Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells: The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts, Exploring Folklore, Myth, and Magic from Every Corner of the Earth and Across Millennia

This book is valuable! I learned a ton and the author substitutes unrealistic ingredients with attainable ones. I have made a few incenses from here that were heavenly. Def a great book for any level of spell crafting!

I’ve been told that this was an all encompassing book for the person who wanted truth, not lore. Well, you do get some of the lore, but it’s written to where you understand the significance of all that you are doing. Not for the faint of heart in some cases. I would say a baby witch needs this book, but needs to know it’s powerful & not just an encyclopedia. They do say knowledge is power. But also power corrupts all; know what you are playing with.

Excellent knowledge of spell craft and ideal for an all rounder

What an excellent resource!It begins with a section about spell casting basics, concepts, common tools…that sort of thing. Then it goes into pages and pages of spells.The spells begin on page 105 and go all the way to page 1035. They are divided by the intention of the spell, for example: spells regarding animals is followed by banishing spells and then business spells and so on. Then, each of those sections is filled with spells listed in alphabetical order. What it really needs is tabs, so I’m going to add some (you can buy neat page tabs on Amazon and write in your own section names or simply alphabetize the book).Some of the spells are very simple suggestions (burn mugwort powder to enhance your dream experience … yes they do warn about how to safely do this, YOU DON’T JUST SET IT ON FIRE AND GO TO BED, Please) to entire expansive spells/incantations with the ingredients and the words they suggest you say and what kind of candle to light. Scattered amongst the pages are some small anecdotes and historical retellings.After the spells is a section called “formulary”. This is where you find the recipes for the bases that you might need again and again, like “graveyard dust” or “drawing powder”.At the end is an index, so it’s pretty easy to find what you are looking for if you know how to look. And it’s also fun to just browse the index and take mental notes.This book reminds me of my mom’s old cookbook: large as the phone book and covered in notes and spices and smelling of vanilla. It’s new right now but I can see lots of use in its future.

The book itself is beautiful im in love the spine does slightly worry me it looks like it could possibly tear away from the book but as long as the pages stay intact itd be an easy fix i think hopefully it wont tho and for the ones who were concerned about the spells usen bodily fluids like menstrual blood alot of what in here date back years 100s of years possibly it looks like and im pretty sure its in the description of the book on here even if it wasn't it was a pretty common thing back then and still is for some to each there own :) if you need you can always change anything to fit your needs best and make it feel right :) also it has a lil warning right on the first page about everything in here its for educational purposes it does say some things in here could be dangerous be careful and dont try anything your not 110 % for about ,i highly recommend it if your looking for some amazing history all in one book added a few pictures of a few pages within the book to give a slight idea of what it contains within its pages definitely worth the money in my opinion 😊 😀 ❤️

Love this spell book! There are so many spells in here for all kinds of things. This is a great beginner book for those who are interested in learning! There's lots of different sections for different needs and a materials list in the back as well!

I haven’t quite finished reading the first pages before the encyclopedia of spells begins but I have to express some things about this book that really bother me a lot that I feel the need to talk about immediately:1. Menstrual blood is repeatedly called the most potent magical substance. The author claims iron, several stones, botanicals, and black smiths have similar power due to the similarities or work they do with menstrual blood, - this is very debatable since there really wouldn’t be a good reason why semen, which is the other half of the equation to creating life, wouldn’t be just as powerful but much more importantly...2. She describes saliva, sweat, urine, “sexual fluids”, blood, and of course menstrual blood as magical substances. While they technically are, bodily fluid shouldn’t really be utilized for spells. Aside from the fact that they’re vectors for disease they’re also unclean, not just actually dirty in the traditional sense but spiritually. Every culture in the world has a concept of miasma which is a precursor to germ theory that was a big part of ancient rituals. Miasma is essentially ritual impurities and bodily fluids are a source of miasma. Miasma is also in a sense negative energy. This is the taboo she mentions about menstrual blood that she doesn’t fully address. In many cultures this taboo was so strong women were set aside from the rest of society till after their period. Though this may seem archaic there is valid reason behind the idea of miasma in more ways than one and belief in miasma is still practiced today in any culture or country lucky enough to keep it’s indigenous religion alive. That’s why you have to cleanse yourself before entering a Shinto shrine for instance. In my honest opinion cleansing, purifying, and drawing a circle to introduce menstrual blood and semen or any bodily fluid into it is futile and borderline an act of desecration3. You really need to read the beginning of the book, both to know the context of the spells as well as the disclaimers since some of the spells are not meant to be casted and only kept as a record and utilize potentially dangerous substances. Do your research. The spells are not meant for beginners but the magic in the book is so diverse most adepts will learn something from it too as well as the context of spells they may already be familiar with.TLDR; menstrual blood and bodily fluids are dangerous to handle and spiritually tainted in most cultures and beliefs. Also the claims about menstrual blood seem very odd to me, you should read the beginning of the book for your safety and to better understand the spellsNow that that’s out of the way I’d like to say the book is very useful, maybe not for historical accuracy, though a lot of research clearly went into it. The parts about animals in particular are very informative and different from any other book I’ve read about spells concerning animals. The book manages to stay pretty open to most traditions but has a slight bend towards Wicca, like most modern occult books, but still manages to be pretty open to other practices and traditions so that it’s not a problem. The book is massive and I am not by any means an occult expert but there was plenty of information for me to learn about even as someone who has studied the occult for years. There are some basic recipes for infusions, oils, tinctures, drying herbs, blessings, etc that are always useful to have on hand. Overall the book is good so far. I will try to come back and write a finished review as I go. Also as a disclaimer the metaphysical information isn’t bad, bodily fluids especially ones concerning reproduction have been used in spells historically, but I wanted to make it clear why it’s taboo, as well as give cultural and metaphysical reasons they shouldn’t be used in spell work, and a general disclaimer both about the bodily fluids and the botanicals as well as harmful substances like lead etc that the spells utilize. I especially wanted to talk about bodily fluid because the author makes no disclaimer, neither does she talk about the taboo of miasma beyond saying that “if you carry certain diseases those spells are not for you.” There are other issues I take with the book and other things I’m happy about but it’s just too much to address honestly especially on an incomplete review I’m mostly just grateful for the resource though for any novice or beginners I think extreme caution and even healthy skepticism should be exercised.EDIT: I have finished reading the beginning of the book, thumbed through some of the spells and the authors introductions of the spells and their use. I was tempted to knock off a star but decided not too because of the disclaimers the author included in the book and honestly we are lucky someone went through the labor and trouble of putting this book together to begin with. It is a great resource and is very useful so even though this review might seem negative the overall pros of the book is outweighs the cons now I’m going to go over some things in a list as to the issues I take.1. The author contradicts herself sometimes, an easy thing to point at is that she says, “magick makes us equals as it is a resource we all have access too.” then goes on to say women are more innately magickal and have more access to magick powers as well as exclusive access to period blood which the author considers the most powerful source of magick. This is an issue of personal beliefs, which to me was weird to include in a sort of non denominational spell book. I personally am a staunch egalitarian, Judika Illes consistently makes the claim that women are magickally superior to men, which as she suggests is counter to the idea of magick and the general principles of nature and balance. The same would be true of any man claiming the opposite.2. The sources and cultures she draws from aren’t necessarily respected or even understood. I have learned a lot about Ancient Greek religion and history and the things she says about Ancient Greek Gods and history are... well out of context, spun to fall in line with the authors personal beliefs, and are incomplete. She also calls the Gods spirits several times. They are not spirits, they were not considered spirits. The Ancient Greeks believed in Spirits there is a very big distinction between a spirit, a God, a daemon, and Nymphs. She talks about syncretism and how Aphrodite was associated with Anahita but Anahita was also associated with Athena for being war like as an example of why syncretism is confsuing which would be great except that Aphrodite was also a war Goddess. She has epithets that literally refer to her as “the war like”“The armed”“Averter of (Unlawful) desires”“Deceptive one”“Of the sea”“Of the foreigner”.These personal beliefs of the author are through out the book regarding history and several religions which would be fine if it weren’t for the educational and seemingly non denominational nature of the book. This is a problem through out all of Wicca though, the Gods and other figures are not given the proper respect or research and reduced to caricatures of what they actually are and how they are depicted which is all powerful deities with complex personalities and depth. Aphrodite is seen as the Goddess of love, sex, and beauty but the Ancient Greeks also saw her as a sea Goddess, a war Goddess, and prayed to her for things like controlling their lust and keeping them faithful, things that wouldn’t cross most Wiccans or even modern Pagans minds, which is especially odd because a hundred pages later after speaking about the Gods she will acknowledge these issues. She also claims Athena and Artemis have sway over female same sex relationships. Not true, they were both virgin Goddesses, Artemis having some sexuality associated with her especially regarding child birth and labor but never in the sense of romantic or sexual relationships. She also gives Artemis many of Apollos attributes, Apollo was the God of prophecy and strongly associated with divination, she even has a reappropriated version of the historical practice of dream incubation but calls for Artemis instead of Apollo. For the record any Greek God has the ability for prophecy because in truth every Greek God was considered a God in themselves. In terms of every God being an all powerful being. They only answer to and have restrictions to the will of Zeus and Hera and whatever the Olympians agree upon as a family. They just have preferred interests and spheres of influence that makes them the Gods of (insert subject.)3. The history in the book is off which is to be expected. You could write a book the size of the entire encyclopedia just about the history of one of the cultures she talks about, but she jumps back and forth between time periods and cultures and occult theory so you can’t expect historical context or accuracy, but still somethings would have been better off left unmentioned because of those exact limitations.4. Again the menstrual blood thing bothers me. If you’re bothered by how much I bring it up in this review just know this book mentions it and brings it up many more times than I have in this review In just a few pages, and in a rather gratuitous manner. Some of the love spells specifically for true love require that a women serve the spells target menstrual blood, other ones and variations suggest semen, sweat, and other sexual fluids. It might be obvious but please don’t do this. Doing this could land you in a lot of legal trouble. Also a spell to banish unwanted guest who wish you ill is smearing the door knobs in a home with period blood.... can’t imagine what reasons that might be effective. I think most people would flee in horror living with someone who is covering door knobs in menstrual blood?5. Some positives, I was surprised and happy that some of the love spells were specifically meant for same sex relationships though it is a bit lacking specifically on male/male love spells. Again the animal spells are amazing. I have to give the author credit for including the great taboo of curses and having the courage to even write about the bodily fluid spells because most authors won’t touch the subject (though for good reason). I did try a simple spell to charge a crystal. It did work. I haven’t tried anymore complex spells yet but I might edit in the future to review a spell, though I don’t usually like to talk about them, especially publicly for occult reasons.Again this book is for adepts, people who can work with energy, and use their common sense. It’s not for children. I wouldn’t trust a teen with it because the nature of some of the spells in this book are somewhat hazardous in terms of consequence, actions, and materials that the spells call for.

Has so many spells!