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Great Book

  • 14-10-2006 12:03pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 150 ✭✭


    Hey i was wondering if anyone else had read this book its called 'Solitary Witch' and its written by Silver Ravenwolf.

    I found it a great book full of information so wif anyone has a thirst for Wicca Knowledge they should check it out!


«1

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    Actually it isn't
    I would reccemend "Wicca and Witchcraft for Dummies" before that one or most of Her books tbh.
    0764578340.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
    http://www.amazon.com/Wicca-Witchcraft-Dummies-Diane-Smith/dp/0764578340/sr=1-1/qid=1160950453/ref=sr_1_1/102-2625599-4103323?ie=UTF8&s=books


    What I would reccamend would be Marion Green's A witch a lone.
    http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Alone-New-Thirteen-Natural/dp/0007133235
    0007133235.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

    I would not consider these either to be Great books but good places for some one startig off.

    Silver Ravenwolf's book is not about Wicca if it was she would have to be a linaged high preistess
    and would have to be forsworn her oaths to write and print such books.
    Her books are about magick and witchcraft and what is term Electic or McWicca for the masses.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    Can't say I've ever heard of that one, but I've read enough of Silver Ravenwolf to despise her works thoroughly due to the increasing lack in ethics the slipshod if not downright untruthful scholarship, their bigotry, the offensive sexual morality*, the exploitative marketing strategies and the unbelievable gall of a woman who will suggest her readers lie to their parents.

    * Really, what kind of messed up hypocrite moans so much about the sexual rules of the Christian churches and then talks about a woman losing her virginity as "when her purity is taken" - what the hell makes a sexually active woman less pure than a virgin? Why assume it was "taken" rather than given? I know she's not really Wiccan, but if you're going to pretend to be a Wiccan, at least pretend to be part of a fertility religion like Wicca is.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    Thaedydal wrote:
    I would reccemend "Wicca and Witchcraft for Dummies" before that one or most of Her books tbh.
    Heh. I'd recommend going on an alcoholic bender for a couple of days before most of her books - the bender won't take out as many braincells :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    For some reason I read that as blender, hmm certainly putting her books through a blender might help but due to the high glossiness of the covers or pages I doubt they could be recycled or made usefull and turned into mulch for the garden.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    LOL.

    BTW, I haven't read the dummies one, are you seriously recommending it, or joking about the idea of a self-described dummie being a Witch?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    If you want a basic glossary of terms and explaination of basic concepts and pictures and a basic unbiased history for a person starting out yes I would recamend it or at least reading/flipping through it in easons.

    Now not everyone starting is going to be or is a witch or even if they are a witch they may not be ment or a Wicca path.

    Pagan Ways by Gwydion O'Hara
    1567183417.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.gif
    http://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Ways-Gwydion-O-Hara/dp/1567183417
    Is a title published by Llewellyn I would also point out for the same reasons I have that on my book shelf.

    Now if you want something with a little more all around occult knowledge there is Uncle Buckies Big Blue Book that won't stay on the book shelf.
    0875420508.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
    Buckland's Complete Book Of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
    http://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508/sr=1-1/qid=1160951839/ref=sr_1_1/102-2625599-4103323?ie=UTF8&s=books
    You should be able to figure out why it has that nick name.

    Oh and it looks like Amazon have a bundle with that infamous black book what
    that woman got her tits out in so that it has to be sold shrinkwrapped.

    Most of these books can be got in Easons or most books shops or can be ordered in and some of them are even in the library.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 290 ✭✭scorplett


    For my two cents I would say that a really great book for beginner, intermediate and even experianced you should look to titles by Pyllis Curott. Particuluarly her book 'Witch Crafting'.

    0767908457.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

    http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Crafting-Spiritual-Guide-Making/dp/0767908457/sr=8-1/qid=1160955096/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1705871-8257525?ie=UTF8

    other books that I would recomend,
    The first book I ever read 'A Spiral Dance' by Starhawk
    0062516329.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
    http://www.amazon.com/Spiral-Dance-Anniversary-Ancient-Religion/dp/0062516329/sr=8-1/qid=1160956450/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1705871-8257525?ie=UTF8

    and 'Drawing Down The Moon' by Margot Adler
    014019536X.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
    http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Down-Moon-Goddess-Worshippers-America/dp/014019536X/sr=8-2/qid=1160956013/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-1705871-8257525?ie=UTF8&s=books

    These can be a bit feminist for some as they were first published more so as part of the so called Goddess revival of the 1970's and 80's. But if you can look at the core principles and practices behind them they are very strong titles and have stood the test of time and agian are a must for anyones bookshelf be they new to the craft or an experianced Priestess.

    Anyone notice the lack of broomsticks, cauldrons, oversized pentagrams, pointy hats and black cats on the covers of these books... hey and no velvet or ribbon too!!!

    If anyone has genuine interest in learning the hard way or has an interest in specific areas of craft and wicca I do have a number of booklists that I can reccomend from.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    What not glitter or other shineys ?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 290 ✭✭scorplett


    and no 'how to make him fall in love with you' spells either!!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    What ?
    Prolly no 3 step change your life ones either or at least a weight loss spell.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 290 ✭✭scorplett


    In all seriousness though. There are some really bad books out there. Especially those that are aimed at young people. As a rough guide I would suggest that if you want to read the work of a good author and dont know who is good and who is not there are a few simple things to do
    Firstly, look at the front cover. Mainly the title. If it says 'Wicca' or 'Teen' then its not a good idea. To my knowledge (correct me if Im wrong anyone) no one who can claim to be Wiccan has written a book with the word Wicca in the title. Then secondly. Witchcraft is not for children. Yes children can be raised in the traditions but they would be introduced to elements such as awarness and understanding and prayer to deity, the celebration of the seasons and the cycles of life. They would not perform ritual or be asked to hold and manipulate energy, they would not interact with entities by invitation and would not stand alone in circle and they would certainly not be initiated untill they have come of age. Therefore any authour who puts togeather a 'teach yourself witchcraft for teens' book is by default irresponsable. The fact that they are directly marketing at such a market is unethical and taking advantage of the emotional rollercoaster that is puberty.
    Secondly, always look at the table of contents in a book. The contents of the book mentioned by skateing dragon makes me cringe. When every single chapter includes 'Shadow' in the title it cant be good.
    And Thirdly, If your not sure ask someone whos opinion you trust. If you dont know anyone, evaluate the various reviews that most have on amazon or similar sites.


  • Registered Users Posts: 195 ✭✭joseph dawton


    I agree about crap books, Wicca and to some extent Druidry has been hijacked by the New Age movement, publishers are throwing money at anything 5 sided looking or written by anyone with a non-human part to their name with a tenuous link to anyone respectable.

    Whatever happened to starting at the beginning - perhaps with Gerald Gardner, Margaret Murray, Aleister Crowley, the Farrars, Doreen Valiente.

    A lot more hard work it's true, not for dummies but at least it's not full of bull... and useless pretty pictures. Obviously there are some good new books but so many are patronising and have little useful content. I don't think teens are as a dumb as we think, infact the period from puberty-20 is when you have peak mental absorbtion capacity so why not go for something challenging. I'd like to see some books which build on what is commonly known rather than pathetic re-hashes.

    If I wanted to become a Bhuddist, Jew or Muslim would anyone suggest I start with the idiots/dummies guide? Probably not - I think the same principle applies to paganism.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    scorplett wrote:
    Mainly the title. If it says 'Wicca' or 'Teen' then its not a good idea. To my knowledge (correct me if Im wrong anyone) no one who can claim to be Wiccan has written a book with the word Wicca in the title.
    Vivianne Crowley is a Gardnerian HPS.

    Her book Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Millennium (also published in editions with different subtitles) is very good IMO, personally my favourite on Wicca apart from Gardner's books, notably it doesn't try to be any sort of how-to book:

    0722532717.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

    I think maybe this is a later edition of the same book, but I'm not sure:

    0007169620.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

    Also, her Principles of Wicca which is intended as a quick flick through a whole bunch of vaguely Wiccan concepts isn't bad, but more aimed at somebody wondering "WTF is this Wicca thingy?" than anyone who feels drawn to the path:

    0722534515.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

    In general though I agree that books whose title matches the pattern "[Insert Adjective Here] Wicca" or "Pagan [Insert Noun Here]" are to be avoided.

    Of course, you can't go wrong reading Gardner, if any books are a must-read (though really, I don't think any are) they are Gardner's
    Witchcraft Today
    0806525932.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg
    and The Meaning of Witchcraft
    1578633095.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

    Good to hear that the Dummies book is quite good, but I can't help thinking that a book called "Wicca and Witchcraft for Dummies" should contain just one page saying "Stop being a dummy first, and then come back" :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 150 ✭✭skateing dragon


    Okay i guess i was wrong its just finding a Good Wicca Book in shops around here is kinda hard. Thats €23 i'll never see again! So is everything in that book complete bull? And is there any point in reading the rest of it?!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    If I wanted to become a Bhuddist, Jew or Muslim would anyone suggest I start with the idiots/dummies guide? Probably not - I think the same principle applies to paganism.

    Not if you wre thinking of becoming a "whatever" if you were looking for information and an informative book on the terms and concepts of "whatever" then yes I would reccamend the for Dummies series.

    Have you seen/read the wicca and witchcraft for dummies book ?
    Okay i guess i was wrong its just finding a Good Wicca Book in shops around here is kinda hard.

    Nope you just need to know what a good book is.
    Hell I picked up my copy of the witches bible in books unlimited.
    Hughes and Green's carry that and a range of the other books.
    You will also find some of the good ones in Easons.
    The the time to have a good read of the back of the book and the references off the back and then try holding the book , closing your eyes, finding your quiet space and asking your gods is this for me and wait for an answer or an indication.

    Seriously check out your local library you will be surpirsed what is in the stacks, that won't cost you anything unless you end up with late fees.


    Thats €23 i'll never see again! So is everything in that book complete bull? And is there any point in reading the rest of it?!

    You bought it, I would suggest you read it. :D

    Really do so with what you have learned about the author here and see what in it you agree and disagree with, what feels right, what feels wrong.

    You could sell it to a second hand shop or see if you can return it if you have the reciept, say that it was gotten for you and you want to exchange it.

    I would suggest that you keep it as a reminder.
    The fact that you bought it and now have learned that this may have not been the best way to go about things and that things that seem to be to good to be true or offer all the answers on a plate are not what they seem.

    You have to look for your answers, what works for you, what you believe in not what someone who lives on the other side of the planet says.

    what is your truth ?
    what is your spirituality ?
    What is your connection to your gods and to nature ?

    I have in fact two of SRW books bought for me by well meaning people.
    They give me the giggles. They sit on my book shelve and if anyone starts poking about and are nosey I will let them 'borrow' one of them.
    They either give them back saying "ok then" and don't press further or get distracted by the shiney or say "what a load of fluffly bollix, I could not stand to read it do you have me somthing else " :)

    I also have a Fiona Horne book <giggles> A Witches' Guide to Beds, Knobs, and Broomsticks <giggles> again given to me by a well meaning friend.
    The first time I read it I laughed so much I cried.

    Really so you spent 23 quid on a book but have you learned anything from it ?
    Not the book the whole experiences that it has brought you ?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 150 ✭✭skateing dragon


    Yeah i have learned a good bit. But i do like some of the book. I find the list of poems and some of the information quite useful.

    I think ill check out the library in town because my library has like 3 books on wicca and i have read them all, 1 of the was a cunningham book which i loved so i'll check out some more of his. But i cant find Spiral Dance or drawing down the moon anywhere? Has anyone seen them in a Book Shop in Town?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    You do know that your library can order in books from the cataloge of the other libraries it is connected to ? Ask about it and check and see what they have and what they can get on loan for you.

    I would also suggest you have a look that what is in the folklore and history sections.

    I would suggest trying Hughes and if they don't have it they are usually very good at ordering them in for you , it is helpful if you have the name of the author and the publishers and the ISBN number.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 150 ✭✭skateing dragon


    Okay and has anyone heard of the book ''Outer temple of Witchcraft''


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    Nope and my first instistic on the title alone is Witches don't have temples or churches.

    /goes and goggles
    This is the second of a series of five books written by Christopher Penczak and to be published by Llewellyn.

    Second in a series, why would you want the second and really do you want to invest in 5 books ?

    I have read some of the articles of the authors site but I can't say that I have read any of his books.

    Why that one ?
    Why that author ?
    What do you know about the author ?
    What can you find out ?
    Do any of their personal or political leanings colour thier writings ?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/index.htm

    Has sevaral texts and rescources that you can read online.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 290 ✭✭scorplett


    Talliesin wrote:
    Vivianne Crowley is a Gardnerian HPS.
    Her book Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Millennium (also published in editions with different subtitles)
    I totally forgot about Vivianne Crowley so I stand corrected. She is a very credible authour and is an Alexandrian initiate aswell as a Gardnerian High Priestess of many years experiance.
    That book was published twice the older title is Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Era and the newer one as you have quoted. They are the same book with different forwards.
    I would not personally be as fond of this book and dont think it a great one for a new seeker as it is very proper Wicca coven centered and defo not as a first book on the subject as she is insistant on naming Witchcraft as the oldest religion in Europe which we all know is not true and can be misleading to people without a wider understanding. It is however a great companion book for a neyophyte or dedicant to a traditional coven.
    Her Principles of Wicca book is an excellent first book and is easily available and some editions have come with a nice tape with meditations and oral demonstrations and prenunciations etc an excellent starter book particuluarly for younger people.
    Okay i guess i was wrong its just finding a Good Wicca Book in shops around here is kinda hard. Thats €23 i'll never see again! So is everything in that book complete bull? And is there any point in reading the rest of it?!
    Ok, first it is not hard to find books unless all that is available is your small local bookshop but give any bookshop an ISBN number (you can find that out on amazon) they can order it in for you. It is often better though to go to a bookshop yourself and take time to leaf through books, see what they are about and even read a few pages and the contents and bibliography of course. If you really want to buy books for yourself I would suggest two things, first do a little research. The interweb is a wonderfull thing so use it. Check out amazon or similar, look at the reviews, check out some of the listmania, compare and contrast what you find in that site and then google the book title and/or the authors name and you should then be working from a very solid base. Secondly, go to the bookshops most likley to have a large selection. Obviously the yellow brick road and the house of astrology but also the dawson street book shops. The big Hughes and Hughes and directly across the street Hodgis Figgis (who also have a loyalty programme similar to a coffee shop rather than the supermarket) All of these will have the largest selections. Make a day of it and take your time browsing the bookshelves.

    No book that you buy, even if it is silver raven wolf is a waste of your time effort or money because you will still learn something even if that something is not what you thought. The book you bought is not all bull, mostly because it would mostly contain re-hashed material from other authours with Ms Ravenwolfs own twist put on it. You will learn over time what parts of it are bull and what are not, what is simplified and what is plain copied from other books.

    Also, you keep saying that your looking for info books etc on Wicca. So I wonder if you are looking for the right thing. Wicca is a priesthood of specific lineage so you cant become wiccan from reading books and making a choice. However, if it is witchcraft that you are interested in then you can learn a whole lot from the world of books and again the wonderfull www.
    Best of luck seeking though
    ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    scorplett wrote:
    I would not personally be as fond of this book and dont think it a great one for a new seeker as it is very proper Wicca coven centered and defo not as a first book on the subject as she is insistant on naming Witchcraft as the oldest religion in Europe which we all know is not true and can be misleading to people without a wider understanding. It is however a great companion book for a neyophyte or dedicant to a traditional coven.
    I agree with you that she does come across as a bit wide-eyed as far as Murrayism goes, but I actually would recommed it as a book for seekers because it's a damn sight more serious than most of what's out there.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 18 Matthew Hopkins


    Anything by Dion Fortune, as her writings were more or less what everybody read in the fifties and sixties and became part of the core material from which modern wicca was constructed, along with Crowley, Murray and Leland..... back to the roots folks....


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,021 ✭✭✭Hivemind187


    Admittedly I read a lot more AE Waite than I did of many other writers and mystics but the girl I was dating way back when was very into the Ravenwolf stuff.

    I honestly couldnt bare the low grade, second hand waffle that was in it. To each there own I guess but I'll tell you it was stuff written with the intention of bilking people out of their money that pushed me towards LaVey and Crowley.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,523 ✭✭✭✭Nerin


    777 for the win!
    and i really hated ravenwolf, mentor gave me teenwitch way back when.
    i would have love agrippa. grrr


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,021 ✭✭✭Hivemind187


    nerin wrote: »
    777 for the win!
    and i really hated ravenwolf, mentor gave me teenwitch way back when.
    i would have love agrippa. grrr

    Agrippa and the likes of solomon's keys are available (or at least used to be) freely on the web. damned if I can remember where though. It was a portal of the occult as far as I recall.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,523 ✭✭✭✭Nerin


    yeah,sacred texts i do believe was the site.
    he gave me floppys of all the old stuff,what i meant was instead of ravenwolf(ughhh) id love a big dusty agrippa. hmmmm *shudders*
    also on my list of For the Win! books is Cunningham, the two Wicca solitary ones,and the book on magical plants and herbs. very nice indeed.
    also,just for a nice medieval type book to have, Gerards Herbal is beautiful.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 36,634 ✭✭✭✭Ruu_Old


    I have been reading into Paganism and found a book today called Pagan Every Day, it is quite good to start out with I thought as someone who has started reading this kind of stuff. It claims to have some new things for pagans to try out.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    Not my own area of interest, but this is an excellent book on the Roebuck Tradition (a non-Wiccan tradition of witchcraft developed from material from Robert Cochrane's The Regency), written by one of its founders. I've already written a bit in a review on amazon so I won't repeat myself beyond saying I highly recommend this one.
    0979616832.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2 JuniperCatKin


    Hi,
    I was just wondering if "The Wicca Bible" by Ann-marie Gallagher was any good in your opinion? The recipe for stew was ok (not great, needs tweaking), after reading the previous posts I was wondering if the other information contained was likewise?


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