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In reading the reviews of this book, my expectations weren't very high when I purchased it and yet, it still managed to come in far below the bar I had set. To start, I take issue with Kate West's use of the word "Real" in her titles. It gives off the impression that she is a major authority on the craft; after reading some of her work it seems that she is just another Pagan trying to make a buck off of people’s fresh interest in the Craft.
A frustrating part of the “Feasting Around the Wheel of the Year” section is that there are some meals mentioned without a recipe. As written on page 68, “I have not given recipes for everything, as most of these dishes can be found in general cookery books or even purchased ready- made. These days, when we all have busy lives, it is just as relevant to buy festive foods as it is to labour long and hard in the kitchen to produce them yourself.” Now, call me old fashioned, but part of the joy I’ve found in being a kitchen Witch is pouring my heart and soul into a meal, especially one meant to celebrate our holidays. So while I’m all for cooking up some preseasoned meat in the middle of the work week, or even purchasing a specialty bread from a local farmers market for a holiday gathering, I’m quite taken aback that one who is supposed to be guiding others through their writing would recommend such shortcuts, that lack of personal touch is troubling.
I should be quick to add that not all of her shortcuts are shortcomings. Her quick method for Harvest Moonshine is quite good, and some of the other store bought recommendations do save some money. I appreciate a quick fix, just not when it should count the most.
I personally found troubling the recommendation to eat rabbit at Lammas. Now, I do know this is a very personal preference, for some rabbit is as common a meal as chicken. However, I volunteer with a rabbit rescue and have had rabbits as familiars and the idea of eating one to celebrate turned me off. I am not vegetarian, and it is apparent that Kate West is not either, but a warning sentence for those who are sensitive to animals as food would have been nice.
I am also a baker and was interested in the “Breads, Cakes, and Biscuits” section, that is, until I read it. Zero cake recipes. Not even a mention of how to doctor up a box mix. She’s just sprinkled in some ideas on timing and what you can celebrate with one. And absolutely no mention of the hard work that goes into a decorated cake. I think there are going to be quite a few readers who take a look at this section and watch a few episodes of Ace of Cakes and think they can pull off the same thing in the first try.
“Soups and Foods to Strengthen and Heal” was a bit hypocritical to her statement earlier of not including unnecessary recipes, any of these soups could be found in a cookbook, on pinterest, or in a magazine by the checkout stand. Another thing I should mention before it slips by me, she does not list why the ingredients are being used (what the properties of the herbs or vegetables are.) It is a very simplified (and over-glorified) cookbook in that aspect. The list of food correspondences given doesn’t even fill up two pages. I understand this might have been meant as a starting point for readers to do more research, but first, the placement (pages 128-130) is odd, and although it’s stated that it’s not a comprehensive list, it is downright vague.
In “Brews and Teas,” this list has more to do with homeopathic remedies than magical uses. That is all fine and dandy but a bit more magic would have been appreciated.
I am unfamiliar with pregnancy information in Great Britain, but in the United States it is strongly advised that pregnant women abstain from alcohol. In the “Magical Fruit Wine” of “Brews and Teas” there is this next to the listing of “Raspberry” as a juice to add to white wine: “Raspberry: Protection, love, safe childbirth (of course pregnant women should only drink in moderation, if at all, but that doesn’t stop friends from wishing them well!” (page 147) Again, maybe it’s me personally, but I think more dissuasion should be used in the mention of expectant mothers and alcohol consumption. I fully support each individual taking responsibility for herself, but I would hate to learn that someone new and unfamiliar in using the Craft as medical advice came to harm because of this flippant recommendation.
On to “Looking Good, Feeling Fine.” The most unnecessary section of the book, it should have been left out entirely. It reads like a coming of age primer: remember to take a shower and brush your teeth, smile, be friendly, eat healthy, exercise. Absolutely tenets to live by, but they don’t have a place in this book, in my opinionated opinion. Also encouraging one to lie so they can get some meditation time in seems odd to me. On page 162, “I don’t often recommend outright lying, but this is one occasion when you might find that it’s the only way to secure 20 minutes or so of peace and quiet. Probably the most effective ‘story’ you can five your near and dear is to tell them that you have taken up mediation (actually not all that far from the truth anyway) and need to practise regularly.” Well now, if you’re going to tell people you need time to meditate, why lie about needing time to meditate? It’s this type of thing that set my mind from fully appreciating this book.
I also question her use of colors for the sachets in “Herb Sachets and Gifts.” She seems to favor purple, or the various shades of it, even in instances when even the intermediate Witch would have the gut feeling that another color is more appropriate. Perhaps it is Kate West’s personal power color, but I do question the results of anyone using these instructions and not tailoring them to what they feel is right for their circumstance.
My final critique (gripe) is the lack of everyday magic that is so accessible to the kitchen Witch. The only place you will find the words “deosil” or “widdershins” is in the glossary. As one who finds stirring things on the stove to be very therapeutic, these words are common vocabulary for me, and yet, even in the healing soups section, there was no mention of how to add or banish with the little extra oomph that stirring in a particular direction can have.
So why did I give this three stars? Well, there were a couple of recipes that interested me, and I do appreciate some of the tips and recommendations of buying unscented lotions and soaps to add ingredients to for various purposes. Also, I liked the font it was printed in. That might seem strange, but I have read books on the same subject matter and they were just so darn hard to read because of the pretty font. That’s about it. I respect the effort that went into it, writing a book is no easy feat, I believe she put her best effort in, and while it was sprinkled with some good ideas, overall Kate West just didn’t influence my Craft very much.

love all witch items, book very good

I use the recipes all the time! I started using them and researching the ingredients and then also adding to the original recipes to make it my own! LOVE IT

I bought this because I expected there to be recipes for making soaps, my own healing & bathing products, experimenting with older recipes & so on. The rave reviews for these recipes must be from someone who has NEVER written their own chant, or read a single other Wiccan-type book, and has such a short-term memory problem they don't realize almost all the recipes, even--or especially--the Healing &/or Magick Intended use the EXACT SAME INGREDIENTS in about 80% of these so-called recipes!
Lastly, there is one recipe that looks good enough to try, for a type of fermented fruit mead, though I don't know how original it is. At least it won't be a total loss; besides those 5 ingredients are just a booster--the magick comes from within.
Instead of learning how to make liquid soaps, shower gels & such, THE AUTHOR TELLS US TO BUY READY-MADE PRODUCT and just add oil and herbs to that! That isn't exactly a unique recipe, it's a hodge podge of someone else's product taking the place of what was supposed to be the auhthors recipes. If you are looking for detailed and unique recipes, look ELSEWHERE! This is a lot of hype but no substance unfortunately. I had truly hoped that THIS time the book would be what it says it is. Sigh.

I was so excited to bring this book home and couldn't wait to start making my own soaps, lotions, candles and incense. Upon reading the directions for these things however, I realized that I really had no need for the book. For example, she advised that to make soap you should buy castille soap, melt it and add herbs and oils to it. I think I could have figured that one out without the book. There was a section on bath teas which were simply steeped herbal teas dumped into a bath (of course if you don't mind a gritty bath you can just throw the herbs in the bath water). The creative projects were all far less than creative, the recipes less than appetizing, but the section on personal grooming was condescending and downright wrong. I think the page that most upset me was about head lice. She advised that to deter them one should not wash their hair often and to treat them wrap a combination of oil, lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus and geranium on the head in a plastic bag and then pick out the stunned nits. Stunned!? I'm all for natural cures but in the case of head lice stunned simply isn't good enough for me. Don't waste your money on this book. There are far better ones out there.

This book promises recipes for making your own candles, potpouri, lotions, soaps, and sundry other crafty items. What it delivers is instructions that boil down to "making your own lotion (or soap, etc) is difficult. So start with some pre-bought unscented lotion and add these oils." Many pages are then taken up with 'recipes' of scent blends to acheive various magical ends, when one page listing essential oils with correspondences would have more than sufficed, and would have encouraged more personality and creativity. The same list for herbal correspondences would also have been much better than the pages of tea blends for 'protection', 'health', etc. These 'recipes' are a waste of space and a cop-out on real research, essentially mediocre instructions for the uncreative. The food recipes are just as unexciting. Where the book borders on the patronising is the section on 'grooming', in which the author instructs the reader (whom West assumes is female) to clip her fingernails regularly, to use soap, and to rub lotion into dry skin. Combine all these facts with the author's annoying overuse of the word 'whilst' and the book becomes incredibly irritating. Taking as evidence the handy glossary of terms like 'magic', 'rite', and 'spells', this book is obviously geared toward the curious spectator who will not mind the book's complete lack of bibliography.