Book Review: Spellcraft and Spellwork by Ariana Carrasca

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Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts in this review reflect my personal experience and honest opinion.

Spells are something that almost every magical practitioner utilises. Often when stepping into the world of magic and spellcasting for the first time, it can be difficult to understand how to navigate crafting your first spell and what steps to take towards building your own personal practice. Spellcraft and Spellwork is a practical guide on the inner and outer workings of spellcasting. This book brings the reader back to the basics, and introduces everything you need to know about crafting and working spells. The way in which each magic worker will craft their spell will vary greatly. Ariana Carrasca provides explanations of the foundations of spellcasting in a way which highlights the practitioner’s own personal experience and to help them build a craft which is truly unique to them.
Book Blurb from Amazon

About the Book: Spellcraft and Spellwork

Ariana Carrasca is an English folk witch and Brittonic polytheist from the UK. She was raised in the craft, her mother being a 3rd Degree Gardnerian Wiccan, and has a unique perspective that many witches do not. Outside of her witchcraft practice, she is also an ecologist passionate about ecological education in both the magical and mundane worlds. She shares videos on YouTube and has her own website.

Spellwork and Spellcraft is geared toward beginners and any witch looking to expand their practice. With sections on correspondences to practicality and more, Ariana covered a lot of ground in under 100 pages.

My Thoughts

I was excited to see that Ari was adding her name to the list of authors who write for the Pagan Portals series published by Moon Books. These books are known for being wonderful introductions to different topics, and Spellcraft and Spellwork is no different. The subtitle for this book is “A Guide to the Magical Practice of Spells”, and it delivers just that. What’s more, the book is less than 100 pages long, making it a short read. Some may see this as a bad thing, but this is a positive – it means that the author was concise and left out the fluff that is often seen in pagan and witchcraft books!

The chapters are ordered in a logical way, starting with magical history, moving through magical theory and practical magic, and ending with post-spell procedures and spell examples. I enjoyed the fact that the Ariana included a chapter on magical theory. I haven’t seen a lot of authors discuss the different theories about how and why magic works. These are called models of magic and they include the spirit model, psychological model, and the energy model.

Ariana does a wonderful job giving the reader all of the information with no bias, letting the reader decide for themselves what they believe. Though she shares her opinion with the reader, she presents the information in such a way that is informative rather than persuasive. Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was the lack of religious information. This is a book about the practice of witchcraft, not Wicca or any other form of paganism. You won’t find rituals for opening a circle. You won’t find a list of correspondences. Instead, you as the reader will be equipped with the information you need to build your own witchcraft practice.

Theoretical analyses on why magic works have been proposed all throughout the history of magic. These principles of magic, also known as metaphysical laws, act as rules that magic follows, but not rules that every magical practitioner must follow. Magic is fluid, and many different traditions have formed as a result of certain principles across different cultures. Understanding the principles of magic can make for a stronger application of magic in one’s own practice, as when you can confidently comprehend what is happening metaphysically when you are enacting magic, then curating your spell will be just that little bit easier.
Spellcraft and Spellwork; Chapter 2: Magical Theory, p. 19

This quote sums up what I believe to be Ariana’s purpose in writing this book. She wants witches of all types to be confident in their magic. She encourages learning and understanding what you’re doing, not just blindly following instructions in a book.

Should you read this book?

Overall, I say yes, you should read this book. Though the target audience seems to be new witches, I think every witch can benefit from having a copy of this book. It was a nice reminder of the different aspects of witchcraft and what makes magic magical.

Grab a Copy & Find the Author

Get the Book: Bookshop.org, Thriftbooks, Publisher’s Website
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