by Rae Beth
The back cover reminds us that “village wisewomen and men, the community’s witches, have always helped to heal wounded lives.” It goes to state that “when disaster strikes, or when we’re struggling through things such as divorce or family conflict, today’s hedge witchcraft can still give the means to help ourselves and others … What is presented here is not superficial and not a shortcut. Rather, it is a powerful process, a method which can be adapted to any situation where help may be needed.”
This book is not for the experienced practitioner, but Rae Beth has produced an excellent volume that begins from the very basic concepts of ethical magic working, with light and easily comprehensible explanations of the reasons behind them. She believes that the Universe holds everything we need to live healthy, happy and abundant lives, and gives both the general rules of spellcraft and some practical ideas to help improve lives. Ideas include a heal-anything spell, a spell for psychic protection, and a spell for healing trauma, and she also details the principles around which anyone can build a spell of their own. The book includes an appendix of magical correspondences to help in building your own spells or adapting hers. I would recommend reading the whole book before starting to practise spellcraft, as words of wisdom are scattered throughout.
The only place where a “spiritual” paradigm would part company with Rae Beth is when she states that she does not believe that we attract everything that occurs in our lives. However, she does advocate a very gentle form of “white” witchcraft, and shapes her spells to avoid harming anyone. She even asks that if the fault is her own, then the spell should work on herself, as well as or instead of the other. Also included throughout are the ethics of spellcraft. In a nutshell, the Wiccan Rede applies – “an it harm none, do what you will” – but she expands on this to show how easy it is to unwittingly harm someone. Doing so, as every witch worth her faery companion knows, can result in the spell rebounding on you – possibly even threefold.
Review by Karen Tucker
Publisher: Robert Hale Ltd www.halebooks.com ISBN: 978-0-7090-8618-5
