Moon Magick: Myth & Magic, Crafts & Recipes, Rituals & Spells

by D.J. Conway

Each month your energy levels wax and wane just as the Moon does, sometimes urging you to start new projects and other times easing you towards quiet and contemplation. Whether the Moon is making you feel adventurous and productive or dreamy and lethargic, you can use its energy to work for you instead of against you. In this enduring classic, bestselling author D.J. Conway explains how each of the 13 lunar months is directly connected to a different type of seasonal energy flow. With 79 modern Pagan rituals for tapping the Moon's energy and celebrating its phases, you'll improve your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being when you align yourself with the natural strength of the Moon. Moon Magick features a treasury of practical lunar magick and lore: Praise:
"A great book. Moon Magick is a wonderful resource...a varied and rich collection of lore, recipes, and activities."― New Age Retailer "A wealth of magical material which can easily be incorporated into everyday life."― Circle Network News "An excellent resource for all practitioners."― Magical Blend

Genres: Wicca, Paganism, Witchcraft, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Magick, Magic

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 1995

About the author

A native of the Pacific Northwest, author D.J. Conway has studied the occult fields for over 35 years. Her quest for knowledge has covered every aspect of Paganism and Wicca to New Age and Eastern philosophies; plus history, the magical arts, philosophy, customs, mythologies and folklore. In 1998, she was voted Best Wiccan and New Age author by Silver Chalice, a Pagan magazine.

She lives a rather quiet life, with most of her time spent researching and writing.

Reviews

[Matal “The Mischling Princess” Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

As part of Llewellyn’s Practical Magick series, D.J. Conway’s “Moon Magick: Myth & Magic, Crafts & Recipes, Rituals & Spells” is perfect for beginners who are interested in modern witchcraft. For each of the thirteen yearly moons, Conway includes: Correspondences, Lore, Recipes, Crafts, Myths, Rituals, and incorporates three appendixes and a nice bibliography at the back of the book.

The two major issues I found include:

1. The author didn’t fully explain what a Dark Moon is and when it occurs. She could have easily stated that the dark moon phase is three days prior to the new moon. Instead, she entirely glosses over this important information, and,
2.Although this is really a beginner’s book, Conway generalizes too much. For example, in Appendix 1: Moon Deities, she lists one goddess as “Huitaca (Columbia, South America): A Moon goddess who weaves dreams…” There were/are numerous indigenous groups in Columbia, so from which one is she drawing this information? Other examples use Africa instead of identifying the particular tribe. Africa is a continent with huge cultural diversity. It would have been helpful if the author had properly identified tribes with their deities.

Overall, this was a good book and one that I would recommend to people new to modern paganism.

[Giovanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gimmicky is the best word I can come up with here. It's fun for beginners, but honestly, why waste your time with something that's not as valuable as many other authors out there? I'd say borrow this from the library and read it if you can... don't buy it and spend your money on something else.

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

There might be half a dozen passages or incantations in this book that I ended up bookmarking, out of faint interest. Out of 295 pages, that isn't much.

To be frank, there's not much in "Moon Magick" that I found useful. It should have a different title because the book is more about the world's deities and their relation to the months/dates of the year. It does not cover more advanced magick pertaining to moon energies, moon phases, or the full moons (Wolf Moon; Hare Moon; etc).

As a Norse/Celtic pagan, there was just too much information that didn't pertain to me. And what was included about Norse/Celtic gods was basic information that I knew already, and again, was arbitrarily placed. A passage on Freyja and Seidr Magick was included in the chapter on the Wolf Moon, but I have no idea WHY her Seidr magick is especially relevant during the Wolf Moon, or what to do with that. That's the kind of information I wanted from this book.

I enjoy learning about other cultures but that's not what this book markets itself as, and it's not what I bought it for. This book should be titled: "Moon and Monthly Magick Across the World" or something to that effect. Otherwise, it's likely to disappoint anyone but the very beginner witch.

[Steve Cran]

Ancient religions prior to the advent of male dominated solar religions based their calendar and lifestyle on the moon. It made sense the moon has a profound affect on our lives. Observe human behavior during a full moon. Crime rates tend to go up people seem to have more energy to use either from positive or negative purposes. People tend to get more emotional during full moons. Tides also rise with the moon phases and our bodies are 75% water.

That being said it is obvious that ancient Goddess centered religions were in fact based on the moon. Dj Conway for this book gives us a chapter for each of the thirteen lunar months. In each chapter she tells us what celebrations happen for which Goddess during that given month. THE Goddesses come from a panoply of different faiths. Some from the Celtic world, other from the Northern Traditions. There are Greek, Roman, Sumerian, Chinese and Japanese deities that are honored here. Oh and let us not forget the Native American deities and South American Deities. This makes her an eclectic pagan who believes that divinity is connected on the deepest levels of our existence. Sometimes Deities from different pantheons are honored in the same ritual. This seems to be happening a lot in Modern Wicca.

Included in each chapter is not only a list of the Goddesses but also the mythology behind several of them. Many of the rituals are reconstruction if not entirely remade from scratch. It is impossible to carry on rituals as they may have occurred thousands of years ago because life today is different from what it was way back when. If life changes and evolves so does religion. Many writings regarding rituals are also not properly preserved leaving lots of gaps to fill in.

There are several cool things about this book. Beside thee rituals and deity listing. There are several recipes, craft projects as well as other being associations and herbal associations listed as well. The book is great for any beginning eclectic Pagan.

[Tam (is a cryptid) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars, bordering on 4 because the book is well laid out and the appendixes add value.

I don't typically review books like this, and this isn't so much a true review as just a bit of 'what's good' vs 'meh'.

The book contains sections devoted to every moon of the year and doesn't just focus on the well-worn stories and traditions but brings a lot of folk tales and traditions from around the world and from many different faiths- noting bits and pieces (though never necessarily in depth) about how each celebrates. It gave me a nice jumping off point for other things that I wanted to read more in depth about.

The recipes and crafts for each moon fall both into 'the good' and 'the meh' as some were useful and things I could see myself actually utilizing (bath salts, food and drink) but others felt far less practical and fed into the very 'old school' new age vibes of what a witch's practice should look like. That being said, I can forgive it a little as it was published in 1996 and the way many of us approach the craft has changed since then. However, I may not be the ideal audience and traditional wiccans may enjoy this much more than my mishmash witchy self.

[J.W. Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg amazing fucking book. So much great info. Highlighted n noted sooo much

[Heka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had this book for many years. When I was first starting out, it seemed really inspiring. I adapted some of its poems and incantations to songs and chants (which I still use) but, as I became more experienced and widely-read, I mostly regarded this book as garbage.

[Viv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I need to make the Dragon Smoke Bath Salts - for prosperity. This book has quite a few recipes and craft ideas, ie Tibetan cologne.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is pretty terrible and all over the place. This book was mainly about the months and associated celebrations and deities. As I don’t work with deities, I didn’t find it very useful.

[Raven Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has A LOT of information. It covers a variety of cultures but don’t get your hopes up that it’ll appear in each chapter. I was pleasantly surprised to find many entries for the Norse (my current witchy interest) but unfortunately it more often than not a slight toss of a sentence in an entire chapter such as:

“This month was sacred to the Roman god Mars, hence the name March. Mars is similar to the Greek Ares, Tiu, or Tiwaz of Central and Northern Europe, Teutates of the Celts, and Tyr of the Norse. The Roman goddess Bellona, goddess of war, had her special day during this month.”

She goes no further about the connection for Tyr and March outside of this one sentence. It happens often that it’ll be a sentence similar to this with her comparing different pantheons. I was hoping for a bit more. If you’re going to bother mentioning them, at least to the honor of discussing them a bit more in detail.

If you’re interested in the Greek/Roman gods, you are set! There’s something in every chapter for you. The crafts and recipes seem interesting. Some of the spells/rituals seem quite perfect while others are a hit or miss. For example, it seems a bit strange to call to Poseidon to help with earthquake protection when you’re several states away from a coast and live in a desert. But then there are prosperity rituals and love rituals a majority of people will enjoy.

Overall, I’m glad I’ve got it. Mainly I’ll be looking at the paragraphs at the beginning of the chapters for magickal focuses and planning my own celebrations. It was an interesting read but do remember it is Conway, you’ve got to research further.

[Curtis Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, encouraging you to look at the world and your role within it with a fresh perspective. It gives a monthly description of different cultural beliefs surrounding the moon, with the cultures ranging from Nordic pagan to Egyptian to Far Eastern. With these monthly descriptions, they also include recipes and spells/rituals related to these monthly moons, without promising anything. Instead, they serve as an all-encompassing history of lunar gazing. Many of the stories stuck with me (I finished reading it about 5 months ago), and I still make note of the color and phase of the moon every time I am in view.

[AquaMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how this book covers more than just the well-known Greek & Roman mythologies, delving into Hindu, Egyptian, and other lesser-known cultures. Although everytime I read the words "Kali-Ma", the first thing I think of is Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which is one of the movies I watched obsessively as a kid. I mean no disrespect. I just can't help it. Those early associations are impossible to get past. Monkey brains, anyone? I've always been a fan of all sorts of mythology, so this is especially interesting to me.

Love the recipe sections too :)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the information on customs in non-western, norse, or celtic cultures was explained in only one sentence. The lack of context really changed the significance of a lot of the customs. This book did try to cover most of the world, so I appreciate the attempt.

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rituals in this book are thorough and I think Conway discussing crafts and food for each month greatly improves its value. However unfortunately Conway often repeats misinformation or has some inaccuracies that threaten to weaken the rituals.

[Lilliana Blackstar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read and one of my favorite Go-To reference books

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspired by spending too much time with this book.

[London · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly this book was a large part of how I view and think about my studio practice. Really great as an overview of moon mythology and lore, fun recipes and rituals for each month

[Dark Luna Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fair bit of cultural appropriation and the use of the ESK*%” racist term. As the book is 25 years old there is a good chance it would be written very differently in today’s environment.

[Marinna Mesquita · Rating 1 out of 5]

mal fala sobre a lua propriamente, mas se você quer saber mais sobre mitologias e rituais que exijam materiais que normalmente você não tem em casa..

[Andressa Da Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so much; honestly so glad my mom got this on a whim months ago

[Mark Woodland · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, in answer to your question, the reason I read this is principally for research for a book project of mine (though in that process, I've developed an interest in the subject in general, as I've a number of friends who are of earth religions). This book was a bit of a disappointment, since it didn't tell me much that I hadn't already seen elsewhere. In general, I've found that books whose title includes a "K" at the end of Magic tend to be on the side of ritualism and lighter on spirituality. That isn't universally true, of course, but I found it to be the case with this book. If one is interested in ritual, then this might not be a bad book to read, and it is specific to the influence of the moon. I did learn a few things from it in that respect, but overall, I read it very fast and moved on.

[Rusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. The monthly information is wonderful and very detailed.

The monthly sections, which give information on each month of the year, was very interesting. They were full of facts about each month, including corresponding: colors, flowers, scents and much more.

The lore included in the book about each month made for very good reading. And the recipes, spells, rituals, & crafts were interesting as well, and some of the crafts sounded fun to try.

I found the whole book to be a very good read. To this day I refer to the monthly sections to look information up about each month of the year.

The information given in the book was easy to understand and I personally was very entertained while reading this book. I would recommend it.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very strange mix of rituals, spells, myths, etc. and recipes and crafts. Like there's a spell to make warts disappear and then next there's a recipe for deviled egg sandwich spread. This might not be the best way to organize a book, but I was totally feeling it anyway. Inspired by the "German Witch Potpourri," I'm probably going to stuff some plants in a jar and call it potpourri. Also, "Russian Tea" is basically hot water, a cinnamon stick, and vodka. Isn't that great? Guess what makes it Russian.

I also really appreciated that the content drew not only from from European myths--which is what I expected--but also included myths and rituals from all over the place; Egypt, India, Russia, Mexico, etc. There were a few sections that had nothing to do with the moon like this one myth about Poseidon and some cologne recipes but whatever DJ you're cool.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moon Magic is a book about the phases of the moon. The moon is a powerful symbol to many Pagans. To some the moon represents femininity. To others the moon represents change and renewal. It's not surprising that Conway chose to write a book about the Moon. Moon Magick is actually one of her better books. Usually Conway's books are full of misinformation or just her ranting. But Moon Magic actually has some interesting facts or information. Each phase is tied to a month and given a specific name. Each section includes folklore, crystals, food, and Deities associated with that aspect of the Moon.

[Bladestryke · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a LOT of information here. This is a good read if your a follower of the Goddess, a student of world religions or old wives tales. Also a good source of information on how the months got their names. The only issue I had is that it was rather repetitive and often he felt like an ad for his other books. Like most books some of the crafts and recipes want rather hard to get or expensive things.

[Cas ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a mix-match of multiple pagan followings, which is interesting but it felt a little too all over the place. Some of the other reviews mention the weird flow of the book, with spells and recipes being on the same page without much rhyme or reason.

What I love about this book is the large cover of pagan holidays most sources don't bother to mention. For that reason alone it's a keeper.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great addition to your magic/Wicca library. The book is organized by each moon in the lunar year explaining the reasons behind that particular moon's name, history, traditions associated with this moon, etc. Each chapter includes recipes, crafts, rituals, myths/legends or other interesting information related to that particular moon. There are pictures and symbology is discussed. Great for the beginner witch who is looking for ideas to connect with the earth.

[AnitaDurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just retrieved this from my parent's bookshelf. this was a well-loved and used book that i got recipes from, cast spells from, etc. it describes each lunar month of the year (corresponding with the Gregorian calendar to make it easier...) and it has tons of myths and stories, recipes, crafts, spells, and info about each month. i'm excited about reading it again.

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this when I was about 13 and going through my 'witch' phase. It had some fascinating stuff in it, but mostly it just helped me realized that I am, indeed, Christian, though I do believe there are preturnatural forces in the natural world that are beyond human understanding. For that, I highly recommend this book.

[Olivia Gourlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has three rituals, many craft projects and much more. The moon is important to many pagan religions. Changes in the moon helps us know when to cast certain spells and do certain rituals.
Deities of the moon are usually goddesses. To learn more about the goddess go on www.yoni.com