Seasons for the Soul: Spells of Nature is a very different book from what I’m used to reading. It is about the magic of the seasons, the gifts of each and the beauty, but all this comes from the perspective of one who works in embroidery.  And it’s beautiful.

What Julia van den Bosch creates is just stunning. Taking inspiration from nature, she recreates stunning moments in time and offers them up to the reader, alongside herbal information, poetry, the seasonal flora and fauna and more. It’s a book that takes time to read, because each piece of her art that is pictured requires attention. Your gaze is drawn into all the fine details that are put into each piece.

Van den Bosch takes us through some of the process, why she uses certain crystals in her works, the meanings behind them and what they give to the piece itself. It is clear that she understands the cycles and the seasons intimately, and weaves us into a world that is utterly enchanting. From the tiniest moth or bats, to the great towering stalks of cow parsley, the humble but persistent dandelion, to magical and mysterious mushrooms, snowdrops and the unfurling fronds of ferns, all of these are presented beautifully and artfully in this work.

If you are into your arts and crafts, I am sure this book will be a joy to you. If you are a nature lover, this book will also sing to your soul. If you are both, well, then you are in for a real treat.