Mrs. B's Guide to Household Witchery ~ Kris Bradley

Mrs. B’s Guide to Household Witchery: Everyday Magic, Spells, and Recipes
By Kris Bradley

Genre: New Age/ Wicca

Publisher: Weiser Books, an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

ISBN: 978-1-57863-515-3

Number of pages: 224

Word Count: 49,000

Cover Artist: Jim Warner

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Book Description:

For domestic goddesses everywhere—add some magic and fun to those mundane household chores with Mrs. B.'s Guide to Household Witchery. Whether you're sweeping the floor, making a meal, or cleaning out that junk drawer, domestic witch Kris Bradley, creator of the popular blog, Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom, will show you how to create spells and magic to bring happiness and balance into your home.

Bradley offers ideas and solutions to make the most out of everyday items, activities, and obligations. From Anchovies to Broccoli, and Wine to Yeast, from sweeping the floor to blow-drying your hair, you can change your outlook on life with a pinch of knowledge and a dash of magic! The book includes simple rituals, spells, and ways to connect with the spirits that watch over your home and family. Includes an appendix of herbs and a complete materia magica from the kitchen pantry.

Mrs. B's Guide to Household Witchery features:

      Room by Room: How to create magic while you cook, set up a family altar in the living room, or do a junk drawer divination

      The Elements for the Domestic Witch: a primer on the 4 elements and how to balance them in your home

      The Domestic Witch's Herbal: Magical uses for every herb and food in your pantry, as well as instant magic with prepackaged spice mixes

      Simple Sabbats for the Busy Witch: simple ways to celebrate the passing of the seasons

Magical Recipes: More than 100 recipes and spells


My Take: I found this to be a fun and easy to get through how to book. I will be honest with you I probably have an entire book case of what my husband calls my "witch" books. They range from authors like Scott Cunningham to Raymond Buckland and even some Lauri Cabot. The trouble is most of them I wouldn't want to lend to a non pagan. Sometimes thing can come off confusing or well, odd, to those who are not in the "know". 
This is actually a book I would be happy to lend to my work friends. It is written in a very down to earth kind of way. More like a friend is explaining something to you than you are reading an instructive book.
As a tiny tidbit mu husband is not a reader, at all. As soon as this book arrived in the mail he couldn't wait to get his hands on it. I'm not sure what it was but he actually read a few chapters. I was in shock. He even had me leave it out so if he had a free moment he could read some more! There could be no more shining endorsement than that :)

About the Author:

Kris Bradley is the magic behind the popular blog Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom (2500 readers). She helped establish The Sisterhood of the Triple Goddess coven in Keyport, NJ and is a legally ordained minister, in addition to being a witchy wife and mother. Her work on domestic witchery has been featured in PaganParenting.org and as a national column for Examiner.com. She lives in Keyport, NJ.

Website: http://www.krisbradley.com/

Blog: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/confessionsofapagansoccermom/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsofaPaganSoccerMom

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrisMrsBBradley

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6008206.Kris_Bradley

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Interview with Kris Bradley & Excerpt!

Wolf Majick Reviews would like to welcome Kris Bradley author or Mrs B's Guide to Household Witchery

Delia: How long have you been writing?

Kris: I’ve loved to write from the time I was quite small.  I started blogging around 2008 and wrote a few articles for Pagan e-zines here and there over the years.

Delia:How many books have you published?

Kris:This is my very first one!

Delia:Did you have anything special in mind when you started writing Mrs B's Guide to household witchery?

Kris:When I started writing the book, my biggest intent was to share a simple, yet effective form of magic, working with things you can easily obtain around your home or in your local grocery store.

Delia:Do you have a favorite chapter in this book?

Kris:The chapter on herbs and foods is one of my favorites.  It was so much fun to research, and so many people I’ve talked to are happily surprised that they can work right out of their kitchen cabinet.

Delia:What would you like readers to get out of reading your books?

Kris:That magic and spirituality can fit into the modern, busy lifestyle.  You don’t need to wait until you have a free hour to spend, you can often do the same work in a fraction of the time and still be successful.

Delia:Do you have any favorite authors you'd like to share with my readers?

Kris:As far as Pagan authors, two of my favorites are Judika Illes and Dorothy Morrison.  For fiction I really enjoy Laurell K. Hamilton, Stacia Kane and Key Hooper.

Just for fun..

Delia:What is your favorite holiday?

Kris:Samhain

Delia:Vampires or Werewolves?

Kris:Werewolves!

Delia:Favorite movie?

Kris:The Breakfast Club

Delia:Favorite book?

Kris:To Kill a Mockingbird

Delia: Thanks for stopping by!

Kris:Thanks so much for having me!

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Excerpt from

SIMPLE SABBATS FOR THE BUSY WITCH: simple ways to celebrate the passing of the seasons

Samhain—October 31

Though many look to October 31 as Halloween, Pagans from around the world call it Samhain (Sow-en), a time to remember their ancestors and to celebrate the start of a new year. This period is well suited to practicing divination, working on transitions of all sorts, candle magic, protection magic, and working with or contacting those who have passed on.

October is often one of the busiest months of the year in a Pagan household.

The fun of Halloween, creating costumes for the family, school events, and getting the household and property ready for the coming cooler weather keep us hopping. Sometimes there are not enough hours in the day to breathe, much less to plan a way to honor the season. Here are a few simple ways to celebrate.

Ritual: 5 Minutes Alone

This simple Samhain ritual lets you honor those who came before. If you have a few extra moments, add your favorite form of divination and see what the coming year will bring!

Items Needed:

• Your ancestor altar

• Lighter or matches

• A glass of apple cider

• A small snack, such as gingersnaps or a sliced apple

1. Sit before your ancestor altar and take a few deep breaths. Think about those who have passed on—their struggles and how they’ve affected your life. Think about how blessed you were to have them in your life.

2. When you feel centered and ready, light the candle on your altar and say,

I light this candle in honor of Samhain and to recognize the changing season. I

honor the Lord and Lady and my ancestors and give them thanks. On this night,

when their spirits walk among us and magic is in the air, I ask my ancestors for

their blessings and ask them to watch over my family and home. So mote it be.

3. Sit for a moment or two. Drink your cider and eat your snack, being sure to leave some on your offering plate. Let the candle burn for as long as you safely can.

Small Group Ritual

This ritual is just the right length to do with a friend or two, your partner, or the whole family. Just gather round and share the time together.

Items Needed:

• A candle

• A lighter or matches

• Scraps of paper

• A pen or pencil for each participant

• Your cauldron or other heat-safe container

• Cider and cups

• A plate of cookies

1. Gather everyone, and sit down somewhere comfortable with all of your ritual items. Begin with a simple deep breathing exercise to get everyone centered.

2. When everyone’s ready, light the candle and say,

On this fall night of Samhain, we celebrate the turning wheel. As the seasons change, so goes the cycle of death and rebirth. Tonight we mark the death of the old year and the birth of the new. We make these pledges to ourselves and to the Lord and Lady.

3. At this time, each person should write down any resolutions that they’d like to make for the new year or any plans for new beginnings that they’d like to put into motion.

4. Go around the circle, and one at a time each participant can choose whether to share what they’ve written out loud. The paper is then lit on the flame of the candle (younger participants should be assisted by an adult) and placed in the cauldron to burn.

5. When everyone has finished, pass around the cider and cookies and enjoy each other’s company. Everyone should save a sip of the cider and a bit of his or her cookie. When it’s time to finish up, take the cooled ashes outside and bury them in the ground. Leave your food offerings nearby.

For the Kids

There are usually more than enough Halloween activities going on in October for the kids. But how do you get them to understand what Samhain is really about? Create something fun to draw their attention while you count down the days!

Grab some orange construction paper and cut out thirty-one pumpkin shapes; number them 1 to 31 on one side. On the other side, write a short fact about Samhain, or paste on a picture of a loved one who’s passed or share a fun fact about that person. If you like, staple or tape a small treat to each pumpkin, such as a piece of candy, a coin, a small Halloween eraser, or something like that. Starting on October 1, find a place to stash the pumpkin where you know your child will find it. Pack it in their school lunch, stick it in their sock drawer, or prop it up by their toothbrush. On Halloween morning, tape the last paper pumpkin to a real pumpkin and help them carve a face in it so that it can guard your home that night.

Witch Devotions ~ Elizabeth J Kolodziej

Witch Devotions ~ Elizabeth J Kolodziej

I was lucky enough to hook up with the author via a facebook group and was given the oppurtunity to 

review this novel.

Summary:

With Trent gone, Faith, the last witch in the world, feels she can not go on without him. The pain grows so intense that she shuts out her friends and loved ones to be alone; unsure of what to think about the paranormal world anymore. However, on a trip to see Gordon she realizes what she can do to make the pain go away. A spell. 

But, the spell ends up back firing and Faith has now forgotten the past six months. All the memories of vampires, werewolves, and her magical training have vanished. And the first to find her is Louis who comes to whisk her away and change the course of her life forever.

Webs of lies and deceit have Faith feeling powerless and scared that when Louis gives her the option of becoming a slayer she takes it, hoping to get revenge on the race she believes stole the past six months of her life away. With the Goddess Circe interfering, Lilith still missing and Faith unable to remember Trent, no one knows what will happen next!

However, when a stranger enters her life bringing with him secrets to her missing memories, Faith can no longer trust those around her and must figure out for herself who is good and who is evil. The world of vampires and werewolves or that of slayers. The coin is still up in the air and Faith must make a choice of where her devotions lie. 

My Take:
This was a great addition to the series. Lately I find myself enjoying more novels with witches in them. Anyone who has been reading this blog for any length of time will know that I usually avoid "witch" stories.

I found Faith's struggle to be a very human one, with a magical twist of course. You can understand Faith's wish to forget all of the pain in her recent life. What she comes to learn though is that forgetting the past does not change it. Now Faith will have to face a future and dangers she won't even know are coming.

Fast moving and well written. This is a great series and totally worth the read.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted here, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. It is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

This weeks Waiting on Wednesday is from one of my favorite werewolf storytellers Terry Spear.

A Howl for a Highlander by Terry Spear

Book Description

Release Date: February 1, 2013

Duncan MacNeill is on a mission—find gray wolf and former stockbroker Silverman who has stolen his family fortune and is purported to be living in the Grand Cayman Islands. As a Highland wolf, Duncan rarely leaves his native homeland, and taking a trip to an island paradise is not his dram of whiskey. But keeping the MacNeill's ancestral castle depends on making Silverman pay.

Silverman never believed that MacNeill would actually track him down, and he's ready to run. But when a beautiful botanist catches Silverman's and MacNeill's attention, these two alphas realize they have even more to fight over...

Sounds great! I'm sure it will be fantastic like all of the Terry Spear novels I have read so far!!

Burner ~ M. C. Mars

Burner by M. C. Mars
4 stars

Well let me start off by saying I'm not totally sure what to say about this novel. It was far more intense that I would have expected and the cover art was just amazing. 

Summary:

Jason Teal, is a hip-hop deejay and producer who dropped out in his last semester as a college astrophysics major and moved to San Francisco with his rapper friends to pursue a career in music. Three years later, the hip-hop group he co-founded has signed a major label deal – without him. Meanwhile, Jason has lost sight of his dream. He’s working a job he hates, and his relationship with his stripper-girlfriend has hit rock bottom. And now, with greater frequency, he’s having hallucinations. He hallucinates walls and trains covered with graffiti pieces (burners).

The book has a strong sexual component. Jason’s girlfriend, Alicia, has become an exotic dancer to support her three-year-old daughter, and to put herself through school to earn a degree in psychology. But as she exploits her sexual power in the club, she also becomes its victim.

The torrid passion that brought Jason and Alicia together has now turned sadistic and self-destructive.Into the chaos of Jason’s downward spiral steps a mysterious figure with ties to a secret society.Cyril has the power to transform Jason’s life overnight. He has money. He has answers. He seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo “The TEST.” The TEST will take Jason down the rabbit-hole into the new paradigm of wave/particle duality where quantum physics meets mysticism at the level of the unseen. In the rabbit hole, he’ll encounter a dominatrix with a chip on her shoulder, a gangster who blew off his leg making a bomb, a man in a wheelchair dressed as a pharaoh beckoning him with ESP, a ginseng store owner who looks like Peter Lorre on speed, CIA MK ULTRA experiments, and many more weird and terrifying things that will lead to a head-on collision with himself, and the Big Bang of consciousness. But in a world where celebrities are treated like gods, and the corporate media molds our notion of Reality, consciousness of this degree comes with a price.

My take:

Burner deals with a whole lot of things that are outside of my normal realm. Dj's, hip-hop, and the like. What drew me to want to read it was the talks of the Illuminati. I'm always a sucker for conspiracy theories. This one though was more complex than I could have even imagined. In many ways I have known quite a few people like Jason.

So smart and talented, but they just can't seem to get out of their own way. How many people everyday could be fantastic but hold themselves back? What would those people, down on their luck, struggling to get by, do to rise to the top. What would you do if fame and everything you have ever wanted was within your grasp?

Burner is an intense read. This won't be one that you fly through, I know I didn't. This is one that you are going to be glad you worked through.