Utterly Wicked: Hexes, Curses, and Other Unsavory Notions

Insightful, humorous, practical human, and well written. The author makes the book feel like a conversation, offers a lot of knowledge, and understands that there are some situations that "love and light" cannot fix. I am SO Glad I bought and read this book. I will read it again.

It does not matter what path you are on, this book in insightful and humorous! Examples are given which will leave your sides hurting from laughter. A must read.

This book is an absolute treasure! I was delighted when I saw this book. After reading it, my initial delight was justified. This book has been a long time coming for many of us. I have been a part of The Craft for over 20 years and in that time a lot has changed. Witchcraft books are now available everywhere, not just from specialty shops like they were back in the day. As a backlash to Witchcraft being perceived as "dark" and "evil" by the public at large, an entire movement began which portrayed the strongly ethical, "good" and "benevolent" side of The Craft that exists. The Problem was this caused a great lack of balance for new people coming into The Craft. Witchcraft became(to many), "airy-fairy",whitesy-litesy" and "fluffy-bunny" (among other terms). Many new, modern Witches were scared to act to protect themselves or others as a result of others interpretations of the Wiccan Rede and Three-fold law. Dorothy Morrison has blown all that away with this truly ground-breaking book for our time. She has really put herself on the line with the Wiccan community as a whole and I applaude her for it! This book is not about doing evil to others for selfish, self-serving purposes. This book (to me at least), is about arming yourself with the proper tools to fight when and if you need to. This book is about balance. There are times when it may be called for to defend yourself when attacked or provoked, or to defend others who are innocent and are not strong enough to defend themselves. We are Witches, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard as Priestesses and Priests and part of our responsibility is to help those in need and sometimes that means taking the appropriate action when neccesary. Weighing both sides of a situation and coming to a balanced, correct outcome for us to take. This book gives you the tools to help you when that outcome means for you to defend yourself or others. She fills her book with spells, curses and hexes from a variety of different occult and magickal societies. From good old fashioned Witchcraft to straight-up Voodoo and Hoodoo practices, they are all here. Her writing style is simple and easy to follow. She writes with homour and experience making this book a pleasure to read. Each chapter deals with a different type of circumstance, making it easy to find the right spell needed for the right situation. The back of the book has a list of supply houses where some of the items listed in her book can be obtained for those in need. I cannot stress enough what a valuable book this is. Everyone in my Coven is getting a copy! I encourage you to do the same if this is your path.

My only complaint about this book is, it should have been longer! More! More! More! 5 stars? How about 25!!!! Well written and funny! I can't tell you how long I have searched for books-for WITCHES! Not wiccans-WITCHES! A good curse or hex is many times well needed as well as well deserved! At last someone has figured out that all witches aren't wiccans (or satanists for that matter!)-and that their is a dark to the light!

I read through this book rather quickly, as it is not all that difficult to read or understand. That is one of the signatures of works by Dorothy Morrison, easy to read and understand. I also found myself nodding my head as I went through her basics for what she offers in this book. Yes, there is an ethics discussion. And if you are under the impression that Ms. Morrison should have gone further into ethics, this book is not for you. Personally, I feel if you need a dose of ethics with a witch's book on hexes and curses, then you should do as she suggests in the opening of the book: Close this book now and put it back on the shelf. Ms. Morrison does an excellent job covering the basics of our practices involving curses and hexes. And while she does explain that we should use this as last resort, she also points out that many times we have good reason and we should not ignore it. So, moving on, the book is typical Morrison material. We are presented with the hows, the whys, and all the recipes to do. I love the "11" doll" material. Damn, I never thought of that! I also notice that much of the material is adapted from hoodoo basics and this is good. Hoodoo is a working tradition; working because it is effective. To adapt this material from a working practice is smarter than trying to make up your own. Why waste the efforts to create something that is already in place. I also think this is a great education in the workings of our native magical traditions. This book contains the now famous "Swifting of Energy" working that everyone wants. It's a great spellworking! Just right for the beginner or the experienced witch. There is a section on reversing hexes and curses as well. You never know when you may change your mind, or if someone else will whap you with some of this wonderful stuff. If you've got the guts, if you know that it's now time for you to drop the fluffy ball and move into the real realm of witchcraft, this is an excellent primer. The recipes are wonderful and I recognized many of them. Others are great Morrison improvisations utilizing time honored traditions and sure fire workings. This is another one of Dorothy Morrison's instructional manuals that adapts tried and true magic and brings it up to date and into the real world. boudica

I could not wait for the release of this new book, and to my surprise I was not let down at all! Once again Dorothy Morrison has captured my heart in her down to the nitty gritty getting real book of being a true witch in today's world. I've been a witch nearly all my life, so books tend to let me down with repeated information, or the same information worded a new way. This book takes a real look at everyday issue's each of us face at some time or another, the wording is perfect! As if she is sitting right there talking to you, like a wonderful sister you spend time with. I love her logical approach to blending all areas of the craft. You can not take the sweets, without a few sours, and this books gives you recipes and guidelines to get you well on your way! I highly recommend this for the experienced witch as well as one who is just starting on this path, as it finally brings those taboo issues out in the open where they belong. The things you wish others would talk about, she discusses openly in a magickal manor just as they should be.!Not only did I purchase this book for myself, so far I have also purchased it for several of my closest sister. If I could only choose one book to carry with me throughout my journeys as a witch, it would be this book! I love it!

Just finished reading my copy and I've got to say it's extremely well-done. Well-written, solidly based, and well-reasoned, this book will delight those who are looking for more information on magick as opposed to prayer or supplication. As others have noted in reviews and comments elsewhere, this book addresses a topic that has fallen out of favor in Wicca today, so it won't be unanimously praised or accepted, but it will find a place on the shelves for those wanting a more encompassing view.