The Complete Book of Spells, Curses and Magical Recipes

Rating:
Summary: Bleh!
Review: All has been said already. Some interesting information but I don't know if valid. Even if the book was meant as "fun" it did a terrible job.

Rating:
Summary: Just not right
Review: I collect books of this nature. I put Lenard Ashleys book on my wish list. I wish my husband hadn't wasted his money. Some of the information in the book is informative. Some of it is interesting. The authors attitude throughout the book was very snide and belittleing. How lucky we (the readers) were, that he could teach us how superstitus, primative and especially stupid we were. His cutting remarks about Wiccans, Witches, Christians, etc, left no doubt that he felt above it all. Perhaps, his other (five) books are written the same way. I don't know, I haven't seen them in the bookstores. If I had had a chance to flip through this book in a bookstore, I would have slowly put the book down and run away.

Anyone want to buy a used copy?

Rating:
Summary: As the saying goes - if it ain't broke... don't fix it
Review: In this case that means STICK TO SCOTT CUNNINGHAM!! Save your time and your money. What a waste of paper!

Rating:
Summary: The Complete Book of Spells, Curses and Magical Recipes.
Review: one word "terrible" spent your money on a Silver Ravenwolf book now those are good

Rating:
Summary: Its all a lie!
Review: This book was a great disappointment, and took the worst of any historically recorded heresay and wrote it as fact. Not once did the author seem to realise the topic he was writing about is a serious issue, and that many people believe strongly in the Wiccan and neo-Pagan religion, yes, religion, that is sweeping the country. "Dr." Ashley(more like Assley) of course gets it right telling us all about his emeritus status and where he was taught and such, but his book belies his alleged educational status. To think such a narrow-minded person is actually -teaching- others without doing proper research for his own book and is making money on a book with a catchy title is frightening. One's money would be much better spent on -anything- by the late great Scott Cunningham, whom "Dr." Assley demeans on page 190 of his book. I have news for "Dr." Assley -- he couldn't even compare to Cunningham, who researched his books and was never condescending to his readers. "Dr." Assley took the worst out of every encyclopaedia of the witch hunts and made the spells worse, if that is possible. Please, save your time and money and do not buy this book. Take it from someone who was taken in by the title and the fact that no one had reviewed it as yet, or at least that is what Amazon said, perhaps to lure yet another unsuspecting proud to be Wiccan into the pit of boredom and questionable attempts by the author to be witty. Give this book a big yawn, oh great emeritus professor, and know you have not only shown us how you got your degree(vapor lock on someone's ..., methinks), but also have demeaned yourself, your publisher, and made me an ever greater fan of Scott Cunningham than I already was. If there were a way to give you a negative rating, believe me, I'd have done so. My only comfort is the law of three, that what you do to others returns to you at least three-fold. May Scott Cunningham enjoy watching you pay your dues, only he is peacefully in the Summerlands or beyond. My book is in the mail, being returned right now, and I want every penny I paid for postage and handling of such unresearched, poorly written drivel. A two thumbs down on this one, and may someone of the left path have some fun with you, "Dr." Ashley.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This is a wonderful book on the history and lore of witchcraft. It includes many cultures and peoples. I found this book very interesting. I also bought this book because I thought it was about modern witchcraft and a resource book but even though it wasn't, found it VERY hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Coffee table book on historical superstitions
Review: This is not a wiccan spell book but rather the author has done some historical research and formulated various spells and superstitions in one book. Like he says in the preface, its a book that someone would be intrigued by the title and then open it to a random page and be able to read a small section on for example how in old ireland a frog would be put in your mouth to cure a sore throat - hence came the term "having a frog in your throat". It also recites some phrases to summon demons and the correct diameters for casting as circle.

He does use a humourous tone and pokes fun at some of the old ways that people of that time believed in (which will most definately offend your more high-strung wiccans) but his information is well researched and from what I can tell it is historically correct.

He says that these can be put into practice but I'm not sure I can entirely agree with that. I did however find it an interesting read and some of the stories quite amusing. All in all a well written and interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: The Worst
Review: Words fail me... This book is just a whole bunch of occult "stuff" slapped together. He took anything and everything from all the "hokus-pokus" books he could find and just made a book; does this man even practice any pagan religion? If you are truly looking for a resouce of spell, magick and information this is NOT it.