Herbal Magic

This book is absolutely stunning!

The pages, the illustrations, the text - it’s all gorgeous. I appreciate all the effort that’s gone into this.

The content was also very informative and simple - I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this and learning something new!

Will definitely order this when it’s published - I need something this beautiful on my shelf.

This is really lovely and interesting books. The illustrations are beautiful and they are all through the book. This a very colourful book and is very knowledgeable talking about the different herbs and flowers. This is book you will keep going back to. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book

This books is beautifully designed and the illustrations are gorgeous! Gaia’s bounty is an amazingly beautiful thing. There are spells included, but the knowledge of plants and their uses is the most amazing part of this book, for me at least.

While I adore reading others spells, learning about the plants is what attracted me to this book. I cannot wait to plant a fairy garden with all of these amazing plants.

I really enjoyed this book. I love working with herbs and gained some valuable knowledge from this book. Thanks.

Aurora Kane is a prolific writer on the many aspects of magic. Herbal Magic: A Handbook of Natural Spells, Charms, and Potions is her 7th book in her 'Mystical Handbook' series. She highlights many goddesses and the herbs sacred to them with additional information on magickal properties of herbs and how to incorporate them into the practice of a budding or seasoned witch or herbalist.

What a gorgeous book! The artwork in this is absolutely stunning. And the knowledge! What a wealth of knowledge the author provides us. Truly one for all witches and craft workers to have on their shelves!

The book Herbal Magic is part of a series of mystical handbooks on select subjects all authored by Aurora Kane. According to the publisher, “These portable companions feature beautiful foil-detail covers and color-saturated interiors on a premium paper blend.” These books are quite beautiful and worthy of space on your magical bookshelf. This book contains quite a bit of information and is so aesthetically pleasing that it would be a nice gift.
I flew through this book as it doesn’t contain much meat, but it is nice to look at. What this book does well is to explain how you incorporate herbs into magical living without being intimidating. Aurora Kane writes in an almost poetic way about herbs and herbal magic. She dishes out not just suggested uses but also information on gender energy, planetary correspondence, daily correspondence and zodiac sign for each of the 70+ herb species in this book.
I enjoyed this author’s gentle approach to using herbs for magic. Her encouraging/mentoring voice comes through loud and clear making this the perfect book for any herbal novice. I liked her reminders to stop and tune to intuition when using herbs. Also, the author’s introduction to Gods/Goddesses that would ideal guides for herbal magic is a nice jumping off point for anyone who would like more spiritual guidance.
My favorite part of this book is the herbal magic portion which describes some very non-intimidating uses for herbs. Knowing how to incorporate herbs into spells should be the main purpose for any herbal magic book and I think this part of the book does a fantastic job without seeming intimidating..

So why with all this love did I not rate this 5 stars? There was simply not enough information about:
identifying the actual plants
when/where to plant them if you were interested in growing them
best practices for harvesting
whether to use them fresh or dried out
how to dry out herbs for spell use

This book would be the perfect introduction, except that I think those basic things are necessary information. I did enjoy the author’s idea to start keeping notes, (maybe even in a grimore?) for intentions and ways to use herbs. I think a better idea would have been to leave some blank pages in this book for adding notes. The book is only 200 pages and so beautiful. It would be great to actually make it a personalized addition to my magical library. Maybe that’s just me.

This magical herbal book is great for every Green Witchcraft practitioner. It contains various useful information when working with herbs, flowers, and trees. Additionally, you will find there information on Zodiac Sign, color and candle magic, moon phases, gathering, storing, and keeping herbs, connecting with herbal goddesses, fairies, and spirits of the trees.

What I really liked about “Herbal Magic” is the explanation of the energy (gender) of plants as well as associated elements.

There are 73 herbs, flowers, and trees described in the book. Each one has correspondences of gender, zodiac sign, planetary companion, associated day of the week, magical properties, and suggested uses.

The design of the book is very aesthetic, reminding me of a watercolor journal. It would make a great present for someone at the beginning of their Green witchcraft journey.

Who is this book for:

✦ Beginner Green Witch
✦ Someone who just started learning about magical associations of the herbs
✦ A person looking to connect better with a Goddesses associated with nature and plant work
✦ A witch that wants to try some herbal crafts (there are 36 spells in areas of relationship, health, success, protection, and acceptance)

What could be improved:

I enjoyed the overall experience of reading this book. It has a nice look to it, but there is one font that is hard to read. Otherwise, the design is beautiful and the information provided is sufficient for starting out. I would love to see more herbs and flowers and maybe some extra home decoration/herbal crafts.

* Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully presented with stunning illustrations throughout that bring the pages to life. Information packed, and a witches must-have book on herbs and their properties. This book also includes information on flowers, moon magic, and some bits on astrology too, which was unexpected but appreciated! There are recipes and suggested usages throughout, meaning that this book is great for beginners and those who are experienced with working with herbs.

I do agree with some other reviews that state that this book could have included more in-depth information, and best practice when working with the herbs. Such as plant identification, how/when/where these herbs grow best and how best to harvest them. This point is importnat because the book does mention that some plants are dangerous and should be used with caution, but doesn't really give any further information. Because of this, I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.


Thank-you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC for review.

Herbal Magic by Aurora Kane has beautiful plant illustrations and bountiful plant and magical inspiration. This book would be a great beginners book to learning about magical plants. The book also has good beginners witchcraft information and magical correspondence to help the reader with their practice. I enjoyed the poems/ spells that accompanied each plants info page. This cute magical book would be a good addition to any witchy collection.

Book Review: Herbal Magic - A Handbook of Natural Spells, Charms, and Potions by Aurora Kane
Genre: Religion and Spirituality / Health, Mind and Body
Publisher: Wellfleet Press - Quarto Publishing Group
Release Date: 29th July, 2021

About the Author
Aurora Kane is a practising Witch from America. She is a founding member of the Coven of the Moonbeam Ravine which is such a beautiful name for a coven. Other books that she has written are part of this collection that are being released by the publisher. She has contributed Moon Magic and House Magic to that series. According to GoodReads she will also be contributing Goddess Magic to the collection next year. If it is anything like this book then I am going to love it!

About the Book
The book is described as a directory of magical herbs along with thirty-six spells related to attraction, enchantment, trust friendship, fortune and success. There is specific guidance on how to create spell jars, make herbal poppets and brew herbal teas.

It’s an introduction to using herbs in your practice; looking at the magical properties of different herbs, how to use them, how to source them, or if you prefer, it talks you through how to harvest and dry your own herbs. Furthermore, it explores how you can blend them into your spells to harness their properties.

As I mentioned, the book is part of a series by the publisher. Other books in this series are: Moon Magic, House Magic, Love Spells, Knot Magic and Superstitions. For me, Herbal Magic is the one that stood out the most as it is part of my own personal practice.

My Thoughts
Firstly, I was slightly dubious about this book. I’ve found that when publishers do books that are part of a collection they tend not to be very good. They might choose a few topics such as: crystals, herbs, astrology etc. and release a book on each one as part of a a bigger collection. This is fine, but usually they seem quite rushed, and I’ve found that sometimes the writers are not actually knowledgeable on the topic they are writing about. For example they may not actually be a practicing Witch, Astrologer or a Green Witch; someone that works with herbs. They might be ghost writers or people who write about lots of topics. It doesn’t mean they are not well research, by any means, but for me it takes away from that personal connection the author would have with their topic.

However, I will say that this is definitely not the case with this book. As I mentioned Aurora Kane is very much a practicing witch and she has a great knowledge of the topic!

The book is really beautifully designed and I imagine a physical copy of the book is super beautiful. The images are stunning and they look like they’ve been done with watercolours as they are soft and gentle on the eye.

It’s also very poetic in the way it is written. The introduction itself is a poem and it gives the book a real magickal quality. Aurora has a lovely lyrical way of writing.

She starts by covering the basics; things like, ‘what is a herb’. You might think that’s obvious, but actually, in magick and Witchcraft the term 'herb' covers a lot of things. Like Aurora says, it’s not just the seasoning you might use when cooking. It’s all things from plants and flowers to trees. If you are a beginner looking to start working with herbal magick then this is a great book for the basics. I love how she discusses what makes herbs magickal. It’s important to know how and why things work before you start working with them.

For me, Aurora really captures why a lot of people, not just Witches, are looking at
using herbs in their daily lives. She talks about, ‘balancing the stress and unease of modern-day living with natural, simple, mindful practices.’ and for me that’s what it’s all about. Taking time out from the fast paced, sometimes chaotic world of modern life and falling back on ancient wisdom to help you navigate life in a more natural way.

I think it’s worth noting that the author takes the stance of ‘do no harm’ when using herbs in your craft. I also follow this Wiccan and Witchcraft law, but I know there are Witches out there that don’t follow the Wiccan Rede or Three Fold Law. It doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy the book, just know that it reflects the author's personal values. Saying that, she also discusses being respectful in terms of using herbs which is something that everyone needs to be aware of when using things from nature in their craft. It's important to make sure your practice is sustainable, especially when it comes to harvesting and using herbs.

One of my favourite thing about the book is the illustrations of the herbs and flowers with their correspondences - they’re so pretty! It’s how I want my book of shadows to look but I have zero artistic talent.

I also learned some new things from this book which always makes me really excited. As well as the correspondences for the herbs; what their magickal properties are, Aurora also explains other things that can enhance or as she says ‘amplify’ the power of the herbs. Things such as a herbs correspondence to an element, masculine or feminine energy, the planets and zodiac signs. In another chapter she also does something similar with colours, candles, crystals and moon phases.

I was aware that these correspondences existed, but now it’s made me excited to really consider them and take advantage of them in my magickal workings. For example, connecting with a particular element when working with a herb that is attuned to it or working with crystals and herbs with similar energies. At this point I was going to say how disappointed I was that there were no specific examples of herbs to use with the different elements, planets, crystals etc. It’s something you can easily find out, but it would have been good to have some specific examples to start with.

But! Oh my days! Later in the book my disappointed was addressed in the best way possible way, because there is a WHOLE chapter called ‘Directory of Herbs, Plants and Flowers.’ For seventy-three different herbs the author has included:
- the common name and latin name
- planetary companion
- daily correspondence
- zodiac sign
- element that connects to the herb
- it’s energy - masculine /feminine
- magickal properties
- suggested use
- AND a sample spell to get started.

The book, for me, is so worth it just for this section alone. I think for a lot of witches who are interested in Green Witchcraft or using herbs in their craft, this is the dream! It's what we hope our Grimoire would look; to have all of the correspondences for the herbs, the key information and a little illustration. Personally, I have started collating something like this for a few herbs, but to have so many done, like this, in such a beautiful way is amazing! It would be so great to have the option to print them or to have them as separate cards to add to your Grimoire.

Something else that stood out to me while reading was a little section about setting intentions. For beginners Aurora explains the basics of spell work and how to set intentions for spells. It was really useful to have a refresher of this because I feel like my intentions are all over the place at the moment, and it’s probably why my spells have not been very effective. I don’t want to give away too much but she emphasised to me just how important the small details are. Things like, being clear, being consistent, being patient and ultimately having that belief. It has some really great advice for beginners and some subtle reminders for more seasoned witches - which we all need now and again.

My favourite chapter was 'Herbal Magic Lore.' Aurora looks at Goddesses, trees and fairies. Obviously, I loved the Goddess section. She looks at a range of Goddesses from different pantheons: Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Celtic, Norse, Indigenous North American, Chinese. As well as a little bit of information about the Goddess, the main thing I liked was the herbs and flowers that link to the goddess. This is really nice to know if, like me, you are quite new to working with Goddesses. It’s a really easy way of inviting them in to your practice.

The last section of the book features a range of different spells and rituals that you can try, and adapt for your own purposes. I won’t say too much about them because there are quite a few. One I think i will try soon is for extinguishing bad habits. There is definitely a bad habit i have at the moment that i need to sort out!

Final Thoughts
I did have a negative point about the book - that there were no example herbs included with the various correspondences, however, that totally went out of the window when there was a whole chapter dedicated to the seventy-three different herbs and their correspondences. So I don’t really feel like I have any negatives.

One quick note. The author does mention ‘smudging’ when she means 'smoke cleansing', and this is something I’ve done myself in a previous YouTube video. Now I am familiar with the idea that ‘smudging’ is a specific practice and has a lot of ritual surrounding it. In most cases when we are cleansing things with herbs it is smoke cleansing. I thought it was worth pointing out so people are aware before they go into the book.

I really enjoyed the book and the author’s style so I definitely want to look at more books by Aurora Kane - particularly the one she has coming out next year! She explains things in a really lovely way and I get along well with her writing style.

I hope you enjoyed this review and found it useful. I will add a link if you want to purchase the book - let me know if you check it out and what your thoughts are.

Ophelia.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wellfleet Press for allowing me to read and review an advanced e-copy of this book.