Quick Specs
- Author: Jason Mankey with Matt Cavalli, Amanda Lynn, and Ari Mankey
- Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, March 2022
- Format: Trade paperback, 344 pages
- Best for: Spellcraft beginners to intermediate practitioners, Wicca-informed practice
Witch’s Book of Spellcraft: Practical Magick from Jason Mankey
Jason Mankey is a third-degree High Priest in the Wiccan tradition and one of the most prolific witchcraft authors publishing with Llewellyn, with ten books to his name including The Horned God of the Witches, Transformative Witchcraft, and The Witch’s Book of Shadows. He runs two covens in California’s Silicon Valley, writes the Raise the Horns blog at Patheos Pagan, and has spent over two decades researching the Horned God, magickal history, and the occult in rock and roll. This gives him a perspective that blends genuine Wiccan theological grounding with practical coven experience, a combination that shapes how this book approaches spellcraft: not as a collection of disconnected recipes, but as a coherent magical philosophy with historical roots.
What This Book Covers and Who It’s For
The Witch’s Book of Spellcraft is a collaborative project with Mankey joined by Matt Cavalli, Amanda Lynn, and Ari Mankey, plus contributions from Madame Pamita, Astrea Taylor, and Thorn Mooney. The book contains nearly a hundred spells spanning love, money, luck, protection, spiritual cleansing, driving away enemies, and animal companion bonding, organized around magical tools and methods. Separate chapters cover candle magic, herb and plant magic, stones and crystals, essential oils and incense, knot magic, poppets, and witch bottles, each tool chapter followed by a spell chapter that puts the techniques into practice. This tool-theory-then-application structure is what reviewers consistently praise, giving readers both the why and the how rather than a list of spells to follow. Browse my spellcraft and witchcraft books for more titles in this category.
If you’re comparing this to other spellwork books, Mankey’s book differentiates itself with its multi-author collaborative structure and strong Wiccan ethical framework around intent, harm, and personal responsibility, which is foregrounded in the opening chapters before any spells appear. Readers who want a less Wicca-centric approach should be aware of that framing, but for practitioners who want that ethical groundwork alongside practical spellcraft, it’s a genuine strength.
How to Use The Witch’s Book of Spellcraft
Getting the most from The Witch’s Book of Spellcraft as a study and practice guide.
- Read the Philosophy Chapters Before Jumping to Spells
The book opens with chapters on magical philosophy, ethics, and preparing magical space. Reading these before the spell chapters builds the contextual understanding Mankey sees as essential to why spells work, not just how.
- Use the Tool Chapters Before Matching Spell Chapters
Each magical tool gets a theory chapter followed by a spells chapter. Work through candle, herb, crystal, oil, and knot chapters before jumping to individual spells. This builds your understanding of correspondences systematically.
- Use the Appendices for Quick Reference and Spell Lookup
Four appendices cover spell types with correspondences, herb and crystal properties, a master spell list, and spells by category. Once you know the book’s system, these let you quickly find the right spell or ingredient.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this because Jason Mankey writes from genuine practice, not assembled research, and that difference shows in the depth of the tool chapters and the ethical framing that opens the book. The collaborative structure with Matt Cavalli, Amanda Lynn, Ari Mankey, and contributing voices like Madame Pamita gives it more range than a solo-authored spellbook. If you’re building a spellwork library, this earns its place alongside reference books on herbs, crystals, and candle work. Explore my Paganism and Wicca books for related reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jason Mankey is a third-degree Wiccan High Priest, Llewellyn author with ten books, and Patheos Pagan blogger. His titles include The Horned God of the Witches and Transformative Witchcraft. He runs two covens in California.
Yes, though it starts with magical philosophy before the spells. Beginners benefit from reading the opening philosophy and tool theory chapters first. The spells build from simpler workings toward more advanced techniques.
The book covers love, money, luck, protection, spiritual cleansing, enemy removal, and animal bonding, using candles, herbs, crystals, oils, incense, knots, poppets, and witch bottles. Nearly a hundred spells from four authors.
The four-author collaborative structure and contributions from Madame Pamita and Thorn Mooney give it more range. The tool-then-spells chapter structure and upfront Wiccan ethical framing distinguish it from simpler spell collections.
1 review for Witch’s Book of Spellcraft by Jason Manke — Modern Spell Guide