Pagan Portals - Magic for Hedge Witches: Sourcing Ingredients, Connection, Spell Building

Magic for Hedge witches was a great read but like other reviewers have said I would recommend it to folk who have some previous knowledge for spell work. Its a book you will go back to time and again as a resource.Well written and researched. I enjoyed that the Author gave you listings on other books to follow up with as well.

This book is not an in-depth guide to the topic of magic for hedge witches but the Pagan Portals series are introductory books so this was to be expected. The book takes the reader on a whistle-stop tour through connecting with magical ingredients, trees and other items found in nature, runes, candle magic, the elements, magical bottles and sachets, ritual, magical space, animal familiars and hedge riding. But each topic is only covered superficially so if you are a beginner you may need something with more detail and if you are an experienced hedge witch, you may know this stuff already.The book contains a lot of correspondences but these are personal to the author, so may give you a new perspective on what to use and when. One thing I liked was the format of the spells. There are only a few spells in the book but they are not written out like a recipe, as is found in many spell books. Instead you are given a list of possible ingredients that you can choose from, depending on what is available to you at any given time. I liked this freedom and it also allows a witch to make her spell her own, rather than following someone else’s instructions.This is not a book to read if you want to be entertained. It is a reference book full of information about magical items and how to use them. The text is often written as if it was once a bullet pointed list made into a paragraph but that is great if you have the book next to your altar and just want to look something up quickly. Reading from cover to cover is quite a dry experience, but if you buy it intending to use it as reference then I’m sure you will not be disappointed.With thanks to Netgalley and John Hunt Publishing for providing a free advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

‘Pagan Portals: Magic for Hedge Witches’ by Harmonia Saille is the latest in Moon Books ‘Pagan Portals’ series.Harmonia Saille has written a number of books for this series including two other guides for solitary practitioners of folk magic, known as Hedge Witches.I have read a few of the Pagan Portals titles and have found them well rounded guides that combine history, theory, and practice. This short book is written in the same spirit with practical applications such as sourcing ingredients, connecting with nature, working with familiars, and creating witch bottles.Harmonia Saille also includes lists of correspondences and practical exercises such as Hedge Riding, her name for inner journeying. The book is rounded out with notes and a bibliography.I do feel that ‘Magic for Hedge Witches’ provides a foundation in folk magic especially aimed at those who may not have access to direct mentoring.