The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Fairies: Your Complete Guide to the Magick of the Fae by Sky Alexander

Adams Media, 978-1507215913, 256 pages, June 2021

…. When you hear the word “fairy”. What image comes to mind? A miniature girl with gossamer wings and a sparkly dress, a la Disney’s version of Tinker Bell? A benevolent creature who flies about sprinkling fairy dust everywhere, waving her wand to make children’s wishes come true? if so, you are in for a surprise……Like unicorns and mermaids, these magickal entities have been denatured by pop culture, robbed of their mystique and majesty. The fairies of old were nothing like the sugar coated cartoon characters we envision today. They were powerful beings of a semi-divine nature, who may have descended from the gods and goddesses. According to some tales, they served as the prototypes from which the human race evolved… ^1.

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Fairies: Your Complete Guide to the Magick of the Fae by Sky Alexander is part of the Modern Witchcraft series published by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon and Schuster publishers. I have had the pleasure of reviewing several of Ms. Alexander’s books and am always engaged and interested in both her style of writing and the content provided to the reader. Ms. Skye address head on in the first page of the Introduction how the interpretation of fairies (and other creatures) has been skewed and modernized inaccurately to fit a disbelieving culture where true magick doesn’t exists beyond slight of hand, smoke and mirrors.

A very helpful inclusion is entitled “How to Use This Book”.  I think most books regarding magickal arts and practice should all include a “How to Use This Book” section, but this is particularly thoughtful in regard to this particular subject and the misinformation that abounds around work with the Fae. Knowing the intention of each chapter and the why for inclusion of a specific lineage of Fae provides a more complete picture of the nuances and diversity among the race of the Fae.

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Fairies: Your Complete Guide to the Magick of the Fae is separated into two (2) parts and thirteen (13) chapters. Part One: Communing with Fairies is dedicated to information and lore about the various beings that are part of the realm of the Fae, where to commonly find them, their magick and their association with the practice of witchcraft. Ms. Alexander presents a very complete picture of the varied communities of the Fae, as well as the caution and at times need for protection and safe guarding from the more mischievous nature of some of the Fae. We are reminded that although they are not of the same lineage as we, just as there are humans that are contentious, and ill mannered, so too there are beings of Fae who want nothing to do with humans and will if pursued be downright nasty.

Part Two: Spells, Rituals and Practices for Working with Fairies Throughout the Year dives into ritual, spells and workings to enlist the aid and collaboration of the Fae. The book is literally packed with information, and sprinkled with relevant quotes and snippets of more lore and fact.

Part Two’s offerings are broken down into chapters, each of which, focuses on a specific intention in desiring to work with the Fairy realms and their specific inhabitants that could aid. Topics such as Love, Safety and Protection, Personal and Spiritual Growth, Personal and Professional Success and more are tucked nicely into dedicated chapters. Each chapter is complete with details on workings, the “who” of the Fae that would be suited to request aid from, ritual, visualizations and lists of what you need by way of physical supplies.

I especially enjoyed the inclusion of Chapter 12: Working With Fairies on the Sabbats and Holidays. There is a kindred nature in the collaboration of the Fae, witches and witchcraft. Aligning this nature with that of the Witch’s Wheel of the Year is an organic way of enlisting the aid, particularly of those Fae of nature, in the celebration and honoring of the seasonal turning of the Wheel and the magick that arises.

The Appendix at the end of the book offers a robust and extensive listing of correspondences that include gemstones, herbs and spice, oils and incense and flowers that are particularly favored by the Fae and offer the correct energetic signature for successful work.

At the risk of being a complete nerd, I must also comment on the physical book itself. In an age where Kindle replaces the tactile kinesthetic experience of turning a page or assessing the weight of a book by holding it in your hand, I am pleased to see that many of the books I have recently reviewed for Simon and Schuster are hard cover copies.  This title also makes use of parchment type paper with uneven edging that adds exponentially to the ambient feel of the book, playing nicely with the subject matter. The overall impression is one of having acquired a special tome that will be used frequently when not sitting in an old over-filled bookcase in a comfortable reading/magickal room that smells of herbs and incense and being read by candlelight. Yes, I proudly claim the title of geeky-witch.

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Fairies: Your Complete Guide to the Magick of the Fae by Sky Alexander is another interesting and very informative title by both the author and the lucky publisher who gets to share Ms. Skye’s knowledge. Regardless of your inclination to establish a working relationship with the Fae, knowing more about the predispositions and nature of those who inhabit the same sentient space as we do is a showing of respect and curiosity that we could all certainly use more of nowadays. I could say more, but somethings simply need to be experienced. A highly recommended read.

About the Author: Skye Alexander

Skye Alexander is the award-winning author of more than thirty fiction and nonfiction books, including Your Goddess Year, The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need, The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, The Modern Witchcraft Spell Book, The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire, The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot, and The Modern Witchcraft Book of Love Spells. Her stories have been published in anthologies internationally, and her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. The Discovery Channel featured her in the TV special, Secret Stonehenge, doing a ritual at Stonehenge. She divides her time between Texas and Massachusetts.

References:

1. page 9