Candlelight Spells

by Gerina Dunwich

Book Overview

An essential resource for the Wiccan lifestyle, Candlelight Spells provides recipes, spells, and guides for herbs and candle crafting, as well as a "Lexicon of Witchcraft." The modern witch will find... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806511060
• ISBN13: 9780806511061
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 8.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Recommended As a Supplemental Text for Teachers and Students

This book, like _WiccaCraft_ is also an indispensible reference tool. I have a really old copy, so well-used and worn it is held together entirely by luck, magick and duct tape. The pages are dog-eared, stained with cake batter or spilled herb tea, highlighted, underlined and scrawled with notes, with mugwort or basil pressed between chapters, or torn bits of notebook paper or cash register recipts used as improptu pagemarkers here and there. My copy of this book is a mess, and there is a reason for this. It is in constant use. At least until it falls apart and I have to get a new copy. As a reference tool it is unsurpassed. Her recipes are delicious, although some of the wild ingredients might be hard to find if you're living in an urban environment. They are easily adapted for those who like to improvise on a given theme, or for those who prefer to use whole-grain or vegetarian ingredients, although for the most part they're already healthy. Her cake recipes may be successfully baked with whole grain _pastry_ flour, and/or using honey in place of sugar; I've done much experimenting with her "Esbat Cake", which I actually use for Sabbats and children's birthday parties. It is a big hit with children and adults alike, and made with whole grain pastry flour, honey, and yogurt, it is a light, moist, and richly flavored cake, perfect with either a whipped cream or light cream cheese frosting, or a simple dusting of powdered sugar over a lace doily.Back in the days when I was a Bright-Eyed Little Apprentice Witchling, my first teacher introduced me to this book. Since then, I've heard other new students complain that it doesn't give "enough" information on certain topics; yet I believe it was one of the most valuable learning tools I had. It is not, nor does it claim to be, a Complete Book of Everything You Need to Know to Become a Witch. Expecting that from _any_ book would be unwise on the part of any student or teacher. What it _is_ is one of the most excellent _supplemental_ texts I encountered during my own early training. The glossary in the back is a useful tool for any student, of course, as are the various reference lists for herbs and candle colors. Ample space is provided at the ends of recipes, spells and chapters for the student's questions, notes or their own spells and rituals. The resources in the back may be a little outdated (at least they are in my copy, which is older than dirt anyway) but nonetheless may prove useful to the student with the patience to shuffle through them, and take the time to write letters.The spells and rituals themselves provide excellent examples for the student to analyze. Ms. Dunwich does covers the Rede, but leaves it up to the student to interpret the rede and make responsible decisions in regard to ethics and spellcraft. Invocations and words of power are written in caps, making it easy for the student to study them independently should they choose. Her spells and rituals themselves

Great For Beginners & The More Advanced

I started out with this book years ago and it is just as wonderful now as it was then. It's filled with many things that every witch should use and enjoy. Notice that I said witch, meaning in general and not necessarily Wiccan. If you are like me, you will study an explore all magic of all religions, in which case, this book would be great for you. Is is very heplful in many different ways and I recommend it to anyone interested or practicing witchcraft.Always, ~Tara~

Totally Cool!

Some of the reviewers have had a field day with this book and have said some pretty nasty things about it (and the author). But I read this book a few years ago and I thought it was totally cool. It has some really awesome spells. I tried a few of them myself and I had really good results. Yeah, there are white, black, and grey spells in this book, just as there are white, black, and grey witches in the craft. Choose what is right for you, not for me!

A book for Witches...not Wiccans

Filled with many spells, recipes, a lexicon, an herbal section, and more, this book is interesting, fun to read, and not as bad as many of the fanatical Wiccan reviewers condemn it to be. Sub-titled "The Modern Witch's Book of Spellcasting, Feasting and Natural Healing" this should tell you that it is not a book about Wicca. It is basically a book about Witchcraft, which is much older and varied than Wicca. True, there are a few naughty spells in this book, but so what? The author, who mentions the Rede/Law of Three in the start of the book, is not forcing you to operate them. She gives you the facts and warnings, and then lets you decide for yourself what is right and wrong, unlike so many other Wiccan authors (and others) who try to censor anything that they feel comes close to "violating" the Wiccan Rede, and who preach unendingly about karma, karma, karma, the way Christians scream about hellfire, sin and eternal damnation. Why does Wicca seem lately like a repackaged version of Catholicism with a feminist twist? Lighten up Wiccans! Realize that the Wiccan Rede and 3-fold karmic retribution are concepts that were developed in the 20th century by English author Gerald Gardener and prior to that was totally unheard of (let alone followed) by Witches in any culture. I'm not saying you should work black magick, but do not live in fear that everything you do is going to be judged and punished by the Gods of Karma, the way the Christians believe that you will be judged and punished by God. But even Christians believe in "an eye for an eye." Sometimes bad people need to be punished, whether by the law or by a spell. To let someone get away with causing harm to others is, in my opinion, just as bad. Wiccans may not hex or use magick to cast love spells on particular individuals, but many Witches do when they feel the time is appropriate. Even famous English Witch Sybil Leek was known to take this stand. Besides, anyone who knows enough about the laws of magick should know that magick, which is energy, does not always rebound upon the sender. Alot can happen to magickal energy from the time it is sent to the time it reaches its destination. Energy is very transformational and unpredictable. Furthermore, magick knows no good or bad, black or white. It is pure energy. We decide what is good or bad, mainly based on what society teaches us. Good and bad are subjective terms. Anyway, I've ranted long enough. Getting back to Ms. Dunwich's book, I recommend it more as a Witchcraft book; not so much as a Wiccan book. (And I may be wrong, but I sense that Gerina Dunwich is more of a Witch than a Wiccan at heart, even though most of her book titles contain the word Wicca) The recipes are interesting and are traditional in a Pagan sense. And yes Virginia, Pagans of old did feast on roasted squirrels, as well as rabbits, snakes, wild boars and just about anything else they could hunt with a bow and arrow or a spear.

Your Craft Library is not complete with out this title.

This book is full of candle symbolisms and spells. I've had my copy for years and still return to it when writing a Ritual. There are alot of inspiring Spells in their! A must have.