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The Witchy Homestead: Spells, Rituals, and Remedies for Creating Magic at Home
From the bestselling author of Practical Magic comes an essential guide to cultivating magical self-sufficiency and enchanted resilience through spell work, gardening, herbal remedies, and more.Whether we live on a farm or in a high rise, we can always create a life that is entwined with the natural world. A homestead is not a log cabin or a hermitage out in the woods -- it is a way of being, a life lived with the intention of returning to our roots and tapping into the essential elements of fire, water, air, and earth. And a homesteading witch isn't just a person who lives atop a beautiful mountain, but anyone who understands that by harnessing and honoring these elements you can create whatever it is that you need.The Witchy Homestead is your guide to finding, creating, and living this essential magic -- it is a comforting companion as you build a wellspring of magical self-sufficiency, and a seasoned teacher as you cultivate enchanted resilience. Through this book, author Nikki Van De Car will offer magically-tinged suggestions for growing or finding your own food regardless of where you live, engaging in natural healing practices, connecting to the ancient magic of the world around you, and for protecting all that you have created.
145 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2021
50 people are currently reading
703 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Van De Car
46 books107 followersNikki Van De Car is a blogger, knitter, and mother whose books What To Knit When You're Expecting and What To Knit: The Toddler Years chronicle the way her knitting changed as her daughter grew. Her popular knitting blog has received over 1.5 million pageviews since its inception in June 2008, and her patterns have been published in Interweave and Ply magazines, among others. Nikki lives in Hawaii with her family.
Come visit her on Instagram at @nikkivandecar and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sereknity/
Come visit her on Instagram at @nikkivandecar and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sereknity/
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 16, 2021
Book Review: The Witchy Homestead - Spells, Rituals, and Remedies for Creating Magic at Home by Nikki Van De Car
Illustrations: Zoe Ingram
Genre: Mind, Body, Spirit / Religion and Spirituality
Publisher: Running Press
Release Date: 17th August, 2021
About the Author and Illustrator
Nikki Van De Car lives in Hawaii with her family. She is a blogger, writer and crafter with a love of knitting. Her previous book releases include; Practical Magic, Calming Magic, Magical Meditations, Wellness Witch and The Junior Witch’s Handbook.
The illustrator, Zoe Ingram is from Edinburgh, Scotland and her designs and illustrations have been featured on stationery, cards, magazines, book and home decor. She has a lovely artistic style. I love her use of colours and that a lot of her work features animals. Her website or instagram has some beautiful representations of the tarot cards. I’m not sure if she currently has plans to release a tarot deck, but I imagine it would be stunning.
About the Book
The blurb says...
"Whether we live on a farm or in a high-rise, we can always create a life that is entwined with the natural world. A homestead is a way of being, a life lived with the intention of returning to our roots and tapping into the essential elements of fire, water, air and earth.
The Witchy Homestead is your guide to finding, creating, and living this essential magic. Learn to build a wellspring of magical self-sufficiency and cultivate enchanted resilience through crystal rituals, simple spells, natural remedies, and more, as you hnor the eart and protect all that you have created."
The book is organised in to three parts:
- Enchanting Your Food - all about growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. With tips for foraging.
- Enchanting Your Health - features things that you can make: body care, face care and hair care (scrubs, creams, toners cleansers). This section also has things for colds, pain relief and sleep.
- Enchanting Your Home - bits and pieces about houseplants, house-cleaning and creating an indoor and outdoor altar.
The book is about working with the natural elements, particularly the element of earth and incorporating natural ingredients into your everyday life.
My Thoughts
Firstly, I want to address the idea that the book is not ‘hearth witch’ or ‘kitchen witch’ focused, which some people may think when talking about the witchy home.
A homestead or the term ‘homesteading’ has become popular recently. Technically, it means a house, usually a farm with land that is used for agriculture. Homesteading as an idea is about being self-sufficient; producing and preserving your own food, homemade products and living on what you can grow and produce.
It is this idea that the book is playing on, but on a much smaller scale, because everyone has different living situations, and although living on a homestead may sound nice it’s not possible for everyone.
The book brings a little of that homestead magick in to different areas of your home: the garden (growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs), the bedroom (getting a good nights sleep), the bathroom (home-made recipes for body and hair care), and a small section on house-cleaning. Which, no matter how much I try or how nice these homemade products sound, I just can’t seem to embrace the idea of cleaning as part of my witchy practice!
I think there is a part of all of us that likes the sound of getting back to nature and the simplicity of it. The modern world is busy and chaotic. Sometimes we need to take a step back and reconnect with the earth and that’s what this book allows you to do.
The section that I appreciated the most was, 'Enchanting Your Health'. I’m really into beauty products, so it was nice to have those recipes for creating products with all natural ingredients. The book is organised in a really nice way with the ingredients you need, the recipe to follow and an illustration by Zoe.
One thing that would have been nice is to have a magickal element to the making of the products. There is the list of ingredients you need to make something, the instructions of how to put it together or create it, but I would have liked to have a spell or ritual element to it. After all it’s called 'The Witchy Homstead'. Some people may find the process of making their own products from scratch a ritual within itself, but I would incorporate a blessing or set some intentions when combining the ingredients just for an extra magickal touch.
Nikki has done this in the gardening section. There is a boundary spell and an enchantment for your garden, which were really nice witchy touches to the otherwise practical advice for testing your soil, composting and beginner herb gardens. However, like i said it would have been nice to have a little ritual or enchantment when creating the natural things through out the rest of the book.
Coming back to the idea of self-sufficiency, there are just a few things that I wanted to mention. For a lot of witches, and people in general, being self-sufficient sounds great but it’s not always possible. With a lot of the products that are featured in the book you would probably have to buy most of the ingredients to make them. Some things you may have: honey and olive oil. However for the beauty products in particular I generally don’t have coconut oil, argan oil, bees wax and shea butter in my home. And I know there are not going to be many people that keep their own bees.
It’s also important to consider the cost. I know that this will be a factor for a lot of people. The featured recipes for cleaning products include Isopropyl alcohol, which is obviously the main cleaning ingredient. However, at the moment it is quite expensive to get hold of as it is the main ingredient in hand-sanitiser, so you can imagine why it’s in demand. For a lot of people it wouldn’t really be cost-effective to make these products at home.
I did also mention that some of the recipes include bees-wax so just a note for the vegans out there that some of the recipes are not vegan friendly, but I am sure things can be substituted.
Personally, I prefer the idea of supporting small businesses. Businesses that are creating sustainable, vegan, cruelty free and all natural products. If you want to make sure you are using products that are not causing harm to the environment or to animals, products that use natural products and are sustainable then a little bit of research is all you need. A lot of homesteads do sell the products they make.
Saying all of that, I know that people will enjoy making the products at home and it might be something that you do every now and again as a spell or ritual for yourself, rather than a permanent replacement for the current products you use. Remember that using particular products themselves can be made into a spell or ritual. I know a lot of Witches out there already do bath and shower rituals for cleansing and self-care.
I was also slightly disappointed that the author hadn’t really put much about her personal craft or homestead in to the book. I just have this image of Nikki living with her family in Hawaii with her own lovely little homestead and I think I wanted a bit more of that in the book. For example: what she grows or makes at home and how she incorporates that into her craft. I think it’s always nice when authors draw on and talk about their personal craft.
The book is really beautifully illustrated and organised and it’s probably something that I will come back to occasionally when I want to incorporate a spell or ritual with a homemade product for self-care.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think this is a really lovely book and it allows for a connection to the earth for everyone, no matter where they live. As someone who practices green witchery I know how fulfilling it is to grow your own herbs and then use them in your spells and rituals. It’s an easy way for anyone to reconnect with the earth element. If you are interested in starting that aspect of your practice then the book has some good beginner steps for that.
Similarly, the book has some nice ideas for making your own products to use and helps you consider the impact you currently have on the environment.
Remember to consider what works best for you. The homestead is about being self-sufficient, but like I mentioned, to be completely self-sufficient is not possible for everyone. Instead just think about a small change you can make or incorporate into your life. This book may give you some ideas of where to start.
Thank you to Running Press books for sending my an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.
Illustrations: Zoe Ingram
Genre: Mind, Body, Spirit / Religion and Spirituality
Publisher: Running Press
Release Date: 17th August, 2021
About the Author and Illustrator
Nikki Van De Car lives in Hawaii with her family. She is a blogger, writer and crafter with a love of knitting. Her previous book releases include; Practical Magic, Calming Magic, Magical Meditations, Wellness Witch and The Junior Witch’s Handbook.
The illustrator, Zoe Ingram is from Edinburgh, Scotland and her designs and illustrations have been featured on stationery, cards, magazines, book and home decor. She has a lovely artistic style. I love her use of colours and that a lot of her work features animals. Her website or instagram has some beautiful representations of the tarot cards. I’m not sure if she currently has plans to release a tarot deck, but I imagine it would be stunning.
About the Book
The blurb says...
"Whether we live on a farm or in a high-rise, we can always create a life that is entwined with the natural world. A homestead is a way of being, a life lived with the intention of returning to our roots and tapping into the essential elements of fire, water, air and earth.
The Witchy Homestead is your guide to finding, creating, and living this essential magic. Learn to build a wellspring of magical self-sufficiency and cultivate enchanted resilience through crystal rituals, simple spells, natural remedies, and more, as you hnor the eart and protect all that you have created."
The book is organised in to three parts:
- Enchanting Your Food - all about growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. With tips for foraging.
- Enchanting Your Health - features things that you can make: body care, face care and hair care (scrubs, creams, toners cleansers). This section also has things for colds, pain relief and sleep.
- Enchanting Your Home - bits and pieces about houseplants, house-cleaning and creating an indoor and outdoor altar.
The book is about working with the natural elements, particularly the element of earth and incorporating natural ingredients into your everyday life.
My Thoughts
Firstly, I want to address the idea that the book is not ‘hearth witch’ or ‘kitchen witch’ focused, which some people may think when talking about the witchy home.
A homestead or the term ‘homesteading’ has become popular recently. Technically, it means a house, usually a farm with land that is used for agriculture. Homesteading as an idea is about being self-sufficient; producing and preserving your own food, homemade products and living on what you can grow and produce.
It is this idea that the book is playing on, but on a much smaller scale, because everyone has different living situations, and although living on a homestead may sound nice it’s not possible for everyone.
The book brings a little of that homestead magick in to different areas of your home: the garden (growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs), the bedroom (getting a good nights sleep), the bathroom (home-made recipes for body and hair care), and a small section on house-cleaning. Which, no matter how much I try or how nice these homemade products sound, I just can’t seem to embrace the idea of cleaning as part of my witchy practice!
I think there is a part of all of us that likes the sound of getting back to nature and the simplicity of it. The modern world is busy and chaotic. Sometimes we need to take a step back and reconnect with the earth and that’s what this book allows you to do.
The section that I appreciated the most was, 'Enchanting Your Health'. I’m really into beauty products, so it was nice to have those recipes for creating products with all natural ingredients. The book is organised in a really nice way with the ingredients you need, the recipe to follow and an illustration by Zoe.
One thing that would have been nice is to have a magickal element to the making of the products. There is the list of ingredients you need to make something, the instructions of how to put it together or create it, but I would have liked to have a spell or ritual element to it. After all it’s called 'The Witchy Homstead'. Some people may find the process of making their own products from scratch a ritual within itself, but I would incorporate a blessing or set some intentions when combining the ingredients just for an extra magickal touch.
Nikki has done this in the gardening section. There is a boundary spell and an enchantment for your garden, which were really nice witchy touches to the otherwise practical advice for testing your soil, composting and beginner herb gardens. However, like i said it would have been nice to have a little ritual or enchantment when creating the natural things through out the rest of the book.
Coming back to the idea of self-sufficiency, there are just a few things that I wanted to mention. For a lot of witches, and people in general, being self-sufficient sounds great but it’s not always possible. With a lot of the products that are featured in the book you would probably have to buy most of the ingredients to make them. Some things you may have: honey and olive oil. However for the beauty products in particular I generally don’t have coconut oil, argan oil, bees wax and shea butter in my home. And I know there are not going to be many people that keep their own bees.
It’s also important to consider the cost. I know that this will be a factor for a lot of people. The featured recipes for cleaning products include Isopropyl alcohol, which is obviously the main cleaning ingredient. However, at the moment it is quite expensive to get hold of as it is the main ingredient in hand-sanitiser, so you can imagine why it’s in demand. For a lot of people it wouldn’t really be cost-effective to make these products at home.
I did also mention that some of the recipes include bees-wax so just a note for the vegans out there that some of the recipes are not vegan friendly, but I am sure things can be substituted.
Personally, I prefer the idea of supporting small businesses. Businesses that are creating sustainable, vegan, cruelty free and all natural products. If you want to make sure you are using products that are not causing harm to the environment or to animals, products that use natural products and are sustainable then a little bit of research is all you need. A lot of homesteads do sell the products they make.
Saying all of that, I know that people will enjoy making the products at home and it might be something that you do every now and again as a spell or ritual for yourself, rather than a permanent replacement for the current products you use. Remember that using particular products themselves can be made into a spell or ritual. I know a lot of Witches out there already do bath and shower rituals for cleansing and self-care.
I was also slightly disappointed that the author hadn’t really put much about her personal craft or homestead in to the book. I just have this image of Nikki living with her family in Hawaii with her own lovely little homestead and I think I wanted a bit more of that in the book. For example: what she grows or makes at home and how she incorporates that into her craft. I think it’s always nice when authors draw on and talk about their personal craft.
The book is really beautifully illustrated and organised and it’s probably something that I will come back to occasionally when I want to incorporate a spell or ritual with a homemade product for self-care.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think this is a really lovely book and it allows for a connection to the earth for everyone, no matter where they live. As someone who practices green witchery I know how fulfilling it is to grow your own herbs and then use them in your spells and rituals. It’s an easy way for anyone to reconnect with the earth element. If you are interested in starting that aspect of your practice then the book has some good beginner steps for that.
Similarly, the book has some nice ideas for making your own products to use and helps you consider the impact you currently have on the environment.
Remember to consider what works best for you. The homestead is about being self-sufficient, but like I mentioned, to be completely self-sufficient is not possible for everyone. Instead just think about a small change you can make or incorporate into your life. This book may give you some ideas of where to start.
Thank you to Running Press books for sending my an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.
January 9, 2024
I knew when I bought this book it was for purely aesthetic reasons, even though I denied it. But really, I was never going to actually Van De Car's tips and recipes to make my home more natural. Kudos to those who do, but I know my limits. I was purely drawn in by the gorgeous cover and illustrations, and next time I'll make sure to just follow the illustrator online instead of buying a book I know won't be useful to me.
I would have rated this higher but when we get to the crystal section of the book Van De Car makes many claims that certain crystals will help in aiding a number of physical organs like the kidney, heart, skin, endocrine system, as well as repelling electromagnetic ways. I have crystals, I carry them around and I don't think there's any harm in believing a crystal can help with mood and mindset. But there is absolutely no scientific fact that crystals can help with biological ailments like kidney problems, sore throats, etc. and such claims on Van De Car's end is dangerous. I can't believe that was allowed to be published in this book.
That being said, there are some good parts. The Witchy Homestead is very beginner witchcraft and the language used is simple and clear. Some of the recipes are interesting, like for deodorant, sorbet, and lip balm. Van De Car gives great detail into plant and crystal comparisons which I thought was useful. But overall this book wasn't for me, I think I'll be passing on Van De Car's other books.
I would have rated this higher but when we get to the crystal section of the book Van De Car makes many claims that certain crystals will help in aiding a number of physical organs like the kidney, heart, skin, endocrine system, as well as repelling electromagnetic ways. I have crystals, I carry them around and I don't think there's any harm in believing a crystal can help with mood and mindset. But there is absolutely no scientific fact that crystals can help with biological ailments like kidney problems, sore throats, etc. and such claims on Van De Car's end is dangerous. I can't believe that was allowed to be published in this book.
That being said, there are some good parts. The Witchy Homestead is very beginner witchcraft and the language used is simple and clear. Some of the recipes are interesting, like for deodorant, sorbet, and lip balm. Van De Car gives great detail into plant and crystal comparisons which I thought was useful. But overall this book wasn't for me, I think I'll be passing on Van De Car's other books.
September 5, 2021
What a great book! The info in here was accessible and easy to follow and implement. I love the artwork and design of this book, and how easy it is to find what I'm searching for. Looking forward to referencing this often in the future!
November 27, 2022
A great introduction to several basic home spells and rituals. I got it as a guide to help me as I begin to learn more about herbalism and found it to have many great resources to save for later use.
Read
October 18, 2024There’s a little witch in all of us!
Read
May 24, 2022I can see myself using a couple of the practices/recipes from this book, but your mileage will definitely vary with this one. One section on foraging encourages the reader to "test" things to see if they're poisonous: skin check, chew on it and wait 15 minutes to see if your tongue or throat swells (!!), then make sure you haven't eaten for eight hours, eat the plant you found, and don't eat anything else for another eight hours. I'm not positive that's a wise thing to publish?? Like I said, your mileage will vary.
September 14, 2022
was very excited, and i learned a few cool things, but didn't find it to be anything new or novel - just similar info that is everywhere else packaged in a slightly diff way. i also didn't find it very adaptable - it claims to include a lot of info for folks even if they live in a tiny apartment, but that didn't seem true to me.
October 25, 2021
I don't put a lot of faith in an author who suggests testing plants for poison by smell, then touch then taste. Even if you have a fairly good idea of what that plant might be.
Beautifully illustrated, but I won't be trying anything from this book until I cross reference with a more credible source.
Beautifully illustrated, but I won't be trying anything from this book until I cross reference with a more credible source.
January 13, 2026
While there is plenty of good information in this book, especially about herbal remedies and foraging, there were some little details that threw me off personally. There are a few places in the health section where the author mentions "alarming" and "unpronounceable" ingredients in modern self care products. A lot of these compounds are also found in the herbs promoted in the same chapter, and are only "unpronounceable" because labels are required to use scientific names. In the gardening chapters, the book also encourages planting mints and St Jon's Wort, but doesn't mention the importance of keeping them in containers- ironic for a book promoting sustainability, since these plants are considered invasive species and can quickly take over an area if not properly controlled.
February 27, 2024
I really really enjoyed this book. She details rituals, practices, spells, and "potions." I feel like this book just barely grazes the surface of sustainable witchcraft. Give me more recipes for soaps, lip balms, shampoos, and lotions. I loved the recipes for all natural pain relief or sleep aids. There is so much in this book, and I want more of it! Also, I loved the overview of crystals and what crystals to pair with what plants, BUT I really wish I had pictures of them. I guess I'll have to find a different book that shows what they look like and what they're used for. Five out of five stars to The Witchy Homestead!
April 9, 2025
There are some great ideas, recipes, and spells in this book.
But the author, once again, fails to warn their readers about mugwort being dangerous when pregnant. They also suggest using sunlight to cleanse crystals without warning that it can be dangerous to leave some crystals in the sun. And throughout the book they suggest various crystals to "support" plants, but provides no reason why they picked those particular crystals.
But the author, once again, fails to warn their readers about mugwort being dangerous when pregnant. They also suggest using sunlight to cleanse crystals without warning that it can be dangerous to leave some crystals in the sun. And throughout the book they suggest various crystals to "support" plants, but provides no reason why they picked those particular crystals.
February 6, 2023
I really enjoyed this books take on combining witchcraft and the more homestead-like lifestyle. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll use most of the recipes because they contain essential oils and I don’t want to risk my cats with them.
October 2, 2023
A fun book with useful recipes and spells broken out into logical and easy to consume sections. From a homesteading perspective I think more attention could be paid to having accessible ingredients and I would have loved some personal stories
February 21, 2022
GREAT! Beginners friendly and nice detail.... love some of the homemade recipes as well
April 19, 2022
Great book! Easy to follow along, and I love that there are useful recipes in it. It's great for a starter witch. Also has some handy pictures as well for inspiration.
May 5, 2022
A very interesting book, I jotted down quite a few recipes, remedies and spells to try later on. Very well explained and covered many areas. Well written and detailed recipes
February 7, 2023
Pretty, but basic and shallow.
March 21, 2023
Really was interested in the herb part. Don’t feel a lot about crystals but enjoyed the recipes for some homemade products.
November 23, 2023
Good if: you want to make your own lip balm and use herbs to treat illness. It's a beginner primer, maybe, with lots of lists for plants and crystals and how to use them.
February 20, 2024
I really wanted to like this but the ways to test to see if plants are piosonous are very unsafe.
March 26, 2024
I really enjoy this lovely book. It has an amazing variety of stuff to learn and make.
May 21, 2024
The cover is gorgeous and I plan to use it in my house for decoration! This book was fun - lots of natural remedies & tips! I enjoyed it a lot!
July 28, 2024
Very lovely book
Lots of good info in here. Great for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. Lots of good info about ritual work and other stuff.
Lots of good info in here. Great for beginners and seasoned practitioners alike. Lots of good info about ritual work and other stuff.
December 26, 2024
I love any book that helps me further my witchy practices!
March 14, 2025
Good little book. I might do a shrub!
July 3, 2025
I loved the herbal insights. The crystals were too much for me, though.
January 3, 2026
interesting intro to herbs and crystals ect. Dont know how much faith i have in the truth to what was read but if it works then great!
March 20, 2024
I loved this book. The artwork and design of the book was so fun and I really enjoyed reading it. This book is best read with the physical book, you will enjoy it so much more. Great ideas for your home garden, your health and enchanting you home with good.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews