Customer Reviews

Morgan Le Fay's Book Of Spells And Wiccan Rites

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Author Jennifer Reif, has not descended from a long line of Witches, nor been trained in any particular branch of the Craft, just book-taught like many in the Craft today. None-the-less, she has put together an awesome treasury of rituals and spells simple enough for every level of magickal practitioner, but complicated enough that I would recommend this for more experienced practitioners.

Novices need to develop some basic skills and knowledge before tackling some of these spells. Still, anyone with an interest in honoring deities in their many cultural guises, through ritual or spellwork, should add this truly inspired compilation to their magickal libraries.

There is a brief history of Witchcraft & Wicca in the beginning and very brief background on the author herself. The rest is devoted entirely to wonderfully diverse magickal workings. They are subdivided into groupings, such as rituals for: Strength and Power --To Athena, Warrior Goddess for inner strength and power, The Veil of Isis to awaken confidence and determination; Honorable Endings and Farewells -- Banshee Macha to end malicious gossip, To the Ancient Crone for the passing of a pet; For Prosperity and Success -- Enchantment of Sri Lakshmi for prosperity; and a Multifarious Miscellany -- including, Spiral of the Delphic Oracle to obtain the answer to a question, and the Rite of the Non-ritual for joy in the moment. I am just touching the surface of what's included in this text.

It is my goal someday to perform Reif's, knock your socks off larger group ritual, Song of the Sacred Grove, a beautiful rite invoking and honoring the magic of Celtic trees. The rituals can be one day, or more in length...the Sri Lakshmi ritual is a 3-day working.

All rituals have a level of complexity that will engage and absorb practitioner(s). Along with the body of each rite, Reif provides a supply list, altar setup instructions, ritual timing and other instructions. Words are rhythmic and truly inspired. Reif has been studying and working with nature and ancient cultures since 1983. It shows through in this work. I pray that this is not the last we hear from her.

Just got through reading this new spell book. It's very goddess oriented, which I love. That is--most of the spells require invocation of a deity. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like it, as I am not really into Wicca. The title is a bit misleading: Morgan Le Fay's book of Spells and Wiccan Rituals. I thought it was going to be Arthurian Wicca or something. But wow, although the Wicca stuff is there for those who want it, what the author has put together is a blend of different spells/visualizations/workings based on various dieties and energies--all very empowering--all very user friendly.

The spells themselves are tailored to practical real life situations. The supplies needed and processes required are also practical and easily attainable. No arcane toe of dog required here, just beautiful words and evocative images!

One more thing, I don't usually rave about introductions but
I've not read as succinct and informative an intro on the history of Wicca in I don't know when.

For what you get. The price is more than right. Don't overlook this delightful little book. Here's to pleasant and magickal surprises!

Unlike the usual cookbook type spells on the market, Reif provides spells that are quite unique. The words are filled with fire and have a kind of alchemy that must have been wrought through a certain amount of personal challenge. Some spells are healing, some bring a sacred experience, while others powerfully invoke deities to assist in manifesting a certain goal. To date, my favorite is the rite of "The Sacred Marriage." I recommend this rite (actually a set of three rites)to all couples. I've also enjoyed "Banshee Macha," and "The Pentagram of Morgan Le Fay." The history was also excellent, particularly the information about the Roman Catholic Popes as law makers, and the story of how their actions lead to the Inquisition. This is a bit of history that everyone needs to know. Morgan Le Fay's Book of Spells is a mature work that will bless and transform the lives of many.

Reif weaves a spell with the soul of a poet as she brings Morgan to life and gives us a handbook that might have been written by the Priestess of Avalon herself. There are many fine points about this book which would be a valuable tool for the beginner or the advanced practitioner. Reif brings a closer look at varied Goddesses giving the reader a flavor of various different deities and does not neglect the God! Her lovely and poetic language mirrors the romantic within the author.I especially liked the fact she did not use traditional wiccan tools and instead uses a fresher approach to spell work. This is not the same old work being rehashed. This is a must have.

Jennifer Reif draws on the strengths of many pantheons to create a well-rounded selection of spells and rites for personal growth, improvement, and fulfillment. The rituals are conveniently organized, explained in detail, and powerful. There is a ritual for almost every conceivable need. I will be returning to it again and again.

I have to be honest, it took me about a year or so after I purchased this book to really sink my teeth into it, but I have had it ever since it has been out on the market.

After that period of time, I found myself flipping through the book one day and reading the rituals and spells presented in this book and thought -- WOW! The spells and rituals in this book are GREAT!! I then immediately began working through the spells and rituals presented in this book and they do work, they are easy to do and require very few and easy to obtain materials and ingrediants.

Each spell and ritual you work through, you will call upon a different Goddess or God .... sometimes a few in the same one .... A true polythestic book.

Honestly, you won't be disappointed. The spells and rituals presented here are great .... This is truly an amazing Wiccan spellbook.

Morgan le Fey's book of spells & wiccan rites is filled with lots of information, I would recommend this book for someone who knows about Goddess/Wiccan/Spells, not for a beginner.

When I first picked this book up, I leafed through the history and put it right back down. Later, I was recommended to take another look. Sure enough, the rituals are beautiful.

Reif does not claim these rituals come from Morgan Le Fay. Merely that she was inspired by the Arthurian Legend figure. Nothing more.

This time I thoroughly read through the history. Sure enough, the history is awful, having been outdated by at least 25 years by the publication of this book. Once you look at her sources you realize that they were all written when the theory presented in Reif's history was still considered true. So she's outdated and following what some of us refer to as the mythological history of Wicca. I would never recommend this book for it's history. Just skip that section and do your own research, please.

My personal pet peeve is that this book is supposedly for "any reader [to] use them immediately, even without prior Wiccan experience." While Wiccan experience sure isn't necessary for the practice of these rituals as they really are not Wicca specific, I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone delve into them immediately. Each ritual is geared towards a specific God or Goddess of varying cultures. One should be familiar with the mythologies of a particular deity before working with them. I know I'm not alone in feeling it's rude to work with deities unknown to the practitioner, so I'm sure I'm not alone on this point. (Another point: Could you imagine someone with arachnophobia working closely with Arachne not knowing anything about her and suddenly seeing spiders on a regular basis and not knowing why? XD)

Again, the ultimate point is, this book is solely for the beauty of the rituals. If you intend to use any of them, make sure to completely familiarize yourself with the mythology of the Gods and Goddesses first.

Considering that Wicca has no history going back to the Paleolithic times I can find nothing to recommend about this book. For anyone who wishes to read a truly scholarly history of Wicca I would suggest 'Triumph of the Moon' by Ronald Hutton. Wicca is a modern religion created by Gerald Gardner in the 1940's, not some ancient belief system.

As for Morgan Le Fay, she is a fictional character who doesn't even appear in the original legends about the equally fictional Arthur. So claiming that the spells come from her also rates as a piece of fiction.

Save your money, there are far better books out there.