Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes Detailed Book Review

The Encyclopedia of Spirits, Judika Illes

The Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes is a wonderful resource, this book is filled with information that’s relevant, helpful and informative for anyone with an interest in Gods, Goddesses, Deities, fairies, and all sorts of beings from ‘ the other realm,’ and how to connect with them. I recommend The Encyclopedia of Spirits to  anyone with general interest, or on a path of spiritual enlightenment. This is an honest review, I bought my own copy and really want to shout about the little gem I found!

Cover Details

First thing I want to mention is while I was reading many of the reviews on Amazon myself, deciding whether this is a book for me, I noticed a high number of people complaining that the book is not a hardback. Even though that is how it is advertised on Amazon. Seriously, c’mon people it’s really not that deep. The Encyclopedia of Spirits is a hard back! The copy I received is perfectly fine, sturdy and a hard back. It’s a very big book with over 1,000 pages.

Book Content

The book content of The Encyclopedia of Spirits is as follows

  • Intro
  • Public life of spirits
  • Secret lives of spirits
  • Who and what are spirits
  • Realms of spirits
  • Where are spirits most likely to met
  • Working with spirits
  • Finding your spirit allies
  • Communicating with spirits
  • Are spirits dangerous
  • Commanding and compelling spirits
  • what does it mean when prayers and petitions are unanswered
  • Glossary
  • Using the book
  • A-Z of spirits
  • Appendix
  • Bibliography

The Encyclopedia of Spirits, Judika Illes

As you can see there is a lot of content,  these chapters are each  very detailed, and cover a lot of thought provoking and useful information. The bibliography is very large and helpful for further reading too if you wish to follow up. There is more than 500 different Gods, Goddesses, Fairies and all types of spiritual energies to learn about, and work with in the A-Z. Each chapter has something to note, or follow up for more research.

I personally found that a lot of the information in the working with spirits chapter to be very accurate, and resonated with a lot of the things I have picked up along my own path. The book also covers spirits from all over the world, different religions, everything from African, Asian, European, Caribbean and every corner of the world! It really is fantastically detailed.

Each spirit is listed in alphabetical order, you will find details on other names they are known as, their classification eg demon, witch, God, Goddess, Fairy etc, their history, the part of the world they are from, how they manifest, offerings to give them, days of the week they rule over, attributes, their home and who they are commonly drawn to. For example the professions or demographics of society they are patrons for children, women, doctors, etc.

Within the content chapters there is also very detailed information on how to set up altars, connect, give offerings and how to petition to the spirits also.

At the back there is a long list of professions and what spirits are linked to them. There are every day professions doctor, teacher etc as well as astrologer, sex worker, and all sorts of ‘unusual’ professions. There’s also a list of life circumstances that certain spirits watch over like child loss, certain illnesses, love, money, business etc.

Overall, from start to finish Encyclopedia of Spirits guides the reader from how to pick a energy to work with, where to find them, what to do to connect with them, and how to know if they are right for you, and who may  be drawn to you from the spirit world to work with. In this respect it is very good and highly recommended for newbies and those more advanced also. I learned a lot! Even though Deities are not really a new topic for me.

Pros of Encyclopedia of Spirits

  • Very organised.
  • Very detailed.
  • Very interesting.
  • Very accurate.
  • Excellent value for money.
  • A resource that is excellent to have on hand for reference to dip in and out of.
  • Well researched.
  • Diverse and inclusive.
  • Written in straight forward language, that anyone can follow with no special knowledge.

Cons of Encyclopedia of Spirits

  • Absolutely none in my view! That said if you are looking for a book with just reference to angels ONLY, you may enjoy The Angel Bible.

Recommended For

I recommend Encyclopedia of Spirits for all practicing witches, Wicca practitioners, or those who make use of spiritual energies in candle magic or however you manifest. Be it through rituals, spells, or any other way. If you use ‘spirit’  in your daily life or practice this is a book for you,  you will learn a lot and could connect with the perfect energy to help you with your practice. I also recommend this book for those who have an interest in finding the right Deity to connect with, those who have a general interest in this topic, or simply enjoy the ‘other realm’ and learning.

Encyclopedia of Spirits is not a text book that is academic in anyway, the book is not written in a way to ‘educate’, or even a ‘story telling’ book.  It’s reference as a starting point or for cross checking, and you are free to follow up with more research into the Deities and spirits  you find here, or any other information that interests you. I have used this book a lot when helping others to manifest with the right energies,  or even writing my own rituals for The Spiritual Parlour rituals and spells when including additional information on Deities to may help with manifestations. I also recommended it in my article about offerings for energies you petition or pray to .

Overall, I can’t get enough of this book and so glad I found it, I purchased another book by this author I will also review too.

Final thoughts

10/10 for me, there are over 1,000 pages to this gem of a book.  I really can’t fault it as a reference guide or general interest reference for those who enjoy this subject matter. It was delivered quickly, the quality of the book physically is good. From the cover, to the book’s print as well as content.  Do you own this book too? Let me know what you think of it drop a comment below. If you don’t own it my advice is to grab a copy it’s a good little investment if you have been considering it.

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4 Replies to “Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes Detailed Book Review”

  1. Excellent book review! I have to admit that I love various encyclopedias about any topic! I’m not a witch or anything, though I’ve looked into various forms of paganism. Sometimes it’s a little more out there than I would like since I’m very logical and scientific, even though I resonate to a lot of it. Anyway, I love learning about gods, angels and such so this review was excellent for me! Thanks! (I also shared it on Twitter, I liked it so much!)

    1. Thank you for your share! I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest, just know it is not ‘academic’ it’s a detailed reference book with a hell of a lot to offer. 

  2. thanks Kae for the blog; the book really looks interesting; to read about all the deities and especially to find out how you can get in touch with them I find it cool; but the most interesting is the long list of professions and what spirits are related to them; Encyclopedia must be bought by curious people about spirits

    Carmen

    1. Hi Carmen, I have spent hours with this book. The professions are everything you can think of and it’s rather good to know that their are Deities that are patrons of professions. In a way, if you are working in a certain area it’s reassuring to know there is an energy who is looking out for you! This book is over 1,000 pages it really is a treat to look at. I have learned about energies from all over the world.

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