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Witchcraft isn’t a Harry Potter fantasy movie. It also doesn’t require you to eat babies, smear your body in pig fat and howl at the full moon. Unless, of course, you really want it to (just kidding about the eating babies part). Modern witchcraft is the practice and, for some, the lifestyle of honoring nature and using the energies around us and within us to create real change. Many witches believe in a higher power, but that is truly not required to practice the craft. In fact, the great thing about being a witch is that YOU can make up your own practice and follow your OWN rules. Onto the Types of Witches… 1. The Green Witch The Forager’s Harvest by Samuel Thayer is a book that should be on every green witch’s bookshelf. If you’re a green witch, you’re a natural forager. Learn how to properly identify, harvest, and prepare edible wild plants with this guide. 2. Foraging and Feasting
Green Witch Books, Blogs, and YT Channels The Official List of Green Witch Books, Blogs, and YT Channels
So in essence, to sum: The author repeatedly proves themselves historically incompetent several times throughout the course of just this minuscule portion of the book alone (despite even mentioning the properly respectable historian Owen Davies, even. Though she did arguably misrepresent a conclusion of his research)-- as well as proving themselves simply uneducated about basic facets of Neopagan practice that have frankly been standardized long enough there's no excuse for being so far off the mark. And with the leaps and bounds we've made in our historical knowledge, there's doubly no excuse for how bad this book is. The book also contains a myriad of meditations; energy sensing techniques; spells and recipes; all of which are suitable for witches of any experience level. It covers methods of initiating yourself as a solitary green witch, to methods of deepening your practice, making it over all the perfect book for anyone looking to get started on the green witch's path. It's also highly readable, with easily understandable language, allowing the reader to fly through. The icing on the cake is truly them saying that "This yearning [for the simpler time of the past] isn’t nostalgia, which is a longing for an airbrushed memory. It is a genuine subconscious draw to knowledge that has been obscured by innovation, progress, and improvement"; when you blatantly rewrite the truth of history (as best we understand it) at your whim so as to suit false historical narratives and push an undeserved complex of superiority and non-existent persecution... What you are participating in may not be nostalgia, insomuch as you were never there to experience something to be nostalgic about later in the first place... But I promise that what you're doing is certainly far, far worse. Green Witchcraft 1, 2, and 3 by Ann Moura is a favorite among Wiccans and Green witches alike. If you learn more towards Wicca, you’ll love Ann Moura’s books. 3. Grimoire for the Green WitchWant to learn more about wildflowers and their energies? Read Wildflower Folklore by Laura C. Martin. Green Witch Blogs 1. Sarah Anne Lawless Moura does a great job describing the various aspects of Green witchcraft, showing the difference between religious and spiritual practices of witchcraft. Also great and unique, as many modern Wiccan authors no longer do so, she explains in detail traditional Wicca- terms, tools, and practices, while keeping with an eclectic theme. but really, where *does* the author get all this stuff about the green witch path? I get that the real history is much less important to witches than the mythical history (p. 21), but I care! I hate the false, insulating sense of timelessness and culturelessness it creates. If it's her own creation or that of a community located in spacetime she should say so. The loveliest bit of irony, though, I think, is the specific mention of how Pow Wow (properly called Braucherei) "healers were also spellcasters who performed folk magic particular to the region"... Considering Braucherei is, thoroughly and without question, a Christian folk tradition. Doubly especially since the emphasis is specifically on God and Scripture as the mediums through which the healing is enacted- not the power of a practitioner- and it's largely not considered "Witchcraft" by said practitioners. Further on, when talking about practices related to Greencraft I can ignore the exclusion of Cottagecraft and Hearthcraft (the final two members of the family of Domestic practices to which Greencraft arguably belongs). And I will heartily admit that they managed a definition of Kitchencraft that's close enough within an acceptable ballpark that I have no real complaints. But her definition of Hedgewitch is just as shoddy as her historicism (we'll get to that), and leaves far too much to be desired; at this point I have zero hope that any other area of this book will be better.
The best witchcraft books for modern witches The best witchcraft books for modern witches
Green witchcraft is the sister of folk magic from which it stems from, often overlapping. The green witch originates from village medicine women, healers, midwives, cunning folk, and grandmother's who appeared to have a magic touch with remedies. The green witch stems from common folk, often lower class, and solitary women who understood nature's healing before science caught up. Get yourself a journal or composition book. It can be fancy or basic. This will serve as your grimoire or Book of Shadows. Keep all your notes on the genius loci in your journal. Write about your experiences in the woods and on your local land, any dreams you have, and document the local plants and trees along with their folklore, medicinal properties, and magical properties. 3. Grow GREEN ThingsLet's start with something simple regarding the actual content, then... Not in 20 years of practice have I ever once heard that we "use the phrase 'living the path' instead of simply saying 'practicing green witchcraft'". If they made it up for their own practice, and the author themself wants to say that? Fine with me. Good on them... But literally no one says that. They just don't. That's not a "Green Witch" thing. The most important thing when learning how to become a green witch is to get outside as much as humanly possible. In modern times, people spend over two-thirds of their lives indoors. What a shame when nature has so much to offer the human spirit and body! By going outside, you’re not only connecting with the earth and the elements, you’re cleansing your aura of negative energetic debris and supporting your overall health. The rest will come naturally. 9. Working With Wildlife This section is large, and once again, the author does a great ob keeping in balance with presenting information to beginners while catering to to more advanced workers. Below are the items that I had problems with: Another of Ann Moura’s green books, Grimoire for the Green Witch provides a full Book of Shadows for readers to use and adapt for their own green traditions. 4. A Green Witch’s Cupboard
The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock | Waterstones
The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz is a timeless fairy book from the early twentieth century that every green witch should read. It gives an idea as to how the belief in fairies was widespread over the continent of Europe. Even my kids love hearing the fairy stories in this book! 5. Wildflower FolkloreThis new herbal guide by Maia Toll and Kate O’Hara will have you gawking at the beautiful artwork. 36 bewitching botanicals are detailed within. 4. The Witching Herbs Many green witches may not associate their practice as religious. This not to say Green Witchcraft can't also be a religion, with dedicated holidays, practices, deities, and prayer. But this not necessary, as green witchcraft is also practiced by secular witches for their own personal magic. One may use the triple goddess to symbolize the cycles of nature or different deities; to me, Maiden, Mother, and Crone are both and all. Related Articles
Green Witch: Herbal Witchcraft Course – Spells8 The Green Witch: Herbal Witchcraft Course – Spells8
It's grating to the last drop. But the history is really where the author just completely fails in every single regard. puts "earth" and "humanity" before "yourself" as the focuses of green witchcraft (p. 16), but then all the spells/crafts/rituals are about things you can do for yourself and maybe your friend circle and/or customers of your small business. That's not much of a definition of other humans, much less the earth. There's so much nonsense that I legitimately don't know what to say or where to start, so I'll start as short and simply as I possibly can: This book is shit. A masterpiece of standard Neopagan nonsense; severely disappointing, as this book comes so well recommended. A Green Witch can also be a Kitchen Witch, and in many ways they are similar. Green Witches consider plants, herbs, flowers and weeds to be sacred, full of Magical potential. The Kitchen Witch definitely adheres to the keep-it-simple outlook. If something is available and contains the right symbolism, it’s fair game for Kitchen Magic. Are Green Witches Hedge Witches? The spell "recipe" section is also decent; lots of different methods and a solid, albeit brief overview of working with energy. I also enjoyed her tea and oil recipes.NOTE* Do not let my review sway you from trying out this book to see if it suits your purposes, it very well may!! Harvest a bit of the same plant – be it a flower, seed pod, bark, etc. While you harvest, thank the plant for nourishing your dream and growing it to reality. You are symbolically harvesting/reaping your dreams. NOTE: This spell is 2 parts. You’ll perform the 1 stpart on the New Moon, which is preparation, and then on the Full Moon the 2 ndpart will be completed which is manifestation or the harvest. Discover the power of natural magic and healing through herbs, flowers, and essential oils in this new guide to green witchcraft.
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