This is the third book in the Llewellyn’s Essential Elements of Witchcraft series and focuses on the element of Fire. When most people think of Fire magic, they might think of candle magic. While candles are part of the practice, there is so much more of how fire is used in rituals, celebrations, spells and more. When we talk about the basic elements of witchcraft, we are referring to Water, Air, Fire and Earth. While this book covers the fire element, I suggest adding the other books to your magical library.
Fire is an element to be respected and handles with care. Fire gives us warmth, life, cooks our food, gives us a warm place to celebrate but like all things has a destructive side. If uncontrolled fire can cause death and destruction; so just as with any tool in magical work, fire needs to be handled with care. (Such as never leave a candle burning unattended).
The book is broken into 3 parts. Part 1 covers History, Folklore & Myth, part 2 covers Working with the Element of Fire, and part 3 covers Recipes, Rituals, & Spellcraft. The book dives into the history, folklore and various traditions that have embraced fire magic and rituals into their culture. The chapters that discuss the fire worship and ceremonies are fascinating. However my favorite was the mythical fire beasts and places. The final part that dives into rituals and spellcraft is another reason to keep this book in your repertoire. There are a lot of great spells, rituals, and information to inspire your own practice within these pages.
I do suggest reading the book cover to cover to get a good ground level of understanding as some of the chapters build on the previous ones. Once the reader has read the book, it becomes a great resource to use time and time again. The author provides well researched information on herbs, stones, crystals, animals, for intentions and reference. No matter if you are a beginner or more advanced, I recommend snagging a copy of Fire magic for your bookshelf.
~review by Amber Barnes
Author: Josephine Winter
Llewellyn Publications, 2021
pp. 336, $17.99
