Book Reviews - 2003

This book, from the author of The Well-Read Witch is partly biographical, very subjective, and may be difficult for Pagan readers to digest. McColman is what may be termed a "Christo-Pagan-Buddhist", but this book falls short on integrating the three styles when it comes to conveying the methods for aspiring mystics. He concentrates more on Christian examples and ideologies, and very little on the Buddhist or Pagan. Proof of this can be found in the fact that Buddhists don't believe in God, and Pagans have many. Other than a note at the beginning of the text, claiming he "opted for simplicity", McColman disregards all the other faith systems he states that he studied over time, leaving pages of cliches, such as insisting one much belong to a community or church in order to be fulfilled spiritually, and that one cannot make any real spiritual progress without a teacher. It's too bad, really. In the right hands, such a topic could be a real aid for the serious seeker.

Mike Leslie, The Magickal Personality: Identify Strengths and Weaknesses to Improve Your Magic (Llewellyn, 2002), paper, 274 pp., $17.95, ISBN 0-7387-0187-4

This book is an intensive means to determine one's personality traits, using the results of a written questionnaire to pinpoint elemental combinations within the self. The primary personality type is "balanced" by a "shadow type", and is deeply rooted in psychology. As with any such system, it is difficult to accurately define all the personality traits of one person. Some of the traits may be "dead on", but others may not fit. When trying to organize data in this way, generalizations work against one, rather than become an advantage. If the author's motto is "Magician, Know Thyself," then the magickian is better off searching his or her own inner depths and finding the uniqueness that often defies definition.

Z Budapest and Diana L. Paxson, Celestial Wisdom for Every Year of Your Life: Discover the Hidden Meaning of Your Age (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2003), paper 256 pp., $17.95, ISBN 1-57863-282-X

"This is a book for every woman who has ever had a birthday," begins the Introduction to this compilation of foolishness. There is no way on any plane of existence the meaning of a year in a woman's (or man's) life can be distilled down to a few paragraphs. This book has no respect for the individual, or unique life experiences... It simply indicates, "If you're at this age, this is what is happening." What a load of crap! It is for each person to determine the meaning of their years, their life. No book can do it for you, and certainly not this hodge podge of cliches!

Scott Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen (Llewellyn, 2003), paper, 378 pp., $15.95, ISBN 0-7387-0226-9

When Scott Cunningham was alive, he spent 17 years researching an incredibly wide range of foods, in order to put into print their magickal properties and uses. Titled The Magic in Food and The Magic of Food in previous releases, this is no less a marvelous resource for those who seek to make their entire life - including what they eat - part of the magick. Topics such as "Nuts and Alleged Nuts", and "The Magical Uses of Junk Food" provide information about elemental and planetary correspondences, as well as their lore. Few authors are so thorough in their work these days, and it's great Llewellyn decided to print this volume anew.

Sirona Knight, Goddess Bless! Divine Affirmations, Prayers, and Blessings (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002), paper, 192pp., $16.95, ISBN 1-59003-002-8

As with other "prayer books" for Pagans, this volume suffers from a lack of originality. There is no need to "borrow" prayers from Christians and rewrite them. "Our Mother who art all things... Hallowed be thy name..." Please. Pagans have so much more history to draw upon, and a far more vast array of sources. Or, better yet, Pagan can compose their own, from their heart! There is no need to revamp the devotions of others.

Judy Harrow, Devoted to You: Honoring Deity in Wiccan Practice (Citadel, 2003), paper, 304 pp., $12.95, ISBN 0-8065-2392-1

While Judy Harrow only writes one of the four sections of this book, dealing with Gaia, the other authors she brings in to discuss Anubis, Brigit and Aphrodite are not your run-of-the-mill Wiccan writers. Geoffrey Miller, Alexei Kondratiev and Maureen Reddington-Wilde each have the experience to pen their experiences with deity in a reader-friendly, yet intelligent, style. The exercises included involving each God or Goddess show how it is possible (and important) to become acquainted with one's chosen deity, as well. Truly a unique and welcome treasure among the many shallow books on the Gods currently cluttering the shelves.

Ellen Dugan, Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up (Llewellyn, 2003), paper, 254 pp., $16.95, ISBN 0-7387-0318-4

Being a Master Gardener, Dugan takes the reader on an exploration of gardening unlike most books of this nature. There is a good degree of practicality on the pages, as well as history and the true enjoyment of being "one with the earth" while gardening. Helpful tips about trees, flowers, herbs and other plants make this a good resource for the amateur or serious Pagan gardener.

Joseph H. Peterson, ed., John Dee's Five Books of Mystery (Weiser Books, 2003), paper, 479 pp, $55.00, ISBN # 1-57863-178-5

Once again, Joseph H. Peterson presents a fantastic volume of magickal scholarship that compliments his extraordinary Esoteric Archives website (http://www.esotericarchives.com/) in terms of historical unveiling - this work was discovered well after Dee's death - and intrinsic value to the ceremonial magickian. This clean, crisp document rounds out the character of Dee's magickal persona while maintaining the systemic integrity of his Enochian system by retaining the marginal notes, insights and minutiae that grant the work its revelatory strength. A necessary companion to Dee's Mysteriorum Liber Sextus et Sanctus (known as the Liber Loagaeth) and his Compendium Heptarchiae Mysticae, this book is key to understanding the full process of ceremonial evocation, the fulfilled method of Enochian mysticism and the complete breadth and depth of the Western magickal tradition.

- Frater S.P.R.V.

Just because reviewing books can be a very subjective process, the Goat and Candle staff decided to present their respective (and sometimes opposite) reviews of the same book. The Frater's views are first, with Quill's below.

Silver Ravenwolf, Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation (Llewellyn, 2003), paper, 590 pp., $19.95, ISBN 0-7387-0319

This is an excellent example of a book that suffers due to poor marketing choices. The contents - with the exception of an overly-long and pop-culture-riddled spells section - are quite thorough and enlightening in a practical and thought-provoking sense, to the extent that they include many aspects minimized or maligned by other "complete" Books of Shadows: planetary hours, complete moon phases (according to astronomical postulates) and astrological references, the necessity of auric strengthening and banishing rituals, and in-depth overview of magickal theories and methods including Hermeticism and Alchemy, et al. But the overly slick presentation, complete with the catch phrase "for the New Generation", overshadows it's inner excellence. This is far more than just another angst-filled do-it-yourself sorcery guide; this is a fine product that is worth a well-worn spot on most Neo-Pagans' shelves. The problem is that you can't tell it from the merchandising.

*****

The fact that author Ronald Hutton (Triumph of the Moon) read this book prior to publication and advised Ravenwolf of any possible historical inaccuracies does not diminish the fact that this is just another typical effort aimed at teenagers, a "collection of neat and nifty spells," by the author's own admission. Similar spells and much of the information can be found in other, more mature books that don't cater to "quick fixes" for life's problems. It would be great if Silver Ravenwolf could pull herself out of her commercialized mindset and write a serious book on her beliefs, because it would be hard to imagine her doing such spells in a circle she cast herself. Essential Wicca this isn't.

Marion Weinstein, Positive Magic - Revised Edition (New Page Books, 2002), paper, 302 pp, $14.99, ISBN # 1-56414-637-5

Marion Weinstein has certainly earned her place in Pagan history through dedication and open tenacity. And her work Positive Magic was a key book at the time of its original publication, a true American voice for the burgeoning Wiccan movement. But judging from this new "revised" edition, precious little has changed in terms of magickal scope and early Pagan ethics. It's a bit like seeing an antique car drive down a crowded interstate; it's beautiful to look at in terms of what it represents, but is still painfully anachronistic and out of place in the larger, modern picture. Would you like a ride in it? Of course. Would you want to own it? That's another question entirely. Her writings in the "10-Foot Pole Department" section illustrate what can only be called a magickal oxymoron: Pagan dualism. This unbalanced approach is one that still plagues the movement - that all things light should be embraced, all things dark should be avoided and the duty of every Pagan is to choose the lightside (sound familiar? It's a basic tenet of Christian theology) and avoid the shadow. She divides ceremonial and ritual magick into "negative" and "positive", "black" and "white" - and throws in gray magick for good measure - even though later in the book she cites that "[f]or Witches, no duality exists between good and evil". Likewise, much of her historical "facts" rest on shaky academic ground. "Most reliable Witchcraft books today draw upon Margaret Murray's work", "all Craft jewelry is made of silver", "[the Threefold Law] is the basic working philosophy of Witchcraft" - you'd think that these statements would have been corrected, or at the very least expanded, for the 2002 edition. Take this book for what it is: an important, yet limited, work in early Neo-Pagan thought decked out in "modern" clothes.