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Faery Magick: Spells, Potions, and Lore from the Earth Spirits
Travel down a pathway to the Faery realm, and bring enchantment into your life. With over 100 spells, rituals, and journeys, this practical book is designed to help you in matters of romance, love, and beauty, as well as home, health, protection, and wealth. Collectively known as the "Sidhe" or "the Bright People," Faery beings exist halfway between the material and spiritual, mortal and deity. Hands-on information and techniques in this book origins, history, and lore; living Faery traditions, Faery Wicca, and Faery Shamanism; The Golden Rules of the Faery realm; the best days, times, and locations for Faery Magick ; how to attract Faeries with foods, brews, herbs, flowers, crystals incense, and essentials oils; how to set up your Faery magick altar by gathering and consecrating your Faery Magick altar tools; how to open and close your Faery Magick Circle; and empowering, easy-to-do Faery magick spells, rituals, and journeys.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Sirona Knight
29 books10 followersSirona Knight, M.S. (Psychology and leisure studies, California State University, Sacramento), is a Third Degree Craftmaster and High Priestess of the Celtic Gywddonic Druid Tradition, and has been a contributing editor for Magical Blend. She is also a hypnotist, and writes for New Age Retailer and Aquarius.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 20, 2016
Rating: 1/5 stars
I want to kick off this, my first book review on this blog, by saying that I am not nice when I read a book I do not enjoy. I am scathing, to quote a friend, and I can be downright cruel.
"So why did you finish reading it?" I can hear your irritated question from here. The answer is simple: I have to. In my life I have begun and abandoned many things, but books I have always been steadfast in. This holds true for all books, even those assigned to me in academic courses I did not like. Indeed, ask me how long I've been trying to Inkheart. I find reading to be a blessing, a gift wrought by my situation in life and in this world. I am lucky to have the education I do, and even if I don't like what someone has written, I will exercise my gift and finish the expression of their gift and education.
Now that the uber-insightful stuff has been covered, on to the rather scathing review of this "lovely" little book.
I first stumbled on this book as a Neo-Wiccan, at 13. Given my connection to and love of the Fae, I was instantly drawn to it. But, being a teenager and hiding my faith from my entire family save my mom, I rarely had time to crack the little book. I found a few spells and ached to plant a "Faery Garden", but that was as far as I went. Circumstances brought about the loss of my first copy, trouble finding a new one, and then literal tears when I discovered a used copy in a tiny metaphysical store in Southern California. I really, REALLY loved this book, without ever having read it. I tell you this so you fully comprehend my utter disdain for the book, and how far it has fallen in my eyes.
Now, years later and a good ways into learning about Fae Faith practices, I decided it was time to finally crack my coveted little book. And that was a mistake.
Big Problems
Sirona Knight is a Neo-Wiccan, or at least a very close relation to one.
She insists on a male/female binary system that irritates me. So homosexuals HAVE to honor a male and female balance? So Trans, Genderfluid, and Third Gender people are automatically excluded and made to feel unwelcome? No, that is NOT okay.
She has an awful lot of "have to's":
"...it is vital that you go outside into Nature when communing with faeries" p.21
"... guarantees success in magic." p.21
"Faeries like befriending mortals." p. 17
"The faeries are obviously part of a Pagan, pre-Christian religion." p. 15
"The faeries will tell you what a plant needs and what it is used for" p. 6
"Stay away from them and do not engage them." P. 41 (when mentioning Fae of the Unseelie court)
I could keep going, but you get the point. In magic (note I do not add that ridiculous "k"), there is NO guarantee. There is also no 100% right way, although I make one exception: academic sources.
Over and over, Knight tells people to eat this, drink a tea of that, but she never cites which of the books in her bibliography list these herbs as safe, give a proper dosage, or even tell what folklore or fairy tale she found them in. That is bad herbalism and can be deadly, so I DO NOT recommend drinking or eating anything Knight suggests in this book until you verify it with an academic source. And other Llewellyn books do not count!
Similarly, Knight lists correspondences to animals, plants, and stones but does not say which tales these correspondences come from. If they are her gut feeling, that is fine, but she needs to state that. I also took issue with her saying that certain flowers were the "favorite of Oberon, King of the faeries" and other similar things. How do you know they're his favorite? King of which faeries? Given the bibliography, there really should have been source citation to show where Knight was getting her information. Otherwise it's all just made up, and I could do that too. If you're claiming historical backing for your beliefs, show your work.
Knight goes on to insist that you "have" to cast magic circles, invoke the four (note, only four) elements, and do all the ritual trappings associated with Neo-Wicca. As I am not Neo-Wiccan, I do none of these thing and it bothers me that she claims you HAVE TO in order to preform magic with the Fae.
Finally, in regards to the content and topic: IT TAKES HER 30 PAGES TO MENTION THAT THE FAE MIGHT BE DANGEROUS. Repeat after me: Never tell a Fae your name, never eat the food, and remember that even the nice ones can be VERY DANGEROUS. Fae are not human, they don't see things the way we do. Believing they're all nice will get you in a world of hurt. Even Tinkerbell, that beloved little pixie, tries to get Wendy shot to death in the original Peter Pan. Disney cleaned that bit up, so anyone who thinks the Fae are like Disney are very, very wrong.
As far as the book itself goes, the fact that everything is written in italics starts to strain the eyes. Knight's writing style is concise and approachable enough, even if her content is, in my opinion, rubbish. She includes some interesting literary quotes on the Fae at the beginning of every chapter and tells a little story before getting into the "meat" of the chapter. All in all, a nice enough format.
I'll be honest: I didn't even read over the spells. Her correspondences don't even come close to matching mine and I don't like the fact that all of her suggestions seem based on thin air rather than old tales and actual properties of the items. I can write my own spells, anyone can, and I have better luck with correspondences that I set up, not that I found in some random book.
I give it a 1 because there are a few good points: Your focus will strengthen your magic, your magic needs mundane action to work (i.e. Magic is a booster, not a solo means), and I do believe in studying folklore for your Fae path, which Knight claims to have done.
Would I recommend this book? Hell no. But I read it, and that's what counts.
I want to kick off this, my first book review on this blog, by saying that I am not nice when I read a book I do not enjoy. I am scathing, to quote a friend, and I can be downright cruel.
"So why did you finish reading it?" I can hear your irritated question from here. The answer is simple: I have to. In my life I have begun and abandoned many things, but books I have always been steadfast in. This holds true for all books, even those assigned to me in academic courses I did not like. Indeed, ask me how long I've been trying to Inkheart. I find reading to be a blessing, a gift wrought by my situation in life and in this world. I am lucky to have the education I do, and even if I don't like what someone has written, I will exercise my gift and finish the expression of their gift and education.
Now that the uber-insightful stuff has been covered, on to the rather scathing review of this "lovely" little book.
I first stumbled on this book as a Neo-Wiccan, at 13. Given my connection to and love of the Fae, I was instantly drawn to it. But, being a teenager and hiding my faith from my entire family save my mom, I rarely had time to crack the little book. I found a few spells and ached to plant a "Faery Garden", but that was as far as I went. Circumstances brought about the loss of my first copy, trouble finding a new one, and then literal tears when I discovered a used copy in a tiny metaphysical store in Southern California. I really, REALLY loved this book, without ever having read it. I tell you this so you fully comprehend my utter disdain for the book, and how far it has fallen in my eyes.
Now, years later and a good ways into learning about Fae Faith practices, I decided it was time to finally crack my coveted little book. And that was a mistake.
Big Problems
Sirona Knight is a Neo-Wiccan, or at least a very close relation to one.
She insists on a male/female binary system that irritates me. So homosexuals HAVE to honor a male and female balance? So Trans, Genderfluid, and Third Gender people are automatically excluded and made to feel unwelcome? No, that is NOT okay.
She has an awful lot of "have to's":
"...it is vital that you go outside into Nature when communing with faeries" p.21
"... guarantees success in magic." p.21
"Faeries like befriending mortals." p. 17
"The faeries are obviously part of a Pagan, pre-Christian religion." p. 15
"The faeries will tell you what a plant needs and what it is used for" p. 6
"Stay away from them and do not engage them." P. 41 (when mentioning Fae of the Unseelie court)
I could keep going, but you get the point. In magic (note I do not add that ridiculous "k"), there is NO guarantee. There is also no 100% right way, although I make one exception: academic sources.
Over and over, Knight tells people to eat this, drink a tea of that, but she never cites which of the books in her bibliography list these herbs as safe, give a proper dosage, or even tell what folklore or fairy tale she found them in. That is bad herbalism and can be deadly, so I DO NOT recommend drinking or eating anything Knight suggests in this book until you verify it with an academic source. And other Llewellyn books do not count!
Similarly, Knight lists correspondences to animals, plants, and stones but does not say which tales these correspondences come from. If they are her gut feeling, that is fine, but she needs to state that. I also took issue with her saying that certain flowers were the "favorite of Oberon, King of the faeries" and other similar things. How do you know they're his favorite? King of which faeries? Given the bibliography, there really should have been source citation to show where Knight was getting her information. Otherwise it's all just made up, and I could do that too. If you're claiming historical backing for your beliefs, show your work.
Knight goes on to insist that you "have" to cast magic circles, invoke the four (note, only four) elements, and do all the ritual trappings associated with Neo-Wicca. As I am not Neo-Wiccan, I do none of these thing and it bothers me that she claims you HAVE TO in order to preform magic with the Fae.
Finally, in regards to the content and topic: IT TAKES HER 30 PAGES TO MENTION THAT THE FAE MIGHT BE DANGEROUS. Repeat after me: Never tell a Fae your name, never eat the food, and remember that even the nice ones can be VERY DANGEROUS. Fae are not human, they don't see things the way we do. Believing they're all nice will get you in a world of hurt. Even Tinkerbell, that beloved little pixie, tries to get Wendy shot to death in the original Peter Pan. Disney cleaned that bit up, so anyone who thinks the Fae are like Disney are very, very wrong.
As far as the book itself goes, the fact that everything is written in italics starts to strain the eyes. Knight's writing style is concise and approachable enough, even if her content is, in my opinion, rubbish. She includes some interesting literary quotes on the Fae at the beginning of every chapter and tells a little story before getting into the "meat" of the chapter. All in all, a nice enough format.
I'll be honest: I didn't even read over the spells. Her correspondences don't even come close to matching mine and I don't like the fact that all of her suggestions seem based on thin air rather than old tales and actual properties of the items. I can write my own spells, anyone can, and I have better luck with correspondences that I set up, not that I found in some random book.
I give it a 1 because there are a few good points: Your focus will strengthen your magic, your magic needs mundane action to work (i.e. Magic is a booster, not a solo means), and I do believe in studying folklore for your Fae path, which Knight claims to have done.
Would I recommend this book? Hell no. But I read it, and that's what counts.
November 2, 2014
This is a great faery lore book filled with magical spells, crafts, and enchantments. It was a very fun read.
October 28, 2019
read this and my thoughts are sorta similar with the other reviewer. sirona knight doesn't cite her sources and i get that magick is something you feel, but i would have liked some specific source citations in the things she wrote.
her spells are okay. i think a lot of them don't have much to do with the fae and seem very much like filler. even more concerning, the love spells are binding and not in alignment with free will which is a big no-no to me and should be to everyone who practices magick. it's pretty irresponsible to include love spells and not include information about how they can backfire... you don't want to start a marriage with a kidnapping.
i think it's good she suggests that fae work should all be done outdoors, which it absolutely should be. i've made the mistake of bringing fae into my home and it's not fun, especially when you constantly have items going missing...
honestly, i wanted to have a deep understanding and knowledge of the faery realm but this book didn't really accomplish that for me. i need to read a new book on the fae. maybe something more in depth about the history of the fae and hopefully better researched and specifically cited. nice peek in though for a n00b i guess
her spells are okay. i think a lot of them don't have much to do with the fae and seem very much like filler. even more concerning, the love spells are binding and not in alignment with free will which is a big no-no to me and should be to everyone who practices magick. it's pretty irresponsible to include love spells and not include information about how they can backfire... you don't want to start a marriage with a kidnapping.
i think it's good she suggests that fae work should all be done outdoors, which it absolutely should be. i've made the mistake of bringing fae into my home and it's not fun, especially when you constantly have items going missing...
honestly, i wanted to have a deep understanding and knowledge of the faery realm but this book didn't really accomplish that for me. i need to read a new book on the fae. maybe something more in depth about the history of the fae and hopefully better researched and specifically cited. nice peek in though for a n00b i guess
April 15, 2022
he leído otro libro sobre este tema, y entre ellos hay cosas que se contradicen sjsjsjshjabsk
February 17, 2008
A keeper of a book. I love nature and this book is all about working with the nature spirits and the faeries. If you like Spiderwick Chronicles, you'll like this book and want a copy for yourself to use and refer to. Knight talks about alot of the protection spells and the kinds of faeries that are in the movie, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2014
I found the history of faeries to be interesting
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews