Long-time author Anna Franklin offers a new book in her Hearth Witch series. For those who don't know, a hearth witch is someone for whom their home and hearth is the focus of their magical practice. Sometimes called kitchen witches, they infuse everyday domestic activities with magical intent. For a typical hearth witch, the mundane can be magical; preparing a meal, cleaning, or decorating has the potential to become a powerful working.
The Hearth Witch's Path is a foundational work, aimed at newcomers to the idea of home-based witchcraft and Franklin does an excellent job. As with her previous books (I own several, including The Hearth Witch’s Year and The Hearth Witch’s Compendium) she guides the reader through ever-widening circles of knowledge, from the hearth of the home to seasonal cycles and magical work.
In Part One, the reader starts with their hearth, the symbol for the hospitality and living spirit of the home no matter if an open flame or induction stove. From their they begin to work with the spirit of their house, who the Romans called lar familiaris and then throughout the home (including the laundry). With a brief stop for a discussion on cleansing, we then move on to warding one's home.
Part Two takes us to the garden as working with herbs is a key aspect of the hearth witch's practice. When one owns a garden -- land or window -- or purchases herbs, these chapters are full of wise knowledge for selecting, using, and cultivating herbs.
Part Three introduces us to Deity. As Franklin says,
Spiritual practice reminds us that we live in a sacred world and that we should strive to build a sacred relationship with it. We spend our ordinary lives trying to make connections—with lovers, friends, colleagues, and groups. Spiritual practice is about making connection with something that is greater than us, the powers underlying creation, whether we call these god, goddess, the Gods, cosmic consciousness, or simply spirit.
This is an excellent section, describing how to create your own connection to Deity through consecration, creating sacred space, and doing rituals of worship and connection.
In Part Four, Franklin introduces the reader to the Natural Cycles and links the four seasons to the eight sabbats of the modern witch.
The calendar won’t tell you when the right time comes to perform a ritual—the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, and the wind will tell you. There is a time for planting,
when the season and the weather provide the perfect conditions, a moment when a flower or an herb is in perfect condition to pick, and so it is with magic.
I found this section the least informative as it felt like, despite saying we need to look beyond the calendar, the entire chapter chains the natural cycles to calendar dates. There was no discussion of astronomical sabbats, for example, or how ancient farmers likely used the dates of the equinoxes as a marker for paying attention to when they should bring their animals in for the winter or release them to summer pastures. This is a mild criticism, it is very hard for modern witches to break free of the eight celebrations.
The last section, Part Five: Operative Witchcraft, is an excellent primer on spell work. From creating and anchoring energy to specific techniques like knots and witch's ladders, the reader is given all they need to become more active in their magical practice.
Overall, this is an excellent book and anyone interested in honing their domestic magic skills would be happy to add it to their library,
~review by Lisa McSherry
Author: Anna Franklin
Llewellyn Worldwide, 2025
pp. 288, $22.99
