In this illustrated book for the advanced reader, we meet 10-year-old
Katia and follow her on her quest to save her mother from the
angry Sea Queen. He mother has been taken by the Sea Queen and
has forgotten whom she is, becoming part of the sea in the process.
Katia’s adventures from the time she finds out what has
happened to her mother until the moment of truth that is revealed
about the long standing feud between the Sea Queen and Katia’s
fishing village are a delightful read.
The book will keep an older child interested from start to finish
but the illustrations from the award-winning artist seem to be
lacking. The book portrays witches in a non-judgmental light but
the characters are still fictional and at times farfetched. Typical
fairy tale characters grace the pages in this Pagan friendly tale.
The first selection from this new publisher is an outstanding
effort. Unfortunately, the book still has some of the hallmarks
of being a self-published offering by this writer/illustrator
team. I am interested to see what else Abzu’s Fountain Press
has in store for the younger Pagans.
Oh puhlease!!! Who are these people? Even before I had reached
numbered pages in this book, the word warlock had been used twice
in connection with the witches who might happen to be reading
the preface and acknowledgments. I guess no one bothered to tell
the writer that a warlock is not synonymous with a male witch.
I attempted to put that aside and moved onto the main portion
of the book. The reader is given two tables with the magickal
hours of the day and night. Pay attention, you will need these
tables to know the exact right time to cast each spell. There
are even spells specifically for Friday the 13th, a chapter each
for either a waning or waxing moon.
This book is so steeped in dogma; it’s hard to swallow.
It reads like a private coven’s Book of Shadows. This outsider,
for one, is not interested in becoming a member of their group.
I prefer rituals that I can use when I have need of them, rather
than waiting for the exact right time for the casting of a spell.
I also have a problem with spell work that requires items and
potions so specific that the author found it necessary to list
the shop where the products are carried.
I am assuming a book of spells such as these were written with
a beginner in mind. Unfortunately for that beginner, there is
no glossary to explain the terms such as “deosil”
and “Call of Order.” I also believe that someone who
has enough knowledge to know these terms has begun writing his
or her own spells for their immediate needs.
The rituals and spells cover the usual prosperity, negativity
and true love genres and then there are the mostly useless like
the one for a pregnant mare about to foal. How many witches do
you know who have breeding horses? One spell, called Healing Brew,
is a recipe for chicken soup. It might actually be tasty but the
author instructs the reader to turn off the crock-pot and let
the soup sit on the counter for three hours. Could this also a
recipe for food poisoning?
If you can sift through all the nonsense, the ritual poems and
spell ideas have some redeeming value. Many are quite lyrical
in their rhyme and meter. There are a few for the greater good
that might actually be worth casting if you can wait for the right
month, day and hour to do the spell.
Twelve artists contribute to the artwork displaying Goddess
from many different pantheons, including the Christian mythos.
The over-sized cards contain the name of the Goddess and her title/meaning
above a unique artistic portrayal. Under each painting is a short
quote from the Goddess to the reader. Even the quotes from the
Goddesses considered “dark” like Pele are bright and
upbeat. The deck has the “everything is right and good with
the world”, New Age outlook.
The cards’ artwork is inconsistent throughout the deck,
mainly because of the differing techniques among the varied artists,
but that may add to its freshness or charm.
I was startled to find Mary, Mary Magdalene and Guinevere among
the cards, but perhaps that is because of my non-Christian upbringing.
I understand that some Pagans do worship the Christian women icons
as forms of Goddess. I was also amused at the omission of Persephone
and Hekate, but I suppose there are so many Goddesses that including
more of everyone’s personal favorites would have been impossible.
The booklet is of a better quality than most guides included
within a deck. It will stand up to the usage of regular readings
without falling apart like a stapled pamphlet one usually finds
with a tarot deck. Both the booklet and the cards come in a nice
two-piece box that is also sturdy in its construction.
Inside the booklet is a table of contents making it easy to find
the cards in your layout. Also provided are instruction on consecrating
and using the deck, readings and variation on readings. The booklet
includes “general meanings” on each card. The reader
is encouraged to honor their intuition, something that is necessary
to make sense out of any divination practice.
In all, the deck is friendly and the meaning and usage accessible
to even a beginner. I would not recommend this deck for general
use but it is nice to have as a secondary tool when using tarot
in your daily meditations.
You’ve read a lot of books. You have all the basics down.
You pick up more books because you are thirsting for more knowledge
only to be disappointed by repetition of more basics on how to
be a witch. Never fear, there is a book out there that picks up
where the ‘Wicca 101’ books stop.
With a gentle yet firm touch, Ms. Rauls takes the beginner beyond
the basics into real sufficiency. She shows the novice witch,
the one with a basic understanding of the Pagan Path, how to become
more proficient at their spirituality. Through her knowledgeable
tutorage, a seeker learns that there is more to being a Pagan
than owning a few spell books and candles. In fact, the student
moves beyond the need for spell books and becomes, in the author’s
words, a journeyman or apprentice moving toward mastery.
This book moves the reader past basic principles, building on
what you have already learned. It guides the reader into expanding
knowledge of the worlds within, without and even beyond. Through
a simple four-step process laid out in each chapter, the beginner
moves forward by reading, thinking, questioning and finally doing.
There are more places to find spiritual knowledge than the metaphysical
section at your local bookstore. Ms. Rauls encourages exploration
beyond what you already know into new avenues of study. She states
that the occult knowledge really isn’t as hidden as we are
lead to believe we just have to learn how to see beyond our assumptions
and ingrained behaviors to achieve mastery of our chosen Paths.
I enjoyed this book, but found little of it useful for me personally.
I do recommend it for the person who has moved beyond their newbie
status and wants more than the basics so many books seem to be
reiterating over and over again. This book is a fresh look and
really is what it claims to be – tools for the advancing
Pagan.
Ashleen O’Gaea has written another original book here.
Once again this author has broken out of the tried and true formats
of Wicca 101 books to deliver a unique and useful book.
The book, subtitled Lore, Rituals, Activities and Symbols,
delivers exactly what it promises on its cover. In its few hundred
pages we are treated to an in-depth look at the holiday, its origins
from a historical viewpoint and the customs as they pertain to
today’s practices. This book focuses on the first half of
the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. (This fall will see the publication
of the sister book for the final four Sabbats.)
I have found many other books that contain Holy Day celebrations
to be less than useful for my particular situation. Since I have
a family, solitary solutions for ritual don’t always work,
and as we are too small to be a coven, neither does group ritual.
However, contained in this book’s pages are rituals that
are directed toward the solitary, the family or the coven practice.
Even if none of the rest of this book is used, the cost of purchase
is well covered just by this feature alone.
But the rituals themselves are just a small part of the wealth
of information contained between the covers. There are ideas for
crafts and a few yummy looking recipes. There are also suggestions
for holiday related activities that can be used no matter what
your age or coven affiliations. Plus, the book is written in such
a way that the reader is truly inspired in the understanding of
how each Sabbat ties into the one before and after.
I found the book well written and easy to read. Even an old Pagan
like myself found a few tidbits among the pages that added to
my knowledge and deepened my understanding of the Holy Days. I
would recommend this book for any Wiccan’s library, beginner
or long-term practioner.
This book was written to cash in on the Harry Potter series phenomena,
plain and simple. It even says so in the foreword. The book is
geared toward the beginner student between 12 and 18 years of
age. In a quote from Raymond Buckland, one of the book’s
contributors, he calls the book a “home study branch of
Hogwart’s Academy.”
The book supposedly contains the “secret knowledge”
that the Grey Council has collected for their would-be students
to learn. In the book’s pages is laid out a “seven
year course of study for Jr. High and High School students.”
Students are encouraged to keep trying to continue with their
studies even if their parents say no to the idea (page 10 of the
book).
My daughter, whom I have raised Pagan since before her birth,
will never see this book. I found its pages to be cumbersome reading,
often putting me to sleep. Some are written in a voice that talks
down to the reader while others are written in such technical
terms as to be hard to understand at all.
Zell-Oberon, the publisher of the now defunct Green Egg magazine,
has a strange sense of history. In many places in the book he
includes himself as a major player in history’s records.
He lists his teachings with such famous people as Moses, Lao Tzu,
Buddah, Jesus and Martin Luther. He talks about demonology, Satanism,
white and black arts as well as high and low magicks.
Aside from his raging egotism and the infomercial tone of the
book (he has a web site that students can use) I found nothing
really wrong with the information presented in the book. I don’t
think it has anything to do with a serious study of Paganism or
Wicca.
I found many of the assumptions of the author to border on insulting
plus I am surprised by the people in the “Grey Council”
who allowed their famous and not so famous reputations assist
in the creation and sale of this book.
If you happen upon this book, RUN don’t walk in the other
direction as fast as you can.
Real Witches. Real power. That is the premise of Kate West’s
new book, The Real Witches’ Garden. In this book, like the
others in the Real Witches’ series Ms. West delves deeply
into all the ways to bring your practice into focus using a garden.
She states that since we are following a nature-based religion,
we might as well do our rituals in nature. Makes sense to me.
Now, you apartment dwellers don’t go skipping over this
book. There are gardens for the very large area as well as for
the non-existent outdoor space. Something for everyone, no matter
the size of your space or property. And you might even grow that
green thumb you never knew you had.
In 12 easy to digest chapters, we learn how to make and celebrate
gardens of all sorts. We are taught about planning for things
like pets and children. There are gardens with a focus on the
Lady and Lord, the Elements, the Seasons, magic or healing.
Each chapter contains numerous rituals to plant and celebrate
in the garden’s focus. Gizmos and doodads are kept to a
minimum, so costs are not a big deterrent in achieving one with
the great outdoors.
While I enjoyed this book and found it interesting, the writing
style took some getting used to, probably because the author is
from the UK. This is an excellent book for a beginner either to
the Craft or to gardening. Especially useful are the lists of
correspondences in the book, as well as the chapter entitled “Take
it from here” that lists further reading and resources.
I was also pleased with the appendix explaining what witchcraft
really is. It included brief paragraphs on our beliefs, something
that is usually overlooked in many witchcraft books. All in all
this is nice, handy book to add to your spiritual library.
This is an excellent book for those new to the Path of Wicca.
There are even a few tidbits in the beginning chapters that a
long time follower of The Way might find extremely interesting.
The authors explore and truthfully examine our history, both
fact and fiction. Like myself, they believe that both the myth
and the reality of where Wicca and Witchcraft come from are relevant
to the modern practitioner.
The authors use the early chapters in the book to explain who
we were, who we are and where we are headed as a community. Using
their own pasts and experiences as reference, they take us on
a journey through the evolution of Witchcraft into the diverse
Traditions and Paths that have come into existence since Gardner,
Sanders, Valiente and Crowley (among others) first came on the
scene.
After the history lessons the reader is treated to an in depth
study Wiccan spirituality and those oh so elusive mysteries. The
Gods and Goddesses are touched on briefly and then the book moves
on to what is and how to “be” a witch. Myths about
coven life and solitary practice are discussed and refuted.
The Wiccan belief system and cosmology is given a high priority
in the book. In fact there is little left unexamined in the practical
aspects of following a Wiccan Path.
If you are looking for yet another spell book, you won’t
find that here. Although the authors include several meditations
and a few rituals, they did not comprise the meat of the book.
There were a few places where I was left scratching my head.
I am still trying to figure out how the Sun manages to rise in
the West and set in the East for our brothers and sisters who
live in the Southern Hemisphere. Another feature of the book that
I found distracting was the constant reference to other pages
or chapters in the book.
The authors’ biases are very apparent in their writings,
but I enjoyed the book and found it to be informative. I recommend
this book as a fine addition to your spiritual library.
Ms. Collins delivers a break-through book for Pagans suffering
from the debilitating dis-ease of addictions. Whatever the addiction
from alcohol or drugs to helping others or buying too much, this
book works on the intuitive level to address the cause and changes
needed to find relief from a life ravaged by addictive behaviors.
For years the Pagan sufferer has had to make do with books written
mainly from a Judeo-Christian perspective. While many have found
such books helpful and used them to achieve a measure of relief
from their addictions, there was something “not quite right”
from a Pagan viewpoint. The Recovery Spiral addresses this lack
in many Pagan addicts’ needs for full recovery from addiction
and its harmful side effects.
Ms. Collins based her book on her own recovery since 1974, and
her specialized work on abuse and abuse related issues. She takes
the Pagan addict on the Path of Recovery through meditation, ritual
and tarot readings all based on a reworded 12 Step system of recovery
with gentle humor and guidance. Through the stories of the author
herself and several others in the book we learn how a Spiral Path
of recovery can work in our own lives.
Each of the reworded 12 Steps is thoroughly explained in a Pagan
perspective. The rituals are simple enough even for a beginner
to the Pagan Ways. The author’s voice is clear and concise
in he explanations of Step work. The book’s three distinct
sections are well laid out for anyone wanting to use the book
from the newest to recovery to those with many years of 12th Step
experience.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to remove old
baggage from their lives and replace it with healthy behaviors
so they can live with a fuller connection to themselves, their
friends, family and the Divine.
Here is a book for beginners unlike any other. This small, entertaining
and easy to read volume has the odd feature of not containing
a single spell. Among the sea of Cast-a-Spell variety books that
have little or no information in them about the “why”
and “why not” of spell casting this book stands out
like a diamond surrounded by coal lumps.
Mr. McColman quotes an old proverb that says, “Give a man
a fish, and you’ve fed him for a day. Teach him how to fish,
and you’ve helped him feed himself for a lifetime.”
In a few short chapters, the author explores the ethics of magic
in depth, something that is sadly lacking in other Wicca 101 books.
He explodes myths generally assumed by a newcomer and replaces
the myth with reality.
In several chapters he talks about what magic can and cannot
do for you. He also explains why ethical magicians do not cast
certain types of spells. He explains what magic is, where it comes
from and how it works. He carefully explains why some spells work
and others simply won’t. He talks about spirituality and
a path to a magical life. And he talks about ethics, again.
The reader is given a strong foundation on which to base their
magical work. Mr. McColman will give the most inexperienced Witch
the confidence and skill necessary to apply magic to every area
of their lives.
Five
goats (out of five)
All titles (books and other items) on these pages
must be ordered through Amazon.com. Please click the title of
the item you wish to purchase. In most cases, reviews are provided
by Amazon.com. As an Associate of Amazon.com, we receive a small
fee for referrals to items sold through our site. Thank you for
your patronage.
We believe that in order to buy a good book you have to know
what's in it first. That's why here at Magickware we review new
Pagan and Wiccan books. Titles are listed below in reverse chronoligical
order. To make your purchase easier for books you want they are
linked directly to amazon.com. If there is a new book that you
would like reviewed please contact us
with your request. (Publishers and authors can send review copies
to the snail mail address on the contact
page. We do not pay for review editions, COD packages will be
refused.)
Visa, MasterCard, Money Orders and PayPal accepted Information
on ordering, shipping and returns
The
Second Circle: Tools for the Advancing Pagan
Grimoire
For The Apprentice Wizard
The
Real Witches’ Garden
Progressive
Witchcraft: Spirituality, Mysteries & Training in Modern Wicca
The
Recovery Spiral: A Pagan Path To Healing
Book
Review: Before You Cast A Spell: Understanding the Power of Magic
