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The Hearth Witch's Compendium: Magical and Natural Living for Every Day
Experience the power of magical workings using items you created yourself. Utilize natural ingredients for the well-being of your community, home, and body. This comprehensive sourcebook shares old-world wisdom and contemporary approaches to living the hearth witch way, where spirituality nurtures an ecologically balanced life.
More than 200 food and drink recipes: soups, breads, puddings, cakes, salads, wines, meads, ciders, beers, ales, jams, jellies, curds, cheeses, chutneys, ketchup, sauces, dried foods, nonalcoholic cordials
More than 100 bath and beauty recipes: bath salts, bubble baths, soaps, shampoos, hair rinses, lotions, powders, oral hygiene, skin products, facial scrubs, cleansers, skin toners, moisturizers, lip salves
More than 35 home goods recipes: polishes, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, dishwasher detergent, stain remover, laundry soaps, dryer sheets, potpourris, air fresheners, deodorizers, floor wash, carpet cleaners
Nearly 200 essential oil blends and home remedies: anxiety, arthritis, blocked sinuses, burns, cellulitis, coughs, eczema, headaches, indigestion, insect bites, muscle cramps, nausea, rash, sprains, swelling, varicose veins
Plus magical wisdom and practical tips: incense recipes, magical virtues of plants, magical oil recipes, detailed descriptions of seventy essential oils, herbal magic, charms, talismans, potions, inks, color correspondences, planetary influences, herbal beauty aids, gardening tips, vegetable dyes
Praise:
"In this glorious compendium Anna Franklin invites you to sit at her hearth and to share in her many years of magical living. In a high speed world, Anna asks us to pause, to slow down and actually get our hands dirty with nature, and to craft magical items and products that really work."--Kristoffer Hughes, head of the Anglesey Druid Order and author of The Book of Celtic Magic
"Packed full of information on sabbats, deities, lotions, potions, household, cooking, cleaning, and personal care recipes. This is a 'must have' book for every witch"--Soraya, bestselling author of Book of Spells and The Kitchen Witch
More than 200 food and drink recipes: soups, breads, puddings, cakes, salads, wines, meads, ciders, beers, ales, jams, jellies, curds, cheeses, chutneys, ketchup, sauces, dried foods, nonalcoholic cordials
More than 100 bath and beauty recipes: bath salts, bubble baths, soaps, shampoos, hair rinses, lotions, powders, oral hygiene, skin products, facial scrubs, cleansers, skin toners, moisturizers, lip salves
More than 35 home goods recipes: polishes, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, dishwasher detergent, stain remover, laundry soaps, dryer sheets, potpourris, air fresheners, deodorizers, floor wash, carpet cleaners
Nearly 200 essential oil blends and home remedies: anxiety, arthritis, blocked sinuses, burns, cellulitis, coughs, eczema, headaches, indigestion, insect bites, muscle cramps, nausea, rash, sprains, swelling, varicose veins
Plus magical wisdom and practical tips: incense recipes, magical virtues of plants, magical oil recipes, detailed descriptions of seventy essential oils, herbal magic, charms, talismans, potions, inks, color correspondences, planetary influences, herbal beauty aids, gardening tips, vegetable dyes
Praise:
"In this glorious compendium Anna Franklin invites you to sit at her hearth and to share in her many years of magical living. In a high speed world, Anna asks us to pause, to slow down and actually get our hands dirty with nature, and to craft magical items and products that really work."--Kristoffer Hughes, head of the Anglesey Druid Order and author of The Book of Celtic Magic
"Packed full of information on sabbats, deities, lotions, potions, household, cooking, cleaning, and personal care recipes. This is a 'must have' book for every witch"--Soraya, bestselling author of Book of Spells and The Kitchen Witch
528 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2017
117 people are currently reading
957 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 29, 2020
The canning recipes in this book could possibly kill you.
This uses wax sealing of boiled preserves in incorrectly sterilized jars, which is bad enough, but is only likely to make you quite sick, not actually be fatal. You cannot sterilize jars in a dishwasher, even on “sterilize” mode.
More problematic, however, is that they are not pressure canned and yet several recipes are not acidic enough to be considered 100% safe. Unless you are canning with a pressure canner, if there is not enough acid in a recipe, it can cause botulism. It won’t always, and a lot of these are on the border of what’s safe. They’ll be fine 95% of the time, but that’s not a gamble worth making with your health.
For instance, there are apple recipes in the preserved section with no added acid (apples are not the only fruit with this problem, but they’re the one I’m most knowledgeable about). Since apples vary widely in acid levels, typical recipes will contain about half a tablespoon to a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice per pound of apples, depending on other ingredients. Sometimes canning apples without will be fine. Sometimes it won’t. Fresh lemon juice is not safe unless used in excess or tested for its pH, since it can vary quite a lot (safe recipes using fresh juice will assume the lemons are the least acidic lemons can possibly be). “Juice of a fresh lemon”, used in several places in this book, is never safe, because a lemon can have a very different amount of juice.
Outside of that, it’s a good book! Although it sometimes engages in the awkward panEuro syncretism that’s common in modern witchcraft, it’s fun, surprisingly aware of stuff other books get wrong, and full of fun and even useful recipes for home cleaners and the like. But long term food canning is dangerous if not performed correctly, and your health is more important than avoiding buying bottled lemon juice.
This uses wax sealing of boiled preserves in incorrectly sterilized jars, which is bad enough, but is only likely to make you quite sick, not actually be fatal. You cannot sterilize jars in a dishwasher, even on “sterilize” mode.
More problematic, however, is that they are not pressure canned and yet several recipes are not acidic enough to be considered 100% safe. Unless you are canning with a pressure canner, if there is not enough acid in a recipe, it can cause botulism. It won’t always, and a lot of these are on the border of what’s safe. They’ll be fine 95% of the time, but that’s not a gamble worth making with your health.
For instance, there are apple recipes in the preserved section with no added acid (apples are not the only fruit with this problem, but they’re the one I’m most knowledgeable about). Since apples vary widely in acid levels, typical recipes will contain about half a tablespoon to a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice per pound of apples, depending on other ingredients. Sometimes canning apples without will be fine. Sometimes it won’t. Fresh lemon juice is not safe unless used in excess or tested for its pH, since it can vary quite a lot (safe recipes using fresh juice will assume the lemons are the least acidic lemons can possibly be). “Juice of a fresh lemon”, used in several places in this book, is never safe, because a lemon can have a very different amount of juice.
Outside of that, it’s a good book! Although it sometimes engages in the awkward panEuro syncretism that’s common in modern witchcraft, it’s fun, surprisingly aware of stuff other books get wrong, and full of fun and even useful recipes for home cleaners and the like. But long term food canning is dangerous if not performed correctly, and your health is more important than avoiding buying bottled lemon juice.
January 14, 2019
The book gives guidance on making home remedies: how to prepare teas, tinctures, infused oils, balms and more.
It examines the most common herbs and spices used in the kitchen, providing notes on culinary, medicinal and cosmetic uses.
I enjoyed the cultural aspect of the herbs. For example, the black pepper, so called ‘king of spices,’ in the Middle Ages was used by land tenants even to pay for their rent.
The book provides many recipes, which are easy to prepare and very beneficial. My first use will be of the ‘anti-inflammatory turmeric bombs’ as “turmeric is one of nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatories…”, therefore very beneficial for our health.
It examines the most common herbs and spices used in the kitchen, providing notes on culinary, medicinal and cosmetic uses.
I enjoyed the cultural aspect of the herbs. For example, the black pepper, so called ‘king of spices,’ in the Middle Ages was used by land tenants even to pay for their rent.
The book provides many recipes, which are easy to prepare and very beneficial. My first use will be of the ‘anti-inflammatory turmeric bombs’ as “turmeric is one of nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatories…”, therefore very beneficial for our health.
March 19, 2017
I am not Celtic and this book is written by a British pagan so I ignored anything on the Celtic festivals. This book has so many recipes! If you are looking for spells this is not the book for you. If you want to know how to make your lifestyle more magical and make/grow as much of the stuff you use in your everyday magical life then this is a great book. This book is about a witchy lifestyle and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to line my pantry with all the things you can make from the recipes in this book. If you celebrate Celtic festivals many of the recipes align with a festival. If you don't have a garden but have access to a good farmer's market or big supermarket you can still make the recipes. I live out in the sticks but I have a garden. Also, I didn't find the book new-agey.
December 28, 2016
DISCLAIMER: This is a review of an uncorrected proof of THE HEARTH WITCH’S COMPENDIUM. It was received for free with no expectation of a review. The review may not reflect the final version of the book.
Over the past two decades, the Llewellyn publishing house has amassed a reputation for producing an inordinate amount of trend-following (and sometimes ill-researched) beginner witchcraft and New Age spirituality books. While the company has been trying to clean up its image for the last two or three years, they are somewhat reasonable for flooding the market with mediocre encyclopedias, compendiums, and similar collections of spells and folklore. As such, when Llewellyn introduces yet another witchcraft reference guide into the world, the book needs to work hard to stand out against its peers.
The HEARTH WITCH’S COMPENDIUM, thankfully, tries to be a refreshing take on the tired genre. The book can be divided roughly into three sections: food and drink, home life, and herbs/essential oils. Where most published spell collections focus on things like making charms or burning colored candles, the COMPENDIUM incorporates everything from wine-making to everyday soap into the titular hearth witches’ lifestyle. Anna Franklin’s evident expertise makes for a very well-rounded read, especially in sections like the aforementioned wine-making chapter. Self-sufficiency is the name of the game, although Franklin is more than happy to include interesting historical or scientific trivia to go along with the various recipes themselves.
However, there are a few noteworthy problems with THE COMPENDIUM’s writing style and organization. Since Franklin believes eliminating harmful products from one’s life is inherently magical, there are entire chapters so focused on practicality that they end up ignoring magic entirely. For example, there are nearly 150 pages between when essential oils are introduced to when their magical uses and correspondences are explained. Meanwhile, almost all the recipes are very short and easy to misinterpret. It’s a classic mistake that happens when an author includes only the basic information that they personally need without considering that the reader might not be at the same skill level as the them.
As an author, Anna Franklin is one of dozens that started out during the witchcraft publishing boom of the 90s. Her reputation is typical of her demographic: most of her books aren’t noteworthy enough to recommend as must-read, but they’re not worth avoiding either. Her books tend to follow trends, and her most well-known are her Sabbat books and tarot decks. The COMPENDIUM feels like more of the same fodder, as it’s overtly trying to appeal to the organic living crowd. Exactly how much the reader will like it corresponds directly to how much they like being told repeatedly that chemicals are bad. The HEARTH WITCH’S COMPENDIUM won’t change that image of her, but it’s worth a look as a solid introduction to natural living with a magical twist.
Over the past two decades, the Llewellyn publishing house has amassed a reputation for producing an inordinate amount of trend-following (and sometimes ill-researched) beginner witchcraft and New Age spirituality books. While the company has been trying to clean up its image for the last two or three years, they are somewhat reasonable for flooding the market with mediocre encyclopedias, compendiums, and similar collections of spells and folklore. As such, when Llewellyn introduces yet another witchcraft reference guide into the world, the book needs to work hard to stand out against its peers.
The HEARTH WITCH’S COMPENDIUM, thankfully, tries to be a refreshing take on the tired genre. The book can be divided roughly into three sections: food and drink, home life, and herbs/essential oils. Where most published spell collections focus on things like making charms or burning colored candles, the COMPENDIUM incorporates everything from wine-making to everyday soap into the titular hearth witches’ lifestyle. Anna Franklin’s evident expertise makes for a very well-rounded read, especially in sections like the aforementioned wine-making chapter. Self-sufficiency is the name of the game, although Franklin is more than happy to include interesting historical or scientific trivia to go along with the various recipes themselves.
However, there are a few noteworthy problems with THE COMPENDIUM’s writing style and organization. Since Franklin believes eliminating harmful products from one’s life is inherently magical, there are entire chapters so focused on practicality that they end up ignoring magic entirely. For example, there are nearly 150 pages between when essential oils are introduced to when their magical uses and correspondences are explained. Meanwhile, almost all the recipes are very short and easy to misinterpret. It’s a classic mistake that happens when an author includes only the basic information that they personally need without considering that the reader might not be at the same skill level as the them.
As an author, Anna Franklin is one of dozens that started out during the witchcraft publishing boom of the 90s. Her reputation is typical of her demographic: most of her books aren’t noteworthy enough to recommend as must-read, but they’re not worth avoiding either. Her books tend to follow trends, and her most well-known are her Sabbat books and tarot decks. The COMPENDIUM feels like more of the same fodder, as it’s overtly trying to appeal to the organic living crowd. Exactly how much the reader will like it corresponds directly to how much they like being told repeatedly that chemicals are bad. The HEARTH WITCH’S COMPENDIUM won’t change that image of her, but it’s worth a look as a solid introduction to natural living with a magical twist.
November 4, 2021
I liked the structure of the Kitchen chapter, with recipes listed for different sabbats. However, some of the information regarding the history of the Sabbats felt questionable to me and lacked enough specific citations to convince me otherwise. The book also seems to equate paganism with Wicca (pet peeve). In the end, this one just wasn't for me.
January 17, 2023
A wonderful introduction to Hearth Craft. Touches on a variety of topics from home to garden. Highly recommend to any witch.
I will say, there were a few herbal remedies I cannot imagine giving to someone like the valerian tea (valerian, if you don't know, smells and tastes like rotted death) and celery water. The rest are on point (this coming from an herbalist).
I plan to go on and read the rest of the Hearth Witch books.
I will say, there were a few herbal remedies I cannot imagine giving to someone like the valerian tea (valerian, if you don't know, smells and tastes like rotted death) and celery water. The rest are on point (this coming from an herbalist).
I plan to go on and read the rest of the Hearth Witch books.
February 5, 2024
Lovely book of recipes for food, home care, self care, magical correspondences of flowers, colors, herbs, etc. a great addition to any magical library.
April 9, 2018
I am not a witch nor a pagan, so I don't think this is a book specifically for those in those groups. I picked up this book simply because I am very interested in learning about herbs and using them in a variety of household applications. This book is chock-full of recipes and useful tips on herbs!
April 30, 2024
I was going to give this two stars for all of the recipes, but upon reflection, I'm not interested in a single one. There's nothing in here that I couldn't Google for myself. Plus, I hated the author's holier-than-thou judgmental tone.
If you're looking for a book on WITCHCRAFT, then this is NOT it. It's 512 pages in total but only 86.5 of those pages are actually dedicated to anything magical. The rest is all about green/eco/natural living and homeopathic remedies with ZERO discussion of magic, other than to remind you that if you want to be a good pagan, you need to grow all of your own food; eat everything organic; make your own incenses, cleaning products, beauty products, etc; don't use anything with chemicals; forage locally but you better do it the "right" way or the plant spirit will destroy you; and while you're at it, make sure you learn from the plant in front of you instead of, oh, I don't know, THE BOOK IN YOUR HANDS?!
It tried so hard to be a book about EVERYTHING that it ended up being about nothing, unless you're interested in the weird, ritual/sabbat-specific foods/drinks she included, which I am not, since I'm not pagan and have zero interest in perpetuating Gardner's obsession with the "Wheel of the Year."
If this is what constitutes a "hearth witch," then count me out. She should have called it what it was—a Wiccan recipe book punctuated with rants on why you should be living your greenest life ever and if you're not, then you're not a good pagan.
If you're looking for a book on WITCHCRAFT, then this is NOT it. It's 512 pages in total but only 86.5 of those pages are actually dedicated to anything magical. The rest is all about green/eco/natural living and homeopathic remedies with ZERO discussion of magic, other than to remind you that if you want to be a good pagan, you need to grow all of your own food; eat everything organic; make your own incenses, cleaning products, beauty products, etc; don't use anything with chemicals; forage locally but you better do it the "right" way or the plant spirit will destroy you; and while you're at it, make sure you learn from the plant in front of you instead of, oh, I don't know, THE BOOK IN YOUR HANDS?!
It tried so hard to be a book about EVERYTHING that it ended up being about nothing, unless you're interested in the weird, ritual/sabbat-specific foods/drinks she included, which I am not, since I'm not pagan and have zero interest in perpetuating Gardner's obsession with the "Wheel of the Year."
If this is what constitutes a "hearth witch," then count me out. She should have called it what it was—a Wiccan recipe book punctuated with rants on why you should be living your greenest life ever and if you're not, then you're not a good pagan.
March 16, 2019
I have a lot of books similar in subject matter to this. Most are full of great photos and artwork, but once you buy it and start reading it, there's very little substance, and what there is I already knew. But this book is a serious workhorse. It gathers an impressive array of information in one book. The recipes are great and really well-written. (And now I can stop buying lotion bars because there's a recipe for them in this book--it never occurred to me to look up a recipe for them.)
This one book taught me new things and also gives me a place to double-check on what I think I already know. Highly recommended for any magical library.
This one book taught me new things and also gives me a place to double-check on what I think I already know. Highly recommended for any magical library.
September 14, 2020
Enjoyed this book. Got it from the library but will likely be purchasing a copy as a reference guide. The question is: do I get it in hard copy or eBook?
Hard copy. Just in case of zombie apocalypse.
Hard copy. Just in case of zombie apocalypse.
October 29, 2018
Great book
I really enjoyed this Book. I definitely recommend it. I love everything about it. I am looking forward to more books from the Author.
I really enjoyed this Book. I definitely recommend it. I love everything about it. I am looking forward to more books from the Author.
May 5, 2020
This is an interesting and useful reference book.
June 9, 2020
Amazing reference... love it!
June 18, 2023
An interesting and wonderful reference book that includes lots of information to get started in either herbalism or herbal remedies.
November 11, 2025
This book might as well have been titled The Victorian Trad Wife’s DIY Compendium.
There is hardly anything actually witchy about it at all. I tried most of the food recipes, they are all bland and unremarkable.
There is a large range in the quality of the household and bath & beauty recipes. The bubble baths don’t bubble, the cleaning products are ineffective, but the mango butter lotion bar is delightful and the oatmeal shower bags are awesome. It’s really hit and miss. I don’t understand why the author didn’t include anything about setting intentions or some basic spells to go with the recipes.
There is hardly anything actually witchy about it at all. I tried most of the food recipes, they are all bland and unremarkable.
There is a large range in the quality of the household and bath & beauty recipes. The bubble baths don’t bubble, the cleaning products are ineffective, but the mango butter lotion bar is delightful and the oatmeal shower bags are awesome. It’s really hit and miss. I don’t understand why the author didn’t include anything about setting intentions or some basic spells to go with the recipes.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews