91 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Book & Great Recipes, July 25, 2003
This book is FULL of wonderful recipes & is a great companion to the Real Witches Handbook. For those not familiar with Kate West, she's a Brit high priestest & writer. Her books are easy to read & well organized for both beginner & advanced students.
Because her work is read in different countries all over the world, there are 1-2 measurement units that require conversion to US standards. But these are simple elementary conversions. However the bulk of her recipes are in standard formats any wiccan would find in any other book. The oils, teas, & bath products recipes are given in drops, tsp, & tbsp (standard). The dry insence, potpourri, & herb recipes are given in parts (standard).
The only "tricky" measurements are in the food recipes. Since some but not all of her readers are American, she gives recipes in standard units that are familiar to most countries. (All Europeans, Austrailians, & Americans are familiar with pints.) If you prefer your measures in cups, then just remember back to 5th grade math: 1 (british)pint=2.5cups (1 US pint=2cups). And if you look right there on your measuring cup, you will probably have measurements for ounces listed right along side the cup measurements since 8oz=1cup. Or you can simply remember: 1 oz=2 tbsp
This is not rocket science, folks, so don't be scared off by customer reviews complaining about having to do simple conversions. Many times, Ms. West supplies conversions for you, such as a Harvest Moonshine recipe with calls for "8 pints (20 cups) water". Really, the pints measurements are the only "confusing" aspect, (if you are so inclined to be confused).
ALL US recipes use cups, tbsp, tsp, drops, pinches, pounds, ounces, & parts......and so does Ms. West. However, if you prefer your recipes in a different format than given, you can always write down your own version in your Book of Shadows. I had no problems following the recipes though.
This book has so many great recipes & craft/gift ideas it would be a shame to allow fear of simple math to scare you away. Here is a review of the Chapters & content which will hopefully help you in your decision on whether you would like this book:
- Introduction
1. Witchcraft & Empowering your Herbal Work. (Craft facts/info)
2. Guidelines for Buying, Using, & Storing Herbs/Plants. (13 tips)
3. Soap & Bathing Preparations. (26 recipes)
4. Oils, Lotions, & Potions. (21 recipes, blessings, & usage tips)
5. Candles & Incenses. (7 candle techniques, scents/colors, 20 incense recipes)
6. Feasting Around the Wheel of the Year. (6 specific recipes, countless tips, info, & food associations, suggestions & traditions during the Sabbats)
7. Breads, Cakes, & Biscuits to Honour the Godess & God. (12 recipes, info on design, special ideas & tips.)
8. Soups & Foods to Strengthen & Heal. (21 recipes + info & tips)
9. Brews & Teas. (10 recipes, herbal info & associations, tea reading, etc.)
10. Looking Good & Feeling Fine. (Inner/outer beauty, weight, hair, skin, feet/hands, 10 scent recipes)
11. Herb Satchets & Gifts. (15 recipes, 6 gifts, flower info)
- Terms & Definitions
- Further Information (Recommended Reading)
- Index
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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, October 15, 2005
I was so excited to bring this book home and couldn't wait to start making my own soaps, lotions, candles and incense. Upon reading the directions for these things however, I realized that I really had no need for the book. For example, she advised that to make soap you should buy castille soap, melt it and add herbs and oils to it. I think I could have figured that one out without the book. There was a section on bath teas which were simply steeped herbal teas dumped into a bath (of course if you don't mind a gritty bath you can just throw the herbs in the bath water). The creative projects were all far less than creative, the recipes less than appetizing, but the section on personal grooming was condescending and downright wrong. I think the page that most upset me was about head lice. She advised that to deter them one should not wash their hair often and to treat them wrap a combination of oil, lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus and geranium on the head in a plastic bag and then pick out the stunned nits. Stunned!? I'm all for natural cures but in the case of head lice stunned simply isn't good enough for me. Don't waste your money on this book. There are far better ones out there.
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36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Redundant, rehashed, regurgitated & disappointing :-(, May 12, 2004
I bought this because I expected there to be recipes for making soaps, my own healing & bathing products, experimenting with older recipes & so on. The rave reviews for these recipes must be from someone who has NEVER written their own chant, or read a single other Wiccan-type book, and has such a short-term memory problem they don't realize almost all the recipes, even--or especially--the Healing &/or Magick Intended use the EXACT SAME INGREDIENTS in about 80% of these so-called recipes!
Lastly, there is one recipe that looks good enough to try, for a type of fermented fruit mead, though I don't know how original it is. At least it won't be a total loss; besides those 5 ingredients are just a booster--the magick comes from within.
Instead of learning how to make liquid soaps, shower gels & such, THE AUTHOR TELLS US TO BUY READY-MADE PRODUCT and just add oil and herbs to that! That isn't exactly a unique recipe, it's a hodge podge of someone else's product taking the place of what was supposed to be the auhthors recipes. If you are looking for detailed and unique recipes, look ELSEWHERE! This is a lot of hype but no substance unfortunately. I had truly hoped that THIS time the book would be what it says it is. Sigh.
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