29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thorough Catalogue of Intentions and Correspondences, November 14, 2005
This review is from: Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences: A Ritual Handbook (Paperback)
"It would be a selfish waste to accumulate knowledge and keep it all to oneself, so I have written this book. Different practitioners work magick differently. Some have no need for correspondences, but those who work as I do will find Holland's Grimoire indispensable." - From the book
For individuals who use spells, rituals, charms, and recipes as part of their spiritual path, correspondences are often an important part of magick. Author Eileen Holland, a Wiccan priestess and solitary eclectic witch, began noting correspondences when researching the ancient names of plants while living in Egypt. The information she included in her Book of Shadows was vast and she spent a decade transferring correspondences to her computer-all the while continuing research and adding more.
In Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences, Ms. Holland shares her extensive knowledge with the world, believing that the "best way to guard the Mysteries is to reveal them." Spanning 305 pages, this book is intended for experienced practitioners of magick and organized alphabetically according to intent. Some intentions have basic correspondences such as Planets, Elements, Seasons, and Astrological Signs. Other intentions have extensive correspondences including:
* Tool - Something used to accomplish a task (e.g. athames, candles, cords, rattles, wands, pendulums, etc.)
* Method - Technique or procedure for achieving a desired result (e.g. anointing, chanting, smudging, gestures, affirmations, etc.)
* Charm - Something that adds to the magick of a spell or ritual (e.g. feathers, shells, necklaces, magick powders, coins, etc.)
* Animals - Birds, reptiles, insects, fish, mammals, and mythological creatures
* Potion - Something you can drink
* Incense - Plants that can be burned
* Stone - Minerals and metallic elements
* Oil - Food, essential, and fragrance
* Plants - Toxic and non-toxic
* Gods and Goddesses - Also including Afro-Carribean loas and orishas as well as the bodhisattvas of Buddhism
* Evocation - Non-divinities such as angels, heroes, nature spirits, and demigods
* Protection - Amulets and Talismans
Other correspondences that may be included are colors, numbers, days of the week, moon phase, direction, time, and months.
Under each intention are appropriate sub-headings that are often cross-referenced. For example, under Alertness, you'll find the general correspondences but also information for and Alert Mind, Alertness to Danger and Alertness to Opportunities. When looking under Home, again there are general correspondences but a myriad of sub-categories such as Happy Home, New Home, Calm Home, Prosperous Home, Home Improvements, Attracting a New Home, Protecting a Home, and much more.
Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences is chock full of information for Craft working. Unfortunately, it doesn't include correspondences for runes, chakras, or tarot cards-which is information I'd be especially interested in. Also omitted are Sabbat correlations. The author says there was no room to include these correspondences, so she may have been forced by the publisher to limit her inclusions. This is unfortunate, because some practitioners consider chakra and Tarot correlations as very important parts of their spiritual path.
Still, there's no other book out there (that I know of) which provides such thorough cataloguing of intentions and correspondences. It's obvious that Ms. Holland is an excellent researcher who aims at making esoteric information accessible to those ready and able to use it. If correspondences are an important part of your spiritual practice, you'll benefit from the wealth of information found in Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Reference Tool, October 15, 2006
This review is from: Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences: A Ritual Handbook (Paperback)
You are considering a ritual to work on a particular topic, say for example protection on a trip. You have some basic questions like what phase of the moon should I work this ritual at, what tools should I use, what color candle, what herbs, what plant, what stones? You could spend days researching through many books to find all these answers.
The idea of this book is to put all this information in one place. This book is put together alphabetically, so all you need do is thumb through the book. For instance: "protection". Look for the subheading in bold lettering that says "protection while: on a trip". Listed under the main heading of "protection" is a cross reference to other associated topics (in this instance, amulets or safety to name a few) moon/planet associations, tools, method (in this instance "common sense"), colors, charms, animals, oils, stones, plants, herbs and Deities. Under this is specific protections, such as "Divine Protection" or "protective energy" and there are specific correspondences for each of these. And, by the way, these correspondences work just as well in a spell working as they do for a ritual.
Each topic is covered in pretty much the same way. Ms. Holland covers more than 500 topics.
If you are familiar with these correspondences this book is a blessing. Rather than racking your brain for "I know what I want but I just can't remember it right now" this book is an index at your fingertips.
This book assumes that you either know what you are doing and using this book instead of your own Book of Shadows, or you will be looking up these items to see WHY you would be using them. The book even starts with this in the opening Using this Book: " ... is intended for the experienced practitioners of magick. "
The book does not contain any "why". The beginner will not find those answers here. This book will send the student to further research the topics and entries.
Reference back to the "protection" entries I mentioned above. While some entries are small, and easy to sort out, some, like the protection entry, are huge. Running through the list, it was difficult to figure out where the entry on tools ended and method began. The list runs on into itself, with no line breaks or changes in the text to let you know where one part ends and another begins. I found myself running through the whole list to find a plant, when it would have been helpful to, say, italicize the topic word (like tools, methods, animals or plant) so you can quickly spot the reference you are looking for. This was done with bolding to the subtopics later in the entry to make it easier to reference the type of protection you may be looking for. While it may not be an issue in the smaller entries, the larger ones are harder to sort through. That was my biggest issue with the book, but one that could be easily rectified.
I liked the concept of the book. For the experienced practitioner this is a really good book to have around. And if your Book of Shadows is anything like mine, even though it is alphabetical, it is still not as organized as this book is.
This is a great idea by Ms. Holland, and if the new student realizes that this book is meant not to teach but to provide a basis from which the student can further reference, the book performs as expected. boudica
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a must-have!, December 31, 2005
This review is from: Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences: A Ritual Handbook (Paperback)
Rev. Marie of Rebeccasreads highly recommends HOLLAND'S GRIMOIRE OF MAGICKAL CORRESPONDENCES as an important edition for anyone serious about working with ritual magic & the energies of nature, especially if you're interested in other cultures & their religious traditions such as the Mayan, Egyptian, Norse, Afro-Caribbean, Celtic & Native American.
Holland presents an intriguing collection of over 500 separate topics that literally catalog what colors, actions, rituals, symbols, planets, elements, days of the week & even animals are associated with a variety of subjects from Achievement to Zeal.
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