Spinning Spells, Weaving Wonders: Modern Magick for Everyday Life, by Patricia Telesco
Crossed Crow Books, 1959883526, 220 pages, August 2024
Ever feel like you need a boost to get your magic moving? I certainly do! In the hustle of the day, roadblocks like limited time and lack of inspiration leave me feeling disconnected, especially from the magic and wonder in the world. Reading Spinning Spells, Weaving Wonders: Modern Magick for Everyday Life by Patricia Telesco has been the boost I needed to spur on my creativity and reconnect with my magic practice. This book is a one-stop shop for all the spell inspiration one might need!
“Keeping magic uncomplicated provides more time to focus on our goals instead of on the procedures used. By so doing, we reclaim the freedom to get inspired and empowered by the simplest things. Our hearts become the helms for our lives and our paths, and our environments become the stimuli for originality.”1
“Part 1: A Spellcraft Primer” provides a historical foundation of spellwork, covering what magic is and is not and offering general guidelines for using magic responsibility. Telesco describes for readers various common components of spells–music, aromas, herbs, repetition, timing, and more–to prepare them for what lies ahead in the book. She then goes on to give a ten-step method for creating personalized spells from start to finish. This section does a great job of teaching the basics for those new to magic while providing a refresher for advanced practitioners.
“Part 2: Spells by Topic” is where this book gets very fun! For over 100 magical intentions, ranging alphabetically from Abundance to Zeal, Telesco shares information for readers to draw upon so that their “vision of magic can be shaped, assembled, and woven together.”2 This information includes general uses for the spell type, optimal timing, props or focal points to work with, secondary listing (related types of spell work shared in the book one can look up), and sample spells.
What I love about each entry is how there’s so much room for improvisation yet also straight-forward spells you can use directly from the book too. So far I’ve tried both ways, creating my own spell from the information Telesco provides as well as utilizing the spell she shares without modification, and both methods have been successful. I also really enjoy the variety of spell intentions she covers and how the sample spells are always unique.
Here are some examples that highlight the variety of the content:
• For Goals spellwork, she explains how to do a magical form of Pin the Tail on the Donkey by writing your goals on strips of paper, coating them with ginger, repeating a mantra, blindfolding yourself, focusing on visualizing your goals, and then trying to get them on a piece of construction paper representing the sacred space for them to grow and manifest. If you’re missing the paper, she recommends trying again every day until you’re hitting the work.
• For Joy spellwork, she suggests preparing a box of gelatin dessert and adding berries or peaches then imbuing the positive emotions in each bite to take them in.
• For Passion spellwork, she offers a candle magic ritual where two candles are lit to represent each person in the union and then a third candle remains unlit until the mood is just right. At this point, both people take their candle to light the third one and whisper the magical words to unite them.
• For Jobs, she writes you can find job advertisements of interest that you’re qualified for, anoint it with patchouli oil, and then ignite it while speaking out loud your intention. From there, you can keep the ashes as a charm or bury them with a plant to grow.
• For Zeal, she describes creating confetti and then throwing it in the air over oneself while doing visualizations of colors and sensations rising within, reaching a pinnacle, then vigorously pouring down on you.
And this is just a small sampling of all of Telesco’s ideas, as each spell intention usually has two or three spell samples to choose from.
“Appendix A: Components, Symbols, and Common Magical Associations” is an alphabetized list of item associations usually used in folk magic. Once again, readers are given tons of guidance useful in crafting their own spells. Within the list, Telesco goes through the meaning of numbers, runes, flowers, and hundreds of household items. The association for a food processor? “Diverse energy blending, transformations.”3 Doorbells? “Guests, messages, news, welcome[/efn_note]page 206[/efn_note] Baking Soda/Power? “Increasing energy or hopeful expectations.”4 I learned so much going through the list and will absolutely be referencing it often!
“Appendix B: Gods, Goddesses, Spirits, and Heroes for Spellcraft” offers lists of deities or spirits that can assist with specific spell intentions. Telesco’s suggestions span a range of pantheons and cultures–Polynesian, Chaldaen, Slavic, Hindu, Mayan, and Teutonic–and for each one, their gender and cultural origin is listed. I love the diversity! I’m sure this list will come in handy not just for spellwork but also for personal research.
Then “Appendix C: Handcrafting Magical Compounds” is a real bonus for those who like to get crafty. In this section, Telesco shares the how-to for many magical items that can be handmade: candles, herb bundles, masks, incense, poppets, wreaths, and more. While there’s only a few paragraphs for each one, there’s enough information to once again get the creative wheels spinning and prompt ideas for what one might want to make for their magical practice.
All in all, Spinning Spells, Weaving Wonders is the perfect book for those looking for versatility, creativity, and flexibility in their spellwork. Telesco is an absolutely wonderful teacher, drawing upon her thirty plus years of experience to make the readers feel confident in their spellwork. There’s so many directions one can go with this book and the possibilities are truly endless. I highly recommend it to magical practitioners of all levels as it’s bound to get the magic inspiration flowing and point you in the right direction when you need a creative boost.
Alanna Kali is an astrologer, numerologist, and pioneer spirit that loves to explore life through the lens of depth psychology. She has a passion for studying the humanities and social trends. Her academic work is centered upon reuniting body, mind, and spirit through eco-psychology. She loves reading, spending time in nature, and travel.