It is officially the weekend! Sadly, for many where I live that means staying inside because it has now snowed again and is chilly…the prefect day to curl up and read a good book. Since you will be in the home already, why not read about how to nourish your home and spirit?
Our homes are more than a place we eat and sleep, they are our protection and safety. Often the home becomes the one place you can be yourself, let your walls down. In Hearth & Home Witchcraft, Blonde provides many ways that you can nourish your home and soul in tandem.
Hearth & Home Witchcraft 
Author: Jennie Blonde
Publisher: Weiser Books
Published: September 1st 2022
Book Length: 240 Pages
Genre: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Paganism, Witchcraft
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy the book: Amazon, Weiser Books
*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest, unbiased review*
For author Jennie Blonde, witchcraft is, in and of itself, comforting. Sure, there are not-so-comfortable parts as well—working with the shadow, coming face to face with that which holds you back. Jennie’s witchcraft is about connecting with the magic of nature, your higher self, and something beyond—a deity, deities, Spirit, the universe—and being comfortable with your true self in all aspects of your life.
“In times of anxiety,” Jennie writes, “I turn to my practice. When I need a moment of calm and reflection, I retreat to my sacred space for quiet meditation, pulling tarot cards, and journaling to nourish my soul. When I want to nourish my family, I turn to my garden and herbs and cauldron (my stockpot) for a bit of kitchen witchery. When I wish to nourish my body, I turn to mindful movement, self-care rituals, and spell work. And throughout the day, every day, there are small rituals I perform to keep me connected to my practice. It’s all of those things together that are the heart of my craft.”
Hearth and Home Witchcraft explores the following topics:
- rituals for protection and cleansing the hearth and home
- kitchen witchery, creating a kitchen altar, and recipes and rituals for nourishment
- the witch’s altar, tools, and spells, and creating a sacred space, no matter the size of the home
- herbs and plants, grounding rituals, and meditations to connect you with the earth
- witchy self-care, complete with rituals and recipes for ritual bath salts, oils, balms, and more
This is the first time that I have ever opened a Pagan book and found a book charm that may help the reader enjoy the read or get the most amount of information from it. What a wonderful idea! I did take the advice of the author and use it so that I was able to find the most helpful parts of the book. However, if you choose not to do that, that is perfectly fine as well. The content page breaks down the chapters but goes one step further, it has a list of all the rituals and recipes with their corresponding pages! That means you don’t need to guess and sift through chapters to find what you are looking for. This tells me that the author wants this to be used again and again as a resource for those who choose.
If you know anything about the Pagan faith, you know there is a large group of people who choose to follow specific pantheons and deities/ Gods & Goddesses. Often when practicing, they will look for a God/Goddess of a sabbat or part of the earth, etc. Blonde must be well versed in this because they start their book by discussing a few of the Hearth & Home deities or entities that some may want to work with and how to begin that.
Speaking of sabbats, there is a large section on the Wheel of the Year. Again, if you follow the Pagan path, you have heard of this at some point. This is not new information, but it is good for a beginner who may be reading the book. That being said, these are also very Wiccan-based. There are other versions of the holidays celebrated by the Norse followers for example. However, the most common are found in this book. The author goes into detail about the correspondences and history of the sabbat as well as provides rituals and recipes for the reader to incorporate into their celebration. As I mentioned above, great information for beginners seems to be a theme in this book so far.
I really enjoyed the section that discussed specific materials and fabrics used within the home and what each of them could represent or symbolize. It made me pause and look around my home to take note of what materials I used in various rooms and what type of energy I was creating for that space. Of course, that made me want to add things, so my ADHD brain got sidetracked, and I doom-scrolled online, looking at various things to add to my home. Looking around again, I saw something I wanted to move, which sent me into a cleaning fit. I had to put the book down for the rest of the day after that.
There are so many beneficial ideas in this book, such as the doorway blessings. As I mentioned above, though, this feels like a very beginner-friendly book—not a bad thing. I was hoping for something more in-depth, though. I was giddy at the mention of chakra colors and crystals. I mean, that is what I do for a living, after all. I sell crystals and am a Reiki Master. The addition of a pet charm was since as well. My heart fluttered when the author mentioned that books are magic. Indeed they are! That means my home is full of magic portals ready to transport me at a moment’s notice. Overall, I enjoyed the book and it does have some wonderful tips and ideas. It is very beginner-oriented, making it great for anyone to pick up, but if you are a seasoned practitioner, it may not be the best choice for you.
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