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BonaDea’s Book of Everyday Enchantments, by Patricia deSandro

BonaDea’s Book of Everyday Enchantments, by Patricia deSandro
Crossed Crow Books, 1964537487, 100 pages, November 2025

It’s easy to forget that magic is not confined to ritual circles or rare celestial alignments. Rather, it lives in the very fabric of our ordinary moments. Each breath, each exchange, each shift of energy carries an invitation to participate more consciously in the world around us. When we slow down enough to acknowledge the life humming in plants, in objects, and in the unseen currents of spirit, we begin to remember that enchantment is not something we wait for – it is something we co-create.

BonaDea’s Book of Everyday Enchantments by Patricia deSandro offers readers a gentle yet potent framework for weaving practical magic into the rhythm of daily life. Instead of focusing on elaborate spellwork or arcane magic, deSandro emphasizes accessible techniques such as using made up chants, gestures, familiar objects, and meaningful alliances, to intentionally shift energy, manifest opportunities, and protect what matters most. Her approach makes the art of enchantment into a living, relational practice that can grow organically from everyday moments.

The book is divided into four parts. “Part I: Will You Be My Friend?” focuses on enchanting everyday objects and creating relationships with “non-human living beings”1 (animals, plants, Elemental spirits).From establishing plant allies to getting to know your local woods, deSandro shares plenty of advice and personal stories about the value these relationships bring to one’s life. Her anecdotes make this section more than an animist approach, allowing readers to really see how these relationships should be conducted. She writes:

“We introduce ourselves to each other. We each decide if we want to be allies. We each come to the table with an offer of friendship based on how we define it. Sometimes, negotiations are required. Promises are made and trust is established. It becomes a contract we wouldn’t want to break.”2

“Part II: Making Magic” is the longest section, and it’s where deSandro shares different techniques for creating your own enchantments. She teaches how to use one’s words wisely, see patterns, connect the dots for manifestation, maintain protection, and do healing energy work, among other things. All the spells are ones she’s developed over the years, and many times she has a story to illuminate how the spell has worked for her.

The final two parts, “Part III: Endings and Beginnings” and “Part IV: The Temple of the Sacred Flame” are much shorter. The former focuses on the coming and going of those we love (when people pass and when babies are born) as well as establishing connection with those on the other side. Meanwhile, in the final section, deSandro guides readers through creating their own “Inner Temple, a sacred place inside you for your soul.”3

With its short length (around 100 pages), small size, and conversational style, the book is well-suited for those who want inspiration without intimidation. Quickly glancing at it, one might perceive the enchantments shared by deSandro to be beginner level magic, yet that impression overlooks the depth contained within the simplicity. The concepts shared are at the core all magic, skillfully weaving together intention with belief in a way that feels relevant and personalized in order to effect meaningful change. Plus, the way deSandro has personal experience that highlights the magic she shares is a wonderful testimony to its potency.

Honestly, this is a book I will probably return to again and again when more formulaic magic leaves me feeling jaded or frustrated, as the content reminds me of the power of being in the present moment, attuned to energies around me and the needs within, and how to create this bridge to change the circumstance.

I plan on keeping my copy on my night table or desk for a refreshing approach to magic, as deSandro’s approach reminds me that we live in an ensouled world, and there’s plenty of relationships that can be forged with living entities. Too often, plants are reduced to a table of correspondences, and I forget these vital sprouts have a will and energy pattern of their own I can interact with. DeSandro awakens this deep magic that unifies the world by highlighting the livelihood of all beings.

Likewise, this approach is a great confidence booster for when you need to remember your own magical agency. DeSandro imparts to readers that you can trust your instincts, make up things as you go, and honor natural relationships without to trying control things. Rather, the key to this magic is acknowledgement and attunement. A feature of this book that makes it great for readers is the lined pages that deSandro includes throughout for readers to jot down their own reflections in regard to a question she proposes. This makes the book a fun tool for introspection, in addition to being a handy guidebook for everyday enchantment.

All in all, BonaDea’s Book of Everyday Enchantments is a friendly and grounded approach to tapping into magic that does not require elaborate tools or lengthy rituals. When approached with sincerity and awareness, even the simplest gestures become enchantments and the vibrancy of magic surrounding us begins to glimmer. DeSandro’s friendly approach is great for those who appreciate lived wisdom and are looking for a relationship with magic that feels personal, intuitive, and inviting. All of her tales were inspiring, guiding readers towards embracing the enchantment for themselves!

The Magic of Birds, by Mabh Savage

The Magic of Birds, by Mabh Savage
Moon Books, 1803410604, 120 pages, January 2026

Four decades of working with the symbolism and correspondences of the natural world through traditional astrology will do something to you — you start paying attention to things most people walk right past. Birds are one of them. Omens, augury, messages from the gods — these ideas run through nearly every spiritual tradition I’ve encountered. So when I came across The Magic of Birds by Mabh Savage, published by Moon Books, it felt overdue.

Savage is a pagan author and musician with a particular interest in the magic of animals and plants, and a lifelong fascination for Irish legends, Paganism, and spirituality. She’s previously written A Modern Celt and Pagan Portals: Celtic Witchcraft, so she comes to this material with both scholarly grounding and lived practice. My initial thought? This felt like it would be a quick, pleasant read. It turned out to be considerably more than that.

Savage’s writing style is warm, conversational, and personal in a way that doesn’t feel performed. She has a way of weaving together academic folklore references with moments from her own life that makes even the most obscure mythology feel immediate. You can tell she’s not just compiling information from books — she’s actually out there watching blackbirds at twilight and getting scolded by wrens in her garden. The book is organized thematically by type of bird: songbirds, carrion eaters, birds of prey, water birds, and then a chapter on famous mythological birds, followed by a practical chapter on seasonal and everyday magic. Each section builds naturally, and the structure makes it easy to either read straight through or use as a reference when a particular bird crosses your path.

What sets this book apart is the range of cultural traditions she draws from. Celtic and Irish mythology are clearly her home territory, and the depth there is impressive — the sections on Rhiannon’s mystical birds, the Mabinogi, and the Irish goddess Badb as the battle crow are rich with detail. But she doesn’t stop there. Norse mythology, Greek tales, First Nations traditions from North America, Australian Aboriginal dreamtime stories, and even Zulu folklore all make appearances.

What I appreciated was her explicit caution about Indigenous practices, which she places right in the Eagles section when discussing First Nations traditions: “Please don’t reproduce these unless you have genuine associations with a tribe or permission from those peoples”2. That showed real integrity, something you don’t always see in books that touch on cross-cultural spiritual material.

The personal anecdotes are what really elevate this book above a standard reference. Savage tells a story about a raven at an animal rescue centre that tricked her into stepping close, then deftly tipped her cup of duck food onto the floor and hopped down to enjoy her prize. “She knew, within seconds, that tipping the cup would give her the greatest prize. Remarkable animals”4. These moments bring the correspondences to life in a way that a simple list never could.

Similarly, her account of watching redwings arrive on a winter Solstice morning — “Beautiful redwings, probably just arrived from Scandinavia, resting after a long, cold night in the chilled winter air”5 — captures that feeling of witnessing something genuinely magical in the ordinary world.

For each bird, Savage provides correspondences and associations, folklore snippets, and practical magical applications. The corvid sections are perhaps the strongest — the magpies, ravens, jackdaws, and crows each get thorough treatment. Her retelling of the Lenape tale of the Rainbow Crow, who sacrificed his beautiful plumage to bring fire to the freezing animals, is genuinely moving. And her exploration of jackdaws as communicators who “use their eyes to communicate, and study the eyes of other animals in order to ascertain their intent”6 gave me a whole new appreciation for those noisy little birds.

The four seasonal rituals in the final chapter were an unexpected bonus. They’re well-written and adaptable — Savage explicitly encourages readers to change the birds to ones more familiar to them and to adapt the rituals to their own needs. The guided visualization for working with birds is thoughtfully designed, and she takes care to note that not everyone can visualize — something most magical authors never bother to mention. Her debunking of meditation myths, particularly that your mind must be blank, was refreshing. As someone who uses meditation in my own astrological practice, I found the woodland pathworking exercise genuinely useful and plan to incorporate elements of it into my own work.

Savage’s original poetry is scattered throughout the text, and while not all of it resonated equally with me, the pieces about blackbirds and curlews were evocative. The illustrations by Kay Savage add a lovely visual dimension to the book as well. If I had one minor observation, it’s that some birds get considerably more attention than others — the blackbird and wren sections are wonderfully deep, while some later entries feel more like sketches. But Savage is upfront about this being an introduction only, and she consistently points toward further reading, so that feels like an honest trade-off rather than a shortcoming.

Overall, The Magic of Birds is warm, thorough, and honest about what it is — an introduction, not an encyclopedia. There’s enough folklore depth to satisfy experienced practitioners, and enough plain language to not lose beginners. I’d recommend it to anyone on a pagan or nature-based spiritual path, any witch interested in expanding their practice with animal correspondences, or honestly, anyone who has ever felt that strange pull when a blackbird sings at dusk or a crow watches you from a rooftop.

This book has made me pay closer attention to the birds in my own neighborhood here in Southern California — different species than Savage’s birds, perhaps, but carrying their own magic nonetheless. As she writes in her preface, birds have been “chirping, squawking, tweeting, and flapping their way around my brain until there had to be an outlet”7. After reading this book, they’ve started doing the same in mine.

Magical Ever After, by Erica Rose

Magical Ever After: Manifesting Your Fairy-Tale Romance with Angels, Mermaids & Faeries, by Erica Rose
Muse Oracle Press, 1763586944, 200 pages, November 2025

It’s a love story, baby just say yes! Except.. Sometimes it’s a real struggle, right? For those who have wished for a bit of help from a fairy god mother, Erica Rose is here to teach you how to connect with not only fairies, but angels and mermaids too. Her new book Magical Ever After: Manifesting Your Fairy-Tale Romance with Angels, Mermaids & Faeries invites you to be the author of your own love story with a bit of magically-inspired assistance from these guides in matters of the heart.

“Manifesting love is not about using magic to force someone to fall in love with you. It’s about you, yourself, adjusting the energy you are projecting in order to match the energy of whoever out there would be your perfect partner. It’s about getting into alignment with the type of love you deserve and desire.”8

As soon as I held this beautifully bound, pink hardcover book in my hands, I could feel the soft and gentle allure of romance and magic within the pages. Beginning with “Once Upon a Time” and ending with “Your Happily Ever After”, Rose has written a potent guide for healing your own wounds, forgiving the past, and really cultivating self-love. She teaches how falling in love with yourself first creates a magnetism that brings in the love you desire. And along the way, there’s mystical helpers to aid in this process of transformative inner work.

Magically Ever After begins with an introduction to the spirits readers will be working with: angels, including Guardian angels and Archangels too, and the elementals, mermaids and fairies. Calling on these spirits gives the interpersonal and manifestation work that will be done a very mystical feeling, inviting readers to move beyond their real life concerns and frustrations to tap into a more spiritually-attuned frame of mind when calling love into their life. Rose shares meditations for readers to connect with each of these guides, opening the doorway for readers to strengthen their connection to them before setting off on this journey of love.

First, Rose teaches how to become more aware of one’s love mindset. From the media we consume to blocks around the possibility of ever finding a loving relationship, she shares ways for readers to reflect on their romantic views and shift them into a more positive mindset. Though dating can be draining, her tips bring an uplifting, hopeful perspective that encourages readers to learn from their experiences, readjust, and remain open to all possibilities.

The next topic Rose delves into is self-love. By working with the mermaids, fairies, and angels, readers have the opportunity to spruce up their self-image, tend to their inner needs with care, and honor the path they alone walk. Rose consistently reminds readers their story is unique, and there’s no reason to get caught up in an artificial sense of timing or comparison to others.

The inner empowerment developed in the self-love section gives readers the courage they need for the next part of the process. Rose’s next topic is releasing the past. To me, this felt a bit like the shadow work section, where readers are guided to look into past lives and generational influences, along with healing their own heartbreak to cleanse the slate for their romantic lives. Too often we want to move forward with a new path, but the past has not been fully honored, healed, and released. Rose provides plenty of divine tools for readers to let go of what’s been to make room for what they truly desire.

The final section is all about living a life of love. After getting in the right mindset, cultivating self-love, and releasing the past, the focus turns tapping into the love all around and manifesting dream romance. Rose shares different visualization techniques to bring this reality to life.

“Continually find ways to romanticize your life. Pretend you’re the main character in a fantasy romance novel and be swept up in the idea that you already have the love of your life. If you can constantly convince yourself, your energy will radiate with love and the Universe will match that frequency.”9

One thing I like about this book is that all throughout Rose is sharing her own story of finding true love. Knowing that she went through this process herself provides a feeling of comradery. She’s sharing all of this wisdom from personal insight and actually doing the work; she GETS it. This makes the whole book incredibly authentic. Even the most rationally-minded readers will be able to benefit from Rose’s guidance on how to find love, regardless of if they’re comfortable working with the spiritual entities, because the content is sound advice overall.

While the content might seem whimsical, Rose actually presents a very healthy and grounded approach to manifesting romance. She doesn’t ignore the inner work, offering superficial tips for finding “the one”, rather she teaches readers how to go deep into their own past in order to create a foundation of self-love in their life. From this place of healing and self-acceptance, readers then send their energy outward to find a partner who is in alignment with this state of self-love. This beautiful, Venusian journey is one anyone can undertake. While Rose offers introductions to helping spiritual guides, sharing meditations and exercises to strengthen the connection, readers still have agency over which entities they feel called to work with; there’s lots of room for freedom and personal choice in how Rose presents the material.

It’s not presented as “manifest love fast” but rather “heal your heart and align deeply for long term happiness”. Rose encourages questioning social truisms (not being married by 25 doesn’t make you a spinster!), deeply exploring one’s feelings (you WILL need to do some honest soul searching!), and finding the positive within the journey (yes, that terrible date taught  you something about what you actually are looking for!). And all throughout, Rose sprinkles in a happy dose of magic, affirmations, and rituals to keep readers inspired and optimistic about their romantic journey.

Here are some of my favorite meditations, rituals, and practices shared by Rose to help readers uncover blocks in their love life, heal, and align their mindset to attract everlasting love:

ㅤ♡ Candle Spell for Passionate Love
ㅤ ♡Archangel Jophiel Morning Beauty Routine
ㅤ♡ Mermaid Mirror Work
ㅤ♡ Fairy Tea Ceremony for Self-Love
ㅤ♡ Rewriting Your Identity Ritual
ㅤ♡ Generational Healing with Archangel Raphael
ㅤ♡ Love Intention Bath with the Mermaids
ㅤ♡Social Amplification Reflection Questions


Overall, Magical Ever After is an empowering guide to manifesting the love one desires and deserves. For those open to spiritual assistance from the angelic, fairy, and mermaid realms, this book is a wonderful resource. Rose has done an outstanding job balancing practical romantic advice with initiation to let the mystic energy of the Universe guide the path to true love.

I’m a big believer in manifestation work succeeding the most through partnership with divine entities, so I have full confidence that the bridge created between realms through the process in this book leads to readers finding their dream relationships. I recommend Magical Ever After for those who need some uplifting inspiration in their love life; there’s always love and happiness available in life, if one is willing to open up to the possibilities.

Making Tarot Magic, by Briana Saussy

Making Tarot Magic: Rituals and Remedies to Transform Readings into Action, by Briana Saussy
Weiser Books, 1578638763, 248 pages, December 2025

Have you ever done a tarot reading and found yourself wondering how to actually act on the messages the cards revealed? Maybe you journal or meditate afterward, yet the practical steps still seem to allude you. Perhaps your readings have begun to feel a bit passive, keeping you circling in the “what ifs” or lost in contemplation. Enter Making Tarot Magic by Briana Saussy, a guide that reminds us tarot isn’t just a tool for insight, but a catalyst for real transformation.

Where before there was only fate, after a good reading there should be freedom.”10

Weaving together the arts of divination and magic, Saussy reframes tarot reading as an opportunity for ritual and intention work. Readers learn how to use each tarot cards’ energy for real life healing, love, protection, abundance, and more. While many tarot books teach how to read the cards, Saussy’s focuses on what readers can do with that information to practically apply it in the world, reminding readers they can make moves to either lean into or shift the story of the cards, and use magic to do it.

“A tarot reading told you a story…and told you what you needed to do to change the story, to give it a better ending, to create more spice, adventure, and depth.”11

As an experienced diviner, Saussy has organized the book into chapters based on top topics people most seek advice about: love (marriage, romance), prosperity and abundance (personal wealth), career and business success, healing, court cases and legal issues, fertility/pregnancy and manifestation, baneful work, and protection and divine blessings.

For each intention, she provides an introductory overview, special considerations to note in regard to the Major Arcana and suits, descriptive meaning for all Major Arcana and Court Cards plus corresponding magical techniques and intentions, short meaning of the Pip cards (Ace-Ten), and then tasks for further development and relevant spells.

I absolutely LOVE how Saussy goes through each chapter and provides a different interpretation of the cards based on the specific intention of the chapter. Too many tarot books give only one general interpretation for each card, leaving it up to readers to apply the energy of the card to the specific focus of either the reading in general or the card’s placement in a spread. The way Saussy goes above and beyond interpreting each card through a different lens is both an enlightening way for readers to see the mutli-faceted nature of the cards as well as a quicker way to find a more specific answer to your question by focusing specifically on the relevant interpretation.

And on top of this there’s a magical component too, of course, which opens a whole other doorway to interacting with one’s reading too. For those new to either tarot or magic, Saussy provides a great foundation in “Chapter One: Tarot and Magic Basics”. Topics covered in this chapter include how to work with tarot cards, specifically focusing in on how they relate to magic, reviewing magical intentions, exploring different magical techniques (candles, incense, spirit work, lodestones), magical timing, color magic, how to deploy and dispose of magic, and personal concerns (things that carry the DNA of a person).

One thing I will note though is that Saussy doesn’t go too much into how to do all the different magical techniques. While she lists them in chapter one, there’s not much guidance on how to actually do textile magic; the information given more describes how it involves working with knots or fabric. For those who have no idea how to work that type of magic, me for instance in regard to textile magic and sacred vessels (witch bottles, mojo bags), I would need more specific spells with exact ingredients and instructions. So while Saussy can point readers in the right magical direction, there’s definitely going to be a bit more work to do for follow up.

This might just be because I read the books back to back, but I think Tarot Spreads by Meg Jones Wall would be a great compliment to Making Tarot Magic because it teaches readers how to intentionally structure their readings to get to the heart of their question. While I absolutely love all the different interpretations of the tarot based on the overall topic that Saussy provides, I initially felt like I could only one-card pulls that corresponded with my intention to then draw on the magical insight Saussy provides for the card in the relevant chapter.

It wasn’t until I thought to put to use what I’d learned in Tarot Spreads about creating spreads that I started to see how I could layer different topics from Making Tarot Magic (ex. Healing, romance, and divine messages) into one reading. And once I started doing this, I became enthralled with mixing together the different messages from Saussy’s perspective in this book.

Here’s an example of one of my readings I did to find a way to feel unstuck. I had been creatively blocked and worrying about money. I wasn’t in a state of flow. I crafted my own spread with the intention of reading each card from the corresponding chapter in Making Tarot Magic:

Card 1 – How am I holding back my own abundance?
Four of Coins from “Chapter Three: Money, Honey! Part One: Personal Prosperity, Wealth, and Abundance”.

“The querent refuses to give up the best part of themselves and so does not have as much security or abundance as they otherwise might.”12

Card 2 – What messages are there from the divine that can help me overcome this?
King of Pentacles from “Chapter Nine: Full of Ourselves: Safeguarding Vital Energy and Opening to Divine Empowerment and Blessings”.

“There is a need to connect to family members, ancestors, and history. Personal history, world history, history of place–any or all of these are relevant now.”13

Card 3 – How can I apply my creativity to create a new path?
Three of Cups from “What Are You Expecting? Fertility, Pregnancy, and the Work of Manifesting”.

“Female friends will come around to support and bless someone so that they may go forth and be fertile.”14

Overall interpretation: I’ve been spending too much time on my own, in my head, declining social invitations, and being a bit of a grump, which is to say I haven’t been sharing myself with others much. This reading reminded me that I light up when I am around people I love, especially my good friends who have been there through thick and thin throughout the years.

Wouldn’t you know the next day one of my good friends invited me over and I gave into a day of pure relaxation. I didn’t think about work, food prepping, or the upcoming holidays. We watched Wicked, sang and danced to Taylor Swift’s new album, and got caught up on life with each other. And I was absolutely rejuvenated! It felt like a clean slate. My reading ended up being spot-on in what I needed, and I’m glad it gave me the awareness I needed to accept my friend’s invitation instead of pushing it off for the sake of productivity.

Overall, I’ve very much enjoyed Making Tarot Magic for the variety of card interpretations. For those with a magical background, there’s a lot of room to apply your craft in regard to tarot readings. Saussy provides not just tarot insights, but a magical roadmap for creating meaningful change, gifting readings the opportunity to transform their reading into practical real-life action.

Whether readers are seeking to work magic related to their relationships, healing, manifestation, money, career, legal matters, or protection,this book gives you the tools to discern the messages of your readings more clearly and then utilize magic to pave the way forward. Saussy’s guidance helps readers move from “what the cards say” to “how I can act with the cards’ energy?”. This is truly a gift of freedom, as readers ultimately hold the cards and have the ability to do what they will with the information presented. Saussy’s lists of magical ways to work with each cards’ energy is a truly a useful addition to any magician’s book collection.

Talismans and Tarot, by Lori Lytle

Talismans and Tarot: Magical Tools to Amplify, Attract, and Manifest, by Lori Lytle
Weiser Books, 1578638755, 248 pages, September 2025

Tarot cards and talismans both serve as bridges between the seen and unseen world, one offering insight into the unknown and the other embodying mystical energy in a special object. In Talismans and Tarot: Magical Tools to Amplify, Attract, and Manifest, Lori Lytle shows how combining these two practices creates deeply personal and powerful results. Within these pages, Lytle teaches readers how to handcraft talismans to encapsulate the essence, wisdom, and energy revealed in tarot readings, transforming spiritual guidance into tangible form.

“Humans have always turned to these touchstones when fearful or in need of comfort, or when inspired and ambitious and wanting to believe that anything is possible in this life.”11

Divided into two parts, the book begins with “Part One: The Basics”. In this section, Lytle provides an overview of the foundation of talismans and tarots. She shares about amulets, popular symbols used for luck and protection, and the importance of intention when creating your own talisman. She then moves onto tarot, teaching the fundamentals of suits, structure, and numbers in the tarot, along with a bit on court cards.

A lengthy portion of this part is focused on Lytle sharing her insights on each tarot card. Moving through the whole deck, for each card there’s a picture (Rider-Wait-Smith imagery), description of the card’s meaning, talisman intention themes, affirmation, and musings to further reflect on. For those already familiar with tarot, the most novel information in this section is the guidance on cards’ themes in regard to talisman creation. For instance, intention themes for a 10 of Swords talisman include “surrender, transformation, rebirth”15, while some intention themes of Wheel of Fortune are “Good luck, good timing, risk paying off”16.

The final chapter in this part is dedicated to reading tarot cards. Lytle covers all the steps of a reading from preparing for a reading, choosing your spread, formulating questions to weaving the story that emerges together. She even shares sample readings to show readers how to interpret the cards to create a meaningful story of wisdom and guidance. While engaging, this section seems aimed for beginners, as it’s the starter information; those who have even a bit of experience reading tarot will most likely be able to move through this chapter quickly.

Once readers are familiar with the basics of tarot and what talismans are, in “Part Two: The Process”, Lytle shares how to combine the two. While I’ve worked with tarot cards for the sake of manifestation before, specifically working with the card through visualization or meditation to call in the energy of the card, Lytle’s process is different and more open to the card’s intuitive guidance. She leads readers through crafting an intention and then doing a reading about the intention. Based on the story the reading tells, whether it’s just a one card pull or a full spread, Lytle teaches how to create a talisman from “what you have discovered about your intention.”17

I love this approach because it leaves room for the wisdom and spontaneity of tarot to illuminate new information about your intention, pointing you in the best direction. Rather than someone picking the card they think is best for boosting their intentions, this method leaves room for surrender to the tarot’s wisdom, opening space for unrealized insights to emerge. Just like divination with tarot, where you don’t know what will appear but choose to trust the guidance, this process of talisman creation also lets the cards lead the way.

As far as creation of one’s talisman, Lytle shares how to choose the material that aligns with your intention. She covers a wide range of crystals for different intentions, metals, symbolic representations, animal representations, and even found objects or things with personal significance.

Once the material is picked out and prepared to be turned into a talisman, this is where Lytle brings in the tarot. She shares a spread to find clarity around one’s intention, offers multiple sample readings to study, and then details how to craft an affirmation based on the story the tarot reveals. This affirmation is then used in the ritual process to consecrate one’s talisman, which Lytle leads readers through. The final chapter then focuses on working with the consecrated talisman and what to do when it’s time to release the talisman.

While this book is filled with novice tarot information, the talisman process created by Lytle is something very unique. It invites readers to use the tarot not just for reading, but for creating, consecrating, and carrying something that extends the energy of a reading into everyday life.  By translating an intention into a physical talisman, readers anchor them in the material world, boosting the manifestation process as well as aligning their intention with the mystic wisdom of the tarot.

Overall, Talismans and Tarot is a good read for those looking to add something fresh to their magic toolkit. While the tarot content is beginner level, the talisman process is a new way to interact with the cards, making this a fun read for all levels. Many look to tarot for insights about the future, but this process of focusing on one’s intention and bringing it to life in the physical world through talismans is a way for readers to be more co-creative in the manifestation process. Plus, Lytle leaves a lot of room for personalization too, from choosing the best time for their ritual to picking out materials that feel symbolic to them, making the process both an intuitive and empowering method for creating a talisman.

I’d recommend this book to those looking for a new way to manifest their intentions. The combination of connecting with tarot and then consecration a symbolic talisman is a two-fold magical method, adding double the boost of alignment. Lytle presents an accessible  way to work tarot as a living, active magical tool. As someone with many talismans, I know the potency of being able to physically hold your imbued intentions in your hand keeps your mind focused and spirit receptive to our heart’s desires also coming into physical form.

A Traveler’s Guide to Making Magic, by Lisa McSherry

A Traveler’s Guide to Making Magic, by Lisa McSherry
Crossed Crow Books, 1964537460, 220 pages, September 2025

Travel is a journey through thresholds, both seen and unseen. Every new landscape, culture, and experience becomes a portal, inviting us to step outside the familiar and into the realm of possibility. In these liminal spaces, where the routines of daily life are left behind, magic finds fertile ground to awaken. A Traveler’s Guide to Making Magic by Lisa McSherry teaches that travel itself is a magical act, offering endless opportunities to adapt our practice, expand our awareness, and discover parts of ourselves we may never have met without crossing those borders.

I’ll admit that I started this book feeling disenchanted with travel, a rare feeling for this Sagittarius moon. For the past year, I’ve been studying astrocartography, which over time transformed locations worldwide, rich with their own culture, traditions, and history, into astrological lines on a map. Focusing on the technicality of my readings diminished the more intuitive resonance I usually felt when thinking about traveling to faraway places.

For all the talk of travel in the astrocartography circles I’m in, no one seemed to really be addressing the actual experience of traveling, especially for magically-minded folks. It felt more like people were thinking in terms of what a location can offer them based on astrology (Where can I go to find the right job? What location will bring love?) rather than how they could open themselves up to fully experience the depth of location, embracing the genius loci.

And it’s for this reason that McSherry’s keen insights, practical advice, and magical know-how in A Traveler’s Guide to Making Magic were an absolute breath of fresh air! This, THIS, is the book that I was craving and needed to reignite my love for seeing and experiencing new places, especially while keeping my magical practice flowing and open to new revelations. McSherry has created a wonderful guide for those who are seeking to keep their practice alive, grounded, and meaningful while traveling that also includes the reality of travel (delayed flights, packing, being aware of other culture’s attitudes towards magic, ecological impact, etc.).

The beginning of the book really lays the foundation for the spells that come later. In her introduction, McSherry shares her view on magic, sharing that she perceives it “as a spiritual practice rooted in transformation, awareness, and responsibility.”18 She offers resources to plan sustainable travel, emphasizing the need to respect the ecology, limit one’s impact, and support local businesses that are sustained by tourism rather than larger chains that tend to be more exploitative. This was a great overall reminder of the need to center our travel within our belief systems, ensuring we are respecting the land and people we choose to visit.

The first two chapters cover the basics of magic and correspondences. McSherry covers the four main steps in her model of magic–intent, creation, raising, and sending–along with energy work, breathwork, and sympathetic magic. Then the next chapter on correspondences is packed with useful bullet-point lists and tables. The information McSherry provides is thorough! She provides lists of correspondences for animals, colors, metals, plants, seasons, stones, and tarot cards. Then there’s tables for the four elements, planets (yes, including Pluto!), and playing card meanings. For those traveling, this chapter is perfect for quick reference!

Now that readers have the basics of magic down, McSherry focuses on preparing to travel. This is one of the longer chapters in the book, which I appreciate because I feel preparation is key for a successful journey. From deciding where to go to picking out how to actually spend your time in that place, McSherry offers both pragmatic and magical guidance.

She teaches how to leave offerings at sacred sites and communicate with the divine both while planning and once at  your destination. For those in need of inspiration, she shares lists of sacred places around the world, along with a spell to manifest the travel desired. She goes in-depth about what to pack, even including types of packing storage and good-to-have items. This chapter definitely grounds the travel experience both magically through intention and realistically with the material items needed to make it as smooth as possible.

The remaining chapters focus on the actual travel experience. McSherry has a chapter on magical tools, guardian spirits and deities, locational magic, and spells and charms. There’s guidance on creating signals, enchanting one’s clothing, creating a portal ritual kit, along with elemental spells for connecting with air, earth, wind, and fire within a landscape. The list of travel deities is quite long, and readers are sure to find one that feels aligned with their energy while traveling.

For those a bit hesitant or nervous to travel, rest assured McSherry provides lots of spells for protection and safe travels. There’s a whole section called “Don’t Panic! Coping With (Inevitable) Trouble” where she teaches how to make due with common items (soap, mints, matches, napkins, etc.) for magic-on-the-go. McSherry offers ideas for a DIY first aid kit that can all fit within a prescription pill bottle to keep handy. And she even shares the phone number to contact the U.S. State Department, if needed, along with a list of specific scams to avoid and safety measures to take in case your belongings are stolen or lost.

The many specific spells and charms even further amplify readers’ magical protection. McSherry has spells for overcoming anxiety, clear communication, charm bags, vehicle protection, and multiple for safe travel and travel success. Plus, spells to manifest travel and divine where is best to go.

The final chapter, “Travel is a State of Mind”, reminds readers that you don’t have to even leave home to travel. McSherry has a whole list of ways to explore other locations without even walking out your door, ranging from taking virtual tours of museums worldwide to learning a new language. And since most people do leave home at least once a day, she offers magical ways to enhance the journey of stepping outside the comfort of home even when they’re not going far. Additionally, at the end are four appendices with additional magical guidance, a glossary, reference and resource list, and bibliography.

What I like most about this book is McSherry’s writing style. She often uses humor, bringing a smile to the reader’s face, but just as often she has a commanding tone that reflects her travel experience and accumulated wisdom. I really enjoy reading all the anecdotes in the book of her travels or her friends’ travels. Travel stories are always so interesting to me and hers really bring to life the context of what she’s talking about. I loved this one story of how she felt a man sending her negative energy and she pulled out a compact mirror to send it back to him, ultimately with him feeling ill and leaving the restaurant. Quick magical thinking!

Overall, A Traveler’s Guide to Making Magic is the single book I would bring with me on a trip, aside from a fiction novel to keep me occupied! This book is more than just a manual; it’s a companion for the road, offering wisdom, encouragement, and practical tools to weave enchantment into every step of the journey.

McSherry does such a great job covering all the bases of travel from the preparation to the safe return home and all that’s in-between. Whether or not one is a skilled magical practitioner, McSherry’s approach is accessible and easy to implement. Plus, her practical guidance is superb and akin to reading a travel guide. Her advice is much appreciated and definitely something I plan on making use of for my next big trip.

There’s a great blend of spellwork, divination techniques, elemental magic, and deity work for readers to pick and choose from as they adapt their travel magic on the go. And McSherry’s focus on cultural sensitivity, sustainability, and responsibility while traveling expands the awareness of readers, reminding them that actions have impact and it’s important to be a mindful global citizen.

McSherry shows that travel isn’t just about reaching destinations, but about opening ourselves to transformation, connection, and deeper awareness along the way. With this book in hand, even the most ordinary trip becomes an opportunity to explore new realms and carry your magic wherever you roam.

Kitchen Magic, by Laura May

Kitchen Magic: Over 65 Enchanting Recipes and Rituals for a Cozy, Witchy Kitchen, by Laura May
OH, 1035429659, 208 pages, September 2025

Ah, my kitchen witch heart is absolutely singing! Kitchen Magic: 65 Enchanting Recipes and Rituals for a Cozy, Witchy Kitchen by Laura May is such a wonderful addition to a cookbook library. Within these pages, May shows how each meal can become a spell, ritual, or act of sacred nourishment. Featuring delicious recipes and magical insights this is a wonderful cookbook for creating a warm, enchanted kitchen where food and magic come together.

As witches we love to share recipes, often including them in our grimoires, spellbooks, and even the community newsletter each month! But a hardcover cookbook filled with thematic pictures, culinary folklore, and delicious recipes takes on a life of its own. Flipping through the pages of Kitchen Magic, you can see the time devoted to infusing each page with reverence for the food we create, whether this be teaching readers about the magical correspondences of ingredients in the cupboard, blending herbs into a brew, or making pancakes for mindfulness.

May begins the cookbook by inviting readers into her world. In first-person style, she sets the stage of her daily life during the seasonal transition into autumn, living in a boat and baking her recipes in a stack stove, creating a cozy sense of intimacy as we glimpse her routine. We get to know May through her morning coffee ritual, spellwork, and tale of what drew her to the path of being a kitchen witch.

“The philosophy behind my recipes is to give you a sense of meaning and consideration to everyday cooking – even the smallest acts can impact the way we live and see the world. The rituals aid us in discovering what we really want out of life and align our daily consciousness in order to get it.”19

The introduction also covers topics like what it means to May to be a witch, symbols of the witch, core aspects of ritual (opening and closing a circle, moon phases, spoken word, sigils, etc.), foraging in nature, and a list of magical correspondence of the herbs and spices commonly used in kitchen witchery. Overall, this section is very grounding, preparing readers to move ahead and test out May’s recipes.

As for how the recipes are sectioned, May has divided the chapters into the following: “Folk Medicine”, “Botanical Bakes”, “Ceremonial Recipes”, “Menstrual Magic”, “Broomstick Brews”, and “Practical Magic”. There’s a good variety of recipes to make, ranging from coffee syrups and protection cake to pumpkin gnocchis and tahini blondies.

Each chapter is unique and May has made the content extremely engaging and interesting to read. In the chapter “Folk Medicine”, she gives a history of all the elixirs she shares. One that I found fascinating is Four Thieves Vinegar, “a tonic for protection”20,  that is based on the legend of thieves “who used it to protect themselves against plague while they robbed the dead or dying” but was also “used as a disinfectant or immunity tonic.”21 May suggests readers now use it as a salad dressing, health tonic, or cleaning spray. I will definitely be making this one soon!

Then in “Botanical Bakes”, May “explores the folklore, histories, and personal stories” around seven of her favorite plants, focusing on the power and meaning of the ingredients specifically. “Menstraul Magic” teaches how to use food to nourish biological rhythms, where May offers insight into the four menstrual phases and a recipe to support each one. 

“Ceremonial Recipes” offers recipes for each turn in the Wheel of the Year, starting with Imbolc. She provides a bit of background about each sabbat and the recipes correspond to the magic best attuned to that season, such as Store Cupboard Soda Bread for spring cleansing during the equinox and Memento Mori Rosemary Soul Cakes for Samhain. Sometimes she includes rituals to do or words to say outloud, always explaining along the way the magical significance of the recipe as an introduction.

“Broomstick Brews” gets into the herbal liquid alchemy, which is something I am particularly excited to explore since I often forget this type of magic can be done in the kitchen, opting for cooking or baking instead. May teaches about witch bottles and how to carve your initials into fruit peels to bind the magic to you in her recipe for Witch Bottle Sweet Vermouth and offers a variety of coffee syrups to call in specific intentions for the day that can be amplified with candle magic too. She also offers variations of Moon Milk to manifest different goals ranging from attracting wealth to calming anxiety.

The final chapter, “Practical Magic”, is where the rituals get a bit more complex. May offers guidance on the moon phase, day of the week, candle color, incense, and crystal best suited for working the ritual. She shares incarnations and actions to do during the creation process, requiring a bit more of an energetic and time dedication in this magic making. All throughout, she offers tips and tidbits that add to one’s understanding of the spellwork.

Throughout the book, some of the recipes call for ingredients that I personally wouldn’t have on hand and would have to figure out how to acquire. For instance, Dandelion and Burdock Root Beer (I’ve never even heard of burdock yet I am learning so much from Kitchen Magic) calls for sarsaparilla root, burdock root, liquorice root, and dandelion root and petals, along with more common ingredients such as brown sugar, molasses, and cinnamon. This would definitely require a bit of planning to make, but I always feel like the hunt for the right ingredients in spellwork is part of the process.

While the recipes in Kitchen Magic do include quite a variety of ingredient, which at first makes the titles a bit intimidatingly fancy (Nettle Leaf Spanakopita Pie, Blueberry and Heartsease Cream Bread and Butter Pudding, Rose Hip Harissa Roasted Chickpeas), overall, a good portion of the recipes could easily be recreated by following May’s directions, whether you’re a novice or professional when it comes to the kitchen. As someone who thoroughly loves kitchen magic but is not a talented chef, May provides instructions that are detailed and simplified enough that even I’d have the confidence to follow along and see what I can create. Plus, venturing beyond my typical palette makes it feel even more ritualized and intentional for crafting these recipes.

Beyond all the wonderful text, the photographs in the book are absolutely mouthwatering. Nearly every page has a decadent image of the finished culinary delight set against a dark background with beautifully set tables. Sometimes there’s candles to set mystical ambiance; other times it’s a snap shot of ingredients, utensils, and flowers. Occasionally, we see May in action stirring or adding final touches. The texture of the food and the beauty of the presentation is just incredible. I could flip through this book over and over again just for the visual feast it provides!

The book is brought to conclusion with parting words from May, a list of ingredient suppliers, further reading, and a handy index. I love her sentiment when she writes:

“Remember, magic is not something far away or difficult to grasp. It lives in the ordinary moments – in the quiet stirrings of a wooden spoon, the fragrant herbs you sprinkle on a dish, and the warmth of a home-cooked meal shared with loved ones. The magic is always there, waiting for you to notice, to invite it in, and to make it a part of your life.”22

Overall, Kitchen Magic is by far one of the most impressive magic cookbooks I’ve come across. The way May weaves together ritual, folklore, personal insights, and delicious culinary crafts makes it a must-have for those who love to infuse intentions into their food. More than just a recipe collection, this book celebrates the kitchen as a sacred space where nourishment, magic, and ritual seamlessly come together to create meaningful revelation and transformation.

Whether a reader seeks to gain a stronger relationship with spice and herbs or nurture themselves through the seasons, May offers edible ways to support one’s intentions. May has shared her recipes with readers to be an opportunity to manifest our desires, foster connection, and honor nature’s cycles. Her philosophy towards culinary witchcraft is a heartwarming reminder that every meal can be more than just food—it can be a spell, a celebration, and a devotional act of everyday magic.

Magic Spells Oracle, by Judika Illes

Magic Spells Oracle, by Judika Illes
Weiser Books, 1578639220, 128 pages, 26 cards, October 2025

Looking to infuse your oracle readings with a dash of magic? Magic Spells Oracle by Judika Illes blends practical spellcraft with intuitive guidance, perfect for readers looking to add a bit of ritual to their reading. Illes brings her decades of experience, combining expertise in spellcraft, aromatherapy, and folklore, to this deck, offering readers an opportunity to use their divinations to set their intentions into the world through manifestation.

This deck includes 36 full-color cards along with a 128-page guidebook. Illes has structured the deck based on the elements (earth, air, fire, and water) with two additional balancing cards. Within each elemental suit, individual cards then have a magical correspondence reflective of the elemental energy. As an example, there’s Broomstick in the Air suit, Candle Magic in the Fire suit, Crystal Ball in the Water suit, and Amulet in Earth suit.

In the introduction, Illes explains:

“Magical energy radiates through everything–colors, sounds, fragrances, botanicals, natural phenomena, creatures, and human beings–including you–although how it manifests differs.”21

As someone who enjoys working with elements, believing attuning to them is a powerful way to enhance one’s spell work by grounding the ritual in the rhyme of nature, I appreciate Illes’ sentiment that magic can be found within everything.

The way Illes has offered different facets of each element by having the different cards in the suits further amplifies her explanation that everything carries its own distinct energy. By understanding these magical correspondences, readers gain the opportunity to connect with an elemental is a special way through spellwork and ritual. The cards become a bridge between the physical and spiritual world, creating a clear pathway for one to work their magic.

The deck’s aesthetic feels both enchanting and modern, blending mystical symbolism with a clean design. Each card features a central magical image—daggers, crystal balls, animals, or symbols—encircled within a dark cosmic backdrop, accented by golden details that add a touch of sacred shimmer. To me, the inner black circular design reminds me of peering through a portal! The archetypal symbols on the cards definitely open deeper layers of meaning for those who look closer.

For those who are just discovering their magical power, Illes provides ample information in the guidebook, including guidance on how magic and spellcasting works, how to prepare and cleanse one’s deck, how to create an altar space, and how to use the cards (with layouts). At the start of each elemental section, she also gives an overview of associated deities, what the element does naturally in the world, its spiritual power, and magical uses.

For each card entry, there’s an image of the card, the name and element at the top, an overview of its magical significance, and then a spell or ritual one can do. Most of the spells and rituals can be done with things on hand, but a few might require a bit of planning, prepping, and ingredient gathering.

This is definitely a deck for those seeking to learn more about magic and how they can cast spells to make desired changes rather than a deck that provides specific insight about what energies a moment in time holds. While Illes’ guidance is fascinating and practical, it is not a concrete answer like other oracle decks offer. The focus is less on inner reflection and divine wisdom and more on magical information that one can then apply in their spellwork.

Magic Spells Oracle teaches readers how to shape their own future rather than passively giving them insight into energies of their present circumstances. I’d recommend it for those looking to enhance their foundational knowledge of magic and focus on grounded inspiration about how to bring their desire to fruition. People who like traditional, straightforward oracle advice might find it hard to discern clear messages from the guidebook.

This being said, I do still think the cards can provide super accurate insights. I asked the cards what I could do to prepare for my upcoming labor and delivery (baby #2 is due any day now!) and I pulled Crocodile. This card is part of the Water elemental suit. Part of Illes’ guidebook description reads:

“Crocodiles are simultaneously deadly, dangerous creatures and magical animal allies–in particular, for pregnant and laboring women. In many legends, crocodiles have taught the birthing process to humans. Images or toys of crocodiles in a birthing room are a protection against danger.”23

I was honestly flabbergasted with the accuracy of this card pull! Can you believe the exact situation I asked about is discussed in the guidebook? Prior to this reading, I had no idea crocodiles were a magical birth ally! Now I’m planning on taking the card with me when I head to the hospital.

So, as you can see, the card didn’t give me a specific answer, such as “release fear” or “focus on gratitude” like many oracle cards. Instead, it provided me with a magical way to prepare for what I asked about. This deck calls for readers to be proactive in creating their own outcomes by believing in their magical prowess and utilizing the wisdom that comes through in the reading.

Overall, Magic Spells Oracle by Judika Illes is a well-structured oracle that stands out for its elemental clarity and practical magical guidance. The organization into four elemental suits provides clear, intuitive themes that are easy to engage with. The guidance is ideal for beginners looking to learn more about magic, especially if they have an interest in spellwork. Illes bring decades of experience to life within these cards, offering a wealth of information for those seeking to expand their occult knowledge.

Magick for All Seasons, by Marla Brooks

Magick for All Seasons: A Grimoire for the Wheel of the Year, by Marla Brooks
Weiser Books, 157863850X, 256 pages, September 2025

Looking to follow the path of the Wheel of the Year more closely to celebrate the eight pagan sabbats? Magick for All Seasons by Marla Brooks is a hands-on, welcoming guide to weaving magic throughout the year to mark the shifting energies of the seasons. Brooks’ use of multigenerational wisdom coupled with her decades of experience as a witch create the perfect blend of a traditional and modern spin on magic.

In the book’s dedication, Brooks introduces readers to her Great-Grandma Sophie, a wise woman and witch. Throughout the book, Great-Grandma Sophie offers her own insights, providing readers with an additional point of view. Brooks even warns readers they might feel Sophie’s presence as they move through the book, as the grimoire of seasonal magic is both influenced by her and dedicated to her. I enjoyed this spiritual connection and made a point to thank Sophie and welcome her energy each time I started a new chapter!

“The Wheel of the Year is a term that is used to refer to the changing of the seasons. Each season is marked by a series of holy days called sabbats to honor the qualities of each time of the year, life’s lessons as revealed through nature, and our relationship with the god and goddess.”24

Starting with Samhain and moving through Mabon, Brooks guides readers through the energies of the sabbats, along with a variety of ways to make use of the energy of each season. While every sabbat has its own energetic rhythm, as reflected in the content of each part, Brooks has a general format that stays consistent throughout.

She begins by sharing background information about the sabbat, including its significance, history, and magical practices good to do at that time. She also includes a list of symbols, activities, incense, spell works, deities, gemstones, trees/fruits/herbs, animals, and colors associated with the sabbat. From here, she further goes into seasonal activities, spells, and concludes with recipes.

My style is quite mix and match eclectic, so I especially appreciate the variety of ideas Brooks shares. Her multi-faceted approach to working with seasonal energies, from practical things to cleanse the home to delicious treats that can be made, provides plenty of avenues for magical practitioners of all kinds to find something that resonates with how they want to honor the sabbat. With so many options, readers will easily be able to draw new inspiration year after year, picking out what’s speaking to them most at that time.

I began reading this book right before Lughnasadh/Lammas, so it was this part I dove right into. In this section, Brooks guides readings in crafting a magical wand, offering the personality and use of many types of bark, along with how to make a manifestation box. Aligned with the energy of this season, many of the spells focus on attracting money and decluttering one’s mental/energetic space.

As I mentioned before, Brooks has a playful sense of humor and often incorporates modern holidays into the spellwork. Apparently, August 26th is National Toilet Paper Day in the United States, so she shares a spell to flush your troubles away! I absolutely plan on doing that one tomorrow!!

As a natural planner, I’ve also picked out some of the spells from the book that I am excited to do now through the end of the year (trying not to get too ahead of myself!):

Mabon 🍂

• The Magickal Apple (to welcome the season)
• A Nutty Prosperity Spell
• Autumn Leave Wishes
• Keeping House Spirits Happy
• Bake Saint Jan’s Bewitching Banana Nut Tree Bread

Samhain 🎃

• Jack-O’-Lantern Spell
• Samhain Renewal
• Thanksgiving Spell of Appreciation
• Create an Ancestor Candle

Yule 🎄

• Wish upon a Pinecone
• Holiday Protection
• Throw the Snow!
• Leave the Year Behind

And all of my current picks are only a few choices within each section, leaving plenty of other things to try out another year!

What I really appreciate about this book too is how Brooks writes about different topics throughout, so it’s an interesting read even if you’re not in the current season. For instance, all the birthday magic spells are in the Samhain section (I’m guessing because it’s the first section?). I was glad that I took the time to go through all the sections, even though I’m in a different time of the year, to discover the gems hidden within.

For instance, at the end of the Mabon section, there’s a few pages dedicated to historical witches where Brooks shares a mini-biography of these spiritual ancestors. Within Samhain, Brooks covers different types of divination, such as cartomancy, and offers an overview of astrological signs. Ostara teaches how to cleanse, consecrate, and charge magical tools. And Yule has a whole list of birthstones for readers to find out more about theirs. These magical insights are useful year-round, so the text makes for a good read regardless of season.

Overall, Magick for All Seasons shines as a warm, accessible, and inspiring seasonal grimoire. Brooks strikes a lovely balance of infusing folklore, magical activities, and ready-to-use spells with seasonal depth. Almost all the ideas in this book can be done with a few tools or ingredients, making it easy to integrate magic organically into daily life and seasonal observances. The approachable recipes, spellwork, and exercises offer a fresh take on natural alignment, providing inspiration on how to make the most of each sabbat.

This book is definitely a kitchen-table companion: one reader can return to again and again as your seasons shift and your practice evolves. I know it’s going to continue to be one of the books I reference each sabbat when planning out my magical intentions for celebrating and working with the energy of each season.

The Altar Within, by Juliet Diaz

The Altar Within: A Devotional Guide to Liberation, Revised 2nd Edition, by Juliet Diaz
Rockpool Publishing,1923208624, 256 pages, September 2025

In this revised 2nd edition of The Altar Within, Indigenous Taíno Cuban-American author Juliet Diaz presents a radical devotional guide designed for inner and collective liberation. This inspiring read frames spirituality as a revolutionary act of healing deeply intertwined with justice, mutual aid, and ancestral wisdom. Within these pages, Diaz offers readers the opportunity to discover their sovereignty, finding a path that blends personal healing and community care.

“The journey towards building a life of sovereignty starts by recognizing the inner altar we each hold within, the center of our power, the seat of our wisdom, and the home of our deepest truths.”25

In an author’s note, Diaz describes how in this 2nd edition she changed the layout and flow of the book “with the intention of supporting those who are actively using this work in their personal and professional practices, in community settings, and within social movements.”26 There’s also an additional chapter for readers to delve deeper into the work of “inner and collective liberation”27.

Diaz has sectioned the book into four offerings, each one focusing on an aspect of liberation work. Within each offering are subsections that she refers to as devotionals.​​ In a traditional mindset, one might liken these devotionals to chapters, however the amount of content within does make them feel like spiritual opportunities for readers to reflect on their own journey and integrate what comes up for themselves. I really like the wording Diaz chose for her content because it invites an openness when approaching the content; moving through each devotional is an act of offering oneself to a higher power for the greater good.

While each section differs in topic, there’s a seamless flow to the book that guides readers through shedding layers of their conditioning to discover the magic within. Diaz includes incantations, lessons, reflection prompts, writing prompts, and practices for readers to embody the information. This is definitely not a read-through-and-then-be-done-with-it type of book; it’s a text that readers can continually come back to as they learn, experience new things, and change internally as a result.

There’s even a whole devotional that honors self-discovery in which Diaz reminds readers it’s not about having a “static identity; it’s about connecting to a deeper essence, one that evolves as you grow.”28

This devotional is a great reminder that people will always be finding out new things about who they are, shifting their creative expression, discovering new gifts, and redefining their relationship with the past. This ultimately leads to uncovering more layers of the Self, and as a result, can be a journey that is celebrated and cherished rather than feared, controlled, or stifled. Continual reflection, exploring values, and  redrawing boundaries is part of the process that Diaz aids readers in undertaking.

One of the best aspects of The Altar Within for me is how the text is very grounding, allowing for the wisdom we discover to find its home within the body and move outward from there. One of my favorite sections was about decolonializing wellness, where Diaz reminds readers “that wellness is not a luxury or privilege, but a right, tied to social, environmental, and cultural factors.”29

In this way, wellness becomes something relational, non-commodified, and Earth-centered. Diaz encourages readers to examine wellness in their own life, reassess beauty standards, and offers a practice called “Honoring Authentic Beauty Through Self-Connection”, which I highly enjoyed doing.

I also highly enjoyed the offering “Centering Collective Liberation”, in which Diaz teaches readers how to co-create community, engage in mutual aid, rebuild society through collective visioning, and protect our Earth through environmental justice. After moving through the first two offerings, focused more on internal work, this section really made me aware of how I could branch out and extend myself to make a difference in the world, which sometimes I think I forget I have the power to do.

The final offering, “Magic for the Revolution”, provides even more hands-on ways for readers to participate in societal change. Diaz writes:

“Revolution requires not only a willingness to envision a better world but also the courage to destroy what stands in its way.”30

Spells and rituals for doing things like cutting out the roots of white supremacy, dismantling capitalism, weakening systems of oppression, banishing colonialism, and calling in ancestors to support the uprising make for some potent magical workings. Luckily, Diaz has made them all quite accessible in regard to material needed and easy to do with step-by-step instructions. This offering also includes prayers and incantations for readers, if this is more their style, for inner libration, collective liberation, ancestors, and future generations.

Overall, The Altar Within stands out as a spiritually and politically resonant book, woven from ancestral memory, social justice, and honest self-care. Its strength lies in guiding readers toward self-worship—not in narcissistic terms, but as reclaiming one’s divinity amidst trauma, colonization, and cultural erasure. Diaz ties personal healing to collective liberation, offering a much-needed community-based, intersectional, and decolonial approach to magic and spirituality. 

There’s a perfect balance of Diaz’s raw, honest, and grounding writing style that guides readers through acknowledging the shadows of the individualistic, colonial, capitalistic, predatory and oppressive systems of the Western world that have had a hugely detrimental effect on so many people worldwide. She holds space for readers as they acknowledge how far off course society has gotten and awakening to what can be done both personally and collectively to rebuild a society that is based on equity, justice, and love.

Like all great teachers, Diaz gets readers thinking for themselves. She unveils these uncomfortable truths without preaching or shaming others into believing them. The many prompts, practices, and rituals offered are for the reader to move at their own pace in this process. Unpacking shame, acknowledging ancestral trauma, overcoming spiritual by-passing, are tough things to do on your own. Diaz understands this wholeheartedly, and it’s clear this book was written for readers to know they are not alone and do have the power to face these things.

As someone who spent the morning fretting about current events in the United States, it was such a relief to remember I could do something proactive for myself and my community: reading The Altar Within. This book would resonate most with those who are seeking support in being an activist/advocate, looking to decolonize their spiritual path, longing for connection between their personal healing and community care, and feeling ready to do the inner and outer work to create a more inclusive, loving, and healthy world for the future.

“Our innate magic is amplified when we unlearn the conditioning of oppressive systems and reconnect with our authentic selves. By shedding layers of colonialism, capitalism,and white supremacy, we reclaim the sovereignty of our Spirit.”31