Lisa ChamberlainReviews

A beginning note: while I am a witch, I am not Wiccan; I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend who is, only hoping to find some things of interest and possibly spellwork I'd like to use or adapt for myself. I was and am aware that the Wiccan angle to it does not suit me personally and didn't expect it to do so.

While there are a number of easy-to-get-into spells in this (and easily adapted, if you're comfortable doing so) they are many of them not necessarily what I would suggest for a beginning witch. They can also get somewhat repetitive, and/or feel wasteful.

There is a heavy emphasis on 'positivity' taken to a degree that it can feel almost toxic in some places, entirely aside from the Wiccan boundaries never to cause or think harm to another, with the exhortation to not allow your thoughts to turn towards negative feelings, memories, wishes, etc. - among many other things listed as 'do not think of/focus on [x]' in such a way that it pretty much guarantees your mind to turn in that direction if you are referencing the spell.

It also encourages or instructs freewriting so frequently that as I read I was almost tempted to count how often it came up, just out of curiosity. Personally freewriting does not work for me as anything other than a frustration, certainly not as a method of focusing for spellwork. Doesn't make it bad advice (if a bit overemphasised here), but it was supremely unhelpful for me.½

Like a lot of readers of Lisa Chamberlain’s books, I am a beginner, although to be fair Lisa only writes about magic, Wicca, and related topics, so she is in that sense a specialist, although certainly a beginner-centric specialist. Her books are also available free with a KindleUnlimited subscription, so you also ‘have to’ look at it from a value-for-money perspective, and not a ‘perfectionist’ one. God knows they don’t have many books like this at the library, you know.

Anyway, Lisa is mostly a writer about Wicca, although the runes could be used in more than one religion, Wicca or related paths, or Asatru, or I assume there are other traditional Heathen paths as well, so I guess it’s witchy psychology. Anyway.

I’m a universalist; I don’t think the gods are offended by cultural innovation, only blatant disrespect and actual misdeeds, so after I finished reading this book I decided to create a rune script to honor Athena to tape to a blue LED candle I have. (I will also write her name on it in Theban letters.) I don’t know as much Norse mythology now as I will in the future, and actually the fiction I’m reading now is largely normie fiction (although I mostly read nonfiction), and when I get back to mythology I think I’m going to finally tackle that big book of African mythology. Balance in more ways than one…. But yeah, anyway, for Athena I created the rune script ELHAZ KENAZ PERTHRO. I also did a Tarot reading to make sure it would be okay for the purposes I had in mind, (basically calming/contemplative), and although it’s kinda subtle and I’m not going to go over the whole thing, (I did a Tree of Life/Kabbalah Tarot reading, and it was interesting or whatever, I’d say), basically I would say it gives you Enneagram Five energies. It’s not something you’d use to get a date, lol. (chuckles) Blue candle, like I said. Drives away all the gossip girls….

So yeah, maybe you’ll find the above interesting or whatever, or perhaps mysterious/unclear; or maybe you think I’m a nut! 😸👍

This is just a basic book on the Moon, obviously, which is what it sets out to be—it’s an overview; it’s available on KindleUnlimited; I really don’t think we need to get all uptight about the entry-level books. I know I can learn a lot more…. But anyway, this is maybe the first explicitly Wicca-centric book I’ve read this time around—there are so many different paths; Wicca itself is a vague term like most religion names; a lot of things are sorta vaguely Wiccan or adaptable-to-Wicca without being Wicca per se, (ie books on deities), not that it matters, but I do consider myself a Wiccan—a sorta witch-in-training…. But anyway, the first time I was Wicca-y I was unwilling to read many books because I was 19 or something and couldn’t sit still, and then over the better part of a decade I wasn’t a Wiccan but occasionally I would grow curious—and by then I read books, but I was unable to attune myself to the witchy ones…. Anyway, now it’s different. Inspiring story, though. 🤪Perhaps a little boring, lol.

Anyway, I just want to talk about the why of it a little bit. Magic is very similar to the law of attraction; especially if you compare the more philosophical law of attraction (ie not witchcraft—actually sometimes it’s quite biblical) with psy magic, which I guess is kinda a subset of visualization. I mean, visualization is slightly more—I hate to use the word normal; it’s such a slur 😹—but you just imagine what you want, whereas in psy magic you’d imagine yourself doing a ritual—say burning a candle, if you can’t actually do that at the moment…. But anyway, Neville Goddard, Esther Hicks, all these people said that “feeling is the secret” (the phrase is Neville’s, and he came first, but, hey), but sometimes with very abstract teachings…. I just know WHY I should feel, but I have trouble really Feeling it, you know. Sometimes with these primitive stories from the dawn of time, and the little (LED!) candles and other aids-to-feeling…. I mean, all of a sudden, I feel more attuned with my emotions, and then I remember, Oh yeah…. That was a good thing….

This isn’t groundbreaking research or whatever, but I found that I learned more than I once would have assumed that I would learn. There’s actually a lot more to it—fully half the book, and space well used—than JUST the meanings of the individual cards, and not just the history and famous historical writers, either, although there are a few of those. There are just a lot of little peripheral things to a reading, ways not to let the dust of materiality cloud your psychic sense, you know. And the whole book is good—I don’t want to be a bookish Tarot reader, but other people’s intuitions matter, too, and I no longer want to assume that I don’t need to at least know what some of the things written in the books are, at least.

…. We live in an age where most humanities are seen in a history-heavy way, and where academic philosophers put in a feather in their cap every time they act as gatekeepers and put people off, (they are men of many feathers), but the simple philosophy she gives in a very small space of Tarot readings is very good. It’s more about reflection, than merely/only predicting.

…. Many of the Tarot readers I’ve gone to—not often, but occasionally, I’ll go for a reading—are much more careful I guess with their psychic energy, and/or more detached about my life than I am, and say wise things, but on the other hand, I feel like they do tend to fall into that merely/only predicting, “spill the goods” thing, whereas I want to kinda know the whole thing, “sometimes when we get the Lovers card it means that we have to make a choice”, not just (to pretend for humorous effect that they’re not guarded AF), “you’re indecisive as fuck, you know that, right?”

…. In a lot of ways technology gives you more options in Tarot, although it can be a trick knowing how to use that power sometimes. Your phone can do Tarot readings for you online now, for free and unbeknownst to random passersby. (Since Tarot isn’t a crime but it can be seen as gossip-worthy, Aunt Crane and Mr Billy are much more of a threat than the federal government or DataAdNumbers, Inc., you know.) But if you can get a paper deck, that can give you more options (different decks, spreads) in a lot of ways, if you can “keep it secret, keep it safe”, you know. Just as much, at least, if you have to pay twenty or thirty dollars and/or inconvenience someone and/or (in the old days) have them look at you funny and say, ‘I answered that question already’—not that any of those things should be things you HAVE TO go through, and especially the last one, right, but there is a danger, you know. Like I did a reading for myself this morning and it was like, “You don’t have to get too creative/inspired; you just have to be patient even if you feel stuck and let wisdom/life come to you in the end; be the kid, today God is your Parent, your Nurse….” And it’s like, I’m so tired from the stress and the eclipse season panic manifesting as labyrinthine inscrutable bureaucratic hurdles (around parking, of all things! That is not a Limerick name! Only people from Limerick Village, County Dumbass, get to….), and it lasted just long enough to sap most of my unusual task energy for the day, and it’s like…. That’s what it meant. But my pattern is: I want to go back and do a reading like—So if I get less than 10,000 steps today…. I mean, I’m sure eventually I’ll be able to exercise even after road fiascos, you know. (God, that valet was unprofessional!) But really, for today, I know the answer: whatever your best is, that’s your best. You don’t need permission, and if you needed it, it’s been granted. But knowledge is only part of it; the rest is a feeling. Otherwise, we are all just endlessly repeating that child’s question Why that has no end, and in immature hands Tarot can’t satisfy that question….

…. I still end up asking multiple questions, since a vague question can lead to a less vague one, and I’m glad tech makes it easier. But I guess the two main things I’m learning are: don’t ask the question again just because you still feel bad—you’re using the wrong tool; and: letting yourself look at the relative/non-absolute world-as-it-appears, and allowing that some appearances are “bad”. It’s all a lesson, for my good, and it can’t hurt me…. But it is, “bad”, sometimes.

…. That, and just having more respect for the typical Tarot person’s outlook on life, you know. Think of the ads: I used to think that health, wealth, and relationships were like the Three Banes of the Philosopher, you know.

…. And: other people’s intuitions matter. I did not invent the Tarot.

I was hoping for something more grounded in historical references and linguistic studies. In fairness, I could have noted the subtitle: "A Guide to Reading Runes in Divination, Rune Magic, and the Meanings of Elder Futhark Runes." Even though I'm not into such mysticism, I rated it based on that purpose. The book reviews the origins of the runes and "rune casting," describes how to interpret runes and then explores the meaning of each of the runes in the Elder Futhark. Compared to several more scholarly sources I've encountered recently, I found the basic rune meanings provided here to be very similar. The author takes it a step further by providing "magical uses" for each. If, like me, you don't believe in magic, you could still use runes as a lens for thinking about situations in different ways.

I'm always nervous about any pagan books written by "Lisa" anything. Most of them are ghost written by god knows whom. But Lisa Chamberlain is fully legit and her writings are spot on. This one is no exception, it's detailed, and for a tiny little book, it's absolutely packed with good info.

Between this and the other beginner book I read, I'm really starting to triangulate what works for me and what doesn't as I start to think about what my practice will look like.

I enjoyed this brief introduction to kitchen witchcraft. Though I do agree with some other reviews that advanced practitioners may find it to be very basic, I'm new to the craft and I found this book full of helpful little insights to ease yourself into incorporating more magick in the kitchen. The correspondence charts and spell ideas are very helpful, and I liked how the author had many different perspectives on how to bring magick into the kitchen through many different ways. Big kudos to Lisa Chamberlain for being very aware of the differences between classes- she talks about organic and fresh foods having higher vibrational frequencies, but is quick to say what works best is what you have access to. She even takes the time to give ideas for what those of us with tiny studio apartments can do to make a difference in our spaces. Overall a decent read, if I need a beginner's look into a different topic she has written a book on, I do think I would pick it up.

I enjoyed this brief introduction to kitchen witchcraft. Though I do agree with some other reviews that advanced practitioners may find it to be very basic, I'm new to the craft and I found this book full of helpful little insights to ease yourself into incorporating more magick in the kitchen. The correspondence charts and spell ideas are very helpful, and I liked how the author had many different perspectives on how to bring magick into the kitchen through many different ways. Big kudos to Lisa Chamberlain for being very aware of the differences between classes- she talks about organic and fresh foods having higher vibrational frequencies, but is quick to say what works best is what you have access to. She even takes the time to give ideas for what those of us with tiny studio apartments can do to make a difference in our spaces. Overall a decent read, if I need a beginner's look into a different topic she has written a book on, I do think I would pick it up.

While I received an ARC of these three books, I have made an independent decision to post this review. The subject of these three books are Witchcraft, The Elements, and Magical Living. The author has done a very good job educating the public as well as people interested in this subject with this set of books. Bravo!½

While I received an ARC of this book, I have made an independent decision to post this review. This book is the first of its kind (to my knowledge) and will be very helpful to practitioners as well as newcomers. I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book tells you everything you want to know about working with the Moons' energy. And, I was glad to see information listed for folks in both hemispheres. It is something great to add to your magickal collection.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Lisa knocks the ball out of the park with this step by step guide. This book includes chapters on energy cleansing, starving stubborn thought forms, spells, and a further reading list.

This new book by Lisa Chamberlain focuses on the ancient pantheons: Egyptian, Celtic, Greek & Roman myths and legends. It is also an excellent primer!

This new book by Lisa Chamberlain focuses on the ancient pantheons: Egyptian, Celtic and Greek & Roman myths and legends. It is a good primer - and also includes very helpful charts - and a guide to further reading.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I quite enjoyed reading this book! It includes information about 13 major herbs, as well as a Table of Correspondence, how to do an energetic clearing, smudging and purification, and a suggested reading list.

Excellent book for the price! It provides a brief history of western witchcraft, then goes into detail about the different forms today. I learned several new bits of information that I did not know. It continues into a discussion of traditional witchcraft, Wicca, and contemporary witchcraft. Very informative book!

A small book on how to create your own book of shadows. It includes a definition of what a book of shadows is and how to create your own. Includes a discussion of technology today in relation to using it to create a book of shadows.

This is a starter guide for herbal work. It begins with a small history of herbal use in the past. Then, it provides short discussions on 13 herbs and how they have been used in the past and can be used currently. Next is a discussion on how to create your own magical garden and several tea recipes and spells.

Most of the time when people say the word coven they immediately think of a group of people in black robes surrounding a cauldron. In reality, it is a spiritual community. This book provides a brief history of witchcraft and Wicca, along with a breakdown of how covens are structured. It also discusses the pros and cons of being in a coven, while also showing the possible solitary path one might choose. The author discusses the differences between Wiccan traditions while emphasizing the importance of finding your own path in your spiritual journey. A well written book that provides a solid base to begin your travels into Wicca.

This book helps you learn the basics of candle magic. It provides a short history of fire uses throughout culture and ceremonies. It helps to teach you to "harness the unseen energy of the universe" with your candle work. It details the importance of the color of the candle and provides a easy to use chart. It also helps you to choose your candle from all the different types that are available today. In addition, it provides you with the tools needed to consecrate, clear/cleanse, charge and anoint your candles for spell work. Last, it provides you with a few common candle magic spells. Overall, a great book for beginning candle work.

This is a great intro to 13 of the most popular crystals/stones used in spells and charms. The book goes over cleaning, clearing and charging your crystals/stones for use in your everyday life and your spells. It even discusses which ones work best for your astrological signs and any specific needs you may have. The book includes spells for baths, protection and more. I found this book to be extremely informative and plan on utilizing the enclosed spells.

In this essay, Chamberlain looks at the contributions of Gen-Xers to modern society. From the workplace and family, to politics and economics, she looks at the place that this generation carved for itself despite chattered expectations, glum economic prospects and unexpected world events, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9-11. The analysis is superficial at best: Chamberlain takes a cursory look at these issues, couches them in pop culture and validates them with one-off examples that all seem to have an arts background (all friends of Ms Chamberlain?). Nonetheless, I liked her optimism and her look at a generation's adaptability in a society that went from a static model to a very dynamic one. I also think that her conclusions are acute, even if they are more impressions than hard facts.
A quick read but one that gives a good glimpse at a generation that is rethinking family (from single-sex couples with children to single parents), work (mobility, work-life balance), politics (grass-roots involvement) and economic models (local influence and the free-economy).