If you are looking for a book that tells you when various "sabbats" occur or what spells align with what times of the year, or some other kind of guide to practicing "The Craft," this book is NOT it. Instead, it is more like a diary or a travelogue of the author's attempt to spend "a year and a day" immersed in witchcraft as if it were a religion.

To be fair, there are suggested spells and descriptions of how the author celebrated various "witchy" holidays like Imbolc, Maybon, and Samhain, so you do get a tiny bit of suggested rituals, supplies, and spells, etc. But very little. What you get the most of is the introspection of the author, which is not necessarily a bad thing. She has a very engaging writing style and writes as if you and she were BFFs sitting over a cup of tea at your kitchen table.

I do appreciate that she was diligent with her research, and although she started out her year solely practicing Wicca, she did point out that this is a relatively new "religion" invented in the mid-20th century, purportedly based on ancient Druid or Celtic ceremonies as handed down through the ages, she did eventually expand into other types/areas of witchcraft and magic. I appreciated that she touched on other cultures' witchcraft legend and lore, such as the Spanish bruja and the Italian stregoneria. To be a true examination of the whole of witchcraft, though, I would've liked to see this line of investigation expanded into things like Voodoo, Vodun, the Slavic vedmak, etc. rather than focused solely on the caucasian practices. And I would have really liked to see what things these different types of craft have in common, and where they differ. The methodology is not scientifically rigorous enough to answer the question of whether or not witchcraft is "real," but I'm not sure that was the point. It is, as I said, a narrative of her own personal exploration. That's all.

It was still a fairly enjoyable book, though - just a little heavy on the self-doubt narrative and uber-introspection. If that is what you are looking for, you will love this book. If you are looking for anything new or different in terms of how to expand your own practice (especially if you are more than just the novice witch, new to the craft), you will be disappointed.

The best thing I got out of the book was towards the end, where a friend of the author's states (I'm paraphrasing here) that it doesn't really matter if "magic" and/or witchcraft are "real" or not - that is, you don't have to believe in them to see benefit from engaging in them, similar to the placebo effect. What I think was missed, though, or maybe not addressed as thoroughly as I would have liked (and this is my own personal opinion): witchcraft is primarily practiced by women; women have traditionally lacked power and control over their own desitinies; witchcraft - real or not - is a way for women to FEEL like they are in control and have some say over what happens in this world. If it makes you feel better about your lot in life, it doesn't matter whether you see empirical results or not, does it?

Anyway, despite some shortcomings, I really did enjoy this book - primarily because of the author's writing style. What it lacks in substance, it makes up for in humor and wit.

As someone who has dabbled in tarot and cannot help but buy a few crystals, I was eager to read Diana Helmuth's memoir of her year stepping into witchcraft. I cherished her humor and ability to laugh at herself when she fumbled and accidentally tried to summon a demon and when she too thought "how many flipping candles do I need for this ritual?!" I appreciated her thoroughness in her research for this experience, and I learned a lot myself. I wish that she would have added more entries during her year practicing witchcraft. I wished there were more mundane moments of her figuring it out amongst her trying to celebrate the pagan holidays and such. Overall, if you are a seasoned witch or a newbie who is witch-curious, I recommend that you read this book and enjoy Diana's amazing prose and humor.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I found The Witching Year by Diana Helmuth to be a refreshing take on the path to finding spirituality in the modern day. There was an honesty to her writing and that was both informative and relatable. As someone who is aware of modern witchcraft I was finding myself laughing and nodding at her working and sometimes fumbling through finding faith. I loved that she included a bibliography and happy to see I have read r knew of many of the sources.

Loved this one!! The author is so open with her experience of the learning of witchcraft and the understanding of its roots and importance in society then and now.

When I was around 14 or 15, I found a small pile of books under my mother’s bed: books which could be summed up as ‘Wicca for Beginners.’ My mother never identified as Wiccan or pagan, but it was one more spiritual path that she wanted to learn more about on her personal journey.

I was enchanted by these books I found, and thus went through the very typical ‘teen witch phase’ that Diana Helmuth, author of “The Witching Year,” described herself as also experiencing. As the years passed I found myself a spiritual drifter, trying on different beliefs, eventually settling comfortably into being quietly agnostic, perhaps with some earth-worshippy tendencies.

It’s because of these experiences that I was excited to read “The Witching Year” - here was a memoir, in the voice of a fellow millennial, with some overlapping experiences in the world of belief (or disbelief) to mine, about diving into the world of witchcraft as an adult.

As the author describes her tentative first steps into witchcraft, at times I couldn’t help but smile at her unprepared fumbling, all too familiar to anyone who’s been there. The author’s anxiousness to get things “right” was endearing for a little while, then anxiety inducing for me to read about. Many, many times I found myself thinking, “Girl, you are WAY overthinking things!” Skepticism is one thing, but at times I found myself wondering, “Why are you doing this if you seem to hate it so much?” She seemed so unhappy and stressed out for so much of the journey, incredibly self-conscious even when alone, and unable to emotionally reconcile with the idea of there being no concrete rules or right way to do things, despite intellectually knowing that.

Still, I found myself rooting for her to, at the very least, come out of the experience feeling that it was a net positive, which I think she did. The conclusions that she would ultimately reach by the end of her journey into witchcraft felt obvious from the start. Any experience where nobody gets hurt and you finish feeling more in touch with yourself is a good one, I think. Ultimately, I saw less of myself in the author than I thought I would when choosing ‘The Witching Year’ to read - and that might be a good thing, too.

I loved the idea for this book, but I just could not get into it. The author just seemed to jump all over the place and I just didn't find it very interesting. I liked some of the history of witches, but not enough to call this an enjoyable read.

I have to say I found the book a bit dry and confusing at time. There is plenty of information in these pages but don't go into it thinking it's an easy read. Sometimes I expected more and other times I got bogged down. Sorry to give it a two.

Thanks for the chance to experience this book - just not for me.

I wanted to give this book a 3.5 star rating but I couldn't so I went with 3. The Witching Hour is a work of nonfiction and it's full of intriguing information. Helmuth clearly did a lot of research for this book. I appreciated that. She is very detailed. In her writings and again I appreciate that much. I'm not sure if that's what could have made this book a bit dry. Other times, I was left wanting more of some stories. I'm truly conflicted by this because I genuinely appreciated all her detail and it is blatantly obvious that she did a lot of research regarding witchcraft. I badly wanted to give The Witching Hour a 4 star review for all her research and information but couldn't due to it being a bit dry with that being said, I recommend this book if you're intrigued by or into witchcraft.

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and Diane Helmuth for the advanced readers copy to review.

I was thrilled to receive an ARC of *The Witching Year* by Diana Helmuth, via NetGalley.
The book’s description called to me from the marketing material. I had the sense that the author was brave enough to take an exploratory journey many women would have liked to attempt but were not willing to risk or to commit to.

Modern Witchcraft is a compelling topic as seen by the success of the novels Diana mentions fairly early in her book. *Practical Magic, A Discovery of Witches, The Once and Future Witches, A Secret History of Witches* have all been extremely popular with women(mostly). Diana’s book helps us understand why. Her need to “figure it all out” with regard to the persistence of belief in witches and witchcraft in the present day resonated strongly as did her challenges with letting go of that need and accepting the decentralized, chaotic but coherent world she discovered.

The book also works well as an artifact of the search for meaning during the Covid times as lived on the west coast. I think it will sell well to the audience who have read all the novels mentioned above and who want to know more about the role of the candles and crystals and tarot cards in their lives that they probably already own.

Thanks for making the ARC available.

2.5 stars. This was an "ok" read.

Diana decides to do a book on a year and a day of practicing witchcraft. Now I will admit that today's witchcraft scene is VERY confusing but heck she made me even more confused at times.
She jumps right in with no research at all and decides to just research as she goes.
For me, the book comes across as very dry for the most part. I'd want to know more about some of the activities she was writing about and she'd jump right on to something else.

The author did do a lot of research during her writing the book and honestly a newbie might benefit from reading this book. Just be prepared to make your own judgments and path.

Things I did enjoy. The trips. She went to Salem, Europe and on a 'witchy retreat' but I wanted a bit more of these stories and they felt flat.
She talks about the huge amount of money that seems to be pushed on "newbies" to spend. I fell into that one for a minute too. Pick yourself up some stuff in the woods. It's cheap and you feel closer to it anyways.
Oh and I loved the summoning a demon. :D

Book source: Netgalley in exchange for review.

Though Diana Helmuth has been a self-proclaimed skeptic where religion is concerned, she has spent her life searching for meaning, which culminated during the pandemic in a wish to explore the growing trend of Witchcraft. She decided to spend a year and a day living as a practicing Witch, studying some of the leading books on Wicca and Witchcraft, interviewing authors and friends who practice, and trying out the rituals and spells and celebrations for herself. Through the year and through this book, she explores some of the big questions about Witchcraft itself, especially as now popularly practiced, and the spiritual quest as a whole, searching for what is real and for what resonates with her.

I appreciated the idea behind the book and enjoyed her dry commentary not only on her own mishaps but on the many contradictions found in books on Witchcraft and in various practices. Since Witchcraft has become very fashionable and Instagrammable, it sometimes seems like practitioners today can be more caught up in the consumer aspect of the Craft (crystals, herbs, etc) than in the spiritual quest. Helmuth addresses this briefly in the book, but it does seem like many of the things she tries end up causing her to spend more money, so I'm not sure she offers much of a different perspective. (And I'm not saying that Witches shouldn't buy anything, but I think there are contradictions that have yet to be addressed fully among many practitioners.)

I found it curious that Helmuth would jump into practicing without doing much research -- not even really reading about basic ritual practices before attempting her first sabbat celebration (Lughnasadh) -- or preparation. But I did appreciate that she recognized that the deeper she got into the practice, the more she came to understand that the true work of her practice was in facing herself honestly and learning to work through her questions, fears, anxieties, and more.

An enjoyable read, but I had hoped for more. And maybe that's on me, because one year is hardly enough time for anyone to dive really deeply into spiritual matters, no matter the path. 3 stars.

Thank you, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this fantastic ARC!

This was such a vibe to read. While I don’t particularly practice what is “witchcraft” or similar per the books discussion, I was so intrigued by this entire exploration.

I’m a huge fan of Mary roach and this type of book read just like that - nonfiction, with memoir properties from the authors own research.

I loved all the facts and traditions and how what some view as “witchcraft” is actually relatable.

This was thought provoking and a fantastic nonfiction read, I recommend but HIGHLY recommend reading around fall as it refers to all kinds of holidays and celebrations.