Customer Reviews

Fairy Spells: Seeing & Communicating with the Fairies

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This small hardcover book is illustrated with many famous paintings from the past. It's an interesting mixture of things, as the author talks as much about angels as she does about faerie, relegating the latter to things of children and vegetation and other "lesser energies." That's probably the biggest issue I take with the book. In many ways, she makes work with fairy seem almost formulaic, providing information on fairy hours and special days and what she calls "fairy dieties."

Some of the advice given is very Christian in orientation, making this a good book for those who see faerie in that way. In it she writes "I who walk with angels would walk with the fairies," and describes a secret well of the heart called the Cup of Mary. Her spells are formulaic as well, with lots of poetry, and they link fairy with angels in a way that isn't comfortable for me.

Although I don't particularly like this book, I agree with her writing on the use of imagination and intuition as gateways to faerie. She stresses the importance of attitude and intent in working with them and I agree.

The book makes no references to other books, and no bibliography is included. It's not one I'd particularly recommend.

This book is called Fairy Spells, leading one to believe that the book has, well, fairy spells. There are only about two passages that might be construed as spells, and they are badly constructed and far too cumbersome to be of any use. The information on fairies was a rehash of 18th century poets and didn't bring anything new or interesting to the subject.

The pictures were lovely, and the poetry was very nice, so it gets two stars for that. But to be honest, I got more relevant information about fairies from the movie Fairy Tale, and that was not the best of movies.

If you like poetry and general information on fairies, than this is a good book for you. But the book is called Fairy Spells and just doesn't live up to the title. Anyone who actually wants to connect with the fairy realm would do much better to turn to just about anything written by the Frouds and leave this overpriced nicely illustrated book on the shelves.

I was a bit hesitant about purchasing this book because other people had given it a poor review. But I LOVED it! It was informative, with beautiful pictures. I admit it did not have many spells, making the title misleading, but it was beautiful, and worth buying.

But I would recommend it. It isn't like typical spell books. It is, however, beautiful, and I believe that the author had the best intentions. Contains a lot of information, advice, and spells for you to sift through, and you can choose what applies to your own life. Books on fairies are relatively scarce; although this one isn't perfect, it's worth reading.

Merry meet, I bought this book a few weeks ago and I was looking very forward to reading it, however i got a big surprise when I did. I think the author of this book is from another planet. I wouldn't recommend this book to my worst enemy. This is not a book of fairy spells, i don't even think it has any spells in it unless you consider spitting on your arm and drawing a "cross" w/ the spit to cure dry skin a spell. The author tells people to go into the woods alone at night to see fairies and that fairies posses people and make them gorge themselves to death. I have no idea why the title of the book is "Fairy Spells". The only thing I actually liked about this book were the pictures. The author also tells people that the world use to be like some fairy tale world until some big demon came and made the fairies leave, and this is why we can't see them anymore? Needless to say, I returned the book and from now on I think I am going to stick w/ Llewellyn Publications. Blessed be to all...

This little book is a gem.It tells you how the author thinks about the fairies,and give you many guidelines in how to get in contact with them.Besides the works by Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth(especially "The Faeries'Oracle"),this is the best book on contacting the fairies I've read.

This book was given to me as a gift a long time ago - it certainly isn't something I would buy for myself, so perhaps I'm not the most qualified person to review it considering I don't adhere to the belief system that author Claire Nahmad does (whatever that may be; it seems to be an old blend of pantheism, Christianity and Wicca), so consider this a "may as well" kind of review!

My overall impression of "Fairy Spells" was that it's an odd little book, with no real rhyme or reason to it. The stated purpose of it is to help people "see and communicate with fairies," but though Nahmad provides information on the most auspicious days and hours, the most likely locations, what to expect, and what spells or prayers to invoke in order to achieve this goal, she also goes off onto a tangent several times. Although the book does not have a particularly large page count, it includes several full-page illustrations, poems, meditation tips, anecdotes of her personal experiences and the "spells" of the title - though they appear to be more folk remedies, and aren't as prevalent as the title would have you believe.

In fact, there's so much going on in this book that it almost comes across as an anthology of various bits and pieces, and terms such as "Creatures of the Shadow" and "the Earth Angel" are dropped without any explanation whatsoever. I can only assume that these terms mean something to people involved in the religion itself, though there is a strange ideology at work here when Nahmad says things like: "There are angels of light and angels of darkness, and the fairies definitely serve the former. There are gruesome creatures who serve the dark angels, but we need have no fear of them." Though I don't think Christianity and pagan-based belief systems are necessarily incompatible, what is presented here feels more like a personal belief system Nahmad has created for herself rather than anything I've heard of in my (admittedly limited) knowledge of Wicca or pantheism.

There's nothing wrong with that of course, so long as you know what the buyer is getting for their money beforehand, but at times it all come across (as another reviewer succinctly put it) as rather fruit-loopy. Nahmad tells us:

"Visionaries of our age assure us that gathering around our planet is an ethereal mantle of divine light composed of angelic substance, imbued with the vibrations of higher intelligence emanating from a pure and elevated source in the cosmos," and on the next page: "Seers and physics assure us that in spite of our ravages of what the fairies hold most dear, in spite of the painful limitations of our truncated visions, the time is ripe and even urgent for the rediscovery of the enchanted fairy realms."

Really? What seers? What visionaries? Who is "they"? I'm pretty sure the likes of Steven Hawkings have never claimed that "angelic substance" orbits the planet. If you're going to include such fantastical theories, some citations would be helpful.

In terms of presentation, this is indeed a beautiful little book with glossy pages and full-colour illustrations. It's just that it doesn't quite seem to know what it *is*, and as such seems rather at odds with itself as a mishmash of ideas, theories and random thoughts. And if I let my cynical side speak, there is something to be said for the general way in which the "communicating" process is described: "you will need to speak to them in your heart, perhaps several times as you sit in solitude and silence, revisiting your chosen spot, before they will venture to trust you; and when they begin to communicate with you, it is likely that some time will elapse before they allow you to see their ethereal forms shimmering in the sunlight, or appearing like the lineaments of a dream as they dance translucent through soft mists and gentle rain."

I consider myself in touch with my spiritual side; but this just feels a little hokey to me, especially with the book's subtle-but-clear subtext: "if you can't see them yet, you're just not being patient enough."

This book is great! It seems that the world is more beautiful after I did some of the spells. I am more peaceful, humorous, and easy going now. Huh, imagine that. To all believers, READ THIS BOOK!

This work is a wonderfully illustrated epistle on the subject of Fairies, the Little Ones from the Astral Realm that can influence our lives for the better.

However, the author of this work appears to be very confused in her theology, insisting on the Christian and Pagan theologies' dual validity in an effort to support her theories. This is simply a metaphysical impossibility.

Given the wonderful artwork in this work, I recommend it as a book for the art lover; however, I do not recommend it for any serious study of Pagan theology, metaphysics, of the Fairies themselves.

Blessed Be and May The Light Of The Goddess Shine Upon You All.

Love and Light,
TRISTON JAY AMERO

This is an incredibly beautiful book! Even the appearence of the outside. It's such a charming size. The cover is gorgeous. There are many other pictures that mach up to the cover's beauty inside. On about every-other page or so are detailed faery paintings by professional artists. I recognized a few of the paintings from fantasy-type sites I've seen on the internet. And the pages themselves are glossy and lovely. It's very easy to read and understand. From the title, one might expect "Fairy Spells" to mean this is a book that teaches one how to make charms, mix herbs, or perhaps even stating "mystical" rhymes. What this book really is about is more... preparation for contacting the faeries. It's about heightening your senses, listening to nature... paying attention to the vibes you get when seeking the faeries. There are a few little "spells" in there. One I specifically remember is a "protection" spell, to use when you're out in the forest and you start to get bad feelings from the fairies. Or if you're lost and being "faery led," imagining certain images and saying certain things may help you overcome the sensations. If your a fan of the Fae, or really like fantasy/faery art... this is an incredibly perfect book for you. If you're a hardcore Wiccan and searching for something that contains many rituals which in turn will create abundant results... then you should probably continue browsing. Then again, a big part of magic, aside from charms and spells, is the spirit; how one feels about and sees the world around them. Little books like this can help that sort of thing.