The Witch's Altar Book: The definitive guide to modern witchcraft

by Lindsay Squire, Nicole Weiss, Rachel Patterson

Whether you’re a hedge witch, electric witch, sea witch, or kitchen witch, The Witch’s Altar Book is a beautifully illustrated, all-in-one guide to building and working on your practice. 
 
Explore spells, rituals and tools that will help you weave magick into everyday life. Across three captivating sections – Attraction, Protection, and Divination – you’ll find practical guidance for both new and experienced witches. 

Inside you’ll learn how  Choose crystals, herbs, and symbols that align with your goals.  Craft spells and potions to attract love, success, and protection. Protect your energy at home, travel, and work through channelling and visualizations.  Explore divination through tarot, oracle cards, pendulums, and scrying. Connect with nature and deities using elemental correspondences, lunar timing, and ritual journaling. Use practical reference tables on crystals, herbs, symbols, and sigils to personalize your craft. 

Written by three contemporary witches across three generations – Nicole Weiss, Rachel Patterson and Lindsay Squire – this is the essential companion for anyone seeking to deepen their connection with magick.

Each section blends ancient wisdom with modern witchcraft, encouraging experimentation and self-expression rather than rigid rules. Stunning photography and an intuitive layout make this a book you’ll reach for again and again, whether you’re casting your first circle or refreshing your altar for the new season. 

Practical and deeply empowering, The Witch’s Altar Book helps witches of every path create a practice that feels authentic and alive. It’s more than a reference guide – it’s a trusted companion for anyone ready to bring magick home. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Witchcraft

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 30, 2025

Reviews

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is broken down into three parts: Attraction, Protection, and Divination. Of which, each part is written by a different author. While each part was a different topic, they did have some common topics between them, like herbs, crystals, potions, sigils, and spells.

Part one was about attraction magic and was written by Nicole Weiss. This gives an overview of using intention to cast your will into the world. She goes over the basics, including basic magic tools and practices that can be utilized if you want to try attraction magic. Part two pertains to protection magic and was written by Rachel Patterson. This part contains many similarities to part 1, but focuses on the protection aspects of them. This section also includes additional sections about using animals, elements, and colors, etc. for protection magic.

Part three is about divination magic and written by Lindsey Squire. This section is different from the previous two because it doesn’t focus on a lot of the basics of magic and magical tools. This focuses on the various different types of divination that can be used in your practice, like tarot, oracle cards, runes, and scrying.

I think this book is a great beginner or reference book for anyone interested in attraction, protection, or divination magic. It isn’t very advanced though so for people who have already implemented these kinds of magics into their practice, or read a lot about it, this will probably not be helpful unless they just want another reference book.

*ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.*

[Katina The Witch’s Bookmark · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐ 2.5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through Edelweiss for review purposes.

I really liked the concept behind this book. Each section is written by a different author representing the Maiden, Mother, and Crone aspects of the Triple Goddess, focusing on attraction, protection, and divination. It’s a creative structure and an interesting way to explore different areas of magical practice.

One of my favourite parts of the book was the correspondence tables organised by magical intention. They make it much easier to build your own spells by choosing herbs, crystals, or colours based on the goal of your working rather than following a strict recipe.

However, the multi-author format also means the book never quite feels cohesive. There is quite a bit of repeated foundational information across sections, which becomes noticeable if you read the book cover to cover rather than dipping into individual chapters.

As a witch who practises outside of Wiccan traditions, I also found that some rituals and symbols draw quite heavily from Wiccan practice without always clearly identifying them as such. For beginners, this could blur the distinction between witchcraft and Wicca, which are not necessarily the same path.

Overall, this feels like a gentle introduction to witchcraft that will likely appeal most to beginner practitioners. More experienced witches may find the content a little too basic.

This review also appears on my blog, The Witch’s Bookmark.

[Kristen Barenthaler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful images tell an amazing tale of modern witchcraft. From runes to sigils to potions, this book has everything you need to learn about how to connect with your inner witch and reach balance.

[Rosie Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a beautifully illustrated book. perfect for baby witches