example - to break up the pages, making it easier to read through.

Glorious cover ✨