Happy Friday Eve! I am happy to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for Backyard Witchcraft : The Complete Guide for the Green Witch, the Kitchen Witch, and the Hedge Witch by Cecilia Lattari.and illustrated by Betti Greco. Accompanying my review of this gorgeous and fun book for those interested in modern-day witchcraft or who those who just connect with nature in all of its glory, are a few "green" recipes.
Publisher's Blurb:
Embark on an exploration of modern-day witchcraft, embracing the green path, which connects us to nature.
Herbalist Cecilia Lattari guides readers to reawaken their inner witch
by tuning in to the magic and sacred energies of their everyday lives,
using the hidden powers of nature to foster positive connections between
mind, body, spirit, and living spaces. Filled with colorful, compelling
illustrations, this handbook introduces green, hedge, and kitchen
witches. Readers will learn how to create their own witch’s tool kits,
purify their homes, work with the four natural elements, build magic
laboratories, and discover the path that encourages a harmonious
transformation.
- The green witch is a manifestation of Mother Earth, who nurtures, cares, and observes. She practices with herbs, flowers, plants, and remedies, and surely has volumes upon volumes of plant books on her bookshelves.
- For the kitchen witch food is a gift from Mother Earth. The kitchen is this witch's sacred space, involving spells of tradition and creation. She works with ordinary tools and knows that cooking reveals our true nature. The kitchen witch understands the sacred aspects of everyday life as she prepares recipes for sacred foods.
- The eclectic path of the hedge witch includes herbalism, healing, and shamanistic actions. Her focus is the home, and she knows the power of fables and preserves popular knowledge.
- Take a guided tour of herbs, flowers, plants, poisonous plants, potions, oils, teas, tinctures, and remedies.
- Learn the magical practices of purification using herbs, bells, candles, and incense.
- Get in touch with nature by preparing a sacred outdoor space and centering yourself.
- Learn to grow, harvest, and dry herbs and understand the difference between air, fire, land, and water plants.
- Observe how the four elements of air, earth, fire, and wind carry messages from nature through various types of plants.
My Review:
Although I am by no means a practicing witch, I love the alchemy and connection with nature and I dabble in a few simple practices. It was this, and a glance at the gorgeous green cover that made me jump at the book tour for Backyard Witchcraft. I was not disappointed--this is a beautiful book packed full of magical information and practical ways to create harmony by increasing our connections with the natural world.
The book is divided into ten chapters, beginning with an introduction to a Witch's Daily Practice, and an explanation of the three witches who we will meet along the path; the Green Witch, the Kitchen Witch, and the Hedge Witch. (There's a short test towards the back of the book to determine which witch you are. Yes, I align most with the Kitchen Witch). There are chapters on The Tools of a Witch, Your Home Is Your Temple, The Four Natural Elements and Their Plants with information about some of the plants for Air, Water, Fire, and Land. There is a Garden Planner and information on Planting With the Moon, and then Gathering and Drying Herbs before turning them into herbal teas and infusions, tinctures, infused oils, vinegar, and floral extracts. Finally there are 10 Magical Stores of Herbs and Witches.
The illustrations by Betti Greco are so lovely that I would hang them as art and I found myself curling up on my couch with the book and a cup of herbal tea and losing myself in the enchantment of the words and pictures. Whether you plan a practice or just find magic and magical powers interesting, you should enjoy this one.
Which Witch Are You?
Author Notes: Cecilia Lattari is a professional actress who graduated from the School of Theater in Bologna and has a degree in Herbalist Techniques. She works in the field of relationships, stimulating people to know the most authentic part of themselves using theatrical practices and sensorial experiences in the world of plants.
The fresh feel of the green cover and pages of Backyard Witchcraft made me think of fresh herbs and salads. Here are three recipes that would pair well with this book.
Green Couscous Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
Herby, Peanutty Noodly Salad from River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Note: A
review copy of "Backyard Witchcraft" was provided to me by the author
and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this
review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.
You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and learn what other reviewers thought about the book below.
Tour Dates:
Tuesday, September 20th: Bibliotica
Wednesday, September 21st: TikTok: @jessbeyondthepages
Friday, September 23rd: Instagram: @oddandbookish
Monday, September 26th: Stranded in Chaos
Wednesday, September 28th: Instagram: @bookedwithheather
Thursday, September 29th: Kahakai Kitchen
Monday, October 3rd: Instagram: @parksidereads
Tuesday, October 4th: Instagram: @webreakforbooks
Wednesday, October 5th: Instagram: @jypsylynn
Thursday, October 6th: Instagram: @just_another_mother_with_books
Friday, October 14th: Instagram: @books_bulldogs_booze
TBD: Stacy's Books
TBD: Instagram: @a_bookish_dream
No comments:
Post a Comment
Mahalo for visiting and for leaving a comment. I love reading them and they mean a lot!
All advertising, spam, inappropriate (or just plain rude) comments will be promptly deleted. I do appreciate your right to free speech and to your opinion but I'm not into mean, rude, or mean snarky (non-mean snarky is just fine!) ;-)