Not-February
commented
2 years ago I may have recently noticed that these recipes are in fact alterable with data packs, which I suppose makes the issue less of an issue.
I still think using sponges as a component for Shielding and Water Blast are pretty harsh as a default, though.
Most of the spells in Roots 1/Classic are most useful in an earlier game setting, or at least they seem like they should be - yet some spells have such arbitrarily difficult to locate materials that they're virtually impossible to craft until you don't really need their functionality anymore. It kind of discourages using the mod until you actually have enough diamonds/other materials to make the crystal staff, which seems a little counterintuitive to me.
There are at least two recipes for spell components that utilize sponges as a consumable ingredient, for example - the orange tulip spell and the lily pad spell. Neither of these spell components are compelling enough for me to want to go find an Ocean Monument and fight an Elder Guardian for, or even to spend any sponges I might otherwise find otherwise on them. It feels like a bad investment.
In the many Minecraft updates since Roots 1 was first made (~1.10?), new materials have been added to the game that could potentially be used in place of or as an alternative to some spell component recipe items and potentially make some more accessible.
I don't see a reason other than "maintaining authenticity" or perhaps "recipe parity between all maintained versions from 1.12 - 1.18" to not modify some of these weirder spell recipe items into things added in modern Minecraft that might be more fitting as well.
Note: This is to say nothing of the entirely new flowers or unique plants that have been added into Minecraft since Roots 1 was made. I would say that in the case of those flowers and plants it would make more sense to create new spells with them rather than use them as components in existing recipes to fit the thematics of the existing recipes where each typically has one "flower" and the other three ingredients are not flowers/similar.
Anyways, here are some ideas I had for a handful of updated recipes in a 1.18.1 environment. Even if you don't like/want to use them, I do think it'd be good to think about how to overhaul the recipes in general for modern versions if possible.
Devil's Flower
Current: Red Tulip, Nether Brick, Quartz, Red Sand Suggested: Red Tulip, Nether Brick, Quartz, Crimson Fungus/Sprout/Vines
Shielding
Current: Orange tulip, Sponge, Leather, Redcurrant Suggested: Orange Tulip, Nautilus Shell, Leather, Redcurrant
Life Drain
Current: Pink Tulip, Melon Seeds, Raw Porkchop, Granite Suggested: Pink Tulip, Melon Seeds, Raw Porkchop, Phantom Membrane
Water Blast
Current: Lily Pad, Wet Sponge, Beetroot, Blackcurrant Suggested: Lily Pad, Sea Pickle, Kelp, Blackcurrant
Electric Spark
Current: Poisonous Potato, Glass, Glowstone, Sugar Cane Suggested: Poisonous Potato, Lightning Rod, Glowstone, Glow Berries
Ender Warp
Current: Chorus Fruit, Ender Pearl, Purple Dye, Popped Chorus Fruit Suggested: Chorus Fruit, Ender Pearl, Purple Dye, Amethyst