The Junior Witch's Handbook: A Kid's Guide to White Magic, Spells, and Rituals

by Nikki Van De Car, Uta Krogmann (Illustrations)

An empowering guide for young witches about the kinds of magic they can create for themselves every day.

Intended for children between the ages of eight and twelve, who are curious about the possibility of "something more" in their lives, this handbook focuses on three major areas of the witch's life: friendship, personal fulfillment, and family. Each section includes spells, rituals, potions, and other useful information, such as tables about crystals, chakras, and herbs.

Genres: Middle Grade, Witchcraft, Nonfiction, Wicca

120 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2020

About the author

Nikki Van De Car is a blogger, knitter, and mother whose books What To Knit When You're Expecting and What To Knit: The Toddler Years chronicle the way her knitting changed as her daughter grew. Her popular knitting blog has received over 1.5 million pageviews since its inception in June 2008, and her patterns have been published in Interweave and Ply magazines, among others. Nikki lives in Hawaii with her family.

Come visit her on Instagram at @nikkivandecar and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sereknity/

Reviews

[The Nerd Daily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Nathalie DeFelice

This adorable handbook is perfect for anyone who’s got a young one (or even a young person at heart) that wants to learn about becoming a witch. This book has all the basics you need with beautifully illustrated pages and it sets a very sweet tone, while easily explaining the concepts of making spells, and even outlines how to bring good things into your life, and cast away the bad. I truly enjoyed this sweet book. It’s encouraging and will help the novice witch bring some light and clarity into their life (if that’s what they seek).

Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily

[Paige Vanderbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be writing a full review later, but I just want to say that this is a real book of witchcraft for kids - it's age-appropriate but not sugar-coated or dumbed down. The rituals and spells are great, and I actually can see myself doing a few of these myself without having to make adjustments. I'm super impressed.

[Cinnimini · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it is written in an age appropriate tone, and the spells are very light and remind me of mindfulness techniques, a few things made me pause.

-telling people to cleanse crystals by putting them in salt water with no warning that some crystals aren't safe to put in water.

-no explanation of where the traditions she references come from. (Gris Gris bags for example) While it is a basic book, learning where things come from and how to respectfully use them in your practice (and if you even should use them) is something I think should be learned from the start.

-while the spells were light, maybe more explanation on how to set intentions would help.

If I was going to give this to a child in my life, it would be given to one who already knew some basics and I'll tell them we had to talk through several things.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Public library copy

[Cora B · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the world certainly needs a guide for magical kiddos, I would not give this one to a child. Spells include instructions that include fire, incense, and essential oils—items that would be much more suited to a grimoire for teens or adults. This book calls for herbs and stones that would require a trip to a special metaphysical store, and I would rather encourage children to find magical ingredients in their backyards, nearby parks, or in their kitchen pantries.

Also, many modern witches do not use the term "white magic" because of its inherent racist implications, and I am shocked that a spellbook published in 2020 would include that phrase in the title. Language is power. Witches should know this better than anyone.

All in all, this is a well-intentioned book with major magical misfires I could not overlook.

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het heksenhandboek. Vol toverspreuken, drankjes en magie.
Door: Nikki Van De Car. Illustraties: Uta Krogmann.

Wat een tof, boeiend, inspirerend boek. Bedoeld voor jonge heksen maar zeker ook tof leesbaar voor de iets oudere heksen onder ons ;) Op een vlotte manier leer je heel veel.

Zij die nu aan oude toverkollen met een punthoed en een bezem denken zitten goed fout. Een heks is een wijze, krachtige vrouw die de magie die overal om ons heen hangt op een bewuste en positieve manier benut. Ze kan daarvoor gebruik maken van runen, kristallen, orakelkaarten, meditatie, kruiden, talismannen en nog zo veel meer. Over al die onderwerpen lees je in dit boek. Alles wordt eenvoudig maar nooit kinderachtig uitgelegd. Het bevat een hele hoop informatie en alles is fris vormgegeven; wat dit boek tot een echt koester-boek maakt. (Er is zelfs voorin ruimte voorzien om je naam te schrijven en achteraan is er een heus diploma.)

Het heksenhandboek is een boek dat mij 30 jaar geleden uitzinnig van geluk zou hebben gemaakt, het zou mijn bijbel zijn. Nu, 30 jaar ouder, ben ik stiekem bijna even enthousiast. Echt een fantastisch, betoverend (pun intended), enthousiasmerend boek!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While obviously aimed at kids, this is a good introduction to witchcraft for anyone who's curious. My only gripe is that while the section on family talks about how families can and do hurt each other, it insists that all families are loving and supportive at heart, which just isn't true. I wouldn't expect a book for kids to dive deep into things like child abuse for queerphobia, but blithe ignorance of the possibility of unhealthy families isn't helpful either..

[🐈Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for beginner

Excellent fast read.
Great read for understanding and learning. Good intro book into learning about being a witch. It wasn't too much indepth, just enough to understand the overall meanings of things and easy explanations for each topic, along with a little but of history.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really lovely book. I particularly like the emphasis on spells for healing bruised emotions and relationships. In that way, it’s actually a very practical guide for kids/tweens who are new to navigating friendships/relationships. Really fantastic book!

[Wendy Matta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for Young Mystics

I skimmed through this before gave to my girlz... covers so much... Young Mystics need their resources as well... They will love it... I prefer to be called a Mystic...

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never really heard of white magic so this was an interesting idea to read about. I’ve marked several spells to try.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for like starter's

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was charming. I'd recommend for an older age than kids, and with parental involvement to modify/adapt based on individual beliefs or supervise if/when using candles. Could tie in nicely with the age a youth is reading the later Harry Potter books to talk about the sort of magic we can make exist in real life.

Everyday Magic
"Magic is based on something incredibly simple: Intention."
"Magic is in the space between what we wish were true and what we make true."
"The true path to living a magical life is trusting your instincts and embracing your own imagination and creativity."

Meditation
"Mindfulness is the practice of becoming aware of what’s going on with you right this second, right now. You’re not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow or in an hour. You are only focused on the present moment."

"You can’t do meditation perfectly so let go of that expectation now."

Stories
"Storytelling is some of the most powerful magic there is. They are our way of connecting with the earth, making sense of seemingly senseless things, and explaining what it is to be a human being. The stories we tell ourselves are how we make sense of our own experience. It is how we understand who we are, and we tell ourselves these stories all day, every day, without even realizing it."

"There are the facts of a situation, and the story part where you tried to explain it to yourself. All of that is just a story. The facts are the facts, everything else is just something you made up and is no more real than a fairy tale."

"When you’re ready, write yourself a new story...Go full fairy tale...Then with this new story in your heart, get back out there and try again."

Spell/Mantra for Sleep
"I am safe while I sleep
My rest is deep
My worries, they will keep
While I am fast asleep"

Celebration Rituals
"Rituals and celebrations can happen for any reason, at any time...further back in time, further even than Thanksgiving and Christmas, rituals and traditions have held families together for thousands of years. Holidays inspired by equinoxes and solstices—or the yearly harvest. Our modern lives aren’t nearly so bound to the seasons as they were, but an awareness of the seasons can help us feel connected to the earth, to what has come before, and to those with whom we share our lives."

"Find other rituals besides the ones at birthdays, holidays, achievements, and milestones."