50 Books - 2007

I have finished books 3 and 4.  I have just been procrastinatey in posting.  First - Real Witches Garden by Kate West



This one wasn't bad.  It wasn't all that it could have been, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot from it.  It has your basic Neo-Wiccan rituals and spells that can be done outdoors with some ideas for gardening and even some really good ideas for indoor gardens.  The herblore isn't anything spectacular.  A lot of it can be found in any of the Herbal Almanacs or in Cunningham's herb books. 

There were some good ideas for getting kids involved in gardening and teaching them general Neo-Pagan concepts.  Overall, not a terrible book, but not something I would buy again if given the chance.  I really just didn't learn anything new (which I admit isn't exactly fair because I have been studying herblore for a lot of years now). 

I don't know as I would reccomend it for beginners as it is pretty heavy in the author's way of practise and ritual.  I think that something a little less religiously slanted would be better for learning about plants and then you could add in your own religious views on your own.  For magical herbal information, Cunningham's Encyclopedia was far more extensive (she even reccomends it in the appendices).

Basically, if are working from a generic Neo-Wiccan practise and you have no idea about plants or gardens, then this book might be good for you.  I like the anecdotes, but I get those from Llewellyn's Herbal Almanac too.

Second - Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett



What can I say?  This was a fabulous book!  I loved it.  The writing is brilliant and I want to have Terry Pratchett over to my house for drinks!  LOL  Even the 'About the Author' was funny.  Buy this book.  Buy it for your friends.  You won't be sorry.

--Phae

Spell Construction Moves to Teen Witch

Just as we are talking about creating spells on PW, a new member over at TWO asks about creating her own spells.  I have tossed some basics at her, but if anyone else wants to add their input, I would be greatly appreciative (I have dark-side cookies). 

I was also thinking on starting a series of threads that can help the younger folks figure out the basics that they will need to build their own spells.  I have started a thread on correspondences.  I am not sure if we have threads on grounding and centering and visualization kicking around or not.  I will have to snoop around and see what I can find.

--Phae