Cover Image: City Witchery

City Witchery

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This is one of my most reached for witchy books. As a city witch, it’s often difficult to connect with nature and the outdoors the way most witchy books tend to describe. This is perfect for the urban witch and the environment in which we operate. I’ve gifted it to so many of my friends!

Was this review helpful?

It has been years since I lived in a city, so I am not the target market for City Witchery. I love Lisa Marie Basile’s approach to ritual, craft, self-care, being chronically ill, and living a magical life, so I knew that my rural surroundings wouldn’t make me enjoy reading it any less.

As with Basile’s previous books Light Magic for Dark Times and The Magical Writing Grimoire, City Witchery is a thoughtful exploration of how we can bring ritual into our daily lives. The creative prompts and practices are accessible to people new to ritual while enticing those who may be further along their magical path.

Was this review helpful?

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Was this review helpful?

This was super interesting! I'm fairly new to witchcraft but I grew up watching my Nonna do a bit of Kitchen Witchery. I live in a pretty small city, but it's my state's capital so it's always bustling. I had always felt a sense of romance or magic in the air as I walked around and explored. I'm definitely going to take a few of the ideas from this and try them out.

Was this review helpful?

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A really great resource if you are living in a busy city as a practicing witch. You can still be a witch even if you lige in a big, hustle and bustle, city. The author has put a lot of emphasis on how optional and customizable everything is because your practice should be personal and unique to you.
The illustrations were beautiful as well and added to the vibe of the book.

Was this review helpful?

This book was such an interesting look into incorporating magic into everyday life from a whole new perspective.

This is the first book that I've ever found that specifically focuses on witches in cities and more specifically, apartments.

The illustrations that were dotted throughout the book are stunning! They'd look so good as prints.

I loved how customisable everything was. Also the focus on using everyday items and not needing to spend lots of money of extra magical materials.

Was this review helpful?

This is one of the few books that talks about witches and how to practice in a city. There's plenty of ideas and food for thought.
I liked the illustrations and think it would great in paper.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Was this review helpful?

I would first like to say that this book was an amazing read which gives insight into an accessible, inclusive way to make positive magical moments in your life when you live in small, busy cities. Even if you do not live in a city, or a small space this book is still insightful due to the helpful tips about protecting yourself, and the prompts. The author was very considerate of disabilities and said that each practice is able to be adapted to be more user-friendly. As someone who doe not have access to large spaces to practice in, especially gathering herbs I found this book to be a nice contrast to others. My favorite parts were about if you are empathic, and being able to ground yourself in busy moments, and how to protect yourself. My other favorite part was how the author included what the moon phases mean, and what we can do when the moon is in for example aries or pieces. Overall I would recommend this book because it is practical for those who want to incorporate magic and positivity into their daily lives.

Was this review helpful?

As I read this book the thought occurred to me more than once. As above so below. Our surrounding reflect our inner state and tweaking them can have an effect on the manifestation of things. This book is very interesting and practical. It is full of ways to use the city that you live in to improve, heal , even deal with crap that comes up. The illustrations are fun to look at and the whole subject is laid out in a very simple and step by step manner. Making life improvements in a fun and healthy way is possible using the methods and exercises in this book.

Was this review helpful?

"City Witchery" is a very charming book about the energy, beauty and magic of cities.

Based on the title and description, I expected a helpful guide on how to make one's practice easier for people, like myself, who live in apartments in big cities, instead of the whimsical cottages and houses that are usually seen in social media on witching accounts. The book did deliver on that, but it went even beyond, going in to great tips on practices, energy channeling, exercises and even travel magic.

The whole book was quite wholesome in both its topic and delivery - a light read for baby witches who might struggle with understanding their practice and unsure whether there are any right or wrong ways to follow their path.

I really enjoyed the prompting questions and exercises and I definitely plan on trying to integrate them in my life. More than that, I loved the confirmation that there are many ways to be magical, even without fancy altars and rare herbs and oils.

Not least of all, I was charmed by a somewhat trivial sentence near the end of the book, the author was explaining how she visited Vienna and Prague and while Prague greatly excited her, she felt nothing much in Vienna - same, sister, same - to this day the friend I visited Vienna with is still slightly offended that I don't praise that particular trip more, and the reason for that is that while a lovely city, it just didn't move me like others have.

Was this review helpful?

Most of the information is nice and up to date. The book has some great ideas; however, I don’t find it a book I would go back to for information (besides the moon magic info maybe). What I do have to thank this book is maybe showing me that I connect more with conjure and rootwork.

Was this review helpful?

I really liked this book. It has plenty of trips and tricks to help you enjoy living in a busy city as a practicing witch and it put a lot of emphasis on how optional and customizable everything was, which makes perfect sense because your practice should be personal and unique to you. I loved the illustrations and the overall aesthetic of this. The whole book just had a feel-good vibe that I really appreciated. Overall, it was a very nice read.

Was this review helpful?

This book is unique in that it focuses on creating magic for those who live in busier cities or small spaces without access to fields of endless herbs and plant life.

Many books on magic assume you can just take a quick walk to forage for flowers and herbs and immerse yourself in nature. But nature to a city dweller can mean something entirely else. And in this book, Basile gives creative advice and ideas on how to both practice and live a magical life everyday. She also gives ritual recipes and journal prompts for further studying.

Most of all, I appreciated the author’s tone throughout the book. As someone who also suffers from chronic illness (like Basile), she writes as though she’s talking to a friend. I felt cared for, as if the book was written to me personally. I appreciated the self care ideas, and something I’d never heard of or though of before, a bed alter! Such a great idea.

I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This book changed my perceptions about cities. Thank's to Lisa Marie Basile's writing, I now have a greater appreciation for the beauty and spark that cities have and the positive influence that can have on our spirituality and rituals.
I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for a new read to support their city witchcraft and also anyone looking for a sense of calm or community within the fast paced life of a metropolitan as this book will help guide you.
If you enjoy books about travel or love a good city break this could be a great read for you when you plan your next trip and you decide how you want to explore your city of choice.
Another reason that I thoroughly enjoyed this book is because Lisa writes so beautifully about making City Witchery accessible and includes some great tips about how to make City Witchcraft more accessible.
A fantastic read that I cannot wait to be published. I can see myself gifting this book to a lot of people this Christmas.

Was this review helpful?

This book is really interesting. I have read lots of books about witchcraft, and self-care - but this book was super original. I love the way it uses the environment inspire new spells and creative ideas.
I especially love that it uses the idea of the city for good mental health. A lot of the time when reading books on mental health, it talks about wide open spaces, grass, greenery... basically the countryside. However, this book looks at the cityscapes with the same romantic notion that others do the countryside. I have always been a city girl, and love being in the city so immediately I connected to this book.

The illustrations were simple, yet beautiful too. The really added to the cool relaxed vibe of the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book as I have never read anything like this before. Super interesting, and lots to take away and input into my everyday life.

Was this review helpful?