The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews (Llewellyn's Practical Magick)

Scott Cunningham’s “The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews” is a really excellent go-to general reference on the use of herbs and herbal creations. What I really appreciate about Cunningham is the fact that he was practical and no nonsense, not to mention his healthy dose of common sense that floods his writing. This book is in three parts with a glossary, appendixes, and a bibliography and is a prime example of truly practical magic. Throughout the text, he encourages readers to utilize substitutions. For example, I used his recipe for the Psychic Bath (page 214), but being out of lemongrass, I substituted the lemongrass for some grated lemon rind that I had frozen last year. When I was in graduate school, my mother gave me a CD of Gail Twersky’s guided meditation for stress relief. After I made the Psychic Bath sachet, I lit a yellow candle, put on Twersky’s meditation, and soaked in the tub. To be perfectly honest, the bath relaxed me more than I have ever been, and I’ve previously used the candle and the guided meditation—both separately and in conjunction with one another. The book is an easy read and highly informative. I absolutely recommend this book, and particularly so given the author was continually adamant about the dangers of certain herbs. Cunningham is an author whose works continue to be trustworthy sources.

Im very happy with my book. Very informative and handy. And a surprising amount of recipes in it definitely recommend getting this as a staple

This is one great book! Very helpful, lots of reference tools available inside and appendices that show you where to get more information. I love Scott Cunningham's books. I only recently discovered the wealth of information he has provided to the world on Wicca and Wiccan traditions - as well as natural healing, practical magic (magick), and "Incense, Oils, and Brews" - and I was thrilled to see in the foreword where the author reads letters from fans/readers, and quickly as equally disappointed to soon after learn that he had since passed away. Buy any of Scott Cunningham's books on anything Wicca-related, and I guarantee you, you can't go wrong. Full of helpful information, and written in a way that is not only easy to understand but actually also a pleasure to read. This is not an easy statement to make about most reference-type books, but it is true of Scott Cunningham's works. He was not only a great practitioner of Wicca, but honestly, a great writer as well. I am so glad that he decided to pass on his personal information that he learned from dedicating most of his lifetime to the craft - to the rest of us, for our day-to-day use, life enrichment, and for the betterment of our health, love, work, and every aspect of our daily living. I am currently diving in to TEN of his books right now. If practicing Herbal Magick, Wicca, or creating your own incenses interests you in any way, this book is a MUST HAVE for your personal library. I prefer the physical version to the Kindle app - as you can highlight, make notes, and easily flip back and forth through ear-marked pages as needed. Before long, I'm sure I'll have every book available in his name - and I know that I will not only read them all, but will USE them all in many of my day-to-day workings as a solitary practitioner of the Wiccan craft.

Nice book of recipes! The only issue that I would bring up is that’s the measurements go by parts versus tablespoons teaspoons are what not. So make sure that you know what the equivalent of parts measure out to be. Other than that, I do think that it is a nice beginner book of recipes oils and bruises as the title says. It is worth the money.

Excellent information ❤️

I have seen this book 100s of times recommended by other magical practitioners, however being that I do not have anything to do with Wicca or Paganism, I decided to pass...until recently I purchased The Complete Formulary of Magical Oils & was in need of some good suggestions as far as substitutions go. I heard that there was a section in this book dedicated especially to substitutes; that was my main reason for getting this book. I practice Hoodoo, Conjure & the like, but I can definitely appreciate Cunningham's work. This book though, if you're looking mostly for recipes, would not be the one to go with. It does have some great recipes in it, don't get me wrong, but it's mostly about explaining how to brew & blend. I do enjoy the section that talks about exactly how to figure out how to make your own blends since it includes tables/charts, but aside from that, a lot of the formulas given are about planetary & elementals, not to mention that most are essentially repeats of different formulas that have the same intent; for example, 3 different purification formulas, etc. This book is best fit for someone looking to learn how to craft, rather than someone looking for actual recipes. Regardless, it's a great book. I was concerned that I may be disappointed & would return it, but I'm actually quite glad to have it in my collection. The biggest selection of recipes however, is the incenses. The oil selection is quite short, as well as everything else. Although it does have some cool recipes for sachets & even powders, which was a nice surprise. The substitute section is nice to have, but it's not as extensive as I'd like it be; it still helps to have it on hand & for me personally makes the book worth having around even if it isn't that long of a list (considering that he mentions rosemary being used as a sub. for any herb *eyeroll*) There are even formulas in here for making "bouquets" which is definitely helpful...I would certainly recommend adding this book to your collection no doubt, I just think that it shouldn't be your 1 & only resource for recipes & formulas; I suggested accompanying it with another such book, like the Llewellyn's Formulary that I mentioned earlier. I give it 4 stars simply because there just aren't enough formulas in here for my liking, or even a vast enough selection of "intentions", but I still love the book nonetheless.

Great for any kind of project that you want to build

This book is a keeper! You will find yourself flipping through the pages over and over again! Love it, love it, love it!