Mushroom Magick: Ritual, Celebration, and Lore

by Shawn Engel

A fascinating and enlightening celebration of mushrooms and the magic of the forest for those who revel in mushroom imagery and lore.
Mushrooms—as a decorative element, as a signifier of the mystery of the forest, and as an adorable emblem of witchy cottagecore dreams—have proliferated in the collective consciousness as of late. Mushroom Magick is a whimsical collection of mushroom facts and fables divided into three first, profiles of 22 well-known mushrooms include information on biology and common uses as well as a rundown of their energetic properties and suggestions for incorporating them into spellwork. Section two provides a world-spanning collection of mushroom myths and fables. The final section is a taste of the spells and rituals that you can perform with common mushrooms such as creminis, shiitakes, and portobellos—carved candles, floor washes, teas, and even some yummy meals can improve your love life, super-charge your good fortune, or even cast a well-deserved hex upon your most hated enemy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Witchcraft, Nature, Occult

128 pages, Hardcover

Published June 21, 2022

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give 5 stars for the lovely illustrations alone, but alas, the writing was.....ehhh... not my favorite (e.g. some mistakes in mushroom anatomy had me wondering whether the author really cared deeply about mushrooms or was just capitalizing on a trend... the bibliography was sparse, so idk)

There were other things that felt strange, but I don't want to totally drag a book that is ultimately harmless. The vibes were just off for me.

[M Aghazarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It presents quite a bit of inaccuracies with regards to mycology and is highly redundant for such a short book.

[Luminea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to rate this. I've never seen another book on this topic and was excited to hear what the author had to say about working with mushrooms magickally. There are so many that grow in my area and I was eager to learn what they might be used for.

It felt like the author put a lot of thought into the magickal properties of mushrooms based on things like their colour, the environment that they grow in, their toxicity or medicinal qualities etc. I found the descriptions of the various mushrooms and suggestions for using them in spellwork quite interesting, and could certainly use this as a starting point in developing my own personal mushroom magick.

What disappointed me was the cutesy artwork instead of realistic drawings or even photos of the mushrooms being described. In one instance there was a drawing of shamrocks instead of the mushroom for some unknown reason. I had to look up many of the mushrooms online to get a clear idea of what they look like.

I also disliked the entire section about folklore and the historical uses of mushrooms around the world. Of course this is an important subject to include, but the writing in this part felt like it was a bunch of notes taken at a lecture or paraphrased from a textbook. It didn't flow. And to me, the book should have opened with this history and then moved into the mushrooms themselves and the spells. If I had a physical copy of the book I'd be tempted to paper clip this whole section shut and just ignore it. 😂

Interestingly the bibliography mainly references articles and a few books about mushroom folklore and historical uses, as well as information on dyeing with mushrooms. I don't see any field guides or scientific books about mushrooms, which to me seems like an omission.

Overall I feel the book was worth reading and it gave me a starting point for working with mushrooms magickally; however I hope to see other authors adding their own ideas to this and expanding on the subject.

[Mushroomer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book to be horribly misleading for those with no other knowledge of mushrooms. There is repeated factual misinformation, inaccuracies, and other problematic issues with the information contained in this book. Some of which, if applied, can be wrong, dangerous, or just plain FATAL. Those looking to learn more about the factual, scientific side of mushrooms shouldn't buy this book or at the very least ignore the entries on the mushrooms themselves. There are also multiple places in this book in which the author, Shawn Engel, has problematic typos or simply inaccurate information. For example, the entry on the enoki, Flammulina velutipes, has an illustration of the CULTIVATED form of the enoki, which was, I believe, renamed to Flammulina filiformis in 2018. The book mentions descriptions of both "forms" of the mushroom as if they were one, and even says, quote, "Known for its long stem, small cap, and growth in clusters, this mushroom must not be mistaken with the similar-looking but poisonous Galerina marginata" (pg. 34). This description clearly is talking about Flammulina filiformis, which does NOT occur naturally in the wild. And, to add insult to injury, Galerina marginata is a BROWN to RUSTY BROWN, not white, mushroom with a clearly defined cap and stem, and does NOT grow in dense, fused clusters like Flammulina filiformis. Flammulina velutipes, also known as the so-called "wild enoki", IS relatively similar to Galerina marginata, in that it is usually a reddish-brown to orangeish color (on average) and grows on wood. However, Flammulina velutipes occasionally has a cap that is shaped similarly to an oyster mushroom, whereas the caps of Galerina marginata specimens are typically bell-shaped or convex. Additionally, there are multiple points in the book, across multiple entries, in which the author states that the mushroom in question has NO poisonous look-alikes, a statement which, when applied, can lead to horrible mistakes when identifying mushrooms when, mistakenly, the forager believes that ANY mushroom matching the description MUST be the edible mushroom they are looking for, when in reality it could very easily be a highly poisonous mushroom that could kill them if consumed. Not only that, but that author states that, quote, "...a polypore mushroom, which describes a large fruiting body with gills and one to three pores on its underside" (pg. 38). This is, again, incredibly dangerous misinformation about mushrooms that could lead to a potentially FATAL mistake. Polypores are, in actuality, mushrooms that RARELY have gills, and nearly always have a pore-covered underside of the cap. Not to mention, the phrase "one to three pores on its underside" makes absolutely no sense, especially when combined with the other portion of the polypore misinformation. In the entry about Amanita phalloides, which is the deadliest mushroom in the world, the author states that the cap is "green". This is incredibly misleading, and while some specimens of Amanita phalloides have greenish caps, they can ALSO have caps that are a dirty golden-yellow, bronze, or greenish-yellow color. The book also never mentions two of the most important characteristics that can distinguish Amanita phalloides, which are: a white sack around the stem and a (often distinct, though sometimes absent) large white patch on the center of the cap. It also has a problematic spelling error, in which the author states that Amanita phalloides has a "white stripe". I believe that the word that was meant to be there was "stipe", the technical term for a mushroom's stem, but the author apparently missed this crucial typo and left it in the published book, which could, again, lead to a potentially fatal mistake, with readers potentially believing that the mushroom has a white stripe, which it does not. The book also states that Amanita phalloides resembles the edible Caesar's Amanita, and while you should ALWAYS be careful when foraging in the wild, the Caesar's Amanita (Amanita caesarea) looks similar only upon VERY quick inspection, and perhaps not even then. Caesar's Amanita most often has a brightly colored, red, red-orange, or orange cap that frequently fades into yellow or orange along the margins of the cap, but is also known to have solid-colored caps as well. From reading this book, I got the distinct impression that the author did not fact-check any important facts, is not overly knowledgeable about mushrooms, and needs to do much more research on the subject before putting it out into the world in the form of a book (which ALSO contains dubious sections on magical spells and magical properties involving mushrooms, which, I suppose, is a reasonably harmless practice, but it does not speak to the scientific credibility of the author). All in all, DO NOT forage for wild mushrooms using this book, and in fact, if you're looking for factual information on mushrooms, I'd recommend not reading it or skipping the entries on the mushrooms themselves altogether. DEFINITELY double-check any "factual" information that you find in this book, as it could very well save your life if you or any others you share the information with decide to go foraging for mushrooms to eat.

[Megan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS SO CUTE AND HAS AAAALMOST EVERYTHING! The first major section of this book is about Musroom Genera and Species, and Shawn does a great job explaining what various mushrooms are, how they're used, as well as magickal properties and recommendations for how to use them in spells. What would have been incredibly helpful is an illustration of each mushroom mentioned.

I recognize that the publisher may have made the executive decision to limit this due to book length, but because mushrooms can be so hard to identify, having a helpful illustration next to the mushroom being discussed would have been helpful--especially for someone like myself who is also a visual learner.

I loved the rest of this book which takes us on a tour of the world and how mushrooms are used in many various countries across the globe. The final section brings everything together for those of us who are various practitioners with a helpful guide on working various mushrooms into some common spells and workings.

[Florence · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. I would definitely consult a legitimate foraging guide rather than rely on the information about mushrooms in this book, however I really enjoyed the section with global mythology around fungi! Could have done with a lot more of that.

[Mia Oliv.W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed the spell casting section as it reads like a cookbook, which is great for when I may go back to practice. The illustrations are beautiful, but I didn’t learn much regarding the specific species themselves. However, the section on mushroom lore was fascinating.

[alien · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wish there were descriptions of more mushroom species, but i still find this book pretty informative and inspirational when it comes to witchcraft. still, its a really brief introduction to mushrooms as a whole and im not completely satisfied with the amount of information in it.

[Zippy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Highly recommend researching mushrooms from legitimate and reputable sources before consuming, as we found several incorrect descriptions and dangerous recommendations. The pictures are useless for identification.

[The Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

le pongo 4 estrellas, ya que estaría bien chido que pusiera imágenes reales de los hongos para su identificación; pero la estética está bonita, y la información complementaria

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short book. The brief description of the uses of certain mushrooms was interesting but overall to brief in content.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not the best reference book out there. Almost felt like capitalizing on the mushroom trend and mainstreaming of witchcraft.

[Willow (Taylor's version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know much about mushrooms, but this still felt poorly researched and put together.

[Amelia Ackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute table read. Some interesting mushroom lore overviews from various countries. Some spells and uses for common mushrooms. Quick read.

[Tri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a book of mushrooms and some fun facts/history about them alongside magical correspondents. Not good for a mushroom guide (illustrations and information is heavily lacking), and pretty bare bones as a magical correspondents guide. You’re better off using a local foraging guide or a practical mushroom book coupling it with a different witchy book