Category: Products

Those of you who know me, know that nature and I do not get along.  I am allergic to just about anything that grows: trees, flowers, grass, and hair on all the cuddliest of pets.  This may cause you to ask, why in the world would I ask to review “Mother Nature’s Herbal” by Judith Griffin.  Easy, I never developed any food allergies and this girl loves to eat!  I was excited to learn what things I ate and drank that may already be beneficial and if there were any other yummy options out there to try.
 
Well “Mother Nature’s Herbal” met, and exceeded, my expectations.  After being out of print for nearly ten years, I can understand why it has been brought back.  Firstly, the book is a visual dream.  The cover has a beautiful aged Victorian appearance, and there are delightful vintage illustrations throughout.  Enough about the visuals though, because books are to be read!
 
This book is insanely thorough.  I’ve read my fair share of “herbals” before, and the amount of information here buries all of them combined.  Section one is entitled “A Cultural Herbal” and man she isn’t kidding around!  Native American, Mayan, colonial America, medieval era, Indian, Oriental, Mediterranean, and other cultures are all represented here.  Unlike other books, Griffin doesn’t just give you a list and move on.  Each chapter gives you a lesson in the culture and history of herbal use of the region, along with the author’s personal experiences of learning and working with the herbs.  In addition, the big pay off for me…recipes!  For instance, want to know how to make a colonial Thanksgiving turkey, pesto genovese, or paneer?  Then buy this book!  Now, not only can I justify my love of Indian food because of its herbal health benefits, I can try making some of my favorite dishes!
 
The second section of “Mother Nature’s Herbal” is “Grow and Use Your Own Herbs”.  Not being the hands in the earth kind of gal, this part wasn’t nearly as exciting.  That said, it was detailed, but written plainly enough, that even a indoors gal like myself could clearly understand how to grow a garden.  Griffin covers just about anything you may want to know: how to grow your herbs organically, landscape plans for themed herb gardens, using old roses, and so much more.
 
After that, she advises you on what to do with your herbal harvests, such as herb vinegars, no salt herbal blends, teas, and again, much more.  There is also a section devoted to the use of essential oils and flower essences that you may make out of your harvest.  There’s even a growing guide, nutrient guide, and purchasing guide in the appendices.
 
“Mother Nature’s Herbal” is a fabulous resource, whether you’re a gardener, or just someone who likes to learn more about the food you eat.

“The Goodly Spellbook: Olde Spells for Modern Problems” should be required reading for anyone even considering studying magic.  End of review.  Seriously, I have read my fair share of books examining magical systems, schools, or spells, and none have impressed and inspired me as much as this book.  I haven’t been this thankful for a book since “Magick for Beginners” by J.H. Brennan, and since that one is getting hard to come by, I’m extra glad to have a new book to recommend to any interested in magic.  Now that you all know I LOVE this book, let me tell you why.
 
“The Goodly Spellbook” is written by Lady Passion and *Diuvei, who are High Priestess and High Priest of Coven Oldenwilde.  Those of you who have been with The Magical Buffet since the beginning are no strangers to these names.  Coven Oldenwilde was the first organization we profiled in issue one.  In the very next issue Lady Passion wrote an article called, “THE WILD, WITCHY RIDE: How to Create and Conduct Elaborate, Popular, Public Sabbats”.  I knew that Coven Oldenwilde was a special group and that Lady Passion was a gifted writer, I expected an interesting read, but instead was blown away.  I started reading the preface of the newly released paperback, which was fine, but then on page 17 I read this line and knew I was about to read something extraordinary.  “Magic is an authentic spiritual practice, best used in tandem with medical, legal, and other reasonable measures.”  This sentence may seem mundane to some, but any who have read books about magic know that this level of intelligence and rationale are rarely exhibited. 
 
In my opinion the book’s title is not adequate.  “The Goodly Spellbook” sounds like it’s just a bunch of spells.  A book of lists.  This is not the case.  The book is divided into 3 parts, scope, skills, and spells.  The scope section is equal parts history, philosophy, and ethics.  If everyone knew that all practitioners of magic followed the ethics laid out in this book, no one would fear magicians.  Moreover, before all you haters out there get started, the Wiccan Rede is not printed in this text.  So no fluffy bunny comments are allowed.
 
The skill section is a collection of everything you could ever need to know.  A person could devote their whole life to the study of just what is in this skill section, never opening another book.  “The Goodly Spellbook” covers correspondences, scrying, geomancy, chants, charms, magical alphabets, mystical dance, knot magic, and tons more!
 
Finally, the spell section has roughly 92 different spells for review.  Each spell is described in detail, including variations, spell origin, timing, ingredients, recommended ambiance, and a section devoted to the magical theory behind the spell.  For once, reading from a published spellbook is engaging.
 
It’s not just flash, there is real substance.  Any leaders of a Coven could write a book about their unique practices, but “The Goodly Spellbook” not only discusses Coven Oldenwilde’s use of magic but also is thoroughly researched.  The book is littered with footnotes that attribute a multitude of sources, and the bibliography, which is handily divided up by section (scope, skills, spells), is an impressive reading list, filled with respected classics and new interpretations.
 
Technically, I ended the review in the first paragraph, but for those of you here at the end, take this to heart, if you want to know what all magical practices should aspire to be, read “The Goodly Spellbook”.  End of review, this time I mean it.

When you first start to read “Your Altar” by Sandra Kynes, you may feel a bit overwhelmed.  If you’re like me, when you think of setting up an altar, particularly a home altar, you imagine a wonderful jumble of icons, mementos, crystals, and aromas.  Set up solely to please the eye, with no deeper thought than that.  Then you open up “Your Altar” and you find yourself going, what?!  You want me to follow set ups?!  Some so involved that I may want to chart them out?!  Whatcha talkin’ about Sandra?
 
Then as you continue to read, you realize what’s going on.  Sandra Kynes is providing us with a guide to exploring our relationship with our altar.  She offers various game plans from approaching one-part altars (you know, altars with one thing) up to nine-part altars (you can guess the difference right?).  I know, this still sounds complex and overwhelming, but once you settle in and surrender yourself to the book all becomes well.
 
“Your Altar” isn’t just a book about altars, although obviously it could have been.  This is a book about symbolism, history, meditation, archetypes, and how all of that can be used to create your personal altar.  Each altar set up is its own chapter, rich with details, charts, and diagrams all designed to help you determine what is right for you.  Honestly, the book is so authoritative on matters of symbolism that I will probably add it to my stock of reference books that I go to when writing articles about symbols for The Magical Buffet magazine!  This book isn’t a rulebook; it’s a guidebook.  A map to your altar, if you will. 
 
Before you start learning about different altar set ups Kynes talks about meditation.  It’s a wonderful little introduction to the concept of meditation for someone new to the idea, and a nice reminder of how it should be approached for those familiar with the practice.
 
The first Appendix to the book gives a very brief overview of the history of altars.  Obviously, I found this to be tremendously interesting and could’ve read a whole book just about this.  Perhaps that will be Kynes next book.  She follows that Appendix with a second one about preparing crystals and gemstones for use.  A very helpful section that serves to remind us that you cannot just slap a quartz point down and call it a day. 
 
“Your Altar” although at first may seem constrictive in the end can be a map to personal spiritual freedom.