Walking in Beauty: Using the Magick of the Pentacle to Bring Harmony to Your Life

by Phoenix LeFae

A Must-Have Guide to Embracing the Magnificence in Yourself and the World

Using the pentacle as a magickal framework, this exhilarating book presents techniques and exercises that help you manifest joy, discover your inner and outer beauty, recognize blessings, and bring balance to your life. Phoenix LeFae presents a revolutionary approach based on the pentacle and the five points of beauty, devotion, desire, creativity, and expression.

Walking in Beauty awakens you to the splendor of the world; it is both a meditation tool and a key to greater awareness. Through exercises, rituals, affirmations, and guerilla acts of kindness, this excellent guide shows you how to run the energy of the pentacle through your body and clear any blocks that keep you from living a fully engaged and beautiful life.

Genres: Spirituality, Witchcraft

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 8, 2020

Reviews

[Anoeska Nossol]

DNF at 41%

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book has a very nice concept. This concept also appealed to me when I read the blurb. Although the author elaborates on the concept in a great way, it's not what suits me as a reader. There are informational parts which I adored to read and found very interesting.
Other parts were very floaty. I like Pagan because it's not as floaty as other beliefs. Some parts of this book were far too far-fetched for me and no longer came to the essence. I'm in a good place with myself, and my view on things. Which made that I didn't feel like the given information made a difference. This book contains questions to ask yourself, and the author suggests reading the book with a journal next to it. It's very interactive and I adore the concept, I'm sure it works for others, but it didn't for me. Simply because I didn't feel the need to do so, and the goal -which the author explained at the beginning- was not something I want/wanted to reach in life.
The book only appeals to a very limited audience, which I find unfortunate. The information given is this book can actually help people. It is a creative way of explaining something, I must admit that this way is great to talk about spirituality.

It's a great concept, and I'm sure there is an audience out there for this type of book. Sadly, it didn't work for me.

[Stefani Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Llewellyn!***

The concept of this book was really appealing to me. One of the first ideas that you learn in paganism and witchcraft is that the points of the pentacle symbolize the five elements and the circle represents all of those elements working together in harmony, toward a greater goal. LaFae takes this concept and applies it to the concept of beauty. Beauty of the self, beauty of the soul, beauty of the world. Our society is severely lacking in an appreciation of the small things and that is what this book is about. Everyone gets too busy to notice small, beautiful things in the world but this is ultimately detrimental to your magick and to your soul.

I loved the layout of this book. It has sections where it asks you to journal all of your feelings or revelations about the portion that you previously read. Some of the assignments are to find a beautiful thing and add it to your beauty notebook. This book is definitely going to be added to my personal collection. Reading it for the purpose of a review, I didn’t get a chance to work through some of the assignments but I want to. So I will be going through this more thoroughly later.

The rituals were also pretty good. They are not beginner rituals (as the books points out it is not a beginner’s guide to magick) in that it doesn’t cover the basics like grounding, casting a circle, releasing a circle, setting up an altar, that kind of thing. The rituals are beautiful in their own way and I can’t wait to try them out.

The ultimate goal of the beauty pentacle is to use the newly positive view that you develop and spread that beauty outward. To use small acts in your community to spread the power of the pentacle ever wider. I love that idea. If everyone did that the world would be a much more positive place.


Reviewed for Written Among the Stars

[The Shakti Witch · Rating 3 out of 5]

In ‘Walking in Beauty’ LeFae brings to the forefront the importance of gratitude, seeing beauty in the world around us and understanding self beauty. Readers will confidently build altars by following well written text and instructions in order to attract beauty into the mundane. Through journaling readers can move through barriers and by using other meditative practices overcome negative body issues.

LeFae does bring into this the Wiccan philosophy of the Pentacle, although superficially, and I was hoping for more of an explanation of the differences between the Pentacle and the Pentagram. I personally find Pentacles energetically annoying and will take a Pentagram over a Pentacle any day!

This one is for the Wiccan’s and those new to practice looking to add some calm and positivity to their lives.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC

[Paige Ovanisian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beauty Pentacle is a method of magickally charged mindfulness in order to recognize and harmonize beauty both inside and outside of ourselves, so we can live with intention and gratitude every day. Walking in Beauty really dives deep into acknowledging and sharing love through the implementation of meditations and other energy manipulations, journaling prompts, ritual work, invoking/evoking spirits and deities, calling upon the elements, herbs / oils / stones, altars, tarot, and offerings to name a few.

If you're expecting the Beauty Pentacle to share features with the traditional elemental pentacle that most witches are most familiar with, there may be a bit of a disconnect. The points of this pentacle are: beauty —your god-self and third eye, devotion —your relationship with the world around you, creativity —your unique creative signature, desire —the spark that calls you to action, and expression —the release of that desire. The author goes into great detail on each point and how to open yourself up to them.

I like that the topic of shadow work was included, the Bright Shadow being a new concept to me, and I enjoyed how the author explains the differences between Shadow vs. Bright Shadow and why they're both important in relation to each other and for the individual. Another new concept that I am really digging is using the gender neutral "Godd". I also liked the basic break-down of ritual by elemental (air, fire, water, earth) association, which is a really great practice and will help you better identify the types of elements you're calling on.

The author cites their information throughout, with an extensive Bibliography in the back, as well as some reading recommendations. These practices are absolutely adaptable, so you can practice them in a way that is comfortable and complimentary of your magick. While there is quite a bit of fluff that doesn't resonate with me personally, there are also some powerful methods of energy work as well as grounding practices. The section Guerilla Acts of Beauty, anonymous and spontaneous acts of kindness and love, is especially lovely.

Thank you to Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. for providing me with a free eARC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenna Deaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

* This review is based on an Arc edition of the book.

* the writer does use the word smudging but acknowledges they are not referring to a native tradition but the more widely known use of the word.

Walking in Beauty is a book approaching the topic of beauty from a decidedly bardic angle. Using the pentacle as a system to dive beyond physical appearance and look into what inspires our spirits the writer encourages readers to reconnect to a sense of awe in the world around them. It is particularly wonderful to encounter a new system that acknowledges the work of those that came before it both in the text and with on page citations.

The pages are filled with exercises, meditations, recipes, and personal stories that help to build a connection between the individual pagan and the beauty pentacle system. As a journal loving reader the periodic check ins throughout the book were particularly enjoyable allowing for both journal entry time and personal reflection. The concept of the Bright shadow in particular is something I have not seen addressed in other books and enjoyed working with.

The timing of this book releasing could not be better. As our world recovers from the troubles of early 2020 the global community is redefining its sense of self and understanding of what is beautiful. This work with its respect for eclecticism and flexible nature will likely become instrumental in many pagans approach to shaping their work with the self and the community at large.

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It starts out with an introduction to the pentacle and then moves on to the points (all of which are broken down into a specific focus such as creativity or desire) and then goes on to go beyond the basics of finding beauty. I loved that at the end of each section there were questions asked that needed to be answered after reflection. This might seem simple but as I worked on the exercises it was more profound than one might think. These exercises and questions were building blocks for the rest of the exercises. This whole thing will be a work in progress and I need to remind myself that it will not happen overnight. I loved the idea of taking it out into the world toward the end. I think this could help everyone exceptionally as little pieces of beauty are scattered around.

My biggest complaint was trying to visualize the tarot part of this. I am such a visual person so trying to see it was a struggle for me. However, this is my personal issue. Still a very good book. I look forward to implementing some of these things through the course of my day to day life.

[Alan D.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Esta fue una lectura increíble! Es sorprendente lo fácil que se descarta la belleza como simple, vana y sin importancia, pero Phoenix prueba una y otra vez qué error es ese. Lleno de una miríada de meditaciones, ejercicios y disparadores de escritura, este libro te transformará en una mejor versión de ti mismo.

This was an awesome reading! It's surprising how easily one dismiss beauty as simple, vain and unimportant, but Phoenix proves again and again what a mistake that is. Filled with a myriad of meditations, exercises and journaling prompts, this book will transform you into a better version of yourself.

[Angy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book's idea about focusing on the beauty in life, because that's something difficult to do in such a cynical world with a lot of ugliness. However, beauty is so easy to see in nature. I'm not a huge fan of the "beauty pentacle," because all of the points seem to be way too similar and don't build upon each other as diversely as I would like. I do think that Phoenix LeFae has an engaging writing style, a lot of great and thought-provoking journal prompts and exercises (although some are way better than others, and I had to pick and choose quite often). I admire the book but do not think it's for everyone.

[ABCme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides an excellent tool to raise your personal awareness. To take full advantage you need a journal to keep up with all the excercises on offer.
If you're willing to go even deeper there are suggestions on how to maintain your sense of wonder, some recipes for self care products and rituals. The book has something for everyone, rounding up with an interesting tarot spread.
Walking in Beauty offers a great way to explore self and surroundings.

Thank you Netgalley and Llewellyn for the ARC.

[Mandy Bookstagram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free digital Advanced Reading Copy (ARC e-book) of this title. I really enjoyed it! Walking in Beauty by Phoenix LeFae was a great read. I love books about the occult and witchcraft so I was very interested in this volume. I thought the idea that the body creates a pentagram, and that there are energies that flow through and controls each point of the pentacle. This was a new idea to me but I think it is interesting and I am excited to learn more about it!

[Ris K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I conceptually liked but the content itself wasn’t what I was hoping for. I enjoyed the five energy points as concepts to dive into for myself. But personally the energy-work practice behind it wasn’t something I connected with. I really enjoyed the journal prompts though. It’s worth the read and there may be things I come back to but personally it wasn’t something I’m going to add into my practice.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this was an okay book. I liked the concept and all that, but it's for a very narrow audience, even if one is into paganism or similar paths, so I found it a bit frustrating. There were tidbits that I found useful though.

[Annarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even if I found the concept and the rituals interesting this book didn't keep my attention and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book is very fluffy. It is very "be at one with everything" and I almost stopped reading. But as the book continued it got much better. The meditations and exercises to connect were really good and I liked the check-in prompts. Recipes for the oils were really good and the stones picked fit perfectly. I feel like the author is very anti-technology and some of the rituals were too complicated for my tastes, but overall the book is well written and would be useful for someone looking to try something new.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Looking at the pentacle point as points of beauty rather than the elements. So you get a different connection to the symbol and yourself. Beauty and types of development (like interpersonal and global) explained. Different things to look at. It is okay.