Wizardly Book Talk – Practical Protection Magick (Ellen Dugan)
In this first episode of Wizardly Book Talk we sit down to chat about my thoughts on Practical Protection Magick by Ellen Dugan.
My copy of Practical Protection Magick by Ellen Dugan
Welcome to Wizardly Book Talk where I offer you a seat in a comfortable chair to join me in a chat about books that I read. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, occult or fantasy, let us dive into these different realms to discover what wisdom awaits!
For our first gathering of the minds, we are chatting about Practical Protection Magick by Ellen Dugan. Grab some tea, friends, as I give you my thoughts on this book of knowledge.
This conversation will avoid overall spoilers as this is a great book that you should take a chance on, especially if you are a beginner of the realm of protection magick. I’m mostly going to be giving my thoughts on tone, how I feel about the content, and give you a general view of the book structure. Very fascinating, I know!
I will admit, this is not the first book I’ve read from Ellen Dugan. Oh no, I have been reading her fiction books for the past couple of years now. I started with the first Legacy of Magic book and have read each release since so I came into this nonfiction book with a fair amount of positive bias. Her voice, familiar and clear, in this book reminds me of chatting with my aunts (they aren’t in the magickal community, as far as I know) about all kinds of random topics while enjoying their presence. I love my aunts, so this is a high compliment from where I’m sitting.
Dugan weaves her own personal gnosis, experiences, and gained wisdom from years of being a practicing witch all through the entire book. It’s very fun to read! Now, while she does have a casual more conversational tone and makes some jokes here and there (I very much appreciate the Buffy the Vampire Slayer quotes!) she does pay adequate seriousness when the subject matter calls for it.
The instructions for the rituals and spellwork are clear and concise. I have even earmarked a few that I want to experiment with in the future which always has me wanting to give a classic witch cackle with glee. Speaking of cackling, I appreciate the conversation about curses and hexing along with some great ideas on how to alleviate these kinds of situations in a rational and practical manner.
My absolute favorite thing is an interesting book structure. Breaking up this book into sections based on the Elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) with some great information and ideas about how to utilize and work with these Elements for protection. There are also themed discussions in each of these sections that give inspiration on how to handle some energetic pests and improve your own natural defenses to go along with practical protection magick and warding. After the Elemental sections, there’s additional information and concepts that don’t really fit into those areas that are their own chapters.
There’s even very interesting information about invited and uninvited psychic vampires which I had never even entered my mind over the years. After reading and reflecting some, I too have encountered these sorts of people in the past but now I know what to do and what to keep an eye out for in the future. Very handy dandy indeed!
Another point that intrigued me was Dugan talking about hex signs. I don’t remember encountering this term in the past but something about it is really sticking in my brain. It’s certainly a topic I have taken a note to dive into at some point in the future. There’s something there that could be very beneficial for my own practice. I’m keen to find out!
In the back of the book there’s a little glossary with some terminology there if you aren’t used to these sorts of magickal verbiage which is a nice touch for those new to the Craft. I also adore books with Bibliographies. Gives me more books I’d like to read as I continue my own Wizardly Journey.
Having finished this one, I need to collect more of Ellen Dugan’s nonfiction witchcraft books. Unfortunately, this is the only one of hers (nonfiction) that I have so it will probably be some time before I have another chat about a Dugan book.
Here’s a bit of wisdom I pulled from these very pages: Being a confident badass is never overrated.
Tell me, friends, have you read her books before? What do you think of them?
I do hope you’ve enjoyed taking a small part of your day out to chat about books with this Wizard. I tip my hat to you for being here!
May you be treated how you’ve treated others.
See you next time!
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