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das kleine Buch der Hexenkunst

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Are you in need of a little magic to entice love into your life?
Maybe someone you know could benefit from a good luck spell?
Or perhaps you want to feel more in control of your destiny?
The Little Book of Witchcraft uncovers the mysteries of witchcraft and shows you how to tap into the positive natural energies of the cosmos to release your inner power. Learn about different realms of witchcraft and its fascinating history, its symbolism and the building blocks of Wicca, and how to perform simple spells to attract good energy, luck, love, health and happiness.

155 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

64 people are currently reading
907 people want to read

About the author

Astrid Carvel

42 books22 followers

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5 stars
158 (27%)
4 stars
217 (37%)
3 stars
154 (26%)
2 stars
41 (7%)
1 star
13 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
Profile Image for Shai.
950 reviews869 followers
September 4, 2018
The Little Book of Witchcraft is an informative book that contains useful information about witchcraft such as history, tools, and symbols. I'm quite fascinated by how white witchcraft was done thus this book is a big help for me. It is a 155 pages book filled with what one needs to about casting spells and rituals, and even devising your own spells.
The Little Book of Witchcraft
I also like how the power of crystals was mentioned and some common ones were also listed such as the Amethyst for insomnia or tranquility; the clear quartz; rose quartz for love; and tiger's eye for seeking employment. The timing for casting the spells was also cited and a brief information about chakras was also tackled in the practical magic part.
The Little Book of Witchcraft
If you are interested in what is Wicca or New Age, this book may be a bit short but it is a good introduction and foundation to broader research about it.
The Little Book of Witchcraft
Profile Image for Julia Sapphire.
594 reviews980 followers
August 19, 2020
I ended up quite enjoying this one! I loved the formatting and the narrative was great and very inclusive. I definitely enjoyed the history aspects as well. I found this was more detailed in areas then other books I have read. Practical Magic, which is a good book, did not go into this much detail about spells and the beginning stages involved with witchcraft as this book did. Also the quotes in this were absolutely stunning.
Profile Image for Nemo ☠️ .
956 reviews494 followers
January 17, 2018
this was an excellent little book that had a (very) brief history of witchcraft, as well as the things relevant for a modern-day witch, such as spells, crystal and candle meanings, and ways to cast spells with the help of modern technology. it does exactly what it claims to do, and is also a very beautiful, well-presented little tome with lovely illustrations.
Profile Image for Blake.
46 reviews20 followers
September 10, 2018
Attempting to jump on the current rise in trendy witchcraft, this book delivers nothing of worth or substance.

The author seems to lack any basic knowledge of paganism, witchcraft or Wicca. The information given is contradictory and confused, such as the assertion that Wicca is an ancient practise, yet at the same time created by Gerald Gardiner in the 1950s. Or that Wicca is also called Green Witchcraft. When the information isn’t nonsensical, it is lists that might as well be lifted from google. Vague and limited details on a small amount of crystals. The obligatory list of chakras. The inability to seperate witchcraft from mindfulness or vague new age thinking.

A book produced to look pretty and be photographed for instagram, while delivering nothing.
Profile Image for Zanereads.
45 reviews7 followers
November 23, 2017
The Little Book of Witchcraft by Astrid Carvel is a basic guide to white witchcraft. It’s a beautiful book, a shimmer white cover featuring antlers and leaves, and a silver ribbon bookmark. It’s small and sturdy at around 150 pages. It’s a super quick read, but those pages are packed with information. If you’re interested in practicing witchcraft, or like myself, just like learning about things, this book is great.

It covers the basic history of witchcraft, good and bad, and talks you through all the possible tools you’ll need. It guides you through some simple spells and my favorite part, it talks about color meanings and uses for crystals (I’m really interested in crystal healing.) It tells you how to use the days of the week and the phases of the moon to aid your magical endeavours, as well.

What I gathered from this book is that White Witchcraft is basically just strong positive affirmations. The book reminds you over and over again to visualize, and that your mind is your greatest tool. I’m really big on self-help, positive thinking and self affirmations. I eat it up. I try to be my best self whenever possible and so a lot of what this book said resonated with me it. It’s all about sending positive energy out into the world and visualizing your wishes coming true. Plus it gives you a reason to collect beautiful crystal, which I already do, so…

This book is definitely a must read for anyone interesting in witchcraft, and to be perfectly honest, people who hate witchcraft could probably benefit from reading it as well. 5 Stars!
Profile Image for Stacy Tomaszewski.
54 reviews14 followers
February 8, 2018
This is certainly a book intended for people who are absolute beginners, but there are much better, more comprehensive beginning witchcraft books out there. This one is simplistic to the point of inaccuracy and strangely prescriptive - especially since it seems to be trying to be very general and not focus on a particular path. An example: "The pentacle should be present when a spell is performed." In fact, not everyone embraces the pentacle, and that's not a problem. The book has a decidedly Wiccan bent, and I was confused about whether it is about Wicca or not. The author seems to think that Wicca is just a word for witchcraft, which is decidedly NOT the case. I would guess that a large percentage of 21st century witches do not identify as Wiccan. If it is about Wicca, the title should be A Little Book of Wicca. A book about witchcraft should at least address the existence of other paths. The author uses the term "white witchcraft", which is a little bit vague -- especially without any context.

This isn't a bad book, but I don't think that it knows who its audience is. It's misleading for beginners and irritating for those who aren't beginners.
Profile Image for Barbara.
438 reviews35 followers
February 6, 2020
I'm not a practitioner of white witchcraft but I loved this book nonetheless and found it rather interesting and informational. It contains a big deal of information for such a small book but it was still lacking some stuff I find important such as Sabbaths.. i loved that it contained a lot of spells untile other books that I've read that have like three to four spell. This one had quite a lot of them!

One more thing that I liked is that it had a little bit of history and about witch hunts, and all the years and what was happening. Absolutely loved that!

You definetly need to do more research about (white) witchcraft after reading it but it's a nice beginner's book to introduce you to it. It was a quick read and I rather enjoyed it.
Profile Image for MKF.
1,501 reviews
dnf
April 30, 2018
DNF

I was looking for books on witchcraft and this cover caught my eye. After I started it I realized it was just another new age book that pushes new age topics. I was a bit excited to learn that the author chose to include some history as well. Instead it was just the same information from other sources plus some fiction thrown it. According to a note she including most accused witches were Christians who went to church but believed in different things like fairies, an afterlife, and healing powers. Of course there is no mention in the note of the deaths of non-Christians and the list of beliefs has me confused. Most Christians do believe in an afterlife so how would that be a reason to condemn a person? Second would be the mention of fairies which was very common but eventually replaced by angels. Did the author really mean angels or hearing divine voices? Take Joan of Arc as a perfect example of this instead of someone being killed for believing in fairies and other magical beings. Okay so this book was not for me but I did have a good laugh.
Profile Image for Behnaz.
56 reviews28 followers
September 5, 2022
Il libro è stato scritto per un pubblico adolescente. Tranne il recap storico nel primo capitolo, tutto il resto è così semplicistico che fa quasi sorridere.

Cerco di offrire degli esempi più pratici: un libro che non vuole fare della propaganda da teen per ogni elemento o strumento opterebbe per dare anche un'infarinatura storica e soprattutto non cadrebbe in errori molto base. Come si fa a raccogliere il bastone secco caduto dell'albero pensando che si spezzi meno rispetto al ramo verde? Oppure riguardo all'uso delle candele, che secondo quanto afferma il libro diventano parte della stregoneria dal 20esimo secolo quando il prezzo di queste si abbassa, ma qualche libro storico o banalmente ricorrere alle fonti che citano le candele di sego nel 1600?

Per la parte dei cristalli sempre descrizioni molto generiche.

In generale è una lettura che consiglio se avete meno di 17 anni, una mente poco critica e una curiosità molto superficiale riguardo alla Wicca e alla stregoneria come fenomeno storico e come pratica spirituale.
Profile Image for Not Sarah Connor  Writes.
575 reviews42 followers
May 25, 2020
A short little review for a cute little book. The Little Book of Witchcraft is a lovely introduction into the world of witchcraft for beginners or anyone who has ever been curious about the beliefs of witchcraft.

Carvel's book gives a brief history on witchcraft, giving glimpses into the European witch hunts, the Salem Witch Trials, as well as looking at materials needed for spells. The Little Book of Witchcraft gives readers a beginners understanding to crystals and what power and help they can bring mentally as well as talking about the chakras and healing.

The biggest problem with Carvel's book is that it is so brief. I'd love a little bit more information and depth into the content. I just found myself wanting to learn more, so I'm happy Carvel provides a list of resources for readers who want to continue to learn more about witchcraft. I understand the shortness of the book though, because The Little Book of Witchcraft is really just an introduction to the craft. It gives readers a small taste into this spirituality and provides options for further learning if that's a path reader's are interested in taking.

The Little Book of Witchcraft is a perfect read for anyone curious about witchcraft who is interested in the very basics. It's a beautifully designed and illustrated book that even if readers choose to abandon learning about witchcraft will still make a pretty place on their bookshelves.

Profile Image for patrycja polczyk.
452 reviews20 followers
April 3, 2018
It’s a nice little book, but it’s only basics. It’s pretty, too. I can be used as a small go-to notebook, when you need quick information. I got it from Netgalley first, but then I got my own copy (ebook). So yeah, I liked it.
Profile Image for Eliot.
Author 2 books15 followers
February 29, 2020
I breezed through this in about half an hour. It might have enough for someone who has never read a book on witchcraft before, but for me, it was a bit of a mess.

The author’s definition of “white witchcraft” seems to be Wicca without the god and goddess, and magic without any spirituality. Truthfully this book felt sanitized. There is a lot of “white witches never” and while I understanding wanting to ease new people into the subject, but this vibes strongly as erasure.

Not to mention the racist history of white witchcraft vs black witchcraft.

The history presented is shallow at best, suspect or outright misleading at worst. And the author’s definitions of terms should be taken with a heavy grain of salt.

This should never be any witch’s go-to book. It makes for a potential launching off point, but very little else.
1 review1 follower
April 21, 2019
At first I thought this book might be a good overview for absolute beginners, but there is just too much inaccurate information. Two of the worst offenders include stating that the planet that rules Saturday is earth (it’s actually Saturn, thus “Saturn-day”.)

Worse though, is including spells telling you how to attract a specific person. One of the first things beginners normally learn is to NEVER mess with anyone’s free will. To make it seem like it’s ok and to give you a spell to achieve that is beyond ludicrous.

I feel that the author just did a bit of research and pasted the tidbits together but can’t possibly know from personal experience, or she would know better than to include some of the things in this book.
Profile Image for Neko.ta.ta.
166 reviews2 followers
December 2, 2020
Very poor quality book. This is basic, basic information that is confusing and contradicts itself throughout or is outright wrong. Many witches use a bosom (brush to sweep away negative energies - this is not past tense). Spells appear to be cutesy and for Witchtok. Briefly touches on some parts of witchcraft - very limited knowledge is recieved from this book.

Only good bit was the bullet points of the history of witchcraft.

I do not recommend for beginners looking into witchcraft or wicca or people intrigued by the lifestyle/religion. Basically Wikipedia pages bound into a book.
Profile Image for Brandi Johnson.
45 reviews33 followers
July 2, 2018
I picked this up after seeing it recommended on Booktube. It's a pretty book with interesting information, beautiful full page quotes, and simple symbols peppering most pages. I especially enjoyed the history and the information about crystals and the moon. I did expect a novel lol but I'm glad I read it anyway after I realized it's nonfiction. 😅
Profile Image for Ditte.
146 reviews4 followers
March 25, 2020
A fine (and aesthetically pleasing) way to start. It won’t give you a deeper knowledge than what you can find elsewhere. Personally I’ve found tumblr blogs with more. This book isn’t enough.

The book is very contradictory. The upside-down is here portrayed as bad and for evil people. A few pages later they encourage people to do love spells... nah, mate
Profile Image for Elena.
7 reviews2 followers
November 20, 2020
Guida veloce per un'introduzione veloce. Consigliato a chi è alle prime armi, lo considero un buon "antipasto" prima di qualche lettura più "impegnata". Apprezzate le note a fondo pagina create per la sicurezza del praticante.
Grafica molto carina, scorrevole, mi è piaciuto molto.
Profile Image for ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ.
1,114 reviews17 followers
July 1, 2021
I found this terrible. Not quite rude to modern witches but not useful to us either. It's a peek into witchcraft for muggles. If you know anything about the craft, this book is only useful for decorating.
Profile Image for Dyslexic Bookmonster.
444 reviews
June 23, 2020
I got this book as a present.
Good book as a small introduction to witchcraft. I had a bit difficulty with taking the history part seriously.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for buchkrams.
86 reviews
December 11, 2022
Wirklich spannend und interessant. Ich mochte die kleinen Rituale und die Erklärungen der Hexenverfolgung und der Hilfsgegenstände. Sehr schönes, kleines Buch zum Einstieg!
841 reviews85 followers
July 30, 2021
It's a nice little book. But from my other readings on witchcraft Gerald Gardner didn't base his wicca stuff on ancient rites but occult interest in the nineteenth century. I haven't been able to find any sources that give the names of the so-called Celtic sabbats. While Gardner was born in the nineteenth century as far as I know he was more of a twentieth century person. Nor have I seen anywhere that "wizard" is a male witch. I am glad the book referenced men and gender fluid people can be interested in this book. I do wish they had discussed culture appropriate just a little bit. The timeline of witchcraft in Europe will have to be taken with several grains of salt. There is nothing, that I've seen so far, that mentions the cave paintings in France being attributed to witchcraft. So far the so-called condemning of witchcraft in a bible is from the King James Bible as is my current understanding. Further more King James wasn't in the ship that was caught in the storm with his yet to be wife Anne. There was a few interesting information on spells, etc., however, I skip over the love spells.
Profile Image for Dyanna.
212 reviews10 followers
March 16, 2018
The Little Book of Witchcraft is a well written, easy to read, book for those interested in starting their journey into witchcraft. I enjoyed the concise explanation given about witchcraft, the use of crystals and the tools of the craft. It was written in a form that is designed to appeal to the young modern person interested in learning about the craft. I found the information given on the history of witchcraft informative but by no means complete. There is a lot of good information in this book. I like that it touched on modern uses of magic. I would have liked to see more information about the use of magic with modern technology and social media. The continued mixing of Wicca and witchcraft through the book could be confusing to a beginner as they are not the same. They can go hand in hand but that is not made clear in this book.
Otherwise, it is a well-written book. I enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to anyone interested in getting to know about witchcraft.
Profile Image for Nissa.
151 reviews5 followers
March 17, 2018
This small and readable book is a positive introduction for those who, like me, know nothing about witchcraft, focusing on small and approachable rituals for guiding more positive energy into your life. This lovely little guide to white witchcraft is thoughtfully laid out, beautiful to look at, and well-organized for a beginner. The book walks the reader through a very brief history of witchcraft, and then launches you into spellcrafting. The entire guide has a very positive feel, and strongly cautions aspiring witches against casting negative spells, because the negativity will come back to you tenfold. I loved the hand lettered quotes between sections, the beautiful flourishes and art, and the parallels drawn between witchcraft and meditation, positive thinking, and empowerment.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Candy Borjas.
135 reviews7 followers
March 13, 2018
Cute introductory to being a white witch. Although there is so much to the world of witchcraft this is a good start with its content of basic knowledge. This book is great for the modern day witch. With this book we learn about crystals, spells, and candle meanings.
Even though this is a good book for beginners there are a variety of more complex and knowledge filled books out in the world. I would recommend this to others that are in the beginning terms of witchcraft but that's it.
The book cover is beautiful. The book is well written, but I, personally, find it misleading a bit. Not everyone will embrace the pentacle. Not all Wiccans are witches and vice versa.
Profile Image for Teresa.
986 reviews13 followers
April 17, 2018
The Little Book of Witchcraft is a great book mainly for beginners who want to know a little about magic. The book features a short history of witchcraft, tools of the trade so to speak, and walks you through how to do a few simple spells as practice. There are also parts of the books about colors, candles, and crystals.



The book is using white witchcraft, there are no dark spells or information on Dark magic. Even though the book explains tools all you really need to work these spells is basically your mind and concentration. If you have any interest in magic and witchcraft this is a must read.



I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.
Profile Image for Amy Layton.
1,641 reviews80 followers
March 17, 2019
This darling little book is just perfect for the beginner witch, like me!  Carvel takes care to explain the meanings behind moon phases, days of the week, candles, herbs, crystals, and so on and so forth, and even goes so far as to offer a few spells as well.  Both the content and the design are contemporary, in using popular fonts and images, but also in that some spells require technology!  

I'm excited to try some of these spells and experiment with different herbs and crystals once I have the time and ability.  This book truly makes witchcraft accessible and fun.

Review cross-listed here!
Profile Image for Kelsey.
337 reviews4 followers
August 11, 2021
This little book is packed with info and is an easy read. I found myself reading page after page til all of a sudden I was at the end in one sitting. That's how much I enjoyed it! I learned so much and it made me want to continue learning on this subject. The information in this book made me realize how completely different witchcraft is VS how the mainstream media depicts it in stories, movies and TV shows. I was also shocked to learn that everything I have naturally been doing in my own spiritual practices is written in this book! I guess that's why my intuition guided me to this book and I'm glad it did.
Profile Image for dearrivarie.
645 reviews45 followers
February 24, 2018
I know little to nothing about witchcraft and picked this up just for a fun read. The Little Book of Witchcraft is informative and contains a lot of history and interesting facts (moon phases, crystals, incense, etc.) which was cool. I found that the author tended to mix witchcraft and Wicca together which from what I've seen from other review are two different things that can be related by aren't necessarily always combined. Either way it was informative and well written.

Copy provided by NetGalley
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