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A review by luckyleaf
The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
3.0
From the adorable cover to the creamy pages donned with purple (!) ink, this edition is gorgeous. I had every intention of loving this little book, but it was honestly a slog to get through.
I appreciate both theory and practice, but this book fell short on both counts. In The House Witch, Murphy-Hiscock investigates the basis of spirituality of the house/home/hearth and how one can better incorporate this spirituality into their home (which is interesting and all, but not at all what the synopsis makes the book out to be. Reader be warned.).
The author goes into great detail discussing the inherent sacredness of the hearth and home and setting out the framework of her worship. She then directs the reader to meditate, create an altar for the home spirits/ancestors/what-have-you, and rustle up some herbs to hangout in the cauldron among a few recipes, crafts, and herb correspondence lists.
And as far as the craft in hearthcraft goes, the author’s rituals (note: not spells), are fine but very surface level. If you’re just looking for spells, you can find similar quality on Tumblr.
This book feels like a second draft, with an incoherent structure and redundancy throughout. Can’t blame an author for an editor’s blunders, but I was surprised to see a number of errors, ranging from overall flow to typos, from a Simon & Schuster imprint. And then there’s the one-dimensional discussion on hearth deities from non-western traditions while pages and pages are given to Hestia…
But it’s not all bad! I found the sections on room energy readings and wards helpful, and I have found myself enjoying cleaning more than before. But will I be cracking this tome open every few weeks to inspire my craft? No.
If you’re interested in learning more about hearth-based spirituality with a few interesting rituals, The House Witch could be just what you’re looking for. If you read the synopsis and bought the book, but, like me, were disappointed by the contents, well hey, at least it looks cute on the coffee table.
I appreciate both theory and practice, but this book fell short on both counts. In The House Witch, Murphy-Hiscock investigates the basis of spirituality of the house/home/hearth and how one can better incorporate this spirituality into their home (which is interesting and all, but not at all what the synopsis makes the book out to be. Reader be warned.).
The author goes into great detail discussing the inherent sacredness of the hearth and home and setting out the framework of her worship. She then directs the reader to meditate, create an altar for the home spirits/ancestors/what-have-you, and rustle up some herbs to hangout in the cauldron among a few recipes, crafts, and herb correspondence lists.
And as far as the craft in hearthcraft goes, the author’s rituals (note: not spells), are fine but very surface level. If you’re just looking for spells, you can find similar quality on Tumblr.
This book feels like a second draft, with an incoherent structure and redundancy throughout. Can’t blame an author for an editor’s blunders, but I was surprised to see a number of errors, ranging from overall flow to typos, from a Simon & Schuster imprint. And then there’s the one-dimensional discussion on hearth deities from non-western traditions while pages and pages are given to Hestia…
But it’s not all bad! I found the sections on room energy readings and wards helpful, and I have found myself enjoying cleaning more than before. But will I be cracking this tome open every few weeks to inspire my craft? No.
If you’re interested in learning more about hearth-based spirituality with a few interesting rituals, The House Witch could be just what you’re looking for. If you read the synopsis and bought the book, but, like me, were disappointed by the contents, well hey, at least it looks cute on the coffee table.