Arte D' Glamour

The Arte of Glamour by Deborah Castellano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Arte of Glamour is one of those books that is a supposed to be about magic yet it really isn't. The book is more about how to put your best foot forward by using what you got. Sort of like a charm school for Pagans, The first thing our authoress does is decidedly tamp out the need to follow rules and get the reader down to earth. When she chucks the rules it pertains not to ritual magic but also to everyday conventions. And I like that. Heading toward a chaos magic paradigm myself this resonates with me.
None the less she tells you how to look good by making your own rules and soig what works for you.

I learned a lot reading this book. Complicated things may not do for you but when you put time and effort into something for someone else be it deity, spirit or human they then to make note of it and appreciate it. It does not have to be fancy. There are further lessons to be learned about people. Your friends will love you when your hair is down and things are in shambles or when everything is smooth sailing and working. I come from a family where everything is all appearances and if if you fail to maintain then you lose face or respect. Damn those Persian.

We may want to learn from other cultures as she does on how to live our life. Most of us in America are workaholics slaving hour after hour to make a buck and yet we fail to properly enjoy our life. The folks in France and Italy like to live well, eat well and they love to play. They work hard enough just to get those things.

Her paradigm has offers different views of the Goddess herself. The authoress is a Dianic Wiccan which means she works almost strictly with the Goddess. There is no view of the God in this. While men might be comfortable reading this the book is geared more for women in my opinion. SH never refers to other pantheons which for me is cool as I feel the Gods or our images of them are our creations use them as suits you best.

Her images of the Goddess are as such Magic herself, the Lady in Red,Lady of the Hearth, Lady of the Wood, Lady of Mysteries. Magic herself is called on first and then the others follow depending on the ritual. Each section give an invocations for each along with their glyph and the things that they like. If you are like me and work with Different Pantheons you may find these archetypes offering you a way to work with deities you are familiar with.

This authoress is into beauty. Pretty yourself up before doing your ritual. Also have your altar or ritual room. She has her own p[procedure for circle casting which you may follw or not. I choose to invent my own..

This book is not recipe heavy but there are a few that are mentioned and even fewer that I have noted for future use. What I like best is that she keeps it simple. Comes with some spells and mojos as well. She recommends Witch of Forest Grown products which I am a customer of , however make note that I am not sure if Witch of Forest Grove keeps making her incense . For all you simple witches I hope you enjoy.


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