Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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189 of 194 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Recomended Book of Spells. The Ultimate!!!, June 19, 2004
Destined to be a classic. The Only Book on Spells You Will Ever Need.This Book is not a Book on "Wiccan Magick" , although Wiccans who are not fluff bunnies, and are more open mided to learning could use it, and benefit greatly from this Book. It is a book on Folk Magic, from Brujeria, Santeria, Espiritismo, From Latin America, To Egypt, and other ancient cultures, from around the world. Many of these Earth-Magico Cultures do not believe in the concept of "Karma" so many of these Spells would be shunned by Wiccans. With that said.. I Love this Book. I hope the Author does a similar book on Magical Ceremonies and Rites and Passages. There are little books of spells, cheap book of spells, and so so book of spells, well this is the Ultimate Huge Tome of Spells. An Encyclopedia of Magical Spells from around the world, this book defiantly belongs in every Witches bookshelf. Over 1000 pages of spells, baths, infusions, the spells range from everything from Santeria, Strega, Vodou, Spiritism, Brujeria, Shamanism, and traditional Witchcraft. Unlike other spell books, this will defiantly be of great usage to its owner. One of the best Book of Shadows ever printed. The Tome, because it is Huge has everything from Banishing, Cleansings, Baths, Protection Spells. Everything from Seances, to calling on Spirits of Nature, from White Magic, to Black Magic, and everything in between. Here is a preview of the table of context.
Spell casting, - Ritual and Tools, - Animal Spells - Banishing Spells - Business Success Spells - Cleansing Spells, - Court case, Legal, Justice Spells - Death Spells (Yes there is much on Black Magic, for those weak of heart) Ghost, Necromancy, and Vampire Spells. - Divination Spells - Domination, Influence Spells - Dream, Astral, Nightmare Spells- The Evil Eye - Fertility Spells - Safety Spells - Gamblers Spells, and Charms - Happy Home Spells - Healing Spells - Hexes and Curses - Invisibility, and Transformation spells - Love and Seduction Spells - Luck Spells - Marriage and Divorcee Spells, - Money, Wealth, Prosperity and financial spells - Children Spells - Protection Spells - Psychic powers - Summoning Spirits - unblocking spells - weather spells, and trust me, so much more...
A person would have to spend allot of money, on many books and still would not get half of what this book has to offer.
I have to give much praise to Judika Illes; this book will defiantly be one I will use for many years. This is my first book by this author, and know I have to purchase her other works. But I can not recommend this TOME enough, it is defiantly a must have for all Witches, and brujos. For all that you get in this huge book, the price is excellent, and very affordable. The Spells are simple and traditional spells that were used by our ancestors and are still effective today. No where will you get a book like this. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would.
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49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jaw-Droppingly Unbelievable Resource on Spells, December 1, 2005
I'm not one for buying spell books. I prefer to write my own, always have. So when I got this as a gift, I was interested, but dubious. I was unsure of what it had to offer me that would be of any sort of relevance. Boy oh boy was I wrong.
This book is 1108 pages of unbelievable resources, containing every type of spell for every type of purpose you could imagine. Weather Magic, Animal Magic, Happy Home Spells, Unblocking Spells, Spirit Summoning Spells, and everything in between. But the absolute most helpful part of the book is the Formulary section, which contains recipes for potions, powders, incenses, spell waters, and other commonly used but difficult to find or expensive to buy spell compliments. This book has paid for itself just on the Four Thieves Vinegar recipe alone.
I find myself returning to this book for inspirations on writing spells frequently, and this is the first commercial spell book that I've bought that I actually feel comfortable using the spells out of. Most of the spells are of the "non-fluffy" folk magic variety, which in and of itself is a pleasant change. The tables section at the very back of the book which features various spell correspondences such as color associations, numerical associations, and astrological correspondences is also very helpful, and it should be the first thing that you read in this book. I love how this book is divided into magical intent, making it easy to find what you're looking for, but also has a comprehensive index so if you want, say, bath potions to help with dream spells, flip to the index and you'll find it. This book is well laid out and very easy to use, a big plus since with 1100+ pages, this book could have easily have been too daunting for practical use.
This book does take some things for granted, however. It is assumed that you come to this book with a basic understanding of spell casting, circle casting, and ritual work, not to mention a basic understanding of metaphysical topics. Comparatively little to no time is spent on telling the reader how to set up, cast, maintain, and take down a magical circle. Other fundamental basics such as grounding, meditation, centering, and the like are brushed over. I have no complaints about this because, even though these basics are instrumental in making a good spell work, it's nice to pick up a book that assumes that you know this stuff already. Last thing I need is another book that tells me the 1,879th method for circle casting and breakdown, especially considering this is something I've worked out for myself awhile ago. :D
The next thing that it takes for granted is that you have worked out the ethics of spell casting and ritual work based on either your own personal moral structure, or the moral and ethical structure you've adopted via your religious beliefs. And that you can distinguish between a "moral" spell and an "immoral" spell without being prompted, and will be able to determine for yourself your personal limits on spell casting. What I'm saying here is that this is *not* a "Wiccan Spell Book" and the book is not made up entirely of the "Harm None" mentality. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there are entire branches of the book that people who strictly follow the Rede and the Threefold Law, such as the chapter on Hexes, the chapter on Domination, Persuasion, and Influence, and the Necromancy section, would not be able to use, if they didn't find flat out offensive. I'd dare say for some, the Weather Section would occasionally wander over that line. HOWEVER, there are those of us that subscribe to the philosophy that in order to be truly educated on the Magical Arts, one should be familiar with these topics, if only so we know how to defeat them. For this fact, I applaud that these topics were included in the book, and I think people who follow general Witchcraft and other religions of philosophies not bound by the Three-Fold or Wiccan Rede would also appreciate this.
This book is a great find, and I suggest it to anyone who wants a good resource for spell ideas, a glimpse at different forms of spell casting, or formulas for spell components in their already established ritual use. I would not suggest this book for beginners on the metaphysical or spell casting path, or to people not serious in the topic, since this book does assume the reader has a firm grasp on the cores and basics of spell casting (including ethics and morality), and because for the beginner or the person not seriously involved in the topic, a lot of it could be confusing.
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52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Potions, Charms and Ritual than merely Spells..., December 16, 2004
but very, very good.
I first came across this book while killing time in a mall bookstore. I was intrigued by the information listed on the cover and promptly came home to look up the author and the book. While Ms. Illes' website didn't contain as much information as I'd hoped for, it did give me enough insight into the author that I felt I could trust her work. The reviews I found online were also helpful. I returned to the bookstore and found a comfortable spot where I could sit and study the book in more detail.
The cost of this book, while not outrageous or unjustified, was high enough to make me cautious. When I purchase a book I do so with the long term in mind. I rarely get rid of books once I've bought them, so it's important that they be well worth keeping around. And this book is definitely worth keeping around. The majority of my books spend most of their time on the shelf, this book sits next to me at my desk. I reference it, use it, or just skim through it at least once a day.
The organization of the book is absolutely wonderful. If, for some reason, I can't figure out which section to go to from the Table Of Contents, I need merely flip to the index to find precisely what I need. Both Index and Table of Contents are very thorough and logically arranged. In particular the sub-heading feature of the Index makes finding things ever so much easier.
As the title of my review indicates, I found the book to be less a 'spell' book than a 'potion' book. Not that this is a bad thing. In fact, I was rather looking for just that. The included Formulary, that gives you the instructions for making War Water, Black Cat Oil, Graveyard Dust and so very much more, is utterly invaluable. If there was anything I'd change about this book it would be to quadruple the size of the Formulary. However, the Formulary is quite large as it is.
One of my other favourite things about this book is that the spells/potions/etc are not all 'white light'. There are Hexes and Curses and so forth along with ways to counter such things. I find this important because I'm non-dualist and I find dualistic thinking to be limited and...well, childish. So that's another area that makes me cherish this book.
On a purely silly note, having this lovely big book (which is a lovely green hardcover under the paper sleeve) around is just plain fun. If you're a fan of some of the modern witchy type shows/movies such as Harry Potter or Charmed, having a large tome of spells allows you to play pretend.
And finally, I'd like to mention the author's tone of voice that comes through in the book. It is very friendly, often humorous and always knowledgeable. When necessary, very clear and direct warnings are given. The author treats the reader as if she had a good head on her shoulder and was past the novice stage in her training. I find that remarkably refreshing.
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