What I’m Reading: Spirited & HedgeWitch

Spirited – Gede Parma

One book that has put me back in touch with the heart of Paganism was the recent Llewellyn release “Spirited” by Gede Parma, a young Pagan leader. This book blew me away in the first chapter and I quickly absorbed the text. Parma’s book is aimed at teens (there’s talk of dealing with school & parents) but his discussions on Paganism and community are the real gems of the book and are for a truly global audience of any age.

Highly recommended for anyone looking to think more about their Pagan beliefs and for those looking to forge & improve Pagan communities. This book is not aimed at beginners – the author even states that he assumes you have a working knowledge of Paganism at the beginning of the book.

If you’re looking for one part Pagan theory, one part community and one part “State of the Union” look no further – the author will knock you out with wisdom and understanding beyond most practitioners his age.

HedgeWitch – Silver Ravenwolf

A recent release (relatively speaking) I picked up again is Silver RavenWolf’s HedgeWitch. I know that even mentioning RavenWolf can bring out the haters, so let me make my SRW opinions clear right now.

No I don’t agree with everything she says, but insults and accusations of “fluffy bunny” are not what our Pagan community needs. Discrimination against fellow Pagan members is antithetical to who we are – if you don’t like an author, don’t read them. Vote with your dollar, but don’t begrudge others because they found a book to be helpful (even if it teaches us what not to do) and you didn’t. Moving on.
Thoughts on her previous work: I’ve read her “new generation of witchcraft” series & “Teen Witch”. Like my others, these were some of the first books I read. While I find today that “To Ride a Silver Broomstick” & “Teen Witch” no longer serve me, they did serve their purpose at the time in terms of getting me learning, thinking and questioning. Years later, I think I’ve turned into a fine practitioner, ethical & in love with nature and the Divine. While she does have some serious hang-ups on Christianity, we have to understand that even in 1991 many neo-Pagans still harbored some ill-will against monotheistic religions or the religions of their childhood. Fortunately, Paganism seems to be coming to an age where this is no longer acceptable. I had sincerely wished that when Llewellyn re-released her series, she would’ve updated/revised/added notations or written a new preface or something, kind of like how Starhawk went back and added notes to “Sprial Dance” at 10 and 20 years later. I remember flicking through “Silver Broomstick” with it’s new dark, Harry Potter-esque cover and thinking “It’s the same! There’s nothing new!” Opportunity missed. Anywhoodle, let’s move on to SRW’s newest work, Hedge Witch.

Since there’s already reviews out there with the expected critiques, I’ll write within the context of the hyperlinked review.

When I saw this new release at the time, I bought it because I’ve been wanting to move into a simpler, nature-based practice. While I started reading it soon after I bought it, I was still in a magickal funk and put the book down. Over the weekend, going through my books I picked up this book again. I figured now that I’m feeling much more Witchy & I’ve got a set up that brings magick & the Divine into my home, I thought now would be a great time to go through the book’s exercises.

While you can think what you want about SRW, here’s why she continues to profit, and it’s not as horrible as you think:

So what is it that makes someone such as Ravenwolf so well known, yet somewhat dismissed in the Pagan community? Quite simply, it’s her simplicity. Her books simply don’t delve into the depths of Paganism and the Occult that other authors’ works do. She deals very little with the “why”, and extensively with her version of “how”.

While the above reviewer nailed just how SRW’s books work, this shouldn’t condemn a book as “good” or “bad” depending on the purpose of the text. While this book can easily be dismissed as a beginner’s book, I think it’s quite the contrary – this book is for “beyond 101″ Witches who are looking to get back to basics when it comes to natural magick & craft. For better or worse, SRW doesn’t go into into the intricacies of spellcraft, ethics, etc because it’s assumed you already know all of this. Where SRW falls short is that she doesn’t explicitly state say this is so even though it’s true (whether she thinks so or not).

I don’t think this is an introductory/beginner’s book at all and I would never recommend it to anyone as such. What SRW does offer is a return to a simpler way of working with natural magick & the elements for those looking to re-visit or try something new in their Craft. Don’t hate on her for offering some new techniques – this book is spells & recipes, not theory. While this may be an unfortunate oversight (like the reviewer, I would’ve like to seen a history section on HedgeWitchery) it is what it is.

Personally: I’m enjoying this book for what it is. My path right now (if you read the previous post) is at a point where I’m trying to explore new methods of practice in my Craft, so giving Silver’s techniques & recipes a try has been fun for me as a “back to basics” way of working natural magick. To me, this was the intention of the book at it’s best (benefit of the doubt).

Verdict: If you require a book on magickal theory, overlook this one because it won’t give you what you need. If you’re beyond 101 with a full grasp of ethics & you understand how magic works and are looking to try some new techniques to connect with the natural world and work magick, this book may be for you. I recommend flipping through Section 1 of the book where Silver goes over the structure of the rites in the book. Flip through some of the 14 rites and see if they interest you. If you find them to be not what you need, walk away and keep looking. When we review Pagan/Occult books, we need to realize just who the audience for the book is. If you are not the audience for HedgeWitch (don’t like her style, don’t like books of recipes or magickal technique), you’ll hate it. If you are, you may discover all sorts of techniques & recipes to try out & make your own.

Any books you’re reading right now that you’d recommend, or not?