Product Description

Using vegetable oils, herbs, essential oils, and common kitchen equipment, this book will give you and guide you through 25 all-natural recipes for luxurious, gentle, beautiful, and magickal soaps. It includes a recipe for each of the eight Pagan Sabbats, Moon Phases, Handfasting, Quest, Croning, and other major life events. Drawing on her long experience with soap, herbs, oils, and Earth-based spirituality, Alicia Grosso will also teach you how to infuse your handmade soaps with wishes, prayers, dreams, and magick. Non-magickal people will find good, basic instruction for natural small-batch soapmaking, along with herb lore and ways to fill soap with prayers, wishes, and dreams. Although written for the beginning soapmaker, even the most seasoned soaper will find inspiration in the rituals and procedures of making magickal soap.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #588195 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-27
• Released on: 2008-05-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

so you wanna make soap
after purchasing and trying some of the author's soap i was blown away by it's creamy texture, thick (but not too heavy) scent and beautiful appearance and packaging. when i found that she had written books about soap- i had to check them out. let me say that i like soap, but am not a soap enthusiast, or someone who knew anything about soap.
her first book (soapmaking, a magikal guide) is dedicated to the basics of soap making. it offers unbelievably clear, simple, and unpretentious directions. if you want to make soap tomorrow- or even today- this is the book to read. it also details the use and making of magikal soap- a variety of soaps used to bathe before pagan rituals. for those uninterested or unfamiliar with paganism, be not intimidated- if you want to make soap, this book is worth reading.
her second offering, a book from the everything series entitled the everything soap making book delves into a more detailed and explicit look at making soap. she offers suggestions for packaging, whether it be for gift giving or running your own business. she has suggestions for all kinds of soaps, recommends products, tells you what supplies are worth shelling out the big bucks for and what supplies you can pick up on the cheap. there are a lot of recipes and info on how to set up a successful work space, etc.
the very best thing about books written by alicia grosso is that they are very simple and easy to follow. her writing flows well and is enjoyable to read. best of all she is very funny- often down right hysterical. she is completely unpretentious and happy to share her secrets. and best of all- she'll teach you how to make damn good soap.

Something a little different..
Another book to add to my soapmaking library, Grosso's book is a little different from the rest.

Her recipes are for cold process soaps in small (one bar) recipes, a good starting place for a beginner. Working with lye can be a dangerous process, so having very small batches is a wise beginning.

She writes a lot about the magikal (which I like to translate to spiritual) aspect of soapmaking - different herbs have different magical properties according to Grosso, so soap can be a healing gift for a friend.

She has a lists for essential oils, flowers, herbs, seeds listing some special properties. (the herb Dandelion reduces fear, useful in manifesting intention...and you thought they were weeds)...Vetivert essential oil is deeply calming. Lavendar flowers are sleep-inducing, soothing, etc.) No use of animal fats, a plus for some of us.

Good black and white pictures of the actual soapmaking process and explanations of different procedures (saponification, etc.) Basic recipe is used with additions of other things. Yes, she is a bit heavy on the coconut oil.

For those who are interested, she has soap making rituals, Moon phases, soapmaking for women, soapmaking for men, for every day occasions, for holidays. There's a little chapter on "presentation" (gift wrapping or packaging).

This isn't a book for everyone, and even if it is for you, it shouldn't be the only book -- just something a little different.

A Great Book
I think this is a very good book,I bought it for the holiday recipes.This is a great book for the beginner,everything you need is easy to find,the batches are small.When I started soapmaking the only recipes I could find were for huge batches,it can get expensive.I used one of Alicia's recommendations in this book and got all the herbs I need for around forty dollars-enough for tons of soap.I recommend this book for the beginner and experianced soapmaker.