Customer Reviews

The Complete Book of Spells, Curses and Magical Recipes (Complete Book Of... (Barricade Books))

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

If you want to learn about Witchcraft, there are much better books out there. This book is based on a biased Christian view. Not at all what modern Craft is about.

Spend your money elsewhere.

Blessed be...

When I first bought this book I was a newcomer to witchcraft, and thought that it would be perfect to get me started. But as I read more of the book, I became disappointed. It has hardly anything to do with witches, it doesn't tell you proper spells, and the author treats all witches as black magic partitioners. TERRIBLE

This book is made up of many small historical notes, comments, and some spells. However, most of this seems to be post christian, since much of the information has refrences to "God" or "Satan". The author had several comments on information that came off as satirical-in a negative way, espically towards the little bit of info that wasn't related to christian views. The author also has a very negitive view of wicca. This book has more to do with early christian magic, and how the two oppisite views were combined, before the church could convince people to give up those magical ways.

I rated this as one star because that is the lowest rating available. I just received my copy and will promptly return it. I was disgusted with almost all of the concepts in this book. When I read the spell for turning yourself into a hare, and it included the phrase "in the devil's name," I had to close the book. The whole idea of the Devil and Satan are Christian concepts. They have nothing to do with Witchcraft.

I feel that if you want a very narrow minded and sinister view of witchcraft, you will love this book. Writing like this fuels religious pejudices and breeds ignorance.

Modern witches and wiccans have come a long ways in gaining acceptance in society, this kind of literature a major set back.

At the time I thought of buying this book I was so excited and so attracted by the title, but now and after partially reading it I felt that it wasn't exactly what I wanted! It's not the kind of book that gives you clear description about every spell and it exact effects nor help you develop you own.

Words fail me... This book is just a whole bunch of occult "stuff" slapped together. He took anything and everything from all the "hokus-pokus" books he could find and just made a book; does this man even practice any pagan religion? If you are truly looking for a resouce of spell, magick and information this is NOT it.

This is not a wiccan spell book but rather the author has done some historical research and formulated various spells and superstitions in one book. Like he says in the preface, its a book that someone would be intrigued by the title and then open it to a random page and be able to read a small section on for example how in old ireland a frog would be put in your mouth to cure a sore throat - hence came the term "having a frog in your throat". It also recites some phrases to summon demons and the correct diameters for casting as circle.

He does use a humourous tone and pokes fun at some of the old ways that people of that time believed in (which will most definately offend your more high-strung wiccans) but his information is well researched and from what I can tell it is historically correct.

He says that these can be put into practice but I'm not sure I can entirely agree with that. I did however find it an interesting read and some of the stories quite amusing. All in all a well written and interesting book.

This is a wonderful book on the history and lore of witchcraft. It includes many cultures and peoples. I found this book very interesting. I also bought this book because I thought it was about modern witchcraft and a resource book but even though it wasn't, found it VERY hard to put down.

This book was a great disappointment, and took the worst of any historically recorded heresay and wrote it as fact. Not once did the author seem to realise the topic he was writing about is a serious issue, and that many people believe strongly in the Wiccan and neo-Pagan religion, yes, religion, that is sweeping the country. "Dr." Ashley(more like Assley) of course gets it right telling us all about his emeritus status and where he was taught and such, but his book belies his alleged educational status. To think such a narrow-minded person is actually -teaching- others without doing proper research for his own book and is making money on a book with a catchy title is frightening. One's money would be much better spent on -anything- by the late great Scott Cunningham, whom "Dr." Assley demeans on page 190 of his book. I have news for "Dr." Assley -- he couldn't even compare to Cunningham, who researched his books and was never condescending to his readers. "Dr." Assley took the worst out of every encyclopaedia of the witch hunts and made the spells worse, if that is possible. Please, save your time and money and do not buy this book. Take it from someone who was taken in by the title and the fact that no one had reviewed it as yet, or at least that is what Amazon said, perhaps to lure yet another unsuspecting proud to be Wiccan into the pit of boredom and questionable attempts by the author to be witty. Give this book a big yawn, oh great emeritus professor, and know you have not only shown us how you got your degree(vapor lock on someone's ..., methinks), but also have demeaned yourself, your publisher, and made me an ever greater fan of Scott Cunningham than I already was. If there were a way to give you a negative rating, believe me, I'd have done so. My only comfort is the law of three, that what you do to others returns to you at least three-fold. May Scott Cunningham enjoy watching you pay your dues, only he is peacefully in the Summerlands or beyond. My book is in the mail, being returned right now, and I want every penny I paid for postage and handling of such unresearched, poorly written drivel. A two thumbs down on this one, and may someone of the left path have some fun with you, "Dr." Ashley.

The people who have bought this book and then negatively reviewed it because they were seeking a primer in Witchcraft 101 are missing the point. This book isn't really meant to be a guide, and if it errs anywhere it is in the description on the back cover which is misleading. Fortunately, as a practicing witch I bought the book after leafing through it because it looked rather interesting. It's a bit like the Book of English Magic in that it throws bits and pieces of information into the mix, only this book features samples of spells, cures and curses from all over the world. It certainly didn't read as a spell-caster's guide. If you want something like that then there are plenty of good books on the market. I'd highly recommend "Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters" as a start, or "Spells and How They Work" by Farrar. Dr. Ashley's book reads more like a volume of quaint magical trivia, and smart witches might even find something in there to use. As such, I'm quite happy to have it on my shelf, but not where my serious books are.

One more comment by another review deserves correction. Someone said that Dr. Ashley was working from the assumption at all witches are evil. That is not true. He mentions having witches as friends and even describes them as "pleasant people." His interest in magic indicates that he is at least open to practitioners and while I suspect he is working from a Christian base there is nothing intrinsically wrong with that. I know a number of Christians who are quite accepting of my beliefs and practices, and who possess a curiosity of esoteric matters similar to Dr. Ashley's.

Not quite a five star book, but worth the read. I recommend it.