Rachel PattersonRezensionen

This is an amazing resource. If you're looking to learn more about the deities from this part of the world or looking to deepen your connection, you'll find this to be incredibly helpful. I greatly appreciated the opening section - where Patterson breaks down The British Isles, the countries they contain, the history of the Isles, and other various histories involving the people living there in ancient times. We then move on to the gods/goddesses, organized alphabetically. Some have longer entries than others, but Patterson does admit there was less information to be found on some than others, so this wasn't a big surprise. I did learn about deities I'd never heard of and learned some new things about ones I was already familiar with. I think my favorite section was "Meet the Deities" where Patterson shares some of her rituals/meditations/symbols/recipes for a few of the deities. I'll be trying some of the recipes, and I love the idea of connecting to a god/goddess through more than just ritual and meditation but through food too. Cannot recommend enough!

A lot of of wonderful information of the Cailleach. Rachel Patterson presents you with the information and let you decide what to think of it.

A Witch for Every Season by Rachel Patterson
Spells, Rituals, Festivals & Magic

Interesting, information-filled, reference for those wanting to celebrate the seasons that provides concrete ideas on how to personalize on an individual basis to make each month special and unique to our own specifications.

This book is set up by the individual months with each chapter providing the same format with options suggested that the celebrant can choose from that will be in accordance with their needs. If the ideas are not exactly suited to you…find ones that are.

I made a list of most of the items discussed under each month’s chapter:
* Moon Name & Moon Magic
* Celebrations
* Magical Energy
* Plants and Flowers/Plant Magic
* Foods
* Crystals
* Animals
* Deities
* Altar Decorations
* Incense and Oil Blends
* Herbal Teas
* Activities
* Recipes
* Spells & Rituals
* Meditation

This is not necessarily new information, but it is set up concisely and open to creative interpretation by the person reading and interested in creating their own Wheel of the Year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Llewellyn Worldwide for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars½

This honestly is more a general gardening book than a magic book. If you already have gardening knowledge and want to incorporate magic, this is probably not for you. It would make an interesting reference book, with its lists of meanings, etc, but it's mainly ideas rather than anything concrete in the way of magic.

I am not a kitchen witch (at least I don't consider myself one), but I've always been fascinated with kitchen witchcraft. This is a great reference, and inspired me to add a little magic into my kitchen workings. What I LOVED though is this book doesn't just focus on the good - it also covers the darker side of magic (with a warning of course). Honestly that's what tipped this book into the five-star category for me. I appreciate when authors don't just go the 'love and light' only course.

Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Cooking by Rachel Patterson is the type of cookbook I really enjoy. Although there are no pictures, at least not in the version I read, the recipes are straightforward and pictures aren't as necessary as in some more elaborate books.

As I mentioned, the recipes are straightforward, both in how to make them and in what they are. While there are a few that were unusual to my norm, there was not really the feeling of any recipe being included strictly to show how advanced the writer is. This is about making good, seasonal food that can feed a family. Far less about show and more about sustenance. I appreciate that.

I highly recommend this to cooks who want to serve hearty meals using in season ingredients when possible. This is about day-to-day and month-to month, maybe better season-to-season, cooking and living rather than the periodic "look what I made" special dinners. I love those kinds of cookbooks too, but I find myself using them once in a great while, while I can see myself referencing this book regularly.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Another great installment in the Pagan Portals series, I will be recommending this to all of my friends. As always, an in-depth look at a major aspect of magic, one I greatly enjoyed reading.

Great reference and overview for a difficult to understand archetype. It was interesting to see how the view of her varies from Irish to Welsh myths. This was really helpful with Samhain approaching.

I recently started my journey with crystals so I am always looking at books to find ones that are good resources and organized well. Kitchen Witchcraft : Crystal Magic is one such book. Rachel Patterson starts off with the history of crystals and shares with the reader that crystals are more than just pretty stones.

All of the information that Rachel Patterson includes is wonderful, and I can see long time crystal users picking up some new tips and information. After the introduction to crystals, Patterson has so much more information to share including; Cleansing Crystals, Crystals and Full Moons, Meditating with Crystals, Crystal Bling, Using Crystals with Poppets, Witch Bottles, and Mojo Bags, and so much more.

With each crystal Patterson includes the crystal’s Magical Properties, Energy, Element, Planet, and Zodiac sign. She also shares what the crystal is best used for, since most crystals can be used for more than one reason. The Suggested Cleansing and Divination Meaning rounds out each crystal’s entry.

At the end there is an alphabetical list of outcomes that you may be looking for with a spell or in meditating, and which crystal can help assist you. Memory, Money, Moon Magic, Motivation, etc… are just a few examples. This part I found really helpful since you can go directly to the intention and find the crystals needed, instead of going through page after page.

I’m looking forward to the release date of November 29, 2019 because whenever I find a good reference book, I always buy a print copy. I just find them easier for myself to use. So an early Yule gift for me!

It's ok. Nothing particularly original nor of any depth, but nothing screamingly awful, either.½

**This book was reviewed via Netgalley**

The Cailleach, by Rachel Patterson, is one of the Pagan Portals series. This nifty series offers snapshots on a wide variety of pagan topics. The Cailleach focuses on the eponymous deity, little known and misunderstood by many. This little guide covers myths and legends related to the Cailleach, or the Old Woman of Winter. Most chapters focus on regions (Ireland, Scotland, England), though others focus on aspects (Lady of Beasts, balance with Brighid), and a few on magical aspects and working with the Cailleach.
I enjoyed the topic of this little book. The Cailleach is a deity I was not as familiar with. I liked that the author listed the different ways this word could be pronounced. Celtic language of any flavour can be a doozy to suss out if you aren't familiar with it. I liked the number of stories given. Kudos, too, to the author for making it clear little is truly historically known of the Cailleach, and the true depth of meaning for Her to the Celtic peoples is now lost. Patterson also encourages pagans interested in working with the Cailleach to seek their own relationship with her, for it will not be the same for everyone. I loved the cover art, too!

I do feel that the book could have been a bit better organised. Sometimes similar stories are given in the same chapter, but not near one another. Were it me, I think I would have consolidated types of myths, rather than going by region. This book would benefit from another thorough editing.

🎻🎻🎻🎻 recommended if you enjoy learning about Celtic paganism and myth

This small book focuses on the British goddess who started as a creation goddess but morphed into a blue faced hag of winter. She was the goddess of midwives and of evil, sharing a connection with Brigid. Patterson relates the many tales of her from all over the British Isles, and also shows connections to places further away- even to Spain and possibly to the Hindu goddess Kali. Many of the stories are similar; a lot of natural features in the British landscape are attributed to the Cailleach carrying stones in her apron and the apron strings breaking, dumping the rocks in the landscape. Those show how widespread the worship of the Cailleach was.

In the final chapter the author shares her experiences with the Cailleach, and a ritual to honor her. It’s a nice little book for both pagans and students of lore.

A good starter, a primer with a lot of information, if a bit scattered and all just thrown at the page, almost defines an ecclectic pagan practitioner, taking what they want from a variety of faiths and using them as they see fit.

Useful for beginners, not so useful for folks with some experience and knowledge.½