Earth Magick by Lindsay Squire and Viki Lester

 

This book is about magic and things you need to know to perform it effectively. It covers witchcraft basics like spell and circle casting, then goes on to a detailed look at the four elements. The chapter on the four seasons was refreshing - instead of the usual rehashing of the Wheel of the Year, it looks at how we can work with the seasons to strengthen our magical practice.

The section on Earth magic is comprehensive but doesn’t overwhelm the reader with endless lists of correspondences. Instead, there is a look at herbs, flowers, salt, gums and resins, incense, metals and crystals, in enough depth that you feel you are sufficiently informed to be able to use them in your magic.

I enjoyed the chapter on divination as I am currently learning tarot (although the book does not mention tarot; it is too large a subject), and was particularly taken by the part on divination dice, which I shall be looking into further. The chapter on empaths was very detailed and informative and I took a lot of advice from it. There is also an in-depth section on shadow work which I have not come across before in other witchcraft books and which I found very useful.

A special mention goes to the beautiful illustrations in the book, created by Viki Lester. They are full colour and each section of the book is accompanied by an illustrated summary, which is good for people who prefer visuals over blocks of text. Each herb, flower and crystal has its own illustration and this made the book stand out for me from other similar books. It is definitely a good reason to buy a hard copy of this book rather than the ebook.

Overall, this book is an excellent reference and guide to earth magic; it is not a one size fits all book, but rather accepts that everyone practices witchcraft in their own unique way and attempts to address these differences sensitively, while providing a guidebook to follow. Lindsay Squire does this brilliantly, and I would recommend this book to all witches, both beginners and more experienced.

With thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Leaping Hare for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions in this book are my own and the review is given freely.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐