Life Magic: The Power of Positive Witchcraft

by Susan Bowes

A colorful step-by-step guide to positive witchcraft discusses the history and power of paganism, explaining the uses of totems and moon magic, showing how to cast spells and design rituals, and offering an uplifting path to wisdom and self-empowerment. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Witchcraft

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Life Magic in an overview and introduction to positive witchcraft designed for beginners. The book seems suitable for a beginner, although it does seem to introduce some misconceptions.

The book has an easy to follow layout and there is a comfortable amount of information about types of magic, some history of magic, and some spells and rituals. The illustrations are dreamy and romantic Pre-Rapaelite loveliness.

However, the information itself was a bit hit or miss. Some sections of the book- such as the section on Runes seem strongly sourced, but other sections particularly the section on Witchcraft and Magic seem to be based on the author's personal belief system. For example in the chapter "A Witch's Accoutrements" the authors states that "all witches have wands". This seems a large assumption on the part of the author.

Some of the rituals and beliefs introduced seem heavily influenced by Wicca without stating it outright. There also seems to be a tendency to mix and combine rituals from cultures together into one belief system in a way that sometimes feel a bit like cultural appropriation and seems to lack respect for the specific culture- like the mention of using Native American sage smudging in a purification ritual that addresses the Goddess.

Overall, this book was a pass for me because of the information itself, but if you're looking for a nice coffee table book to glance through it might work for you.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has pretty pictures and a lot of fluff. No sources referenced at all. Made generalizations about other religions that fit the narrative while continually bashing Christianity in particular. Very Wiccan influenced without stating it explicitly.

All in all, not very helpful for my craft or at all influential.

[Jody Mena]

A nice introduction for beginners looking to learn the basics about the roots and practices of Witchcraft. One thing I didn't really like, though, is that there did not seem to be sufficient warning about the dangers of destructive magic, which seems irresponsible to me, since the author included banishing spells and rituals in the book. I realize its specifically a book about 'positive witchcraft', but still, ignorance is not always bliss. Other than that, I really liked the whole thing. It touches briefly on many different aspects of metaphysics and provides a sort of a road map of different practices, from astrology to numerology, from casting a circle to divination and so on. I also like how it talks a lot about the ancient beliefs and practices that modern practice is based upon, the metaphysics behind certain traditions and vice versa. Basically, I'd really recommend this book to anyone, but especially to people who don't know anything about witchcraft and want a good thorough introduction.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for the pictures. :-) Flipping through it will tell you I'm drawn to the likes of Alma-Tadema & Waterhouse. Sort of like a beautifully produced "Witchcraft for Dummies", it summarizes the main points (I guess?) of "white (or, 'good') magik". Some of the mentions of goddesses throughout the ages and parallels between different religious and spiritual practices were interesting.

[Diana Lorena SRP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una excelente recopilación de conceptos básicos, acompañada de hermosas ilustraciones, un libro realmente mágico!

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrated.