Spellwork for Self-Care: 40 Spells to Soothe the Spirit

by Potter Gift

For those who want to infuse their self-care routine with a little magic, this mystical guidebook provides readers with simple spells to enhance their daily lives. Topics range from relationships and emotional health to self-love, work, school, and more.

Spellwork for Self-Care takes an old-fashioned approach to the practice of self-soothing. As young people flock to the well-worn paths tread by the witches of yore by using tarot card readings, astrological sign analysis, and herbal home remedies for mental and physical ailments, the practice of witchcraft has morphed into a form of spirituality for millennials and Generation Z.

This book of 40 spells combines witchy spiritual practices with our culture's hunger for self-care, creating a compact resource for those seeking alternate paths to better mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical health.

Genres: Witchcraft, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Wicca, Magick, Paganism

128 pages, Hardcover

Published December 24, 2019

Reviews

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book well enough for what it was, a little book of spells, but I didn't find myself really drawn to perform any of them. Though it is hard to go by me because I generally like to write my own spells.

I did notice and appreciate the inclusive language used in this book such as saying "people who menstruate" and using the term "womxn" throughout the book.

While this book is advertised as being a "self-care" book, I find it can also be viewed as a book of essential spells for witches. The spells featured cover a wide variety of intentions such as protection, cleansing, self-love, spirit guides, ancestors, prosperity, confidence, and career paths.

The majority of spells are quite easy to perform and don't really require any odd or hard to come by ingredients. And there's a little correspondence list in that back that explains a bit why certain ingredients were chosen.

My one real issue was the use of the Goddess Oshun in one of the spells. I'm not a fan of the use of deities in spells as if they were ingredients especially when the deities come from religions and cultures belonging exclusively to POC.

Other than that, I found the book to be a good little spellbook mainly for the beginner witch who wants to start dipping their toes into spell casting.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spellwork for Self-Care is an introductory book featuring spells focused on protection, wellness, love, finance/future, and sovereignty. I appreciate a lot about it: there are clear attempts to be inclusive (particularly with respect to language not being cisnormative or presuming the reader’s sexual orientation), Monica Ramos’ illustrations are charming (and much more body size inclusive than many books like this), and the spells are, broadly speaking, accessible (they don’t require much in the way of fancy supplies beyond a mortar and pestle and a burn-safe bowl and they’re mostly written in ways that don’t presume able-bodiedness at all). The introductory section emphasizes the ‘work’ in spellwork in a way that I appreciate. The appendix on correspondences is not particularly comprehensive but it’s clear and includes relevant safety notes on essential oils, and the overall tone of the book is inviting and encouraging without being overly prescriptive.
The book is written with an audience of mostly young folks in mind – particularly young women – as the book is addressed to womxn and uses ‘we’ presuming a reader who identifies this way, and refers to ‘finding your first adult job’ in one of the spells.
My criticisms would be that the book does reproduce language of ‘light’ + ‘white light’ as positive and ‘darkness’ as negative and advocates offerings to Oshun and the creation of mojo bags in ways that feel a bit superficial and definitely potentially appropriative. I will also say that I don’t love when spell books effectively advocate littering – no, please don’t bury non-organic candle wax outside or toss things in your local body of water, use some common sense here.
The bibliography is... a bit strange, and includes a lot of sources that have nothing whatsoever to do with spellwork, and some of the resource page is now outdated, but I am glad that these were included.
Finally, I will note that I do not love that the author’s name is not included anywhere in the book as far as I can tell. It is frustrating to not know what tradition(s) this author practices in, what (if anything) else they’ve written, etc.

[Jane]

There are 2 spells in here that I want to try. I'll report back.

[Elyse Welles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little book! A bit more expensive than I thought it should have been as it’s only about 100 pages, but it definitely has fun little spells and rituals for loving yourself. If you need guidance in the self love department and don’t have good self efficacy, this is a WONDERFUL place to start! If you already have great love for yourself this still has fun activities to remind you to take care of yourself. Definitely great quarantine reading and a quick read, as well.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very feminist. So much so to be off-putting. Standard basic spells, nothing unusual and most have nothing to do about self-care. Honestly, don't waste your money on it.

[Untanglingheartstrings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally have mixed feelings and hesitations about spellbooks. I feel that a lot of the ones that I have seen are very much in the vein of ‘you need to do this on a waning moon and a Tuesday; have fun finding all these very specific and hard to find herbs’. Spellwork For Self-Care does have recommendations for times and moon phases, but they are very much just that. The recommended materials for spells are more often than not things one would have access to.
The book assumes the reader is a beginner and introduces them to basic concepts like warding. It is broken down into different sections depending on the goals of the caster. There are multiple types of spells covered, which could be beneficial for someone who wants to dip their toe in a bit of everything to figure out what they like. None of the spells are particularly complex either.
In the back of the book there is an appendix with information on commonly used herbs and crystals, increasing the educational value.
Despite my hesitations about spellbooks, I enjoyed this. I think it would be a useful took for a beginner.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came in one of my monthly "witchy" boxes that I subscribe to. If you've already read "pagan/witchy" books, then you will find nothing new in here for you. However, if you got this book because you want to help heal and re-charge yourself mentally and spiritually, then you will probably find this helpful for you. Many of the "self-care spell work" is simple and don't require fancy ingredients. Notice what I said. So, there are SOME spell work for self-care do require ingredients I haven't even heard of- abre camino oil, a 7-day candle (heard of and have used one, but those need to be ordered online or your local "new age" shop) , hyssop (have heard of it- but don't know what it is), and agrimony.

The other part I didn't particularly like is that this book is pulled from the Wiccan religion. Now, that is fine, there are a lot of people who practice Wicca. However, I do not. I am a Christo-Pagan. Please remember that you can follow any path you want- or even make your own! There are no rules. If you aren't hurting yourself and others and you feel like you are healing yourself physically, mentally, and/or physically... then go for it!! :)

[Sarah Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, interesting spells and take on self care using such spells. It does lean towards the feminine like many spell books, but you can also tell the author is trying to be more inclusive than some spell books. Many spells that you can do without any major supplies, most are easy enough to find, nothing to out there. Many household herbs, some good essential oils that it doesn't hurt to have on hand. I haven't performed any spells yet, but took down notes for various ones I want to try in the future. Self care is important! They do have specifics of what day of the week or time of the moon to do each spell, but personally I think some would be good to do any time especially if it's hard for you to line them up with the specific times. Good book for beginners looking for some simple spells to try.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightweight little book, very nicely laid out and with wonderful art, but has kind of the feeling of being generated by a “bot,” in terms of content of depth or thoughtfulness. Definitely a cookbook-style, brush the surface, insubstantial flavor of magic. Still, there are good things about it and it is a sweet size and a handy pocket reference, quick spell book, for mini rituals and simple moments.

Side note: I call these kinds of books, “get witch quick,” meaning that they seem to be directed at people who do not wish to do much work or engage with much complexity, but who want a quick fix or to push a button and receive a magical deposit in return.

[Mia Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book on Amazon a few months ago, while also getting help from professional mental healthcare workers. I feel like this helps alongside to start taking active space for self care and self healing. I find the witchcraft elements intriguing and helpful in setting intentions, working on myself, then I am able to work towards my intentions so I’m able to let go of what no longer serves me.

[Creating · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered it at the end of last year and i thought i was a self-help book not a magick book. Since i didn't understand much of what she was talking and it's a book based on spells i put it aside. Not that i understand a little bit more about magick i can say the spells are somewhat beginner-friendly but the book its self it isn't. i said before i was very confused when i first started reading it and it didn't really give a base for where to start. I had to look for the base elsewhere

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book. It has such a sweet premise and the artwork is stunning. However, there is an issue with cultural appropriate and stealing from closed practices. There's a particular spell that calls upon the goddess Oshun, which is from the Nigerian Yoruba religion. If you call on her when you are not apart of that religion, it won't be good.

[Araminta Matthews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a particular fan of recipe books for ritual and magic. This is more of a recipe book with mediocre rhyming incantations. Having said that, though, I admire the author for focusing on self care and rising to the challenge of gender, sex identity, and emotional labor imbalances. I bet this author could write a much better book if they focused on the why and not the how.

[Morgan Lindey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is good and gives a good reference as well as easy to understand and use information.

The biggest concern for me is that they do not discuss closed practices there are a few specifically listed closed practices in the book and its important for people to know that they should not be doing them unless they are a member of that group.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not into Wicca or casting spells but I think many of the spells can simply be used for self care during this pandemic. There are a lot with simple items you probably have around the house, so you don't have to go buy anything

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent book of basic self care routines with magikal correspondences. Honestly though, you can gather the same resources in 20 minutes on Pinterest. This book is just dainty and more organized.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a short easy read with fun ideas, most of which would be/are really easy to do of you choose to. Goes well with “the basic witch’s guide” book as an intro to self care rituals to just help remind yourself to put you first.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing how much is packed into this tiny and gorgeous little book. Lots of basics, but plenty of spells of value to any level of experience. My only caveat is that there are some recommended uses of animal products, which I do not consider in line with the Wiccan Rede.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did like that there was acknowledgement of the different traditions behind the spells.
Although I felt that the awareness around broader issues and connections did not seem as present in this book.

[Liya · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute coffee table book

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of quick and easy spells for all kinds of needs, most having to do with self-care. I'll definitely be copying some of these into my book of shadows for future use.

[Kayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple, quick, and effective book. The material focuses greatly on femininity, and most of the spells in this book don't require a lot of materials. It's worth a read.

[Marin Dimitrov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting spells indeed! One of them became my everyday must do spell. It's helped me a lot to deal with my social anxiety and it boosted my confidence for sure!

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good beginner witch friendly book! More on the side of self-care spirituality rather than your typical occult spell book.

[Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for inclusive language. This book is perfect for beginners as it is full of simple spells, but I didn’t feel drawn to any of the books’ content in particular.

[Katthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

has a ritual in the first chapter taken from hoodo

[Cara St.Hilaire · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s nothing of depth or substance but cute - I may try a few just for the purpose of creating ritual and mindfulness.

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super basic baby witch crap that's extremely light on information. There are thousands of other, better written books out there.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟
Not for me