A pretty basic look at magical housekeeping. Nothing I haven't seen before in other places, but it's nice to have it all in one book. ( )

You know how once upon a time it was sufficient to wash your hands with soap and water? Do that, and you could trust that your immune system would fend off everything except the worst germs. Now if your immune system was impaired in some way, you needed to take extra care, but for the most part a basic cleaning routine was all that was needed. But as we've grown more afraid of contagion (H1N1, anyone?), we've begun adding antibacterial agents to hand soap, dish detergent, and other products, all in the hope of staying healthy. We're scared that mere soap can't protect us sufficiently.

Magical Housekeeping strikes me as the psychic version of this trend. You don't just refresh the energies in your home with this book; you purge, purify, and detoxify them. As I read along, I started wondering if all this was really necessary, or whether it was the New Age equivalent of antibacterial hand soap. Is it even possible to purify your home of all negativity? Because Whitehurst never defines what negativity is, I began wondering if it includes things like creative tension and passion (stuff that can be uncomfortable to live with, but is it truly negative?). If there's such a thing as an impaired psychic immune system, then this level of sterilization might be necessary, but I'm hoping most of us don't need to put this much energy into sanitizing the atmosphere.

Overall, this is a book of white light, crystal essences, and angels. The darkest it ever gets is when Whitehurst discusses calling upon Kali. There's also a consumerist theme woven into this book. These "simple charms & practical tips" are going to involve a lot of shopping for roses, essential oils, crystals, and the occasional mattress/box spring combo.

Yes, there were aspects of the book I liked. Whitehurst has a very readable, conversational writing style and the book moves along quickly. She covers many aspects of magical housekeeping, although you may need to research some topics yourself for more depth. Her definition of "altar" is wonderfully succinct: I'm going to have to remember it for future reference. But overall, much of the material has been covered by other works on feng shui and Paganism and this won't really fill any gaps ( )