Witch in the Bedroom – Stacey Demarco

March 14, 2008 at 10:14 pm (Sex Magic, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Witch in the Bedroom: Proven Sensual Magic
Stacey Demarco
Llewellyn, 2006
288 pages

Note: This review was written in 2006 for newWitch magazine and appeared in a 2007 issue.


Witch in the Bedroom is written for witches and non-witches alike on ways to use magic for everything from finding a good partner to getting pregnant. This means that there’s a lot of 101 material that most pagan readers will be familiar with; however, it’s presented in a format that any newbie can understand and doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the material.

Some of the most valuable information is the relationship advice Demarco gives. Rather than just sending us off with a few love spells, she explains how to undo bad relationship patterns, appreciate ourselves, and find a healthy relationship without codependence.

The rituals are another strong point of this book. While aimed at getting a healthy relationship with someone else, they also foster healthy relationships with ourselves and support sex-positive outlooks on life whether you’re currently single or taken. Each one is original without resorting to formulaic templates that just switch around correspondences.

One of the down sides is that the blame for bad sexual attitudes is all too often laid at the feet of Christianity. The entire book has a general feel of “Christians ruined sex, which the pagans had been enjoying with no problem, and now it’s up to witches to make sex good again!” Additionally, she doesn’t say where she got her historical material from, and rather than a bibliography, there’s a scant “Recommended Resources” list. She talks about what the “ancient witches” did, without backing up her research—shoddy scholarship.

Also, the book is overwhelmingly heterosexual. This isn’t bad in and of itself, but if you’re not looking for a relationship with an opposite sex partner or if you’re sick of the God = Active and Goddess = Passive dichotomy, you may find yourself skimming over a lot of this book. Additionally, if you’re childfree by choice, the 58 pages on how to get pregnant and have a healthy baby will be useless.

Still, the book has achieved its intended purpose—to offer a magical guide to healthy sexual and romantic relationships to both pagans and nonpagans. It’s a good, practical work with a lot of useful material.

Four pawprints out of five.

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A Witches’ Notebook – Silver Ravenwolf

March 14, 2008 at 9:44 pm (Books I Didn't Care Much For, Wicca and Witchcraft)

A Witches’ Notebook: Lessons in Witchcraft
Silver Ravenwolf
Llewellyn, 2005
248 pages

Note: This review was written in 2005 for a publication, but was not published. I’m in the process of pulling out some old reviews on my hard drive.

I have to hand it to Silver Ravenwolf: she’s by far one of the best-selling pagan authors ever, all because she’s found her niche. Thousands of beginning neopagans have been introduced to witchcraft and related topics through her works.

Unfortunately, I had high expectations for A Witches’ Notebook. Hailed by her publicist as “a glimpse of her decades-old journey into Witchcraft,” this newest book held promise for me when I first got it. Finally—a chance to get deeper into the practices and mysteries that she’s only skimmed the surface of in previous works! A glimpse at the material known previously only to her and her students! A candid look at the author before she became famous!

What I’d hoped for was something a little grittier and disorganized than her usual works, something that involved the more advanced studies she’s had to have done if she’s birthed as many covens as she has. What I got was yet another highly-polished series of brief glances at a bunch of topics.

The book in and of itself isn’t awful. Her writing style, as always, is very easy to read and she explains concepts in a manner just about any reader can comprehend. She covers a lot of the basics, and makes sure to emphasize the importance not only of spells and potions but also of purification of self, the idea that magic is a tool for development and the consideration that most neopagans today have to deal with the stresses of the mundane world as a matter of course.

This makes for a series of exercises and essays that are very down-to-earth and practical, but far from stodgy. For instance, in considering the effects of your money magick, she writes “Yeah, the bills got paid, but what the heck did you have to suffer with for six months after that?” (p. 107) She’s obviously been there, done that, got the t-shirt. And a good portion of the exercises she provides, particularly in the first half of the book, are geared towards grounding, centering and advancing the practitioner rather than just tossing magic at love and money.
One thing that can be said for this author is that she does offer a tantalizing taste of magical practices. Ravenwolf introduces the reader to a number of concepts ranging from astrology and herbalism to hoodoo and Powwow magic. Variety is definitely a spice she likes to use.

The down side is that most of the topics aren’t covered in any depth whatsoever. Instead of drawing deeper into her hinted-at notebooks, once again she simply flings out a few spells and bare explanations of concepts associated with each topic she covers. They tend to be rather haphazardly organized as well, with little background to offer a transition from, say, Powwow to Reiki. And most of these topics deserve a lot more material presented on them before they should be worked with. A half a dozen pages does not a healer make.

In addition she’s horrible about citing sources. She does include a bibliography, but there are absolutely no in-text citations to support her information. While this is supposedly a collection of tidbits from her personal archives, we shouldn’t be expected to accept everything she says just because she’s an elder.

And she definitely needs a better copy editor. From page fifteen: “[I]t seemed like I could have counted the threads in the cotton sheet I was laying on…all of a sudden I could smell the sheep it was derived from…” Enough said.

In short, while it’s a nicely-written book in a lot of ways, it’s just another rehash of 101 concepts. The most advanced section of the book is nothing more than yet another dictionary of herbs, over sixty pages’ worth. Do we really need to devote more ink and paper to that? For that matter, do we really need yet another skim-the-surface 101 book? There’s little to set this book apart from Ravenwolf’s other books, let alone the dozens—if not hundreds—of beginner’s books already on the market.

If you’re just starting out, you may want to give A Witches’ Notebook a look while you’re browsing to see if it speaks to you. After all, Ravenwolf didn’t become as popular as she did by writing books that collect dust on the sellers’ shelves. Otherwise, don’t waste your money. There’s nothing here that can’t be found elsewhere whether at a basic or advanced level.

One and a half pawprints out of five.

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Sexy Witch – LaSara Firefox

October 29, 2007 at 10:43 am (Metamorphic Magic/Conscious Evolution, Sex Magic, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Sexy Witch
LaSara Firefox
Llewellyn, 2005
314 pages

This book has gotten some mixed press since it came out–people seem to either love it or hate it. The people who hate it seem to have completely missed the point of the book. They either get freaked out by the frank use of euphemisms for female anatomy, or they run screaming from the idea of *gasp* getting to know the most nether regions of the female body, and all the various things it does. Additionally, uber-witches get terrified that *gasp* somebody might think witches have sex, and that sex can be a part of witchcraft!This is completely symptomatic of the body-PHOBIC mindset that Sexy Witch sets out to reverse.

In this book I found a wealth of exercises determined to shatter the negative tunnel vision most people in America (and in many other places) have about our bodies. The author challenges us to venture into the most terrifying aspects of the female physical form, the parts that we’re told are “dirty” and “bad”, and become comfortable with them. We’re encouraged to touch, to look, and to otherwise become familiar with our bodies in every crevice. And this is a *good* thing. Firefox has the right idea–rather than skirting around the fear we have of our bodies with pretty flowers and mincing, femmy steps, she meets it head-on fearlessly, showing the reader that there’s nothing to be afraid of, and that we stand to gain much in the way of confidence and health by getting over ingrained hangups. She challenges gender stereotypes, even to the point of including a decent section on conscious crossdressing as a way to break out of one’s preconceived notions.

She gives plenty of material for both solitary and group work; the latter is particularly nice as it offers the reader the chance to spread body-positive thoughts. And while some may complain that the magical aspects of the book are too watered-down, keep in mind that the material is aimed not just at experienced pagans, but any woman with body issues who could use some help in getting over them.

I can only wish that there was such a thing for men out there; while body issues in women are well-documented, body issues in men are often ignored. If you’re a guy having trouble with your image, there won’t really be much here for you to work with, though it may be worthwhile to read just to get an idea of some of the issues that woman face, and how Firefox recommends dealing with them.

This is a brilliant work that deserves its controversy–it highlights body-fear, and for those brave enough to face it, Sexy Witch offers a multitude of methods for getting over it, already!

Five bold pawprints out of five.

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Wicca For Lovers – Jennifer Hunter

October 9, 2007 at 1:56 pm (Love spells!, Magic/Spell/etc. Kits, Sex Magic, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Wicca for Lovers – Spells and Rituals for Romance & Seduction
Jennifer Hunter
Viking Studio, 2001
96 pages plus feather, candle, oil, crystal

Generally speaking, I hate love spells.

Generally speaking, I also hate boxed sets.

I guess the two hatreds must have cancelled each other out rather than making the hate grow exponentially.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the author is quite talented. I loved both her Rites of Pleasure and Twenty-First Century Wicca. So it actually didn’t surprise me when I discovered that this set bucks the system when it comes to luuuuuv spells and Wicca-inna-box.

Hunter’s writing is, once again, quite grounded. Rather than simply throwing a bunch of spells at the reader, she explains where sacred sexuality in general weaves in with Wiccan spirituality. And the material isn’t just about what you want in a partner–it also covers the very important point that to love yourself is even more important. There’s also a chapter on sex magic, to include the traditional (as opposed to symbolic) Great Rite. For a 96-page book, there’s a lot of good information in here.

Lest you complain that “Wicca isn’t about love spells!”, I assure you that Wicca For Lovers doesn’t purport to be the do-all and end-all of (eclectic) Wicca. And, as mentioned, Hunter ties love magic in with the sacred sexuality inherent in Wicca, and in pagan religions in general. Finally, look at Christian publishing–there are all sorts of niche books in that genre. Maybe not all Wiccans are interested in using magic to augment their search for that special someone (or someones–the book is poly-friendly). But just as with Christian dating manuals, so this work helps to tie in the methods we have at our disposal for finding partners to spirituality.

No, this isn’t a complete treatise on love magic, sex magic, or related topics. However, given that there are people out there who have no knowledge of magic in general who may pick up something on love spells on a lark, it’s good to know that this set exists (though currently is unavailable brand new–unopened packages may still be found through used book dealers). If I were going to offer anything to the curious, it’d be this set–the book contains a good basic grounding of magical theory, covered well before the spells even begin. However, even those who are more seasoned in magic may find this to be a fun things to play with, a light-hearted gift to give to a friend, or even to give to a couple for a bit of magical “bonding”.

While this isn’t Hunter’s best work (Rites of Pleasure is a much more thorough and “serious” book), all things considered it’s well above other love magic/love spell compendiums I’ve seen. It’s playful, fun, but with an undercurrent of magic and spirituality that give it depth that all too often missing from this sort of thing.

Four pawprints out of five.

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The Witches of Dixie – Laura Stamps

October 3, 2007 at 1:14 pm (Fiction, Wicca and Witchcraft)

The Witches of Dixie – Book One of the Witchery Series
Laura Stamps
Trytium Publishing, 2007
245 pages

I’m not 100% sure what to think of this book. I like it overall, but it’s not quite what I’m used to. Of course, sometimes it’s good to get shaken up!

While it’s described as a novel, it’s more a quartet of short stories. This adds a nice variety to the book overall, and makes for interesting reading. Each story centers on a female witch of one sort of another, set in various locations in the Southern U.S. Rather than all being young teenyboppers a la “The Craft”, the witches are a variety of ages and backgrounds. And they specialize in different forms of witchcraft, which makes for a nice introduction. And everyone has cats, described as appealing little furry creatures that made me smile and think of my own two kitties.

Stamps’ writing style is lovely. She has a wonderful voice, and a definite talent for description. Her third story, “Mirabella”, is particularly artfully crafted, and I enjoyed the imagery and sensory descriptions of people, places and things. Her dialogue is believable, and her stories are rich and have good progression from beginning, to middle, to satisfying (in that there’s definite solid closure) end.

There were a few downsides. While the characters were diverse in some ways, they may leave some readers without a method of associating themselves with the characters. For example, they’re all Wiccan, which may additionally give readers unfamiliar with Wicca the idea that all Wiccans are female (and that Wiccans only worship the Goddess, due to the lack of any form of male Divinity). Additionally, since all are successfully self-employed, most readers who are traditionally employed may have trouble relating. In fact, the stories are pretty idealistic; the author extols vegetarianism, organics and feral cat rescue to the point where it felt rather preachy at times.

Still, there are lessons here. There are spells and bits of lore wrapped in the tales, as well as other interesting bits of health-related information. The positive view of Wicca is good P.R., and while the delivery can be a bit much at times, it’s well-meant and makes things clear. I would recommend this especially for newer Wiccans, or people curious about Wicca, with the caveat that this is the author’s personal interpretation of Wicca, and that not every Wiccan may be vegetarian, focus solely on the Goddess, or see faeries as helpful sprites.

It’s a good teaching tool, an enjoyable read, and well-written overall, and I’d love to see later books in the series.

Four pawprints out of five.

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City Magick – Christopher Penczak

July 31, 2007 at 8:28 pm (Elemental Magic, Technomagic, Wicca and Witchcraft)

City Magick: Urban Rituals, Spells and Shamanism
Christopher Penczak
Weiser Books, 2001
302 pages

One of the advantages to being a bibliophile who marries or moves in with a bibliophile is the combination of libraries. Selling off the duplicate copies makes room for more books, and you get to read books you might never have had a chance to see otherwise. City Magick is one of the books that Taylor brought into our mutual library, and it’s my latest commuting conquest.

Having been raised in a rural area, it’s taken some effort to adjust to living in the city. Granted, Portland is pretty green, with a lot of parks in the city proper. However, I’ve also lived in places where it wasn’t so easy to get to greenspace. While I was somewhat aware of the magic of manmade objects and creations, I wish I’d had this book around to give me some extra ideas–I definitely would have coped a lot more quickly!

Penczak does a great job of taking basic (and some intermediate) magical practices and making them relevant to the land of concrete and steel. From an absolutely wonderful section on the sometimes neglected urban totem animals, to a recreation of the tree of life as a skyscraper (complete with mental picture of Spider-man as a shaman), he demonstrates that the concepts often found in green nature-based practices can also be adapted to more “artificial” environments. And that’s one of the really beautiful things about this book; it reminds us that even though the components may have been altered somewhat, everything came from nature and is subject to it. Of course, Penczak doesn’t ignore the fact that manmade creations have done harm to nature, both green and otherwise. However, he offers a realistic resource for those who do choose to (or must) live in an urban area.

There’s a nice dash of Chaos magic in here, too. I thought his variations on sigils were wonderful, especially those appropriating graffiti. It’s proof that subversion is pretty well universal, and the graffiti that’s used to mark territory or deface public property can also be taken and reworked for personal magical purposes. And he has a nicely flexible perspective on deities and other denizens, particularly those of pop culture, the modern mythology of the city. I add bonus points for open-mindedness!

Overall, this is a great book, especially for someone who’s still getting their feet wet in magical practice but thinks s/he has to be out in the middle of a field. As I said before, the basics are covered, but there are plenty of suggestions for expansion into intermediate territory. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I have some ideas for the next time I’m out wandering in downtown Portland.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Witchcraft and Folklore of Dartmoor – Ruth E. St. Leger-Gordon

July 23, 2007 at 8:31 am (Cryptozoology/Paranormal, Mythology, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Witchcraft and Folklore of Dartmoor
Ruth E. St. Leger-Gordon
Bell Publishing Company, 1972
196 pages

I first picked up this book because it dedicates a couple of chapters to black dogs/whisht hounds, one of my favorite ghosts/cryptozoological entities. The author collected a variety of stories and tales of everything from hauntings to dancing stone circles to wart healing white witches and created this nice compendium of folklore specific to Dartmoor in the UK. Apparently Dartmoor has more than its fair share of etheral and paranormal activity, as evidenced by the rich abundance of examples the author was able to give.

The folklore chapters are much stronger than the witchcraft ones. St. Leger-Gordon collects a nice variety of local examples involving ancient stones and ruins, as well as tales of souls condemned to transformation and impossible feats before they can rest, as atonement for their wickedness. She manages to fit a lot of these stories in without shortening them too much–in fact, she does an excellent job of managing her space, tying the stories together without adding too much filler. And rather than only relying on older stories, she brings up a number of relatively recent (to her time, anyway) examples, showing that haunts and hunts and other such things do persist into modern day (though she worries for their continuation amid “progress”).

The witchcraft chapters, on the other hand, are heavily littered with a lot of Margaret Murray’s bunk. The author also takes Gerald Gardner’s claims of Wicca’s antiquity as truth, which damages the integrity of the book as a whole. However, the examples of both healing and cursing done by local witches (who use Bible verses in their wart charming, rather than dancing to Diana) show once again the local folklore in practice. St. Leger-Gorden would have been better off sticking to the traditional folklore rather than attempting to bring in modern, unverified sources that draw less on the traditions and more on 19th-century romanticized reconstructions.

Still, overall I really liked reading this book. Beyond the poor modern research it’s an excellent look at the tales and traditions of a particular part of the world shown in detail, written by a skilled author. Definitely a keeper!

Four pawprints out of five

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Good Witch, Bad Witch – Gillian Kemp – July BBBR

July 12, 2007 at 9:03 am (Bargain Bin Book Reviews, Divination, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Good Witch, Bad Witch: Sweet Spells and Dark Charms
Gilliam Kemp
Bulfinch, 2002
64 pages + 52 cards

The first thing that drew me into this set is the artwork. Bright colors, beautifully painted, with whimsical images of witches, both “good” and “bad”. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any notation of who are artist was. Still, the artwork is a lovely illustration of the text.

This set is…well…it’s best summed up as “cute”. There’s a very playful air to the way Kemp writes about her good and bad witches, 26 of each. The Good Witches include the Stardust Witch, who “makes dreams come true” (22), the Fire Witch who “makes temperatures rise” (32) and the South Witch, who “predicts a happy phase when the sun will shine for you” (36). The Bad Witches, on the other hand, features such characters as the Warty Witch, who “speaks to you in a vein of honesty, ‘warts and all'” (46), the Wickedest Witch who “reveals that jealousy may create havoc” (49) and the Venomous Witch who is “as poisonous as an adder’s fang” (55). The various roles of each of the witches in this divinatory pack deal primarily with everyday concerns such as love and good living. Along with descriptions of the “personality” of each witch, the general attributes and forecasts that each card suggests are explained. Each entry is completed with a brief spell that fits the theme of the card that comes up.

Some may look askance at some of the spells; for example, there are several that are dedicated to ruining someone else’s relationship or getting revenge on others. These hearken back to historical witchcraft, in which the spells for love and healing were joined by the equally common spells for revenge and sickness–in modern practices of witchcraft (particularly Wicca) the latter aren’t spoken of as much in an attempt to improve P.R. for paganism as a whole. While most witches choose not to implement such spells, the fact that they exist shouldn’t be denied. It all comes down to personal ethics.

I think my only complaint is that it is pretty lightweight. The descriptions are quite brief, and I would have enjoyed reading about how Kemp actually created the deck–a story is always a nice addition. Still, for being a little gift-box divination set, it’s pretty darned good.

For all its cute factor, this is a very usable deck. Kemp did a great job of designing some sample layouts to be used with this deck, and they serve a very functional purpose. If you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary that keeps even the “bad” witches light-hearted, this is a fun deck to work–or play–with.

Four pawprints out of five.

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Sea, Land, Sky: A Dragon Magick Grimoire – Parker J. Torrence

July 10, 2007 at 8:07 am (Animal Magic, Otherkin, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Sea, Land, Sky: A Dragon Magick Grimoire
Parker J. Torrence
Three Moons Media, 2002
160 pages

I think one of the biggest questions on the mind of those who pick up this book is, “Is it better than Dancing With Dragons by D.J. Conway?” I’ll admit it was one of the reasons I picked it up in a recent Amazon order. So, having read it on the train this morning (it was a quick read, and I have a long commute), what did I think of it?

Well, it’s definitely an improvement in some ways. Torrence has created a magical system based on multi-layered symbolism. His concept of dragons seems to be rather elemental in nature, though not in the same quasi-D&D manner of Conway’s work. He introduces the concepts of the three realms of sea, land and sky, and adds in some of the areas of correspondence. For example, he equates them, respectively, with the past, present and future, as well as various magical acts. He also creates an interesting meditation with the seven primary chakras, visualizing them as small dragons that hatch from eggs as each one is worked with, then returning to their eggs when the meditation is done. I also liked some of his rituals, particularly the simple guided meditation entitled “To Touch a Dragon”.

The main issue I have with this book is that it reads more like a draft rather than a finished manuscript. It’s obvious this is a self-published work (Three Moons Media is a printing company similar to Booklocker or Lulu). There are a number of incomplete sentences, typos, and weird punctuation throughout the book. It doesn’t make it unreadable, but I did notice it as I read. Additionally, the content has a lot of room for development. Torrence offers a lot of “whats” and “hows”, but not as many “whys”. Why, for example, should a beginner to tarot use only the Major Arcana (p. 26)? Why does he toss in a handful of Enochian for no apparent reason (p. 59-63)? What’s with the random inclusions of Celtic deities? Instead of offering more detailed explanations of things like this, he instead stuffs the book with a bunch of Wicca 101 information (some of it just a little dragon-tinged), and almost 60 blank-lined pages (I don’t think a 160 page book needs quite that much room for notes).

This book does have a lot of potential. If I were editing the book, I would suggest the author answer the following questions throughout:

–How did you get into dragon magick specifically? What are some anecdotes of your own experience with working with dragons?
–Given that the mythology around dragons (particularly those in the West) shows them as fierce beasts, how does a magician safely work with dragon spirits? (This is particularly in light of the fact that a couple of the rituals call on Tiamat).
–How does the Celtic pantheon work into this, particularly the sea, land and sky trilogy?
–Can you go into more detail as far as the relationship between sea, land, sky; past, present, future; and subconscious, conscious and superconscious mind?
–In regards to the various rituals in the second part of the book, how did you develop them? What sorts of results have you gotten from them?
–What are some of the basic principles of working with dragons in ritual, so that readers can then take those principles and apply them to rituals they create themselves?

Those are just some of the points that came to my mind as I read through the book; there’s plenty more room for expansion. I give it extra points because it does have some good potential. And even as it is now, it’s a better alternative to dragon-flavored Wicca than Dancing with Dragons. I think if the author were to get it contracted with an actual publisher, or at least hire an editor to help him expand on his ideas and clean up the text, this could easily be a five-pawprint book. As it is, I’m giving it three pawprints and hoping for a second edition.

Three pawprints out of five.

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When I See the Wild God – Ly de Angeles – June BBBR

June 6, 2007 at 10:48 am (Bargain Bin Book Reviews, Celtic spirituality and studies, Men's Mysteries, Wicca and Witchcraft)

When I See the Wild God: Encountering Urban Celtic Witchcraft
Ly de Angeles
Llewellyn, 2004
288 pages

This is one of those books that seems to have lost its focus. Some of it appears to be aimed at modern pagan men’s mysteries and the God aspect of the Divine, but then there’s also the (by now stereotypical) Celtic aspects of it. However, the bulk of the book is a rehash of Wicca 101, with the usual ritual tools, casting the circle and calling the quarters, etc. And the book doesn’t flow particularly well; sometimes the progression of chapters seems rather disjointed.

Because of this, I found myself skimming the book a lot, more because it was very familiar material than because it was poorly written. I actually like de Angeles’ writing style; she’s an excellent storyteller, and it perks up the fiction quite a bit. If it were just marketed as a Wicca/witchcraft 101 book, it’s be one of the better-written ones on the market. All the basics are here in an easy to read format.

Unfortunately, I just really couldn’t get into the book as I think it was meant to be. The male aspects are primarily a little bit of talk at the beginning of the book, and a mention of some gods. The Celtic flavoring is no different than in other books on “Celtic Wicca” or similar modernized systems with Celtic names in it. Granted, she does a decent job of Celtic mythology 101, but it shouldn’t be taken as genuine Celtic culture, just the usual mash-up.

If you’re looking for a basic book on Wicca 101, this one is a good intro, but if you want men’s mysteries, check out The Pagan Man by Isaac Bonewits or King, Warrior, Magician, Lover by Douglas and Gillette.

Two and a half pawprints out of five.

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