I put a spell on you... (Earth-Centred Spirituality, New Age and Occult Books in general)

Name: MGirl

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Product:	Earth-Centred Spirituality, New Age and Occult Books in general
Date:	08/10/01 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautifully illustrated, Gives methods to incorporate Wicca into daily life, Fun to do.

Disadvantages: Quite expensive

Titania Hardie's books may not be for the purist Wiccan but in my opinion (and after all, that's what it's about), I think they're pretty fab.

I'm not an expert on Wicca but from what I have read, Wicca is a combination of religion and spirituality which has descended from paganism in general. Therefore it predates Christianity and surprisingly to some rituals associated with Paganism and Wicca are already incorporated into our lives. In order to convert people in the British Isles to Christianity many Pagan beliefs were integrated into religious festivals timed to replace Pagan festivities. For example, Easter comes from the word “Eostre” the Goddess of Spring. Many Christmas traditions are Pagan, for example, the yule log or bringing evergreen plants into the home.

Anyway with that brief overview I just want to point out that Wicca is already part of our lives and nothing to be afraid of.

Titania Hardie’s books put forward one of the most important aspects of Wicca and that is respect for your surroundings and environment. You are often advised to bring a bit of nature indoors by growing herbs or in the “Rainbow Spell for Happiness and Joy” (Hocus Pocus) you make a pledge to take more care if your surroundings, for example, feeding birds or recycling more. Without really going into the “rule of three” (whatever you wish for comes back to you threefold) Titania encourages you to use spells wisely, not for harm. If for example someone’s admirations are trying to be discouraged (Enchanted) you are always advised to “Wish the person well.”

One of the most striking things about her books is how they are illustrated. I often read “Enchanted” especially just to look at the beautifully arranged collages or photographs representing each spell.

One criticism I have heard is that Titania’s books read like a “Spell Cookbo
ok”. In some ways this is fair, they do contain a lot of spells, however, I feel that with Enchanted she has made an attempt to lead the reader through a training course in Wicca, gaining an appreciation for the uses of herbs and essential oils in daily life as well as for specific spells and potions.

I own three Titania Hardie books, Enchanted, Bewitched and Love Wishing Spells (one of the pocket sized books), I have also used a friends copy of Hocus Pocus and Titania’s Oraqle. Out of these the only one I would not recommend would be the smaller, pocket sized book as these aren’t large enough to give the reader a sound knowledge of Wicca and other traditional rituals. If you only intend to buy one book, I recommend “Enchanted”.

Recently some of her books have been released in paperback reducing the price to £9 to £11, the pocket sized books are £5. The price given below is for “Enchanted” in hardback, some of the other books are less expensive.

Titiania has recently published "Hubble Bubble" which is a book relating Wicca and food, if anyone has tried this I'd be very interested to read your opinions, (I'll give it a go when I have more cash.)

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